Taking a hiatus!

Hi all! I was doing so well keeping up with a post for every week in the liturgical year, but all good things inevitably come to an end. 😂 My life right now is just not conducive to weekly blogging. It's all good stuff, but with my son starting college in the fall and other needs of my family, and me having a new job within my academic library world, I'm at full capacity. We're all doing GREAT though, and continuing on in our Byzantine rite journey. I'll check back in with updates when I can!

A journey East as I explore the Byzantine rite this upcoming liturgical year...

         Morning Prayer with your multi-rite-loving Catholic Librarian            

All! 😀 It's been a little while, hasn't it?! I have indeed missed you, but I have to say that the break from blogging served me well. Being back to teaching in person again at my job, as well as performing in person again in my dance side gig, combined with the busy ages that my kids are at right now (so much chauffering after school, SO MUCH) meant that I not only had less time, but less mental bandwidth with which to focus on this blog. I was also unsure of the place of blogs in our modern social media culture, and thought that the time was right to pause, discern and re-evaluate. I was content to just leave it be until (or even if) I ever felt strongly compelled to pick it back up again. All things have their season, and this past Lent I felt that maybe my blogging season had come to it's natural end. 

But then something interesting happened. This spring, my kids and I decided to check out an Eastern rite Divine Liturgy as something different to explore in our family faith life. I was hoping to spark some semblance of interest within my utterly lukewarm preteen and teenaged children for their faith ("MOOOOOOOOMMMMMM, why do we have to go to church AGAIN?! Didn't we just go last week?!") For myself, a tried and true Cradle Catholic Nerd, I just wanted to experience a liturgy that I had never witnessed before. My good friend Allison and her family had recently become members of the Byzantine rite, so I figured we'd look there. Lo and behold, our area held two local Ukranian Catholic Churches that are part of the Byzantine rite, one of which was five minutes from our home.

(☝ this is an important point. We're attending an Eastern Catholic church, not an Eastern Orthodox one. I very much love and admire our Orthodox kin, but I'm staying Catholic, I promise!)

And, well. It's a long story, but God is moving in my heart, and both me (AND THE CHILDREN 🙌) are falling completely head over heals in love with the Byzantine rite and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostym. I cannot even fully articulate how much it has captivated me and brightened my entire journey of faith. It's like I feel an actual burning in my heart as I discover and learn more about it. I'm not entirely sure if this is something that will come and go in my spiritual life, or if I'm being led more permanently towards the Eastern lung of our faith, but refreshingly, I'm not worried about it one way or another. I figure, God will fill me in, right? Regardless of which one it is, something good is happening in our family's faith life. Having my kids curious and interested in attending church, and talking to me in the car about the Eastern traditions and liturgy we are experiencing, rather than grumpily getting pulled along with me, has been such a blessing to me.

Thus, while I was at liturgy a few weeks ago, the thought came to me:

"Maybe I would enjoy journaling this experience on my blog."

Whoa. I hadn't even really thought about this blog in five months, aside from the ongoing prayer threads over in our private Facebook group. In the Eastern tradition, the new liturgical year doesn't start with Advent, like it does in our Latin rite. It starts on September 1st. And it's... mid-August. That just seems like providentially good timing, does it not?

And so for the next liturgical year, I will be blogging weekly (or at least, trying my best to do so weekly!) with my journey as a Roman Catholic falling in love with the Byzantine rite. I don't know where this is headed, but I can never resist a good Year Doing The Thing story. For a full liturgical year, I will be exploring the Byzantine rite, and we'll see where it takes me. And my precious children, whose souls have been entrusted to me by the Father. As their only practicing Catholic parent (my adorable husband Mike is very, very supportive of all of this, but as you all know, he's not personally religious) it's been an uphill battle getting the children interested in their faith, especially beyond the glory years of saint stories and rosaries before bed. Anne is 11 now, and Henry is 16. They are evolving, slowly but surely, into young adults, and my job as their mother doing her best to raise them Catholic must evolve too. Importantly, I have realized that I must pay attention. Both to God's leading, and to their signals. With both of them so enthused about attending Divine Liturgy, I knew that this was a sign.

What I'd like to do each week is reflect upon our experience at Divine Liturgy that previous Sunday, and work our way through the entire Byzantine liturgical calendar, September to September. I'll sprinkle in what we're learning about Eastern traditions as I go. Before we get to that, next week I'll post a bit more about our initial experiences with attending Divine Liturgy for the very first time as Roman Catholics (like fish out of water, I tell you, making all manner of Western gestures 😂) and our falling in love with the traditions we have encountered so far. That isn't all that much, since we've only been attending Divine Liturgy weekly since the pastor at our home parish retired over Memorial Day weekend. There is SO MUCH GOOD STUFF TO COME. Our first Christmas (see, I'm already doing this wrong, they call it the Nativity of Our Lord in the Eastern tradition, I think!), experiencing all of the 12 Great Feasts, our first Great Lent and Pascha! 

😍😍😍

All. I literally cannot wait! We're settling into our new Byzantine rite church with weekly liturgy and enthusiastic invitations to the monthly parish coffee hour, and we're learning and feeling more at home each week. I am so excited to share it all with you. 🤗

Importantly, one of the reasons I'm coming back to blogging (at least for the next year) is that I'm not putting pressure on myself. This is a self-journey of exploration, and though I'm so grateful to share this with whoever wishes to accompany me along the way, I'm really doing it for myself, and for my kids. I almost certainly won't post on a consistent day of the week from week-to-week, and there may even be weeks where I can't post at all for unforeseeable reasons. But all I can say is that I feel excited and motivated to write again, and that this budding flame in my heart is giving my spirit life right now. I don't know how many people regularly read blogs anymore, but I figure it really doesn't matter. Everything happens for a reason. In the end, I'll have a chronicle of this part of my love affair with my faith to reflect back on, and for my children to reflect back on, perhaps at a future point in their lives during which they really need a life buoy back home to Christ and His Church. 

I'll see you all next week. We'll talk a bit about our experiences being new to the Divine Liturgy ("does that thing he's swingin' around have incense in it?!"), about lighting real beeswax candles (*whispers* "where do I put it? is that what the sand is for?!") and about crossing ourselves ("MOM. You missed 3 Signs of the Cross, keep up!!"). See you then!

Discerning the future of the blog...

"pink rose" by Barbara is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

Sooo, apparently for Lent I have given up posting on my blog. 😂 For quite some time now, I've been discerning how to move forward with my blog and/or whether to continue. Our landscape has changed so much technologically over the years, and people really aren't perusing the blogosphere the way they used to. I wonder to myself how relevant blogs are in our current world? In addition to that, between my job, my family, and my dancing projects, I haven't really had a lot of time to write. So that's what has been going on behind the scenes, if you will.

