Tales from the Emergency Room

One of our favorites:

Or something like this... happy Wednesday! Will is sleeping off night shift, I turned in an article and have the babysitter over while I deep clean the house (taking a break while the kitchen floor dries... and I'm off again to swiffer the stairs!).

Are you the doctor, the doctor-patient, or Hobbes? I think I'm Hobbes. 

#7QT: How Clever! How Wicked.

Another week come and gone... joining Jen's circus for this Labor Day weekend mayhem!

ONE

One delicious pie.

Perhaps it is because we're all settled in (ignore those boxes of books at the top of the stairs); or maybe it's because I'm in my third trimester; or maybe it's because I've realized that a kitchen without sweets is a very, very, very sad kitchen.

Will is not a dessert person (or a fruit person, or a vegetable person, for that matter). I never considered myself a dessert person until there were none to be found. They were not exactly "necessities" in our budget. I tried to think of creative ways to get them in the house.

To date, I've made Fourth of July cake, banana bread, snickerdoodle cookies, peach and berry pie, and carrot cake.

Will, in a sing-songy voice: "My wife is the best! My wife made me cake!"
Me: "It's carrot cake!"
Will, still singing: "My wife made me vegetable cake!"

Will didn't actually eat any of the carrot cake, but he supports my domestic endeavors, and our friends enjoy the sweets of my labor. Next up: muffins!

TWO

I devoured a British mystery show recently: Rosemary and Thyme. It centers around a plant pathologist, Rosemary Boxer, and Laura Thyme, a former police constable. After a twist of fate in the first episode, they become friends and business partners as gardeners. Gardeners, of course, who also solve murders! Quirky, very British, and quite enjoyable.

THREE

"I never speak lightly of murder... I hate to tempt fate." --Miss Marple

I've moved on to Agatha Christie's Miss Marple series (starring Geraldine McEwan). The title of this post is another quote from the infamous Jane Marple. Have you read the books and short stories, dear readers? The Complete Short Stories: A Miss Marple Collection by Agatha Christie is one of my favoritest books. If you're looking for a good puzzle and mystery read, I highly recommend picking it up.

FOUR

Happy 36 weeks to my Bambino Baldwin!

FIVE

My awesome friend Andrew sent me Bill Watterson's commencement speech at Kenyon College in May 1990, and it is just wonderful.

Slate published a comic based on part of that speech -- also really excellent.

SIX

Back in college, a few friends/ fellow American Studies majors and I would celebrate "Founding Fridays" and go out after class for a beer. So, when I saw this on St. Charles Street yesterday, it made me very, very happy.

I reviewed Stephen Mansfield's The Search for God and Guinness at TIC, and it is another fantastic read.

SEVEN

Any plans for this Labor Day weekend? Will has Friday AND Monday off, so he'll be studying for Step 3, listening to lectures, helping me decorate the nursery, and relishing in his time off. I am tying up loose ends, trying to enter September with less on my to-do list than when I moved down here!

Talk to me, birds!

Have You Filed Your Taxes?

I almost didn't write one this week but, nonetheless, here is my volume 20:

one

Today is not, I repeat, not Tax Day. Tax Day was moved to Monday, because there is a holiday of some sort happening in Washington, D.C. Or, if you work at a tax law firm like I do, then every day is Tax Day!

two

Something I read for class, by Catholic Moral Theologian David Bohr:

The Christian life is like this. Faith is not usually a sudden inspiration that comes out of nowhere. Faith is a habit built up over time by doing faithful actions. Faith, as it was for the ancient Israelites, is not just a feeling or interior assurance, but is constituted in the real, material world by concrete practices. Faith is skillfully and wisely dealing with strangers, loved ones, money, genitals, and pots and pans. Faith is not usually something that comes in a flash of blinding light, but is built up over time by small actions like saying a prayer for a friend, cutting vegetables at a soup kitchen, putting one's rear end in a pew every Sunday morning. If faith takes hold, these sort of actions and a thousand others become second nature.

three

Spring is here, finally! Still cold-ish sometimes, but at least I can walk outside with my shoes off again, feet squishing against the grass and cool mud.

More things I like about spring: driving with my windows down again, bare legs, shorts, spring skirts, playing and running outside with the family dog, weekend croquet matches, no more cold weather, birds singing, warm breezes, anything nautical, sunshine.

What are things you like about spring?

four

One of my best friends from college/ Kappa is at culinary school in New York and I miss her a lot. Fortunately, she keeps a blog. Even for a non-foodie like me, I enjoy it. She's also been tying in Scripture verses to the beginning of her posts lately too, which gives new perspective. Check it out!

