Seven Quick Takes

--- 1 ---

First of all, I'd love to thank everyone who took the time to comment on last week's Quick Takes. I asked for some direction for my blog, and I really appreciated your input. The majority of commenters wanted to hear more about me and my faith journey. I want you to know I am working on that post. I may have to post the story as a series. I have about 30 minutes per day to devote to this blog, so a serious post takes me a while to write. Know that I am working on it! Thank you again to everyone who took the time to comment.

--- 2 ---

This week was my daughter's first full week of school. It's going well. Today I taught her how to get other kids to give her their lunch money.

Her teacher doesn't get paid nearly enough.

--- 3 ---

As I said in Quick Take #1, I've been working hard on my blog. I think the readers who suggested I talk more about myself were right. It helps the reader feel connected and know where the writer is coming from. It creates intimacy. One of the things I'm struggling with is how anonymous to be. I don't think I'm comfortable (at least not yet) using my last name or my kids' real names. Yet, I will admit, using pseudonyms gets old after a while. They get in the way of the stories. It's frustruating. Any suggestions? Will I relax as time goes on?

--- 4 ---

My daughter and I tried to make brownies from scratch after school today. I am not a baker. In fact, I'd say it is fair to say I am the WORST. BAKER. EVER. Last year, I offered to bake cookies for a party at my daughter's preschool. When I brought the cookies, the teachers commented, "Oh how cute! You let her decorate them!" Sadly, no, I decorated the cookies. I guess I have the skills of a 4-year-old. Then, later, I heard her teachers talking about how bad they tasted. Oh dear. How embarassing. Today's experiment with brownies rivaled those cookies from last year. My daughter and I rated them as not terrible.

--- 5 ---

Do you ever wonder how you get some of your followers on Twitter? Me too. Here's my profile.

I would assume that the people who would want to follow me would be personal friends, blog readers, or other Catholics. Some of the people who follow me are just random. I wonder if it's spam. The other day, this guy started following me. His description says he's "Stayin Fresh til I call it quits...updates on the fresh fits."

In an effort to make my Twitter account more "fresh" (his words), I may try to imitate his profile photo. I actually have that skull vodka in my pantry. Shocking, I know. I drink it while I'm baking. I have cool nerd glasses too and a J. Crew cardigan to emulate his style. I don't know how to smoke though. Bummer. Maybe I could just rub my hands in flour and smack them together to get the same effect? Yes? No?

--- 6 ---

I'm watching the Republican National Convention while I type this. I have mixed emotions about election season returning. My husband is a political junkie, and I have an interest in poltics. Elections are always exciting in our house. The coverage gives us a lot to talk about. The only drawback is how political both Facebook and Twitter become. I retweeted a few great quotes from Paul Ryan's speech last night, but that's it. I like to keep things friendly. Trust me, I have both strongly held political and religious beliefs, but I know a lot of my friends have different beliefs. I hate it when politics makes social media devisive. There is no opportunity for discussion. Discussions involving politics are always best face to face.

--- 7 ---

I have some exciting news. My husband is going to start blogging with me! We used to teach Pre Cana classes together at our old parish. Our topic was always communication. He is also a financial wiz. He paid off all of our debt in an 18 month period, which was awesome! He will introduce himself on Monday for part of a Marriage & Money Mondays series. He will add the male perspective to The Imperfect Catholic and take the lead on financial stuff since that's his thing (being Johnny Corporate and all). Have a great weekend!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!