Outside my window… dark. Yesterday, it was back down to decent temperatures (70’s) after a high of 110F on Saturday.
I am thinking… that I wish I’d discovered Call the Midwife sooner. I just started watching the first season on Netflix and I’m hoping Season 2 gets added soon!
I am thankful… for the quality time Jon and I have been getting after Daniel goes to bed.
In the kitchen… teryaki chicken on my George Foreman grill.
I am wearing… my Run for Courage shirt and my fleece pajama bottoms.
I am creating… threads for my NaNoWriMo piece in November.
I am going… to hope I can get my father-in-law’s present mailed tomorrow.
I am wondering… how to gently tell someone to cut the apron strings already for their kid. Once they pass a certain age, they need their freedom and they’ve already proved themselves capable of living on their own.
I am reading…Maphead by Ken Jennings (still) and a few other things.
I am hoping… I can get all of Call the Midwife before the season 2 episodes expire on PBS.
I am looking forward to… Respite Night on Saturday night for Daniel.
Around the house… *closes my eyes and sticks my fingers in my ears in the hope that the mess will GO AWAY!!!!*
A favorite quote for today… “Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati” — Red Green
One of my favorite things… Coffee Latté and Cream Bars from Trader Joe’s.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Home with Daniel, mani-pedi on Friday, and Date Night/Respite Night on Saturday.
A peek into my day… My parents’ cat Jethro looking quite irritated at being swaddled so I could clean out a wound and prevent an abscess from developing during one of my visits last month.
I thought I’d start doing my favorite websites this week. This will be a multi-week series so if there’s a subject you want covered, simply leave it in the comments.
Before I start, could y’all do me a favor and pray for/send positive thoughts to Hevel? He’s a participant in this meme and the Quick Takes and he’s been in the hospital with encephalitis for almost two weeks now. Thanks!
Pirmas
Online Bible. Have you ever wondered what the 23rd Psalm sounds like in Czech? What about John 3:16 in Amharic (the language of Ethiopia)? Bible Gateway and The Unbound Bible are my two favorites. Bible Gateway will give you straight text while a href=”http://unbound.biola.edu/” title=”The Unbound Bible”>The Unbound Bible will let you compare translations side-by-side and has a ton of resources for translation/Bible study/word studies. If I need to know what a Scripture reference is about quickly, I instinctively go to Bible Gateway.
Antras
Online Translation. I’m wholeheartedly a Google person so I love Google Translate. It has many more languages than Bing Translator though Bing Translator includes two dialects of Klingon. I also am a user of Google Chrome so Google Translate automatically pops up for me.
Trejetas
Online Bookstore. I’m going with BarnesandNoble.Com on this one because I have a NOOK. I think if I had a Kindle, I would be solely an Amazon.Com girl. (I use Amazon.Com for everything else.)
Ketvirtas
Blogging Software. I think there’s a WordPress button somewhere on my front page. 🙂 I’ve been using WordPress and its predecessor b2 for 10 years now. I haven’t been able to create my own templates from scratch since v. 1.5 (summer of 2005) but I still love it and could probably write my own template if I would bother to learn PHP.
Penktas
Feed Reader. As Google Reader will be heading the way of the dodo this summer, I’ve jumped on the Bloglovin bandwagon. It took a few days to adjust but it is an improvement over Google Reader as the feed is grouped by the order things are posted rather than being grouped by site and the Patheos.Com blogs actually display in full text in the reading frame.
Outside my window… dark. It was in the high 80’s today and it’s supposed to be 105-110F this weekend. I’m pondering the idea of relocating to Alaska.
I am thinking… about what I need to get done tomorrow while Daniel is in school.
I am thankful… for my weekend in San Jose with my parents. Oh yes… also *incredibly* thankful for air-conditioning.
In the kitchen… chicken on my new George Forman grill.
I am wearing… navy blue maternity shirt and black running shorts.
I am creating… not much of anything at the moment.
I am going… to hope Words With Friends is back up. I haven’t been able to play in a few days.
I am wondering… when Daniel will go to sleep. Granted, he did have a long nap this afternoon (thanks to me taking a long one).
I am reading…Maphead by Ken Jennings. I’m on a chapter about geo-caching.
I am hoping… I sleep well tonight.
I am looking forward to… my massage on Friday.
Around the house… my Roomba is doing the floors. (It’s either that or a really helpful Dalek.)