Vivy and me running down a hill in Georgia

five

My best friend (Bear-Bear, to those unawares) has an incredibly talented younger sister, whom I call Old Sport. Listen to her beautiful song here:

six

Doesn't this song just make you happy? This website on St. Augustine makes me happy too-- many thanks to Emina at Illumination for posting it! The libertarian allegory from the Mises Institute of Rebecca Black's song "Friday" is worth a chuckle too; and, as always, are you reading WSJ's James Taranto?

seven

We Bright Maidens had another lovely response to our post this week: saving sex for marriage. I must admit, I was rawther nervous about posting mine, but the responses, either public or private, were overall so gracious, that it made me feel very happy to share my stories and view point. Many thanks to Tito Edwards for featuring mine on National Catholic Register and The Pulp.It as well! AMDG!

In case you missed it:
"The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same" by Julie Robison
"Cut to the Chaste." by Elizabeth at Startling the Day
"Three Strikes, I'm Out!" by Trista at Not a Minx

This next week's topic is finally to be revealed.... REVERSION STORIES! How three cradle Catholics "re-discovered" the Church, and why we've stayed Catholic. Being friends with Trista and Elizabeth, I can assure the audience that y'all will be in for a treat.

After Lent, we'll take a one week break, and then resume posts every two weeks. We'd like to invite anyone interested to write alongside us, and post it on our Facebook page! Or e-mail us the link, and we'll happily post it for you.

Happy Friday, folks! See Conversion Diary for more.

Born This Way

I heard through the grapevine that Lady Gaga's new album is out today, so I thought we'd start with some John Cusack: "People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"

Also, today is my 11th Quick Takes on February 11th! Yeah! Totally happened.

one

First exciting piece of business: a raffle contest! Truth and Life made an unabridged and dramatized version of the New Testament (RSV) with a stellar cast.

Here's their blurb:

The Truth & Life Dramatized audio Bible™ New Testament is endorsed with an Imprimatur from the Vatican and includes a foreword by Pope Benedict XVI. Voiced by internationally-renowned actors including: Neal McDonough, Kristen Bell, Sean Astin, Michael York, Blair Underwood, Malcolm McDowell, Stacy Keach, Brian Cox, Julia Ormond, John Rhys-Davies and many more. The Truth & Life audio New Testament is a first of its kind dramatized audio Bible from the RSV-CE translation and distributed by Zondervan.

From Chicago to Hollywood to New York and beyond... over 70 actors, 20 audio engineers in 10 studios over 3 continents contributed to the creation of this unique audio New Testament.

More than 100 media development experts and 10,000 production hours were needed to complete this ambitious project.

The complete audio New Testament is 22 hours shipped on 18 CDs.

Here's a peek into production:



Yeah, doesn't it sound amazing?! It is. I own it and have enjoyed listening to it so much that I bought it for my adviser's family for Christmas. They love it too. I've also lent it to B + Z, goodly Protestant friends of mine, who also love it. Hearing the Bible is so reminiscent of oral tradition and really touches another part of the intellect and senses.

So here's the raffle: comment on this post or e-mail me at julie (dot) cornerview (at) gmail (dot) com to enter your name to win your own dramatized NT.

That's it! Next week, I'll put all the names in a bowl and one lucky reader will get a free copy from Truth and Life!! I'll announce the winner next week and post a video of one of my siblings picking the name. I promise we'll make it entertaining.

For and on the record, I really do encourage support for this company and the work they do. This product is especially good for people on the go, who perhaps wish they had more time to read the Bible. Listening to it in the car or in the my room has really been powerful, and I am beyond grateful for this recording. Fingers crossed that they produce an Old Testament version next!!

You are Precisely My Cup of Tea

Last night, I helped out at Cast Your Nets, a high school event put on by the Vocations Office of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. I was put on PowerPoint duty. My finger performed exceptionally well tapping the arrow keys. I think I might have found my true calling in life!

Fr. Kyle asked if I went to Franciscan University of Steubenville, a Catholic college in Ohio and I replied, Nope, I went to Hillsdale College in Michigan. Not as exciting in Catholic spheres, but that hasn’t been the first time someone has thought I went to a Catholic college. Nope. I didn’t even look at Catholic colleges, unless they had a lacrosse program.

My alma mater's religious ratio is (about) 60 percent Protestant, 40 percent Catholic (with about 1300 students in toto). I was blessed to graduate with many friends on campus, but, of my top ten closest friends, seven are Protestants and three are Catholics. (I know, the numbers are so Biblical!)

