Around the blogosphere...

Some posts I've read in the last month that I found particularly interesting and thought maybe you'd enjoy them, too: 7 Big Relocation Mistakes: Penelope Trunk's insightful list of things we often overlook when considering a move to a different city or state. It's true what she says about living in Los Angeles--BMWs are very common here because Southern Californians have to drive everywhere.

Learning to Sin: an Orthodox priest explains sin within the context of our "culture of death." Fascinating.

Tweeting Politics. "The idea that talking about politics...is rude, is something I've never understood. Are we all completely incapable of having civil discussions about issues that matter most?"

Annunciation of the Theotokos: Scott Morizot has been writing a fascinating series on the Virgin Mary. Here he addresses the immaculate conception of Mary as seen from Orthodox and Catholic viewpoints. Despite being Catholic, I personally lean more toward the Orthodox view--mainly because I, too, believe with the Orthodox that infants are born blameless and without guilt. "If Jesus is important to us, then Mary has to be."

"It's only time, it will go by." I've been reading Dooce since her first daughter was a baby. I've loved her and disagreed with her and been annoyed with her--but I always keep reading her. It's weird, but I love her like a friend. So, when she announced that she and her husband are separating, I actually cried. For her pain, for his pain, for the kids' pain. And then she posted this song and I felt like I could touch the pain she was feeling; so amazing how music can do that, bring us together. I so hope things work out between Heather and Jon--or if they don't, that they can find a measure of peace.

Love Lifts Us Up Where We Probably Belong. An interesting piece on relocation, the changing roles of a marriage and how some fathers just don't like being the stay-at-home parent.

Are We Ready for Change? My agent, Rachelle Gardner, shares some insightful thoughts about needing to remain flexible and open to change. As I'm reworking and tweaking my book proposal, these thoughts ring truer than ever.