7 Quick Takes {Take 81} Summer critters, crafting, and packing?! edition...

Summer is a time of new life, yes? Lots of cute baby animals and new flowers, plant life, etc. Well, theoretically. Last night I offered to water the garden, since Henry wanted Mike to toss the Frisbee with him, and I got a concerned look for my efforts:

"What's wrong?"

"Well...don't give them too much water."

"I won't! I'll be careful."

*skeptical pause ensues*

"I mean it!"

"Try not to kill them."

"I won't!"

I don't exactly have a green thumb, so I'm not taking this personally. :0 But speaking of new life...

-1- "Mommy, look at that birdie! HI BIRDIE!!"

 I step to the kitchen window to look at the birds with Anne, and espy a Robin, a European Starling and a mysterious brown bird. I inspect it for a moment, then I realize:

"Oh! That bird is a fledgling, a baby. See how he keeps tweeting and going over to the black bird for food? That's his mommy."

"A baby bird?!"

Anne is transfixed.

"HI BABY BIRDIE!! He's so cute Mommy!"

"Yeah, he's pretty big though, just about as big as his mother." :0

Life is tough when you're a bird, you need to grow fast.

"What is he doing Mommy?"

"Well, his mother is trying to gather food, but he's being awfully loud and interrupting her a lot. I can tell he's really distracting her, but see how she just popped something into his mouth? There she goes to try and find more, and gosh, he's right there isn't he, being all shrill and demanding and following her every move. Come to think, that poor beleaguered mommy bird."

Apparently, certain characteristics amongst young carry over between species. ;-)

Speaking of cute critters...

-2- The lamb now has ears...

*drum roll*

I'm sure he's grateful. :0 I will grant, he still needs a body, but we're getting there!

-3- Video series is going great!

I am loving recording a video each week. I have a bit of a big mouth apparently, so before I know it, I glance at the timer and see that I've been yapping on for over 8 minutes, and I'm going to work on that. :0 I also need to work on my equipment set up, which right now consists of a dictionary, a thesaurus, and my copy of Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light stacked up to act as a stand, and a tape dispenser and stapler to prop the phone up. But besides those things, it's going great. ;-) I loved talking to you yesterday about why I became a librarian and how my responsibilities are about to shift to include a ton more teaching over the next year. Do tune in with a cup of tea or coffee to sip if such things interest you, and also don't forget to leave me your suggestions for chaplets that I can make audio recordings of!

-4- What's that you ask? Packing for my trip? *look of innocence*

So. I'm leaving for my trip to Atlanta for the CNMC in one week. Someone asked me if I had started packing yet, to which I snorted in response. That would be a NO. I'm definitely a last minute type of a packer. I DO have a gigantic to-do list of small headachey things, like little diddies I need at the store to update my travel toiletry bag, acquiring a new piece of luggage because we badly need it, and checking the TSA website for whether various Important Items (like my hair straightener :0) can be tucked into my carry-on bag. We're getting there. I'm very nervously excited. But speaking of things to pack...

-5- Thinking of upgrading my Kindle...

I have the newest Kindle Basic, and I adore it. Henry has a much older version, and it's really on the fritz. I'm thinking of giving him this Kindle and upgrading to the Kindle Paperwhite so that I'll have the built-in light. What do you all think? If you have a Paperwhite, how often do you use the light? I didn't originally get the Paperwhite because I have a bedside lamp that I use to read at night, but I'm now thinking that there could be other occasions on which the built-in light would come in handy, especially while on a trip. Thoughts? :)

-6- My current read...

Yes, it's a very secular romance, judge away. ;-) But I love romantic suspense, and every once in awhile I indulge in a title from the Harlequin Intrigue line. This one is KCPD Protector, by Julie Miller:

I'm just about a quarter of the way through, but so far the mystery has grabbed my interest, although I can tell that this is a part of a larger series that I have not dipped into previously. It's set during a Kansas City summer heatwave, so seasonally it feels like the perfect time to read it. I love it when that happens. :)

-7- June book club!

In June, I'm going to be reading Cardinal Timothy Dolan's Praying in Rome: Reflections on the Conclave and Electing Pope Francis:

This is a quick read, and only $1.99 for Kindle, so scoop it up if you'd like to join in!

All right, I have to jet! I hope that you all have a beautiful last weekend in May, and I'll talk to you next week. Head over to This Aint' the Lyceum for more 7 Quick Takes!

Tea Time with Tiffany Episode 2 - Reference librarianship, and changes on the way?

