Five Favorites: Miscellanea (XI)

Five Favorites

One

This video. It’s handy for those married to introverts so they can understand their spouses.

Two

Breaking Pointe. This show takes place at Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. They had a 10-12 episode run last summer and it was interesting so I decided to watch again this year. The weird thing is that the principals in the company are all my age so you’re seeing people at the height of their careers while they’re relatively young by the world’s standards.

Three

CycleProGo. I’m learning the Sympto-Thermal Method of NFP and my temperature is consistently too low to chart on paper so I’m charting online. This has been really good because it asks me a lot of really important questions and it might actually help whoever my teaching couple is (I’m doing the Home Study Course so I think they’re randomly assigned?) to get my data more quickly.

Four

Jim Gaffigan. I recognized him because he was on That 70’s Show and I had no idea that he was so funny on his own. He’s kind of the Catholic “it guy” right now because he’s got 5 kids, is faithful to the Magisterium, and is open about his life. I think his book will be one of the next ones I download.

Five

Gingerbread tabbies. I refer to Cullen, my boldly-striped orange tiger cat as my “gingerbread tabby”. He’s my buddy at night as he’ll climb on my hips and purr asthmatically. When I was pregnant with Daniel and Cullen would climb on my stomach and purr, it was enough to make Daniel start kicking him. 4 years later, Daniel still terrorizes him though I’m holding out some hope that the two of them will eventually be friends. This is a cat who has a Hobbes personality but most resembles Cringer (the green tiger from “He Man” who becomes Battle Cat) in practice — he is afraid of days that end in the letter Y and months with numbered days.

Go love up Hallie and the others.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: August 11, 2013

Simple Woman's Daybook

I’m moving my memes and link-ups around and doing this on Sunday.

FOR TODAY August 11, 2013

Outside my window… sunny and warm.

I am thinking… about getting Daniel to his ENT appointment tomorrow and praying that nothing happens car-wise because there’s a weird rattling sound under the car.

I am thankful… for chances to sleep this weekend.

In the kitchen… so many dishes. No idea where to start.

I am wearing… green “Online Debate Team” shirt and running shorts.

I am creating… this blog entry.

I am going… to go attempt to figure out the dish situation when I’m done here.

I am wondering… when I’ll be able to get to Les Schwab to have them check out the car.

I am reading… Confessions of a GP by Benjamin Daniels. I finished Banished by Lauren Drain on Saturday.

I am hoping… nothing is wrong with the car that isn’t easily fixable.

I am looking forward to… time in LA with my in-laws.

I am pondering… too many things in my heart.

A favorite quote for today… ??God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realise what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on to the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else – something it never entered your head to conceive – comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing; it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realised it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last for ever. We must take it or leave it.?? — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… watching “The Big Bang Theory”.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ENT appointment with Daniel on Monday morning, ABA therapy on Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday, driving down to LA on Thursday, and being down there over the weekend.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Random Act of Kindness, Baseball, and Lullabies

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Do you see these three darling children?

First row: Brett and Iris.
Second row: Kaia.

BrettIrisKaia

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and they are in the homestudy stage. Kaia has met her family and they are in love with her!!! πŸ™‚

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

— 2 —

Consider this. I know most of the people who participate in this link-up/meme are Catholic but these apply to priests as well.

— 3 —

Random Act of Kindness. Those who know me on Facebook or Twitter have heard this already but I’ll tell it again.

I’ve been having a really tough week. My brother is moving out of state at the end of the month and he and I had a tough conversation this weekend because he’s stressed and I unfortunately can’t fix it. (Nothing really bad — I just can’t get into the details until he makes some of them public on Facebook.) Everyone who I talk to about the move mentions Sean (my brother) being at the hospital with me the night they almost put Daniel on ECMO and I hit the breaking point with that on Monday night. I had a serious cry and barely got sleep so Tuesday, I was tired to the point of nausea. (I had to cancel Daniel’s ENT appointment because I was in no shape to drive.)

Wednesday, I had the radio off while I was driving up to Sacramento and was praying aloud about how stressed I was and how I didn’t know how I was going to make it through the day because it was going to be long. I was also praying about Daniel’s peds appointment because doctor’s appointments with him can be either hellish or good — there’s no in between. I stopped at the drive-thru $tarbux because I needed caffeine and the car in front of me was blocking me from being close to the speaker so it took a few tries to communicate my order. When I got up there, I was reaching for my debit card when the barista told me that the car in front of me had paid for my drink.

I started sobbing and probably scared the barista but it was seriously what I needed. Given that coffee is usually on my no-no list (stupid ulcers!), you can definitely say I enjoyed my lattΓ© a whole lot more. Seriously though, it was a total answer to prayer.

