7 Quick Takes — On the Road Again

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7 Quick Takes

–1–

This is our first serious “travel” time since my sister-in-law’s wedding in April. We had a church thing in Lebec and my father-in-law’s 60th birthday celebration is this Saturday. This means… ROAD TRIP!

–2–

We had an uneventful drive down to Lebec. It’s south of Bakersfield on I-5 and about 5 hours from where we live in northern California. I got two books read: All the Pretty Little Hearses by Mary Daheim and Stealing Lumby by Gail Fraser. I find that having reading material (if I’m not driving) makes the trip go faster (a good thing because I hate road trips).

–3–

Our hotel room in Lebec was awesome. We were staying at the Holiday Inn Express and had a beautiful and spacious room with a decently-sized bathroom. Considering that Daniel and I spent most of our time in there, this was definitely a good thing. Daniel loved all the drawers and having a mini-fridge to play with. He also had long corridors where he could crawl or practice walking.

–4–

Three hours of NCIS on Tuesday night = a happy Jen. Finding a marathon of NCIS on USA yesterday = ecstasy. It’s probably good that we don’t have cable at home — I think I’d be permanently attached to the recliner.

–5–

Daniel will soon have an REI wishlist for climbing things. We found out that he could climb out of his crib twice last night — once onto the desk where he was trying to have a conversation with the front desk (or ordering room service on the phone) and then onto the TV table where he was blocking the TV. His crib got moved in such a way that there was no surfaces for 5 feet in any direction.

–6–

We had an easy time driving down to Claremont. It’s strange coming back down here after living down here for a year and then moving. it’s surreal. Thankfully, we avoided rush hour getting there. I made it through most of a book and am wondering how it ends.

–7–

I’m hoping for a good party on Sunday. I’ve offered my services to my mother-in-law to take her to Trader Joe’s. My father-in-law was doing OK when we got there today and got to hang with Daniel. It should be a great gathering on Saturday though it’s going to be a long drive back that night. I need to invest in a flashlight or something so I can read on the way back.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: August 29, 2011

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY August 29, 2011

Outside my window… dark — it’s almost 2200. It’s nice and cool outside — it would be nice if that was the daytime temperature.

I am thinking… that there is going to be a cat-shaped dent in the wall if Mr. Fluffybutt goes after my M&M’s.

I am thankful… to have laundry done even this late.

In the kitchen… packing up food for tomorrow’s drive.

I am wearing… light grey shirt and blue running shorts.

I am creating… possibly an entry for Project 2996.

I am going… to be gone for 5 days.

I am wondering… how quickly I can pack the car tomorrow.

I am reading… All the Pretty Little Hearses by Mary Daheim.

I am hoping… the motel in Lebec has laundry facilities.

I am looking forward to… seeing family down south.

I am hearing… the A/C and the 10:00 news.

Around the house… cleaning binge tomorrow morning…

One of my favorite things… kalmata olives and feta cheese.

A few plans for the rest of the week… church conference in Frazier Park, time with in-laws, and my father-in-law’s 60th birthday party.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

Blogging Etiquette

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I’ve had someone follow me from another blog and comment on an entry in an aggressive fashion. The offender got his comment deleted and I went into my domain dashboard and I.P. banned him. This is totally annoying to have to do so I thought I should lay out some rules of blogging etiquette.

01.) Don’t use someone else’s blog as your bully pulpit. If you have something to say that you feel needs to be expressed that strongly, GET YOUR OWN FREAKING BLOG.

02.) If you don’t like what someone has to say, suck it up. I’ve disagreed with a number of things that people have to say on their blogs. Given the diversity of blogs I read, I could probably get offended by at least half of them on a given day. However, life is too short to hold grudges so I just suck it up.

03.) If you absolutely MUST speak up, do it gracefully. If the issue is so grievous that you just have to speak up, do so gracefully and respectfully. We can all agree to disagree and maybe what you have to say will give the blogger something to think about.

04.) No chasing commenters. Do not chase someone from a blog where they leave a comment to their own blog to chastise them. It’s rude, will cause your comment to be deleted, and will cause you to be I.P. banned.

05.) Brevity is best in comments. Long comments get sent to my moderation queue on WordPress so any response over a few paragraphs long is going to not post because the program views it as spam. Be brief — save the long diatribes for your own blog.

06.) If you’re just too tempted to rip a blogger a new one, it probably means that you’ve been online too long and need a hobby. I recommend knitting, crocheting, chainsaw juggling, or cake decorating.

Just a few thoughts.

7 Quick Takes — Things Not to Say

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7 Quick Takes

I’m going to do something different and record my Quick Takes as a sound file. If you want to skip listening to the file (which isn’t going to randomly start playing unless you hit the play button), just click on the word “more…” and it will take you below the cut where you can read the transcript.

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The Reality of Being A “Priest’s Wife”

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My favorite preoteasa posted her thoughts on being a priest’s wife and had some fisking to do of a comment to this article. The comment read:

I once went to a talk given by a married priest who was refreshingly honest. He said that he doesn’t work on weekends or after 8PM. If you call his house after that time you better be almost dead because his wife will be mad.

Uh… no. The “refreshingly honest” married priest was either lying or the commenter was. I can’t think of any pastor’s wives (or pastor’s husbands or priest’s wives) who would be mad if someone called after 8 p.m. That’s considered fair-game! If someone calls at 3 a.m. and it’s not an emergency, that’s a different story. If someone calls on Jon’s day off (the existence of which is mandated by the denomination AND the congregation) and it’s not an emergency, I’ll generally tell them that he’s unavailable and will call them back later. (We had someone who did this weekly in Montana. We just screened calls on that day.) In both of those cases, I will move heaven and earth to get in touch with Jon if it’s an emergency.

