Creative Ideas Friday: Try something totally new that you've always wanted to explore!

Happy Friday everybody, and I hope you are hanging in there just fine this gray January day! Despite the bleakness in the sky, I love January, and always find fresh inspiration and excitement for all of the potential that lies ahead for the year. This week, I thought we would focus on a more general concept for our Creative Ideas Friday: trying out something totally new to you that you have always yearned to explore!

Let's face it: these at-home pandemic times, depressing though they may be, present an ideal opportunity to finally tackle that One Thing you were always so curious about. We have more time with which to tackle them, and the availability of online classes mean that the risk of embarrassing yourself in public is pretty low. :-0 For me, that thing was learning to play the finger cymbals. Dun dun dun!

Many dancers learn to play the finger cymbals when they first learn to dance, but that was not my experience. So now I've been dancing and performing for over a decade, and had to Google how to even strap these things onto my fingers. :-0 My sister gifted me a pair of smaller finger cymbals (the traditional starting size), which is what I'm starting with. These beauties are from Turquoise International, well-regarded makers of cymbals:

Oriental cymbals, size 2 1/4 inches

I'm taking a 30 minute class each lunchtime, Monday through Thursday, and it is absolutely perfect for drilling a new skill like this! I started right after the New Year, and now have 3 weeks under my belt. I can honestly say that I'm a lot less bad than when I first started. 😂 I've learned 5 sounds so far (I hadn't even realized there were more than 1 common one!) and can play them in multiple simple patterns. The dancing at the same time part is still a work in progress, 😇 but one can't expect miracles in 3 weeks! I can at least walk around a bit while playing them, that's the first step, and incorporate in some basic movements in time to the rhythm that we're playing alongside. I'm learning SO MUCH about the different rhythms within Middle Eastern music, and I am absolutely soaking it all up! The ability to mute myself during class is giving me life. 😎 Again, the online format is such a low intimidation factor in terms of taking on something completely new!

As my obsession grows, I naturally started going down some YouTube rabbit holes. I found out how to sew the elastic on my cymbals, rather than relying on small safety pins. I also discovered how different sizes, shapes, and metals can affect the sound of your cymbals. I wanted to be able to compare my smaller cymbals with a larger pair (and thought the larger surface size might also make it easier for me to make some of the sounds I was struggling with, and I was right) so I treated myself to these beauties:

Saroyan large Grecian cymbals in brass

Saroyan is a renowned cymbal company, and there are sound clips on their site of all of their cymbals, and I spent a delightful few days listening to all of them multiple times. I found that the bigger cymbals make a deeper sound than the smaller ones, and that brass presents a mellower tone than the more high pitched silver ones. Dancers usually have many different pairs of cymbals for this very reason, depending on the environment in which they'll be dancing (indoors vs outdoors, how large a space, what type of music will they be dancing to) so that they can pick cymbals that will achieve the sound they want. I absolutely love the mellower sound of the brass cymbals, and these Grecian ones are my new bff, but at some point I'll almost certainly add a silver set to my arsenal. I am having SUCH a delightful time exploring this totally new-to-me skill, and am so glad that I embarked on it! I don't know when I will perform with finger cymbals, if ever (though it would be nice to add them to my possibilities for gigs, when those resume again) but regardless, I'm thoroughly enjoying the process and the healthy challenge that they present to me. I'm also learning so much about Middle Eastern music that I can translate to all of my dancing. I plan to continue with my classes next month!

In other creative news, I just had to share this new hat pattern with you that I am currently also obsessing over. :-0 It is called the Lotus Blossom Beanie, and the effect is absolutely stunning, wouldn't you agree?!

