Friday Five: The Way We Blogged

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Kathrynzj writes:

A friend and I were lamenting recently about the good ol' days of blogging and memes. Certainly there are still some very active blogs around our web ring, but the days of the Friday Five getting 50-70+ responses are in the past. We lamented that the Friday Five is the equivalent of the women's guild of RevGalBlogPals.

I am one of those who went from blogging just about daily to periodically at best. Unfortunately, the number I routinely read has gone down as well. What about you?

1) Have your blogging (writing/reading) habits shifted since the days of yore?

Most definitely. For a few years there, keeping up with Christian blogs was actually part of my job, so I had more time to check in on folks. I had a personal rule to never blog as DogBlogger during working hours, but it was my commenting voice both in RevGal circles and the Methoblogosphere, and there's plenty of overlap between the two.

A convergence of events led to my decreased blogging activity. Yes, that ubiquitous social networking site had something to do with it, but my job change and my move had a great effect upon what I choose to post. I moved from being just a fish in the big pond of my denomination to having a more public role in a smaller sub-section of that body of water. I curtailed my blogging as a direct result.

During my transition to this job and the move back to my home state, I even began a locked-down, password-protected blog which I shared with only a few trusted friends. It showed the worst and most stressed-out side of me. I used to share frustrations here in this space, but I'm hesitant to do so now. Google my real name, and this blog turns up as a search result. There are plenty of people out there who know my name, but who might not appreciate seeing me share in this context. Just last week, I was considering writing a post announcing that I wouldn't be posting here any longer... but, ironically, I never made the time to write it.

2) Do you have some favorites that you miss?

Oh, tons of them. Too many to name. Some of them still blog and I don't make time to read, and others haven't blogged in months, and I miss their voices.

3) Are there some blogs you still put in the 'must read' category?

I do try to read any RevGal's blog entry to which she links from Twitter or FB. But there's no guarantee I'll see all of those.

4) If we gathered at your knee, what would you tell us about those early days of blogging?

Oh, the wonder of the early days... I met friends online who, it turned out, lived within driving distance. I remember meeting up with Mary Beth one Saturday and taking dogs to a dog-related festival in her town. I remember discovering that Elastigirl was attending the same seminary as Mid-Life Rookie. I remember Zorra and I sharing our true identities as we bonded over the fact that our blog names were both dog-inspired... and I remember her praying over the phone with me when my sweet Cub girl died. And so many others, including those I met at BE 1.0 and 2.0, and the mini-meetup weekend several of us in the Dallas area hosted last spring. (In a particularly strange twist of that weekend, I remember receiving the world-changing phone call offering me my current job while I was standing in a cemetery with SpookyRach, Mindy, Sue, Jules, and others.)

5) Do you have a clip or a remembrance of a previous post of yours or someone else's that you remember, you know an oldie but goodie?

Again, as with question 2, too many to name... plus, I'm about to be late for work! 'Bye now...

Friday Five: New Year's Eve

Over at RevGalBlogPals, SingingOwl writes:

I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions, but it does seem a good time for some reflection and planning. For the last few days I keep thinking of Psalm 90:12: So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Among other things, that seems to say that reflection is in order if we want to learn and grow.

For some of us, this has been an incredibly difficult year; for others it has been a year of many joys. For all of us, there have been challenges and questions and there have been blessings and--maybe even an answer or two! As we say our goodbyes to 2010 and look towards 2011, share with us five blessings from 2010 along with five hopes or dreams for 2011.

Five blessings from 2010:
- Enjoying visits with several RevGals...many of them all at once in a late spring gathering.
- Being able to say "yes" to an exciting new job opportunity.
- My introduction to the world of animal rescue (always a mixed blessing; see my previous post for the latest).
- Witnessing Mid-Life Rookie's ordination.
- An amazing and adventurous vacation with The Alpha, with special guest appearances by Lovely Niece and Nephew-in-law.

