7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 60): blogging, beauty, and weekend fun

— 1 —

It’s been a fun week here at Simple Felicity.  I finally took the time to fix a few of the things I’ve been meaning to fix on my website:

• adding a picture of myself to my ridiculously short bio (I still really don’t know what to say about myself; any suggestions?  What do you want to know?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments – or for kicks, if you’re an IRL friend, feel free to write me a bio!)
• creating a graphic to link to my copy-editing services page
• choosing which “tweet this” plugin to use consistently (I’ve tried out two, and I like them both for different reasons, but I think the Better Click To Tweet plugin layout fits my theme a little better than the Tweet This plugin I also tried.)
• and adding a new Twitter feed plugin.  What I love most about it is its simplicity (which seems fitting, right?). It has 2 viewing options, though: a list view and a slider view (I went for the slider view).  But I’m curious about your thoughts:

[socialpoll id=”2264401″]

— 2 —

I know I’ve been going on and on about The Art of Work for a week, but I am really enjoying this book.  I pre-ordered it awhile back and gained access to some extras, including a Facebook group where the author Jeff Goins, is kindly interacting with us and answers some of our questions.  It pretty much made my day when he answered mine this week!

I asked him about growing an online following, and he suggested two things: having some sort of a freebie (like an e-book) to offer in exchange for signing up for my email list, and guest-posting.  I’ve been kicking around some ideas for a few days, and I think I’m almost ready to start putting together that freebie.  I’m actually really excited to write it, and my goal is to have it done by the end of the May.

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— 3 —

I stumbled across a blog awhile ago (I forget how) called Caffeinions.  Jesse writes extremely candidly, which I appreciate, and I thought he made some very good points in an essay he wrote recently about the concept of speaking truth with love.  My favorite line: “Never call proving a point speaking the truth in love. It isn’t.” 

True story.  Check out the rest of Jesse’s post here.

— 4 —

We can encounter sooooo much judgment, in and out of Christian circles; and sometimes we contribute to it, whether we mean to or not.  I really loved this post from Wm. Paul Young about creating safe places to share our stories.  In An Invitation to a Different Kind of Conversation, he shares a lot of very wise thoughts about keeping perspective and asking good questions.  I’d encourage you to create some space and give a read when you get a chance – and really mine it for the gold you’ll find.

— 5 —

— 6 —

I’ve been looking for ways to minimize my distractions when I’m writing.  I know a lot of people who use Scrivner, but I’m not convinced I need something that intense.  I’m trying out Yarny this week, and wrote an entire article in two hours (which I quickly submitted to an online magazine before I could chicken out – so wish me luck!).  Do you have any blogging/writing tips/tricks to share?  I’d love to hear about them in the comments.

— 7 —

I’m so looking forward to this weekend – I have lots of fun things planned, starting with an International Movie Night!  One of my best friends, Cheryl (who guest-posted here not too long ago as part of that series on singleness and the church) lives in Canada.  I can’t even remember how this started, or even when, actually, but at least a couple times per year, we coordinate time zones and schedules so we can watch the same movie at the same time in our two different countries, and chat about it over Google Chat while we’re watching.  It’s not the same as being together – but it’s been a fun and creative way to hang out without the expense of travel.  Not sure what we’re watching tonight yet, but it’s going to be a great way to kick off the weekend!

For more Quick Takes, visit This Ain’t The Lyceum!

Have a great weekend!