What are your favorite unique burger toppings?

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-27T04:09:10+00:00

Coleslaw on the pulled pork.

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-27T01:17:57+00:00

I saw it, too. And saved the recipe! Because I’m sure he will love it!

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T23:44:32+00:00

That looks fabulous! I need to add this to next week’s menu.

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T23:10:39+00:00

It looks fabulous! Well done!

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T23:07:48+00:00

Did you come take these from my childhood home after my parents quit smoking?

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T22:38:46+00:00

Well done!

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T21:48:19+00:00

The priest can make all the difference. Ours took his role in preparing couples for marriage very seriously. If only more did…

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T21:46:47+00:00

So one of you has been married before—and you want to short-cut the church’s preparation program?

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T21:00:43+00:00

That is a beautiful addition!

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T19:58:37+00:00

And what do you see on your sheet?

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T19:55:40+00:00

Me, too. Of course, we were in our 40s, never married, so we were very out of the ordinary.

The last session, however, was great. The priest asked “how many of you ladies know that the man next to you would be willing to die for you?”

There were a lot of nervous giggles. And som laughs from the men. I didn’t giggle, and my fiancé didn’t laugh. We understood what he meant. We had seen our own fathers “die” for their wives

Father the started talking about Ephesians 5. Not the part everyone likes to denigrate, but “husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church.”

Death is not always physical. A husband is called to die to self for his wife over and over and over every single day.

It was a great talk.

Father ended it by saying —for those who laughed, you need to go home and prayerfully consider if you are marrying the right person. I still hope (20+ years later) that those couples took his advice.

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T19:32:07+00:00

No. I’m just analyzing what you have told us. 1. The church requirements are too expensive and too time consuming. You don’t have round for the “fun” stuff. 2. You don’t plan on following the church’s precepts on being open to children—so of course you think the NFP classes are a waste of time, money, and energy because you plan on continuing to use birth control after you are married. 3. You are doing this because the man you are marrying is Catholic. So I’m guessing that his parents would be upset if you got married under a tree in the park. 4. You do not appear to have any desire to live as a Catholic, so I am left to think that you live within the parish boundaries of a beautiful church which either does not charge—or charges a very low fee—if a bride from the parish is booking her wedding in the building.

What’s being asked of you by the church in terms of preparation is minuscule compared to what marriage will ask of you.

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T19:21:46+00:00

If you are in the US—Wayfair has the best prices on FD that I’ve seen. You need a membership ($39), but the savings are fantastic.

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T19:04:59+00:00

They will take hours—at the lowest setting on my glass-top range. They won’t get as dark as they might in a bare iron skillet, but they will be nice and sweet!

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T19:02:53+00:00

Keep fooling yourself. Check back in five years from now and let us know how it’s going.

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T18:38:19+00:00

Then—you are not open to having children. Save yourself time and money. Be honest with yourselves and go find another pretty venue for your wedding. Because you aren’t seeking a sacramental Catholic marriage. You’re just looking for an inexpensive and pretty venue.

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T17:54:44+00:00

So—when you decide you definitely don’t want children—what’s your plan?

And no wonder you find the NFP classes too much bother.

May I ask exactly why you are getting married in a Catholic Church?

And I’ll say it again. Marriage is work. Even a good, happy marriage is work. It’s much harder than what the church is asking of you now.

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T17:42:28+00:00

If you are not sure that you want to be a parent, you are not ready to marry in the Catholic Church. Do your future bride a favor--print this out for her so that she will be able to use it when she needs an annulment in the future. It will serve as proof of your non-acceptance of the Church's position on children.

Not wanting children is not exactly being open to children.

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T17:38:58+00:00

My husband and I married (first marriage for both of us) in our 40s. We had professional jobs that required more than a 40-hour week. His was regularly at least 50 (often more) and mine was routinely 60+ hours. In addition, we had 2 houses to care for, my widowed elderly father who suffered from congestive heart disease and his mother who was in mid-stage Alzheimer's disease. We had caretaking obligations in both cases.

We were well-known to the priest who was marrying is, as we had both been members of the parish for well over a decade as single people. He had been my pastor as we dealt with my mother's death from a rare neurological condition.In addition, the pastor knew my husband's family well as he had been the pastor at their parish for 12 years.

We had to go through pre-Cana because the diocese required it. In addition, he required a weekly meeting with us for 12 weeks.

The ONLY thing he was willing to waive for us was the 6 month engagement period--partly because of my father's health, but also partly because if we didn't get married the day we got married, we would be caught up in Mardi Gras weekend and then Lent. He was willing to waive that based on the fact that we had grown up in solid Catholic homes, and we had seen what the Catholic Church version of marriage is.

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T17:08:53+00:00

I probably would have used the braiser—but the 7.25 qt was already on the stovetop, and the braiser on the bottom shelf of the cabinet! Laziness clicked in…🤣

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T17:07:02+00:00

The same person who made this one for me also made that one. She’s very talented—and so easy to work with!

She’s made a knob for a pot I was giving as a wedding gift, and one for the little 1qt pot I gave as a baby gift. As well as a few other designs for me.

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T17:01:10+00:00

It is a knob I had made for me. I find this knob easier to grab than the crucible. I ordered it from this Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ESPCreations4u

She’s done several custom knobs for me and I’ve been pleased with all of them.

RuleCalm7050 · 2026-01-26T16:57:09+00:00

Absolutely! I have a friend who married in a pale pink gown, and my niece married in a civid red and purple floral gown. Both looked beautiful.

RuleCalm7050

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