Five hopes/dreams for 2011:
- A (really, really forever this time) home for Crystal -- again, see my previous post.
- Healthy babies for my two currently-expecting friends.
- That we will feel comfortable and ready to settle into a congregation here in our new city.
- That more people will gain a greater understanding of the concept of "enough" and will waste less and share more.
- Another awesome vacation to at least one National Park.

Friday Five: Storms of Life Edition

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Martha writes...

I'm listening this morning for word of Hurricane Earl. Is he coming to visit, or will he bypass my part of Maine and move further Downeast, or veer toward Nova Scotia? Should I buy those bottles of water, just in case wind brings branches and power lines down? And how many times will the tracking map change today?

Herewith, a Friday Five about the storms of life:

1) What's the most common kind of storm in your neck of the woods?
Though I'm taking today off and hanging out in lightly-tornadic Texas today, I've spent the last month living back in my home state, a.k.a. Tornado Country. We can't claim to be the home of Dorothy Gale, but I can say about a mile of the drive between my in-laws' house and my office looks dramatically different than it did before the twister came through several years back.

2) When was the last time you dealt with a significant power outage?
Been a while. But the most recent one I was part of that lasted several days took place surrounding my sister-in-law's wedding, almost 10 years ago (thanks to an ice storm, not a tornado). The church had power, some relatives a mile or two away had power, but my in-laws' house did not. I remember helping my mom-in-law make punch by flashlight and sending gallon jugs of it over to spend the night in an aunt's freezer. The powdered ingredients floated in the flashlight beams, and the morning of the wedding, we awoke to a film of red punch dust covering every surface in the kitchen.

3) Are you prepared for the next one?
Not particularly. The Alpha usually keeps either a 24- or 72-hour pack in the hall closet, but the house is on the market. We've cleaned out a lot of stuff. His car does have an electrical outlet, though, so if we ever lose power in a widespread area, we can run some things as long as we conserve gas and batteries.

4) What's the weather forecast where you are this weekend?
"Today: Decreasing cloudiness and windy. High 87F. Winds NNE at 20 to 30 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy skies. Low 61F [whoohoo!]. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Tomorrow: A mainly sunny day. High 89F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph."

5) How do you calm your personal storms?
Talking things out with trusted friends usually helps. Just telling the story of whatever storm it is to someone who understands can make an enormous difference.

Friday Five: Love the One You're With

For this week's RevGals Friday Five, Kathrynzj posted something quite timely for me:

"...name five things you like about where you are living now... and as your bonus - 1 thing you don't like."

Timely because tomorrow, I'm packing the car and officially beginning life back in our home state. My new job starts Monday. The Alpha and I will live apart until the house is sold and we find one there that suits us.

So the answers to this Friday Five would be very different if I played a day late. But, living in the present, here we go:

1) I like having The Alpha with me. I'm not happy about him hanging out here, with me hanging out there (albeit with the dogs, at his parents' house... it's some consolation). So I just added Billy Joel's "You're My Home" to my iSuperPhone's iThing, which should help me maintain the appropriate amount of melancholy during this temporary separation of unknown duration.

2) The congregation we've called home these past 10 years. Last Sunday I said goodbye to the band and choir. And yea, verily, that sucked, even though it went as well as it could've and it created great memories. I scheduled a Wednesday night diversion this week, the first week I wasn't supposed to be at practice. After I got home from the dinner, I received a text message from a fellow bandmate... "Leaving rehearsal- it's official: we miss you." *sigh...* I miss them, too.

3) Our house. We've worked pretty hard on it. We've made lots of changes in 10 years. It feels like ours now, even when it's all clean and neat for real estate showings and we have to hide the towels we actually use instead of drying our hands on the ones hanging up.

4) The convenience of living near a big city.

5) The friendships we've built here, and which we hope to preserve across the distance.

And, for the bonus... I think, in the interest of making the separation easier, I'll list more than one thing I don't like: The traffic. The shifting soil. The governor. The way developers keep bulldozing over unspoiled land to build strip malls, even though existing storefronts stand empty. The air pollution. I could go on.