Pattern is Lotus Flower Beanie from BKnitsHandmade

There has been some talk in my crafting community about the price of this pattern ($11), which is more than hat patterns traditional cost. However, this pattern includes detailed photographs of the tricky lotus blossom technique, directions for sizes 6-12 months/infant through adult, as well as instructions for knitting it in either bulky or super bulky yarn. I'm already planning gifts for others with finished hats from this pattern too, so I do really feel like it is worth it! If you use the super bulky she recommends (although you could use any yarn you like), which is Malabrigo Rasta, you will get 2 hats by reversing the colors. Here is my first finished hat in a Valentine's theme:

I'm awaiting my order of gorgeous lush pom poms, and I have to share my new favorite pom pom shop on Etsy, which is North Star Stitches! I'm not normally a pom pom gal, but the featured photos on this hat really sold me on how a well coordinated pom pom really makes the design pop! For my pink/mint hats, I ordered a few poms to try in shades of blush, white and blue/green. I'm sooooooo excited for these to arrive! I'm going to be making a lot of hats this year, I'll share more about that endeavor next week!

What skill or idea have you always wanted to take a class on? I would love to hear about it in the comments!

Winter crochet projects this week for Creative Idea Friday...

Hi everyone! I hope your wintry January's are moving along nicely. :) I know that I'm in the minority, but I actually like January, gray skies and all. Part of it is that my wedding anniversary is in January, part of it is that I enjoy the cozy feeling of deep winter. Speaking of wedding anniversaries, Mike and I celebrated ours on the 8th (16 years!) and as is the thing this year, it was different than usual. Romantic takeout, cocktails at home, and watching of The Crown marked our anniversary dinner this year, ha ha! But you know, it was absolutely delightful!

In other deep winter news, I've been hard at work on crafting. I started a baby sweater for Allison!

This is a Baby Surprise Jacket, one of my favorite baby patterns of all time. You knit what appears to be a blog, and when you sew 2 small seams, voila! It's a baby sweater. :0 It's moving along quite quickly, hoping to have a finished sweater to show you next week! 

But onto crochet, as that is our main theme for this week! I was listening to the We Crochet podcast this week (which I highly recommend, btw, if you're at all interested in crafts. I listen to their sister podcast, Connecting Threads, even though I don't sew, and really enjoy it!) and they got me all excited for a specifically crochet winter focus. The newest edition of their magazine includes a winter themed collection called Wintertide that I am really jazzed about now:

We Crochet Magazine, Issue 5

I do love projects that are themed after winter, as distinct from the holidays. I love holiday projects too, but they are different to me: there are holiday themed items, and then specifically winter themed items that have a cozy, warming feel, and often inspired by winter colors like blues white, and purples. Needless to say, this magazine is in my cart over at We Crochet. :0

Blankets are one of my favorite winter projects, because they keep you warm *while* you make them, so they do double duty! Each New Year, I am inspired by the Attic 24 blanket CAL (crochet -along) and despite having plenty of blankets in my house, I could not resist this year's edition, especially given our continuing pandemic situation. It's the perfect project to work on while snugged up at home! This year, the theme is a Meadow inspired blanket:

Attic 24 Meadow Blanket CAL

And aside from weaving in ends, I completed part 1 this week!

Once you get the stitch pattern down, this is a great and soothing tv watching project. If you're at all interested in crochet, I encourage you to give this a try! I would say it's advanced beginner level, and Lucy includes a step-by-step tutorial with tons of pictures, so you can do it, I know you can! Any yarn you like will do, but Wool Warehouse has the special yarn packs with the colors the designer picked specificaly for this blanket. Even with the current delayed shipping situation (and Wool Warehouse is in the UK), I got my pack within 2 weeks, which I think is amazing speed! But obviously you could also approximate these colors at your local craft store with a nice soft acrylic in worsted or dk. She just released part 2 of the colors today (it's week by week, but you can catch up super easily and work at your own pace!) and I'm sooooo looking forward to working on this over the weekend!

I've also been busily learning to play my finger cymbals, but that's a post for another day. 🤣 How are you doing this week, dear reader? What projects are you working on this January? Sending you lots of hearts this winter!

Creative Idea Fridays for the winter, and some cute crafting updates!

 Merry Christmas everyone, and happy New Year! I'm very glad to be back with you for another year of fun chatting about creativity, crafty hobbies, wellness, prayer and books. 

