A cute saint story podcast...

Yes, I really wish I had come up with this idea myself. :-0 You all know how much I enjoy podcasts, and how much my kids and I also enjoy stories of the saints. This would have been a marketing goldmine, let me tell you you. ;-) At any rate, Shining Light Saint Dolls thought of it first, and I listened the newest episode as well as one of the earlier ones this morning while I was getting ready for work. Let me tell you: SO CUTE. These are not just for kids!

This is a weekly podcast featuring a saint whose feast is celebrated that week. They are short episodes, 4 to 5 minutes each, and begin with a quick description of the saint, followed by a narrated story highlighting something this saint is particularly known for. The stories have sound effects and everything, it's so endearing. :) At the end, the narrator draws a lesson that we can all learn from this saint. The newest episode features St. Scholastica!

I really enjoyed these, and officially subscribed to the feed so that I'll receive new episodes automatically in my podcast app. If you go to the Shining Light Dolls website, scroll down just a tad and you'll see "Saint Stories for Kids", followed by the option to listen to the latest episode, or subscribe via a number of different feed options. They would be perfect to play for your kids, but I have to admit that I'm looking forward to listening to the new episodes as well. They are a breath of fresh air for my morning commute!

In other faith news, I have some ideas for Lent, including a read-along/book club idea that I'm *really* excited about. Look for a post on that next week! 😀

If you love to read, you'll love this!

Well, hi there! After my cathartic rant yesterday, I'm feeling MUCH BETTER and I hope you are too. ;-) I have another crazy day today (let's all groan together, shall we?) but I wanted to pop in here to thank all of you who left me sweet and amusing comments yesterday. I appreciate your presence in my life and your support more than you can know.

I also wanted to point you to the VERY FUN Catholic Mom Hangout podcast that I recorded yesterday with a terrific duo of other Catholic Mom contributors:

We each brought a selection of our all-time favorite fiction and non-fiction titles, so tune in if you'd like to find some new titles to read! There is a video of the hangout, as well as a downloadable audio option.

A quick mention that the poll is open for another week to vote on the next Catholic Book Club title! So far, the historical non-fiction title is winning. If you are interested in a different title, make sure to vote! We'll see the official winner next Wednesday, when we will also be discussing Divine Mercy for Moms.

All right, I have to sign off. My "break" today is to attend PiYo during my lunch hour, because apparently I like pain and suffering. I'll be with you tomorrow for another edition of Tea Time with Tiffany. I don't know what I will talk about yet, but that's what makes it so fun, yes? See you then!

I finally don't look like Death, Pentecost novena update, and a new podcast in my queue!

AHHHHHHH... I'm back at work, and finally feeling like myself again. Which is to say that my hair is brushed AND straightened, and I have actual, real clothes on! As opposed to my sick uniform of yoga pants and old tee shirt, that is. We all slept well last night too, which goes a long way, friends.

I had Anne at the pediatrician yesterday, and do you want to know what he said after he had a look at her? And remember, this is the hacking, vomiting, irritable child of the past 4 days:

"She has seasonal allergies."

"ARE YOU SURE?!"

That would be me, tactfully replying. We had both just been so incredibly miserable it seemed to me that a diagnosis of seasonal allergies would make me feel like a total wuss.

"Yeah, it's the worst I've ever seen it this year. It has to do with the bitter winter we had. The grass and tree pollen all started at the same time, rather than being staggered throughout the spring like usual."

*glares!*

We can blame this bitter winter of 2015 for yet one more indignity to my life. He prescribed some allergy medication for Anne, and I popped a Zyrtec when I got home. And well...

SO MUCH BETTER. I mean, I had the fever rash and everything, I was pretty convinced that I had the Plague. I still got a few throat tickles in the middle of the night:

*Tiffany awakens with a start*

*coughs all over Mike*

...but all in all, it was MUCH better than it's been. Well, for me anyway. ;-) We postponed our family birthday dinner for Anne until we were both feeling better, and that's tonight, so I'm excited!