Friday Five: Decisions, decisions

After all the decisions I've been making lately, I was glad to see that Songbird was asking some which-do-you-like-better questions in this week's RevGals Friday Five, not anything more serious. So, here we go:

Since I've been in the midst of a discernment process, I've done a lot of reflecting on how we make decisions. But don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to reveal a dark story about a poor decision, or a self-flagellating story about an embarrassing one. Let's keep it simple and go with five word pairs. Tell us which word in the pair appeals to you most, and after you've done all five, give us the reason why for one of them.

Here they are:
1) Cake or Pie: Cake!
2) Train or Airplane: Um, depends on the situation!
3) Mac or PC: PC. Except that I saw my new office, and it has a Mac on the desk. So, in the interest of being adaptable, Mac. (It helps that I've used both in the past.)
4) Univocal or Equivocal: Equivocal.
5) Peter or Paul: Peter, Peter, Peter-man!

And now, the essay portion of this Friday Five:

I'll tackle 2) here. On our 2006 vacation, I fell in love with the Alaska Railroad. Taking the train from Anchorage to Seward, Seward to Denali, Denali to Talkeetna was one of the best decisions we made on that trip. The views were amazing, the seats were roomy, the ride was smooth, and we weren't in a hurry. Of course, I don't think I would've felt the same if we had tried taking a train to Alaska from Dallas! Flying in and out of Anchorage was definitely more practical, because we only had ten days of vacation time for the trip.

Friday Five: Friendship

Over at RevGalBlogPals, my friend Kathrynzj has this week's Friday Five... on friendship:

1) Do you remember your first best friend? What did you do together? Are they still in your life?
I can think of several early childhood friends that I called "best friend," none of whom are currently in my life. We played, went to school or church together, etc.

2) Did you ever have to move away or have your best friend move away from you?
In fourth grade, my friend Chrissy's father got transferred. I wrote her at her new address, and never heard back. (Dang, Kathryn, these first couple of questions are downers! On to brighter things now...)

3) Are there people in your life now that you can call 'friend'?
Yes, tons of them, from all kinds of places! In fact, there is one from Parts North in my guest bedroom right now, and we saw other friends last night and will see still more friends today!

4) What are some of your favorite things to do with your friends?
I really enjoy conversation with my close friends. We don't have to be doing anything; in fact, with some friends I don't see very often, cluttering the schedule with an activity of some sort is just a distraction to me. Put me at a dinner table or scattered around someone's living room with a circle of friends, and it's like a little piece of heaven.

5) What is a gift friendship has given you?
Too many gifts to name here... One I've used recently, though, is the ability to seek out friends who understand things in particular ways. I appreciate the different perspectives my friends bring to the same situation.

Friday Five: What is there to smile about?

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Jan writes: With the end of RevGalBlogPals' third annual Big Event, I am wondering who went and what it was like. There must be a lot of smiling from the Big Event! Hopefully, the rest of us are not frowning either.

So let us know how your past week was for you.

Write five different aspects of the week OR answer the following questions:

1. When were you smiling lately? When one of my foster dogs, Crystal, got a positive evaluation from the rescue group coordinator. I also smiled on Monday, when my friend Terry adopted Tildie, one of the dogs we had seen but hadn't been able to take the morning of our rescue transport run. Monday was the day Tildie had been scheduled to be euthanized; instead, she got a new loving home.

2. What happened unexpectedly to you this past week? Lots of stuff! Much of it unbloggable.

3. How was a catastrophe averted (or not)? I suppose the animal rescue world is just full of catastrophes, but I had one hit particularly hard this morning: I learned that one of the dogs I was supposed to help transport to foster care in another state last weekend, but who didn't get on that run and was supposed to come this week, has died from complications of her spay surgery. We can't save them all, but that doesn't mean I don't cry about the ones we lose.

4. What was the most delicious thing you ate? Yesterday my lunch included the last bit of a yummy block of Australian Cheddar that I picked up at Whole Paycheck.

