7 Quick Takes, Volume 43

Welcome to Lent!

1. We woke up on President's Day to a dusting of snow that melted quickly. I ran out and snapped some photos before it all disappeared.




2. That afternoon we decided to get everyone out of the house and go for a walk along a biking/jogging trail that runs through our town. The snow was gone, but a winter chill remained.

(It's never too cold for ice cream!)

3. A few links you might be interested in:

I ran across this National Catholic Register piece the other day and laughed my head off. If you have boys, you will too.

Earlier this week I updated Cooking Nick's Books with my newly-created Turkey Macaroni and Cheese recipe. Check it out!

Our old friend Father Joe Jenkins (who married us here, and baptized Larry here) has been blogging like crazy these last few days. His latest post is a wonderful reminder that no matter how often we make mistakes, no matter how defective we might seem, no matter how we think the world sees us, we are children of God and He loves us infinitely. I need to remember this on those days when I'm feeling particularly down on myself.

(I want to take a pilgrimage to Father Joe's church. It's high time for another "Get Thee To The Church" post.)

4. An article popped up on Yahoo the other day about Levi's and their new ad campaign. Their new slogan, apparently, is "Hotness comes in all shapes and sizes." Naturally people are outraged--but not about the slogan. Their ads feature women who are all stick-thin, and people are up in arms because they don't show "all shapes and sizes" like the slogan says.

No one seems to be complaining about the "Hotness" part. Don't tell me that women aren't seen as sex objects in our society. Where is the outrage from NOW, an organization that supposedly speaks for the rights of women? They're silent, as is NARAL and Planned Parenthood, because when women are constantly told they should be "hot," and when men are encouraged to see them that way, the consequences naturally will be in their favor.

What do you think, readers? Are you more bothered by the fact that Levi's is only featuring skinny women in their ads, or that they say we ought to be "hot?"

5. Curly had a follow-up x-ray today, and his arm is healing nicely. He'll have two more weeks in the long-arm cast, and then he'll graduate to a shorter one.

I'm surprised at how little he's complained about it, and how well he's adapting to life with one arm. I know he'll be happy to regain some use of it, though! (He did say he's looking forward to playing the guitar again! I'm looking forward to that too. I miss hearing it.)

6. I miss having babies. There, I said it. I miss hearing the little noises they make when they're newborns, I miss feeling their soft breath against my cheek. I miss their toothless smiles.

Joe says we're too old; I say not yet, but it won't be long before we are. He asks me, do you miss changing diapers? Do you miss getting up every two hours night after night? Do you miss cleaning up puke and diaper blowouts? Well, no, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

(Larry wasn't too excited about Moe's arrival, but Curly sure was.)

Every few months I convince myself that I'm pregnant. All kinds of mixed-up thoughts go racing through my head. Maybe we ARE too old. How will Joe feel about this? Will the boys be excited? How much will college tuition be for this one? It's scary and exciting at the same time. When I turn out not to be pregnant I'm slightly disappointed and slightly relieved; and I feel silly for even thinking that I might be.

Moe, our youngest, is eleven. He still comes to us at night for a goodnight hug before bed. His voice still hasn't started to change. I let him Punchbuggy me in the car because his brothers get annoyed when he does it to them. It makes me sad to know that pretty soon he'll go to bed without a goodnight hug, and if I Punchbuggy him he'll get annoyed with me.

Am I normal?

7. It's Day 3 of No Facebook, No Twitter. When I said good-night to my Facebook friends on Tuesday, I was surprised to feel a wave of sadness. All kinds of people responded to my last post; wishing me well, telling me they'd miss me, reminding me that on Sundays I was allowed to break my Lenten fast and maybe I could pop in then? I wanted to respond back to them, but I resisted the temptation. A friend asked me today if I was having Facebook withdrawal, and I said no. It's easier than I thought. But I'm looking forward to Easter when I can say hello to my friends again!

Obviously I can't bring myself to quit blogging. Not this year.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary! Have a great weekend!

7 Quick Takes, Volume 42

ONE

We've had a pretty eventful couple of weeks here. Last week Curly did this to his arm,

playing a game called "Balance Beam Dodge Ball."

Now he's sporting a green cast that reaches past his elbow, and is trying to do everything one-handed. I've gotta hand it to him; he's coping very well, learning to write with his left hand and even insisting on tying his own shoes and buttoning his own shirt. He sure is a trooper.

TWO

Last weekend Moe decided he wanted to spend some of his allowance on an air-soft gun, so Joe drove him to Wal Mart and bought him one. He and Curly have been spending much of their free time shooting cans and paper targets and seeing how many times they can make the little plastic BB's skip on the lake.

Much more fun than video games, don't you think?

(Curly, the one-armed bandit...)

THREE

I posted this on Cooking Nick's Books a while back, my second ever attempt at cooking lamb. I will have to say that it was amazingly delicious, despite my fears that it would be a disaster. I hope you'll head on over and check it out!

I'm hoping to put up one or two more posts there between now and Ash Wednesday, before I give up social networking for Lent, so stay tuned!

FOUR

I've been torturing myself these last couple of weeks, growing more and more angry and frustrated and upset. Every time I read anything related to Obama's health care mandate, I become more and more convinced that Our Dear Leader is a deceptive, coercive, backstabbing, two-faced, lying jerk who is willing to do anything, anything, to get re-elected, including throwing the first amendment out the window and picking a fight with the Catholic Church. He paints himself as a Christian, and I'm not one to judge a person's heart, but in this case? He's either lying or deceiving himself. He listened to the devil and fell for it. The same can be said for Kathleen Sebelius, who has said "F*** You" to her own Catholic faith and decided that SHE knows what's best for America, and whoever disagrees can go jump in a lake.

And anyone who believes the lies spouted by Obama and Sebelius and Pelosi and Planned Parenthood that women have the RIGHT to free contraception and sterilization and that all those religious right-wing nutjobs are just trying to take away your birth control pills, needs to wake up and smell the Kool-Aid. This isn't about women's health. It's about government leaders deciding they're more important than God, and to hell with that inconvenient first amendment. (And that little tweak they announced, the one that said religious organizations would not have to directly pay for contraception and sterilization, but the insurance company would? It's crap. It doesn't change a thing.)

FIVE

Now that I have that off my chest, I need to make one thing clear. I judge no one for the personal choices you make. (And right now I am not willing to share the details of my own sex life and the choices my husband and I make; you can make any presumptions that you wish, but I'm not going there, sorry). Whether you use birth control or not, whether you've had your tubes tied, even whether or not you've had any abortions is none of my business. But the fact is that the Catholic Church has always condemned the use of birth control and sterilization, because the Church teaches that God made both men and women in order for them to marry each other, have sex, and bear children. Sex is a gift that God gave us to enjoy with the one who we marry, and any attempt to separate that act from its intended end (procreation) is considered morally wrong. Whether I agree or disagree with that teaching is irrelevant. If I work for an organization or a company that does not offer a health insurance plan that covers contraception, and I want to be on the Pill, I can either: a. pay for it myself; b. buy another insurance plan that covers it; or c. find a job somewhere else. That is the way it has always been, ever since contraception became widely available. Employers and insurance companies could decide whether or not to cover it. Now the Powers That Be have decided that it MUST be covered, even if your religion condemns it. THAT is what I have a problem with.

(Oh, and please go here and sign the petition to have the mandate rescinded.)

SIX

The other day I went for another little hunt for a geocache. Can you see it?

The weather was lovely, so I took a little stroll through a churchyard nearby.

Want to learn more about geocaching? Visit geocaching.com for more. Nowadays it's easier than ever, because you can do it right from your smart phone.

SEVEN

I'm giving up social networking for Lent; specifically Twitter and Facebook. I'm not sure about blogging; right now I'm thinking I'll probably refrain from reading blogs, maybe allowing myself to post once in a while on a Sunday. We'll see. Anyhow, if anything it should keep me from reading so many articles online about our screwed-up government and their crazy mandates, and allow me to focus on other things--like my own relationship with Jesus. I think it will be very refreshing!

For more Quick Takes, visit Hallie Lord's blog, who is guest-hosting for Jen this week.

Y'all Just Might Be Geeks (and a special prayer request!)

This morning it was announced in church that our pastor, Father Rooney, is in the hospital recovering from emergency surgery. Please keep Father in your thoughts, and pray that he has a speedy recovery. Thanks!

Now, on with the blog post.

Ahem.

If you take your seventh grader to a sleepover, and his friend opens the door and asks, "What is your name? What is your quest? What is your favorite color?" in a squeaky voice, and you think that's hilarious, you just might be a geek.

If every time you watch a television show or a movie and the hero is suddenly pursued by villains, you have a tendency to yell, "REAVERS!!!" you just might be a geek.

If your twelve-year-old actually enjoys talking with you about politics, you just might be a geek.

If your entire dinner conversation consists of quotes from O Brother Where Art Thou, you just might be a geek.

If your family has repeated debates about the correct order in which to watch the six Star Wars films, you just might be a geek. (Ditto for which order one must read the Narnia books.)

If you find yourself with a few extra minutes to spare, and you decide to go hunt for a geocache before you pick up the kids from school, you just might be a geek.

If your favorite thing to do as a family on a Friday night is watch repeats of Monty Python's Flying Circus or Star Trek, you just might be a geek.

If you chose the book you're currently reading because you read on a blog that it was the inspiration for Firefly, you just might be a geek.

If you have frequent conversations about which Star Trek series you think is the best, you just might be a geek.

If you're seriously considering reviving your Doctor Who habit after more than twenty years because your teenager insists you'd love it, you just might be a geek.

(For the record, Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope should be watched FIRST and Revenge of the Sith should be watched LAST. So there. Oh, and even though The Magician's Nephew is chronologically the first book in The Chronicles of Narnia, you should read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first. My all-time favorite Star Trek series? Voyager.)

The article about blogs that I interviewed for is out! Click here to see it. And welcome to new readers who found this site through our diocesan newspaper! Follow me, pretty please?