I just ended my marriage.
I will be taking at least a week away to pray, cry, and focus on my next steps.
Comments are disabled because this is not up for debate or discussion.
The Simple Woman’s Daybook: February 22, 2016
FOR TODAY February 22, 2016
Outside my window… dark and in the low 50’s. It hit 71F this afternoon which is nice… but I still want some rain.
I am thinking… about what I have on tap this week. I’m *STILL* flattened from Saturday’s events.
I am thankful… that Saturday went off almost perfectly without any problems. For those not aware, I flew down to Ontario, met my twin brother at the airport (he had flown in from Tacoma) took a taxi to get the U-Haul truck, and found out upon arriving that they had given away our truck. We ended up having to take Uber from Ontario to Pomona, pick up the truck there, head to my in-laws’ house in Claremont, pack up my stuff, and drive the truck back up to San Jose. The U-Haul sitch stunk but it was what it was and they gave us a $50 credit which was way more than we needed for the Uber ride. I’m glad I got the extra time with Sean (my brother) as we don’t see each over very often and it was some good one-on-one time.
In the kitchen… Dad found me some *interesting* Tofurkey sausage so I had that for dinner and it was pretty good.
I am wearing… my Run for the Little Flowers shirt and black capri sweats.
I am going… to try and get to bed early tonight. Saturday still has me flattened.
I am wondering… about who will get the nomination from each party… and why we can’t just skip to that right now!
I am reading… Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber and Calmness by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III.
I am hoping… to get caught up on everything this week.
I am looking forward to… coffee on Thursday with Rebecca.
I am hearing… Dad watching TV.
A Daniel story for today… the little monster had a wonderful time playing Legos with Uncle Sean while I was at church yesterday. This warms my heart.
Around the house… the usual sorting/packing/painting.
A favorite quote for today…
One of my favorite things… iced vanilla lattés with whole milk. Easter cannot come quickly enough!
A few plans for the rest of the week: calls, coffee dates with friends, sorting slides for my parents, and whatever comes up for the kid.
A peek into my day…
If this video doesn’t make you smile, I doubt you have a soul.
Hosted by The Simple Woman.
7 Quick Takes: Ruminations from My Hurting Brain
Update on my fast. I’m still loving pita and hummus (and usually some carrots) for lunch and I’ve been doing tofu dogs and tater tots for dinner the last few days. I think the biggest thing is reminding myself that I could totally cheat when nobody is looking and have a frappucino but… I’m doing this to draw nearer to God at a time when I’ve got a lot of hard things going on in my personal life and said frappucino will still be there on Sunday. 🙂 I’ve fallen a couple times and had a few M&M’s (also known as “Daniel’s bribe to take his meds”) but that has been it.
CDC study in my backyard. OK… Palo Alto isn’t quite my backyard but… I knew some students at Palo Alto High School and Gunn so I feel like I can weigh in on the fact that the CDC is doing a study on teen suicides in Palo Alto. I could probably tell the CDC something that will save it money: I would put money on some of the suicides being caused by the insane pressure to succeed at both schools. Stanford University is local, it’s a wealthy school district so these kids have all the advantages in the world (hence, no reason why they don’t achieve magnificent things), and there are stories in the local paper about some student who gets a perfect score on the index for admission to the engineering program at Cal. They make my suburban high school (which is similarly high-pressure and which sends usually 10-20% of each graduating class to Cal) look like a bunch of slackers.
*facepalm* Maybe it’s just me but… WHAT ON EARTH POSSESSES PEOPLE TO TAKE A BABY DOLPHIN OUT OF THE OCEAN AND PASS IT AROUND FOR SELFIES?!?!?!?!?!? My brain hurts now…
Dying. If you don’t follow Honest Toddler on Facebook, you’re missing out on gems like this. I’m dying of laughter only because THIS IS MY KID AND IT’S ALL TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bravo, Apple. Considering that I am a PC person and the only Apple product I own is an elderly iPod Nano, I’m kind of shocked that I’m praising them but I love that they are saying “no” to the FBI request to create a backdoor into the iPhone. It shows a commitment to their customers and their privacy.
THIS. I’m loving the 8 signs that you love legalism more than Jesus and I’m seeing myself in my early convert days in this piece.
A thought on the debate over who should replace Justice Scalia. Maybe we should wait, out of respect for his family and loved ones, until AFTER the funeral and burial before we descend on his Supreme Court seat like a pack of hyenas?
For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.
{five favorites}: Things I’m Missing During Lent
For those of you who missed it, I’m doing a modified Coptic fast for Lent this year. It has been a good thing for me but here are the five things I’m missing during this Lent.
Tuna fish sandwiches. One of my go-to Lenten meals on the go is tuna fish sandwiches from Subway with American cheese, salt, pepper, and a couple decent handfuls of pickles. If I was out and about on a Sunday this year, I might consider it. For Fridays however, it’s no bueno.