At the same time, I am still just as in love with my Catholic faith as ever, and I still feel that God is calling me to share it creatively in some fashion. I'm just figuring out exactly how. I've come to a place in my life wherein I know that I don't need to rush or push this, God will show me the path when He is ready for me to see it. So, I'm sure that something interesting is coming down the pike (have I told you about the new fascination I have with the Byzantine rite? No, I haven't, because I haven't had time to write a blog post, LOL! But there's some great fodder there!) and when I figure out what exactly God wants me to do, I will share it. In the meantime, I hope that everyone is having a beautiful and fruitful Lent!

This week, the mid-point of Lent, I'm challening myself to pray a Morning Offering each day. Do you have a favorite Morning Offering? Feel free to leave a link in the comments!

 

Quiet Advent joy, and some blog re-freshening for the New Year...

 

Happy 3rd Week of Advent everyone! (I know my photo is outdated, but I forgot to take one this week. :-0)  How is your Advent going?! Mine is going quietly well. We're busily Christmas shopping and prepping our holiday menu over here. Work is nice and quiet, both kids are doing great, and we're all looking forward to spending time with friends and family this year. The O Antiphons start today, and I'm so excited to bust out my breviary later to have some prayer time! I haven't kept up with morning and evening prayer as much as I would have liked, but I have prayed them on Sundays, plus I have kept up with the daily devotional I chose for this year. 

Over my holiday staycation, I'm also planning some lovely crafting time, lots of couch time with Barney curled up watching holiday baking shows while sipping coffee, and preparing for some upcoming dance shows! I'm very, very excited about all of this. :) Speaking of Barney, he is the focus of my December piece for Catholic Mom. ;-)

I've also been doing a bit of planning with regards to this blog. I've been finding myself forgetting about it some weeks, in the fray of teaching and parenthood, and contemplated whether that meant that the time had come for me to cease blogging. But I ultimately decided that although daily (or currently, weekly) posts are not necessarily in the cards for me at this point in time, I want this blog to continue on. 

I think what I'd like to do is plan some series in the new year, which is the type of thing that excites and inspires my creativity the most. It also keeps me accountable to not only posting with regularity, but to the spiritual goals we are trying to achieve together, a win/win! So I'm thinking: 

• New Year's Resolutions and Winter Ordinary Time.
• Lent. Book club perhaps?
• Summer with the Saints.
• Liturgy of the Hours. That could work for Lent, or perhaps Summer Ordinary Time. 😀

And in addition to that, I'll post when I feel inspired to share something, which is how I think blogging works best for both author and reader. Would you agree?

What are you looking for in a blog in this post-blogosphere universe? I still think blogs have their place for avid readers, but the landscape has definitely changed. Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Thoughts on moving forward...

So after the drama I caused last week ;-) I've been doing a lot of thinking and discerning about continuing to blog. I received some lovely feedback both in the comments on that post, and over in the Facebook group. To sum it up, people do still read my blog :-0 and enjoy it, though they understand that it takes time and effort, and sometimes you just don't have those things to give anymore. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that you all still enjoy the eclectic mix of topics that I write about, and I don't need to worry about that the way that I was.

My thoughts after weighing all of this is that the effort really isn't a problem - I still enjoy blogging. And time? Oftentimes, it is not an issue, but occasionally it is. The topic thing, well, this has always been a "life blog" wherein I write about whatever is on my heart that particular week, so we have family stuff, job issues, faith things, random funny happenings, and musings related to my hobbies (dance, fitness, crafting, reading). I still like writing about all of these things, and it seems you still enjoy reading about them and what each new week may bring.

So, in essence, I've decided to keep blogging.

It feels good to have made a decision about that, because it's been weighing on me for awhile. But with all things, I think it's good to refresh and recharge sometimes, and this is one of those times.

So this is the plan. At some point in the next year, I'll likely give the blog a fresh new look in terms of template and color scheme. I don't do that very often, and I'll wait to feel inspired. But I can tell that it's coming. In terms of timing of posts, I have been posting once per week, and I anticipate that continuing. There may be weeks where it doesn't happen due to my schedule or something unexpected coming up, and if that happens, I'm giving myself permission not to fret about it. I will post when I can, and I'm always very regular about that, so there's no need to pressure myself. It's more important to be able to sit down and enjoy the post, and write about what is making me inspired that week. I feel like that will give me a new sense of life with the blog.

I go in phases with themes in terms of what I write about, often related to the season, and I anticpate that also continuing to be the case. Right now, with it being wintry, I'm writing a lot about crafts. In fact, the piece I wrote for Catholic Mom this month about crocheting blankets in January has been my most commented on post over there! With Lent approaching, I'm sure spiritual reading, devotionals and liturgical good times are coming our way very soon.

What I'm feeling overall though, is that I'd like this blog to have a distinct wellness focus. Fitness is definitely something I've gotten more into this year, and I know I'll be writing about that coming up. But wellness encompasses emotional and spiritual well-being too, so I think it's a perfect fit for my little enterprise over here at Life of a Catholic Librarian. :)

Sooooo...that's pretty much it! Nothing is really changing, except I feel all rejuvenated, ha ha! I'm looking forward to giving the blog a slightly new look and exploring a fresh way of presenting my content. It's all good! So, you're stuck with me! :-0

I'm feeling a physical wellness post coming on (new fitness classes, accidental giant water bottles, and chalky protein shakes, can't wait!) so you can excitedly anticipate that late next week. ;-)

*beams*

What's on tap for you this weekend?

Is it time for a change?

So, I've been going through some stuff. Nothing serious, but I've been under some stress since this past fall. Mostly, it's related to my kids, and the anxiety I've been experiencing from the changes in their lives as they both get older. Having my son start high school has been the greatest crisis in my life as a parent since dealing with epic sleep deprivation, postpartum depression, and temper tantrums from the infant and toddler years. I'm prone to anxiety by nature, and this ramped it up to a degree that for the first time, I've sought out a licensed therapist to help me to cope with it all better. That's a good thing, and it's helping, and I'm grateful for that. Overall though, I've noticed something about myself: my sense of self is much more defined than it's ever been, and my perspectives have shifted a bit. That comes from age and experience, I suppose. But I'm much more aware now of the things and people in my life that I treasure, and simultaneously I'm also much more aware of my own mortality. My birthday is coming up next moth, and well, YOU KNOW. I'm pretty sure this is the very definition of a midlife crisis. :-0

I have this increased sense of carpe diem, like now is the time to really savor my relationships and experiences, and really challenge myself within the hobbies and avocations that I enjoy. That's all good stuff, what I worry about is this deeper sense within me of: "But what is it all for? What is the ultimate purpose of pursuing this?"

