Monthly Archives: July 2013

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: July 15, 2013

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY July 15, 2013

Outside my window… sunny and hot. I think it was in the 90’s today.

I am thankful… for Jon taking care of Daniel on Saturday when I was going on 2 hours of sleep and taking him to WinCo and Trader Joe’s so I could nap.

In the kitchen… clean dishes. Thank you, Jon.

I am wearing… green t-shirt and black running shorts.

I am creating… blog posts.

I am going… to pray I get decent sleep tonight.

I am wondering… when I’ll do some posting that isn’t meme specific.

I am reading… Apologia pro vita sua by Cardinal John Henry Newman. (It’s a spiritual autobiography on steroids.)

I am hoping… I can get things figured out with my copy-editing tomorrow and what I have left to do.

I am looking forward to… possibly seeing my parents this weekend.

I am learning that I really can’t eat Daniel’s diet without my stomach spazzing.

Around the house… clean counters though I have vacuuming to do.

I am pondering… many things in my heart.

A favorite quote for today… ??Here and here only in all time the myth must have become fact; the Word, flesh; God, Man. This is not ‘a religion’, nor ‘a philosophy.’ It is the summing up and actuality of them all.?? – C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy

One of my favorite things… club soda when my stomach is being grumpy.

A few plans for the rest of the week: copy-editing tomorrow/Weds/Thurs, autism therapy on Weds/Fri, and possibly spending the weekend with my parents.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Eclectic Stuff Week

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Ziva leaves NCIS. Yep, it’s true. Cote de Pablo, the actress who plays Ziva David, is leaving the show after her character is wrapped up this fall. Ziva isn’t my favorite character so I’m not as bummed as I’d be if Abby (Pauley Perrette) but still kinda bummed nevertheless. I’m just wondering what will be done with her character and how they’ll tie that particular end up.

— 2 —

Orphans. Do you see these three sweet peas?

First row: Brett and Iris.
Second row: Kaia.

BrettIrisKaia

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her. Kaia has a family committed to her who will be traveling to her country to meet her on July 26th! Click on their names to see their Reece’s Rainbow pages.

— 3 —

A benefit to singing. According to CNN, choir singers’ hearts beat as one. It isn’t completely surprising to me — when you’re that focused on your breathing and modulation of tone, your body gets into it. The best choirs function as a unit rather than as individual singers, after all.

— 4 —

Prerequisite baseball take. My Giants are at the bottom of the NL West. The freaking DODGERS are doing better and this is a fact that has not gone unmentioned by the fan of said team to whom I am wed. C’mon boys! Knock off the Padres tonight!

The All-Star Game is this weekend. Why yes, I will be annoyingly tweeting the entire game. 🙂 (Those who follow me on Twitter might want want to unfollow me temporarily.) Go NL!

— 5 —

Daniel’s ABA therapy. We’re back on track with ABA therapy for Daniel. He has established that he’ll work for tickles and he’ll try to get those tickles for free if he can. 🙂 It’s too bad his lead consultant is quitting next week because he loves her tickling him. We’re working on getting rapport built up with his normal tutor right now and I think he (the tutor) will do well once he and Daniel are used to each other.

— 6 —

Stop hating on millenials. If you haven’t read this, surf on over and do so. (Please surf back though.) It’s fascinating and I love how the author communicated his message.

— 7 —

For those who missed it… This is the zucchini of light from last week:

The zucchini of light

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

Five Favorites: Miscellanea (VIII)

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Five Favorites

Yon

Reading. I should do more of it rather than sitting on Facebook and waiting for people to play on Words with Friends or Scrabble. It probably doesn’t help that I actually need to be sitting next to my computer for my current read so I can look up the classical references that I don’t get because I never read the works in their original languages like my dad and my grandfather had to do. I also never got into Jane Austen so my 19th century British reading skills are rusty.

De

This prayer. I’m trying to get in the habit of doing Compline from the Book of Common Prayer every night and I love the following prayer:

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or
weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who
sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless
the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the
joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.

Twa

Friends who are expecting. I just got the news today that a friend from college and her husband are expecting a little one with a due date of January 4th. It seems like a number of my friends are due in December and January.

Kat

Quiet mornings. I’m incredibly introverted so I need a lot of alone time now that Daniel has after school ABA therapy that lasts 3 hours. This means that I’m really enjoying my quiet mornings by myself when I can get them.

Senk

Cool weather. It’s been 90F+ here for the last few weeks with at least 10 days of triple digits. I’m really craving winter rains and cool temperatures right now.

Go love up Hallie and the others.

52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose: My Biggest Weakness

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The topic this week: my biggest weakness.

This is easy.

Self-care.

I am ruthlessly efficient when it comes to scheduling stuff for Daniel but I am so bad at doing it for myself. It took me 2 years of living here to get in to see a rheumatologist for my fibromyalgia and forever to get referrals to other specialists and that was because I kept forgetting to ask for referrals. I’m also due for my annual physical which needs to get scheduled ASAP while Daniel is in summer school. It’s been MONTHS since I cut my hair last and it would easily be another month if my nail person hadn’t dragged her co-worker over to me on Monday and told her that I needed to get on her schedule. (I love my nail person.) I get my nails done ever 3-4 weeks only because I live in my flip-flops unless it’s raining or snowing and I have fewer problems with my feet if they take the calluses off of my heels with a belt sander. (I’m kidding — it’s a Dremel of some sort.)

Now go see Becky and what everyone else has as their biggest weakness.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: July 8, 2013

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY

Outside my window… sunny. I’m told the temperature outside was supposed to be 95F today and Weather.Com confirms it.

