Looking out my window… dark. It was pretty nice today after yesterday’s windstorm and rain. I think it was probably in the 40’s today?
I am thinking… about my homework schedule this week.
I am thankful… the worst of the rain and wind held off until after the burial for Chad’s grandmother yesterday. I was getting blown around like a rag doll driving home but it isn’t as bad as it was later in the afternoon and evening.
One of my favorite things… the golden light from the sunset today.
I am wearing… burgundy long-sleeved shirt and black jeans.
I am creating… entries in my Christmas card database.
I am reading… about this week’s lesson in my Sage50 textbook.
I am hoping… my Sage instructor gives me back some points lost on my last quiz due to a computer mix-up.
I am learning… about best practices for online meetings.
In my kitchen… Dad made steak last night and the three of us (my parents and me) had a small family dinner due to the weather and Thanksgiving happening on Thursday.
In the school room… Daniel is using more and more language.
*facepalms* I just saw the news about Al Franken and I’m pissed. Unlike Moore, however, he has apologized and I’m going to leave it up to him and the Senate to hash out his punishment because I trust him to do the right thing. (I don’t trust Moore as far as I can throw him.)
Crown me with many crowns… sort of. I went in for my tooth extraction on Wednesday… only to find out that they hadn’t prepped for it and were instead planning to fix one of my other teeth (a simple filling). When I got home, my dad asked why I wasn’t just getting a root canal and a crown. My answer: “Because Medicaid won’t pay for it.” He and my mom offered to pay for it (though I’m going to try and find an endodontist that takes Provider One). So… I’m making appointments for that!
Faith Over Fear Roadshow. I attended this wonderful talk at my church on Monday. (Shout-out to my mama who offered to babysit the kiddo so I could go!) It was wonderful to see Pastor Terry again (he was one of the clergy walking with my mom’s family when my grandfather was dying) and I loved hearing Aneelah speak. I’m bummed that the Q & A session didn’t get recorded. Our church ladies put on a fabulous coffee/tea/dessert spread afterward and the CAIR staff were blown away by the hospitality. (Given the amazing hospitality I’ve been shown at mosques I’ve visited, I’m glad they were welcomed richly and given LOTS of amazing desserts to eat!)
Huh. Tell me about how safe the Keystone XL pipeline was supposed to be and why building it at Standing Rock would endanger the Sioux. I effing dare you.
Advent calendars.Jacquie Lawson is an artist who puts together amazing e-cards and she also does beautiful interactive Advent calendars which are paired with classical or British churc music. Last year’s calendar was a beautiful English seaside village and this year’s calendar has an alpine theme. They are $4.00 apiece with discounts for multiple orders and they really are worth more than that. (I’m not one of her affiliates — I just really love her work!)
Political take #1. Yeah, the Republicans lost gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, lost seats in the Republican-gerrymandered Virginia statehouse, and faced losses elsewhere. This happens. I’m interested in them (and quite chuffed at the results, especially the loss of a critic of the Women’s March) but I am truthfully more interested in what happens next year as we have the entire House and 1/3 of the Senate up for re-election.
Political take #2. One of the big victories from Tuesday was Danica Roem who was elected to the Virginia statehouse. She is transgendered and beat Bob Marshall, the author of the transgendered bathroom bill and self-titled “chief homophobe”. Marshall’s sister pwned him royally for the way he ran his campaign.
Danica spoke of him very charitably after her win and I think we need to follow her example:
Political take #3. I have said before that I love Suzan DelBene, my Congressional representative. This is just one reason why. (Clergy, by the way, would be huge losers under this tax plan as would any self-employed person.)
Political take #4. I saw a tweet from Andrew T. Walker on the election of Danica Roem and needed to respond.
Yes, Danica Roem is transgendered as are a few other politicians elected on Tuesday. Yes, Jenny Durkan, the mayor-elect of Seattle, is a lesbian. (When I found this out, my response was literally, “OK?” I care more about the fact that she has ideas for fixing the issue of homelessness and her ability to deal with the sanctuary city issue than I do about what she does in her private life.) Somehow this is going to warp our children?
Seriously, y’all, teach your kids to treat *EVERY* person they encounter with dignity and maybe you’ll be contributing to building a better society.
School news. I’m challenging Business English this quarter because I don’t think I should have to take it. (The Regents of the University of California feel I satisfied my writing requirements after passing the English Composition/Literature AP Test with a score of 4. I also passed the Subject A examination prior to starting at UC Santa Cruz. In other words, WHY AM I HAVING TO TAKE YET ANOTHER ENGLISH CLASS?!?!?!?)
Anyway, I have to sit the challenge test so I have been working through exercises in the Business English book. In doing this, I discovered that the inclusive language policy at my seminary screwed up my ability to use pronouns correctly. This made me a “little” grumpy…
My test got postponed to this coming Monday because the instructor was ill. This means that I have more time to study pronoun usage and agreement with their antecedents. Wheeeeeeee!!!
Sweatpants and coffee. I discovered the awesomeness that is the Sweatpants and Coffee Facebook page this week. I have been sharing pictures like this one on my feed because it describes my curmudgeonly nature *SO* well!
Because I am Hermione, yo! I’ve been invited to join my school’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa because I’ve been pulling a 4.0 for the last 4 quarters. I may or may not have fist-pumped when I got the email.
All Soul’s Day. I thought I’d share this from The Episcopal Church’s Facebook page. (I recommend following them for the pictures coupled with prayers or Scripture they post twice a day.)
Some more Loreena McKennitt. One thing she does well is set poetry to music. I used her version of “The Lady of Shalott” (Lord Alfred Tennyson) to memorize the last part of it for my 8th grade accelerated English class in 1994 and she is known for putting Shakespeare to music.
I especially love her version of “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes. It’s too bad she released it 4 years after my brother had to memorize part of it!
Looking out my window… dark. It started out quite foggy this morning and it eventually burned off in the afternoon.
I am thinking… about my coffee date with a classmate to do work tomorrow.
I am thankful… for typos in the bulletin that lead to mirth during worship.
One of my favorite things… sleep.
I am wearing… jammies. Church this morning was my turquoise/black/white bokeh print dress, black cardigan, black camisole, black tights, and black flats. After that, it was a long-sleeved blue-green shirt and jeans.
I am creating… folders, quick steps, and tasks in Outlook.
I am reading listening to… various things online.
I am hoping… I get stuff done in a timely fashion this week.
I am learning… various things in Outlook.
In my kitchen… pot roast, carrots, multi-colored potatoes, and salad for dinner.
In the school room… I had a great time with Daniel on his class field trip to the pumpkin patch last week.
A moment from my day… Our anthem from this morning.
Claudia Fragapane. One of the things I do when I’m having insomnia is watch YouTube videos and gymnastics is a favorite. The British have a surprisingly good team and Claudia is one of them. She’s the current World Championships bronze medalist on Floor Exercise.
Halloween. Daniel’s school does a pajama day on Halloween (some of the kids can’t afford costumes but almost everyone has pajamas) and I honestly don’t really feel like dragging him to a couple houses on the cul-de-sac to trick-or-treat. I know… slacker mom!