Hi all! This week, my librarian identity is very much on my mind, and that is the focus of this week's installment of:

Yay! I so love making these videos, although I will admit that the scrutiny I put myself through is a bit painful:

"Why does my face look so weird? Should I redo this one? Oh wait, there is a PIECE OF FUZZ IN MY HAIR, that's it, RE-RECORD!"

So, I haven't exactly gotten this down to a quick-like process just yet. ;-) But we're getting there. This week, I focus on why I became a librarian, and how my role within academic librarianship is changing. Tune in to find out more!


 

Links mentioned in this week's episode:

• Why I love being a reference librarian
• Teaching when you're an introvert
• Chaplet of St. John Paul II
• Lots of chaplet recordings, TBA! (So far I have in the pipeline: Our Lady Star of the Sea, Our Lady of the Snows, 7 Sorrows of Mary, St. Therese, St. Kateri Indian Rosary, St. Dymphna, Divine Mercy, and St. John Paul II!)

 Don't forget to leave a comment if you have any thoughts on being a librarian, and/or if you have suggestions for chaplets to add to my list for future recording!

Catholic Book Club: Into the Clouds

Hi all! It's Catholic Book Club day, and today we have an installment in a series, this being the Berdie Elliott Mysteries, and I've talked about these books before. I absolutely adore the setting and concept, which is that of a new vicar and his wife in a small English village. This particular segment in the series is set around an Ascension day procession, and I simply could not resist the tie-in to the liturgical calendar. Here is the description:

Ascension Sunday balloons are not the only things disappearing in the English village of Aidan Kirkwood. When the villagers celebrate the first Ascension Sunday Processional in fifty years, someone goes missing. A well-off widow who was amongst the crowd has vanished into thin air. And she's not the only one who's nowhere to be found.

Berdie Elliott, the local vicar's wife, goes into sleuth mode as eccentric cat lovers, a secretive informant, Portuguese holidays, an enigmatic "tree" house, and tangled family dynamics all add to the perplexing affair.

 During the course of the story, following the Ascension procession, the vicar talks a lot about his preparation for Whitsum, and I thought to myself:

"What on earth is he talking about?"

...and so I used the handy dandy dictionary tool available on my Kindle. Turns out Whitsum is actually Pentecost, as used in British English. Brilliant! As ever, I loved the setting, and I followed along with the characters and the mystery quite avidly. I will say that in terms of the more minor characters, I felt like there were a lot of them in this book and I had a difficult time keeping them straight. That's the one thing on my Kindle that I still struggle with. I don't find it as easy to flip back and forth between portions of the book to refresh my memory. I also found the plot in this book a bit more convoluted as compared to other volumes in the series. There were two mysteries, really, and we had Berdie pursing one and her best pal Lillie pursuing the other, and I didn't find Lillie's quick jump onto that mystery, and her subsequent unexpected and unexplained trip to Portugal in that regard, all that believable. That plot point, tying into a disagreement she is having with her beau, seemed a bit contrived to me.

Those points notwithstanding, I enjoyed this book. I like the characters, I'm very happy checking back in with them to see what has happened in their lives, and I adore sinking into their beautiful village setting. This book came out in the fall of 2014, and I'm hoping that the author is planning to keep writing new adventures in this series.

Has anybody else read this book or others in the series? What did you think?

:)

A busy, crafty bee this happy Memorial Day weekend...

Good day all! I'm coming off of an absolutely lovely Memorial Day weekend. Usually, I don't do anything special on Memorial Day. Parades? Too many people, potentially too hot. And it means leaving the house. And you all know how I feel about THAT. :0 But this year I wanted to go because our parish was hosting a float (Fr. Joe claimed he was "going to be riding on the Popemobile" :0), and so we went. I have to say, I'm so glad that we did. We ended up having to leave prior to seeing Fr. Joe *sob!* because Mike and Henry had plans to see the new Avengers movie and we were cutting it close to the time, but we had been there for an hour and a half, so we got to see plenty. We socialized with our grass neighbors, and I felt all community-spirit-like. Anne befriended a dog, all was good.

I also did a lot of knitting and crocheting this weekend. Henry has been requesting an alien stuffed animal for some time, and I finally got around to it. I have a photo. Brace yourselves. :0

His name is Zork :0

He's very...bright. The yarn is actually neon green. I mean, it's perfect for an alien, right? It's just so...loud. And his eyeballs are just so...large. He keeps toppling over from the sheer weight of his own head. That ruffle at the bottom is supposed to be the same color at his body, but I ran out of green, so he got white:

*Tiffany crochets happily*

"Honey, do you think this white ruffle makes it look like the alien is wearing a skirt? Should I take it off?"

*Mike glances over dubiously*

"No I don't think so."

