Category Archives: School

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: February 3, 2019

Posted on by

For Today… February 3, 2019

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… It’s in the low to mid 30’s F, and we are getting our first snowfall of the year. Woo.

I am thinking… about my design homework for my Publisher class.

I am thankful… that Target had stuff to melt the driveway. I hate my local Target (it’s filthy, there is no pharmacy, and they rarely if ever staff their checkout stands appropriately), but I don’t have rednecks trying to pick fights with me like I’ve had when I’ve gone to Walmart in desperation. I think I’d rather slip and break a hip than brave Walmart.

One of my favorite things… watching the snow from inside rather than being out in it.

I am wearing… jammies. I finally got a shower.

I am creating… Publisher projects and my church’s Lenten devotional.

I am listening to… classical music coming from my room.

I am hoping… Tom Brady has been badly pounded into the field at least once. (It’s part of my sports philosophy — I always root against Tom Brady even when I am cheering for neither team because the teams violate other parts of my beliefs like not rooting for Cleveland or LA teams because they are eternal losers.)

I am learning… about the color wheel in designing publications. I just wish the demo mailer I’m working through in the book wasn’t so bleedingly ugly.

In my kitchen… probably some stacked eggplant parmesan or something.

Post Script… if you need nature pictures, go here.

Shared Quote… “The ego is incapable of seeing the world as anything but a zero-sum equation where if something good happens to you I have somehow missed out. The Spirit of God will always call our ego’s bluff.” – Father Paul (my priest)

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: January 15, 2019

Posted on by

For Today… January 15, 2019

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… dark. It was not bad today — not warm but sunny.

I am thinking… about the design project for my Publisher class on which I am procrastinating by creating this blog post.

I am thankful… for a good start to tutoring this quarter.

One of my favorite things… this song. (I am spoofing it for my design project.)

I am wearing… jammies. It’s only 5:30 p.m., but I’m fighting a cold and it’s been a long day.

I am creating… this blog post. 😉

I am reading… Nailed It by Anne Kennedy.

I am hoping… that people get all the Jennifer/Jenni puns in my design project.

I am learning… about alignment and proximity.

In my kitchen… salad tonight. My cold is making swallowing painful, so it was a chore to find something I actually wanted to eat.

Post Script… this blog. Because her book was AWESOME.

Shared Quote… “‘NO’ is a complete sentence.” — me on Sunday when asking people to write devotions for me this Lent.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Dr. Sears Is A Moron Edition

Posted on by

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Schadenfreude. I was incredibly happy to see that the State of California temporarily revoked the medical license of Dr. Bob Sears, the idiotic southern California pediatrician whose vaccine book has been denounced by every pediatrician I know (and I hang with some of the best in the nation).

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, Dr. Sears.

— 2 —

And just a head’s up… the position of this blog is that Dr. Andrew Wakefield is an unethical quack, Dr. Sears should have had his license permanently revoked, and vaccines don’t cause autism. This is not up for debate as their positions have been shown to be both inaccurate and dangerous.

If you want to argue with me about this, please click the lovely little “x” at the top righthand corner of your screen, and go somewhere else. Nobody is paying you to read this blog.

Science, bitches!

— 3 —

My bed. My bedframe was bowing out, and I was having to fix the slats multiple times a day (and night). My dad had plans for a tightening system with wires, and my mom rolled her eyes at him before telling me to go shopping for a new one. I went to a local furniture store, and they delivered it today.

If any of y’all are Skagit County peeps, I really recommend Hansen’s Furniture highly.

— 4 —

School. School started again for me this week, and I am taking a class on Microsoft Publisher this quarter. My instructor is an overachiever, so the website and much of the first half of the course was up this past weekend. This also the instructor who believes in building community, so we always have a fun Introduction discussion board assignment with icebreaker questions.

One thing I’m having to do is save junk mail and take pictures of fliers and posters for design analysis. If any of you see some horribly-designed posters or fliers and want to contribute, let me know. 🙂

— 5 —

Tutoring. I had only one tutoring session this week, and it was quieter than I expected. (The insanity will be next week when everyone is past their introductory week and syllabus quizzes.) I had a couple of truly delightful people who are getting used to their laptops and the whole “online class” thing. It was a nice way to ease back into the quarter.

— 6 —

Climate change. It’s an El Nino year, which I guess means a warmer winter up here… but it’s January with no snow. Srsly?

— 7 —

Prerequisite Minion take. My little black beast has a new nickname. My dad “hates” cats (uh huh… riiiiiiiight…) and jokingly threatened to shave Minion so that instead of being “ferocious”, he’d just be “rocious”. Well… my mom and I thought Rocious would have been a good name for him, so we’re calling him that jokingly.

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: January 1, 2019

Posted on by

For Today… January 1, 2019

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… clear and chilly (at least to me) with temps in the 30’s F.

I am thinking… about this coming year.

I am thankful… for Daniel going back to school tomorrow. He’s been chomping at the bit for a few days.

One of my favorite things… ice chips.

I am wearing… long-sleeved blue-green shirt and capris. (I’m home doing a ton of laundry.)

I am creating… things for the parish Lenten devotional book.

I am watching… Daniel play Legos.

I am hoping… Washington beats Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. (The evil team is leading at the moment.)

I am learning… some interesting plays on Words with Friends.

In my kitchen… probably Hot Pockets tonight. Comfort food is bomb.

