Monthly Archives: September 2014

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: More Vaccine Fun, Prison Chaplain to the Nazis, and Library Love

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

More from Simcha. Simcha posted something on Dr. Deisher, vaccines, and autism today which is worth a read. She brings up one of the things that drives me batty about a lot of the “vaccines cause autism” hysteria: their science is completely faulty.

This is also why I’m in the process of developing a shirt that says: “Yes, my kid is autistic. Yes, we vaccinated them. No, they are not on the GAPS diet. Please go away.” People are obsessed with pseudo-science (the “vaccines = autism” portion) and while the GAPS diet/gluten-free diet does work for some kids, it isn’t a magical cure.

— 2 —

Baseball. The Giants continue to be behind the Dodgers, a trend I’m hoping will reverse itself as I’m living in Dodger country. The Dodgers usually suck so this is kind of surprising. On the other hand, a few of the main people have been out with injuries this season.

On the other hand, the Cardinals are the top of their division so at least one of my two teams has a shot at the World Series.

— 3 —

Minister to Nazis during Nuremburg trials. I read an article on Henry Gerecke, the LCMS pastor assigned to be the chaplain for the war criminals being tried in the Nuremburg Trials, and it was very interesting. One of the questions raised is why men would be given spiritual care when they obviously didn’t give a crap about the 6+ million people they butchered. I also found it interesting that Pastor Gerecke would not commune the 11 men sentenced to hang unless they met his standard of repentance and only 4 did.

I was telling my mother-in-law about the article and she told me about Sunday school lessons in her Lutheran church in the 1950’s where they laid out what Jesus said and gave the hypothetical situation of what would happen if the government told you to do something that countered what Jesus said. The fact that many of the most ruthless Nazi war criminals were Lutheran did not escape the minds of American Lutherans.

— 4 —

Flu shot. I got my flu shot this afternoon as did my mother-in-law and Jon. I thought I’d go to Walgreens because of the program I mentioned last week but I have to stay after for observation due to my egg allergy so it was easier to go to Target where my mother-in-law could stroll Daniel around. (Our local Walgreens is tiny.) (You also should go read Angie’s post on this.)

— 5 —

Library awesomeness. Ann-Marie blogged today on how getting an email from the library announcing your item is in is like getting a free gift. I totally agree. I’ve been checking the library site daily to see if Laura Childs’ new books are on there… and they are. Apparently, someone in cataloging jumped the gun and put them on. I had to call my local library and ask sweetly (because the website was refusing to let me put a hold on them) and they added me to the waiting list. Hopefully, I will be #1 on the list when they arrive!

— 6 —

ID bracelet. While Daniel can point out his name and address on paper, he still isn’t able to say them so I started looking into getting a special ID bracelet made for him a few weeks ago. After Googling a bit, I came upon the company Road ID and found exactly what I needed. The order confirmation and shipping emails were totally accurate and even included some interesting facts on California. We’ve had the bracelet for the last two weeks and Daniel hasn’t taken it off and lost it yet — something I think is great considering this kid’s penchant for stripping stuff like that off. I highly recommend Road ID and I have a feeling we’ll be working with them for a while every time we move.

— 7 —

Brett. I have received word that “Brett” is finally home in the States with his family. Woohoooo!!!! 2.5 years of serious prayers are answered.

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

Five Favorites: Miscellanea (XXII)

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Five Favorites

One

My father-in-law. He’s been my “other dad” for 14 years, 12 of them legally. He is an amazing pastor, a brilliant musician, and awesome enough that he wore the cat ears I sent him for his graduation from the CATS program at Fuller to his hooding ceremony. He tells me daily (I live with them) that he loves me and that he’s glad that I’m part of the family. His birthday was this past Tuesday and I am incredibly grateful for another year with him.

Two

My mother-in-law. She is totally a Proverbs 31 woman. Today alone she came with me to the library to watch Daniel while I checked out some books and fed/watched him so I could shower/eat before choir practice.

Three

Martyrs reading Joel Osteen tweets. I tip my hat to Priest’s Wife for this. It seriously brings home the ridiculousness of Joel Osteen’s preaching and the heresy of the Prosperity Gospel.

Four

Singing in the church choir. I joined the choir at the church I’ve been attending and ended up being the only choir member there for the first 10 minutes of practice. It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know the director,Dr. Robert Sage, better. He’s a professor at Azusa Pacific, the director of the Claremont Symphony Orchestra, and a friend of my father-in-law. It was a fun evening to sing with the choir and I’m seriously looking forward to singing under Dr. Sage while I’m down here.

Five

Calm and quiet. It’s how I’m recharging right now. It’s also in short supply with Daniel these days.

Go love up Mary (our guest host with the most) and the others.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: September 7, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY September 7, 2014

Outside my window… sunny with some clouds. I’m hoping the clouds cool things down because our heat index is in the triple digits.

I am thinking… about the sermon I heard this morning, especially the part about treating people like Gentiles and tax collectors if you can’t resolve things with them. It’s from the Gospel according to Matthew who was… a tax collector. A call to show mercy, much?

I am thankful… for my mother-in-law taking over Daniel this morning so I could go to church and worship. We still haven’t gotten good church behavior down with him and so my very awesome and wonderful mother-in-law babysits so I can go and be fed. I have some ideas for practicing sitting through church this week and I’ll let you know if they work.

In the kitchen… Daniel and I unloaded the dishwasher. I haven’t cooked anything today but I know my mother-in-law made something with pesto for my father-in-law’s lunch so it smells heavenly.

I am wearing… a purple heather shirt from Old Navy and black capri cargo pants from Kohl’s. Oh yes.. also flip-flops from Old Navy. (I live in mine.)

I am praying for… a call for Jon, for various people dealing with various illnesses in my life, for discernment on a few issues in my personal life, and for a couple special intentions.

I am going… to probably do a Target/Trader Joe’s run with Daniel later today to give him a chance to get out of the house because it’s too hot to go for a walk.

I am wondering… about a couple things I read online recently.

I am reading… Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs. (It’s part of her Cackleberry Club series.) I read/finished Gone with the Win and Clam Wake by Mary Daheim this week. (Dental appointments are good for that.)

I am hoping… Jon gets a few funeral calls this week.

I am looking forward to… the weather eventually cooling down one of these days.

I am hearing… Daniel rumpusing in the other end of the house.

Around the house… laundry-folding is happening intermittently in the kitchen, I’ve unloaded the dishwasher/reloaded it, and I think my mother-in-law is adding stuff to it so we can start it.

A favorite quote for today… “We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told, ‘Blessed are they that mourn,’ and I accept it. I’ve got nothing that I hadn’t bargained for. Of course it is different when the thing happens to oneself, not to others, and in reality, not imagination.” — A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis.

It came up in a conversation on my Facebook wall with one of my mom’s former co-workers regarding a blog post on Victoria Osteen’s comments about how we go to church for ourselves because God wants us to be happy. *hears the Osteen-is-a-heretic alarm sounding*

One of my favorite things… quiet. I’m a mom and an introvert after all so it’s something I crave but don’t always have.

A few plans for the rest of the week: my father-in-law’s birthday is tuesday but that’s just about it, I think.

A peek into my day… It’s time for another link-up!

What I Wore on Sunday

It is hotter than Hades here so I went for incredibly airy and cool clothes, ones in which I can joust with palm branches or fix a flat tire.

As you can see, I take Sundays very seriously. Here I am attempting to play good hymnody.

Me pretending to play the organ.

Unfortunately, adorable children do have to be tickled on occasion.

Tickle fight.

Jen
Shirt: Kohl’s
Skirt: inherited it from sister-in-law who probably thrifted it.
Shoes: Naturalizer

Daniel
Shirt: Promise Walk for Preeclampsia 2014
Shorts: Circo (I heart Target.)
Sandals: Circo

Here’s a lovely close-up of the skirt and shoes. I’m one of *those* people who wears long skirts to church and never bears their shoulders EVER. (It’s not a religious thing. I’m just short and I can’t sew. I also get kind of sick of having to play with liquid nitrogen yearly because I get interesting spots on my shoulders.)

My hemline and shoes.

Here’s another picture of my precious sweetling helping my mother-in-law by putting out the children’s books for the Little Free Library. He’s got about 18 inches to go before he is taller than I am. (See? I really am short.)

Daniel putting out the books.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook. Go see the pretty ladies at Fine Linen and Purple for what everyone else wore today.

7 Quick Takes: Vaccines, Cobras, and Cats That Are Grounded

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Word, Simcha. Simcha Fisher had a really wonderful piece this week on science, Catholicism, and fear. I remember people spitting nails over her post on vaccinating her kids so I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some blowback on this one. (It turns out I was right: She put out a response today addressing the behavioral and spiritual components.) Given that I have a suppressed immune system (thank you prematurity!) and I live with two other people with suppressed immune systems (again, thank you prematurity and thank you cancer!), all I have to say is, “Word, Simcha.”

Seriously, the whole CDC whistleblower thing on Facebook was stupid and I have to bite my tongue in several groups that I’m part of because of the large number of “anti-vaxers” that are present and get pissy because I would be hesitant to let their unvaccinated kids play with my kid who has a suppressed immune system. Oh… there’s also a higher risk of febrile seizures for kids on selective and delayed vaccine schedules — click here for details.

— 2 —

One of the stupidest things I’ve heard in a while. A few months ago, someone shared a blog post in one of my Facebook groups that set off my “brain exploding” filter. Apparently, the author of the blog post argues that diseases like mumps, measles, and chicken pox aren’t bad because they survived them as a child and don’t remember them being particularly awful.

Yeah… no. I think somebody needs to turn in their license to breed.

John Cleese on stupid people.
(HT: Giphy)

The author may not remember these diseases being particularly bad, but my parents and in-laws sure do. They remember women losing their babies because of measles and rubella as well as classmates being hospitalized. There’s also the fact that I’d prefer not to watch my kid suffer from a disease that we have the capability to prevent, especially as getting any of those diseases would likely land him in the hospital.

— 3 —

Help Give A Child A Shot. Angie of The Jammie Girl wrote a post this week about Walgreens’ program to donate immunizations to the Third World for every shot they give from September 2nd through October 13th. I have to have a flu shot because my father-in-law has multiple myeloma and me getting the flu puts him at serious risk, so I’ll be heading to Walgreens in the next few days. (There’s also my child who hasn’t met a virus he hasn’t wanted to befriend and those friendships have an annoying habit of landing him in the ER.)

— 4 —

Preeclampsia Registry goes global. My email from the Preeclampsia Foundation this morning spoke of the Preeclampsia Registry being accepted into the Global Pregnancy CoLaboratory. It’s funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of its PRE-EMPT initiative and it means that there will be funded research studies into the causes and pathology of the condition. For a list of some of the studies, click here. If you’re a preeclampsia survivor and haven’t joined the registry, please click here and share your information.

— 5 —

Cobra fun. For those who haven’t heard the news, an albino monocled cobra (basically, a white cobra) escaped from someone’s house and bit a dog. Thankfully, it was a dry bite (the snake has either been defanged or the venom glands have been removed is what they’re guessing) but said snake is loose in Thousand Oaks, California. It’s about 70 miles from here (thus I’m not going to see it) but I’m still not happy about going outside.

On the other hand, a number of fake Twitter accounts for it have sprung up and those are pretty amusing. (Here, here, here, and here.)

**UPDATE** The cobra has been captured.

— 6 —

Cobra-pranking. There’s a backstory on this one: When I was 4 or 5, I was terrified of cobras and other kinds of snakes getting into my room at night and biting me. My parents calmly explained to me that there were no cobras in San Jose, California… and then found out a few years later that the mascot of the middle school I attended was the cobra. (Go Castillero Cobras!) It has become a running joke in our family so the news of the albino cobra on the loose in Thousand Oaks led to a lot of interesting things being put on my Facebook wall.

I had taken my mother-in-law to Target and while talking to the cashier, the two of them decided to prank me by announcing over the loudspeaker when I arrived that a white cobra had been spotted in the store and Target wasn’t responsible for anyone getting bitten. (She had also joked to me when she called me to tell me that she was in line that she wanted to yell “cobra!” to scatter people so she wouldn’t have to wait so long.) Apparently, I took too long to get there so this cashier went on break before they could prank me; but she was pretty proud of herself.

See? I get no respect.

— 7 —

My in-laws’ cat is seriously grounded. My in-laws’ cat Felicity escaped out the back door and is refusing to come in. I’ve done the cat call, left her treats, etc. and now all I can do is wait up for her. She doesn’t have the best sense in the world and I’m a bit concerned about her becoming coyote chow…

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

Five Favorites: Dental Work Coping Mechanisms

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Five Favorites

I had to have dental work done today so these are my favorites related to that.

One

My mother-in-law. She took care of getting Daniel off his bus today as I was at the dentist’s office and she took Daniel out with Jon a bit ago so that my father-in-law could have a nap and I could lie down and deal with the headache from my jaw being propped open for 2 1/2 hours.

Two

My dentist. She is a lovely Iraqi woman who wears beautiful scarves… and her concern today was to put me in the least amount of pain possible. I was supposed to have a root canal and two fillings (broken tooth that formed a food trap) but the broken part didn’t extend down to the nerve so she didn’t want to mess with it. Instead, they shaped it for a crown and did the two other fillings. I’m grateful that she has this attitude because it means my bill will be much lower and I’m not in as much pain.

Three

My 6 year old iPod nano. I charged it for the first time in 4 years today (haven’t had to use it since 2010 because it was mainly what I used to listen to music at work in Montana) and spent most of my time in the dentist’s chair listening to Bach and classical music from various iTunes playlists on my computer.

Four

Aleve. I’m not having serious pain right now. Granted, it’s early yet but the numbing is almost gone from my jaw and I don’t have more than a headache.

Five

Jamba Juice. I needed something I could just drink for lunch today and the smoothie I got had the right combination of protein and carbs. It allowed me to have something on my stomach so I could take the Aleve and the cold was therapeutic.

Go love up Heather.