I am thinking… about the crash at SFO and how amazing it is that more people didn’t die. (SFO is 2 hours away so this is major news here.)

I am thankful… for the first responders and passengers who risked their life to rescue people on that flight.

In the kitchen… turkey in the fridge defrosting and marinating overnight.

I am wearing… my black “Governator” shirt and black capri sweats.

I am creating… blog entries.

I am going… to hope that Daniel doesn’t have any more night terrors like he has had the last few nights.

I am wondering… way too many things to list.

I am reading… Apologia pro vita sua by Cardinal John Henry Newman. I’m a fan of spiritual autobiographies and this one was recommended to me. I also finished Between Heaven and Mirth by James Martin, S.J. and The Diva Frosts a Cupcake by Krista Davis while I was in southern California.

I am hoping… that Hunter Pence is voted into the All-Star Game. Go vote! Do it now!

I am looking forward to… my hair cut on Thursday and my massage on Friday.

Around the house… I need to get the Roomba fixed.

I am pondering… too many things in my heart.

A favorite quote for today… “… I ever kept before me that there was something greater than the Established Church and that was the Church Catholic and Apostolic, set up from the beginning, of which she was but the local presence and the organ. She was nothing unless she was this. She must be dealt with strongly, or she would be lost. There was need of a second reformation.” — Newman (I’m taking “the Church Catholic and Apostolic” to be the Church on earth which includes all of us — Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox — as Newman had not become Catholic when he was writing this.)

One of my favorite things… my mani-pedi today. My fingers and toes are so pretty!

A few plans for the rest of the week: Morning Prayer tomorrow, ABA therapy for Daniel on Wednesday, haircut on Thursday, massage and ABA therapy for Daniel on Friday.

A peek into my day… The zucchini of light.

The zucchini of light

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Independence Day

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Independence Day. Happy Independence Day to all my US readers. I hope you had a lovely day filled with parades, patriotism, good food, and fun while watching things explode.

— 2 —

Thankful. I’m down in southern California with my in-laws for a couple days. I got to meet my nephew Patrick this morning at his (SECRET BAPTISM) and enjoy some squishy baby cuddles. Unfortunately, there are no pics for this blog post because I left the transfer cable for my camera at home (!!!!!!) He is a cutie though and I thoroughly enjoyed having a sleeping baby in my arms for the first time since Daniel was that age.

Oh yes… it’s also 106F up where we live today. Down in southern California, it’s only 94F. So happy to be down here instead!

— 3 —

Zucchini of Light. My mother-in-law has a massive zucchini which she set on the counter with some patriotic candles stuck in it. When I asked her what it was, she explained that it was the “zucchini of light”. Apparently, she grew a huge zucchini one year and the family recoiled at the sight of it because they envisioned the hell of zucchini bread, zucchini pickles, zucchini pancakes, zucchini coleslaw, zucchini fries, etc. She put it on the coffee table with some Hannukah candles in it as a decoration piece and when some people came over for an Indian Princesses meeting, they asked what it was. My father-in-law replied sarcastically, “The Zucchini of Light”. Anywhere else, people would have caught the joke, However, in uber-PC California, nobody did. So… I guess we’re having a “zucchini of light” tonight in place of firecrackers. (It’s more than a little dangerous to have fireworks in southern California.)

— 4 —

She knows me well. While we were stopping by the church yesterday to pick up supplies for the (SECRET BAPTISM) today, I got a message from my mother-in-law telling me that she had bought TWO BOXES of Trader Joe’s Coffee LattĂ© and Creme Bars for my 3 day stay in southern California. Every time I’ve had one since in her presence, I’ve been stroking it Gollum-style and saying, “My precioussssssss…”

— 5 —

Kitty kitty kitty. There is a tabby attempting to get my in-laws to adopt him. He has gorgeous stripes and beautiful green eyes but he’s skittish. I’d love to play with some string with him but he’s too afraid, especially since a small screaming creature (a.k.a. Daniel) tends to follow me places. *sighs*

— 6 —

Itchy. Something bit me or got me some other way because Tuesday night, I started breaking out in hives and when I scratched them, the burning started. I ran into the kitchen and begged Jon to go out and get me some Cortizone-10 at 11:00 p.m. After a tube of that, a bottle of Sarna, and some Benadryl, it stopped. Well… it started up down here so I took some Benadryl and just showered. I’m hoping it’s not my shower gel or something — that would be really bad.

— 7 —

*grumblegrumblegrumble* The only thing worse than being married to a Dodgers fan when the Giants are playing the Dodgers is to be married to one when the Giants are at the bottom of the NL West. C’mon boys! #BeatLA

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

Five Favorites: Taizé Chants

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Five Favorites

You can credit Thomas of Strong Catholic for inspiring this week’s post. He was posting TaizĂ© prayers on Twitter last night.

One

In the Lord, I’ll be ever thankful. This one that we used to sing in seminary on Mondays or Fridays when we’d have TaizĂ© worship. I have fond memories of singing harmony on this one with a couple male classmates.

Two

Nada te turbe. The words are by St. Teresa de Ávila. I learned this during monthly Taizé prayer put on by the Christian groups at UCSC.

Three

Ubi caritas. This was one of the first ones I learned during Maundy Thursday 1997. It’s still one of my favorites and one that I think I’ve sung to Daniel.

Four

Jubilate Deo. I actually learned this as a grace at Girl Scout camp before I knew that it was from Taizé.

Five

Misericordias Domini. This is another one I learned while in seminary when I played piano for Taizé evening prayer.

Go love up Hallie and the others.