1.) Haven't done 7 Quick Takes in awhile, but I'm resurrecting it today. Does that count as one? Not sure. We'll pretend that it does. :)
2.) Lately I've been reading a bit about the Catholic Land Movement. Have you heard of this? The idea (which is nothing new and has its roots in distributism) is a return to an agrarian, rural lifestyle, and it is all kinds of fascinating. Yesterday I started GK Chesterton's The Outline of Sanity, which is predictably brilliant and insightful. And while I have no desire to actually do any real farming (like, ever), Kevin and I have talked for awhile about moving out of the city and finding a home on a couple of acres. There is really a lot of theological signficance to the concept of the land, and having grown up in a rural community it's always held an attraction for me. But really I'm just a hack, because I have no intention of growing/raising any food. Shhhhh.
3.) My kids have not had their weekly school-for-homeschooled-kids in a couple of weeks, and can I just say that it has been incredibly peaceful having that break? It's only one day a week, but for some reason it has been feeling intrusive on our routine. This is the first year it's felt that way, maybe in part because as my kids are getting older, we have more to do at home. And we're also quite involved at our parish. So all of that to say I'm honestly not sure if we'll continue with it after this year, and going off the grid completely is sounding better and better.
4.) Advent starts this Sunday. It's funny because in the Protestant churches I've belonged to, we observed Advent by lighting the standard candles and acknowleding the season. But nobody ever really talked about what the season means, and how it's a season of--wait for it--penance. The p-word. Which is odd. (The random selection of traditions kept by Protestants vs. the ones rejected is generally odd, in my opinion.) At any rate, I do love this liturgical time of waiting and expectation, and of preparing our hearts to receive Jesus at Christmas.
5.) In spite of the fact that Advent is only just beginning, we put up our Christmas tree. (I know. Old habits die hard.) Anyway, it's a fake, pre-lit tree, and this year the lights at the top aren't working. And I haven't fixed them yet, so it looks downright ridiculous. Grrrrrr. Maybe that's my punishment for putting up a Christmas tree weeks before Christmas.
6.) I'm so excited because my blog redesign should be done by January! Hooray! If you're interested in giving your blog a facelift, please consider using Sour Apple Studio. Lindsey was my roommate in college, and does great work!
7.) We watched the documentary Forks Over Knives recently and I've been inspired to be more diligent about serving vegetables to my kids. Who love veggies, which makes it easy. We're not going vegan or anything but good grief, statistically-speaking, the average American diet is horrible. Who is eating that much meat, processed food and soda? Sheesh! Trust me when I say I'm no purist, but really, it's gross. We eat at home each night and in spite of the occasional fast-food for convenience's sake, we eat fairly healthy. My kids have oatmeal for breakfast every.single.morning., sweetened with a little honey and cinnamon. It's typically PB&J (on whole-wheat bread, with natural peanut butter and organic non-HFCS jelly) for lunch, and then whatever we're having for dinner. I figure if we aim for healthy eating most of the time, I won't feel bad for the occasional corn dog or mac and cheese. (Which I don't. Kids need to be kids, too!)
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Thanks to Jen, who incidentally now has her own reality show, at Conversion Diary for hosting!
