Category Archives: Books/Magazines

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: April 30, 2012

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY April 30, 2012

Outside my window… sunny and warm — probably in the 80’s. I hate heat so I’m inside.

I am thinking… that I’d really do better in the Pacific Northwest climate-wise.

I am thankful… that Daniel is taking a nap right now and that he has adjusted to school.

In the kitchen… ummm… it’s clean?

I am wearing… grey maternity shirt and navy blue running shorts.

I am creating… this entry and plans for a personal blogathon to raise money for my Reece’s Rainbow kid.

I am going… to have to shave my legs before too long — it’s shorts weather.

I am wondering… why I have a headache other than the fact that I was up waaaaaay past my bedtime last night.

I am reading… Style, Sex, and Substance ed. by Hallie Lord.

I am hoping… things cool down around here. It seems wrong that it’s in the 80’s at the end of April in Sacramento.

I am looking forward to… Ladies’ Night Out on Wednesday.

Around the house… it’s clean thanks to my parents coming up and the need to clean for them.

One of my favorite things… quiet.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Ladies’ Night Out, heading to San Jose on Friday, and the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia on Saturday.

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook: April 16, 2012

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY

Outside my window… it was sunny but now seems cloudy.

I am thinking… about where my printer cables are so I can print out my tax extension form.

I am thankful… Daniel is adjusting to preschool slowly but surely. He only cried for an hour today which is a huge improvement.

In the kitchen… some Bertolli soup for dinner, I think.

I am wearing… forest green v-neck shirt and capri sweats.

I am creating… tax files and this entry.

I am going… to hopefully find printer cables and stuff tomorrow so I can print out my extension form.

I am wondering… where they are.

I am reading… Style, Sex, and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter by Hallie Lord.

I am hoping… I hear back from Reece’s Rainbow about being a Guardian Angel tomorrow.

I am looking forward to… the quiet of weekday mornings while Daniel is at preschool.

I am pondering… assorted things in my heart.

A favorite quote for today… ??I think we all sin by needlessly disobeying the apostolic injunction to “rejoice” as much as by anything else.” — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… Crystal Light peach tea.

A few plans for the rest of the week: probably errands, taxes, and a massage on Friday.

A peek into my day… Daniel and I at Miwok Park at his last physical therapy session

Daniel and I at Miwok Park for physical therapy

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7 Quick Takes — Starting Preschool, Rescue Panthers, and Preeclampsia Studies

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7 Quick Takes

I missed having Quick Takes last week. I didn’t necessarily need more writing to do (still continued my Lenten discipline) but I missed the community and being able to empty my brain this way.

— 1 —

Daniel started preschool on Wednesday. The preschools in our elementary school district are housed at the school a block away from the parsonage and they have an ABA class which is where Daniel was put. (The IEP was 2 1/2 weeks ago.) Putting it mildly, Daniel did not approve and spent most of the day crying. It wasn’t a crying jag about being separated from Jon and I — it was all about people not letting him do what he wanted to do. My words to his teacher: he can like it or lump it. She laughed and her aides laughed when she told them my response. Here’s hoping that next week goes better.

— 2 —

Things not to say to me: “What are you going to do with yourself now that Daniel is in preschool? Seriously, I now have 4 1/2 hours free in my day. I have decluttering projects up the freaking wazoo on my plate as well as some posts I promised for people. Yeah… I think I have things to do. I will admit that Wednesday morning, I just sat in my recliner with my laptop and enjoyed the quiet. Today, I collapsed in the recliner and took a nap until UPS and the home health care people pounded on the door to wake me up.

— 3 —

Daniel seems to have no ill effects from his seizure on Friday. This confirms the ER doctors and residents’ suspicions that it was a simple febrile seizure. I also learned that he flips out less on the gurney in the ER bay if I lie down with him and hold him. He slept in my lap there for most of Friday evening after we got to the ER and I got some reading done during that time. Thank God (and the family friend who bought it for me) for Popadija (my NOOK)!

