Pentecost is kind of a hard birthday to have if you’re a pastor’s wife because it means festival worship (smells and bells though one step below Christmas and Easter) and it frequently means that it’s Confirmation Sunday so there’s usually a special reception afterwards which doesn’t work well with a child like Daniel.

Moving on…

Red and I don’t do well unless it’s a more brickish red and that shirt in my wardrobe is long-sleeved, making it incompatible with the temperatures in the 80′s today. Daniel also decided to disable my alarm clock (!!!) so I woke up at 9:45 and had to come up with clothes for both of us really quickly. Thankfully, I’d showered last night so my hair was manageable and I had clean clothes! Church also started late because of a recording malfunction that had to be fixed.

So… here are the outfits:

I need something to use as a prop because I feel strange posing by myself.

Daniel was more than happy to be my prop. He also had no problem being upside down.

I decided to make this a family affair and hit Jon up for his picture before he headed out to his afternoon/evening engagements.

Here are the details on the outfits:

Jen
Shirt: Kohl’s
Pants: Kohl’s
Sandals: Naturalizer

Daniel
Shirt: Target
Shorts: Kohl’s

Jon
Shirt: Auton (hand-me-down from one of his father’s colleagues)
Pants: Nordstroms (hand-me-down from a colleague)
Belt: Kohl’s
Shoes: Kohl’s

Go visit Fine Linen and Purple and see what everyone else wore today.

— 1 —

OMG Big Bang Theory! Raj can talk to women without resorting to booze!!! So crazy. It was a bummer about Lucy but I guess she was a good thing in his life if it means he can talk women now. It’s also sad that Leonard and Penny are going to be separated for a few months but it will be interesting to see if they do shows on the research vessel like the shows they did when Howard was in space.

— 2 —

OMG NCIS: Los Angeles!!! The last 5-10 minutes made me queasy and I had a class where judicial torture was part of the reading list! I’m definitely going to be wondering how things will come back this fall. And OMG… the Deeks/Kensi kiss!!! *fans myself*

— 3 —

I’ll take “Guilty Pleasures” for $1000, Alex! Wipeout is back. It’s my favorite show to watch at 8 p.m. on Thursday nights. (The Big Bang Theory is on at 7 p.m. where I am because our CBS affiliate does the news at 10 p.m.) The humor is incredibly sophomoric and it’s essentially watching people fall off of things but we don’t have satellite so I can’t watch this.

— 4 —

prerequisite baseball update. We (the Giants) pulled three of four off against the Braves, fell twice in Toronto, and pulled off an insane save tonight over the Rockies. Woohooo!!! I’m hoping we can sweep Colorado this weekend.

— 5 —

“Objection! #2 ripped my flesh!” I was petting the demon spawn Freya this morning and I had some loose hair in my face… which Freya decided to move… with her talons claws. It reminded me of this line from the following episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway?:

The little monster got a pedicure shortly after.

— 6 —

Speaking of pedicures… Aren’t my toes pretty?

The pedicure was my Mother’s Day present from Jon and Daniel. My manicurist was lovely and next time, I’m going to *gasp* let her do my nails too!

— 7 —

Orphans Do you see these two darlings?

Brett (on the left) needs a mama and Kaia (on the right) has a family who needs help raising the funds to bring her home so she can start kindergarten (hopefully this autumn). If you can help out at all, click on their pictures. Please and thank you!

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com. Just a reminder: my birthday is Sunday so you only have a few more shopping days! (Hint: I *love* Barnes & Noble gift cards.)

My bodywash these days. At Christmas, my parents assembled a bunch of samples in our stockings and there were a couple sample sizes of this bodywash among them. It was a lovely surprise when I put together my “just in case” kit in my laptop bag and had something sweet-smelling that I liked when Daniel was in the hospital in January. (Potential hospital stays are WHY I have the “just in case” kit.)

My normal shampoo. I’ve used Suave since college and this scent for at least the last 5-6 years. I think it has cat pheromones in it because Freya goes crazy when she smells it on me and feels compelled to lick and try to eat me.

NCIS, yo. NCIS season finale in 15 minutes!!! Totally excited here. I’m sure it’s going to be a cliffhanger of some kind (they always are) but it will mean that I’ll be totally excited to find out what happens in September.

It all started with a big bang! I haven’t gotten a straight story on what the plot of The Big Bang Theory season finale is all about. I know it has to do with someone leaving for a period of time (Leonard?) but that’s about all I know.

