Category Archives: School

7 Quick Takes: Non-Traditional Thanksgiving

Posted on by

7 Quick Takes

Everyone is talking about how thankful they are for food and family and stuff like that today. I’m thankful for all those things as well but I’m also thankful for some more… non-traditional things today. 😉

— 1 —

Priests who start impromptu Godspell singalongs after Thanksgiving Eve Eucharist. Worship was already done acapella (and done beautifully) because our organist had the night off and we were trying to find Thanksgiving hymns to sing. Someone suggested “Day By Day” out of the 1982 Hymnal and Rev. Helen said we should do it to the tune from Godspell. Okie dokie. Then we started singing parts of the finale and went on to “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord”. It was awesome.

— 2 —

Evil twin brothers who restrain small children so that their moms can clean the black Sharpie pen off of their faces, arms, hands, necks, feet, and toes. Let’s just say that Daniel went for the Maori tribal look and leave it at that. 🙂 Rubbing alcohol prep wipes are what gets it off well. I think we went through 40 of them? He was also chill with Sean (my evil twin) restraining him while I worked on him. I’m sure the purplish color from the ink/alcohol mixture will leave my nail beds eventually…

— 3 —

Coffeeshops that are open on Thanksgiving for emergency latté runs. I had a migraine this morning, OK?

— 4 —

Soft grey chest kittehs. This is especially true of ones who prevent their humans from doing anything other than watching the season premiere of The Big Bang Theory.

— 5 —

Those who create Biden memes. Y’all make America a greater place to live.

— 6 —

Mythbusters marathons. Because science.

— 7 —

Accounting problems that balance. My homework is refusing to balance right now so I’m thankful for times when things have worked correctly.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: November 20, 2016

Posted on by

For Today… November 20, 2016

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… dark. It was chilly today with some scattered showers and temperatures in the 40’s Fahrenheit. I am really hoping my boots arrive from L.L. Bean before the snow comes!

I am thinking… about some of the political news and how to deal with it appropriately.

I am thankful… for the chance to spend time with my brother and sister-in-law later this week when they come up for Thanksgiving. There will be football involved as the Apple Cup is happening on Friday and there are some inter-family rivalries between the UW and WSU. My cousin Sarah is the president of the WSU Marching Band and my parents are UW alums so Facebook should be really fun this week!

One of my favorite things… Daniel calmly curled up asleep. I’m enjoying the quiet time to blog before I go back to sleep.

I am wearing… my Online Debate Team shirt and black capri sweats. (In other words, my jammies.) Church clothes from this morning were the usual shirt from Old Navy (charcoal today) with my black slacks and cardigan from Kohl’s. When I got home, I switched out the slacks and cardigan for jeans and a light grey hoodie.

I am creating… Excel files for my Practical Accounting homework and Access forms for my online class. Whee!

I am watching… The Big Bang Theory re-runs.

I am hoping… the advising thing I have to attend tomorrow isn’t a brain-numbing waste of my time. I’m going because it’s a hoop I have to jump through in order to register for classes but I’m not happy about being forced to do it.

I am learning… about employer taxes.

In my kitchen… we chose to just get some pizza for Sunday dinner tonight with my aunt, my uncle, and my grandmother.

In the school room… Daniel’s speech is exploding.

Post Script… someone shared this 12-step program for responding to president-elect Trump.

Shared Quote… I wrote one of my college admissions essays on this fragment of an Enya song:

My life flows on in endless song
Above earth’s lamentation
I hear the sweet though far off hymn
That hails a new creation
Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear the music ringing
It finds an echo in my soul
How can I keep from singing
— “How Can I Keep From Singing”

A moment from my day… I love this Audrey Assad cover of “How Can I Keep From Singing”.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

{five favourites}: Doing Your Christmas Shopping And Saving the World At the Same Time

Posted on by

#5Faves

One

Heifer International. I have loved Heifer International for years because they have affordable gifting solutions and the animals (or shares of an animal) you give help to pay for food, school fees, medicine for AIDS patients, and so much more. When the animals reproduce, the recipients pass on the offspring to someone else and “pass on the gift”. They have expanded in recent years and you can give gifts of plants for sustainable farming and stoves for villages. Their gift catalog is here.