Pizza. There’s a lot of house repair and painting going on around here and on nights after a day that includes a lot of work, the go-to meal is pizza. If I were celebrating a normal western Lent, I could do vegetarian pizza on Fridays or Hawaiian pizza on other days. Not so much right now although I’m pretty sure Round Table would make a vegan pie for me if I asked.
Whole milk in my coffee. I think it was Jessica of Housewifespice who talked about how her coffee needed to taste like ice cream. I concur. I can put coconut milk in my morning/afternoon latté but it’s not the same.
Ice cream. I could probably get coconut milk ice cream but I’m choosing to forgo that at this point. Still, I miss Magnum Bars and stuff like that.
Samoas. I know Thin Mints are vegan but Samoas are my comfort cookie. 🙁
Go love up Ashley and
Posted in Daily Life, Faith, Food/Drink, Lent 2016, Memes and Link-Ups
FOR TODAY February 15, 2016 Outside my window… dusk. According to Weather Underground, it was 77F today. I’m sure people on the east coast will throw things at me for saying this but… I miss rain and cold. It’s freaking February! I am thinking… about my trip to southern California this coming weekend and various logistics associated with it. I am thankful… for my dad working on mechanical engineering projects with Daniel (translation: playing Legos) while I slept this morning. In the kitchen… tofu dogs and tater tots for me tonight. #lent #copticfast I am wearing… burgundy Old Navy shirt and black capris. I am going… to try and get some serious park time with the kid this week while he’s off of school for Winter Recess. I think it might rain on Wednesday or Thursday so that may not work. I am wondering… if the kid will sleep through the night tonight. He was up at 6 or 6:30 this morning. I am reading… Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber. My Lenten reading is Calmness by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III. I am hoping… for decent sleep tonight. I am looking forward to… seeing my brother this weekend. I am hearing… Daniel being whiny. It’s kind of amazing how a largely non-verbal kid can whine! A Daniel story for today… we ran into my priest at the grocery store today and Daniel charmed the pants off of her. Around the house… the buzzer just went off for laundry and my dad was doing some stuff in the garage. A favorite quote for today… “The Son of God did not want to be seen and found in heaven. Therefore he descended from heaven into this humility and came to us in our flesh, laid himself into the womb of his mother and into the manger and went on to the cross. This was the ladder that he placed on earth so that we might ascend to God on it. This is the way you must take.” — Martin Luther One of my favorite things… getting my taxes done early. A few plans for the rest of the week: intake appointment for mental health services tomorrow morning, meeting with a therapist on Wednesday morning, psychiatrist appointment for the kid on Thursday, and flying down to southern California to pick up my stuff from my in-laws on Saturday. Hosted by The Simple Woman. I re-post this almost every year. If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (A pastor friend of mine preached on it a few weeks ago and had an unusual twist.) Customer service shalom. This is a fabulous article on receiving customer service with grace. (HT:Thomas) I’m wishing that it had been around when I was a barista during the summer of 2000 as there were some pretty nasty customers that came into my Barnes and Noble. Prayer request. Please keep the family of baby Aiden Hall in prayer. Aiden was the nephew of one of my church kids from Minnesota and was born last month at 29 weeks because of his mom’s preeclampsia and weighed in at 1 lb 14.2 oz. (Does this sound somewhat familiar?) Anyway, baby Aiden started having seizures this morning and passed away this afternoon. Please keep parents DJ and Lisa and big brother Liam in prayer as they deal with this heartbreak. Celebrating life as well. In better news than the last take, Agnes had her baby!!!!! She is a serious cutie pie too. 🙂 For Ash Wednesday This Week. Rachel Held Evans posted a chapter from Searching for Sunday on ashes. I recommend reading it even though Ash Wednesday was yesterday. *facepalm* In the “Trending” column on Facebook are articles on how state Medicaids are having to ration Hepatitis C medications because of the cost. Huh. Other first world countries don’t have this problem. Guess why? BECAUSE THEY REGULATE THEIR PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES!!!! Tell me again how deregulation is a good thing. I dare you. Lent update. We were talking about Jesus being tempted in the desert today at the lectionary Bible study and we got into a big discussion on food. It was a good reminder that my hunger pangs last night were something that Jesus went through when Satan was tempting Him. It also brought to mind Laura’s post on how to fast like a grown up. (A reminder: Laura won the right to pick my Lenten discipline so I’m keeping a cheater version of her fast.) Valentines for Daniel’s class. As soon as I get these posted, I’m off to create some Valentines for Daniel’s class at school. If I was actually being a cool mom this year, I’d do something from Living Locurto like last year. Instead, I’m putting address labels with hearts onto bags of Mott’s® Medleys Fruit Flavored Snacks and calling it good. #slackermom For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.The Simple Woman’s Daybook: February 15, 2016
My Favorite Passage on Love
–1 Corinthians 13 (NIV)7 Quick Takes: Pretend This Has A Cool Title, OK?