My plans for tomorrow. I have a manicure scheduled for 8:30 a.m. tomorrow. It’s my Mother’s Day present and I’m looking forward to it though I’m admittedly kind of nervous to have my calluses removed with a Dremmel. I haven’t decided what color to have them redo my toenails but the bottle below is the current color on them from my last pedicure in April.

Go love up Hallie and the others.

FOR TODAY May 13, 2013

Outside my window… sunny and hot. I do not approve of 90F before June 21st (or really at all).

I am thinking… about the things I would totally say on this blog if I didn’t have to self-censor for pastor’s wife reasons.

I am thankful… for getting so much sleep yesterday and for Jon getting me dinner at Subway.

In the kitchen… spinach salad.

I am wearing… brown t-shirt with a ruched collar and black running shorts.

I am creating… plot ideas for NaNoWriMo in November.

I am going… to have a pedicure on Wednesday morning. I can’t wait.

I am wondering… some really snarky things about people.

I am reading… Red Velvet Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke. I’m reading a bunch of silly murder mysteries these days and it’s giving me a break from my regular life.

I am hoping… it doesn’t hurt too much when they use the Dremel on the calluses on my feet. (I’m a discalced kind of girl.)

I am looking forward to… seeing my parents/evil twin/sister-in-law this weekend for the communal birthday celebration.

Around the house… next question!

I am pondering… why people like to call me a “lib” or a “liberal” as an insult but get so incredibly worked up when I call them a “fascist moron”.

A favorite quote for today… “…My idea of God is a not divine idea. It has to be shattered from time to time. He shatters it Himself. He is the great iconoclast. Could we not almost say that this shattering is one of the marks of His presence?..” — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… Lipton Pure Leaf Raspberry Tea.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Morning Prayer tomorrow, pedicure on Wednesday, autism team meeting on Thursday, and communal birthday celebration on Saturday.

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The pastor’s wife managed to make it to church! Wooohooooo!!! This has been a rare event this year due to Daniel being sick, me being sick, Daniel being in a mood, and me being my normal insomniac self. Two weeks ago, I planned to go but my little alarm clock let me sleep until 11:00… when church was over. (How Daniel slept in and let me sleep that long boggles my mind.) Last week, I was with my parents and probably could have gone to the church I attended in high school and on breaks in college but Daniel would have complicated things. This week, I was awake on time and determined to make the effort to go.

So… Daniel was a muted version of himself. He was content to go open and close the bathroom doors and the sanctuary doors and thankfully, he can do that quietly. Yes, it’s not ideal and yes, it does disturb some people but I’m blessed to have a congregation who is chill with that (for the most part) if it means that he and I are in church. Metanoia peeps, I love you muchly. (Metanoia is my codename for the congregation Jon pastors.) Having an usher who is beyond awesome and willing to keep an eye on Daniel so I can sit and maybe participate in some of worship was good.

So here are the pics:

I posed with Daniel because cooperative cats were in short supply. (I think Edda was in her cell meditating as she is the abbess.)

The details…
Shirt: Foot Locker
Skirt: Hand me down from my sister-in-law
Flip-flops: Old Navy

Daniel is dressed in a shirt and shorts from Kohl’s which were a gift last year from a neighbor of my in-laws.

A close up of my flower:

All the mothers at church received them today. They were crocheted by one of the women in the church (who is the closest mom to my age) and they are beautiful.

Before I go, please go read this by Kelly @ This Ain’t the Lyceum which is making me want to fly to New Jersey and bow down and kiss her feet.

Finally, go love up the other beautiful women at Fine Linen and Purple.

— 1 —

OrphansDo you see these two cuties?

Brett (on the left) needs a mama and Kaia (on the right) has a family who needs help raising the funds to bring her home so she can start kindergarten (hopefully this autumn). If you can help out at all, click on their pictures. Please and thank you!

— 2 —

NCIS. I am TOTALLY looking forward to the season finale next week. I’m sure it will be a cliffhanger given the nature of the show but I’d love to know who exactly is going after Gibbs. I’m also delighted to see Colin Hanks acting. I never saw his father in anything on TV but I’m a fan of his movies.