Now granted, some of those are easy. Spirituality-wise, I know what the goal is, and am always working on that. Check. Relationships are the same. We want loving, happy, healthy relationships for obvious reasons. But other stuff is tougher. Dancing is my greatest creative endeavor, and I'm definitely going through a Midlife Dance Crisis. ;-) What do I want from dance, ultimately? Am I achieving that? Honestly, I don't know.

The other thing is this blog. I've been writing here, and sharing with you, for a long time, over 10 years now. And...why am I doing it? I was struck recently that blogging isn't exactly the "in thing" anymore. I've always written because I enjoy it (same goes for dancing, truly), and that's reason enough, to be sure. But midlife crises involve DEEP PURPOSES, know what I'm sayin'? Some weeks it's a challenge to come up with an idea for a post. And our community is small (but mighty!) so I do wonder to myself if it's time to try something new. Is blogging really the best way to achieve my goal to write for enjoyment anymore?

Another reason that I started this blog was to share my faith. I still enjoy doing that quite a bit. I write for Catholic Mom on a monthly basis, and I have to admit that I love writing those pieces because it's only every 30 days. Each one feels like a fresh new opportunity to share something interesting about my faith life because it's been a whole month since I last penned one. I write multiple Gospel Reflections for them each year too, and adore working on those, because they really challenge me to dig into the scriptures and discern how they apply in my own life. I also love the Facebook group related to this blog that I manage. Our weekly prayer threads, posts on interesting Catholic gifts or stories, the novenas, LOVE that stuff. Because it's low key and spontaneous, and also because there's a fuller sense of community there. I also truly enjoyed writing my book in the scripture study series put together by my friend Allison, because I had the opportunity to collaborate with a duet of lovely women and really extend myself creatively in the process. So I share my faith in these other ways, and wish to continue doing so.

So what does this all mean in terms of this blog? I don't know, lol! I would love to hear from YOU. Do you still find it meaningful to follow this blog and read my posts on a regular basis? I write about an eclectic mix of topics: religious faith; crafts; family; fitness; belly dancing; books and podcasts; random weird stuff that happens to me. I mean...:-0 What do you think?!

I don't really have any notion of alternatives. Perhaps a change of style, in which this were a website with a blog feature that I update when inspired? A website that is curated with ways to easily navigate into posts on the varied topics that I tend to write about?

I'm all ears. But I do feel like this blog needs some TLC. I think I've been going through the motions with it for quite some time because I'm very commitment oriented, and I'm also quite averse to change. This blog has always treated me well, and I'd hate to give it up. It's definitely one of my babies, and I love the people I've met through it (you!). But it doesn't feel right to keep doing something the exact same way just because that's the way you've always done it, especially when the platform doesn't feel as inspired as it used to.

All thoughts quite welcome in the comments! :-)

Summertime planning, including fun with yarny crafts...

Hey all! Happy End of May to all of you. I'm pretty sad to see May go, frankly, it's one of my favorite months of the entire year, certainly my favorite month of the spring/summertime. So I'm mourning it's end a bit, but I am indeed excited by what is to come this summer!

A few blog housekeeping things, and then I thought we could have some crafty time together. 🤗I posted last week about the Tea Time podcast, looking for ideas on where to take that project this summer. I heard from a few of you, and so far I'm still very undecided on themes for the summer! These would be super short episodes, less than 10 minutes. I was thinking that I would start up next week, but I just don't have my act together yet, :0 so I'll keep you posted! I want it to feel inspired, like all of the pieces fall into place. Otherwise, maybe the timing isn't quite right, you know? So we'll see. I shall keep you apprised!

Summer Book Club time is definitely approaching! This year we have chosen How God Hauled Me Kicking and Screaming into the Catholic Church, by Kevin Lowry. In that sense, our theme this summer is apologetics, hurray! So, I'm thinking July. That gives us plenty of time to procure the book from your local library or bookstore. I'd like your opinion on how we should section off and discuss the content. This is a fairly short book for nonfiction, at 160 pages, divided into 15 chapters. Would you rather:

(1) Take the month of July to discuss it in weekly posts, so a 4 week time period, reading 3-4 chapters per week, or

(2) Read it in a more condensed time frame, say 2-3 weeks in mid-July after the holiday, discussing 5 or more short chapters at a time?

Vote in the comments, please!

In other news, springtime crafting has hit me with an inspired vengeance. I do tend to do this as June approaches, and ultimately I go into full fledged Christmas in July mode. I plan out all my holiday gifts and other fall/winter accessories I'd like to make, and then go hog wild with the summer yarn sale at Knit Picks. Granted, I'm on a yarn fast this year. Yes, this is actually a thing. I have a LOT OF YARN. A LOT. So I'm trying to use what I have. *halo* We'll see, because occasionally a pattern will call for something that I do not already have in my yarn stash, because *sometimes miracles really do happen*, and then I am completely justified in ordering what I need. Or so I tell myself.

Right now, I'm in the baby knitting zone. My sister recently had a baby, and my good friend Allison is due in June. I finished up 2 bear cub hats, one for each little head:

Pattern is Itty Bitty Bear Cubs, and is available for free!

And now I want to make each of them a sweater. Allison lives in the Pacific Northwest, so I decided to knit her baby a cotton vest that will be a nice layering piece for the late summer and fall:

Pattern is Little Shoreline Vest, from "Swoon Maine"

Right now, it looks like a ribbed amoeba, I know, but eventually it will look like a baby vest. ;-) The pattern called for a technique that was new to me, called Sunday Short Rows, and I really enjoyed learning a new skill!

For my nephew, who lives in Maine, I will make a full fledged wool cardigan. He will need it, hee! I think I'm going to go with the Little Shore Cardigan, also from "Swoon Maine." If you couldn't already tell, I absolutely love that book! I also have my eye on the Little Lighthouse Pullover for Anne.

I now have a full queue over at Ravelry of sweaters, wraps, accessories and socks. Check out the featured patterns in "New Directions in Sock Knitting" which a friend gave me for Christmas. Those crazy zig zag ones in the upper left corner? I MUST MAKE THEM!! I just ordered a new yarn winder, and I'm all set to go for my summer project goals!

*virtual fist bump*

Are you crafting anything this summer? What is your vote for the Summer Book Club - all of July or a shorter 2-3 week span? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Plans! This is what happens when I have some time on my hands :0

Good day to you all! I've been monitoring our little Advent Book Club poll, and have of course read over and considered all of your comments. I've also been dwelling over my return to the Tea Time podcast, and how this can tie in the seasonal book clubs I'd like to regularly do. I have some ideas! Grab your cup of coffee and let's chat. :)

So, this time away from podcasting has been good for me. The freed up availability led to a lot less stress for me during the crazy part of my semester, and it allowed me to think about what I'd like to do going forward. I was also able to devote time to a longer post each week, which I LOVED!