What's Right With the World?

Elizabeth Scalia posed the question “What’s Right With World” in a Monday post, focusing on the positives and not the all-too-cumbersome negatives surrounding us. She asked for 3, so I am giving 7 for my Volume Seven:

ONE

Let's just get the obvious out there: Calvin and Hobbes snowmen.

Humor is the quickest way to warm a heart and see a truth, and this kid (er, Bill Watterson) has it in spades. My siblings and I have been waiting all winter for the right kind of snow. We've only gotten a lot of wet snow, which is the worst kind. And when we do, I'm making this one:

The creativity is just phenomenal...

For more of C&H snowmen, click here. 

Happy 2011!

Another year has come and passed, and in less than three months, I'll be 23. Great Scott!

Okay: New Years Resolutions. I don't usually make 'em. I don't like making promises I don't keep a month later, usually because of sloth. But... I was very naughty in December 2010 and bought a "few" more than usual fantastic books. Now, I don't regret buying the books, but if I want to travel more, I am going to have to curb my purchases since aggressively paying off my student loans takes a big bite out of my paycheck every month. So, here goes:

Resolution #1: Buy no more than three books a month.  

This will be difficult. Brief poll: do academic books count?

Resolution #2:  Write more letters than blog posts.

My friend Tessa and I formed the St. Francis Society (SFS) for all epistolary communication a year or so ago. I am thinking about branching out the membership. (St. Francis is the patron saint of writers, and we think letter writers should be included.) Also, I've noticed since graduating that I tend to write a huge stack of letters every few months; I think I should write less letters on a more frequent basis, like I did in college. It'll help break up stress too!

Resolution #3: Not eat meat on Fridays.

I've always admired people who sacrifice that one day. We've never done it in our family, but I know other families and friends who do. It isn't quite fasting, but it's something physical and manageable I can offer up to God, since I eat meat every day (Lent notwithstanding).

Resolution #4: Regularly review Latin vocabulary.

Latin is coming up a lot more in readings that I am doing, and it annoys me that I know the grammar syntax and construction but am becoming pretty shaky on actually translating. I intend to remedy this! I'm afraid, though, it will be another type of purgatory, those horrible character building things necessary for life, because one cannot enjoy the joy of translating at sight without the hours of dull memorizing.

What do y'all think about resolutions? Do you make them and follow them? Or do you think they're made to be broken? What are they?

Hurray for another year of life! Happy 2011! Only a few more days left in the Christmas season, so enjoy them.

Poems Like This Remind Me Why I Love Calvin & Hobbes

A former teacher of mine, an Austrian economist by vocation, and I are pen-pals. I sent him a brief note and poem in June and he returned the favor in July. He sent this poem in his letter, which I received this past Tuesday.

"Leisure" by W. H. Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Over the holiday weekend, I went home and read through one of the many Calvin and Hobbes books my family owns. Calvin and Hobbes, perhaps the greatest comic strip ever drawn, chronicles six-year-old Calvin, his stuffed tiger Hobbes and his imagination. This poem, although beautiful on its own, seems to me something Bill Watterson could have synchronized into the strip in a very clever way.

“We're so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take time to enjoy where we are.” -C&H

Rachel, I thought you would like to see this snap of Bid Night, when Vivy had the flag and I was at a pause in leading cheers up the hill. I was absolutely hoarse the next day, but that didn't stop me from teaching the new members "Rah Rah for Kappa Kappa Gamma" later that night, of course. Kappa toughens you up. :)

Today, my friends, is full: thesis meeting-dinner crew with Vivy-chapter meeting-reading till bed (and try to sleep since I have an 8 a.m. on Tuesday-Thursdays). I've already gone to class, written 3 letters and talked to a source for my thesis. I have to go meet Dr. Carlson soon and will attempt to re-establish order (i.e. clean) in KKG 11. My sister called me before her 1 o'clock and told me a story, the funniest part being “I paid four bucks for a shot and it was gone in like, a minute. What a rip-off!”

Things I like: watching ducks, Calvin & Hobbes comics, dance parties with Heather in our room

Things I dislike: people who play with their gum, rudeness, when my coffee tastes like coffee

Things I love: walking Heidi while the neighbors sleep, saying "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word, and I shall be healed" during mass, phone calls from my far-away family

Things I abhor: the word "hate," smallish minds, lima beans

Happy Monday! Don't catch a case of it.