Category Archives: Sports

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: October 19, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY October 19, 2014

Outside my window… sunny and in the 80’s. We might see some rain tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it.

I am thinking… about many many things that I’ll journal out later after I do the watering and shower.

I am thankful… that I got to be present for Rev. Kate’s last Sunday at the Episcopal Church in Almaden, the church that loved me as I was a teenaged convert trying to figure out my salvation with fear and trembling.

In the kitchen… Jimmy chicken, a family recipe. I made a normal batch for myself so I’d have a few days of dinners.

I am wearing… my Reclaim Hope shirt and running shorts.

I am praying for… a call for Jon, for a few intentions for people in my life, and for discernment as I’m kind of in a crossroads of my life.

I am going… for lots of walks this week.

I am wondering… where my parents’ Maine Coon cat is.

I am reading… Evolving in Monkey Town by Rachel Held Evans. It’s a re-read.

I am hoping… for rain tomorrow.

I am looking forward to… more quiet time and maybe even coffee with Rebecca later this week.

I am hearing… the whirring of the fan on my computer.

Around the house… cat fur.

One of my favorite things… solitude.

A few plans for the rest of the week: walks, taebo, prayer, journalling, and resting.

A peek into my day… Here is the picture I submitted for the Run for the Little Flowers Virtual 5K.

Me after my 5K walk.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Back in Northern California

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

THE GIANTS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!!!! That was an insane game tonight. I’m glad the Giants won but I am also glad that I got to watch it tonight and that St. Louis played pretty well. One of Jon’s higher ups used to live in Kansas City for a number of years and I’m hoping for a fun series for both our sakes.

— 2 —

NCIS binge. I’m taking care of my parents’ cats while they’re up with my grandmother and this means that I have access to TV. I only watched one episode of NCIS tonight but I’m planning a binge of it in the next week and a half. I’ve missed it and while I could theoretically watch on my computer, I don’t normally have a huge amount of computer time so watching it and my other shows isn’t happening right now… except being up here on my “Momcation”.

— 3 —

What is a “Momcation”? Essentially, I’m on vacation from being a mom for the next 10 days. It’s a long story as to why but I’m cat/house-sitting for my parents and Daniel remained down south with Jon and my in-laws. Don’t worry — my marriage isn’t in jeopardy. I’m doing my parents a favor and my in-laws and parents are happy that it’s giving me a break that I haven’t had in 5 1/2 years.

— 4 —

So what am I doing? I drove up yesterday and today, I did errands and went food shopping for myself. I’m planning to spend some time praying and journalling about how to move from the crossroads where I’m at in my life and I also have plans to have coffee with Rebecca. Oh yes… also catch up on all the TV I’ve missed, hence the NCIS binge.

— 5 —

Completely shocked. I weighed myself yesterday for the first time in months (the last time was at a doctor’s appointment) and I’m 3-5 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight. I guess all the core work, the walking, and other changes I’ve made are helping? I’m wondering if I can’t increase that loss so that I’m down to my pre-Montana weight when I leave my parents’ house.

— 6 —

Just a thought. Is there any chance that a device could be created that stops all political ads on TV and in the mail once one has voted or submitted an absentee ballot? I voted this past week (permanent absentee ballot FTW!) and I really don’t need to hear about who wants my vote anymore.

— 7 —

Possible rain. Weather.Com claims we’re not going to have rain in the next 24 hours. My head disagrees! (I freaking love weather change migraines.)

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

7 Quick Takes: Best Week Ever

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

REAL public health challenges. Here are 6 diseases that should worry you more than Ebola. I’m thankful that I’m current on my vaccines for 3-4 of them (measles, pertussis, and influenza/pneumonia). I can attest to the scariness of RSV though — Daniel has had it twice (nearly killed him the first time) and had to be vaccinated for it during his first year of life because the fatality risk was so high.

— 2 —

Vote early! Vote often! I just got my absentee ballot in the mail. The gubernatorial race here isn’t even close (Jerry Brown has a 20-point lead over his challenger) and neither of our senators are up for re-election so I think the only tight races are the ones for the various House seats and maybe for some of the propositions? I don’t have access to TV so I haven’t been forced to watch all the political ads.

— 3 —

An interesting argument. One of Jon’s seminary classmates linked a blog post about how a growing church is a dying church. I’m inclined to agree. We get asked frequently in call interviews how we would grow the church and “attract young people” but very rarely is the congregation doing anything themselves to actually make their church a welcoming place. (I’m not talking about doing things like replacing the organ with a rock band and watering down the theology — I’m talking about being actually friendly to outsiders and making people feel like it’s a place where they’d like to belong.)

— 4 —

Cynthia Jeub speaks out. I remember watching Kids by the Dozen on either TLC or the Discovery Channel and seeing the Jeub family of Colorado. Apparently, things weren’t so rosy in that household and daughter #3 Cynthia is speaking out. I’m watching the blogs on this one to see how this all turns out. I’m saddened to hear what Cynthia is saying because I hate seeing abuse or hearing about it in any form.