I think what I'd like to do moving forward is have Tea Time be a weekly, but seasonal podcast, like I mentioned in our last episode.The seasons would be for Advent, Lent, and summer Ordinary Time (June through August) each year. Looking at my weekly schedule in terms of my job and home life responsibilities, doing more than that is not what God is recommending to me right now. ;-) I think this is a fun, very liturgical calendar-driven approach, which makes perfect sense given the theme of this blog.

When I took a hiatus from Tea Time, I knew it would be back in some sort of seasonal format, but I wasn't sure how I would structure the episodes. I had added some features following the 100th episode (What's Happening, On My BookShelf, Prayer Corner, The Creative Commons), but besides What's Happening, I cover the other issues regularly over in the blog Facebook group. Having tea together lends itself to the What's Happening segment, to be sure, and I think what I will do is keep that, and then add in a seasonal special, depending on which season we're in. For Advent and Lent, that can be a book club. In the summer, I'm not sure. I may do a series on the saints, or Marian apparitions, or something like that, we can decide ahead of time! But doesn't that sound fun?

As well, adding the book clubs into Tea Time solves our dilemma about where to host the club. Many of you preferred the Facebook group for book club discussion, but a few others aren't on Facebook or otherwise would prefer to discuss it back at the blog. So here is our perfect solution:

Each week, I will discuss my thoughts on the book during Tea Time. If you're averse to Facebook, you can comment right on that post, and I and others will respond to you and get a conversation going over here. :) I will also post a thread weekly following the podcast in our private Facebook group. Then our little community over there can discuss the book in that forum as well. This way, everybody has a place to participate!

What do you all think? Once the poll closes for our book voting period (so far, the leading contender is the fiction choice, The Christmas Quilt), we can set up a schedule for reading. I may start up the week before Advent begins, a pre-Advent/preparation episode. :) Plus that gives us an additional week to read the book. Voting closes on Monday!

Thoughts? I'm super excited, y'all!

Tea Time with Tiffany #97 - New things are brewing!

Fresh winds of gentle change are breezing through out office studio on this week's edition of:

Today I talk about the upcoming 100th episode of Tea Time, and some plans for the future of the show and the blog. We also spend a little time discussing summer projects at work, and Ascension Thursday. Join me!





**To subscribe to the audio version of Tea Time with Tiffany, just search for it in iTunes or use this link to subscribe via Feedburner in your podcatcher of choice. Intro music is "Tea Ceremony" from PlayonLoop.com

Items mentioned in this episode:

My fun weekend dance post
Vote in the Summer Book Club poll!

Happy Memorial Day weekend! I won't be back on the blog until Wednesday, but I promise to talk to you all then! What do you have planned for the holiday weekend?

Tea Time with Tiffany #95 - Summer blog planning!

It's a restless, trying-to-get-organized edition this week of:

Today I dwell on where I've come with Tea Time, as well as Life of a Catholic Librarian generally, and evaluate where we should go from here. Have ideas? Join me!





**To subscribe to the audio version of Tea Time with Tiffany, just search for it in iTunes or use this link to subscribe via Feedburner in your podcatcher of choice. Intro music is "Tea Ceremony" from PlayonLoop.com

Items mentioned in this episode:

• Ear piercing post. What?!
• Sleeplessness post. Because that is the hallmark of this blog. ;-)
• Blog identity crisis post Part 1 and Part 2.

Where should we go together this summer? Do you have any ideas for the Tea Time podcast and how I could freshen it as we move forward towards our 100 episode milestone? Let's chat in the comments!

Finding peace in the chaos...

Good morning my friends, and I'm happy to report that I had a restful and refreshing weekend. Shortly after I recorded Tea Time on Thursday (special edition with Typhoid Tiffany :0) it became abundantly clear that I was not suffering from mere seasonal allergies. I had something much more virulent, and I was feeling pretty collapse-y as a result. But no rest for the weary, as with all 6 of us teaching in the exact same time slot on Friday mornings, calling in sick is really not an option this semester. So there I was Friday morning, teaching with a voice that could barely be heard above the rasp factor, terrible congestion, and a fever rash covering my neck, chest and upper arms that drew any number of alarmed stares. Let's just say that RESENTMENT was an emotion that I was struggling with as the week ended. By the evening, I could barely talk, let alone dance, and so going to rehearsal was out of the question. I was pretty surly as a result.

I took the weekend as a time of serious reexamination and reflection. I have a lot going on right now, it is true, but so does everyone else. I need to be able to deal with things better. Happiness isn't all external; it is a state of mind, and I need to adjust mine.

I came up with some ideas, which I will go into tomorrow. And my task is to carry them forward with me each and every day. I'm off from in-person teaching this week and next, but I still have many more teaching weeks ahead of me. I also have the grading monster to slay during these online weeks, plus lots of writing to do. I needed to find a way to balance all of the things I'd like to get done in a day (teaching/other work tasks, family time, writing, blogging, exercising, prayer) and so far, what I was doing wasn't working. I was getting things done, but I was miserably unhappy. I want a way of life that will allow me to treasure the small moments, and carry that happy place with me into the chaos of the teaching weeks. I also need some semblance of a prayer life to sustain my soul ALWAYS.

I have some ideas. Check back tomorrow and we'll chat. ;-) In the meantime, today is my September Catholic Mom day, and today we chat about holy reminders and prayer cards. I would LOVE for you to leave me a comment over at Catholic Mom!

Until tomorrow my friends. I'm blowing a kiss to you all!

Tea Time with Tiffany #56 - Summer novenas, holiday knitting, birds & blogging: What do all these things have in common?!

Hello all, and welcome to a jam packed edition of:

Today I talk about July novenas, my summer knit-along progress and holiday crafting list, some drama at our backyard bird feeder, and why I started (and keep on) blogging. Join me!




**To subscribe to the audio version of Tea Time with Tiffany, just search for it in iTunes or use this link to subscribe via Feedburner in your podcatcher of choice. Intro music is "Tea Ceremony" from PlayonLoop.com

Items mentioned in this episode:

July novena page.
Pray More Novenas, for monthly novena emails.
Busy, crafty plans - The 0fficial Christmas in July 2016 post!
The Sibley Guide to Birds

Are you praying any summer novenas? Planning your Christmas crafting list, or otherwise crafting anything new this summer? Do you have bird feeder advice, please, I beg you. :0 And do you enjoy writing? What is your motivation in doing so? I'd love to hear from you!

A weekend that made me reflect on weekends, & a brief note about the blogging schedule...