5. Did you see any good movies or read any books or articles? We re-watched The Blues Brothers, just because we can. It's a feel-good classic that I will love forever.

Friday Five: Redo, Refresh, Restore

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Songbird writes: Please share with us five ways you redo or refresh or restore your body, your space, your blog, anything in your life that needs perking up this week.

Here we go:

1) A massage does wonders to refresh me. I have a membership at a nearby massage place, and that base fee includes one massage per month. I have three unused ones stacked up. Time to make another appointment and do a better job of giving myself that time that I've already bought.

2) The Alpha got me started on working with 10-pound hand weights this week, in preparation for this and this, which are coming up in OH HOLY CRAP, LESS THAN TWO MONTHS. I'm such a leg-oriented person, though, that in working my upper body, I've actually made myself sore in the quad and hamstring areas because of the way I compensate for the motions I'm not used to doing. Time to restore my body to a previous level of fitness. It's been a while.

3) Last year we decided to finally redo the kitchen, and we are still enjoying the results very much. This year, at a minimum, we plan to use the remaining tile from that project to re-floor our smaller bathrooms.

4) Another way I need to refresh my living space is to get these foster dogs placed in their forever homes! I have a lead on a potential home for Pooh Bear; still waiting for someone to fall in love with sweet Crystal.

5) Something that's refreshing for my mind is to do some reading that has absolutely nothing to do with church or faith! Recently, the latest issue of The Oxford American has been satisfying that need.

Friday Five: Social Media

Over at RevGalBlogPals, KathrynZJ writes: I had the joy of spending time with Songbird last weekend, someone I would have never met had it not been for the blogosphere. Now we keep in touch using a large variety of methods: blog (hers a lot, mine not so much lately), facebook, twitter, text messaging, chat and email. So far there has been no skype.

It got me to thinking of the pros and cons of these relatively new means of communication and interconnecting and so I ask you the following:

1) What have been the benefits for you of social networking (blog, twitter, facebook, etc...) Too many to list here. Personal benefits have been great, but it helps me in my spiritual life and my work, too. I'm part of a connectional denomination, and I believe we are more connected than ever thanks to social media. And because I work for an organization historically related to the denomination, it's a big advantage in my job.

2) Which medium do you use the most? Or if you use them all, for what do you use each of them? I figure I use FB the most, even though it's not my favorite. I'm on there because other people are on there, and there are lots of advantages to being connected in that way.

3) If you could invent a networking site (with no limits on your imagination), what would it provide? What would it not provide? I'm a big fan of not reinventing the wheel in this regard. In the past year I've been part of a team that has tried to encourage conversation among United Methodists in our geographical area, and the decision was made to go with a non-FB platform. Hardly anyone uses it. I think there are probably deeper reasons why people don't want to discuss in a dedicated public forum, but I suspect it might've been easier for some to do so if we had just piggybacked on what many people were already using. (The person who said he wouldn't participate if it were on FB because he didn't want to be on there? Well, he hasn't signed up on this other network, either.)

4) Who have you met that you would not have met if it were not for the 'miracle' of social networking? LOTS of people. Fellow United Methodist bloggers, many of the people in the RevGals webring, even some folks in my metro area that I only discovered because of their online writing.

5) Who do you secretly pray does not one day try to 'friend/follow' you? Well, it's not a secret any more if I post it on here, is it? ;-) But I'd have to say it's pretty much anyone from high school besides the one person from there who is already my friend. This is the reason I do not put my maiden name on FB.

BONUS: What was the most random/weird/unsettling/wonderful connection you made that would not have happened if it were not for the ease of which we can find each other in the computer realm? This is a really tough bonus question! Social networking has gotten me into a lot of rewarding stuff: friendships with RevGals and others, dog rescues, blogger meetups... There's a certain kindred dog mama I'm very glad to have met, among many others... if I spent the time to link to them all, I'd never publish this post! And I love the way that second-level conversation happens so quickly when you've known someone online and meet them in person. The pleasantries are still there, but you can pretty much skip the small talk and get down to real stuff. It's a blessing.