— 3 —

The Big Bang Theory. Tonight’s episode of The Big Bang Theory was actually pretty cute. It was nice seeing Howard doing his imitations of various actors and I thought the way Sheldon handled things with Amy was surprisingly good, given the nature of his character. (I think you have to watch it to understand what I mean and you can do that on the CBS website for free.)

— 4 —

Such a helpful boy. I spent last weekend in San Jose with my parents. On Saturday, I was feeling really sleepy due to allergy-induced sleep deprivation and while sitting on one of my parents’ loveseats in the living room, I dozed off sitting up with my hands in typing position. My mom came in and started talking to me before realizing that I was fast asleep. I apparently slept that way for a good 2 hours so my mom put Daniel to work in the yard with her. She would hand him cuttings of something and he would walk over to the yard waste container and put it in there. She also had him do that with the lemons that were on the ground. Well, he started doing it with the lemons on the tree once the ones on the ground were gone. Thankfully, my parents’ lemon tree is abundantly stocked with lemons so this wasn’t the end of the world. Still, I love that he was able to help my mom that way.

— 5 —

Fail-proof smoking cessation plan. I promise I am not making this up. This might just be me but I think Nicorette is cheaper than the fines and jail time for the assault charge. Heck, the UCD Medical Center cafeteria gives it to people for free because the medical center is a smoke-free campus.

— 6 —

Medical humor. Have you ever worked in medicine (i.e. doctor, nurse, receptionist, etc.)? I recommend Doctor Grumpy in the House. He’s an anonymous neurologist who does not suffer fools gladly and also posts about stupid criminals and interesting war stories. I recommend his blog highly — I’m in the process of reading through several years of his archives right now.

— 7 —

The required Quick Take on baseball. The Giants played several games with the Dodgers last weekend so it’s probably good that I wasn’t home — Jon is a Dodger fan and I support the better team the Giants. I might have been a wee bit… enthusiastic about the fact that THE GIANTS SWEPT THE SERIES. We got our butts kicked by Philly but that’s OK — it wasn’t LA so I can live with that.

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

Because “House M.D. is off the air… I am reading through the archives of Dr. Grumpy in the House. He’s a neurologist and talks about his more… interesting patients as well as reporting on boring medical symposiums, stupid criminals, and interesting war anecdotes.

Old Navy flip flops. I am a BAD pastor’s wife because I’ve worn these to church on a few (OK… MANY) occasions because I’m having to chase a 4 year old around. It’s also what I wear a lot of the time when I don’t have running shoes on and I can’t be barefoot. (I’m in a perpetually discalced state most days.)

Louise Penny. I discovered one of her latest books randomly at the library and immediately checked it out to read. It takes place in a monastery where one of the monks has been killed over the chants they do every day as part of their daily prayers. Penny manages to write with a chiaroscuro-like view where you see both the inner darkness of the person as well as elements of light. It’s what makes her novels so excellent.

Frappucino love. Starbucks has a new frappucino or two out these days and I’m dying to try the Caramel Ribbon Crunch one. It’s one where it would have to be my breakfast because of the calories and the fact that it packs 3 meals worth of carbs. I must resist the temptation…

Arabic Easter song. A friend of mine who is an Orthodox deacon’s wife posted this on Facebook and I wanted to share it because it’s an amazing video. Lebanese Christians are effectively doing a flash mob to sing an Easter praise song which actually sounds less strange to my ears than much of the music coming out of the Antiochian Orthodox churches and the Coptic church. (Sorry Tasoni — I’m still getting used to your church’s music. It’s beautiful but it sounds… different to my Western ears.)

Go love up Grace and the others. Grace is hosting this week while entertains guests and enjoys the chrism scent on Mr. Charlie after his baptism.

Usually, I’m chomping at the bit to be first. Tonight, that’s not going to happen. I headed to the Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me cinecast tonight which is a birthday present from my AWESOME and WONDERFUL husband Jon who is staying home with Daniel while I go live it up. (My birthday isn’t until the 19th so you have 16 more days to shop! Hint: I love Barnes & Noble giftcards!) I got home at 10 p.m. and decided to take a shower before I got caught up on blogs/surfing/news and it’s 1:30 a.m. as I’m settling down to do Quick Takes (which are usually done in advance).

— 1 —

Orphans. Do you see these adorable kids?

Brett (on the left) needs a mama and Kaia (on the right) has a family who needs help raising the funds to bring her home. If you can help out at all, click on their pictures. Please and thank you!

