Again! And we are so excited to share our second season with you!

We are gearing up for an all-new season of The Gist on CatholicTV, scheduled to begin airing in September. This season, we are taking up a number of different topics of interest to Catholic families and we want your input.

Viewer feedback and participation make for the best shows, so if you haven’t already, please like us on Facebook. That way, you won’t miss a single episode and you can take part in our reader polls and calls for questions.

Like us! Like us! You know you want to like us!

See you around CatholicTV …

Happy Birthday Stevie-Bear (Don’t worry, I will only call you Stevie-Bear in private. And on this blog. Which really is private. Seriously, no one hangs out here anymore.)!

We sure do love you!

This …

And some of this …

And a little of this …

And a whole lotta this …

How about you?

— 1 —
Pinterest, anyone?

I have been exploring the use of Pinterest recently and I must admit that I am enjoying the discovery of a whole new way to waste time on the internet.

But is it really time-wasting?

To me, it feels like (and I use it like) flipping through the pages of a magazine. It’s recreational and relaxing. really enjoy finding and sharing inspiring ideas and images. Do you, too? Come hang out for a while!

— 2 —
The Gist!

I was in Boston last week, taping an all new season of The Gist. Like the last time, it was hilarious and exhausting and so very much fun all at once. Rachel gives you a bit of a behind-the-scenes look here and here, so I will refrain from sharing too much more, except to say what a treat it was to (finally!) meet Carolee’s precious baby boy, Joey. I brought along 12-year-old Juliette to help with watching him while we were taping and he was such a good sport during the whole distracting week.

Look for the second season of The Gist to premiere this fall — we can’t wait to share it with you!

— 3 —
Am I Really Only on Three??

This is killing me.

— 4 —
Small Steps Update

Great news! Elizabeth Foss and I are wrapping up details with a new publisher for Small Steps for Catholic Moms. We are currently sold out of all copies, and yet I hear from people looking for this book nearly every week. We love that it is such a helpful book for so many moms and are doing our best to get it back in print, with a fresh new format, as soon as possible. We will be sure to let you know as soon as it becomes available.

— 5 —
CMN in August

Will you be at the Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show this year (August 28-31)? I will be there for Catholic Digest, and I would love to connect with you. Let me know if I should look for you there.

— 6 —
Did I Mention I Turned 40?

Oh, I guess I did. Well, if we aren’t friends on Facebook or Twitter, you might have missed the amazingly awesome tiki hut Dan built me for my party, so I’ll share that here:

So very awesome, right? Go ahead and tell him so. He seems to like to hear it.

— 7 —
Smells Like Summer

I love summer scents! I couldn’t resist a couple of weeks ago and bought a bottle of this body mist:

I loved its summery fruity scent and was sure Dan would like it too. And he does like it. But he says that whenever I wear it, he can’t stop thinking about a fresh box of these:

A positive association for sure, but maybe not quite the romantic summer scent I’m looking for.

And that’s it! I’m done! And it’s only Saturday! Go check out all the other Quick Takes posts at Jen’s place.

Anything. Come on! You want to know something, don’t you?

after 18 years. I love you, Dan!

How could I have not heard this song before today? I felt the need to share it here because it has such a powerfully beautiful message. We all need a tough shove toward forgiveness sometimes, even when it seems like an impossible unfair thing to have to do. God knows that. But it’s because He loves us that He tells us to forgive anyway.

Shoot.

What would your “midlife mom” book look like? Elizabeth Foss is conducting research for a potential new project. Please let her know your thoughts!