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!