Monthly Archives: August 2013

7 Quick Takes: Prayer Set to Pop Music, Back to School Night, and News on Kaia

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

More than one way to pray. Mayim Bialik (“Amy Farrah Fowler” on The Big Bang Theory) linked up this video of the Listen Up! Jewish Vocal Band singing the Adon Olam to the tune of the Cup Song from “Pitch Perfect”. (There’s also a video of how they made the video.)

I remember teaching various “graces” to tunes like “Zippety Doodah” and “The Addams Family” theme song so it’s not surprising that you can fit various prayers into songs. “Amazing Grace” is another one that works well. I also remember figuring out how to set the Lutheran table grace (the linked version is all fancy, done in canon and then in 4-part harmony) to the tune of “Two Princes” by the Spin Doctors when Jon and I were off doing errands in Watertown, back when he was pastoring in Minnesota.

— 2 —

Camp song fun. The actions for the Cup Song remind me of the camp song, “It’s Not Hard I Tell You So”:

(And yes, I was totally the CIT and counselor who led the really off-the-wall camp songs. Fortunately for me, no recorded proof of this exists because I’d be paying major dollars to keep those quiet.)

— 3 —

Jim Gaffigan’s video “Mr. Universe”. I’ve been listening/watching “Mr. Universe” while I go to sleep lately. It’s positively lovely and it’s clean comedy. (I have it on at 2 a.m. as I’m typing this.) My tabby has been getting grumpy about this because it means that I’m not positioned correctly for him to climb on my side and displace my hips. Currently, he’s talking about McDonalds and is making me crave a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, some fries. and a Coke. (Yes, I’ve seen Supersize Me. I don’t think I ate anything from there for 5 years after that.)

— 4 —

Orphans Do you see these two darling children?

L-R: Brett and Iris
BrettIris

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and they are in the homestudy stage.

Click on their names to see their Reece’s Rainbow pages.

— 5 —

Miss Kaia. I haven’t forgotten about Kaia.

Kaia

Her mama (and, I think, also her papa) are in her country to spring her from her orphanage either today or tomorrow. Once they’re all back in the States, I’ll update people with details of her actual name and everything.

— 6 —

Back to School Night. Daniel’s preschool had Back to School Night tonight and I went on behalf of Jon. It was good to go because I got the hand-out that Daniel’s teacher has given out to other parents before and that was helpful because it talks a little more about autism and ways to work with the kids. The parents of one of the kids who went off to kindergarten were there (their younger son is also autistic and in the class) so it was good to see them again and talk to them. It was also nice to find out that Daniel’s teacher prays for her kids and their families.

One other cool thing: they have an English class for some of the moms at the preschool and are looking for volunteers to help. I am not fluent in Spanish (the other mom is — she’s Mexican and her husband is Anglo) but I have experience teaching ESL so I’m going to email the principal about helping.

— 7 —

New Music. I realized this week that I had never heard “Fat-Bottomed Girls” by Queen so I went on YouTube to find it. Can we just say that I think it is freaking awesome? (I predict Jon cringing when he reads that last sentence.) I also realized that I hadn’t heard “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele before (it turns out that I’ve heard part it) so it’s playing on YouTube.

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

Five Favorites: Miscellanea (XIII)

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Five Favorites

Un

The parishioner who called me on Monday night. I’m not supposed to have favorites but she is definitely one. The reason she’s on my “Five Favorites” this week: she called not to ask how Daniel was doing but to ask how *I* was doing. I realize that this is actually paying back the calls I made to her when her husband was in the hospital last fall and when she was in the hospital this spring; but it just really helps me to be strong when I know that I can call her or her husband and they’re standing behind me and praying for strength for *me* during times like Monday when stuff is going down and I really don’t know how I’m going to make it.

This is not to say that I don’t have other people in the congregation who pray for me and take care of me — she just happened to be that person on Monday.

Deux

The parishioners who transformed our fellowship hall into a 50’s diner last Wednesday. They created a booth out of some spare pews and a table, they laid down checkered floor stuff, they hung records from the ceiling, the waitstaff was all in 50’s garb… It was freaking awesome and the evil twin and his wife were impressed. Then again, these are the same people who put together a Haunted Hallway for Halloween, a four-star restaurant in the fellowship hall for Valentine’s Day (and it seriously looks like something out of Sunset magazine, and built a fountain in our parking lot last summer for the parish picnic.