St. Kateri brightens every day, yes?

Hi all! Before I get started, a quick note of housekeeping. The spring semester has officially started for me at work.

*insert groan here*

Yes, that's right, not only can I no longer swing my knitting bag without hitting a half dozen students walking aimlessly through the halls while checking their phones, but I arrived at the parking lot at 8:27 am and got THE LAST SPOT. That $#@! is messed up. :0 It'll die down, but in the meantime, I'm feeling mighty sorry for myself over here. I so enjoyed the holiday and winter break, and going back into the fray of the semester is not appealing to me right now. At all. Plus I have to start teaching again. I do like teaching, don't get me wrong, but once I get out of the routine, I get all rusty and anxious about it. :) So here I sit, rusty and anxious, and I have to teach in an hour.

*sigh*

Oh! But I got off track, didn't I? The whole reason I mentioned any of this is that my blogging schedule will shift just the itsiest of bits, and I wanted to let you know. Still plan on 3 posts per week, one of which will be Tea Time with Tiffany. But I usually post on Mondays, and this semester I'm just not going to be able to do that. Mondays are...*shudder* We'll just say that there is no blogging time and leave it at that. :) So I'll definitely post on Tuesday and Thursday, and then also on either Wednesday or Friday, depending on which of those works out better in a given week.

I just like to keep you posted on such things. :) And I have fun stuff to talk about this week (we need a bright spot this week, for sure). Downton Abbey mystery crafting-along! Adventures with new fitness classes! Plans for Lent! It's all coming up.

As for today, I'm just thinking about my weekend. And it was *glorious*. That's part of why I'm so sad to be back to the grind at work. *sniffle*

We didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Let's see...I had dance class and rehearsal on Friday. And can I say HOW MUCH I MISSED IT?! *4 weeks had gone by since I last attended class, just given the way the holidays fell and then the funeral and our anniversary trip. AND we're learning a new group sword choreography, so many good blog-worthy stories to come, just you wait dear reader!! You should have SEEN how pleased Sword was when I pulled him out and took him to class with me. He was just about bursting with pride to accompany me while Veil stayed home stuffed into a bag with my performance shoes. :0 And Sword certainly gave my arms a good workout, I'll tell you that, ouch! But I digress, as I am wont to do. Saturday we took the kids out for breakfast and later I made a slammin' new dinner recipe of quinoa and sausage stuffed peppers. Sunday we went to Mass, ran a few errands and had friends over to watch the NFL conference championship games. All fun stuff, to be sure.

So this morning I was feeling extra melancholy. Not only am I going back to battling it out for parking spaces and ability to breathe in the hallways, but I was sad to leave Mike and the kids and part from our lovely time together.

This is all contemplation fodder for me because I remember a much different time back when Henry was 2 years old. To set the scene, we did not yet have Anne in our lives, and Mike and I had only been married for 3 years and were still fairly new to the whole parenting thing. Henry was going through the Terrible Two's, and Mike had a demanding job that he really wasn't loving (and I couldn't blame him AT ALL), and can I be honest about something? I always aim to keep it real here on Life of a Catholic Librarian. ;-) During that dark stretch of time, I would *dread* the weekends. Henry would throw epic temper tantrums that left me exhausted, we had to do ALL of the housework on the weekends because neither of us had time during the week due to work, the piles of laundry overwhelmed me just to LOOK at them, and I just felt like crying all weekend long. It was like that for quite a while. I had experienced some postpartum depression after I had Henry and I swear I didn't really go back to normal for years afterward. It was not an easy time.

Now, our kids are older and we don't have the temper tantrum issue anymore. Much. ;-) (Anne still has her moments sometimes...) I enjoy the company of my children now. I don't have that black shroud of depression hanging over my head anymore. Mike's job situation has improved immensely, and not only does he love what he does now (he's an adjunct professor of philosophy), but the flexibility of being an adjunct means that he's home during the day a lot to take care of housework, do the grocery shopping and pick up the kids, etc. Our daily "grind" isn't much of a grind anymore. And our weekends are a pleasure.

I really appreciate that now all the more given our past experience. I really, really do. It's not to say that challenges don't still come up, because of course they do, that's just part of life. But I treasure the good things that I have more now.

How about you, dear reader? Have any of you ever struggled with depression or getting through a particularly difficult time in your life? I'd love to hear about how your experience.

Tomorrow we'll be talking crafts, so if you're doing the Downton Abbey MKAL or MCAL, be ready with an update! :-)

In fall planning mode, and new saint dolls!

Hello all, and happy Friday! It seems like I talk about saint dolls a lot on here, doesn't it? One would think that I have a bit of an obsession with them or something. ;-) I do love saint dolls, both for myself and my kids. I always order them early, well before Christmas and the feast of St. Nicholas, since they are handmade and take time to paint and ship. This year's round one features the following...

*drum roll*

Aren't they precious?! On the left is a rose rosary box for Anne, so not a saint doll, but it's beautiful, yes? It's what she asked for. In the center is St. Kateri, and yes, she is for me. :) She is currently residing beside Our Lady Star of the Sea on my desk, and both of them seem very happy to have company, and to have made the others' acquaintance:

She is just perfect for me, I think. And of course, on the right is St. Nicholas, and he will be gifted to Henry. I'd like to get Anne the wood nativity set from this shop, but it's $$$ :) and I'm waiting to see if there will be a fall coupon code coming up. Well worth the money, for sure, but any little savings helps. Especially since there are roofing guys currently at our house. :-\ I'm grateful we were able to get this done before the weather turns, and the house really needs it, but holy budget blaster, right there.

All right, so happy saint doll order is in. I was off yesterday with Mike and the kids at a local amusement park, and during the inevitable line waiting I was doing some thinking about fall planning for work and this blog. Before I get into the nitty gritty, I thought I'd point out that I, you know, bravely went to an amusement park. ;-) I used to love amusement park rides back in my youth. I was fearless about riding roller coasters. Now? I am a total WET BLANKET at amusement parks. :0 Rides either terrify me or make me feel pukey, but I soldier on, because my kids love them, and it's not fair for me to pass off my fear to them. They should be able to go and enjoy, and they do. I do still love a few rides, like the Scrambler, Tilt a Whirl, and Sleighride, which I know doesn't make a lot of sense, because many people get nauseous on those rides and cannot go on them. Every time we're there, someone throws up on the Tilt a Whirl and it has to be closed for maintenance.  :0 But it's never me, because I LOVE that ride. Swirling within spinning is just a total thrill for me; I love the sensation and I don't feel fearful or nauseous at all. Go figure, right? So I went on those with the kids, plus the little hot air balloons with Anne, and otherwise sat around letting them go on what they wanted. Mike rode the roller coasters with Henry, as he still enjoys those, and thank God for that so that I didn't have to sacrifice myself. ;-)

So anyway, back to the original topic. Fall plans. The semester starts up here at the university on Monday, though my kids don't start school until the day after Labor Day. What's in store?

Well, I did (aside from a concluding paragraph) complete the short article on Catholic fiction that I was fixing to write. I need to send the abstract in to the editor, and then edit and ready the manuscript, because (hopefully!) she's going to want to see it. So that summer work goal was met, thankfully.

I start teaching and all that jazz on Monday. I'll probably have a video post dedicated to that topic coming up in a few weeks. I'll be busier, for sure. Which got me to thinking about blog plans for the fall...

And so, yes, I have plans! :) I think what I'd like to do is have a 3 post per week plan. Monday or Tuesday, a longer, amusing, family/life post. Wednesday or Thursday will be a Tea Time video post. Fridays will be for lifey posts too, perhaps a bit shorter than the Monday post. I could also write about Catholic topics on Fridays, maybe some Catholic Nook posts when inspiration strikes, or Advent-related goodness as we approach that liturgical season. I'll still do 7 Quick Takes sometimes, but not every week. I do like those posts, but not all the time. We're free floating spontaneity and inspiration over here at Life of a Catholic Librarian. ;-) I'll obviously pop Catholic Book Club posts up on Wednesdays when those dates come around. And stay tuned for podcast news, because I'm hopeful that something will be ready this fall!

What do you all think? What are your favorite type of posts that I write? How would you like to see me structure a posting schedule? All very loosey goosey, mind you, nothing has to be etched in stone around here. But it's nice to have a general expectation, I think, for both you and me, of what will come each week. I'd really love for you to chime in on this, have at it in the comments!

Tea Time with Tiffany Episode 7 - Writing, and current blog projects update!

Well, good morning to you all, on this rainy day here in WNY! Technical difficulties abounded, but I was able to wrestle them into submission in time to get out another episode of:

This week I'm talking about summer projects for the blog, as well as writing in general. I've always loved to write, and want to know how I got started? View on, dear viewer!


Items mentioned in this episode:

• Chaplets audio project update - links as soon as they are available!
• My spring 2015 blog identity crisis, and happy resolution.
• My childhood love of writing, details in the video!
• First piece at CatholicMom.com will go live Monday July 13th, I will post a link! 
• For all of the increased interaction in the comments on this blog, THANK YOU!!
• St. Francis de Sales - patron saint of writers.

Finally, what do YOU want me to write about more, both on the blog, or potentially in a future formalized place, like a book? What are your favorite topics that I discuss? I want you, my community, to help me frame this project that has been a dream of mine since childhood. Please write in and let me know your thoughts!

Summer book club news, & exciting new projects!

Happy Monday everybody! Despite it being a Monday morning, I am in an inordinately good mood. Why is that, you ask? Well, I've been doing a lot of project planning, both personal and professional (and even a mixture thereof!) and I'm very excited about everything. Isn't it a wonderful feeling to experience a creative boost of energy? I just love when that happens.

*happy sigh*

Ok, so! Thing #1 is that I was thinking about summer reading and the Catholic Book Club. Next week is our scheduled June installment, which is Praying in Rome: Reflections on the Conclave and Electing Pope Francis by Cardinal Timothy Dolan. This is a quick and light read, and at $1.99 for Kindle, you can't go wrong. I read this before my trip, and have all my notes ready to go for the review post on June 24th. Definitely join me then! After that, I have two more books scheduled in the Book Club queue, but then do you want to know what happened?

Of course you do, that's why you're still reading my excited gibberish. ;-) Ok, so, a happy God thing happened. Godincidence? Is that what such a phenomena is called? If it's not, that's what it *should* be called. At any rate, I saw a summer book club announcement over at CatholicMom.com. I mean, doesn't that just have a lovely ring to it, summer book club? I think it's my deep seated librarian sensibilities. I adore seasonal projects, and plus, it's the summer, so YOU SHOULD BE READING.

*the librarian adjusts her bun*

By the beach or pool, if you'd like, but the summer is a FANTASTIC time to start a new book. The pace is slower, you have longer evening light, go sit on your porch with a book. ;-) But I digress, as I am so wont to do. Catholic Mom, summer book club, Godincidence, back on track, check! So I saw that announcement, and it immediately perked my interest because not only do I love book clubs, but I own the book already. In fact, I was randomly drawn to win a copy from the darling Deacon Tom and his lovely wife Dee over at the Catholic Vitamins podcast.

Random? Well sure, but God is always behind such things. When I received the book, I thought to myself:

"I really need to read this, I could benefit from some deeper spiritual reading right now."

Then I admired the cover and tucked it onto my book shelf, with full intentions to read it. At some point. But you know how those things go.

So when I saw the Unleashed Book Club announcement, I slipped my copy off the shelf. And you see the subtitle there? "How to Receive Everything the Holy Spirit Wants to Give You." Remember my joyfully teary video from last week following the CNMC? When I talked about the Holy Spirit? Yep, it all comes together right here.

So I'm going to be reading this book and participating in the book club over at CatholicMom.com. With books like this, I sometimes don't include them in my own Catholic Book Club because it's too much for me to get through in a single month. The setup over at Catholic Mom is perfect. A chapter a week for eight weeks, and week 1 was just posted. That gives a participant time to savor each chapter and reflect on it fully. I can see that the comments section is hopping, and I'm looking forward to learning from everybody else who is interacting with these posts.

I'm super excited about this, and thus Unleashed is going to be my spiritual reading for the rest of June and July. You'll see that I have this noted in the Catholic Book Club Reading List sidebar on the right side of the blog. When the Unleashed Book Club is complete, I may post my own review over here, we'll see. But in August, we'll pick back up with traditional Catholic Book Club posts over here on a Catholic YA title that I'm anxiously anticipating.

So, do you want to jump on board? I'd love it if you would, and please let me know if you decide to participate by leaving a comment. Unleashed is available for instant download via Kindle, or in paperback form both from Amazon (so if you have Prime, 2 day shipping!) and Ave Maria Press (if you read the initial announcement post and author interview over at Catholic Mom, there is a coupon code!).

That is what is most on my heart this morning, and I have my copy of Unleashed by my side ready to crack open tonight. In other new project news, my new web cam arrived this weekend, and...

