Seven Quick Takes--5th Friday of Lent

linking up with Kelly!

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Post from around here this week:

Yarn Along

Wednesday Notebook

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And a bit of business: The Living Memento Mori ebook sale is still going on at Ave Maria Press!

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So this week…..whew. It wasn’t a bad week, but there were some hard days. I’m just trying to take each day at it comes, as we all do! My days do have a rough “shape” to them—mostly around the Liturgy of the Hours, and I am doing basic chores and things like that, just to keep myself sane. But I miss my people!

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My birthday is next week, and it’s basically the highlight of the month for me, since the governor has said that the stay-at-home order will be in effect until May. We all sort of figured that was coming. My birthday is also Holy Thursday and it will be beyond weird not to be at church for those celebrations. I’ve always loved the triduum. (I was born on Good Friday, it’s in my nature!) But my parish will be streaming their Masses, so it’s not like I can’t see them. It’s just weird, like so many other things these days.

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I did, however, discover the wonder that is Tiger King. Man. I needed some of that absurdity.

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We’re having a proper spring here in Ohio, which is nice. Sometimes we skip spring and go right to summer. But the days have been nice enough to leave the windows open, and the tree outside Orchard House is getting the pink buds on it. :) I love my hawthorn tree.

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Finally, I leave you with Crookshanks in Quarantine Photos (which are explained in my yarn along!)

Seven Quick Takes--Fourth Friday of Lent

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We’ll start with some business. :) First, if you have read my book, please leave a review on Amazon! That helps more people find it (the more reviews, the more it shows up in Amazon “related items” or whatever.)

Second, Ave Maria Press is having an ebook sale, and Living Memento Mori is part of it!

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Last week, as you know, I wrote all about Billy. You have probably seen the post from Monday, where I wrote about his death. Thank you, again, for all the comments, thoughts, and prayers for my friend, her husband, and their little boy. It’s so comforting to know that people are, as Anne Frank said, “really good at heart.”

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Here in Ohio, we’re basically shut down. We’re told to stay inside unless it’s an essential thing—like, you must work, or get groceries or food, or things like that. We can go out to exercise, as well, sot hat’s helpful. But just going out to go out and in groups is, um, discouraged highly. I live alone, so most of my days are spent in my own company, but the hardest thing is not being in contact with people—no hugs. No touching. It’s rough. I mean I’m not a hugely touchy-feely person, but I do like parental hugs! And I haven’t had any in a month (or thereabouts). Sigh. Oh well. It could be worse.

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The knitting is a lot of comfort knitting—I went into my stash and broke it down into types of yarn and then projects I can do with each type. Right now I’ve got two garter stitch scarves going and I’m going to make some washcloths with the stash of cotton dishcloth yarn I have here—why I bought so much, no idea. But knitting keeps my hands busy and it’s nice to have the feeling of getting something done and working on a project with a definitive, easy to see end! :)

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I dunno if we really need more memento mori art, but here’s one of St. Catherine of Siena:

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As far as churches go, we’re shut down at least through April 6, which is Palm Sunday. I would bet that there won’t be public celebrations of Holy Week, which is just….weird. I mean, weirder then Mass not happening publicly. I am very much hoping for streaming services for these. The Triduum liturgies are so beautiful! And my birthday is on Holy Thursday this year! That’s always special and to not have the Mass is just….again, weird. That’s really the only word I can use right now. WEIRD.

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What are you reading, writing, doing, cooking—whatever-ing—during this time? Share your ideas in the comments!

Seven Quick Takes--Billy

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OK, I have a really freaking great story to tell all of you, if you don’t know it already, but first business: Ave Maria Press is having an ebook sale and my book is included! So go get it!

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OK so, it’s story time.

My Bestest Friend, Tiffany, and her husband, Bill, are some of the nicest people in the world. I won’t say the nicest people because I haven’t met everyone in the world. :)

I have known Tiffany since September of 1996, when we were seated next to each other in Theater I at PHS. (Alphabetical last names). And we just hit it off.

One of her best gifts is that she is absolutely calm and chill about everything. I had to do my treatments in front of her while we were on choir tour? No biggie. I’m injecting myself with insulin? Whatever. I’m in the hospital? OK, cool, can I come visit? She always treated me absolutely normally.

I spent a lot of summer days at her parents’ house, eating dinner with them, even going on vacation with them. We’ve seen Broadway shows together, we have inside jokes…(“Zazu, why am I not….loved?”)

Me and Tiff.