Meanwhile, the next morning, I come downstairs to find the finished alien in Henry's arms while he watches television.

"Do you like your alien, Sweetie?"

"Oh yes. But could you take off this white thing? It kind of looks like he's a ballerina."

I didn't want to say I TOLD YOU SO, but I thought in my head. ;-) So I took the ruffle off. But the head issue has gotten worse now that Henry has started tucking the thing under his arm to sleep. His neck is super wobbly. I need to come up with a solution for this. Suggestions?

I also started knitting a lamb for my desk, because I've wanted to do that for some time, and who doesn't need a desk lamb? I ask you. I have his body done, but his face is truly spectacular:

His name is Shaun ;-)

I mean, did you ever? I know he doesn't have any ears yet, and his body isn't attached, so the whole severed head thing is a bit creepy, but he's coming right along!

So that was my weekend. :) Lots of gardening, crafting and drinking of tea. It was wonderful. How was your weekend, dear reader?

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!

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!

Librarian sick day quarantine: day 2...

Hello all.

*weak smile*

After another difficult night of coughing for both Anne and I (SO MUCH HACKING) I awoke this morning with a miserable sinus headache and feeling like Death Warmed Over. There wasn't really much of a decision to make: I had to stay home from work. I was scheduled on the reference desk today, and I hardly think anybody would appreciate the librarian coughing uncontrollably and blowing her nose for two straight hours. Plus, Anne's cough is still very tight. She's bound for the pediatrician this afternoon and I wanted to be able to take her.

So, here we are. It's unusual for me to use sick days at work, I'm a bit of a martyr about such things. ;-) But it's necessary. I'm feeling a lot better than I did this morning, and I'm hopeful that I'm now on the mend. I do still get that dreaded tickle in my throat, followed by unattractive coughing spasms, but my sinus situation is (Alert: this is the TMI portion of our time together today) clearly draining, so that's good. My rash is also a lot better today, so...

#winning!

I've been doing lots of lounging on the couch watching The Golden Girls, and so my precious husband (who is home with us all day since he's between semesters of teaching) keeps walking into the living room with a cup of tea for me, the strains of "Thank You For Being a Friend" heralding his arrival. He's handling the whole thing pretty well, I'd say. ;-)

I'm resting up for my trip to the doctor with Anne in a few hours, which means I've also been spending lots of quality time with my Kindle. Currently underway is another Amish fiction title:

A mysterious outsider casts a long shadow in Ohio's Amish coutnry. When a stranger and his young son show up on her aunts' doorstep, Rachel Troyer is suspicious. Will she be able to uncover Joe's secrets despite her aunts'--and her own--growing affection for him?

Yay. :) I love this stuff. I'm being very good and reading books that I downloaded ages ago because they were on sale, but have been languishing on my device for months, or even years. I have a few new books in mind that I'd like to download for my trip to Atlanta in a few weeks, and to justify this, I'm trying to get through as many other books before then as I can. My Kindle is indispensable when I fly, it's the perfect distraction. I will grant, I act like I'm taking a trans-Atlantic trip, rather than a barely 2 hour one, but hey, I'm a nervous flyer, ;-)

How are you all doing this week?

Anne's 4th birthday, & "Golden Girls" marathons, because isn't that what everybody does when they're sick?

Hi all! I'm reporting in from the sick wing today, as I'm home from work with a vicious cold. I'll come back to that, as it involves a story, naturally, but I thought I'd start with the happier news of Anne's birthday party this past Saturday. Oh gosh, in fact, it's just after 1 pm here, EDT, and exactly 4 years ago, I was about to deliver precious Anne.

#aw!

Or: #gross! #TooMuchInformationTiffany! depending upon how you look at it, I suppose. But at any rate, we celebrated her miracle of life on Saturday with a family birthday party, complete with Frozen everything. Here we have the birthday girl:

Trying to pretend that she's shy...

...and posing with her birthday balloons:

Looking decidedly *less* shy...

Her ultimate Frozen cake:

Notice the Elsa and Anna plates and napkins in the foreground? My mother would be responsible for those. :0

And the requisite shot of her blowing out the candles:

A lovely time was had by all. Unfortunately, Anne started a light cough on Saturday.

*ominous music cues up*

Overnight on Saturday we had some more coughing to contend with, and I administered a midnight soothe involving application of Vicks Vaporub, fetching of water cup, and reading of "Little House" story. Yesterday, she was definitely not 100%, and we had to contend with quite a few overtired and sickly temper tantrums. I also started to cough, and heading into the overnight Sunday, I was feeling decidedly nervous that we would not get a good night of sleep.