I am pondering… too many things.
A favorite quote for today… “If we are skeptical we shall teach skepticism to our pupils, if fools only folly, if vulgar vulgarity, if saints sanctity, if heroes heroism.” — C.S. Lewis
One of my favorite things… Lipton Pure Leaf Raspberry Tea.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Morning Prayer and errands tomorrow, Ladies’ Night Out on Wednesday, Autism meeting on Friday morning, and a massage on Friday afternoon.
A peek into my day… Laptime with the bear child this weekend.
Tom Lehrer’s “Irish Ballad”. Only certain schools have internationally-renowned mathematics professors also teaching Musical Theater. UC Santa Cruz is one of those schools and Tom Lehrer is that professor. (Yes, I am totally proud to be a fighting banana slug!) Some of my friends were in the last university class he taught in 2001 and he used to sing his songs in class. My favorite of his songs has to be his “Irish Ballad” which talks about an Irish girl murdering her family in gruesome way and when the police come around, she admits to everything… because she knew lying was a sin.
It’s most likely NSFW and definitely NSFK (not safe for kids), especially if your last name is Donaldson.
This is Lehrer himself singing it.
In looking for a video of Tom Lehrer, I found this version by Ann Murray. I love it because she’s dressed up in her operatic finery… and singing something silly.
Messy Faith.This article had me at the title. I find that very few things are black and white — there’s too much grey in my world. I also have found that the more I read the Gospels, the more I am convinced that Jesus did not live in a nice little sanitized bubble. He lived in a world with very severe differences between the haves and have-nots and where those in power abused it. In other words, it was a world much like today. His means of death was also messy — crucifixion is the last punishment you’d want if you wanted a sterile environment. Lots of blood, lots of sweat, lots of tears.
— 3 —
Orphans. Do you see these two darling children?
Brett (on the left) needs a mama and Kaia (on the right) has a family who needs help raising the funds to bring her home so she can start kindergarten (hopefully this autumn). If you can help out at all, click on their pictures. Please and thank you!
— 4 —
Cleaning up my diet. I can totally believe that the claims made in Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss are true. I’ve been focusing on a clean diet this week because of the ulcers and I’m totally craving a quarter pounder with cheese/fries/Coke right now. Our brains are being rewired to crave all these things and it’s disasterous for our waists, our health, and our environment. Granted, I am still using a marinade on my chicken that is produced by Wishbone but I’m finding that I like the plain chicken without the bun, the sauces, etc. Coke has been the hardest to give up but my fear of the ulcers in my stomach causing bleeding is keeping me on track. (Fear is a serious motivator.) It’s been hard to do this because it creates even more food issues and food guilt for me and I probably need to blog this out at a later time. I’m thankful for FitDay.Com — it’s been enlightening to see what I’m eating and what the actual portion sizes, carb counts, etc. are.
— 5 —
Not the stereotypical California girl. I’m fleeing to my parents’ house this weekend because it will be cooler than Sacramento. We’re supposed to come close to hitting triple digits this weekend where I live while the temperatures will be in the high 80’s at my parents’ house. I’m not the stereotypical California girl — I hate heat and I love rain. I also love four distinct seasons and actually miss snow.
— 6 —
Being so young to be so sick. I can guarantee you that I will start thinking about ways to kill you if you tell me that I’m too young to be so sick. Believe me… I’m totally aware of this and it just makes me resent it when you vocalize it.
— 7 —
Support me in the Promise Walk. I’m participating in the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia on June 23rd for my third year in a row. You know you TOTALLY want to sponsor me, right? I’m a survivor of HELLP Syndrome and doing this helps me to ensure that other women aren’t going to face the severe illness that I did or the after effects of high blood pressure and “preeclampsia brain” where I have short term memory loss to the point where my normally photograpic memory is no longer that way.
Fitday My endocrinologist wants me tracking my diet and carbs and such. I started using FitDay many moons ago (OK… like maybe 7.5 years) and abandoned it after a few weeks because I didn’t necessarily need to track my eating. I wish I’d gone back to using it 6 years ago when they diagnosed me with pre-diabetes because I think I would have done a lot better and maybe even lost some weight. I don’t have a smartphone so the app my doctor suggested is a moot point and I just went with FitDay again. I’m already finding it useful because it has shown me some bad patterns in terms of my carb consumption.