In the mean time, I've been hard at prayer with the Pentecost novena, which we're on day 6 of:

...and it's been a really nice one so far. How's it going for you? I will talk about this more in my next video post, which I hope to have out tomorrow!

Finally, I wanted to mention a new podcast that I starting subscribing to, as I did a lot of podcast listening during my two days off this week as well. Remember when I wrote back in the fall about how much I loved Serial? Well, I now subscribe to Serial's cousin, Undisclosed. Most of the podcasts I listen to are Catholic, but I like to mix it up with some of the secular persuasion as well. :) I used to listen to This American Life, and that is a *great* podcast, to be sure, but the experience was so varied for me each week. Some weeks I was gripped by the content, others were very good and educational, some were "just ok" for me, and yet others I didn't like at all. And my podcast queue is pretty full, so I just don't have room for something that isn't right on target for me each week. Serial and Undisclosed are different from This American Life in that they are both solely true crime/legal podcasts, and I *always* find those fascinating. If you've never listened to either of these, and would like to start, I would suggest going back and listening to all of the season 1 Serial episodes first, since Undisclosed really assumes that you have done so. I think the content would be very confusing if you haven't. This is my third week of listening, and I'm glad that I picked it up. It's a nice balance to the other podcasts that I listen to. Does anyone else listen to Undisclosed? What do you think of it?

All right, that's it for this Wednesday. I hope to see you all tomorrow in my video post. Talk to you then!

Thoughts while walking (or driving :))...

The Walk with Fr. Roderick

Hello to you all on this fine spring day! I'm super perky today, which is aided by the fact that I'm wearing a short sleeved top for the first time since September. And it's pink! Life is grand.

As I was driving in to work this morning, I was thinking. You know, about STUFF. I do that a lot. ;-) My little mind is always awhirl while I'm driving or walking by myself. Or when I'm in the shower. :0 Anytime my mind is allowed to wander from the task at hand, it will, it seems. At any rate, in the background I had on Fr. Roderick's The Walk podcast. As you already know, I completely adore that precious Fr. Roderick. I've been listening to his show The Break for, let's see...probably about 6 years now. In that neighborhood of time, at least. When he added in The Walk, I thought maybe it would be duplicated content just targeted at another audience, so perhaps it would be redundant to listen to both. I was wrong, and I happily subscribe to both shows.

The Break has a structure: he talks about current events both in his life and in the news, movies and TV shows, books that he's read, and then a segment that he calls "The Peculiar Bunch," in which he'll address a current Catholic topic. The Walk is totally different. It's complete stream of consciousness as he goes out for a walk to get some exercise. He just brings his audio recorder and chats with his audience about whatever is on his mind during that hour.

I *really* love this format, and I think that part of it is that I relate to it so much. This is pretty much how I write in this blog. :0 I know that there are blogs out there that are more polished and helpful than mine (AKA: better ;-)). And thank goodness for them, because we all benefit from them! But my approach to blogging has always been that this is an online journal that I choose to share with others. Sometimes I plan posts ahead of time, like the Catholic Book Club or the Church Triumphant posts. But usually, I just await inspiration each morning, and then write about that topic, whatever is on my mind in that moment.

And so, this morning I was listening to Father talk about some projects he's working on, and how they're not turning out the way he expected, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, right? God is always working in there. :) And he mentioned how there are so many things he's been able to do that he strove to achieve, but that there are so many others that he'd like to accomplish. As I listened, I related this back to my own life, which is such a pleasing byproduct of this type of informal style. There are LOTS of projects that I've always wanted to try (writing, podcasting...), and yet I often hesitate. I'm worried about...oh, let us count the ways, shall we?

(1) Time. I don't want things to take me away from Mike and the kids too much.

(2) Money. Some projects require a small investment in new equipment, and then I'll shy away from it, which is silly. I buy yarn, dance costumes and books with abandon, why shouldn't I invest in technology that will bring joy and meaning?