— 5 —

New blog. I’m starting a blog separate from this one that is related to health issues and my journey to develop healthier habits. If you want the URL, email me (jen at grace-filled dot net).

— 6 —

Baseball. The Giants beat the Nationals to advance to the NLCS and the Cardinals did the same to the Dodgers so I now have my two favorite NL teams playing each other. I’m not going to lie — I’d like it if the Giants won this best-of-seven series and went on to win the World Series but I’ll also root for the Cards if they do the same. I think my greatest joy is the Dodgers being knocked out as I’m married to a Dodger fan and I live among them down here in southern California. Maybe I should start wearing all my Giants gear when I leave the house… (Relax, I only have two pieces.)

— 7 —

Prayer request. I would muchly appreciate it if you could lift up some serious prayers for the Lenaburgs as they are dealing with the reality of Courtney’s last days. Mary (Courtney’s mom) is one of the most amazing people I’ve been blessed to know online and has the same sense of humor that I do (pretty dark given what we both deal with on a daily basis) and I wish I could take the pain from her.

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

7 Quick Takes: Some New and Some of Last Week’s Leftovers

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

How Contagious Is Ebola? It turns out, not very. Unlike measles or mumps, you have to seriously come into contact with bodily fluids containing the virus. Measles and mumps also have vaccines to prevent them, unlike Ebola and a few of the other diseases mentioned.

— 2 —

Giddy. My boys (the Giants) are in the playoffs after beating Pittsburgh! My other boys (the Cardinals) are playing Jon’s boys (the Dodgers) and of course, I’m rooting for the Cardinals in that one. Ah… I love October — I just wish I had a TV so I could watch all of this.

— 3 —

Girding up my loins. I thought this was an interesting show of what it actually meant to “gird up your loins” back in the day. It satisfies my “history geek” side.

— 4 —

The War on Rosh Hashanah. I’m very thankful that my friend Neil posted this on his Facebook. It should give me something to be self-righteously indignant about until after Thanksgiving when I can obsess about the War on Advent.

— 5 —

The Benefit of Family Dinner. A friend of my bloggy friend Calah wrote this and I absolutely love it. (It’s about how eating dinner as a family saved her.) Calah expounds on it and I can relate. It’s really hard to eat a family dinner because everyone here is on a different schedule with work, medication, and childcare. We do manage it on occasion and it’s something I’ll be making an effort to try when Jon gets into his next parish.

— 6 —

An interesting view on waiting until a later age to date. I love Michelle. I love her blog. I love her family and wish I could be adopted in because they are so insanely cool and they seem to have so much fun! The particular post I’m sharing is on why one should wait until age 16 to date. She’s Mormon so it is written from that perspective but I found a number of her arguments compelling.

— 7 —

Super Woman. On days I torture myself on my core ball, I usually go for a 1 mile loop around the neighborhood for the purposes of getting some cardio as well as getting in some prayer time. (I pray for people while I walk and usually I’m walking a 5K.) I run into a lot of the same people every morning and one of them is an older man walking a dog. He jokingly asked me which lap I was on and I told him that I was just doing my 1 mile loop because I was going to go do a bunch of core exercises.

His response: “You must be Super Woman!”

Dude, you totally made this fat girl’s day.

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

Five Favorites: Miscellanea (XXIII)

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Five Favorites

One

Neutrogena Clear Pore Oil-Eliminating Astringent. I’ve got a bit of cabin fever I needed to pray over some things and clear my head so I went for a walk this morning. Have I mentioned that it’s bloody hot here right now (93F when I got home from my walk) and that I have a stress injury in my right foot? (Yeah, I’m desperate.) Considering that I sweated off all the water I drank, I thought I might need something to clean my face. This stuff works amazingly and I smell like witch hazel and eucalyptus.

Two

MapMyRun I use MapMyRun to calculate my route. Today it was 2.06 miles which was not half bad. I’m aiming for 3 so I’m ready for the Run for the Little Flowers 5K.

Three

My Saucony running shoes. Considering how discalced I am most of the time, I need something comfortable for walking/running/chasing Daniel. (My policy on running is that I only run when chased.) These shoes are seriously helping with the stress injury because it’s compressing my foot in a way that my flip-flops don’t.

Four

Trader Joe’s pumpkin ice cream. I’ve been eating it for dinner for the last few nights because it is so freaking hot and I don’t want to use the stove. I think one of the best things about being an adult is that I can eat whatever I want. 🙂 Anyway, I’m a huge fan of pumpkin ice cream and it’s a seasonal item.

Five

Montclair Plaza. Daniel and I needed to get out of the house and walk a lot of energy off yesterday. It was 106F outside so we went to the local mall and did laps around every floor. Interestingly, it started pouring rain when we got there — enough rain to trigger flash flood warnings. It was bone dry when we got back outside an hour later.