Trois

Jenny Lawson’s book. She is freaking awesome, y’all. I haven’t had as many chances to read as I would have liked this past week but every time I sit down to read, I howl with laughter. I’m currently reading the chapters about her move to rural west Texas with the foxen, the scorpions, the squirrels, and everything else.

Quatre

Daniel’s laugh and smile. I know I’m totally biased because it’s my kid but seriously, it can both make me smile and bring me to tears (in a good way). He is the light of my life.

Mr. Boy

Cinq

Silence. It’s been sorely needed the last couple days. It’s why this post is being written at 2:00 a.m. — I need some time where Jon and Daniel are asleep and I can be alone in my thoughts. Daniel has school tomorrow/today (it *is* technically Wednesday) so I’ll get some needed quiet time then as well.

Go love up Hallie and the others.

{Virtual} Coffee Date (vol. 4)

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{Virtual Coffee Date}

Once you’re done here, go visit Karianna and the other coffee drinkers.

If we were having coffee, I’d let you know that the professor behind Bible Students Say… is grading and you need to go check it out. It’s definitely face-palming to read but that’s what makes it so entertaining.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that my endocrinologist would be a great person with whom to share a cup of coffee but as a medical professional, she makes me roll my eyes. She keeps making helpful suggestions that would work… if they were actually practical for me with my food issues and my life. Example: suggesting eggs as a possible breakfast for someone who is allergic to eggs (which is on my chart) or making suggestions for stuff to cut up and take with me. I can do things like ziploc snack bags of nuts for a snack but some of the meal plan stuff she gave me just left me incredibly hungry. I get that a 1200 calorie diet would cause me to lose a boatload of weight quickly but that’s also not totally reasonable for me. (FitDay has me at around 1500.)

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I’m bummed that the evil twin and his wife are now Washington-bound and how I’m secretly jealous because I’d love to live in the Pacific Northwest. I hate heat so living in Sacramento is hideous from about late May to early October. I’m also bummed because I was enjoying being close to family for a change. Oh well… this is another excuse to get to Washington on vacation.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that Daniel was his normal self today and I could probably have sent him to preschool but I didn’t want him giving whatever he had to the other kids or getting something else while his immunity was down. I also wish his ER doc had given him something that didn’t require improvising a mortar and pestle before dissolving it in 1 ml of water, and syringing it to him. (I’m glad to have the mad chemistry skillz but still!)

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you to go read Hallie’s Tell Me All About YOU! entry. I’m a wannabe sociologist and people-watcher and this is one of the few ways to do it online.

Thanks for having coffee (or tea) with me. See you next week!

52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose: I Said I Would Never…

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This week’s topic: I said I would never…

I actually rarely say “I would never” about most things because I parent pretty much on the fly — I have to with a kid like Daniel. I’m the completely permissive parent who lets her kid do things that Jon wouldn’t, mostly because I’m the one home with him most of the time and there are only so many battles I can fight.

I pondered this topic (in between prayers for the ER visit this morning to not completely suck) and the only thing I came up with was…

I said I would never let my kids misbehave in church the way _____________________’s kids seemed to be allowed to do.

Does anyone have a good recipe for crow? Because, seriously, I have a kid who opens and closes the sanctuary doors, the bathroom doors, turns the lights on and off in the bathrooms, slams the cabinet doors in the narthex, does laps in the aisles, and melts down if his daddy preaches too long and his mommy hasn’t taken him around the block enough times. I used to sit and mentally glare at the kids who messed around in church and the parents who let them. Let’s just say that my attitude has changed since becoming a parent.

(Oh yes, the ER visit went fine. Daniel was coughing badly and refusing to eat or drink which is not a good sign. After being on hold with Urgent Care at UCD Pediatrics for 30 minutes, I decided to cut out the middleman and just haul tail to the pediatric ER at UCD Medical Center. Four hours, two breathing treatments, a dose of steroids, and one nap later, Daniel was his normal self again and he did not have to be admitted.)

Now go see Becky and what everyone else said they would never let their kids do.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: August 25, 2013

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY August 25, 2013

Outside my window… dark. It was a sunny day though.

I am thinking… about the craziness that will be my next three days.

I am thankful… for the chance to see my brother one more time before he moves north on Tuesday.

I am wearing… light blue preeclampsia survivor shirt and black running shorts.

I am creating… blog posts.

I am going… to pray Compline soon.

I am reading… Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. I also finished Confessions of a GP by Dr. Benjamin Daniels and read Sweet Tea Revenge by Laura Childs.

I am hoping… Daniel’s cold doesn’t get worse.

I am looking forward to… Thursday when I’ll have a free morning.

I am pondering… too much internally.

A favorite quote for today… ??… We begin to notice besides our particular sinful act, our sinfulness; begin to be alarmed not only about what we do, but about what we are. This may sound rather difficult, so I will try to make it clear from my own case. When I come to my evening prayers and try to reckon up the sins of the day, nine times out of ten the most obvious one is some sin against charity; I have sulked or snapped or sneered or snubbed or stormed. And the excuse that immediately springs to my mind is that the provocation was so sudden and unexpected; I was caught off my guard, I had not time to collect myself. Now that may be an extenuating circumstance as regards those particular acts: they would obviously be worse if they had been deliberate and premeditated. On the other hand, surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in the cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. The rats are always there in the cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily they will have taken cover before you switch on the light. ?? – C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… Silence.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ENT appt and ABA therapy for Daniel tomorrow, hearing aid appointment on Tuesday, ripping the SSA a new one on Wednesday morning and ABA therapy that afternoon, nothing (yet) on Thursday, and ABA therapy on Friday.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Virtual 5K’s, Harmless Political Fun, and Overheating Laptops

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Slow going. My laptop is overheating despite being on a cooling pad so Facebook is being slow (and of course, I have 15 hours of status updates to read) so I’m switching over here to write a Quick Take every time Facebook has to load more stuff. Whee! This is what I get for not being at my laptop for 12 hours.

— 2 —

Endocrinology grumping. I cleaned up my diet and my A1C got worse. (I didn’t see my other numbers though my liver enzymes apparently continue to be beautiful — thank God for that!) I think my endocrinologist would be an awesome coffee date but she has no clue about what my life entails. I was able to test a little bit after eating lunch today but dinner eluded me because I’m sipping on tea a lot of the time. (I need to move from my Lipton Pure Leaf stuff to Crystal Light or something because the Lipton stuff *will* up my carb load.) My thyroid function is also the lower boundary of normal (thanks Mom!) so we’re going to up my Synthroid by half and see if that makes a difference. There was the usual fight over trying new drugs because my insurance company hates me so she gave me samples while a prior authorization could be worked out and also a discount co-pay card for the meds she wanted to give me. My glucose meter had died so they found me a new one (I use a Freestyle Light) and it had a $15 co-pay card attached for test strips. (They can be between $50-$150 if you have to pay for them at the pharmacy.) I see her again in 3 months and God willing, she’ll be happier with results. I mean, I dropped 10 lbs while sitting on my butt so my dietary changes actually did something.

— 3 —

Wow. For those who are fans of the musical Les Miserables, you have to watch this.

He also does an amazing parody of Disney princesses after their “happy endings”.

— 4 —

Humorous Amazon.Com reviews. Amazon.Com has done the world a favor and has compiled a list of their products with fake reviews. George Takei also should have a decent list on his Facebook page and you might even be able to find him as a reviewer on Amazon.Com’s website.

— 5 —

Some political fun. Al Franken is up for re-election in 2014 for one of Minnesota’s US Senate seats and he is engaging in a little political fun. He is letting people vote on what Minnesota State Fair food he will be eating in a virtual postcard to supporters. Choices are things like alligator, tater tot hot dish, a chocolate-covered pickle, a steak dinner-on-a-stick, ostrich, and walleye-on-a-stick. I’m linking it here because I think it’s creative and it’s some harmless fun where Republicans and Democrats alike can vote on something. It’s the 21st century equivalent of putting him on a dunk tank or a pie-throwing booth.

— 6 —

Run for Little Flowers Giveaway. Katie at Blessed with Full Hands is organizing the Run for Little Flowers again and is having a giveaway. There’s running gear, a $20 gift card (put up by me), and other things available. The virtual 5K raises money for the Little Flower Projects.

— 7 —

More on The Bloggess’ book. Like Jenny Lawson (the Bloggess), I deal with generalized anxiety disorder but I’m not quite as humorous about it. I haven’t told people about swallowing a needle at parties but I tend to be more likely to focus on one or two people and just have a conversation with them. Like her, I also sound so much more normal online than I do in person. I was interviewing a respite worker for Daniel and it was probably one of the more uncomfortable 2-hour blocks of my life. It’s been interesting to read her book because I can totally see myself doing the stuff she has… well, kind of but with less dead animals.

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