— 4 —

The appointment. Daniel’s appointment went well — he’s high-maintenance enough health-wise that we have to check in with his pediatrician more often than just the yearly Well-Child appointments. When we were there on Wednesday, she had made sure her scheduler put us in when the clinic was likely to be fairly empty so Daniel could run around and open/close doors to his heart’s content while she and I followed him and talked. He allowed her to examine him without objecting too much and she’s satisfied with his growth at the moment. She had also FINALLY (!!!!!) received Daniel’s MRI’s from his previous neurologist at Sutter and was amazed when I told her exactly what was going on in the report using words like “demyelination” and talked about how the lack of myelin on the neurons meant that the information wasn’t being transmitted as quickly. (My undergrad Biology classes were definitely not a waste of my time even if I didn’t end up being pre-med and heading to medical school.) I should have told her about pwning the residents who made up the entourage of Daniel’s pediatric neurologist last year when I was using words like “methodology” and “antecedent” to explain ABA to them after the neurology resident dealing with us had spoken to me condescendingly.

— 5 —

Cuddlebug time. I had another opportunity to have a sleepy boy in my lap and sing him to sleep on Tuesday night. He didn’t feel the need to nap yesterday or today and is still (at 9:50 p.m. as I’m typing these) running around the living room like a live wire. Oh well… there will be other opportunities.

— 6 —

Baseball. My Giants play Marie’s Orioles tomorrow. I have a feeling that there will be some trash talking over Twitter during the game. πŸ˜‰ Then again, my Giants have been sucking lately so some of it will probably be warranted. Of course, the worst thing is that I live with a Dodgers fan… and they’re at the top of their division while my boys are at the bottom.

— 7 —

Inside Westboro Baptist Church. I’m currently reading Banished by Lauren Drain and while it is disturbing because of the sheer crap that church teaches their young, it is fascinating how they lived “normally” in the world but were also completely separated from it. It shouldn’t astound me how severely brainwashed those poor people are but it does. I haven’t gotten to the part where she has a change of heart and I’m kind of looking forward to that.

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: August 5, 2013

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY August 5, 2013

Outside my window… sunny and warm. It’s in the 80’s so we’ll probably go play outside during therapy today.

I am thinking… about the devotions I’m trying to get written.

I am thankful… for Daniel falling asleep in my lap while I sang to him.

In the kitchen… chicken marinating.

I am wearing… green “Online Debate Team” shirt, running shorts, and my Celtic cross.

I am creating… devotions for the book.

I am going… to be seeing a lot of the Glassrock Building at UCD Medical Center this week — Daniel has a peds check-up and an ENT appointment.

I am wondering… if penguins have knees. (It’s related to a Facebook picture.)

I am reading… Banished by Lauren Drain. I finished Going Going Ganache by Jenn McKinlay last week and Apologia pro vita sua is still on hold.

I am hoping… Daniel’s ENT goes well tomorrow and we’re not stuck waiting in the exam room for a long time.

I am looking forward to… saying Compline tonight. It’s actually gotten to be the highlight of my night.

Around the house… trying to channel my inner Flylady and get the clutter under control.

I am pondering… many things internally.

A favorite quote for today… “All the world is made of faith and trust, and pixie dust.” — J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

One of my favorite things… quiet mornings which don’t exist in my house at the moment with Daniel on break from school.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ENT appointment for Daniel tomorrow, peds appointment and ABA therapy for Daniel on Wednesday as well as Ladies’ Night Out for me, a rheumatology appointment on Friday, and Date Night for Jon and I on Saturday night thanks to Respite Night at a church in Elk Grove..

A peek into my day… I’ll share the image involving penguin knees.

Do penguins have knees?????

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Praying Compline, Harry Potter as An Adult, and a Prayer Request for a Friend

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Praying Compline. It was suggested to me a time ago that praying one of the Offices daily would scratch a liturgical itch. I chose Compline because I can pretty much guarantee that I’ll have some quiet time after Jon puts Daniel to bed to sit and pray. It’s been a really good discipline because it gives me something that calms me at the end of the day and a time when I can really let loose and pray about the things on my heart. Seeing this article today just affirms what I’ve been feeling with this.

— 2 —

The story behind “Lord, I Need You” from Matt Maher. Why yes, I’m obsessed with this song. How can you tell? Anyway, the song reminded me of the hymn I Need Thee Every Hour. It turns out that I was right and there is a connection.

— 3 —

My yearly donor call from Planned Parenthood. I was talking with Thomas when the phone rang.

