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Friday, August 30, 2013

Seven Quick Takes (11)

1. I am writing this post in a new (to me) blogging software called Windows Live Writer, thanks to a recommendation from Sheena. (Sorry for those of you who encountered a weird “test post” from me in your feeds … my husband accused me of spamming him. :-P) While so far it doesn’t strike me as amazingly better than writing the posts straight in Blogger (except for being more in control of the photos, which is a big deal!), I am glad to have a way to compose posts offline that doesn’t interact in weird ways with Blogger’s formatting. (That I know of  yet, at least. :) ) 

2. I missed the yarn along because I spent Wednesday out. It feels weird not to post about my knitting and reading! Bairn is finished except for … well, the finishing (weaving in ends, sewing the pieces together, adding the buttons). I also finished Sanditon last night—it was a quick read, since Jane Austen only wrote up to chapter 12 before she died.
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3. Normally I wouldn’t write much about the whole Miley Cyrus thing, but I have two thoughts. 1) You could have turned off the television. In fact, you really should have. But there is a sort of deliciousness to being disgusted, isn’t there? I watched ten seconds total of her “We Can’t Stop” music video a few months ago to see what the fuss was about, and you know what? That was stupid. So I’ve been avoiding that this time around, but I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been tempted to ask people/Google, so what all EXACTLY HAPPENED???? It is so easy to condemn her. But we are the consumers of her actions. 2) What about the grown man who participated in this? Why is no one making a fuss about him? It reminds me of all the posts about modesty that inevitably crop up every summer and yes, women, we are responsible for how we dress; but men, YOU are the ones responsible for how you think about women, and ONLY YOU. (Not what you see of women—that can’t be helped sometimes, and I am sorry—but how you respond. And I am not talking about walking around with your eyes on the ground so you don’t catch a glimpse of cleavage, but rather looking on all women as made in the image of God.)

4. Tonight we went to dinner at P.F. Chang’s and then spent a little time in Barnes & Noble. Michael LOVES that store. He waves his hand around expansively and declares “Gook!” (book). And they have a table for trains in the kids’ section. We hung out there for a bit and found this:


I only flipped through it briefly, so I can’t speak to quality of the story itself, but seriously. Downton Abbey + knitted mice? It’s almost as good as the needle-felted Pride and Prejudice characters! I would buy the book just to admire their clothes. I love creativity like this; it always inspires a mixture of admiration and jealousy in me.

5. The reason we went to P.F. Chang’s was because we had a gift card. I know that gift cards often get a bad rap as less personal gifts, but they’ve been a real blessing to us lately. Because of gift cards from various people, we were able to buy birthday presents for a friend (Barnes & Noble), a MUCH needed maternity belt plus some clothes for Michael and the twins this winter (Babies’R’Us), lunch at Panera for Michael and I on the trip to Babies’R’Us, and some clothes for Keith and (again, much needed) new pajamas for me.

6. Ah yes, the maternity belt. I bought it last week, and just in time; it’s this week I’ve found myself really needing it. As I near the end of the 2nd trimester (27 weeks today), my hips have started hurting, and this belly is simply getting ridiculously heavy. I really can’t imagine what it will be like in another few weeks. I wore the belt today when we went out to dinner, and took it off in the car before we decided to walk to Barnes & Noble, and oh man, could I feel the difference.

7. Last but not least … you are reading the blog of a new assistant editor at Dappled Things! I am beyond excited about this! For a lot of reasons. I love the magazine as a reader, a writer, and someone who cares about Catholicism and the arts; working with them has been a hope of mine for a while. And I have been itching to get involved in the literary community again. It is on all accounts wonderful, and I am very grateful.

(Ok, that last take was typed in the brief moments I managed to get anything done between instances where Michael came and shut my laptop and shouted “CLOSED!” so I think it’s time to finish up.)
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7 comments:

  1. Hi! I found you via 7 quick takes and was wondering..what is a maternity belt? I'm interested for my next baby (whenever that happens). If you don't mind sending me a note, I use wordpress and don't get to see replies on blogger.
    And also, gift cards are the best gifts. Especially for teachers. :)
    My blog is www.notesfromheidi.wordpress.com. I'd love for you to check it out! :)

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  2. Congratulations on the position! You'll have fun. Is it basically vetting submissions and proofreading, or do you have other responsibilities?

    Also, I'm waiting for the time when the media decides to NOT talk about something that was bad. Miley made a fool of herself? :crickets chirping: Then all the displays for attention will stop. The Internet, as far as I've noticed, is slowly cycling toward Robin Thicke's part in all of this. His PR team is smart, though, and not releasing a statement. Michael and I were just talking about this last night (being the only time we've discussed it).

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    1. Thank you! Yes, that will basically be what I do, plus participation in the comments etc when acceptances are sent out quarterly. However, they've also asked me to write reviews and the occasional blog post. Yay. :)

      Yeah ... I've noticed the media circling around to Robin Thicke too, and I hope that keeps up. Because really ... at least Miley has her youth as an excuse.

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    2. Ooh, that's cool. Do you have a set schedule for reviews? What kind are they looking for? Coal Hill Review provides the option for writing a blog post instead of a review, but it's so much harder to think of a blog post idea. If you get a selection of books (indie or commercial) to review, you'll be set for a few months and can breathe easy; you won't have to scramble to get a new review book every month. Perhaps something to think about when the twins arrive.

      Also, Miley is an adult. She's legally of age and has been for a while. I'm not saying this whole fiasco was all her fault. So many people went into the planning an execution of it. But if she wants to make a fool of herself, then the egg is on her face and youth has little to with it. I really wonder how much say her manager and PR team had in the matter, or if they approved it because of all the attention it would generate. "Bad press is good press" and all that... At least she's not a teenager anymore, and at least Robin just stood there instead of reciprocating. The whole thing was just... bad... but it could've been much worse.

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  3. Mouston Abbey! Too cute!!!

    I love gift cards. A lot. I think there are some people in the world who NEED to give and get thoughtful and personal gifts or else the purpose of the gift is lost on them. But for me? Thoughtful and personal IS a gift card!

    And congrats on the editor position! How awesome! My husband gets that magazine, although I've never picked up his copy - maybe I'll try it out!

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  4. never heard of a maternity belt...glad it works! Congrats on the position, that is wonderful news :)

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  5. This Windows Writer thing has me intrigued. I get pretty annoyed with the way Blogger deals with photos, and the fact that you can't really compose in any other program besides Blogger itself unless you want to deal with major formatting issues. Keep me posted about it!

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