In the school room… Daniel starts back tomorrow.

Post Script… Svaha: dresses with pockets FTW!

Shared Quote… “Never once did Jesus scan the room for the best example of holy living and send that person out to tell others about him. He always sent stumblers and sinners. I find that comforting.” — Nadia Bolz-Weber, Accidental Saints

Closing Notes:

Word of the Year: “Faith”
Saint for the Year: St. Joseph of Cupertino

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Why I’m Tired Edition

Posted on by

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

It’s my Friday. I work Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It was a pretty intense week because finals have been released and students are panicking. I can’t help any of them other than pointing out what they are allowed to use if they get stuck. Thankfully, one of the instructors was present on campus today and her office is right off my classroom. She chose to give one person a lot of help, which is great — it’s her final, not mine.

— 2 —

My child is communicating in shrieks this week. We’re really hoping the bio-behavioral therapy people get us in sooner than later.

— 3 —

I’m not sleeping well. Between the cold messing with my arthritis and having an IBS flare-up this week, sleep has eluded me.

— 4 —

I’ve been trying to get some internship hours. My internship paperwork is due tomorrow. Thankfully, I got all of my hours done and submitted my paperwork this afternoon.

— 5 —

My bed keeps breaking. IKEA has crappy bed design, and the slats keep jumping out of track.

— 6 —

I’ve been worrying about one of my students. She was having contractions and coughing up a lung last week. She sounded better on Tuesday, and they induced her today. Thankfully, her daughter is here and they are doing very well. 🙂

— 7 —

I keep having things in the mornings. Kiddo has a hearing aid fitting tomorrow morning and then I have Finance Committee. I have to be out the door at 7:30 a.m. Oh freaking joy.

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: December 2, 2018

Posted on by

For Today… December 2, 2018

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… dark. It was sunny, but chilly today.

I am thinking… about how to work it so that I get the maximum number of assessments done on the computers in F110 for Keyboarding. I tend to be faster on those than on my laptop.

I am thankful… for the beginning of Advent and that I’ve largely been able to avoid stepping into retail establishments playing insipid secular Christmas music.

One of my favorite things… Advent music.

I am wearing… jammies. It’s late.

I am creating… typing session certificates.

I am listening to… Advent hymnody.

I am hoping… tomorrow goes well, and I don’t have to deal with an obnoxious student in my Keyboarding class too much.

I am learning… flexibility in my internship.

In my kitchen… Greek chicken from Trader Joe’s.

In the school room… Daniel is doing well and loved by his teacher and staff.

Post Script… some thoughts on missionary John Allan Chau and how the mission organization who sent him has some serious explaining to do. I rarely agree with my dad’s anti-Christian thoughts, but I’m with him 100% that going to the Sentinelese people was stupid. I’m also profoundly happy that India is refusing to recover his body, as doing so would be dangerous for both them and the Sentinelese.

Shared Quote… “Many people, meeting Aziraphale for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide.”
? Neil Gaiman, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

A moment from my day… “Mama, I’m not in the tree. #fakenews”

I'm not in the tree. You can't prove it. #fakenews

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: What I Did Not Do in November 2018

Posted on by

7 Quick Takes

I took November off from blogging this year to do NaNoWriMo. (Yes, I know that there is one more day in November. I do own a planner.) Here is what I did NOT do during that time.

— 1 —

I did not “win” NaNoWriMo. To win, you have to complete 50,000 words by 11:59 on November 30th. I hit just under 11,000. Blame it on my internship, work, and school. There is always next year, and I can use my notes from this year in addition to doing some plot development.

— 2 —

I did not vote for any Republicans. Seriously, if the GOP ever decides to endorse a candidate who isn’t either stupid or crazy, I *might* consider voting for them. (Contrary to popular belief, I *HAVE* voted Republican before… twice. I voted for John McCain in the 2000 California primary to try and knock Dubya out of the race, and I voted for Bob Taft in the 2002 Ohio governor’s race because the Democrat was not all that great.) Thankfully, the Democrats took the house, and only one senator I liked (Claire McCaskill) was defeated. (She had the hardest race in the country to win, so it wasn’t a surprise.) I live in a navy blue district in the indigo part of a blue state, so obviously my Congresscritters were re-elected.

— 3 —

I did not get married. Like I have time to date?

— 4 —

I did not take crap from any students. I had a student mouth off at me this month for not answering her “quick question”. (There is no such thing as a “quick question”, and I am not required to answer questions at all unless I am working a drop-in or one-on-one shift.) I told her that I wasn’t working, and she got nasty. It’s probably a good thing that one of the BIIIIIIG rules in my department is “don’t abuse the tutors” because her instructor backed me up 100%. Did I mention that my department co-chair was present for this?

Thankfully, said student is not part of my department, which means that I don’t have to deal with her after this quarter. (The class she was taking is a requirement for a couple of different departments, so we get some non-OBT students.)

— 5 —

I did not get a neck tattoo. Again, serious lack of time to hang out in a tattoo parlor.

— 6 —

I did not give birth. One of my favorite students, however, is probably going to give birth in the next few days and I’d love prayers for her because I love this girl like a sister.

— 7 —

I did not have a quiet Thanksgiving. We had 17 for dinner on Thursday, the Apple Cup on Friday, and company on Saturday. At least, the Huskies won the Apple Cup for the 6th year in a row.

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