Category Archives: Books/Magazines

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: October 6, 2013

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY October 6, 2013

Outside my window… dark. I meant to finish this earlier. Oops!

I am thinking… about the traffic to Daniel’s peds appointment tomorrow. Not looking forward to it!

I am thankful… for the time this weekend with my family.

In the kitchen… nothing new.

I am wearing… grey maternity shirt and black capri sweats.

I am creating… novel plans for NaNoWriMo.

I am going… to hope for a quiet day with no surprises tomorrow.

I am wondering… what the heck is with drivers who assume that your turn signal is a request for them to pull up next to you and refuse to let you pass?!?!?!?!?

I am reading… Pastorix by Nadia Bolz-Weber.

I am hoping… Daniel goes down easily tonight.

I am looking forward to… my massage on Wednesday morning.

I am learning to ask for help.

Around the house… cleaned up real good.

I am pondering… many many things.

A favorite quote for today… ??What does seem to me poisonous, what breeds a type of patriotism that is pernicious if it lasts but not likely to last long in an educated adult, is the perfectly serious indoctrination of the young in knowably false or biased history – the heroic legend drably disguised as text-book fact. With this creeps in the tacit assumption that other nations have not equally their heroes; perhaps even the belief – surely it is very bad biology – that we can literally ‘inherit’ tradition.?? — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… flour taquitos.

A few plans for the rest of the week: peds appintment for Daniel tomorrow, massage and errands on Wednesday, and ABA therapy every day from Tuesday to Friday.

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook: September 29, 2013

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY September 29, 2013

Outside my window… warm. We’re getting a chill at night though.

I am thinking… about the stray cat we dropped off at the emergency vet hospital after its legs ended up under my back wheels this morning. They thankfully have a Good Samaritan policy (we can relinquish strays and they will either treat or euthanize) and it’s making me feel mildly less horrible about the situation. At least if they have to euthanize him, he got some love and care in the last hour of his life.

I am thankful… for Jon being able to drive me to the emergency vet as I’m not in any shape to drive after not sleeping last night.

In the kitchen… I microwaved some chicken and cheese taquitos from the frozen food section. #healthyeatingfail

I am wearing… forest green v-neck shirt and running shorts.

I am creating… the last of the devotions for the book and starting on plans for NaNoWriMo this year (which pretty much consists of recycling my notes from last year).

I am going… to hope that I get sleep tonight.

I am reading… Sundays in America by Suzanne Strempek Shea. I need to just buckle down and finish it this week.

I am hoping… to get some walks in this week.

I am looking forward to… seeing my parents this weekend.

Around the house… working on laundry.

I am pondering… many things internally.

A favorite quote for today… ??If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.?? -C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… Crystal Light Iced Peach Tea.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ABA therapy for Daniel on Monday/Wednesday/Friday, audiologist appointment for Daniel on Tuesday, Ladies’ Night Out on Wednesday, nail appointment on Friday morning, possibly a massage that afternoon, interview with PCOS researcher on Friday afternoon, and heading to San Jose for the weekend.

A peek into my day… a lapful last night. (Pardon my lovely double chin that only appears when my head is tilted down.)

A lapful.

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook: September 23, 2013

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY September 23, 2013

Outside my window… dark. It’s 2:15 a.m.

I am thinking… about my next move on Words With Friends. (I’m writing this in between ads.)

I am thankful… that Thomas’ sons have been able to stay in utero for another week and am praying they can stay in utero for longer.

In the kitchen… dishes to do.

I am wearing… my black “Governator” shirt (I am Californian after all!) and black running shorts.

I am creating… the bare bones of blog posts.

I am going… to hope I can get myself organized for the week tomorrow morning (well… technically today).

I am wondering… when Daniel’s hitting and head-butting will stop. I’m still surprised he didn’t knock out one of my front teeth on Saturday.

I am reading… Sundays in America by Suzanne Strempek Shea. I’m hoping to finish it this week so I can move on to Pastorix by Nadia Bolz-Weber.

I am hoping… for a quieter week.

I am looking forward to… all premieres of all my favorite shows.

I am pondering… waaaaaaay too many things.