Her husband, Bill, is the perfect person for her. I was so happy when she met him (one of our friends fixed them up, thanks Gary!) and they got married, because he’s such a wonderful guy, and she deserves a wonderful guy!

We’ve been friends for almost twenty-five years.

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So, when Tiff and Bill were expecting their first baby, I was thrilled for them. A baby! YES!

And we were all excited….until he got a really bad diagnosis. So bad that he wasn’t expected to live very long after birth.

Tiff and Bill decided that it didn’t matter—they were going to love on him as long as they had him. They took him places (the zoo, the aquarium, the symphony, the movies), read to him, played music for him, and wrote him letters in journals that they each kept. They wanted to make as many memories as possible with him while he was inside Tiffany and alive.

They named him—Billy the IV. :)

His birthday was set to be St. Patrick’s Day. He has encephalocele, and they didn’t want to risk Tiff going into labor, so Billy was a scheduled C-section.

They arranged for their pastor to be there to baptize him. In the midst of all the virus craziness, the hospital allowed their parents and siblings to come, because they knew time would be short.

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But.

He didn’t die.

He lived.

And is still living.

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Billy is eating. He’s sleeping, he’s grasping his daddy’s finger, he looks at his mommy’s face when she coos at him. He yawns and gives us looks of disdain. :)

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They get to take him home. They get to be parents! At home! Something they didn’t think they’d ever get to do!

I told Tiff last night that I’d never prayed for someone as much as I’d prayed for them and Billy. My prayer journals are full of notes about Billy and his parents, and really desperate prayers for them, for healing, for peace, for…everything, really.

I’ve written many times, including in my book, that God is not a vending machine. Prayer is not a vending machine. We don’t get to say God is good only when he gives us what we want.

God is always good, even when we can’t see it. God always loves us.

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But right now, in this period of time when we all need miracles and good news, we have one—we have Billy and his amazing parents. We have a little boy who was supposed to die, and who is living. This time with him is a precious and amazing gift, and the fact that my friends get to take home a baby, A LIVE BABY, something they didn’t think they’d get to do, is cause for praise to God.

This morning, Billy was taking a nap with his dad. Something that countless babies do—that I did—that you probably did, with one of your parents. But a priceless gift to them.

God is being very good to us.

I shall not die, but I shall live,
    and recount the deeds of the Lord.

—psalm 118:17

Billy the IV with Bill the III

Seven Quick Takes--Second Friday of Lent

Linking up with Kelly!

I took this picture before Mass last week—I couldn’t resist the light.

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On the blog this week:

Virus Lent

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There’s a story about St. Teresa of Avila and Lent that I think is a propos. She once had a great program of Lenten penances planned. She was going to do everything. It was going to be great!

Then she was sick. For all of Lent. And she complained to the Lord about this. “Lord, I had so many great penances to offer you,” etc.

“This is my Lent for you,” He told her.

Looks like, no matter what our penances and plans were, we’re getting the Lent that Jesus wants for us right now.

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Like I wrote in my last post, I’m essentially living like I did right after my transplant—not really leaving my house, people coming to me. I’m not actually opposed to this, but what makes it scary for me is that the world around me is caught up in it, too. Whenever I’ve been sick before, there’s always been some sense of normalcy around me to cling to—school went on, I could go to the movies when I felt better, etc.

Now, nothing’s normal. Here, schools are closed starting Monday. The bishops’ conference of Ohio has dispensed us all from the obligation to attend Mass—and I wasn’t going to do that anyway, on the advice of my doctors. It’s just weird.

Last night after dinner I went and stood on my porch for a minute. It was a lovely night—the sun was setting, it was warm, I could hear the train coming through town. But it felt so eerily calm, like it does before a big storm.

All that to say, that it’s a weird time.

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If you’re in the same boat I am and can’t go to Mass, make a spiritual communion! And also try to keep the Sabbath holy—which we should be doing anyway, but if nothing else, this gives us time to really use Sunday as a day of rest. We all need rest right now! There are no sports to watch, and probably no sports games to go to. There’s nothing else. So let’s bring back the Sabbath! Let’s live it! (book recommendation: Souls at Rest.)

And also, let’s pray with our families! We should be doing that anyway, but let’s bring it back, because man do we all need prayer right now! (Book recommendation: The Little Oratory)

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If we’re doing book recs, um, mine? :)

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So while I’m here in my cloister I’ve made a list of things to do—writing, of course, so there will be ore writing here on the blog! I’m going to do the long awaited Outlander and Catholicism series, so be on the lookout for that! I’ll also be writing about illness and virtue—how we practice faith in times like this—and I’ll be doing a post on St. Damien of Molokai, who seems appropriate right now.

