behind our wedding. I wanted Vegas, but he wanted the traditional aisle, vows, and reception. So my first lesson in matrimony was compromise. We had a ceremony and vows and a deacon. But my stipulation was that the boring part all had to be over and done with in 15 minutes. And then onto the party (which we fully paid for in advance).

I was surprised by all the pressure we got from our family about our "small" wedding (80 people). His parents wanted double the amount of invitations, my mother refused to let me have my simple $150 dollar dress. Her exact quote was, "the dress is not all about you!" So I learned the art of negotiation. And I learned about supporting your spouse and dealing with the in-laws...my mother-in-law cried when I told her that I wasn't having any engagement parties, shower or bachlorette party. My husband was there holding my hand when I told my mom to shove it when it came down to having babies in the ceremony. We practiced patience and understanding during our ballroom dancing lessons. We explored our differences in project planning. My tasks were all done days before the wedding, he was up all night making the wedding programs that he insisted on having. We also had a lot of fun sampling cake and hors d'ouvres...he found out that you should never leave me alone with anything chocolate. I was amazed by his artistic side, he picked out our flowers, "colors" and wedding album. We also had fun mocking such things as favors, the garter/bouquet toss, the Electric Slide and butterfly releases (yes, really!)

My favorite moments were taking his conservative little sister to the salon to get her hair done for the wedding and having the very gay stylist exclaim to her "we are going to make you FABULOUS!", the look on my southern mother-in-law's face when I told her that my bridesmaid were going to wear black and could pick our their own dresses(i thought her jaw had come unhinged), my husbands face when we said our vows and how adorable it was that his hands were shaking...just as my father's were when we walked me down the aisle. The best was during our first dance...Johnny Cash "Ring of Fire" when my husband not only knew every step of our dance and didn't step on a single on of my toes, but had perfected the dip and planted the biggest kiss on me while I was tipped over backwards.

For us, making sure that our guests had a great time was our biggest goal and I think we met it. We still have people raving about our reception. They loved the food and the open bar and the cake and the band. All of my friends got a kick out of dancing to Hava Nagila and watching my 4 foot tall white haired grandmother shake her booty to Aretha Franklin. Contrary to popular belief weddings can actually be fun. Just like wedding cake can taste good, especially when you get to share it with the person you love.

It outlines the history concerning the abortion prohibition and excommunication rules. Apparently in the 13th century it was okay to have an abortion before fetus was "hominized." Which happens 40 days into a pregnancy for male fetuses and 80 for females. Even more fascinating is that the current law included IUDs and any type of birth control pills that prevent implantation and/or stimulate uterine contractions to reject a fertilized egg under the definition of abortion. If the various surveys concerning birth control use and Catholics are close to accurate, there are a lot of excommunicates going to church (and tithing).

Anyway, I agree with the Kentucky person. The Catholic Diocese newspaper that we receive in Virginia always has at least one article on abortion or letter to the editor. In the past two years that I've read it, there was one letter supporting abortion rights/birth control for impoverished families. That letter in turn sparked several against it.

As for why non-Catholics should care...that's like saying Democrats should not care about what the Republicans are advocating since we don't belong to their party. The Church is massively involved in promoting legislation, motivating their voters and funneling monies towards their preferred candidates. Those votes and dollars affect each and every one of us, Catholic or not.

Women have been using back to back monthly pill/patch/ring prescriptions for a while now. Lots of doctors encourage this practice if you have heavy or painful periods or when your period falls during a vacation (especially in the case of honeymoon!). My doctor is very good about making sure I have enough patch packets on my prescription to do this. It is definitely annoying to have to deal with the insurance companies that only want to allow you 12 packets per calendar year. My insurer couldn't get it through their head that a person could lose a pack or have a pill fall down the drain. My personal experience is that it is easier to be "faithful" to my birth control if I take it continuously and alway make sure I have at least 2 months on hand.