A favorite quote for today… “The risk in seeking and finding God in all things, then, is the willingness to explain too much, to say with human certainty and arrogance: ??God is here.?? We will find only a god that fits our measure. The correct attitude is that of St. Augustine: seek God to find him, and find God to keep searching for God forever. Often we seek as if we were blind, as one often reads in the Bible. And this is the experience of the great fathers of the faith, who are our models. We have to re-read the Letter to the Hebrews, Chapter 11. Abraham leaves his home without knowing where he was going, by faith. All of our ancestors in the faith died seeing the good that was promised, but from a distance…. Our life is not given to us like an opera libretto, in which all is written down; but it means going, walking, doing, searching, seeing…. We must enter into the adventure of the quest for meeting God; we must let God search and encounter us.” — Pope Francis in his interview in America Magazine.

One of my favorite things… iced vanilla whole milk lattés.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ABA therapy for Daniel on Monday/Wednesday/Friday, getting Daniel a flu shot on Tuesday, fighting with SSI on Wednesday, and hopefully not much else.

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook: September 15, 2013

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY September 15, 2013

Outside my window… dark here. It was warm and sunny today.

I am thinking… that it’s going to be a crazy week.

I am thankful… for those praying for Thomas.

In the kitchen… dishes to do.

I am wearing… Jon’s “Red Green” shirt and black sweats.

I am creating… blog post coding for the week.

I am going… to hope I can be productive tomorrow.

I am wondering… what this week holds.

I am reading… Sundays in America by Suzanne Strempek Shea.

I am hoping… our beginning of toilet-training Daniel this week goes well.

I am looking forward to… an iced vanilla latté at some point this week.

I am learning to read labels better so I don’t accidentally buy the wrong thing. (Not that it happened to me…)

Around the house… decluttering and shredding to do.

I am pondering… too many things internally.

A favorite quote for today… ??Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.?? ? C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… calm and quiet.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ABA therapy on Monday/Wednesday/Friday, a pediatrics appointment for Daniel on Wednesday, and (I think) a massage for me on Friday.

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7 Quick Takes: eScapegoat, What I’m Reading, and Problems With Halloween Costumes

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Orphans. Do you see these two sweet children?

L-R: Brett and Iris
BrettIris

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and they are compiling their dossier to send to her country.

Click on their names to see their Reece’s Rainbow pages.

— 2 —

eScapegoat. Do you need to atone for your sins? You’re in luck! In Biblical times, the high priest would attach the sins of Israel to a goat and set it free in the wilderness. These days, you can do it all online!

— 3 —

A note to my black cat. Edda, I love you very much. You are a wonderful house panther with a coat made of satin. Having said that, you are very difficult to see at 1 a.m. when I’m staggering to the bathroom and it means that I might accidentally step on your tail. I’m sorry if I do but you should have let me put that glow-in-the-dark collar on you so I could know where you are.

Snuggles,
Mommy

— 4 —

Hiccups. I’ve got pretty bad hiccups right now. Sometimes, I’ll get them pretty badly and I guess this is one of those times. Want to leave me your favorite hiccup cures in the comment section? Please and thank you. 🙂

— 5 —

Word, Kelly. Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum has a wonderful post on the problems with Halloween costume companies. Seriously? A zombie sock monkey costume? A bat fairy? Sexy “Oscar the Grouch”? I am so not looking forward to picking out Daniel’s Halloween costume.

— 6 —

Book Club. (No, I’m not part of one.) I’m currently reading Sundays in America by Suzanne Strempek Shea and I still want to smack her every time she brings up how gays and lesbians would not be welcome at the churches. Princess, you don’t know that! Of course, next on Mount TBR is Pastorix by Nadia Bolz-Weber who has a habit of not being safe for work… or admitting I know in the presence of parishioners. (If you don’t know who she is and why this might be controversial, the website for the book is here.) I don’t necessarily agree with her on many things but she has a habit of saying things that I think the Church at large needs to hear about grace.