Another comment with which I took umbrage was:

I think the priest is just acknowledging the obvious: if a priest has a wife and children, he cannot give priority to his priestly ministry; it must, naturally, come behind his duty as a husband and father. It is self-evident.

No, it isn’t self-evident. He can give priority to his priestly ministry while also honoring his commitments to his family. I can’t think of anyone who married a priest or pastor who didn’t know that their spouse would have evening meetings or have to be at church an hour before worship on Sunday. I can’t think of any of my clergy spouse colleagues who bats an eyelash when their spouse gets a phone call, tosses on clericals, and runs out the door. Does it impact our lives? Yeah, but it’s not like it’s a surprise. I also can’t think of any parish who doesn’t give their priest/pastor a day off. Jon’s is Friday and we do family stuff that day and also on Saturday if there isn’t something that comes up. If it’s important enough, you make it work.

The issue behind all of this is priests being married in the Latin rite of the Catholic church. I know for my preoteasa friend, this is an issue that is frustrating because she, like, has a husband who is a priest (Eastern rite) and they make it work. I think that it’s one of those things that will be allowed to happen in the West on a case-by-case basis and isn’t going to be a sweeping change that happens all at once. I can’t imagine that priests currently serving would be amenable (well… some might be) to marrying and parishes would have to get used to “sharing” their priest with someone else. (We clergy spouses are nice about sharing though… most of the time.)

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: August 22, 2011

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY

Outside my window… sunny and I think in the high 80’s.

I am thinking… about the phone calls I need to make once my “boys” wake up from their naps.

I am thankful… that I got Daniel to sleep by rubbing his legs and tummy. (There are times when little bears just need a tummy rub from Mommy.)

In the kitchen… cookies on Wednesday.

I am wearing… black Arabic t-shirt and black shorts.

I am creating… this entry and plotting a few others.

I am going… nowhere any time today if I can help it.

I am wondering… who will win the POV on Wednesday on Big Brother and if I’ll get to watch it.

I am reading… A Blue and Grey Christmas by Joan Medlicott.

I am hoping… I get some naptime as well.

I am looking forward to… sleeping in and my massage on Friday.

I am hearing… Edda mewing at me because she wants my lap.

Around the house… laundry today.

One of my favorite things… a quiet house.

A few plans for the rest of the week… speech tomorrow, PT and cookies on Wednesday, Daniel’s opthamology appointment and farmer’s market on Thursday, massage on Friday.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing… The sign by our door.

The sign by our door.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes — Things That Annoy Me on Other Blogs

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7 Quick Takes

Granted, I’m in a bit of a foul mood because I have to go in for a venous doppler ultrasound on my leg to check for a clot tomorrow morning. (Update: no clot!) However, I surf through a number of blogs here and on The Simple Woman’s Daybook each week and there seems to be some common threads about what irritates me each week.

–1–

Music players. Usually, I’m reading blogs after Daniel goes to bed, when he’s napping, or when I’m listening to podcasts so a blast of music tends to be ill-timed. They make the blogs load slower and frequently, it’s not even music I *like*. If I want to be listening to “Stronger” by Mandisa (which is on my list of favorite things right after having my fingernails removed with pliers), I’ll have it playing on iTunes.

–2–

Politically or spiritually-motivated counters. Yes, I’m fully aware that since I opened your blog, 123 babies have been aborted. (Actually, I highly doubt the validity of that number given the small number of doctors actually *trained* to perform abortions and the fact that not all Planned Parenthood clinic actually provide the procedure; but that isn’t the issue here.) I’m also aware that the national debt has gone up $1.3 billion dollars in the last hour and that you are of the opinion that 56 people have ended up in Hell. The problem is… I. DON’T. CARE. If I’m on your blog in the first place, it’s probably because I want to see what you have to say in that particular entry or what your Quick Takes are this week, not because I care about your opinions on the abortion issue, the economic status of this country, or your opinions on the salvation of others. And seriously… if I’m coming to your blog from ConversionDiary.Com or The Simple Woman’s Daybook, I probably agree with your pro-life stance or that Jesus is the Way, rendering your counter irrelevant. (Note: I am pro-life so do not leave me angry comments about how I should care more about the pro-life movement. Such comments will be deleted and you will be I.P. banned.)

–3–

Kitsch. It’s great that you have the Miss Sunshine Award, an adopted leopluridon from the Charley the Unicorn Site, and are a member of the Christian Cheerful Sisterhood. However, that schlock is making your sidebar look nasty and it’s contributing to the load time of your blog. Blogger allows you to make “about me” pages. Put all your affiliations and awards there. (Not objecting to a few well-placed images here — it’s the clutter that irritates me.)

–4–

Badly re-sized images. It annoys my inner balance when I see pictures on the sidebar that are obviously not re-sized correctly and are sticking off. It can also obscure the text and detract from your message (if you have one). There’s a great program called Irfanview that you can download for free here. I recommend it. This also goes for images in the main part of your blog.

–5–

LOL Speak. OMG ur blog lookz teh stupidz when u type liek dis. U R not 5teen. Speakz English plz.

–6–

“My Blogs List” on Blogspot sites. The long column of links with the last posting date is dumb and I do realize that it’s a Blogger issue. Still, would it be too hard to have a nice and simple list of links? I don’t care if they’re alphabetical or by type.

–7–

Country theme. It’s way too overdone not to mention that most people tend to overdo it on the kitsch factor. My idea of country simplicity is a white background with a picture of a farm or a window view of gingham curtains. Besides, the country theme is now “urban” because of all the people doing it.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.