seven quick takes // 63rd ed

It's been awhile since I blogged about nada. Linking up with Kelly!

1//
Life has been a whirlwind the last few weeks. We've been traveling, dealing with the 24 hour stomach flu, busy at work (for both of us), etc. etc. The girls and I are enjoying being back in routine this week, though, with Target runs and naps and playing with all the toys.

2//
I'm quickly working my way through the last books in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King.
Whew.
Guys, I have never read a Stephen King novel before this series, and even though most of the books in this series aren't his typical horror-scary-nightmare-inducing-stuff, they are, in a word, intense.
Twists and turns galore, dramatic imagery, and violence, check check and check.
But they are also FASCINATING and totally unexpected in great ways, so if you're into crazy long series (I think the series in total is probably over 7000 pages over 7.5 books) I definitely recommend.

The first one is here (Amazon affiliate link, thankya, sai) if you wanna get into it.

3//
We've been slowly but steadily making progress on the fireplace in our living room. The Christmas holiday, a family funeral, and other things have slowwwwed us way down (David wanted to be finished before Christmas, whoops) but we're getting there!

This is where we are now:

Eventually I'll do a before-and-after post, because those are literally my favorite types of blog posts, but if you're keeping track we have:

• built out the fireplace
• painted the fireplace
• mounted the TV and soundbar
• installed tongue-and-groove cedar paneling on the side walls
• cut, stained, and partly mounted shelves on the left side (not pictured because they were being stained when I took this photo)

We still have yet to buy or stain a mantle piece, but that's the goal for tomorrow morning. After the mantle goes in, we can finally actually put the fireplace in, and then work on finishing out the trim/shelves. (Also this isn't final placement of the furniture, but just spaced to keep it out of the way while we work.)

I still need to find a new coffee table, buy a (probably fake) plant for the side without shelves, etc. etc. but it's coming along! I sigh in contentment when I come down the hallway from the bedrooms and see the combo of the bright rug, the wood paneling, and the horizontal dark fireplace. (heart eye emoji!)

4//

What else can I blab on about...

Oh! I haven't written on here about my New Year's resolutions/saints/word of the year. 

Last year my saint of the year was St. Peregrine. If you don't know anything about him, which I didn't really, he's the patron saint of cancer patients. 

When I got him last year with the saint generator from Jennifer Fulwiler, I immediately dismissed it, thinking to myself "There's no way this is relevant to my life, no one in my life is going to get cancer."

GUYS.

God sure had a plan, and thank goodness St. Peregrine was interceding for me without me even giving him a second glance, because we obviously really, really needed it.

Whew.

I only remember that he was my saint from 2017 when I got my saint for this year, and it was one of those moments where your eyes get really wide and your brain just stops everything for a minute as it hits you full-force. 

So, sorry St. Peregrine, for not believing you could help me out in 2017, and thanks a million for your intercession anyway.

5//

My saint of the year this year is: St. Angela Merici, and my word for the year is YES.

My word of the year is definitely making me laugh, because I am not a person who is easily swayed to saying YES. You know how some people have to train themselves to say no, because they're too busy and they've committed to too many things? I'm the opposite. I like zero commitments and zero responsibilities and so I say no automatically. I guess this year I am being asked to say yes more, and honestly it terrifies me a little bit but I'm hoping it'll help me grow...or something.

St. Angela Merici is the patron against illness, against death of parents; for disabled people and sick people. 

*crickets chirping*

I'm hoping I don't have to take her patronage as seriously as I should have last year, but if I do...pray for us. <3

Oh, and very quickly, my New Year's resolutions are as follows:

• Use my phone less, especially right before bed
• Drink more water
• Read 50 books (a post coming soon on that!)
• Perfect making coffee at home

6//

I've been itching to learn how to paint recently, just because it's one of the few creative mediums I haven't experimented with before. I've conquered sewing, I'm a pretty avid knitter, I've done with hand lettering and graphic design, I've even done cloth dyeing before but I've never tried much with painting. 

I think a trip to Hobby Lobby is in store, and a few evenings next week I'm going to play around and see what happens. 

7//

I'm hoping to get more back into regular blogging this year, because I missed it the last few months. There are only so many hours in the day, though, and lots of them recently have been taken up with cleaning (that January itch), working, and reading in my spare time. 

Thanks for reading as always, and head to Kelly's for more quick takers!

HG