🤗

I hope that you all had lovely holidays this year. Ours were quiet, we certainly missed seeing family the way we usually do, but we still made a very nice time of it and truly enjoyed it. The kids are happy and healthy, and that's all that matters!

For my part, I did alot of knitting, and with a white Christmas and everybody home, it was the perfect cozy time for it! In big news, I finished frog and toad!

*trumpets blare*

Aren't they cute?

Let's have a closeup on the outfits, please.

Pattern available via Frog and Toad Cast. This includes instructions for both critters, plus both of their outfits!

I definitely enjoyed the challenges involved in knitting these two, especially the steeking for the eyes! I tell you, I needed a sip of wine to work up the courage to make that first snip into my knitted baby frog. 😂 But it worked out, and it's so exhilerating to try new things!

I've also been enjoying my dancing from home this winter. Looky what Santa brought me this year!

I've been taking ballet classes on Zoom, and this portable, adjustable barre is soooooo much nicer to use than the back of Mike's desk chair. 😁 The feet swivel in for against the wall storage when not in use. It's perfect for me, and I absolutely love it! 

The other new dancey project that I have taken on is something within my main dance passion of Egyptian style belly dance, but is completely new to me: finger cymbals.

😬

Finger cymbals are...scary to me. :-0 As you can imagine, it is challenging to both play a musical instrument (one that is completely new to me), plus dance at the same time. Within Egyptian style belly dance, while you certainly see dancers and musicians playing finger cymbals (called Sagat), they aren't quite as common as in Turkish style belly dance. Here in North America, you often see dancers performing a style of belly dance called American Cabaret, which is a melding of belly dance influences, including Turkish. So those dancers are usually playing the finger cymbals (referred to in this context as zills), and American viewers often become familiar with them via seeing a dancer performing in this style in a restaurant. I've never studied with a teacher who instructs in American Cabaret style (though I've taken a few workshops in Turkish dance, which I LOVED, especially the folk dances, although the finger cymbals segment was a total disaster for me 🤣), so I've never received any long term formal instruction in playing finger cymbals. As part of my goals for the year, I have resolved to learn!

It helps that my favorite online teacher started a session for them as part of her daily drills series, and this format is absolutely perfect for a budding learner of finger cymbals. Everyday at lunchtime, Monday through Thursday, for 30 minutes, I sit in front of my laptop and drill finger cymbal sounds and patterns with her. Yesterday we (gulp) stood up to also do some simple hip drops and traveling steps while playing the cymbals. It's structured as a slow building process, which is exactly what I need. Each day this week, I could feel myself being slightly less bad at it, LOL! But it's coming along. And the thrill of taking on something totally new and intimidating like this has me in a very excited place! 

So! What we'll be doing here on the blog until Lent are a creativity focus that I'm calling Creative Idea Fridays, and then sometime in February we'll turn to Lenten planning and strategies. Maybe we'll do a Lenten book club? We'll see! I'm excited to see what kind of inspiration strikes! 

Do you have any goals for the new year? I would love to hear about them in the comments!

Happy bursts of creativity, and summer reading mode...

Happy Friday everyone! Last week, I just...forgot to blog. :-0 That is very unusual for me! But my mind was actually pre-occupied by the creative projects I've been working on, and combined with the daily parts of our lockdown life that we've finally gotten used to (homeschooling, working from home, dance and fitness classes in our guest room, hee!) it just slipped my mind until Friday evening. But I'm happy to say that I have settled into this situation a bit better and my mind is often now in a serene and creative place, and so things slipping my mind lately are a result of that, and no longer related to anxiety and depression, which I see as a very good thing!