Friday Five Do Nothing Edition

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Sally writes:

I am reading a wonderful little book for Advent. Its title: Do Nothing, Christmas is Coming!

So this week's Friday Five is simple. List five things you won't be doing to prepare for Christmas.

1. We are pretty sure we're going to skip putting up the tree this time around. I haven't been too excited about it for several years now, and it feels like such an unnecessary chore.

2. No other decorations, either -- other than the gigantic Advent wreath that's already in the front yard.

3. No aimless shopping. We're pretty good at having an idea of what we're going to buy for a person before we go looking for it, thereby minimizing our time lost on attention to retail. Also, we are donating to organizations like Nothing But Nets, Heifer International, and Arkansas Rice Depot as part of our gifts to family members.

4. No cooking special foods. We always eat way too much when we go to visit family during the holidays, so there's no need to go overboard here at home. (Besides, we got sent home from Thanksgiving with peanut brittle and fudge, and I suspect there will be something else to take with us after Christmas.)

5. I will not be one of the people insisting that this is "the most wonderful time of the year" and that everyone should be happy. I'm attending a funeral tomorrow for the husband of a friend. I'm singing at the Blue Christmas worship service our church is offering in a couple of weeks. I'm praying for those dealing with loss and uncertainty in the face of forced joy.

Bonus: Things I will be doing include obsessing about musical obligations (not the Blue Christmas one, but the other stuff that's more complicated), traveling, and being intentional about keeping my stress level down in the middle of it all. (I have a massage scheduled for this evening.)

Also, some time this weekend I'm going to blog about last weekend's wonderful wedding of my niece and nephew-in-law!

Friday the 13th Five

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Sophia writes:

The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia, a word derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή) (meaning Friday), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς) (meaning thirteen), attached to phobía (φοβία) (meaning fear). The term triskaidekaphobia derives from the Greek words "tris", meaning 'three', "kai", meaning 'and', and "deka", meaning 'ten'. the whole word means three and ten. The word was derived in 1911 and first appeared in a mainstream source in 1953. (Wikipedia)

1. How is this Friday the 13th looking for you? It's looking okay... so far... (cue the creepy music!). I'm working from home, and I need to make another specimen delivery to the vet on behalf of Tuesday and her problem. Might take her in, too, just because she lived there before we adopted her and they love seeing her.

2. Have you ever had anything unlucky happen on Friday the 13th? Not that I can remember at the moment.

3. Did your family of origin embrace or scorn superstitions? Mostly scorned them. My brother is a 13th-of-the-month baby, turned 13 on Friday the 13th, and considered it his lucky day.

4. Are there any unique or amusing ones from your family, region, or ethnic background? When I worked at a flower shop in college, I arrived at the store one morning while my boss was nibbling on a donut. I didn't think anything of it; she often ate breakfast there. But as she threw away the napkin she said, "Okay, now I've had breakfast so I can tell you about my dream." Before I heard her account of the strange dream, I made her explain what she meant. Turns out there was a superstition I hadn't heard of before: If you tell someone about your dream before breakfast, it will come true. Her dream had been bizarre and she didn't want it to happen in real life. The funniest thing about this one: I now tend to wait until after breakfast to tell anyone about my dreams!

5. Do you love or hate horror movies like "Friday the 13th"? I can do without them. I enjoy a suspenseful movie, but don't really care for the gore of the horror genre.

Friday Five: What's New?

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Songbird writes:

There's a new baby on my street, a double PK whose Mom and Dad are Methodist pastors and church planters [in the Small World department: I know these pastors, too! Congratulations, S and A!]. I'm hoping to go over and meet her today. I love new babies, the way they smell and their sweet little fingers and toes. Little K has me thinking about all the new things that please us with their shiny freshness.

Please share with us five things you like *especially* when they are new.

1. Dogs -- I love dogs of all ages, but puppies who I am not going to take home with me are especially cute, and great for cuddling and playing. Having adopted three dogs now, I've decided that almost-grown or full-out adult adoption is probably the way to go for us (not that I would give up the memories of raising our tiny baby Cub!), but that doesn't make new babydogs any less appealing.