*angels harmonize!*

I love it. :) It took some time for me to get it all figured out and get the software installed, but it's all a go and the quality is VASTLY superior to what I have been getting with my phone. Plus, I have so much more space and options with it. I plan to record my next Tea Time post with it later this week, so you can all check it out. One of the impetuses (spelling? impeti? ;-)) for me getting this is that I'm going to be participating in a weekly Google Hangout session with some new CNMC friends, in which we're going to brainstorm with each other about new project ideas, and help critique each others' work. I feel like I'm repeating myself a lot lately in this regard, but you know, I'm EXCITED about this. :)

In regards to aforementioned new projects...there are several, and they all involve writing. A few are work related (translation: boring ;-)) but a few are of extreme personal meaning to me and are tied into my writing responsibilities as a faculty librarian. Or at least, I'm hoping to make a case that they are in fact tied together. :) At any rate, I love to write. And for the first time in a long time, I feel inspired to try new venues for my writing. I'm being a little vague, yes I know, but that is by design. ;-) I will keep you posted when I have concrete things to report. Right now, everything is still in the planning stages and still very much a dream. You will know as soon as I know anything for realz!

All right, I have rambled long enough for today, but I do so enjoy doing that with you all. Are any of you interested in the Unleashed Book Club? What are your summer project plans, anything new and exciting that you'd like to report? Please do chime in and let me know!

Really excited about my new video series, & Pentecost novena starts tomorrow!

Hi all! My week has gone very well, and thus I am in good spirits. I am SUPER excited about the video post I did, and plan to do again in the weeks to come, but let me circle back to that. First, I wanted to say that I'll be praying the Pentecost novena, which starts TOMORROW:

*Holy Spirit descends!*

...and I created a page with a link to the prayers if you'd like to join in. Please consider doing so! This novena will run today through next Saturday, May 23rd, the vigil of Pentecost Sunday. I love praying novenas that lead right up to the specific feast. Makes me feel all liturgical and nerdily Catholic.

*adjusts glasses*

So I hope that you're praying along with me! In other news, the video post series is suddenly all I can think about. I really, *really* enjoyed doing that, and I have gotten a boatload of positive feedback on it, both here in the comments and elsewhere in the social media sphere. So my goal is definitely weekly video posts! I'm certain weeks will come up wherein I won't be able to do them, but aim high, right? The only rub is a pleasing recording time/setting. If I'm at home, we have:

"MOMMY! Henry's *bothering me* again! And...oh, what are you doing, Mommy? Are you taking a picture? CAN I BE IN THE PICTURE MOMMY?!"

That would be cute exactly one time. After that, it would just be exhausting. For everybody.

The other option is at work, and that is fantabulous (that's another Tiffany word, right there *officially coined!*) except when my office neighbors are also there. We are lucky enough to have private offices here, but I've met note cards that were thicker than the walls in here. And I don't think you want to hear all about the doctor appointments and other various and sundry things I learn about my office neighbors any more than I do. So, the location piece of the puzzle is still to be worked out. But I *will* work it out. And for this reason they will almost certainly not be posted on the same day every week. I'll just make them when I have the right environment in which to do them.

But I DO have a few things finalized with regard to the video series. I do have a title. And a graphic.

*squeals!*

And so, ta DA!

Did you ever?! I LOVE IT.  So whenever you see that, you know that a video post will follow. What I'm thinking is that these will be short conversations between you and I, while I have morning tea. And you have your tea, or coffee, or whatever your beverage of choice is. Time wise, they will always be under 10 minutes (I will shoot for 5-7 minutes). And the topics will vary each week, just as they always do on this blog, but I'll always let you know the topic up front. It'll be whatever is on my mind that particular week. Could be faith stuff, librarian stuff, amusing dance stories, books, or a current event in the news. And I'll include a saint or other devotion at the end, whatever I'm feeling that week as especially inspiring. Sound good?

Excitement abounds, yes? How is your week going?

My first ever video post - blog identity crisis resolved :)

Ok, SO. After my post from yesterday, I did a lot of thinking. It also helps to actually *ask* God for direction, does it not? I know that sometimes the answer isn't so clear, but I realized that I hadn't really asked Him at all. I tend to go on my merry way:

"LA LA LA! I'm happy go lucky over here! Everything is good, I don't need any help with anything!"

SNORT.

So I asked, real casual-like, and I woke up this morning thinking about it. As I was listening to Catholic Weekend on my commute in, I thought to myself:

"That video post thing I mentioned...I should just do that. My hair isn't too wild this morning, it would be a good day for it."

Because, you know, PRIORITIES.

And so here you have it, the first of hopefully a recurring series of video posts. In this installment, I talk about what I decided with regard to the future of this blog, and briefly touch upon how Our Lady Star of the Sea helped me out in my discernment process. I want these to be very short, 5 minutes or less, but I'm going fess up that I went over a bit on this introductory one. It's about 7 and a half minutes, I'll try to shorten them in the future. But I have to say it...apparently I like to talk! See, this is the thing about being an introvert. I DO enjoy talking to the people that I LIKE, and that's YOU! I'm definitely giving the podcast thing a lot of consideration at this point, because that may really scratch a creative itch for me. Stay tuned!

So, what did you think?! What would you like me to talk about in the future? Please do write to me. :)

Spiritual dryness &...I'll just say it: general emotional crises :0

Good morning to you all! It's Monday, and I usually write posts about the previous Sunday's liturgy and my experience at Mass. And, well, as you can see, I'm not doing that today. Nor did I bother to snap an image that would work perfectly (I hope?!) with my post for today. Today I just felt like writing, and indeed writing about what is on my mind. So I am. And here you are. :)

Last month I started the path to Marian consecration via 33 Days to Morning Glory by Fr. Michael Gaitley. I LOVE this book, the entries are so relatable and interesting. And my consecration day is now nearly upon me, this coming Wednesday, May 13th, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. And what this has to do with the topic of this post is that I'm rather wondering if the struggles I've been experiencing lately have to do with the closeness of this holy commitment. Evil one lurking?

*ominous music plays*

:)

At any rate, I've felt all out of sorts. Yesterday was Mother's Day, and I was in tears practically the entire day. I just didn't feel like myself. And can I just say that Mother's Day is frequently like this for me? Bad Mother's Day mojo, man. I've clearly pissed off the Mother's Day Official Party Police or what have you. My very first Mother's Day after I had Henry?

*Tiffany walks bleary-eyed into restaurant for brunch*

"Hi Honey!"

It's my parents.

*Tiffany immediately bursts into tears*

"Oh no, what's wrong?!"

"I forgot your card! I'm such a horrible person! And I'm just so...TIRED!"

Not sleeping through an entire night for a *year* will really turn a person into a whimpering shell of their former selves, can I get an Amen?

A-freaking-MEN, friends!

All righty then, back to the diatribe on my fragile mental state. ;-) Prayer feels incredibly dry lately, like I'm just talking to a wall. I feel rather anxious and easily upset. As if I need to be even *more* sensitive than I already am by God-given personality?!

Good heavens.

