1: A thought for today
“A most important means of acquiring interior mildness is to accustom ourselves to perform all our actions and to speak all our words, whether important or not, quietly and gently. Multiply these acts as much as you can in the time of tranquility, and so you will accustom your heart to gentleness.”
St. Francis de Sales, A Year with the Saints (from today’s Mary Vitamin)
2: Keeping an eye on Joseph
Next week, come barking preschoolers or creamless coffee, I will share my thoughts about a phenomenal book that I can’t wait to reread, Go to Joseph, by Fr. Richard Gilsdorf. I couldn’t put it down, and it made me feel such a conviction — dare I call it a “call”? — to write about Joseph, to read more about Joseph, to deepen my devotion to a saint who has long been a favorite of mine.
3: The Twitter Conundrum
To post my tweets as daily updates here on the blog or not? It was annoying, at least to me as I puttered around on the back end of things, and so I stopped posting them and decided to try a weekly update. I bring it up here in case anyone has any great ideas for this sort of thing. There are a few people (ahem, the grandparents, for one!) who don’t read my Twitter or Facebook. Arguably, they’re not missing much. I put them back into the sidebar, but…but…that part of me that wants everything organized and tucked into one place protests. Your thoughts? (Am I over-thinking? Yes, I probably am.)
4: I can’t make this stuff up (a sampling of tweets)
- 5yo to me: “Watch out! [2yo] is going to act sick so she can ride in an ambliance.” (“Ambliance” ride a few weeks ago made an impact!)
- Wait a minute! You mean it’s NOT normal to have ketchup (only ketchup) for breakfast? My kids DO NOT know this.
- The past month’s stress melts away in the warm breath of a pony and the squealing giggles of my girls. 🙂
5: The Tolkien Professor
If you’re a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, then you should check out The Tolkien Professor, a podcast that is, in a word, AMAZING. It’s done by Professor Corey Olsen, a tenure-track professor in the English Department of Washington College, where he teaches courses on Chaucer, courtly love, Arthurian literature, the Bible, Greco-Roman mythology, and a full-semester course on the works of Tolkien. It’s well-done in terms of audio quality and the content is both easy to listen to and thought-provoking. I’m still at the very early beginning of the series, but this is completely worth downloading all the way back to the beginning.
6: My introduction to texting
When my 12-year-old niece Ree was here last week (was it only last week?), we found out that we both have texting. She has unlimited texting; I do not. (But she could be the reason I invest in it.) Since she’s gone home, we’ve texted every day.
In the past, I’ve always been annoyed by texting. In the last week, I have realized that I was just approaching it wrong. Texting with Ree has been fun. My goal: to make her really laugh out loud.
(A rant about the overuse and abuse of LOL as a substitution for “uh huh” in the English lexicon will be forthcoming, be warned!)
I love how I can send her a little message — one she gets pretty immediately — to let her know that I love her, to share a thought (yesterday: “Scientists assert that wasps are useful. I disagree.”), to let her know in real time (without the investment of a phone call, where she’d just stay silent anyway) that I’m thinking of her.
This morning, I woke up to a goodnight text from her. It made my day.
7: TWO giveaways of some of my favorite books
Regina Doman’s Fairy Tale Novels are some of my favorite books. I do not say that lightly. Here’s your chance to own them…TWO chances. At CatholicMom.com, we’re giving away one each of the four books to four winners. At Faith & Family Live, we’re giving away three complete sets to three winners. So go. Enter. And please add the family to your prayer intentions. These giveaways are inspired by a desire to help raise awareness for the family.
You’ll find the full collection of Quick Takes over at Conversion Diary.
I do not text, but it is sweet to hear how you stay so closely involved with your neice via texting.
yes I still tweet my post but a weekly update would be good idea
Oh my gosh, I would have scoffed at the very idea a few years ago, but I am an absolute textaholic, guilty even of simultexting several times a day at times. It’s the best thing ever invented I think for keeping track of teenagers and grown children. Quick, easy, no time obligation, technologically appealing to kids today… Not a substitute for real communication, and it can be a social annoyance sometimes, but, still, when the kids aren’t at home much any more, it’s invaluable for staying in touch.