*Tiffany turns her bedside light off and begins to drift to sleep...*

2 minutes elapse...

*Tiffany's throat is seized by horrible, hacking cough*

Needless to say, I was not happy. I tossed and turned a bit, hoping that my throat would soothe. Mike was also being super soothing, trying to help me get comfortable, when IT happened.

*horrible hacking cough emanates from Anne's room*

Between her and me, there was NO WAY I was going to sleep. Mike promised to check on Anne, and I headed downstairs to the guest room, since I knew I would keep him up if I stayed in our room. I hacked down there with my Kindle for a time, and even from all the way downstairs, I could still hear Anne coughing sporadically. Eventually, I gave up. I figured I'd just bring her downstairs with me, and we could watch The Golden Girls while propped up on the couch. I trudged up to her room and opened her door. Hark. What is that smell?

This is that point that all parents ultimately come to, wherein we go into vast detail about some sort of vile body fluid oozing out of our children. Right. In this instance, it would be vomit. I hurried over and quickly discerned that from the chest up, Anne was covered with real mucousy vomit, which must have made it's appearance sometime after Mike had checked on her. I quickly got her up and out of bed, and mopped down. Mike blessedly manifested to strip the bed and begin the fumigation process. I got her all changed while Mike got her room back in order. But I knew she wouldn't be able to sleep right away. That's what The Golden Girls are for.

I adore The Golden Girls. It's my favorite late night TV guilty pleasure from my young adulthood when I could actually stay up past 11 pm,  and whenever I'm up in the middle of the night, I check the Hallmark Channel and it's usually on. Sure enough, Hallmark Channel to the rescue. A Golden Girls marathon, on until well past 1 am, after which time Frazier picks up the slack. Hot damn.

I got her propped up with me and watched no fewer than 4 episodes, all while Anne elbowed me in the ribs and stuck her feet into my vital organs into an attempt to get comfortable. Ah right, *that's* what it feels like to be pregnant again, check. We watched the episode wherein the girls hire a housekeeper named Marguerite, whom they fear has put a curse on them. The one where they are robbed, Rose gets all upset and paranoid, and Blanche says a police officer called her an "oldster." (that one is a personal favorite). Oh, oh, the one where Blanche meets this young stud named Dirk at a Jazzercise class, and then tries to transform herself into looking 30 again when he asks her out?

#bliss

And BY THE WAY. Let me check the calendar...right, it's mid-May. I'll just have you know that The Hallmark Channel is advertising a week long marathon of Christmas movies, to premiere on July 3rd. We've moved Christmas anticipation back to May now? Good gracious.

Eventually, I coaxed Anne back to bed, since the two of us sleeping on the couch thing just wasn't going to end comfortably for either of us. Neither of us was coughing anymore, and I was confident we could get through the night at that point. I re-tucked her in and she went right to sleep. As did I, after a few more tosses and turns for good measure.

The only negative marring this touching scene is that she woke up this morning in a vicious mood and threw a 30 minute screaming tantrum about having to have a bath to wash the vomit out of her hair. Good times, right there. We watched more Golden Girls while I sipped at a full bottle of water to soothe my re-tickly throat (I own the entire series on DVD, so no worries on ever running out of episodes :0) and Mike showed the true nature of unconditional love and sacramental marriage by fixing lunch and sitting down with us to watch the episode wherein the girls are accidentally arrested for prostitution.

"I lost Butter Queen, haven't I suffered enough?!"

He even laughed at appropriate times, ensuring the accumulation of lots of Husbandly Bonus Points.

So, that's my day. :0 As I curled up into the fetal position, attempting to doze off earlier in the morning, I felt Mike approach:

"Oh. You're getting that fever rash on your neck again."

I already had to dance in public with that rash on my neck, haven't I suffered enough?!

So, YEAH, I'm looking a little rough today. Very feverish eyed and rashy, with curly, out-of-control hair. Hence, no video posts until this remedies itself. :0

I'm hoping I'll be well enough to go to work tomorrow, but who knows. How are you faring this Monday, dear reader?

7 Quick Takes {Take 80} Book club & video series news, lots of fiction recommendations, & somebody's turning 4?! *sob!* edition...

On a springtime morning in WNY (a few graduation ceremonies here on campus today; I remembered to park closer to the exit so as to avoid a near occasion of sin when I leave later :0), I'm in good spirits and thinking about what's coming up this weekend and for the rest of May. And what would those things be? Read on, dear friend. :)

-1- *sniffle*

My littlest button's birthday is Monday, and we're having a party for her tomorrow. She's going to be 4.