I’m also going to be baking a lot—mostly bread. I’ve been wanting to get in to the habit of making my own bread, and now I have the time to do it….and I also have time to knit like a crazy person. I have all this time…of course there is prayer, also. Lenten practices are still going. And cleaning the house, of course.

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I’ll also be watching a lot of movies, starting with the Hobbit series, because, why not, and also Knives Out, which I never saw in the theaters but am excited to watch now. I have to have some exciement, right?

Seven Quick Takes Jumble Bag

linking up with Kelly!

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Around these parts this week…

Yarn Along

My interview for the Ave Explores Lent Podcast is live!

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I’ve started Bullet Journaling again—I’ve missed how it keeps all my lists and various things together, so I’m back to doing that. It’s fun! At least I think it is. I’m a big believer in having my life in one place. I still use my Emily Ley Simplified Planner, but my bullet journal is a place to keep my lists, medical information, travel plans, all sorts of things like that in one place as opposed to scattered throughout the house on pieces of paper.

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Trying to get back in the workout groove—I’ve worked out three days this week so far and hoping I can do it today. I’m just so darn tired. Maybe it’s the weather? It’s really gray here. Hopefully I’ll perk up in a little bit and manage to do something!

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Next Saturday I’m going to see the touring production of My Fair Lady and I am really excited about that. I haven’t been to a show in forever. Really. And I’ve never seen My Fair Lady on stage. So I’m excited about that!

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Favorite thing I’ve cooked this week: Outlander KItchen’s Scotch Broth. Give it a try, it’s really good! (If you can’t find pot or pearl barley, you can use quinoa or couscous instead!) And it’s so not hard. It cooks for a while—so it takes awhile—but it’s mostly hands-off cooking.

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A photo I took last week of Venus and the moon:

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How’s your Lent going? Did we all make it through the first week OK? :)

My "Ave Explores: Lent" podcast interview is live!

My conversation with Katie Prejean McGrady for the Ave Explores Lent series is live today! I had a great time talking to her and I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation!

Seven Quick Takes--Friday after Ash Wednesday

Linking up with Kelly!

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So first, around the blog this week:

My Interview with Danielle Bean is live, and the book is a Lenten Pick!

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My interview with Kyle Heimann is now live: listen to it here!

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This week’s Memento Mori art: El Greco, St. Francis Venerating the Crucifix

(Yes, I’m going to try to have Memento Mori art during Lent!)

Speaking of Lent, how’s it going for you? We’re two days in….are you feeling OK? Keeping up with penances and prayers? Remember, no meat today! Go to your parish fish fry!

My Lent has been going pretty well so far. I’m doing a lot of study—a lot of Lenten reading. One of the things I’m trying to do is order my day around the monastic timetable of the nuns in Summit, NJ (I had discerned entering with them back in the day—fun fact!). No, I am not (yet) getting up at 5:00. No, I probably will never voluntarily get up at 5:00! But I do stick to the times of work and study that are here, and that gives me set times to get things done, as it were-household chores, and my Lenten reading and such.

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Currently I’m reading Union with God, Exalted, Consecration to St. Joseph, and 33 Days to Greater Glory. Oh, and using the Memento Mori devotional and journal in the evening right before bed. Whew! It’s a lot. But Union with God and Exalted are for study—I read a chapter a day and take notes—while the Consecration and 33 Days are devotional. That helps break it down.

I’m also saying my breviary—lauds and vespers, of course, and on days when I’m home and can do it, the Office of Readings and None around 3:00.

It probably sounds like a lot, but remember I’m not married and my job is….well, writing. :) And to write, you gotta read and study! It’s very Dominican, my Lent plan.

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Obviously if you’re still looking for Lent reading, um, my book is good for that! ALSO, Take Up and Read’s Hosanna study, of the Gospel of Matthew, is GREAT, go get that too! (It is also, at the time I’m writing this, on sale!)

Also, if you’ve read my book, can you take a second to leave a review on Amazon? The more reviews, the more publicity it gets on Amazon, which means more sales! Yay!

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We actually had a snow day yesterday. As in, it was cold and there was snow. Amazing. It’s been such a milk winter (I AM NOT COMPLAINING!) that I actually wanted a snow day, and I got it. I did a lot of work on my November Blanket (which is a ginormous monster right now but really close to being done!), because when it’s cold you want a big fat knitting project that will keep you warm while you work on it!