— 4 —

Yes, I do name my electronic items. My current laptop is “Presbytera”, my former laptops were “Khouria” and “Pristina” (a spelling error for “Prifteresha” so I might use that name again), my NOOK is “Popadija”, and my iPod is “Panimatushka”. What are these names, you ask? They are Orthodox Christian titles for the priest’s wife. While I’m not Orthodox, I am a pastor’s wife and I decided that I needed a title which is why “khouria” figures into my Twitter ID because people usually have no idea how to refer to me. (My pat answer: “I go by Jen.”)

— 5 —

I finished my latest murder mystery (Burried in Buttercream by G.A. McKevett — go read it) and am now reading Sex, Style, and Substance. I got through the introduction and am about to read Jennifer Fulwiler’s chapter. Even having read as little of the book as I have, I can honestly say that it is seriously made of win. I might be reading it on Friday morning while Daniel is in preschool. (I’d read it sooner but I have some writing projects to plan out if not finish.)

— 6 —

My “rescue panther” would like me to post this video. She has vowed to sit on my lap and block my access to the keyboard of my laptop unless I post the Geico video involving the couple who adopted a “rescue panther” to take care of their home security needs.

— 7 —

There is a study out on the effects of preeclampsia on the brain. Wow… so I’m not just at a loss for words because I’m so sleep-deprived? Huh. In all seriousness, it’s something that frustrates me because I write so much and it’s maddening to have a word or idea in my brain but not to be able to express it. Let’s fund some more studies on preeclampsia and its long term effects. Sponsor me in the Promise Walk to help fund studies like this.

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

11 Things

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Ann of House of Estrogen tagged me in this meme going around the Internet. Whee!

Rules
1.) The first rule is to post these rules.
2.) Post a photo of yourself then write 11 things about you/your life.
3.) Answer the questions for you set in the original post.
4.) Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.
5.) Go to their blog/twitter to tell them you have tagged them.

OK… so let me find a picture I like.

Me after a haircut

OK… 11 things about me.

01.) I’m a night owl. I get most of my blogging done after 9 p.m.
02.) I’m 5’1 on a bad hair day. People tell me that I seem taller online.
03.) I’m incredibly shy and very introverted. I’d prefer to people-watch rather than socialize.
04.) I have a weird accent that makes me sound like a valley girl Canadian. It makes it really hilarious when I switch into academic mode and I’m using polysyllabic words while sounding like I should be on a beach in southern California tanning myself.
05.) I graduated from college in 3 years. I’m not smart — just strategic. The fact that I was sick of being in a long-distance relationship also didn’t hurt.
06.) I read murder mysteries for fun. I’m currently reading Buried in Buttercream by G.A. McKevitt.
07.) I have part of a Masters in Theological Studies. I’m incredibly good at it but theology in general bores me. I’m more of a historian and linguist.
08.) I’ve been singing Handel’s Messiah since I was 15. It was a holiday tradition for my mom and I throughout high school and college to do the You-Sing-It-Messiah with the San Jose Symphonic Choir.
09.) I love t-shirts with interesting messages. I love my We Will Not Be Silent shirt and am heartbroken that I’m having to replace it.
10.) My promise not to blog on the Republican candidates is grating on me. There’s SOOOOOOOO much snark I want to post!!!!!!
11.) I’m a princess darnit!

OK… my questions to answer!

1.) What is your favorite movie? It varies. I like the classic Disney cartoons like “The Aristocats” and “The Sword and the Stone” as well as “Forrest Gump”, “The Birdcage”, “The Spitfire Grill”, “Whale Rider”, and “Saved”.

2.) If you could go back and give your 16 year old self one piece of advice, what would it be? Stop worrying about what people will think and join a church. (I’m a convert to Christianity.)

3.) Why do you blog? So many reasons. Generally, I do it because it’s cheaper than therapy and I’ve made so many friends doing it. It also was my way of accessing the outside world when I lived in remote areas of the US.

4.) What did you want to be when you grew up? Are you doing that? I wanted to be a lawyer until I was 15 when I started wanting to be a doctor. I’m not doing either though I’m discerning doing training as a respiratory therapist because they’ve been the coolest health professionals that I’ve encountered in my own adventures and with Daniel.

5.) M&M’s – plain or peanut? Coconut.

6.) What was your first car? 1984 Volvo 240 GL.