I don't know what the heck is going on. We'll just blame hormones, that seems fairly convenient. Anne's 4th birthday is exactly one week away, THAT MUST BE IT! Ladies, let's all grab pitch forks and protest our fate of the Reign Of Estrogen in our lives! :0

Just keeping it real, as I always strive to do. I'm certain that it will pass, but in the mean time I've been doing a lot of thinking. My little mind has been all aswirl (spell check is telling me that this isn't a word, but I'm pointedly ignoring it) about my creative life and what I want out of it. Obviously, I want to feel fulfilled. I want to enjoy how I spend my creative time. I do enjoy writing, and I've always loved keeping this blog. Lately though, I've felt a bit like I'm spinning my wheels. I have all of these different things that I like to write about (faith, marriage and parenthood, dance, librarianship) and is that even working anymore? I've been doing this now for nearly 7 years, and is it time for a change? I don't know the answer to that question, but the fact that I'm thinking about it is somewhat telling, I suppose.

When I wrote that post last week about thinking on some new ideas and awaiting inspiration, Melanie responded with something that really meant a lot to me. Melanie, I hope you don't mind me singling you out like this, but your comment just about brought tears to my eyes, and making the librarian cry means you get singled out. :0

Melanie said that although she originally found and read my blog for the posts on Catholic books and librarianship, she has stayed and reads all of my posts, even on other topics because: "...you make everyday events interesting." That just...really made my day, thank you. :)

Because that is all I have ever wanted to do, and that is what I personally like to read. Everyday events, made interesting. I hardly think a cameraman following me around all day as I went about straightening my hair and readying for work, reading Amish fiction while I eat my morning yogurt, sitting in my office, sitting at the reference desk, driving home and listening to podcasts, and then yelling "STOP IT!" towards my children as they fight while I cook dinner, would find my life particularly scintillating. But when you write, you can flesh out the funny little things that we can all relate to. That's really why I started this blog.

So, all of this to say that I don't know where I'm going from here. Maybe I just need a fresh blog redesign? Who knows. I'll still be here, and I'll keep you informed. Perhaps I'll experiment with some new types of posts (a video post every week?) or otherwise try out new ideas. I feel a little stale. And just an fyi: I think I'm going to move to a 3-4 post per week model, rather than 5 like I've been doing. I think I've been pushing myself a little too much to come up with content. I think we can all agree that feeling pressured is a real mood killer. :)

But excitingly, with the Catholic New Media Conference coming up in *gulp!* less than a month, I am in hopeful expectation of new inspiration soon. Oh, cute anecdote: Mike could tell I was down yesterday, and disappeared into his office while I brought Anne upstairs for her nap. When I came back downstairs, he solemnly handed me a sheet of paper that he had typed up. It was entitled:

"Ideas for a Belly Dance Mystery"

And he had a full plot summary on there of murdered belly dancers and their crime solving troupemates. I mean...SO SWEET. Could the man be more adorable? Seriously. He knew that I was struggling with how to sort out my creative energies and wanted to provide some new ideas and inspiration for me.

And a final cute anecdote: Anne and I went to Mass by ourselves yesterday because Henry was under the weather. A major bummer on Mother's Day, to be sure. Anne was very concerned about leaving Henry behind, and did not like this aberration from our routine.

"Mommy, could I say a St. Anthony prayer for Henry to get better?"

She has the St. Anthony prayer memorized, since we need to implement it so often to find lost toys. ;-)

"Oh. Well sure, Honey, that's very sweet of you."

"Dear St. Anthony, please come around. Henry's tummy... is not lost, but it is hurting. Please help his tummy to feel better."

PRECIOUS.

Praying on summer inspiration, as I brainstorm in organized librarian mode...

Good afternoon to you all! It's an absolutely gorgeous day here. I was once again able to walk out of the house wearing only a cardigan over my sleeveless shell, and no jacket. Shazzam! And open toe shoes too?

*swoons*

Spring is here to stay, it seems. And thank God for that.

Speaking of Him, ;-) I've been doing a lot of thinking this week about...stuff. As in: what am I going to do with the rest of my life? Is this a mid-life crisis? :0

I mean, there are major things that will remain unchanged. I am a wife and mother, that is my vocation. I am a librarian, that is my job, and I have a tenured position with outstanding benefits. Hence, that too will remain the same. Not only are those constants, I am happy in all of those respects. But in terms of my time outside of those roles, what would I like to do?

Man. I don't know. :0 See, that's the problem right there. The first things that come to my mind are these:

(1) I need to pray about this. Well, I have prayed, but have I listened? I don't think so. Which is to say NO. So I need to do that, and then await what happens. Because something will happen, I need to trust in that.

(2)  Writing. I love to write, that's why I started this blog. And this actually applies in my job as well, because writing for professional publication is highly encouraged here. The summer is a perfect time to tackle such projects, since I don't have any teaching responsibilities until the fall. So I think that's a yes, I should try and write an article. Check, will try to get started on that. But back to...

(3) Fun writing. :) Outside of work, what would I like to write? Well, I enjoy this blog. I don't think it's going anywhere, anytime soon. But could I write somewhere else? I'd like to, on life and faith-related topics. But where? Online? A book? No clue. Awaiting inspiration!

(4) Dance. I love Middle Eastern dance, I 'm sure you can tell. If I'm being honest, I don't write about it as much on this blog as I'd like to, because I'm not always sure how people will react. And perhaps, given the title of my blog, this type of content is unexpected and not appealing to all readers. So maybe I should have somewhere else that I can feel free to write about dance to my heart's content. Another blog? That sounds fun, but rather exhausting to maintain two. Maybe I could write a short ebook of my dance experiences over the past seven years? Is that of interest to anybody? I would really love your feedback on this one. This is definitely what I consider a "life blog," so pretty much anything that goes on in my life is fair game, you've been warned. ;-) But maybe I would enjoy a different model, I'm not sure.

(5) Podcasting and/or video blog posts. The podcasting thing...I just need to learn how to do it. :) Hopefully, soon. And my interest in that lies in faith topics. Video blog posts, I think this is actually doable, like, right away. :) I've always wanted to try that. And I know how to do it, technology-wise. Will they be any good? Don't know. :) But I should try. The only problem with both of these ideas is that it involves hearing my own voice, which I really don't like, but there you have it.

That's all I got so far. ;-) I'm in brainstorm mode, which I genuinely enjoy. I love coming up with new, fresh and creative ideas. I feel a little bit adrift right now, as if I'm not so certain anymore of where my energies should lie creatively, and even whether or not what I am doing is the perfect fit for both me and anybody who reads my work.

So, I really, really mean it: Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts. :) I value that you read what I write, and I want what I write to be meaningful to both you and to me.