The Simple Woman’s Daybook: July 16, 2012

Posted on by

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY July 16, 2012

Outside my window… dark and actually chilly with a breeze. I guess we’re supposed to be getting a storm in?

I am thinking… that I need to get up and get some stuff off the bookshelf but I’m also really tired. I really need to learn telepathy.

I am thankful… that it has cooled down a lot. I wasn’t looking forward to triple digits this week.

In the kitchen… good question. I need to go make myself some dinner.

I am wearing… gray maternity shirt and boxers.

I am creating… various things for Brett’s Blogathon 2012

I am going… to hopefully be able to avoid UCD Medical Center this week.

I am wondering… what tomorrow will hold for me.

I am reading… Death on Demand by Carolyn Hart. I haven’t really done reading lately.

I am hoping… Daniel is able to sleep off his fever tonight and can go to school tomorrow so I’ll get to go to Morning Prayer. (Selfish I know, but it’s keeping me sane at the moment.)

I am looking forward to… my massage on Friday and a BBQ with my brother (and hopefully my sister-in-law) on Saturday.

Around the house… the usual Cheerios tornado.

I am pondering… too many things mentally. I might have to journal them out of my brain.

A favorite quote for today… “Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.” — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… Coca Cola

A few plans for the rest of the week: Morning Prayer if I don’t have a sick kid, massage on Friday, and time with the evil twin on Saturday.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

In Print

Posted on by

You know how I wrote that letter to the editor of several papers last week on this subject?

The Great Falls Tribune published it yesterday. It was edited a bit but they still published it.

My reaction upon seeing last night: depressed. I mean, it’s great that they published my letter so that at least my viewpoint is present and the parents might see it; but I can’t help but feel really sad that the lawsuit exists in the first place.

7 Quick Takes: All Star Game, Whining, and A New Addiction

Posted on by

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

I finally did the post-mortem on my 101-in-1001 list… two months after my deadline. Recapping for those who don’t usually read my blog, I completed 19/101 goals and that means a $82 donation to charity. (As an incentive to complete as many goals as possible, I donate $1 for every goal I fail to complete.) My charity choice this time: Brett’s adoption account at Reece’s Rainbow. I’m glad that I accomplished almost 20% of my goals this time — they’re all about bettering myself so it’s all good in the end.

— 2 —

I got just a *little* bit mouthy while watching the All Star Game on Tuesday. All those who follow me on Twitter are probably saying, “A little, Jen?” Can I help it if the evil teams are all in the American League? I mean, you’ve got the Texas Rangers, the New York Yankees (evil personified), and the LA Angels. (OK… technically, they’re the Anaheim Angels. They’re still evil.) I do enjoy a good skunking and this was a glorious one. I’m also amazed they let the minor league team from Oakland send players. [/trash-talk]

— 3 —

I hate heat. It has been in the triple digits here. Did I mention that I hate heat? I think that relocating to Alaska for summers would be a capital idea. Did I mention that this heat is oppressive and that I’d prefer it to be -20F?

— 4 —

Seriously, why is me flipping on my turn signal to change lanes a sign that people should speed up and keep me from passing? Someone did this to me last weekend in Elk Grove and nearly caused an accident. As I swerved back into my lane, the driver flipped me off. Um yeah… YOU almost caused the accident and you’re flipping *me* off? Great one. They’re freaking lucky that I didn’t call the police and report them for reckless driving.

— 5 —

We have an abundance of mulberry pollen. Did I mention that I’m allergic to mulberry pollen? This has led to lots of sneezing on my part as the A/C has to be on (and seems to be the entry point of it into the house) and Daniel is laughing uproariously every time I sneeze.

— 6 —

Oh great… I have a new addiction. I managed to kill 90 minutes of Daniel’s naptime today by surfing PassiveAggressiveNotes.Com. This is not a good thing for me to discover, especially as I think I could outdo some of them. (I learned passive-aggressiveness from the BEST.)

— 7 —

Argh. I did not find a short URL where you can donate to Brett’s adoption account. My bad. Meanwhile, you have 19 days to go if you want to participate in the Bottle Challenge and 15 days until Brett’s Blogathon 2012.

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

Just A Thought…

Posted on by

To my loser Congressman and his cohorts:

Just a thought, but could you quit pulling stunt votes on repealing the Affordability of Care Act (or Obamacare, as you call it) and actually do something like vote to create jobs, feed the hungry, or… you know, whatever it is that my tax dollars pay for you to do during your time in DC?

Hugs and kisses,
jen

PS: Words cannot express my joy at being rid of your sorry butt come November.

101-in-1001: Recap

Posted on by

My deadline was May 12, 2012 and obviously this post is 2 months late. Go me.

Here’s the list:

Faith
001. Keep a prayer journal for 3 months.
002. Read through the entire Bible in a year.
003. Participate in Taize prayer at least yearly.
004. Lead worship at least once.
005. Taebo six days a week for six weeks.
006. No soda for a month.
007. Yearly exams every year until deadline. (2009, 2010, 2011)
008. Get crown done on root-canal tooth in lower jaw.
009. Eat properly vegetarian for one Lent.
010. Keep Lenten discipline faithfully once during this time.
011. Do couch-to-5K.
012. Run in 5K race.
013. Participate in a triathlon.
014. Prepare all meals from scratch for a week.
015. Camp at least 5 times. (0/5)
016. Cook a 3-course meal over a campfire.
017. Lead a camp-style singalong.
018. Perform a serious classical work for voice.
019. Accompany a worship service on piano.
020. Play some Lorie Line as a prelude.
021. Write a Sunday school curriculum.
022. Write a VBS curriculum.
023. Write a Confirmation curriculum.
024. Grow an herb garden.
025. Plant a garden and harvest it one year.
026. Grow my own pumpkins for Halloween.
027. Make Daniel a Halloween costume.
028. Teach Daniel sign language.
029. Pottytrain Daniel.
030. Teach Daniel to read.
031. Have another child (if it is feasible health-wise).
032. Get my living will in order.
033. Participate in NaNoWriMo.
034. Raise at least $500 for Blogathon blogging on my own.
035. Do an independent blogathon for a worthy cause.
036. Give a speech or presentation of some nature.
037. Create a Powerpoint presentation for something.
038. Send out Christmas cards every year. (2009, 2010, 2011)
039. Learn how to tell what kind of wine goes with what kind of meal.
040. Bake a cake from scratch.
041. Visit Calgary.
042. Visit Seattle.
043. Visit the Woodland Park Zoo.
044. Visit Santa Cruz.
045. Visit the redwoods.
046. Visit Toronto.
047. Create a podcast and do 20 weekly episodes.
048. Stay caught up on dental care for two years.
049. Improve my BMI.
050. Meet three online friends. (1/3)
051. Attend an Orthodox Pascha.
052. Re-read all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.
053. Re-read all the Baby-sitter’s Club books.
054. Read the works of Beatrix Potter to Daniel.
055. Write an “I Believe” statement.
056. Write an article and have it published in a reputable non-web publication.
057. Write a “letter to the editor” and have it published.
058. Sort and cull book collection.
059. Twitter daily for three months.
060. Learn how to make decent iced vanilla lattés at home.
061. Learn to sew by machine.
062. Learn to knit.
063. Crochet at least three garments and wear them regularly. (0/3)
064. Crochet 4 items for Daniel. (0/4)
065. Acquire 3 UCSC garments. (0/3)
066. Read at least one semi-serious book per month for a year. (0/12)
067. Create a WordPress design for ::Meditatio:: from scratch.
068. Learn how to change my own oil.
069. Change a tire by myself at least once.
070. Eat venison.
071. Eat rattlesnake.
072. Eat elk.
073. Eat moose.
074. Create a crocheting pattern.
075. Make at least 5 wedding/baby shower presents from scratch. (0/5)
076. Write 10 Amazon.Com book reviews. (6/10)
077. Read at least 5 books recommended by Oprah. (1/5)
078. Host a game night.
079. Have a dinner party 5 times. (0/5)
080. Wear earrings on every work day for a week. (0/5)
081. Get a second piercing in my ears.
082. Make 3 pairs of my own earrings. (0/3)
083. Acquire 3 pieces of furniture from IKEA and put them together solo. (0/3)
084. Do ELW/LBW/BCP Morning Prayer six days a week for a month.
085. Give money to public radio during a pledge drive.
086. Give money to public television during a pledge drive.
087. Call in on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.
088. Eight glasses of water a day for a week.
089. See Great Big Sea in concert.
090. Attend a symphony concert.
091. Sing Handel’s Messiah.
092. Learn Arabic.
093. Learn Spanish.
094. Teach a Bible study utilizing a Koine Greek text.
095. Do a walk/run for charity.
096. Heal my knee.
097. Live without any regrets during this time.
098. Compile a recipe book.
099. Attend a professional sporting event.
100. Blog daily for a month.
101. Participate in a snowball fight.

I completed 19/101 which means that $82 will be going to charity. In this case, it will be Brett’s adoption account on Reece’s Rainbow.

Am I mad that I didn’t get more accomplished? Nope. It’s about setting goals to better myself and the fact that I got almost 1/5 of them accomplished is pretty good, given that I wrote this at a time when I was at a crossroads and had no idea where we’d be living in a matter of months or of what challenges we would face with Daniel.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: July 9, 2012

Posted on by

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY July 9, 2012

Outside my window… 93F right now. They’re predicting triple digits for the next few days so I really hope they’re wrong.

I am thinking… about this.

I am thankful… for Morning Prayer with Anne+ this morning.

In the kitchen… trying to use up contents of the freezer.

I am wearing… Survivor shirt, running shorts, and my Celtic cross necklace.

I am creating… this entry and stuff for Brett’s Blogathon 2012.

I am going… to stay inside with the A/C until we cool down.

I am wondering… how much of a nap I can get when I finish this entry.

I am reading… Death on Demand by Carolyn Hart.

I am hoping… my IBS issues settle down.

I am looking forward to… Ladies’ Night Out this week.

Around the house… dishes, dishes, and more dishes.

I am pondering… too many things internally. I need to purge my brain.

A favorite quote for today… “When all the suns and nebulae have passed away, each one of you will still be alive.” — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… Crystal Light Peach Tea.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Morning Prayer tomorrow and Wednesday, Ladies’ Night Out on Wednesday night, Bible study on Thursday, and an Elk Grove trip on Friday.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

My Letter to the Editor

Posted on by

Here is the letter I submitted in various forms to several Montana newspapers regarding the couple suing because their daughter was born with cystic fibrosis and they didn’t get to terminate their pregnancy with her. The papers were the Great Falls Tribune, the Spokesman-Review, and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Since hearing about the lawsuit brought forward by Kerrie and Joe Evans of Gardiner, alleging that Kerrie??s right to the information that her daughter had cystic fibrosis was not given and thus her right to terminate her pregnancy was violated, I have struggled with the decision that it should be heard in court.

You see, I am the mother of a son with developmental delays and autism who was born 11 weeks prematurely when I developed HELLP Syndrome. It was only because my doctor caught it that both of us lived and my son ended up staying in the NICU at Benefis for two months. Two years later, he caught a cold which landed him in the PICU at UC Davis Medical Center with him intubated and me having to sign paperwork to put him on ECMO. ECMO was thankfully avoided when some simple ventilator changes caused an improvement but that night will haunt me forever. Another cold landed him in the hospital over Thanksgiving and we live our lives having to be careful of every cold or virus people contract around us.

What irritates me about all of this is that if my son had died in March 2011, every hour spent sleeping in the PICU bay, standing outside while codes were called on him, having to blog news on him because talking to people on the phone would cause me to weep uncontrollably would have more than worth it. Being his mother has made me an immeasurably better person.

I don??t doubt the emotional toll that having a sick daughter has taken on the Evans but I can??t help but sense that they view their daughter as merely an inconvenience rather than a child whom they love. I hope to God that I am wrong.

I don’t know if any of them will print it but I will keep all of you updated if they do.

**UPDATE** They printed it.