I've been crafting up a storm owing to the Knit-along and Crochet-along that I'm participating in, both shawls. They are both arranged in blocks, and as you finish each block, you post a photo in the Ravelry group and are thus eligible to win a prize. It's very fun! The Knit-along shawl is particularly spectacular, and is called The Journey:

Pattern is "The Journey" via Expression Fiber Arts

So far, I've knit the segments called Cabin of Complacency (see the little cabins in the green section?), and Forest of Fear (leaves are my favorite!), and am about halfway through the River of Doubt:

This is a very rewarding project to make your way through. The yarn is an alpaca and silk blend and is quite warm and heavy, so sometimes I have to put the project down depending on the weather. :-0 But I'm loving it!

The crochet shawl moves along very quickly, as crochet is wont to do. I have 4 of 5 blocks done. This one is called the Renata shawl:

"Renata" shawl via Expression Fiber Arts

I'm calling mine the Spring Blooms shawl based on the colors I chose:

I just have the light green final segment left to go, and I'm aiming to complete that this weekend! The details in each section are really delicate and lovely:

I've also been a busy bee with writing, and my Catholic Mom piece this month on summer reading list themes. Yes, themes. :-0 This summer, I'm reading lots of cozy fiction, and there is also an intriguing biography in there about a prominent Catholic author. Check Catholic Mom next week for all the deets! If you have summer reading plans, I'd love to hear about them in the comments!

I suppose that when you're a nerd, nerdiness extends to all areas of your life...

All!

*waves*

Happy week to you, I hope it's going well. I've been busy, as ever. Still teaching, which is at it's peak for the semester in terms of the grading load. But it's almost done! Our regular teaching wraps up this week. I may still be called upon to teach what we call "one shots" in other courses/seminars, but in terms of my more onerous regular teaching load, that will be done until late January. The break will be lovely!

At home, my kids are now at an age that they're actually developing social lives of their own, and this is resulting in yet more busyness. It is also resulting in yet another new season of our parenting journey, and thus is super stressful. 😬 Henry is trying out for the basketball team, and generally wanting to participate in more events with his friends at the school. He is in 8th grade (😭😭😭) and therefore this is completely normal. In fact, it should probably have happened years ago. But Henry is a reserved kid, just like I was, so I totally get it. He's maturing and coming out of his shell a bit, and I'm so pleased about it. But it's definitely a whole new slew of emotions and worries to manage.

*bites nails*

Anne is her usual sassy and social self, so nothing new there. ;-) We're all just generally in awe that the fall has moved along so quickly, and that somehow Thanksgiving is fast approaching!

As is usually the case this time of year, I get into high dance mode. Dancing, as you all know, is a strong part of my creative identity. And in the fall and winter, I usually have some solo/professional opportunities lined up that I am preparing for and my inspiration level is high. I have those opportunities in the spring and summer too, but with many of them being outside in the heat, it just makes for a completely different experience. I'm not looking to try out my ambitious and experimental new silk veil plans when it's 90 degrees out and all I can think about is not flinging sweat out into the audience.

😱

In the fall and winter, I can really focus and try out new things. I've got some plans for the winter that I'm really excited about (details to come), and it's really bringing out the bookish perpetual student vibe in me. Yes, I am a nerd. Apparently, one can even be a Belly Dance Nerd. This means:

(1) Scoping out books on the history of Middle Eastern dance on Amazon, and obsessively reading articles online.
(2) Curating playlists of both golden era and modern dancers to watch at lunch.
(3) Carefully watching aforementioned videos every day to soak up the movement quality via osmosis.
(4) Doing casual research on the proper elements of a Magency. Doesn't everybody wonder about such things?!

I am indeed a lifelong learner, and I'm hoping that this will keep my mind young. ;-)  I'm preparing a Magency piece for our fall hafla, and my troupe is going to be performing our Cairo-style Saidi piece at a workshop in Syracuse in early December. The workshop is on Turkish Roman dance, which I've never studied before.

*nerding out!*

I'm so excited. I have a 12 yard skirt in my Amazon cart because I'll need one to perform the Turkish choreography in the show after the workshop. No bare midriffs in this form of dance, so I'm coordinating with a sleeved top and hip scarf that I already own.

So much beaming. I'm hoping to adapt the Magency piece for something else next year, that's the thing I'll talk about later. It's all very exciting, rest assured. At least for me! :0

Do you enjoy still learning new things, and "going back to school", if you will, when you find something new that tickles your fancy? I'd love to hear all about it!

Tea Time with Tiffany #93 - Spring into creativity!

Happy Friday all, and welcome to a very seasonally springy edition of:

Today I talk about what is bringing me creative inspiration this spring: dance, crafts, novenas, and some upcoming trips!





**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:

• BIS Pentecost journal
• Our Lady of Fatima novena
• Opposite Pole pattern

What creative things are inspiring YOU this spring? Don't forget to write in with your favorite genres of fiction for our chat next week about a summer book club!

Tea Time with Tiffany #73 - Creative choreography & happy distractions...

Hello all! We have a fun dancing version of:

Today I talk about my teaching load easing, and the joy I find in creating things, including dance choreographies. 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:

Dia de los Muertos rosary from Rosaries by Allison
INSPIRE post, volume 7

 What are you up to this cold November weekend, dear reader? Tell me all about it in the comments. :)

New Year's Resolutions anyone? *insert best of intentions here*

Hi all! I'm doing my best to stay perky as I navigate my first week back to work. How's it going? you reasonably ask, you thoughtful reader, you. :-) It's going pretty well. I've had a bit more difficulty than usual getting back to my regular routine. I miss being home with Mike and the kids. A lot. But I've set my mind to positive things, and that's helping quite a bit.

Part of the way I've been doing this is to focus on goals for the new year. I suppose one could call them New Year's Resolutions. But I know better than to set anything earth shattering for myself, because taking on too much new all at once sets me up for failure.What I prefer to do is examine the things I'd like to improve, and then realistically think of ways to tweak what I'm already doing to make them just that bit better.

So here are the things I'd like to work on, and then we can chat about yours if you like! For me:

(1) A prayer routine. So that would mean...it should actually exist. :0 Right now, the situation is that I attend Mass weekly and on holy days of obligation. I sometimes pray the rosary when I'm in the car. I pray novenas as they pique my interest. And that would be it. I don't feel "dry" in my faith life per se, but it does feel like I'm not putting all that much effort into it, and thus I am not thriving.

When I was contemplating my return to work late last week (stay with me, this ties in), being all sad about it, I thought to myself that I really need to change the way I approach my early wake up time, as that is always one of the most difficult parts of my day. I hate getting out of bed, I could lounge there for hours if allowed. Have I mentioned that over my break, I was able to sleep in until *8 am*? Peeps, the last time I slept in that long I was in my 20's. That would be a two digit difference in the first number in that equation. IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME. I reveled in it. But I'm getting off track, as I am wont to do. ;-) At any rate, ideally, this early morning time could incorporate into improving my prayer life.

When we're back to work and school, I *need* to be out of bed by 6:45 am. I really *should* get out of bed around 6:30 am, so that I don't have to be all rushy rushy.  What I decided to do is this: at 6:30 am, I turn on my bedside lamp. I give myself one minute to let my eyes adjust, then I reach for my new devotional duo and spend a few minutes reading the days' entries. What I decided on are these:

I bought a copy of this back in the late fall, related to a project I worked on for CatholicMom.com. I didn't use it during Advent because I had the Magnificat Companion, so once the new year came, I picked it up, and loved it. It has the daily Gospel reading plus short inspirations for contemplative prayer. Each day is about a page or slightly less in length, all told. Then, I pull out my cute copy of the current Living Faith. I've subscribed to this little pocket devotional in the past, and the church we went to for the feast of Mary, Mother of God on New Years Eve had them available for free, so I picked one up. Each day there is a short reflection on the daily Gospel, so it works quite well with Sacred Reading. It comes out quarterly. Both this and Sacred Reading are available in either print or for Kindle. Convenient, yes?

I've been implementing this plan since Monday, and so far I love it. It helps to make my wake up time much more soothing and pleasant, and I feel better the whole day. My goal is to keep this going through Lent (which is early this year! starts February 10th) and beyond. I'm planning to re-subscribe to Living Faith toward this end.