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Can you believe it’s March on Sunday? Where did February go? January always seems so long and then February is just gone, and it’s even a leap year! But I’m excited for March, because I’m going to get to see the touring production of My Fair Lady!

"Girlfriends" Podcast Is Live, and "Living Memento Mori" Is a Lenten Reading Pick!

Some book news for you!

First, my interview with Danielle Bean is live! You can catch our conversation about my book and life and other things here. It was great to be on her show—I’ve loved Danielle’s writing for a long time, and she’s a fellow Steelers fan.

Second, Kathryn Lopez (who blurbed my book, see above) recommended my book in her National Review post on Lenten Reading. If you’re an NRO-ite and have been for awhile, you will understand why I’m excited to be in The Corner!

If you haven’t picked up your copy of Living Memento Mori yet, you can do so here.

How’s everyone’s Lent going so far?

Seven Quick Takes, the PRE LENT edition!

linking up with Kelly!

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OK so Ash Wednesday—and Lent—are NEXT WEEK.

Let’s get ready to Leeeeeeeeeeeeeent!

First off I assume you have my book in hand, yes? :) Because it’s perfect for Lent! (If not, go get it at any of these fine retailers! [scroll down to the bottom] Or ask your local Catholic bookshop to get it for you!)

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Penitent Mary Magdalene, El Greco (notice memento mori!)

OK, so, that’s one thing you can do for Lent and I would greatly appreciate it. :)

But let’s talk other things.

Before we start, here is the USCCB’s Lent homepage, with resources and documents and all sorts of things.

There are the three “pillars” of Lent: Fasting, Almsgiving, and Prayer. Let’s talk fasting first.

Fasting normally means food. It means one full meal and two “snacky meals” that do not equal a full meal. Obviously no snacking in between meals. This applies to Catholics 18-59, and Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are the only required days of fast.

If you are like me, and fasting from food is not permitted for medical reasons, then you can fast from other things. I will “fast” from social media on these days—facebook, IG, Twitter, etc.

In this category you can also include what you’re giving up for Lent. For me, it’s book buying, and yes, that is hard. This year I’m expanding that to cover things that aren’t necessary. (The one exception to this is the NYC trip in April. It’s during Holy Week, it’s Birthday Week, and I’m going to buy scrummy yarn at Purl Soho. I JUST AM.)

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Let’s talk almsgiving. Obviously tithing to your parish needs to happen. St. John Paul II said that when we tithe, it should feel like a sacrifice. So maybe take a look at your charitable giving and see if you can up it—maybe not permanently, but for Lent? Can you drop some money in the church poor box (if you have one), or give to the charitable works collection?

Let’s also remember to support charities that do work both domestically and internationally. Mary’s Meals is a great example and one of my favorite charities. For $21, they can provide food for one child at a place of education for a year. A year! For the cost of three months of Disney Plus! Or, in my case, a hardback book. That’s amazing.

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And finally, prayer.

This can include, of course, The Stations of the Cross. You can perhaps get to Mass a bit earlier to spend time in prayer before the tabernacle. You could add a holy hour (holy 15 minutes, if you’ve never done a holy hour before?). You could add a daily rosary with your family. There are so many things you can do here.

Some good Lenten reading in this stack!

Here’s my general plan: I’m going to add another hour of the Liturgy of the Hours, either Office of Readings or Compline or one of the midday little hours. My spiritual reading is going way up: I’m reading The Dark Night of the Soul and also Union With God According to St. John of the Cross. (So I’m doing a little Carmelite spirituality this Lent!)

I’m also using Sonja Corbitt’s Exalted: How the Power of the Magnificat Can Transform Us as a guide to lectio/study. Not sure which it will be yet. Maybe both! I’ll also be reading Fr. Gaitley’s 33 Days to Greater Glory, because I adore John’s Gospel—it’s my favorite—so this book is perfect for me.

Generally, I want to re-direct my reading and make it more spiritually-based and I need to study a bit more. Lent is a great time for that.

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In order to have more time for this, I’m cutting back on social media, not entirely like on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but…partially. I’ll be implementing the Advent rule of a “social media cutoff time” in the evening. For Advent, it was 9:45. For Lent, it’s 9:15—unless there is hockey on, and then I’ll stay on Twitter to the end of the game so I can follow. No hockey, no extra tweet time. I’ll also be on social media in “chunks” during the day—like a fifteen minute block here or there, to do things and check notifications or whatever—but not sort of continually. I’m still thinking about how that will go. Since I have book promotion to do and book events to talk about, I do have to be on SM to share all of that with you, and I want to share it, so that’ll be part of what happens when I am on. It’s more about being intentional with the use, I think.

So that brings me to….

What are you doing for Lent?

Tell me in the comments! :)

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I have a diabetes education class today which’ll be interesting, because my type of diabetes is interesting. I take insulin, but I’m not a true Type I. My body doesn’t use insulin correctly, but I’m not a true Type 2. Sigh. It’s a mess and a half. And it’s not even true CF Related Diabetes (CFRD), because my pancreas does make insulin and my body does use it to a certain extent! Aye caramba!

I’m hoping that the educator will be able to answer some of my burning questions, though!

We’re tweaking the insulin a bit—I’ve added some intermediate acting at night which has had a nice effect on my morning BGLs. So that’s good!

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Post from the last week:

Signing at the CCWC!

Also, if you want a signed copy of the book, email me! They’re $20 and that includes shipping. If you have a copy and would like a bookplate (which I sign), email me as well!

Signing at the CCWC

Saturday was a big day—my first ever book signing!

I was sort of nervous—what if no one wanted it, what if I just sat there like an idiot?—but that evaporated pretty quickly. The signing began during the breakfast break, so right after Mass ended I was at the Ave Maria Press table with fellow Ave Author Elizabeth Tomlin. We joked that the conference could have been sponsored by Ave Maria Press, since almost all of the speakers (4/5!) were Ave authors, and thus there were book signings all day! The Ave table was huge.

Even before Mass, I was prowling around the table, checking on my babies, which the AMP ladies had so nicely displayed….

(No, the book is not $12—that’s the conference price. :) It’s $13.95.)

I really loved the Ave ladies—they were so fun and so encouraging!

Fellow Ave Author Elizabeth Tomlin and I with our books! And yes, that’s Sister Miriam James’ books next to ours—she spoke at the conference and is a fellow Ave Author.

I have no idea how many books I signed, but I loved meeting people and talking about my book. Since this is my “home” conference I saw a lot of people I knew , which made it even better.

And I got to see the materials the fabulous Ave art department had made for me: now I have book marks and prayer cards!

You can sort of see them in this picture—this was taken from my vantage point behind the AMP table. I’ll take better photos and share them later because they are great. I also have bookplates! So if you bought a copy of the book and want my signature in it, I can send you a signed book plate! Just email me and we’ll get that done. You can also contact me for signed books!

I managed to do my conference shopping before the day really began—an advantage to getting up at 5:15 and getting to the center at 6:15!—and I’ll share with you the great shops I found in another post. But here’s one of the things I just loved:

My Dominican loving heart was overjoyed by this great sticker!

I also managed to steal away to have some time in the adoration chapel (vital!) and listen to some of the day’s great speakers. It was a long but great day!

Seven Quick Takes--Authenticity, Book Signings, Etc.

linking up with Kelly!

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From the blog this week:

“Quote Me” podcast and book signing on Saturday!

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So, authenticity.

In one of my interviews for Living Memento Mori, I was asked if it was hard to be so open about my health in the book.

“No.” I said. I didn’t even have to think about this. To me, it wasn’t hard, it was necessary. For me to be real, to really reach the reader, I had to be authentic. And that meant showing what really goes on.

I don’t show everything in the book. The book is limited in scope, to an extent, and so not everything is there, and not everything ever will be. There are things that are private.

But for the most part, I wanted to share how I really feel. I do yell at God. I get mad. I get angry. I throw things. Sometimes I act like a five year old. Like last night.

There were a lot of nit-picky things going on. I had whiffed an interview question. It’s Valentine’s Day and I’m single. And I really really really didn’t want to be a pincushion last night. I didn’t want to test my blood sugar before I went to bed. I didn’t want to shoot insulin into myself with crappy pen needles. I just did not want to.

I grouched a bit. I cried some. And then I did it. And I shared how I felt on Twitter.

Why?

Not for pity or sympathy of whatever. But because I want to be authentic with people. I want to be real. And while I do, generally, handle things with some degree of aplomb, sometimes I am just done. Sometimes, in the words of the musical Side Show, “I want to be like everyone else.”

I’m not.

So every so often, I have a breakdown, but then I just do it again. I feel a lot better today.

But I always want to be honest with my readers. I don’t want you to think I just sail along on a boat of Saint-like acceptance and Oh, everything is wonderful all the time!

It’s not. And that’s just fine. It’s OK to get angry. The key is to do it and then pick up again.

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OK, so, whew, got that done. :)

BOOK SIGNING TOMORROW! Catholic Women’s Conference here in town! YES, you can get tickets at the door!

I am signing during the breakfast break after Mass at the Ave Maria Press table, which is usually right by the eating area. Come say hi! I would love to meet you and sign your book!

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Next week I think two things happen—my Girlfriends interview with Danielle Bean goes live, and I think an interview for Aleteia (Catholic news/lifestyle website) goes up. I will link to them here and on SM and on the media page when they do!

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If you would like a signed book, email me and we’ll do it! They’re $20 and that includes shipping!

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OUTLANDER is back!

I love Outlander. It’s my favorite. I flew threw the series when I was having all my heart thythm issues in 2010—so much so that the clerk at the local B&N told my dad, “Does she know that this is the last one?” when I got to the (then) last installment.

The TV series airs on Starz and season 5 starts on Sunday—but if you have the Starz app, like I do, you can watch the season premiere now! Yay!

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Normal reminders to buy the book, sign up for the newsletter, etc. And please leave a review on Amazon if you’ve read the book! Thank you thank you!

Book Updates: My Podcast with Lindsay Schlegel Is Up and Book Signing This Weekend!

So, some updates!

Above, you can see the quote that I discussed on Lindsay Schlegel’s Quote Me podcast! I loved talking to Lindsay (she’s a fellow Ave Author!) and we had such a good time talking about my book, St. Thomas More, and all sorts of other things! Take a listen!

Also, a reminder that I will be signing my book at the Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference on SATURDAY! You can still get tickets or you can get them at the door! I am signing during the breakfast break (and I’ll stay at the table as long as people want me to sign, lol.)

And FINALLY, my book is 25% off on Ave Maria Press’s site through THURSDAY!

Enter MEMENTO at check out to save 25%!

Seven Quick Takes--My baby is two weeks old, upcoming events, knitting, and common sense

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It’s Seven Quick Takes time, YAYYYY!

Posts from this week:

Know Your Body, Meds Have Side Effects, and Being Your Own Health Care Advocate

Yarn Along

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The first post is important, I think. Yes, it’s long. But people need to know that you have to be your own medical advocate—you can’t depend on other people all the time, sadly!—and, yes, medicines have side effects that you may or may not get. I think a lot of people freak out at the idea that meds can cause bad things to happen to you, and yes, that is true. I lost my hearing because of meds. But, um, also, alive. It’s a trade off.

Anyway, it’s a long post but I think it’s worth reading as just a general part of adulting. Know your body!

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My book is two weeks old! Yayyyyy!

I’ve been doing a lot of interviews, getting lots of good reviews, and I’m really happy about all of that. If you want to get a copy, go here for all the options.

Also, if you buy it at Ave Maria Press, you can get 25% off! Yay! Enter MEMENTO at check out!

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I still haven’t checked out bookstores to see if my book is there, so hopefully I’ll see it “in the wild” soon. :) If you do, take a picture and tag me on Instagram!

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It’s actually going to snow tonight. We’ve had a pretty mild winter so the idea of snow is like, oh, cold? Snow? Winter? What is this madness? Oh well.

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I’m going to be at the Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference next weekend signing my book! Come join me!

If you want to read articles or listen to podcasts and interviews, I’m linking them on the “media” page under Living Memento Mori at the top of the site. So you won’t miss anything. If the story or interview can be linked, I will link it, and I’ll also post on social media (and here, of course) about interviews as they air!

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If you’ve read the book, you know about Rita, one of the best nurses at The Resort and a great friend. She and I are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate the publication, so yay!!!!

Have a good weekend!

Book Doings!

OK, I promise I won’t become That Person who only writes about her literary triumphs, but, it’s my first book, so you know, I might be a little over the top. Sorry. :)

OK so first of all, Ave Maria Press is having a sale!

If you go to Ave Maria Press’s page for my book, add it to your cart, and enter MEMENTO at check out— you’ll get 25% off the cover price! Yay! So go get it! The offer is good through 2/13/20.

Second, my book is in the Columbus Library System!

The Columbus Library system is one of the largest libraries (by circulation) in the country—as well as being a top-ranked library—and I am thrilled that they ordered six copies! Six! I would’ve been happy if they got one, but six!

So as you can see, they are on order, meaning: Not in the stacks yet (but you can see where it will be, once they’re in!). If you’re in the Columbus area, be on the look out! (If you’re not, you can probably get it through inter library loan? I think?)

Obviously I’m very excited about all this. :) I’ve been doing interviews, too, which are added to the media page as they are published or go live, in the case of podcasts. Reviews for the book are there too.

