17 August 2014

Answer Me This with a couch

I am being sneaky this week and killing two birds with one photo: my answer for the first Answer Me This question today features our new-from-Craigslist couch and my outfit for What I Wore Sunday!

Little Bear was still and quiet for most of Mass—sitting in the second row from the front, right behind some older, well-behaved kids probably had a lot to do with that. I love that we're starting to feel like we belong in this community: there are several families with kids close in age to Little Bear, and others whom we genuinely look forward to seeing every week. After Mass today we stopped at my parents' house on our way home to say goodbye to my brother, who heads back to college this evening. While we were there Matt got a text back from a guy he'd contacted last night about a couch on Craigslist: if we could come get it now, we could have it for a very good price. Good thing we were with my brother, who has a pickup truck! We are now the happy owners of a big puffy beige couch and four turquoise pillows (which they threw in for free!)

As far as WIWS, I'm being lazy today; I have no idea what any of the brands are, top and skirt are both old and thrifted, but the shoes have a story behind them: Matt was in a friend's wedding in Ohio when Little Bear was three months old, and I found out five minutes into the wedding that the only pair of dress shoes I'd brought with us from Alaska were absolutely too small for my recently-swollen-from-pregnancy feet. Never pack heels without trying them on when you're traveling across the country! I made it through Mass, and then there was a several-hour break before the reception so the wedding party could take photos, so one of Matt's other household brothers took me to a shoe store and watched Little Bear so that I could find some new shoes and my feet wouldn't be killing me for the rest of the night!

1. What is your favorite room in the house?
It's a toss-up between our kitchen and our living room; the kitchen is huge compared to any of the other places we've rented, and has a ton of storage, and it's bright and pretty. But the living room is where we spend most of our time as a family, and I like how open it is—especially with windows cut into the kitchen—and that we have a fireplace, a bunch of south-facing windows, and now a very nice couch:


2. Do you subscribe to any magazines or other periodicals?
We do: there's Catholic Digest, which I honestly couldn't stand before but have loved since Danielle Bean was put in charge and they updated their design; we've been getting it pretty much since her tenure began and I don't remember ever encountering a theologically- or morally-questionable article, which is more than I can say for some of the issues I remember from when I was in middle or high school. We also get Food Network Magazine, which has so many fun recipes. Oh, and it's not a subscription but I do enjoy reading the quarterly alumni magazine Franciscan Way from our alma mater.

3. How do you feel about the sign of peace in Mass? Enriching? Awkward? Overdone? Just right? Some combination of the above?
Overdone, I suppose; I think the best and most charitable word might be "distracting." The Consecration just happened; Christ is literally right there on the altar in front of us, and having the church erupt into boisterous chatter is horribly jarring. I certainly wouldn't say that this is always the case, but I've seen too many instances of people becoming overly enthusiastic to the point of pretty clearly forgetting that they're in the immediate presence of God. I'm so grateful that the Holy See has formally urged bishops to reign in excesses and help people remember to be decorous in sharing the sign of peace.

4. What is your least favorite sound?
Any kid-related noise other than breathing that happens between 1 and 5 am. :-P Okay, honestly? A child crying in pain. It's so awful knowing they're hurting, but being unable to take the pain away. 

5. What was your favorite TV show (or shows) growing up?
As a kid, I loved the Wishbone series about the dog who was so well-versed in classic literature; in fact, I'd probably go so far as to say that watching Wishbone in elementary school is one of the main reasons I love reading so much today.

I also have fond memories of Magic Schoolbus, Reading Rainbow, Kratts' Creatures (their original one), and the Red Green Show. Hmm... one of these things is not like the others. Also, I definitely never realized as a kid that I was pretty much only watching "educational television."

6. What are your favorite TV shows now?
I don't really watch TV anymore... I just don't have time, and in the few spare minutes I do find myself sitting still with nothing to do, I'd rather pick up a book or blog. I have enjoyed watching the occasional episode of Doctor Who with Matt over the past few years, though. And we badly need to catch up on Sherlock; we've only seen through the first episode of the second season, even though we both thought it was great—we really just don't have time.

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