— 2 —

Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me cinecast. It was *fabulous*. It was basically the live taping of the radio show but beamed to movie theaters across the country. It was nice to actually see what Tom Bodett looks like, to see Paula Poundstone now 20 years after she used to occasionally be on VH-1, and to watch Mo Rocca who looks so much older than he did in all the “I love the [insert decade]” shows on VH-1. (Yes, I’m aware that it’s been 5-10 years since those were made in many cases). Steve Martin was the special guest and I was a bit underwhelmed by him. Peter Sagal was fabulous and reminded me of a sexy Fortune 500 CEO. Carl Kasell looks elderly but I also remember him reading the news on Morning Edition 30+ years ago while getting dressed in my parents’ bedroom for school while my mom woke up and got ready as well. I’m totally glad I went!

— 3 —

God’s sense of humor. Last Saturday, Daniel decided to take some keys of the keyboard of my laptop while I was in the bathroom dealing with IBS issues. I was able to get most of them back on but some of the plastic pieces were broken so I called HP parts and ordered a new keyboard. After placing the order, I logged into my bank account to transfer funds around because Jon’s paycheck wouldn’t be there until Monday… and found a charge on my debit card for $73 (almost the exact price of the new keyboard) that I hadn’t made. Oh crap! I immediately called my bank and reported it. They were awesome, took all my information, gave me a claim number so I could file a police report, credited the money back to me, and started an investigation. In the meantime, they told me to go to my local branch and get a temporary debit card as mine had been compromised and would need to be replaced. I did have to wait 30 minutes to get a new one (which sucked because my parents were visiting) but I did get some of my murder mystery (A Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny) read and the banker I worked with was helpful. I filed the police report on Monday with my town’s police department and had two excellent officers work with me. My new debit card arrived yesterday and things seem to be fixed for the moment. Meanwhile, I’m having to watch my checking account to see if it has been completely compromised.

Why is this God’s sense of humor? If Daniel hadn’t broken the keys off my laptop, I would never have looked in my account and found the charge and the person could possibly have done worse damage.

— 4 —

Finally! I had to drop pages of health history off with the G-I specialist I see next week this past Wednesday and I scheduled an appointment with my regular nurse practitioner to go over my bloodwork from last week and get back on Singulair because allergies are kicking the crap out of me. Well, last week I had been telling her about all the health issues that I was having and mentioned that my period was being screwy after nearly 20 years of cycles like clockwork (except for pregnancy). She has been suspecting that I have some kind of metabolic syndrome so she added that panel to my lab order. Lo and behold, the panel came back indicating a high likelihood of PCOS which my neurologist (whom I loved and whom I miss a lot) had suspected 5 years ago when she first started treating me. (It was something she picked up on in my health history.) I’m getting in for an endocrinology consult ASAP and will probably also be going to bond with an OB/GYN as well (there will be an ultrasound needed) but it’s nice to know that my inability to lose weight and all that isn’t because I’m lazy — there’s something else going on!

— 5 —

Blessings. Tuesday night, I notice water on the floor of the laundry shed and a load of laundry on Wednesday morning exacerbated it. It was, of course, the morning where I was supposed to be running from 8:30 a.m. until Daniel was picked up from school at 1 p.m. so I expected all this to put hold when I called one of our deacons to deal with it. D, our deacon, cheerfully told me he would be over in 20 minutes and showed up with towels to mop up the water and a bucket to bail the water out of the washer. He took it apart and discovered the issue. While consulting with one of our elders (who used to be one of the deacons), they were en route to a parts store and passed a used appliance place. Well… it turns out that a new used washer was incredibly cheaper than parts and would function better. Our council president went and took care of buying it, the store delivered it, and took the old one away. Meanwhile, D took the clothes that had been in the washer back to his house and washed/dried/folded them before leaving them on our back porch. Given that I was out of clean underwear, convinced that I would have to hit up a laundromat, and deal with that plus Daniel, I was almost sobbing with gratitude to have clean clothes and most importantly CLEAN UNDERWEAR!!!!!! I thanked D profusely over the phone and told his wife M at dinner (it was Ladies’ Night Out for church) how incredibly grateful I was to her for D and how wonderful her husband is. Thank God for wonderful deacons and elders!

— 6 —

Promise Walk for Preeclampsia. You’ll see me start publicizing my Promise Walk in a few weeks but today, I’d like to draw your attention to my dear friend Kate.

