Seven Quick Takes

1. My husband was kind enough to let his arm get twisted into getting me an early birthday present - an iPod Nano - before I headed to Memphis. I was worried about getting to sleep at night (I get so nervous before speaking - especially when I'm away from home) and the music and audio books were a huge help in settling down. The Nano is great, it holds a ton of stuff and the audio quality is fantastic. Now if I can only get the hang of the iTunes software for setting up playlists and such. Oh yeah, and my other excuse for twisting my husband's arm is that the birthday coming up is of the significantly-round-number variety. :)

2. While I was in Memphis, I was interviewed about homeschooling by Deacon Jeff and Tom Dorian of the Catholic Cafe. The interview should be on their show on Relevant Radio in a few weeks. The hosts couldn't have been nicer (or more fun to talk to!).

3. While my daughter and I were in the airport in Memphis on the way home (after our initial flight was cancelled and we had quite a few hours of waiting to do), I stopped in a bookstore and got each of us a novel to read. I picked the Blind Side (haven't seen the movie yet) and gobbled it up. Great true story about a poor black kid from the wrong side of Memphis who ends up enrolling in a Christian school and turns out to be an mind-boggling fabulous football player. It didn't hurt that a lot of the backstory (involving the position the main character plays) involves my beloved San Francisco 49ers from their glory days in the 80s. Can't wait to see the movie. The book, at least, is a bit rough around the edges for the younger set, though I'd definitely encourage Ria read it at this point. It covers a broad swatch of sports, culture, educational theory and much more. Lots of fascinating stuff and plenty of fodder for interesting discussions.

4. I was blown away by the graciousness and hospitality of the people of Memphis - and I'm not just talking about the conference organizers and my lovely hosts! We went into a Taco Bell for lunch the first day we were there and they were incredibly gracious! Also, while taping my talk notes onto index cards at the hotel on Friday afternoon, I ran out of scotch tape. I brought a few dollars to the front desk thinking I might be able to buy a roll off of them. The lady there said, "Oh honey, you don't have to pay for that. I'll just hand you one!" (And I loved the accents, by the way.)

5. Yesterday I received a review copy of one of the most beautiful children's books I've ever been sent for review. I think if the text (which I haven't read yet) is half as good as the illustrations, it will be a highly recommended one for sure. You can take a peek at the publisher's website here: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

There's one full page picture and one page of text for each of a number of well-known and not-so-well-known saints. I'm looking forward to reading it with my kids soon.

6. The Wisconsin Catholic Youth Rally is tomorrow and I can't wait! Last year I chaperoned a group of 12 teens (I think it was 12). This year, myself and two other moms are chaperoning a group of about 30 teens. What a beautiful event!

7. I've noticed that about weekly the younger four kids have some particular activity that they're all super obsessed with simultaneously (resulting, naturally, in squabbles over the limited quantities of said items). This week it's floor puzzles. We've also had: rock collection week, K'nex week, Kapla Blocks week, cats cradle week, hula hoop week, Lego week and I don't remember what else.