Two

Kiva loans. Kiva.Org is another wonderful site. They do microlending all around the world and you can buy $25 loans for someone which they can choose to loan out to the individual of their choice. When the individual pays the loan back, you can either have Kiva send you a check or you can re-loan out the funds. I just looked at my lender stats and I have $225 invested (loans that have been given as gifts) with those funds re-lent two and three times. My loans tend to be to women in the Middle East but the borrowers are from all over the world. Seriously, I’d be overjoyed to get these as Christmas presents because it is such a cool concept and organization.

Three

Samaritan’s Purse. While I frequently dislike Franklin Graham and the crap he spouts about Muslims, GLBTQ people, and anyone he disagrees with, his organization does some amazing work. A family friend has gone abroad with them and provided respite for a missionary doctor and their gift catalog is wonderful if you’re into giving religious gifts. You can feed starving children, bless the weddings of military couples, provide clean water, and help out refugees.

Four

International Rescue Committee. I saw a random link for Rescue Gifts on Facebook and bookmarked it immediately to share. I wish I had millions of dollars to spend because I would buy everything on the list. You can help refugees, give a mom a safe birth, provide teddy bears for kids…

Five

Donors Choose. I have friends who have had things through their classroom funded through Donors Choose and it is an amazing program. You pick a classroom and donate whatever amount you want toward their project. They even have gift cards so that the recipient can pick the classroom they want to support. Stephen Colbert is one of their board members and he took the proceeds from auctioning off his anchor desk from “The Colbert Report” and used them to fund every classroom project in his home state of South Carolina. I think that’s a definite endorsement of this charity!

Go love up Bonnie, DeBalino, and the others.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: November 13, 2016

Posted on by

For Today… November 13, 2016

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… grey and rainy. It’s quite delightful, actually.

I am thinking… about the news that Donald Trump named a white supremacist as his counselor and chief strategist. This jerk and his followers attacked Kristen of Rage Against the Minivan, doxxed her, and sent some of the most vulgar tweets I have ever read. I was one of the people going through her Twitter account and reporting this profoundly sick people to Twitter for harassment. We’re talking tweets about nasty things these men wanted to do to her daughters, calling Kristen and her family sickening names, and a whole lot of things that will require me to take more Ativan if I speak of further.

I am thankful… for IRIS being inundated with calls asking how to help out with their immigration and refugee services. (I know someone who works with them and she reported this on Facebook.) It’s good to know that not all of the country have lost their minds.

One of my favorite things… worship today at St. Paul’s. I love being part of a community that is so alive.

I am wearing… a charcoal shirt from Old Navy and black jeans from Fred Meyer. Church clothes were the shirt with black slacks and a black cardigan from Kohl’s.

I am creating… a chapter outline for my Practical Accounting class and a blog post about political stuff.

I am listening to… chamber music on one of the Dish Network channels.

I am hoping… Trump finds better advisors than his current band of jokers.

I am learning… about employer earnings and deductions.

In my kitchen… Dad made garlic shrimp pasta for Sunday dinner.

In the school room… Daniel came home smelling like Old Spice because they were doing OT stuff with shaving cream on Friday.

Post Script… Do me a favor and read the following links and tell me if I’m overreacting to Trump being elected: this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and this. Keep in mind that this is just the tip of the iceberg as to what I’ve seen on Twitter and Facebook.

Shared Quote…

“Empathy challenge: Imagine if we’d just elected a man who said he’d shut down churches and force Christians to register with the government.” — Rachel Held Evans

A moment from my day… One of the many Joe Biden memes going around.