7.) What is your favorite Halloween costume you’ve ever worn? The cat costume my mom made us when we were 3.

8.) What are your favorite blogs to read? I have at least 30-40 in my feed reader. They range from Canadian pastors to young Catholic women to Mormon housewives. Most blogs these day happen to be mommy blogs because all my bloggy friends have kids.

9.) If you were to have a boy and a girl tomorrow, what would you name them? Aidan Michael and Hannah Grace.

10.) What was your favorite class in college? Women’s Chorale, my advisor’s history classes, Religion and Social Change, Science and Human Values, the Making of the Modern Middle East, my Organic Chemistry labs, and my college’s Core course.

11.) What celebrity do you think it would be fun to be friends with? Definitely Pauley Perette (Abby on NCIS). She’s very much in person like she is on TV and she’s also incredibly socially conscious. I also love anyone who can pull off the goth look over the age of 30. (She’s in her 40’s.)

OK… now my questions!

01.) What food would you never eat even if you were paid to eat it?
02.) What is your favorite Bible verse or quote?
03.) Should jello at church be in the proper liturgical color?
04.) What was your high school or college mascot?
05.) What do you wish you could do?
06.) What book should everyone read?
07.) What is the weirdest thing you’ve eaten?
08.) Pretend I magically arrived on your doorstep. How would we spend your ideal day?
09.) Manicure or pedicure?
10.) What is the best type of ethnic food (i.e. Italian, Japanese, Indonesian)?
11.) Grey or orange tabby cats?

Now for the tagging!

Beth @ The Catholic Couponer

Nikkiana @ Authentic Experience

Kate @ ImperfectKate

Kathleen @ So Much to Say…

The Preoteasa @ Fear Not Little Flock

Dawn @ ladydusk

I know all of you have lives and such. Please find a way to mold this meme to your blog. If you can’t post a picture of yourself, post one of your kids or something that represents you.

Just A Thought

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I’m blocked in terms of what to write so I went and googled “C.S. Lewis quotes” to find something for inspiration:

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.” (HT: Brainy Quote)

This is not a total surprise because we as Christians are so consumed with the world in which we inhabit. We’ve created sanitized versions of secular books, music, and culture to enable us to live in this world that I think we forget at times that we’re not of this world and as such, we should be directing our thoughts toward where we are going and the things that will get us there. Social justice seems to be absent from many (though not all) large evangelical churches and usually found in the mainline or liberal Christian traditions. Considering how derisively these traditions are spoken of by conservative Christians, isn’t it ironic that they’re doing the work that Jesus commanded us to do? I know that there are a lot of conservative evangelical churches doing amazing things with outreach but they’re not the ones I hear about hosting food pantries, running soup kitchens, collecting clothes for the homeless, rounding up school supplies for disadvantaged children, and actually getting into things enough to get their hands dirty. What does that say about their focus and what they are teaching their members?

Just a thought.

Some C.S. Lewis for Today

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I’m having a seriously tough time trying to come up with something so accept some C.S. Lewis today.

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be either a lunatic ?? on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg ?? or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
— C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: March 19, 2012

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY March 19, 2012

Outside my window… mildly sunny and in the 50’s.

I am thinking… that I hate allergy season.

I am thankful… for Daniel signing “more” on his own while I was bouncing him on my sister-in-law’s exercise ball. After he spontaneously signed it, he got LOTS more bouncing.

In the kitchen… making pasta salad at some point this week.

I am wearing… black zip-up hoodie, light blue v-neck shirt, and Left Behind shorts.

I am creating… clean dishes.

I am going… to do laundry at a parishioner’s house tomorrow. (Our dryer is demon-possessed.)

I am reading… Fearless by Max Lucado and Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner.

I am hoping… Daniel goes down for his nap soon.

I am looking forward to… my anniversary dinner on Friday. (10 years!)

Around the house… doing dishes. Whee.

One of my favorite things… Bertolli’s frozen soups for two.

A few plans for the rest of the week: PT tomorrow, speech and mid-week Lenten dinner on Wednesday, OT and leaving for San Jose on Thursday, haircuts for Daniel/me and dinner out for our anniversary on Friday, and coming home on Saturday.

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