2. Books -- which is a problem, because I haven't read many of the ones already in my possession! I've become really careful about buying new books, because I need to read those others first.

3. Cars -- they're nice and clean and shiny and pretty and good-smelling and more fuel-efficient, if I'm going to get excited about them... and in the case of the last one we bought, paid for, in full, up front!

4. Cookies -- nothing quite like a fresh-baked cookie, eaten while it's still warm from the oven. Which reminds me, I have some dough in the freezer...

5. Kitchens -- specifically, our kitchen. I chronicled the remodeling saga on this blog earlier this year. We're enjoying it very much, but now that it's a few months old and we're used to it, keeping the clutter of our lives out of the way is becoming more of a challenge.

Recharged/ recharging Friday Five

It's been way too long since I played the RevGals' Friday Five, and Sally's invitation today was just perfect for me, so here we go... Sally writes:

A few weeks ago my lap-top battery died, suddenly I found myself looking at a blank screen and was rather relieved to find that it was only the battery and not the whole computer that had failed. This morning a new battery arrived in the post, and suddenly I am mobile again!

After a week with what feels like wall to wall meetings, and Synod looming on the horizon for tomorrow I find myself pondering my own need to recharge my batteries. This afternoon Tim and I are setting off to explore the countryside around our new home, I always find that walking in the fresh air away from phones and e-mails recharges me. But that is not the only thing that restores my soul, so do some people, books, pieces of music etc....

So I wonder what/who gives you energy?

1. Is there a person who encourages and uplifts you, whose company you seek when you are feeling low? Just this week I sought out Mid-Life Rookie for that very reason. Thanks, friend.

2. How about a piece of music that either invigorates or relaxes you? Oh, this is almost too difficult to answer. I've been listening to a lot of Terri Hendrix lately. A couple of months ago she gave me permission to sing one of her songs in worship, so the band worked it up, and it fit really well with what our pastor was preaching. She's a wonderful musician, composer, and person.
But I'm thinking it's probably time for a change of pace in my listening habits -- even good stuff can get you in a rut. So today, right now (hang on a sec...), I'm pulling out some of my long-time musical comfort food: Billy Joel's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1. Ahhh.... Piano Man...

3. Which book of the Bible do you most readily turn to for refreshment and encouragement? Is there a particular story that brings you hope? While I have a few problems with Paul, he did write some spiritually-uplifting gems. Romans 8:28 comes to mind, as do verses 35-39 just a few sentences later.

4. A bracing walk or a cosy fireside? (Notice Sally's British spelling of "cozy." Lovely!) I think one, followed by the other, would be refreshing. (Unfortunately, there are storms in the forecast and the high today is around 90 degrees Fahrenheit where I live, so neither will be happening.)

5. Are you feeling refreshed and restored at the moment or in need of recharging, write a prayer or a prayer request to finish this weeks Friday Five.... Oh, am I ever in need of recharging! I realized a couple of days ago that I don't have a free Saturday until the end of the month. Friends are coming this weekend, and I'm looking forward to spending time with them, but the next two Saturdays are booked with church-nerd activities. I'd appreciate prayers for my energy level and a positive outlook.

RevGals' Friday Five: It's all about the look

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Sally is cleaning out her closet. She asks us these questions:

1. Are you a hoarder, or are you good at sorting and clearing? I find hoarding much more natural, but I am capable of sorting and cleaning. I'm more focused on sorting and cleaning all the papers that arrive in our lives and on our counters and tabletops than on my closet, though.

2. What is the oddest garment you possess and why? Probably my snakeskin-print miniskirt with the broken zipper. I am officially too old to pull of that look anymore, and hello, the zipper is busted. But I can't part with it.

3. Do you have a favourite look/colour? I like simple, clean lines. I like red, but don't wear it very often these days. Probably because I also like to blend in.