And if you’re coming to the Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference, I’ll be doing a signing there during the breakfast break! (at the Ave Maria Press table, which is usually right by the eating area.) I’d love to see you!

I think that’s it for this edition of Book Doings. :) Have a good weekend!

Publication Day

It’s here.

Publication Day.

Books that were pre-ordered should be arriving in mailboxes all over the place, and now you can walk into a store and request my book.

Wow. That’s a really weird, and yet amazing, feeling.

I mean, my book is on the Target website! (and part of a 3 for 2 deal….)

Pub day flowers from Farmgirl Flowers

I spent five years shopping the proposal for what became my book. I was sad, frustrated, I never thought anyone would want my story—was my story no good? Was it just bad?

I am so thankful that Ave Maria Press accepted it and they have been a fabulous team to work with!

I am so thankful for all of you readers—without you this would not have happened! (really. It’s true!)

I hope that you love the book. I hope it helps you in your own life.

Today, I am just really, really, really thankful.

It's Publication Week! Instagram LIVE Tomorrow!

It’s PUBLICATION WEEK!!!!!!

via GIPHY

I can’t believe it—Friday is the big day!

(If you haven’t pre-ordered yet….do it! )

I wanted to let you know about a few things that are happening:

First, tomorrow at 2:00 PM EST, I’m doing an Instagram Live!


My account is @emily_deardo, so come on over! I will be going through the book, showing you all the features and talking a little bit about the genesis of the book and some behind-the-scenes things of an “easter egg” nature.

If you can’t come at 2, a live is available on IG for 24 hours, and I’ll try to cross-post it here and also on Facebook.

Second, I have a Media page now on the blog

This page is where I’ll post reviews, media pieces, interviews, and things of that nature, so if you miss something, it’s all there for you to read!

Third, I’m recording a podcast episode!

I’ll be talking with the lovely Lindsay Schlegel on her podcast, “Quote Me” . The episode date is TBD, but I will let you know when it happens!

So that’s what’s on the docket for this week….I’m so excited!

SQT--A reaaaaaallly interesting week!

Linking up with Kelly!

And it’s gonna be fast quick takes today!

1. OK, so my body does weird things before big events. Jeopardy taping? Pneumonia. I guess for the book release month, my blood sugars will go nuts! But it’s OK, we’ve got them under control now.

2. But to get them under control, Dad and I spent 25 hours at OSU, in the ER/observation, so that was….fun. Best not discussed.

3. So I’m taking two types of insulin right now—a rapid acting one before I eat, and an “intermediate” acting one. These have both made my body much happier! There is sleep! There is energy! My cells rejoice in insulin!

4. But……sigh. OK, doctors’ offices. You must have a system for the hearing impaired to contact you. MyChart doesn’t always work. You must have ways of contact that a patient can do independently! I couldn’t directly contact my doctor’s office last Friday and that led to a really crappy weekend! Today, I can’t select my doctor on MyChart, so I had to contact my FABULOUS transplant coordinator, who will send them numbers that I emailed her! Guys, you can’t think that your lovely “secure system” is going to be the best way for people to get care if they’re hearing impaired! I RAGE ABOUT THIS.

5. STATE OF THE BOOK WICKET is here!

6. Maybe this is the time to show everyone the handy chart about emergency room vs urgent care usage…..

7. OK, that’s it for this week, go read the link at point 5! YAY BOOK! Two weeks to PUB DAY!!!!!!

The State of the Wicket

My babies on IG! :) You can follow me there @emily_deardo.

Oh, my babies are in the house!!!!!

Really, it’s so weird. It almost doesn’t feel real. I just like to look at them.

They are coming off the presses. There are two weeks until the publication date! Aghhhh!

This post is titled “The State of the Wicket” after a Diana Gabaldon blog post of the same name, where she updated her readers on what was going on with books. So I’m doing the same thing today.

Here’s what’s going on:

• My first event has been scheduled! I’ll be doing a book signing at the Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference. As more events are added, they’ll be on the event page here on the site.

• I’m also lining up some interviews. When those are released, they’ll be noted here on the blog, on social media, and I’ll link them on the book page. I’m probably going to create a separate media page for interview links and such. Some interviews have been done already, and I can’t wait for them to come out!

Here are some ways you can help promote the book….

• Add it to your Goodreads to-read list if you’re on Goodreads!

• Ask your library to order a copy.

• Ask your local Catholic bookstore and “regular” bookstore to stock it!