Go love up Mary and the others.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: Hotter Than Hades Edition

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY September 14, 2014

Outside my window… dark and a frigid 82F. Just looked on Weather.Com and it was 111F earlier. Ugh.

I am thinking… about some of the phone calls I need to make tomorrow.

I am thankful… for my mother-in-law watching Daniel so I could go to church and take care of some errands today.

In the kitchen… I had some pumpkin ice cream before heading to bed.

I am wearing… my Online Debate Team shirt and black capri sweats.

I am praying for… a call for Jon and some special intentions.

I am going… to curl up with my book once I’m done with this.

I am wondering… where Freya is.

I am reading… Eggs in a Casket by Laura Childs. I will be awaiting the next one coming out in December very impatiently.

I am hoping… I can get some paying freelance work one of these days.

I am looking forward to… community dinner at church on Wednesday.

I am hearing… the A/C.

Around the house… quiet. I’m the only one awake except for a couple cats.

A favorite quote for today… “A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.” — Douglas Adams

(I needed a break from C.S. Lewis and Adams is so incredibly quotable.)

One of my favorite things… black cats. (Edda is helping me type.)

A few plans for the rest of the week: various errands, community dinner and choir on Wednesday, and whatever else comes up throughout the week.

A peek into my day… my Sunday best!

What I Wore On Sunday

My outfit today is one that I’ve worn a number of times. My thought was that it would be cool enough under my choir robe. Yeah… no.

Daniel and I

Dress: Kohl’s
Camisole: Target
Shoes: Naturalizer
Blankie: crocheted for Daniel when he was in utero and finished 5 months late because of the preeclampsia and losing the feeling in my hands.

Here’s a detail shot of my skirt and my shoes. You can see the tan line from my flip-flops and some of the bruising in my foot from the stress injury I have.

Details of my skirt and shoes.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook and the pretty ladies at Fine Linen and Purple.

7 Quick Takes: Autism Boot Camp, My House Panther, and the Giants Are #1

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

News on Brett. Brett’s family is overseas meeting him and Randall (the other child they’ll be adopting) right now. Pray for good travel mercies for them.

— 2 —

Amusing cat news. My mother-in-law has a nickname for Edda (my black cat): Bellatrix after Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter books. The reason: Bellatrix’s maiden name was Black. (She was a cousin of Sirius Black.) It fits Edda to a T. My little black cat has also become a little black bully and is antagonizing one of my in-laws’ tabbies who is living outside. I’ve been trying to tell her that she needs to be nice as she is a guest in their home. CATS!

— 3 —

Daniel news. My mother-in-law and I have embarked on a project to catch Daniel up as much as we can before he starts school for the fall. We went to Lakeshore Learning last Saturday and got some posters and books and are working with him throughout the day. We’re also working on life skills and adaptive learning so my little munchkin is dealing with potty-training boot camp and also things like learning how to drink out of a regular cup. So far, we’ve got the drinking from a cup memorized and we’ve managed to teach him days of the week/months of the year/how to use a calendar without any of the insipid songs/videos that his home teacher from the school district used.

— 4 —

Thoughts on Homeschooling. As I’m “homeschooling” right now, I’m kind of looking suspiciously at some homeschooling moms who talk about how they don’t want to send their kids to public school because they’ll miss out on all the stuff like reading Beatrix Potter with them and reading all the great literary classics in high school. Guess what? My mom worked full-time, sent us to private school (K-5) and public school (6-college)… and still did all of that with us. It’s called “being an involved parent”. Seriously, if you want to be a housewife, be a housewife and own that decision. Just please don’t try to rationalize your life decisions by using your kids as a pawn.

And for those who might surf on here and start a flame war about how I hate homeschoolers, my mother-in-law homeschooled my husband and sister-in-law from K-12. The woman has an “anything-they-can-do-I-can-do-better” attitude toward the public school system… and she *did* do it better. Both of them graduated high school at age 15, graduated college at 20, and have Master’s degrees in their fields. Believe me, I know a pretty decent spectrum of homeschoolers and homeschooling parents; but there are some parents who I just don’t respect because they’re living vicariously through their kids.

— 5 —

Baseball. My boys are #1 in their division and are 1.5 games ahead of the Dodgers. (They’re like 11.5 games ahead of the other teams in the NL West.) *sticks her tongue out at her husband* I’m hoping my boys keep doing well. Another World Series title would be lovely this October.

— 6 —

Summer in the desert. It was 104F today. *sighs* I hate heat. It’s why I never went to the state fair when I was living up north — it was always over 90F and I had no desire to walk around when it was that hot. I love four distinct seasons and am kind of hoping that we’re called to a place that has them for Jon’s next parish.

— 7 —

Speaking of such things… The circumstances around my “special intention” are heating up so please pray that things keep moving in a positive direction. Thanks!

For more Quick Takes, visit Carolyn at Svellerella who is guest-hosting this week while Edel is going on.