4. Thrift/Charity shops, love them or hate them? Eh. I hardly ever go looking for clothes anywhere, and I have to be in a very particular kind of mood to want to sort through every little thing on a rack. But if I'm there with the right person, a thrift shop can be entertaining.

5. Money is no object, what one item would you buy? Probably something more socially-conscious than my usual fare, which likely has some unethical labor practices behind the low prices.

Friday Five: The Big To-Do

Over at RevGalBlogPals, KathrynZJ writes:

1) What home fix-it project is on your Big To-Do? Trying to decide between bathroom and kitchen.

2) What event (fun or work) is on your Big To-Do? This minute, leaving town to go be in the wedding of my college roommate/maid of honor. (Dogs and house are in good hands while we're gone.)

3) What trip is on your Big To-Do? Still haven't decided on vacation for this year. Didn't do one last year because of General Conference. Might work something in before fall....

4) What do you wish was on someone ELSE's (partner, family member, celebrity, etc...) Big To-Do? I wish for two prospective visits to my house this summer: Lovely Niece and fiancee (or he'd better be, by the time they visit in August!), and dear friend who is wearing a dress identical to mine in this bridal party lineup, along with her family.

5) Getting inspired? What may end this summer having moved from the Big To-Do to the Big Ta-da? Kitchen or bathroom, I hope!

Friday Five: Blogroll Spotlight

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Mary Beth writes:
Some of you probably use feed readers to let you know when your favorite bloggers have posted...not me, not yet. I just have folks who are part of my day-to-day.

So for today's Friday Five, give us five blogs you visit regularly, and tell us briefly WHY you like them. These can be RevGal and Pal bloggers and others ... or news sites, knitting sites, etc. Who are you showing the love to on a pretty constant basis?

Hopefully we will all get to know some new bloggy friends this way!

I'm trying to list some blogpals who aren't RevGals to spice things up!

1. Check On Steve, a blog my friend Tyra Damm writes to keep folks up to date on her husband Steve's condition. He's fighting that brain tumor with gusto, even naming it (The Damm Spot. Out, out, Damm Spot!).

2. The Dallas Morning News Religion Blog. These guys do a thorough and whimsical job of gathering and posting all kinds of religion-related stuff, local, regional, national, international. (And they occasionally link to my day job. And I to theirs.)

3. Cake Wrecks is a spot I should really visit more often (I only hit it about once a week). I just shouldn't do it while I'm at the office. It makes me laugh too hard.

4. At first I thought this type of humor only worked with cats, but I Has a Hot Dog has won me over.

5. And another one that I really should check every day, but don't: Superfantastic. By Lori. We've never actually had a meetup, but we've come close a couple of times.

Friday Five: Fork in the Road

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Singing Owl writes: I am at a life-changing juncture. I do not know which way I will go, but I have been thinking about the times, people and events that changed my life (for good or ill) in significant ways. For today's Friday Five, share with us five "fork-in-the-road" events, or persons, or choices. And how did life change after these forks in the road?

1. My choice to skip most of the 6th grade, which ultimately meant I graduated from high school at 16, affected so many more elements of my life that it's impossible to calculate. It wasn't easy, especially from the social standpoint. But it shaped me in so many ways... for example, if I hadn't been on track to graduate early, I wouldn't have encountered my future husband the summer before my senior year!

2. College is an easy one. Had I gone to a state school, I wouldn't have had student loans to pay off when I graduated, but I also wouldn't have several of the friendships I cherish today.

3. Buying our house. It's amazing how where you live affects your life's pattern; if we'd bought a house even half a mile away from this one, life could very well have been totally different.

4. Getting fired from a job that I wouldn't admit I hated. I was incredibly angry, hurt, and scared at the time, but it opened up amazing possibilities -- for starters, rescuing a certain stray puppy, and getting a new job that paid 40% more than the one I'd lost.

5. Visiting Church A first, even though Church B is closer to our house. I'm not sure why, but we decided to try them in alphabetical order. We never left Church A to try Church B. And a year after starting that new, higher-paying job, I walked away from it to work part-time for Church A (confusing the living daylights out of my sweet husband). It was the beginning of discerning my calling to full-time lay ministry.