• Once you get your copy, share a picture of it on social media, tagged #livingmementomori

• Leave a review on Amazon once you get it and read it!

Preorder links are all here, so you can choose your bookstore of choice!

I know, I’m talking about pre-ordering all the time here, but it really is important. It helps the press know how many copies to print, and it helps build up buzz for the book, which is tres important in getting the word out so as many people as possible can get a copy!

If you want to read something I’ve already written while you’re waiting for your book, Catholic 101, my ebook, is available!

If you are subscribed to the newsletter, you get everything first. Links to interviews, first opportunities to buy signed books (once I figure out logistics), any fun things, etc.

I would love to come speak to your group!! just drop me an email and we’ll connect!

On the Ninth Day of Christmas, MY BOOK ARRIVED

There she is, guys.

She really exists.

It’s so hard to explain what goes into a book. Years of work, in my case. I started writing my story when I was in college. Sending out queries and proposals and getting nothing back, or form rejection letters. Freaking out over sample chapters.

And now it’s here.

It’s been written. It’s been published. It’s beautiful.

It’s just like when Jo March opened her package at the end of Little Women and whispers, “My book!”

It’s really real.

So yeah, today was pretty exciting….

And then I took the book to Chuy’s for lunch with my best friend Tiffany.

And showed her to Jesus….

Over the next month—the official pub date is January 24—I will be talking about the book in IG videos and Facebook lives, as well as sharing endorsements and telling you what is exactly in the book, because it’s not just my story. There are tools for you to use!

If you haven’t pre-ordered, please do so, because if I want to write another book (and I do), then this one has to sell like hot cakes. :)

I was going to write about Christmas for quick takes this week, but this just takes the cake over everything else.

I’m just so excited!!!

Christmas is Practically Here Seven Quick Takes

Linking up with Kelly!

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So gonna start off with—I saw Star Wars last night. No, not at midnight. At a special 5:00 “fan screening”—I did get a cool opening night pin (sorry, bad photo in dark theater!):

So that was pretty cool. And there were heated seats in the theater—talk about decadence. I’d actually been wanting to try this out, and it was like a nice heating pad feel in your lower back, so I have to say, enjoyable. And you could turn it on and off! Yes, I am easily amused.

Anyway, no spoilers here, but I think it’s the best Star Wars movie since Empire. The critics who are giving it crap? What are they watching? No idea. But it’s good.

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I am going to start Christmas baking this weekend, because I only have to make two things—Ina’s Hermit Bars, and her crumble bars—for the family to nosh on over Christmas Day. I’ve made the hermit bars every Christmas for a few years now, they’re easy and delightfully good. I don’t do the glaze thing. To me, it’s an easy way to cut down on sugar intake by removing it and thus we can have more sugar later. Right? :)

For the crumble bars, I leave out the almonds, and you can use any type of jam you like. I’m using blueberry this time.

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I’ve started a baby blanket for a friend’s baby….

Bad apartment carpet, forgive me. :)

The yarn is Knitpicks Shine Sport, which I really like (L-R: Robot, Clarity, Sky, and French Blue). It’s so smooth in my hands, but it’s not sliding all over the place (One reason I love using wooden needles. When I tried metal ones, disaster.). It’s 60% cotton and 40% beechwood fiber, whatever that is, but I figured this would be good for a baby. And it’s washable!

The pattern is….another story.

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I’m making the Quince Sully blanket pattern. Pretty, right? I looked at the “skills needed” section and thought, OK, I have all those skills. I can pick up stitches and change colors and knit and purl and totally long tail cast on (that’s the only one I do…..)….

Bought the pattern.

then read the pattern.

The pattern calls for binding off the main color sequence (stripes), and then picking up the border and increasing stitches and god knows what else, and the number 600 something popped up, and I just went oh….

via GIPHY


Whhyyyyy pattern writer? WHYYYYYY?????

Anyway, besides that bit of crazy, it’s really easy to do, with a nice seed stitch row with every color change. I really like doing it. I’m just scared of the border. It might not happen.

I do not think the baby will mind if there is no border, right? Because, um, my skills may not be up to it.

Sigh….
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It’s that time….if you haven’t pre-ordered the book, please do so! If you have, MUCHAS GRACIAS!

Next week….well, OK, in January, there are fun graphics coming!!! I’m excited about them!
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Two more gifts to wrap. Well, three. Two of them go in gift bags, and one requires actually wrapping, at which I AM TERRIBLE. Oh well!

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Are y’all done shopping? Sort of done? Haven’t even started? :)