(3) Fear of failure. I really should have put this first. ;-) Because this really is a hindrance on me trying new things. Why do you think it took me *years* to work up the nerve to dance solo at a performance? And this is closely related to...

(4) Fear of looking stupid. :0 There it is. I really do fear this. A lot.

But life is short, you know? Not that we should proceed with things full steam ahead without fully thinking them through. But I shouldn't let surmountable fears hold me back so much. So maybe I'll try moving forward on a few projects I've always wanted to try. I'll keep you posted. ;-)

I'm glad that Fr. Roderick's show this week got me to thinking about these things. Do you brainstorm or otherwise wax poetic while you walk or drive? When is your most creative thinking time? Anytime there aren't little voices in the background asking you to assist them with wiping in the bathroom, you say? I can relate to that. :)

Tomorrow will be a DANCE POST! Make sure to head back over if you enjoy such shenanigans.

Halloween plans, and speaking of podcasts to listen to...

Happy Thursday everyone! I'm in a good mood today, as you may be able to tell, because once again, as Anne would say: "I sleeped!" We had some pre-bedtime sassiness, but overall we've developed a nice routine of getting her ready and soothingly talking about hugging her new stuffed dog (whom Anne has christened "Dan") if she wakes up when it's still dark out. So far, so good. I'm hoping that I haven't set forth an avalanche of tantrumy activity by writing that outright, but I'm choosing to live dangerously. ;-)

Tomorrow is Halloween, and also 7 Quick Takes Friday, so I'm planning a themed edition. I have photos of both children in their costumes to include - I always secure those before the day itself, since there is no guarantee that the toddler/preschool aged child will willing put their chosen costume on their actual body prior to trick-or-treating. We've been burned by this in the past. :0 I also have a link to my favorite Halloween post of all time (think: Anne taking out an entire porch row of potted mums and a poor fiber optic vampire), and amusing details of the way Mike and I handle doling out candy duty vs. taking the kids around the neighborhood to trick-or-treat (think: specific alcoholic selections). As well, I have an All Saints Day dance performance update, and some information about an upcoming Catholic YA fiction title that I am tremendously excited about!

So, good stuff ahead. But going back for a moment to my post from yesterday, in which I mentioned a podcast that I listen to faithfully, Catholic Vitamins. I listen to a slew of Catholic podcasts, most of them affiliated with SQPN, but not exclusively. I adore them.

I do, though, listen to a few secular podcasts, one of which is new and I have become so obsessed with it that I thought I'd mention it. And that is the new spinoff of This American Life, (which I also listen to) called Serial.

 As the name implies, it's a single story told week-by-week, and so the episodes are designed to be listened to in order. Season 1 chronicles the following story, as excerpted from their website:

"On January 13, 1999, a girl named Hae Min Lee, a senior at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, disappeared. A month later, her body turned up in a city park. She'd been strangled. Her 17-year-old ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was arrested for the crime, and within a year, he was convicted and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. The case against him was largely based on the story of one witness, Adnan’s friend Jay, who testified that he helped Adnan bury Hae's body. But Adnan has always maintained he had nothing to do with Hae’s death. Some people believe he’s telling the truth. Many others don’t.

Sarah Koenig, who hosts Serial, first learned about this case more than a year ago. In the months since, she's been sorting through box after box (after box) of legal documents and investigators' notes, listening to trial testimony and police interrogations, and talking to everyone she can find who remembers what happened between Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lee fifteen years ago. What she realized is that the trial covered up a far more complicated story, which neither the jury nor the public got to hear. The high school scene, the shifting statements to police, the prejudices, the sketchy alibis, the scant forensic evidence - all of it leads back to the most basic questions: How can you know a person’s character? How can you tell what they’re capable of? In Season One of Serial, she looks for answers."

Oh my goodness. It is SO GOOD. Fascinating, fascinating stuff. If true crime and legal cases interest you, take a listen, you won't regret it. The new episodes come out on Thursdays, and this morning I was tripping over my own feet to synch my iPod and download the new one.

All right, talk to you all tomorrow with all of the Halloween-y details. :) Have a good day!