Jen isn't quite sure when she lost her mind, but it is probably documented here on Meditatio. She blogs because the world needs her snark at all hours of the night... and she probably can't sleep anyway.
Looking out my window… dark. I’ve been hearing some rain hit the window and the wind blowing.
I am thinking… how miserable I feel. I’ve got bronchitis and the ER doc screwed up on Sunday night in not giving me antibiotics (or doing much of anything really) while I was there. (His bedside manner was similarly abysmal. I’m disappointed because we usually have had such good luck in the ER here.)
I am thankful… I can skip classes tomorrow and I’ve built up enough of a network of notetakers that I have people who can take care of getting them to me this week.
One of my favorite things… being able to breathe. Not happening right now!
I am wearing… jammies.
I am creating… this entry.
I am reading…Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans for the second time. I highly recommend it.
I am hoping… I can get in with my doctor tomorrow for a second opinion on this.
I am learning… how to calculate gross pay in some of the weirdest situations imaginable.
In my kitchen… I made lasagna for comfort food before my ability to breathe disappeared.
Shared Quote…
Closing Notes: Please pray for me that they can get me in to see my doctor tomorrow and we can get to the bottom of what this really is.
Antiquated office machine update. We had a touch addition practice test on Wednesday and I think I averaged 120 kpm with one error. I was really hoping to be over 150 and closer to 200 but that will come with practice. My instructor gave us a bunch of practice sheets and I’ve been working through those.
And now a word from our host… Kelly of This Ain’t The Lyceum made a list of magical resolutions and picked her word and beast for this year. I think the coolest part is her beast: a laser unicorn!
Lenten devotional update. The survey I created with my priest was emailed to everyone on Friday and we also had paper copies on Sunday for those who were not techies. I’m honestly pretty excited for what we’ll have, given the breadth of devotional writers. We even have a couple from Resurrección who have offered, which makes my heart sing.
Looking out my window… dark. We had rain on and off and lots of clouds with temps in the 40’s F. I have a headache from the weather change, but the rain is worth it.
I am thinking… about classes. It’s nothing profound as today was my first “long” day and I’m pretty sure I was asleep by 9:30. (I got woken up by something.)
I am thankful… that I was able to help people in my OFTEC 135 class today and that I was able to talk geek with a parishioner on my “coffee” break today. (Why yes, it involved working on homework at Starbucks in between classes. How did you know?!?!?!?)
One of my favorite things… the blissful feeling you get before you fall asleep.
I am wearing… jammies. Clothes were a black shirt and jeans today with a hoodie.
I am creating… Excel formulas. I’m in heaven.
I am reading…Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans. It’s a re-read and I’m loving it.
I am hoping… to do well on my test in 10-Key class tomorrow. (It’s just basic math on the calculator.) We also have a practice touch addition test tomorrow so I will probably be doing touch addition drills before class to warm up my fingers.
I am learning… how to effectively help my classmates in OFTEC 135. We were doing advanced formulas today and I was having to explain some of them to a classmate who got lost.
In my kitchen… leftover lasagna. (I made a batch of “lazy” lasagna this weekend and froze some of it for days when cooking required too much coherent thought… like today!)
In the school room… Daniel is ecstatic to be back at school.
Shared Quote… “It’s strange that Christians so rarely talk about failure when we claim to follow a guy whose three-year ministry was cut short by his crucifixion.” — Rachel Held Evans
A moment from my day… Our choir anthem from Sunday.
10-key calculators. I had my first 10-Key class on Wednesday and my instructor started by saying that she knows we’re probably wondering why we’re learning such “antiquated” pieces of office machinery. Apparently, the employers and business owners on the advisory board for the OFTEC department keep saying “yes” when asked if they still want us to learn how to use them because “touch addition” on the 10-key pad of a keyboard is still something they want us to know how to do. So… all of us got to check an electronic calculator out of the library before class on Wednesday and rolls of papers were distributed at the beginning of class.
Yep.This article talks about the tragedy of dumbing down Christianity. The things that the author describes are why I am positively ecstatic that Rachel Held Evans has a book on the Bible coming out this year.
Escape games. My mom got me addicted to escape games on my e-reader and it has been fabulous for keeping my mind sharp while sitting and waiting at doctor’s offices or other places. The two makers I’ve found to be the best are MobiGrow and Mobest Media.
Fernando Ortega. He released a new album with music and readings related to the Crucifixion this past year. (The album itself is called “The Crucifixion of Jesus”.) I recommend it highly.
Lenten devotional update. I sent a survey to the people who told me of their interest in helping put together a Lenten devotional for church a few days ago. On the question about possible themes, there were a bunch of checkboxes and I put two somewhat snarky statements in there:
“I like checking boxes!”
“I’m checking this box to troll Jen!”
I thought my priest would tell me to take them out… but she was one of the people who checked both of them and she had me include some more silly answers in the version of the survey sent to the wider parish!
Looking out my window… sunny and cold with temps in the 30’s.
I am thinking… about the parish Lenten Devotional which I offered to coordinate.
