Once again, I’m linking up with Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary for a  7 Quick Takes post.

1. Valentine’s Day is coming up.  I honestly don’t like this holiday.  Well…at least the secular version of it.  If it were really all about how we should love our fellow man and have deep concern for his soul and pray for him to know Christ, like St. Valentine, then I’d be okay with it.  But the reality is that it’s all about trying to get someone into bed.  And I’m not talking about tucking in Grandma…

2. This blog post, 3 Things I Want My Son to Know About Porn, is amazing.  If you have kids, you should read it.  If you don’t have your own children, but know people who do, you should read it.  Heck, if you’ve ever even seen a child, read the post.

3. I love this website.  On Facebook, their page is called Bring Sexy Back.  According to the ‘About’ section on their Facebook page, they are “a grassroots movement in opposition to the use of artificial contraception within marriage, dedicated to bringing great sex to the entire universe.”  Cool!  Their blog posts cover a wide range of topics such as the effects of hormonal contraception,  fertility awareness, male reproductive health and any number of related topics.  It’s a great resource.  Check it out.

4. I’m still working on my second novel.  The working title is Finding Rita.  This story will be grittier than Angela’s Song and tackle the topics of sexual abuse and sexual addiction.  Heavy topics, I know.  But, not to worry.  There will be some humor in it and lots of food.  Life, after all, is made up of happiness, sadness and food as well.

5. So, what are your ideas for Lent?  If you don’t yet have any, here are a few suggestions:  say an extra prayer each day…turn off the TV once a week…that person behind you on the checkout line who only has 5 things–let him go ahead of you…set up the coffee pot for your spouse so the next day they can have a nice hot cup at the push of a button…read The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich (it’s free on Kindle)…go to confession more often…use foul language less…keep up with the laundry…stop eating junk food…eat more veggies…pay a compliment (make it genuine) to someone you don’t particularly like…spend more time with your spouse and kids…tithe 10% of your income…volunteer for a ministry at church…  The goal is to grow closer to the Lord.  Go for it!

6.  Speaking of Lent, it has actually started early this year, based on the incident that happened last Monday evening.  Our cute little Shihtzu-Poodle mix came in from the yard and wiped her little bottom all over the living room carpet.  Ewww.  So, I scrubbed the carpet and got it all clean.  A little while later I picked her up and was bowled over by the malodorous cloud that enveloped her.  After some investigation, I realized–much to my horror–that the…uh…product of digestion…was never actually completely eliminated.  So, I had to perform an…extraction…of sorts.  I got the deed done, with the help of my very brave 11 year old daughter.  However, there was quite a bit of dry heaving going on during this process.  I felt like Richard Dreyfuss in Jaws.  You know, the scene where they cut open the shark’s stomach and he has to examine the contents and he’s on the verge of vomiting the entire time?  That.  That’s how I felt.

7.  Still speaking of Lent, as one of our sacrifices, our family has decided to go wheat free this year.  Not gluten free (although I, personally, cannot eat grains at all), just wheat free.  So I bought a 25 pound bag of spelt flour.  We’re going to bake bread and make pizza dough using spelt.  My family’s sacrifice is that they’re giving up the wheat, but mine is that my workload increases because of the baking.  So, off I go to buy a couple more bread pans…