*insert any number of hormone-induced emoticons here*

My little babe. :-\ She's getting decidedly not-so-little. She's seeming quite tall and lanky these days. And sassy, have I mentioned that? Her party has a Frozen theme, complete with Elsa dress and cake with Olaf's face on it. She's terribly excited and adorable about the whole thing.

-2- Who can resist this face?

And here's the birthday girl, in all her sassiness:

She is precious, isn't she?

-3- What's on my Kindle?

Lots of book talk again this Friday. And what's on my Kindle? *unladylike snort* A LOT of books.  But what I'm currently reading is An Amish Gathering: Life in Lancaster County, which is a compilation of novellas by Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller and Barbara Cameron.

You all know how much I love Amish fiction. Here's the description:

Three heartwarming tales of old friends and new beginnings that span one year in an Amish community.

A Change of Heart by Beth Wiseman
Leah is no good at cooking, cleaning, sewing, gardening―the skills that young women need to make a proper Amish wife. All she wants to do is write stories, but she's sincerely tired of being a disappointment. Will she ever find someone who accepts her just as she is? And can an almost-Amish angel in red polka dots help her find her way?

A Place of His Own by Kathleen Fuller
When Josiah left Paradise the first time, he didn't even say good-bye. Now he's back, ten years later, and he's changed. Why is he so distant and bitter? Where is the boy who used to be Amanda's best friend? Amanda is learning that there are things even a capable Amish girl can't fix. But can she stand there and watch him walk away . . . again?

When Winter Comes by Barbara Cameron
It's been too long since Rebecca has done what she loves―put on her skates and fly across the ice. Five years have passed since a winter accident took her twin Lizzie and left Rebecca heartbroken. And Ben has waited for her all that time. At last she's starting to heal. But has too much time passed for their hearts to reconnect?

I'm still on the first story, and it's excellent so far. Beth Wiseman is a favorite of mine, to be sure. The premise is different from other Amish books I've read. I'm digging it!

-4- Lots more fiction coming your way...

Speaking of my current read, I have been on a real fiction kick lately. I've been going through more books that I've downloaded and been saving up, and I have plans to download some more that I'm coveting for my trip to Atlanta next month. So, I'm thinking that at least for the summer, the Catholic Book Club will incorporate in more fiction (with a religious bent, certainly). It's just the mood that I'm in, so why not, right? If you enjoy religious fiction, be sure to stay tuned for upcoming titles that we can read together.

-5- May book club coming up soon!

Indeed, our May date for the Catholic Book Club is near at hand, May 27th, and on that day we'll be discussing Into the Clouds: A Berdie Elliott Ascension Mystery, by Marilyn Leach:

I couldn't resist the feast of the Ascension tie-in. I reviewed the Advent book in this series, and really enjoyed it, so I thought this installment was perfect for May. I just finished reading it a few days ago, and am looking forward to talking to you about it. If you'd like to join in, the book is only $3.99 for Kindle!

-6- And now on to dance-related frivolities...

Summer festival season is just about upon us, and my troupe is booked for several dates in July and August. This means lots of rehearsing for the rest of May and all of June. Excitingly, our sets are fairly long for these, so there are solo opportunities. Given the sheer volume of how much I sweat before I dance solo, one wouldn't think I'd be clamoring for the opportunity. One wouldn't *think*. ;-) But soloing is an opportunity to really grow as a dancer, and gain valuable experience. Thus, I am slated to solo. I'm pretty nervous, but excited all the same. Much obsessing about music and costuming to come, stay tuned. ;-)

-7- Have I mentioned how excited I am about the video series I'm starting?

Yes, clearly. :0 But I can't help it, I'M SO EXCITED! If you haven't joined in the fun yet, my very first video post ever is linked here, and I'm looking forward to recording another installment next week. These will be called "Tea Time with Tiffany" and we can kibbutz together each week over tea or coffee. I'm figuring out my topics for the next few weeks, and I have also received some suggestions, so I'm keeping a list of everything!

#TypeA

As a preview, some things on the list are: my identity within academic librarianship, and will I continue to have a role as an old fashioned reference librarian? How do I integrate my Catholic faith into my marriage?  How did I discover Catholic podcasting?...and my experiences, as a Class A Introvert ;-), at my very first Catholic New Media Conference. How did I get started taking classes in Middle Eastern dance? I'll talk about the feedback that I've received a bit more on next week's edition of the show, I promise, because there are some really fascinating suggestions in there. Yay? YAY!

All right everyone, talk to you next week. Have a beautiful weekend, and please come back to join me afterward for some fun conversation and fellowship. Until then, don't forget to check out more 7 Quick Takes over at This Ain't the Lyceum!

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?