— 7 —

Sigh. The Giants are playing the Dodgers and the Dodgers are ahead by a run. It’s going to be a rather irritating night if they win. (For those who are new, I grew up rooting for the Giants and my husband Jon is a fan of the Other Team.) Then again, the Giants could pull this out of the bag but I’m not holding my breath given their current season and place in the standings.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: September 8, 2013

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY September 8, 2013

Outside my window… dark right now. Bloody hot even down in San Jose (got back up to my neck of the woods about 9:30 p.m.) and close to 100 up where I live. I’m watching the weather for Dallas right now because my evil twin is there for a training class and I’m laughing because he bragged about getting away to the Pacific Northwest to escape the heat… only to be sent to Dallas after a week of work!

I am thinking… about the situation in Syria.

I am thankful… for a wonderful weekend with my parents.

In the kitchen… lemon cupcakes from Friday and lots of dishes to wash.

I am wearing… my “Online Debate Team” t-shirt and running shorts.

I am creating… various posts.

I am going… to hopefully sleep better tonight.

I am wondering… when Edda will stop licking me. (Do I taste like shower gel? Is it a good taste?)

I am reading… Sundays in America by Suzanne Strempek Shea. There are points when I want to smack her but it’s been interesting to see her church visits through the lens of her experience and upbringing.

I am hoping… my new keyboard arrives soon. (I accidentally broke my H key off my laptop keyboard.)

I am looking forward to… my mani/pedi on Thursday. It will be a quiet morning and I have craziness for the next few days.

Around the house… unpacking and consolidating to do.

I am pondering… too many things.

A favorite quote for today… “There are three ways of taking the command to turn the other cheek. One is the Pacifist interpretation; it means what it says and imposes a duty of nonresistance on all men in all circumstances. Another is the minimising interpretation; it does not mean what it says but is merely an orientally
hyperbolical way of saying that you should put up with a lot and be placable. Both you and I agree in rejecting this view. The conflict is therefore between the Pacifist interpretation and a third one which I am now going to propound.
I think the text means exactly what it says, but with an understood reservation in favour of those obviously exceptional cases which every hearer would naturally assume to be exceptions without being told. . . . . That is,
insofar as the only relevant factors in the case are an injury to me by my neighbour and a desire on my part to retaliate, then I hold that Christianity commands the absolute mortification of that desire. No quarter whatever is
given to the voice within us which says, ‘He??s done it to me, so I??ll do the same to him.'” — C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

One of my favorite things… silence. I have it right now and it is glorious.

A few plans for the rest of the week: hearing aid appointments for Daniel tomorrow, Morning Prayer on Tuesday and possibly a Target run, haircut on Wednesday and ABA therapy for Daniel, mani/pedi on Thursday, quarterly meeting with Daniel’s autism people and the Regional Center in the morning on Friday as well as ABA therapy that afternoon.

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{Virtual} Coffee Date (vol. 5)

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{Virtual Coffee Date}

Once you’re done here, go visit Karianna and the other coffee drinkers.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that Thomas of Fuller Life finally revealed the gender of the twins. Note to self: get Thomas’ wife Alison a 12-pack of mani/pedi coupons and find someone nearby to take her for “girl time”. (Kidding, Thomas… when I do get mani/pedi’s, I’m usually reading something on my NOOK during the pedicure part and trying ignoring the outside world during the manicure part.)

If we were having coffee, I’d talk about how much I don’t want to go to the Social Security office tomorrow and how much I hate dealing with them. They screwed up Daniel’s SSI (AGAIN!!!!) and I have to go bring them copies of my 2011 and 2012 taxes… which they should already have. Seriously, I think they pulled numbers out of their butts for the latest determination. Oh well… I needed to clean my purse out anyway (they search it) and this will give me a chance to do some reading.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you about the serious cuteness of the red panda cub this weekend at the Sacramento Zoo. The tiger cub was also pretty stinking cute, especially as it pounced its mama wanting to play.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you how addicted I am to the CW summer show, Breaking Pointe. I was able to cheat a little bit and look up who is still with the company on the Ballet West website but the whole process of whether Ian or Zach got the contract with the company and the saga with Allison and her fiancé as well as with Christiana and her husband Chris.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you how irritated I am that Qubo stopped showing He-Man at night. Seriously, that was my fall-back when the 9:00 shows on the other networks were disappointing. It was also a tie to my childhood.

Thank you for having coffee (tea) with me this week. Same time next week!