(2) Fitness and dance. You all know how I love my dancing avocation, and I'm also a reasonably active person, going for walks most days and popping on an online Barre3 workout when I can (only 20-40 minutes total per week, though, right now). Overall however, I've become a bit complacent. I'm extremely consistent about attending my weekly dance class, but otherwise my approach to fitness and staying in shape is fairly haphazard. I'd like to be more organized in my fitness routine and to more practice time for dance. My Fitbit is really helping in this regard, making me more conscious of how active I've been on each day. I love it. I don't necessarily want to lose weight (except for that pesky 5 pounds that everybody always wants to lose :-)) I just want to gain more tone and strength. So I'm setting daily goals. Some days I'm shooting for that 10,000 step goal with my Fitbit, other days I want to get in a workout in that focuses more on core strength. I'm also going to try and incorporate in new and fun things where my schedule allows, like the new HipFit belly dance workout class I was able to attend on Monday evening. LOVED IT. SO MUCH. I can't usually go to those classes, because Mike teaches on Monday nights and I'm needed at home with the kids, but when he's off, I can try to go. Or I can try and find a class at the gym here on campus during lunch. Lots of fun possibilities to explore.

As I've gotten older, I've really tried to learn to appreciate my body for what it is. It is not perfect nor like that of a swimsuit model, which is totally fine with me. But it's what God gave me, so I should treat it well and be comfortable in it. This comes up quite a bit in that book I'm reading, Raising the Barre, which I'm excited to discuss with you soon.

(3) Keep the creative juices flowing! Last year brought a lot of changes to my approach to blogging, and personally, I've been thriving in them. I'm hoping to keep that momentum going. Stay tuned next week for some new and upcoming ideas. ;-)

What are YOUR New Year's Resolutions, dear reader? And don't forget, if you have or get a Fitbit, let me know so that we can become friends in Fitbit app-land and challenge each other to achieve our goals!

Tea Time with Tiffany #23: Getting involved in new creative enterprises!

Hello all, and the end of the week is nearly upon us! It's been another busy one, but I'm hanging in there. How about you? In thinking about happy topics, I came up with a different twist for this week's edition of...

I had a Worship Committee meeting this week, so I was thinking about parish involvement, but I widened the scope to include "getting involved and putting yourself out there!" generally. :) It's a pleasant, positive topic, especially for us introverts who sometimes need that extra encouragement to try new things, and I chat about a bunch of new and interesting things on the horizon.


Items mentioned in this episode:

• Getting and staying motivated to get involved in new things. Case in point: my parish Worship Committee.
• Upcoming and fun new projects right here with your Catholic Librarian. Stayed tuned for details!

Are you involved in any new activities this fall? If you are more introverted, how do you stay motivated to remain involved, and to try new things? Write in with your thoughts and experiences. :)

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!

Tea Time with Tiffany Episode 1 - Feedback & creative inspiration!

Hi all, and welcome to the very first official installment of:

YAY! I was so excited to record another video post this week. I wanted to mention each and every one of you who sent me feedback last week (so go listen for your name :0) and some of the ideas you suggested that I'm planning on developing. I just re-watched the video, and I am super excited and animated in this one, moving my hands around a lot and talking real fast. :) I'm really looking forward to what is to come with these posts, and other projects I have planned here on the blog coming up. Queue up the video for details!

**Apologizing in advance for the sheer volume of sniffling that goes on in this post. It's the evil allergies!

Links mentioned in this week's episode:

• Feedback from last week's initial video post
• Star Quest Production Network (SQPN)
• Catholic New Media Conference, June 7th in Atlanta, GA! 
• Catholic Nook series
• Future podcasts, link TBA!! 
• Pentecost Novena
• Pray More Novenas apostolate

If you have ideas for future topics, please just leave a comment to let me know! I'll blog again after Memorial Day, but until next Tuesday, enjoy your holiday weekend, and God bless!

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.