(I stole this picture off her participant page. Kate, if you want a different one, email it to me and I’ll replace it post-haste.)

Kate is one of the reasons I’m involved with the Promise Walk. She’s heard me talking about my experiences with preeclampsia/HELLP Syndrome and her recognition of her symptoms meant that they were able to monitor her and she was able to carry Gus almost to full-term(?). Things did go south during his birth and a c-section was needed to keep both of them alive but knowledge of the condition was what saved their lives. She’s participating in one of the walks this year so that other women can be made aware of the condition and more lives can be saved. I am totally proud of her and I’d like to ask you to consider throwing a few bucks her way.

— 7 —

Wedding bells. One of the blessings of participating in the Quick Takes for the last two years is that I’ve been blessed to form friendships online with some pretty amazing women. One of them, Emily of A Day in the Life / Emily Runs / Fine Linen and Purple, is getting married tomorrow after an epic engagement (594 days!). Blessings to you and your beloved, dear one and I really hope that some of the wedding pictures involve a light saber battle because you *are* getting married on Star Wars Day.

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

TED talk on PostSecret This is just awesome on many levels. Frank Warren talks about how PostSecret started and some of the postcards he received. If you’ve been a fan of it, I highly recommend you watch this.

Sergio Romo. He’s tied for #1 in the National League for saves. I wish I had a shirt with 54 on it for him because he is awesome.

Litany Run. I have mad respect for Jenn for several reasons:

1.) She is dedicating her life to God.
2.) She is running a marathon. This is something I will probably never do given that I can’t run the length of my blog without dying.
3.) Her name is Jenn. That alone makes her awesome.

Y’all need to go sponsor her. Do it now.

Tostitos Multi-Grain Scoops. I told my IBS to take a hike because I wanted chips and salsa. These seemed like an OK compromise.

Coupled with some decent salsa and cottage cheese, I’ve been able to enjoy my chips and salsa with the least amount of… G-I unpleasantness.

NCIS. Is anyone who knows me surprised? Last night’s episode was pure awesomeness. Ziva is my homegirl. I heart Gibbs.

(HT: CBS)

My house panther has announced that I’m waaaaaaay up past my bedtime as well as hers. Go love up Hallie and the others.

FOR TODAY April 28, 2013

Outside my window… dark. It was in the 90′s today. I will be smacking the next person who denies climate change.

I am thinking… that in response to people posting about homeschooling their kids to keep them away from “godless liberals”, I totally want to respond by saying that I’m sending my kids to public schools to keep them away from the people saying those things. I almost want to get a shirt that says “I’m the godless liberal your parents warned you about.”

I am thankful… for the water fight and tickle fight I had with Daniel today and in general I’m thankful for his laugh.

In the kitchen… nothing from scratch. Must fix that.

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

I am creating… nothing yarn-wise but always coming up with plot things for NaNoWriMo.

I am going… shopping tomorrow for toiletries and trying to figure out something to cook that I actually want to eat.

I am wondering… how to post something on Facebook calling out those who are posting partisan and factually incorrect things and telling me that I don’t know that I’m talking about because I give in to the “liberal media”. Riiiiight… the fact that I have a B.A. in Religious Studies focused around comparative religon and part of a Masters in Theology can’t mean that I actually know what I’m talking about, right? (Not to mention that one of the things that they’re making factual inaccuracies about is one of my areas of specialty.)

I am reading… Just finished The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. She is amazing when it comes to the chiaroscuro of the human soul. Next book will be Death by the Dozen by Jenn McKinlay or possibly taking Maphead by Ken Jennings back up.

I am hoping… my allergies/cold/crud is on its way out.

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

Around the house… clean thanks to having company on Saturday and a young mom in the congregation to come and clean for me. (I pay her well and she is the reason I’m functional.)

I am pondering… how someone could have gotten my debit card number when I’m fanatical about keeping it secret. Thank God I was checking my account online and caught the bogus charge.

A favorite quote for today… “Why I often find myself at such cross-purposes with the modern world: I have been a converted Pagan living among apostate Puritans.” — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… making a good play on Words With Friends.

A few plans for the rest of the week: shopping tomorrow and possibly filing a police report, Morning Prayer and NCIS/NCIS:LA on Tuesday, Ladies’ Night Out on Wednesday, watching the cinecast of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me on Thursday, and possibly a trip to San Jose this weekend.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook