Good Friday Takes
Yes, I redesigned the blog again. I was looking at some other “author” websites and realized I wanted something a bit more “I’m a real author.” and less “I blog in my bathrobe with a cup of cold coffee when I should be educating my kids.” Getting a professional headshot is still on the to-do list, so please enjoy Kelly’s headshot circa 2017.
My popular Facebook post from last Sunday in case you missed it:
And if you missed my post on Monday, don’t forget to watch Byron, Byron’s friend Leo, Fulton, and Teddy’s submission in the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. Pretty sure they’re not going to take best picture, but if we spread enough awareness, maybe there’ll be a prize in it for them after all! Too bad there’s not a prize for best looking guy in a top hat.
Monday we assembled a spice cross from Dumb Ox Publications. I learned the difference between a spice and an herb (herbs come from the leafy part of the plant and can be used fresh or dried, while spices come from seeds, bark, etc. and are always dried), so I’m counting that as a school day and taking another day off at the end of the year.
I spoke with a marketing guru from my publisher on Tuesday about planning for my book’s release this fall. I told him we needed to talk ASAP because I would need lots of time to do whatever was demanded of me. Surprisingly enough, flying me all over the country to promote my book is NOT part of my publisher’s job. Humpf. I’m still looking for an excuse to travel so hit me up with your favorite Catholic or independent bookstores. I already have my heart set on creating a cool tour poster and t-shirt and meeting all my fans like I’m a member of Fleetwood Mac or something.
I got my first COVID shot on Wednesday. I’m eligible because I have some underlying health issues, not because I’m a caregiver to two medically fragile kids. (I’m clarifying that because a lot of people I know assumed parents like Tony and I were in the top tier of eligible people, but that’s not the case in most states.) No one else in our house is eligible yet, but hopefully soon. I wrote a post about what it’s been like for special needs families in quarantine for Accepting the Gift. It was a follow up to a post I wrote last April when many people thought things would be returning to normal with the approaching warm weather. I solicited answers from special needs parents via Facebook and Instagram and shared them in my post. If you’re a special needs parent who’d like to share their experiences, please leave a comment on the original post.
We dyed eggs yesterday. I HATE the mess of dying eggs but since I want my kids to have happy memories of dying eggs, every year I turn our dining room into a disaster and try not to yell too much. This year I invested in some egg wraps which I’d seen mentioned across the Catholic blogosphere. I put a few on some wooden eggs I spray painted gold, while some more went on the hardboiled eggs. I don’t really decorate for Easter, but I liked the religious themed wraps and those based on traditional pysanky designs (which I have yet to attempt because it combines all the mess of regular egg dying with hot wax).
In 2019, I did a series of art posts on Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. Each contained several paintings depicting the day’s events, and Sunday’s post also contained St. John Chrysostom’s Easter Homily, which I love to read every year. If you want some great art to meditate on during the next few days, clickety click.
Also- this Easter makes 20 years since I joined the Roman Catholic Church. WOOT! You can read about my conversion story HERE and a few years back I did a post sharing other well known Catholic bloggers’ conversion stories.
Not much else to report. My spring break so far has been taken up with crafts, cleaning, and taking Byron to 2,394,129 appointments for his elbow, which is doing much better but still requires more care and maintenance than an orchid.
Sending prayers and wishes to you all for a Happy Easter this weekend. Link up your posts below, and remember to include a link back to this post so your readers can find the rest of the Quick Takes. I look forward to reading your posts!
Hello? (Echoes…echoes…echoes)
I guess everyone else is being good and staying offline today.
I like the new look. As an aspiring writer, what exactly constitutes a more professional blog? Mine is currently a blogspot, so there’s not a whole lot i can do, but I’m interested in learning.
I think having a landing page as your home page, rather than people just seeing your blog posts when they first come to your site. Also, not having a blogspot or wordpress url. Lastly, I need to claim, kellymantoan.com and set up a landing page there that then directs people to this site since most authors have their name as their site.