Ob
Patrick This is my new nephew Patrick who was born last Thursday to Jon’s sister Joanna. This is a picture of Jon holding him.
Peb
Agony of the Leaves This is the latest in Laura Childs’ mysteries about the owner of a tea shop in Charleston. (My favorite genre of mysteries are the “cozies”.) I got addicted to her books a few years ago and in addition to this one, I have another one on request at the local library.
Plaub
NOOK A family friend gifted me with a NOOK two years ago and I’m still loving it. It doesn’t have a glow screen (which is probably not a bad thing — I’d be up all night reading otherwise) and it’s first generation (I think) but that’s fine for me. I probably would have bought a Kindle if I’d spent my own money but now I can’t imagine life without it. It’s indispensable on long car trips (I have a flashlight in the glove compartment specifically for reading at night with it) and it saves a huge amount of space on my bookshelves. Best of all, they have a free book every Friday and I’ve found some pretty interesting books that way.
Tsib
George Foreman Super Champ Family Size Grill With having to watch my diet, I decided to break out my George Forman Grill again… only to find out that the teflon is coming off and it doesn’t heat up as fast. Given that it’s 11 years old and not all that expensive to replace, I put some Amazon.Com giftcards toward it. I’m looking forward to its arrival because I tend to grill something daily right now. (It’s quick and allows me to have flavor without the calories.) Now if I could keep a certain black cat off the counter after I use it… *glares at the pair of glowing eyes at my feet*
Outside my window… dark though it’s a full moon or something so it’s fairly light out despite it being 1 a.m.
I am thinking… that I really shouldn’t have finished that bottle of iced tea. I don’t think I’ll be sleeping any time soon which is why I’m doing this now.
I am thankful… we figured out what was going on with my stomach.
In the kitchen… attempting to find a happy medium between the meal plan my endocrinologist gave me and the restrictions I have because of the esophagitis and ulcers.
I am wearing… faded charcoal grey shirt from Foot Locker and my blue penguin pajama bottoms.
I am going… to pray that tomorrow is a quiet day for Daniel and I.
I am wondering… how people can claim that Christians are hated and persecuted and then turn around and be equally hateful toward those not like them.
I am reading… nothing — just finished The Diva Digs Up the Dirt by Krista Davis on the way to the airport today.
I am hoping… Daniel sleeps in tomorrow. He was certainly up late tonight.
I am looking forward to… Jon getting home on Tuesday and having another set of hands. Daniel is at the stage where it’s hard to get things done because he’s actively destroying things while I’m trying to get housework done or even run to the bathroom.
Around the house… dishes to do and a mountain of laundry to do as I’m low on clean clothes.
I am pondering… way too much.
One of my favorite things… Lipton Pure Leaf Raspberry Tea even though it’s messing up my carb counts for the day.
A few plans for the rest of the week: LAUNDRY, grocery shopping tomorrow, Morning Prayer on Tuesday, PCP appointment on Wednesday, end of school for Daniel on Friday, and my massage on Friday as well.
Lipton Pure Leaf Raspberry Tea. I can finally get individual bottles of this at my local store. I am positively giddy with delight. It’s my “not Coke” drink of choice these days, especially as the Crystal Light version seems to have disappeared from my local store.
Kettö
Gloria Vanderbilt shorts. I got mine 3 years ago at a Kohl’s in southern California and I still love them. It’s been in the 80’s and 90’s here and these shorts are incredibly comfortable and allow me to be active with my son Daniel.
Három
Bamboo Compost Pail. My parents have one of these in their kitchen and I wanted one so they told me where to go on Amazon.Com to find it. The interior is plastic and there’s a vent at the top with activated charcoal so it doesn’t stink up the kitchen or get moldy (at least in my experience).
Négy
My latest book. I’m reading cheapy fluffy murder mysteries these days with my spare time. I just read the book before this one in the series and I was constantly pondering who the killer was. It was definitely a good read and I’m expecting this one to be as well.
Öt
The Big Bang Theory. As I was going through the folder of pictures, I realized that I showed this one last week. Oh well. It was a lovely episode though I’m bummed that Raj lost Lucy. On the other hand, having the relationship with her somehow re-wired Raj’s brain so that he can talk to women. That’s going to be interesting in the next season. I also wonder if they’ll do scenes of Leonard on the research vessel like they did of Howard in space.