*snickers*

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: November 6, 2016

Posted on by

For Today… November 6, 2016

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… sunny and quite nice. Weather.Com is saying temps are around 51F but it feels warmer than that. There’s definitely rain offshore and we were supposed to get hammered on Election Day, but it’s starting to look like the rain is holding off until Wednesday.

I am thinking… about my Accounting test tomorrow and what subjects I need to brush up on tonight after dinner.

I am thankful… for whoever found my pocketbook and turned it in at Haggen on Friday. It’s good to know that there are honest people out there.

One of my favorite things… the view of evergreen forests from my bedroom window.

I am wearing… a v-neck shirt and jeans. Church clothes were a dress, camisole, cardigan, tights, and my black flats.

I am creating… Access queries. Fun.

I am reading… Trump fans’ erroneous thoughts on President Obama defending an pro-Trump protestor at a rally. Whether or not you like him or agree with him, you have to acknowledge that Obama is a class act and so incredibly different from the degenerate nominated by the Republicans to replace him. He told the crowd that they needed to respect the protestor because he was veteran, elderly, and we live in a country where we value free speech.

I am hoping… Hillary wins on Tuesday. I’m not a fan of hers but the alternative of Trump as president makes me nauseated.

I am learning… how to perform queries in Microsoft Access.

In my kitchen… Dad is making something for Sunday dinner.

In the school room… Daniel is saying more and more words. It’s like someone turned on a faucet in the speech section of his brain.

Post Script… The Cubs set a record for the 7th largest gathering in human history. (My friend’s son described it as “the zombie apocalypse with Cubs fans”.) Beat that, Cleveland!

Shared Quote… “The American ideal is not that we all agree with each other, or even like each other, every minute of the day. It is rather that we will respect each other’s rights, especially the right to be different, and that, at the end of the day, we will understand that we are one people, one country, and one community and that our well-being is inextricably bound up with the well-being of each and every one of our fellow citizens.” – Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D.

A moment from my day… This fits my twisted sense of humor.

This fits my twisted sense of humor.

Closing Notes: An ear worm for you!

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

{five favourites}: Miscellanea (LXXIX)

Posted on by

#5Faves

One

The resident I saw last Thursday. I had to go in for asthma/bronchitis issues and got a resident who listened to me and didn’t tell me just to suck it up. I just sent her a thank-you email because I felt like she took my concerns seriously.

Two

My Accounting class. I’m doing extra problems in each chapter for *FUN*. That is crazy!!!

Three

The band NEEDTOBREATHE. I am in love with their songs “Brother” and “Testify”. “Washed By the Water” is also pretty awesome.

Four

The weather lately. It’s been beautiful and rainy. I am in heaven.

Five

My grey kitty Homer. Someone is being a needeh kitteh and is wanting to come and sit on my chest. He’s also my homework buddy.

Go love up Bonnie, DeBalino, and the others.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: October 30, 2016

Posted on by

For Today…

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… a little cloudy and chilly. It hasn’t even broken 50F yet today!

I am thinking… about what to blog on for today in the Write 31 Days challenge.

I am thankful… for a few minutes of quiet after getting home from church. Mom took Daniel to Fred Meyer and they aren’t back yet.

One of my favorite things… good choral music. We sang this for the Offertory this morning.

I am wearing… an indigo shirt and jeans. For church, I switched out my jeans for my black paisley skirt.

I am creating… Access databases.

I am listening to… various songs by NEEDTOBREATHE.

I am hoping… the Cubs win the next three World Series games. I hate all Cleveland sports teams and am wondering what deal they made with Satan for two of their teams to be doing as well as they are this year. (Usually, their teams are a joke.)

I am learning… about how to journalize and post closing entries in Practical Accounting.

In my kitchen… not sure if we’re having “family dinner” tonight with just the four of us but I’m kind of hoping we are.

In the school room… Daniel continues to do really well with his program.

Post Script… it’s Reformation Sunday today so I’m sharing the Reformation Polka.

Shared Quote…

Spider fun!

A moment from my day… My latest addiction:

Hosted by The Simple Woman.