RevGals Friday Five: Taking a Break

Over at RevGalBlogPals, our dear Songbird writes: Where we live, it's February School Vacation Week!
Yes, that's an odd thing, a vacation extending President's Day. But it's part of our lives here. Some people go South or go skiing, but we always stay home and find more humble amusements.

In that spirit, I offer this Taking a Break Friday Five. Tell us how you would spend:

1. a 15 minute break: Catching up on fellow BlogPals. Perhaps with a sweet snack handy.

2. an afternoon off: I have the yarn for a new knitting project.... an afternoon would yield quite a bit of progress with it (it's straight knit, to be done on big needles).

3. an unexpected free day: I'd probably just assess the factors that morning and decide what to do right then. Could be productive errand-running, could be eating at some restaurant that's not normally in my path, could be reading, or dog-walking... or all of it!

4. a week's vacation: If money's no issue? Y'all, I'm heading back to Alaska! Thinking more practically, though, perhaps later this year we'll visit a national park in the lower 48, or just rambling around in New Mexico and seeing where I wind up.

5. a sabbatical: First, I'd be serious about home organization and up-sprucing. Then, I'd begin scheduling visits to friends with whom I haven't spent enough time in recent years.

RevGals Friday Five: Pets

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Sophia writes:

My son's tiny beloved lizard, Elf, is looking and acting strange this week. His skin/scales are quite dark, and he is lethargic. We are adding vitamin drops to his lettuce and spinach and hoping and praying that he is just getting ready to shed his skin--but it's too soon to tell. Others in the ring have also been worried about beloved pets this week. And, in the saddest news of all, Songbird has had to bid farewell to her precious Molly, the amazing dog who is well known to readers of her blog as a constant sacrament of God's unconditional love. So in memory of Molly, and in honor of all the beloved animal companions who bless our lives: tell us about the five most memorable pets you have known.

Here we go:

First off, it's been a hard week for animals in the RevGals circle, and I wish Elf a speedy recovery.

Now, everybody who knows me at all knows who is the most memorable animal in my life: Cub.

It is so hard to choose just one photo of her--I spent 15 minutes trying--so I went with video because it better captures her joy. We still miss her very much.

Then there's Angus:

He hasn't been his usual crazy self this week. We think he either ate something he ought not, or caught some kind of bug at the dog park last weekend, and we are hoping that today will mark the return of his appetite and continuation of his regained ability to keep food going in the direction it's supposed to go.

And I can't make a favorite animal list without Lady:


Lady is the dog who convinced me I could be a dog person. And just for fun, here's a memory of Lady from Cub's point of view.

Of course, there's the new kid, Tuesday:


When I dropped Angus at the vet Wednesday, they asked about her and told me once again how glad they were that we were the family who adopted her. I'm glad they were willing and able to let her hang around their office from the time she was dumped there in July until October, when the timing was right for us to learn about her.

And for number 5, I have to go with a combo choice: Molly and Sam, Scout, Grendel, Whistle, Fish, Dubby, LittleManKitty, Rowan, Tanner, Amie (who is coming to visit us soon!), and all the other animals I know via the writing of the people who love them. (Because of my allergy, other people's writing is really the best way I can spend time with cats.)

Friday Five: My Favorite Things

At RevGalBlogPals, Songbird writes:
In a week of wondering how various things in our family life will unfold, I found myself thinking of the way Maria comforted the Von Trapp children in one of my favorite movies. Frightened by a thunder storm, the children descend upon her, and she sings to them about her favorite things, taking their minds off the storm. So, let's encourage ourselves. Share with us five of your favorite things. Use words or pictures, whatever expresses it best.

And here are five of mine:

1. Time with my dogs (as anyone who knows me or reads this blog could guess!):


2. Time with my husband:


3. Food, especially sugar- and/or chocolate-intensive items.

4. Music (both listening to it and helping create it).

5. The English language.