I am thankful… for my church being such a welcoming place to Daniel. Advent IV was hard but they were fine with him there. When I was there yesterday, many people were asking about him. 🙂
One of my favorite things… pretty much everything involved in putting the devotional together. 🙂
I am wearing… my Old Navy flag shirt and black jeans.
I am creating… a survey for people in my parish to find out their wishes for the devotional.
I am hoping… my bloodwork doesn’t come out too horribly.
I am learning… how to make surveys in SurveyMonkey and Google Forms.
In my kitchen… plotting it currently. If Dad isn’t making anything special, I’ll probably put together a salad at Haggen or something.
In the school room… Daniel goes back tomorrow! He’s been asking about it *EVERY* day of Christmas vacation so he’ll be happy.
Shared Quote… “Creating fantasy is real work, important work. It’s a hard, cold world we live in, and sometimes we need to escape. Sometimes we need that more than food or water or a roof over our heads.” — G.A. McKevett
Make healthier choices. I stunk at this one in 2017 despite having TWO PE classes for school. I’ve had two consults with a nutritionist this fall and have the tools, so it’s just a matter of using them.
Sort out my medical stuff. Right now, I’m looking at two possible surgeries over Spring Break and once I’m done with school for the year. My BTL got postponed because my OB/GYN was on vacation for the month of December and honestly, I’d rather see someone else in her office because I really didn’t click with her. (Yes, I’m “getting my tubes tied”. We’ve seen that pregnancy is deadly for me and my OB/GYN doesn’t want to do a hysterectomy because I’m young. It’s quite hard to be “open to life” when doing so could kill you.)
When I saw the ENT and he did the nasal telescope, we discovered that my septoplasty in 2008 was just the lower parts and not the upper parts… which is problematic because the upper parts need to be done. Sooo… I’ll probably be doing that over Spring Break because I know from experience that it will mean a week without sleep because of the stuffiness.
Take Daniel to church with me at least monthly. I took him on Sunday morning for Advent IV and he chattered through the service and needed to walk the aisles and to the fellowship hall a few times. He did NOT want his tablet and finally settled when I handed him a bag of Cheerios. This all triggered a panic attack… but I survived and didn’t get any nasty looks. My church rallied around and supported me. While one of the Mary’s Guild was holding me and letting me cry, another person took Daniel for a walk. People thanked me for bringing him, which is a MASSIVE change from Jon’s church in Galt where people claimed to want him in church but gave me nasty looks if he made a sound, or relegated me to the nursery where I could listen (in theory — it didn’t work in practice) but was cut off from everyone.
In short, I have a tribe and I need to start taking Daniel to be with them.
Make 45’s life more difficult. Why yes, I do have plans to be a social justice warrior in the new year. How did you guess? 😀 Got my pussy hat, my special shirts, and my marching shoes!
Looking out my window… dark. It was in the 30’s today. No new snow (though that might happen in the next 24 hours) but cold enough to make everything slippery. Our whitish Christmas (snow from midnight to noon on Christmas Day) is melting.
I am thinking… about Good Friday. We had a parish Advent devotional this month and I was thinking about what I would write if people decide to put a Lenten one together and which day I would take. I have some thoughts about Holy Week and Good Friday that I should spin into a post on here but could also be used if I were to contribute to the Lenten one. As I’m pondering all of this, I got clarity about where God was on March 1, 2011 when Daniel almost died. This is so needed after 6 1/2 years of breaking down every time I have to talk about it.
I am thankful… for my “evil” twin brother. His work schedule has been kind of strange for the last two years so he ended up with us for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. My bed had collapsed and broken at 2 a.m. on Christmas Eve so I was in a great deal of pain. He had experienced a similar issue (bites my thumb at IKEA and their stupid design) and was able to jury-rig it using my cookbook collection to keep one of the bars in place that had sheared off. (The replacement part should be arriving on January 1st.)
One of my favorite things… quiet when everyone is gone or everyone is asleep.
I am wearing… jammies. Clothes today were my long-sleeved blue-green shirt and jeans to head to the pediatrician’s office and then jeans capris and a grey shirt when I got home. My back is screwed up 10 ways past Sunday so anything loose-fitting is the name of the game.
I am creating… blog entries and plotting crocheting projects. There will probably be socks in the future.
I am listening to…Audrey Assad. She is delightful. I continue to be in love with the song “I Shall Not Want” and it continues to be relevant for my spirit.
I am hoping… to get my Moveable Type entries uploaded at some point so I have a complete archive.
I am learning… some Spanish using Memrise. School starts again for me next Wednesday.
In my kitchen… eating leftovers after 3 days of family dinners.
In the school room… Daniel is off until the 2nd and asks every morning if he can go to school.
Post Script… I’m linking up two fellow bloggers from my church who were instrumental in putting together our fabulous Advent devotion: Ashley Sweeney and Keith Axberg. Go show them some love and buy Ashley’s book!
Shared Quote… Yeah… this is totally me.
A moment from my day… Our choral anthems from the Christ Mass on Sunday night:
Closing Notes: I hope y’all have a blessed Christmas season for those who celebrate.