J: Jen
C: Caller

*phone rings*
J: Hello?
C: Hi, my name is _________. I’m from _____________ and we’re calling on behalf of Planned Parenthood.
J: Can I cut to the chase? I’m pro-life so I’m afraid I’m not the person you want to be asking for a donation.
C: Thanks for letting me know that. You do realize that only 3% of what we do is abortions, right?
J: Totally aware of that. I also know exactly which facilities perform abortions, which perform aftercare, and which just do clinical things. I’ve worked with kids for 10 years and considered that knowledge valuable.
C: I’m glad you’re so informed. Anyway, I’m calling to ask if you can make a $150 donation today.
J: I can’t. It’s not in the budget and it’s not a donation I could make without talking to my husband and I’m positive that he wouldn’t approve of it.
C: *haggles with me a bit more on maybe making a smaller donation* Well, thank you for not hanging up on me and hearing me out. I also appreciate you being so polite.
J: No problem. Have a nice night.

I’m not posting about this to glorify myself or paint myself as a virtuous person. I had someone actually ask me to post my transcript of the call.

— 4 —

Orphans. Do you see these three adorable children?

First row: Brett and Iris.
Second row: Kaia.

BrettIrisKaia

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and they are in the homestudy stage. Kaia has met her family and they are in love with her!!! πŸ™‚

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

— 5 —

Prayer Request. The middle brother of a high school classmate passed away almost two weeks ago from a series of seizures. His memorial service and funeral Mass are on Friday and Saturday. I know Craig (my classmate) would really appreciate if you would keep him, his sister-in-law Krystine, his niece Nicole, his nephew Dante, and his parents in prayer because these next few days will be brutal.

— 6 —

Prerequisite baseball Quick Take. the Giants have won two games in a row to take their series with Philadelphia this week. They have been the cellar-dwelling team of the NL West lately so I’m hoping this starts an up trend.

— 7 —

Will all the Harry Potter fans please stand up? I saw this on the Internet today and loved it. I wish J.K. Rowling would write some books about the characters’ adult lives.

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: July 29, 2013

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY July 29, 2013

Outside my window… sunny and cool for this time of year — only in the 80’s.

I am thinking… that naps are wasted on cats and on the young.

I am thankful… for access to good medical care.

In the kitchen… chicken marinating.

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

I am creating… blog entries and devotions.

I am going… to have a crazy day on Friday with parent training for Daniel’s ABA therapy, a doctor’s appointment, and a massage.

I am wondering… if Daniel will nap today as he’ll have had school plus 3 hours of ABA therapy.

I am reading… Going Going Ganache by Jenn McKinlay. I still have Apologia pro vita sua on my NOOK but I needed something light for a little bit.

I am hoping… for a quiet night.

I am looking forward to… my nail appointment on Wednesday.

Around the house… got vacuuming done today.

I am pondering… too many things internally.

A favorite quote for today… ??You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth of falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it??? ? C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

One of my favorite things… quiet. I don’t have it at the moment and probably won’t have it until Daniel goes to bed unless he decides to nap after therapy today.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Morning Prayer tomorrow with Anne, mani/pedi on Wednesday morning (I feel like a yuppie suburban mom), and my crazy insane Friday of activities. Daniel also has therapy today, Wednesday, and Friday.

A peek into my day… Sharing the video of Matt Maher at World Youth Day again. What can I say? It’s powerful.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: July 22, 2013

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY July 22, 2013

Outside my window… cloudy. I’m kind of hoping for some rain as that may explain my headache earlier or it could just be the Rocephen shot from this morning.

I am thinking… that I really hope Daniel doesn’t get the cold that turned into bronchitis for me.

I am thankful… for my parents being able to get me home yesterday when I was in no shape to drive because of the bronchitis. I’m also thankful for access to good medical care this morning to get treated.

In the kitchen… chicken marinating.

I am wearing… a black t-shirt with white Freya fur and black running shorts.

I am creating… blog posts.

I am going… nowhere exciting this week. I’m kind of glad — I had enough excitement this weekend.

I am wondering… if Cullen will stop shunning me tonight.

I am reading… Newman’s Apologia pro vita sua still. It’s a long work and I haven’t gotten much reading time these days.

I am hoping… I sleep well tonight. I have to sleep sitting up because being flat or even tilted makes me start coughing.

I am looking forward to… feeling better and being able to breathe again.

Around the house… cleaning to do for tomorrow’s visit from the respite person.

I am pondering… way too many things internally.

A favorite quote for today… “God is love, and that love works through men ?? especially through the whole community of Christians.” — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… naps. They are wasted on cats and on the young.

A few plans for the rest of the week: trying to get copyediting done, blogging daily as part of ConversionDiary.Com’s 7-posts-in-7-days link-up, interviewing respite people on Tuesday and Thursday, as well as Daniel having ABA on Wednesday and Friday.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook