Author Archives: Jen

About Jen

Jen isn't quite sure when she lost her mind, but it is probably documented here on Meditatio. She blogs because the world needs her snark at all hours of the night... and she probably can't sleep anyway.

7 Quick Takes: Three Days into Christmas…

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7 Quick Takes

Kelly is taking some time off of blogging for Christmas but I thought I’d do Quick Takes anyway.

— 1 —

Saint for 2015. I decided to do Jen Fulwiler’s Saint Generator to see who my patron saint should be for next year. When I first did it, I got St. Paul Chong Hasang, a Korean martyr. I did it one more tme and got St. Rita who is a little less obscure. We’ll see how 2015 unfolds and how these two figure into it.

— 2 —

Handel’s “Messiah” on Sunday. I had the blessing of being able to attend both performances of the You-Sing-It Messiah put on by the Claremont Symphony Orchestra. My mother-in-law, bless her, watched Daniel for us so we could go. I had a fabulous alto behind me for the first performance but had to hold my own for the second performance because the altos were scattered. (They had seating by vocal section and the altos were supposed to all be behind the sopranos instead of scattered.) My choir director is the conductor of the symphony and he pitched it to the choir members as a way of practicing for Christmas Eve. I got lots of practice and was able to firm up some sections that were giving me problems.

— 3 —

Handel’s “Messiah” on Tuesday. Our Christmas cantata on Christmas Eve was the Christmas section of the Messiah and we had an extra practice session on Tuesday because our regular choir night is Wednesday which was Christmas Eve. The awesome alto that was behind me on Sunday turned out to be the professional mezzo-soprano that was singing the “Messiah” with us. She was absolutely fabulous to work with and I appreciated hearing someone else singing who was on-key and not getting lost.

— 4 —

Handel’s “Messiah” on Wednesday. Ohmigosh… I can’t believe how completely amazing it was. I got to sing it with four opera singers from all around southern California who were so much fun to sing with and who sounded better than some of the professionals on the recordings that I own. We also had a bass player from the Claremont Symphony Orchestra joining us and the richness of his bass seriously rocked. Of course, the glue in all of this was my awesome choir director, Dr. Sage, who pulled all of this together. There is seriously nothing better than good church music sung by people who believe and affirm that about which they sing. Midnight Mass was wonderful and it took forever to get to sleep when I got home because of all the adrenaline. Our priest’s homily was fabulous (she preaches like an NPR commentator) and so incredibly relevant. Jon made it to church after the worship service he was part of and was able to join us for the Hallelujah Chorus during the Offertory.

— 5 —

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. My sister-in-law Joanna, her husband Chris, and my incredibly cute nephew Patrick came up on the afternoon of Christmas Eve to hang out. They brought Daniel one of Patrick’s toys that is interactive and has doors and light switches. That kept him occupied pretty well that afternoon, evening, and the next day. 🙂 Patrick is in that stage that seems to occur around 18 months where kids flip out if a parent leaves the room so he was not a happy camper; but it’s all good — at least we got to see him.

On Christmas Day, I got to sleep in which was good — I’ve had a crazy week taking care of sick people and I needed the sleep. We opened presents in the late morning and Daniel got some books and craft stuff from various relatives. Jon and I went and had dinner with some family friends who also brought dinner over to my in-laws who were watching Daniel. It was nice to have a dinner with adult conversation.

— 6 —

In San Jose now. Yesterday, Daniel and I drove up to northern California to spend time with my parents. It was a vastly easier drive on I-5 than it had been at Thanksgiving. It’s good to see Mom and Dad again. We have no firm plans for the week other than church on Sunday and possibly having a coffee date with my friend (and Daniel’s godmother) Rebecca.

— 7 —

Sarah’s stockings. I am so glad I can finally share this story on this blog now! For those not in the know, my parents are University of Washington alums (as are some of my extended family and adopted family) and Sarah is at the OTHER school (Washington State University) where she plays in the marching band. The two teams play each other in the Apple Cup on Thanksgiving weekend and the family Facebook walls get pretty humorous during the week beforehand.

Anyway, we usually have a family gift drawing and as I usually organize it, I was going to cheat and give myself Sarah. The plan was to crochet two Christmas stockings, one in each team’s colors. I was going to stick the Washington State one into the University of Washington one along with some of Sarah’s favorite candy. The drawing didn’t end up happening but I had already made one of the stockings, so I just made the other one and my Mom used them to house Sarah’s present from her. Ironically, I finished them on the night of the Apple Cup… which the University of Washington won by a decent margin of 31-13 and Washington State didn’t even score until the 4th quarter. (It was pretty brutal.) My mom and my sister-in-law Jeanette had the idea to stage them on either side of the TV:

The stockings were hung by the TV with care, in hopes that an Apple Cup win would be there.

I had wondered if Sarah had liked them and saw this on my Facebook wall this morning:

Sarah and the stockings.

Had a wonderful Christmas with my family! I got some beautiful crocheted stockings from my cousin Jen! I’m just going to consider the purple one my high school stocking.

🙂 Whatever. Love you too, sweetie!

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: December 22, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY December 22, 2014

Outside my window… dark. It’s almost midnight.

I am thinking… about what I have to accomplish in the next few days. Daniel and I are heading up to be with my parents for a week or so and I’ll need to figure out what to take up with me.

I am thankful… for the opportunity to sing the Christmas section of Handel’s “Messiah” with the Claremont Symphony Orchestra yesterday.

In the kitchen… nothing as it’s past time to eat.

I am wearing… my Online Debate team shirt and capri-length sweats.

I am praying for… relief from my fibro flare, for Daniel to pleasepleasepleaseplease sleep in tomorrow, for Mary/Jerry/Jonathan, and for some special intentions.

I am going… to go to sleep as soon as this posts.

I am wondering… too many things to mention.

I am reading… Skein of the Crime by Maggie Sefton. I also just finished Duck the Halls by Donna Andrews

I am hoping… for sleep.

I am looking forward to… sleep. (Do you sense a theme here?)

I am hearing… my laptop fan.

Around the house… things are out away for the most part

One of my favorite things… ice chips! I gained an appreciation for them when Daniel was born.

A few plans for the rest of the week: PT for Daniel tomorrow, visit with family tomorrow and Wednesday, rehearsal for Messiah tomorrow night, Messiah concert and Christ Mass on Wednesday night, Christmas stuff on Thursday, and heading up to San Jose with Daniel on Friday.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Things I Wish People Would Stop Saying to Me

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7 Quick Takes

T’is the season for me to become Scrooge-like as I’m being accosted with bad versions of Christmas carols and winter songs any time I leave the house. To deal with this, I decided to lay down some snark. So… here are 7 things that I wish people would stop saying to me.

— 1 —

*pointing at Daniel who is berzerking* “He has a lot of energy.” What was your first clue? That he runs everywhere instead of walking? That it’s only 11 a.m. and I’m already looking tired? That my pants are falling off because I’ve lost so much weight from chasing him?

— 2 —

(referring to my depression) “You should think happy thoughts and maybe you wouldn’t be so depressed.” Seriously, if that would make my depression go away, DON’T YOU THINK I’D BE DOING IT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Now please go away while I retreat further into myself and curl up in a fetal position with the covers over my head.

— 3 —

“I heard your father-in-law has cancer. I saw something/read something/heard about this person who had cancer and was cured by [insert snake oil remedy].” No… just no. We believe in this amazing thing called “scientific research” which has *proven* ways to fight the cancer. By the way, those peach pits you were suggesting I give him? They’re full of cyanide. Just thought you should know!

— 4 —

“I heard that autism can be cured by a gluten-free diet. Maybe you should try that with Daniel.” Yeah, no. I already have a kid who is usually underweight and is in a picky eating phase. Trying the GAPS diet isn’t an option unless you’d like to come and cook for us because there aren’t enough hours in the day to take care of Daniel and mastermind what happens when.

There’s also the fact that every nutritionist I’ve talked to has rolled their eyes at the idea of being on a gluten-free diet if you aren’t sensitive to gluten or suffering from celiac disease.

— 5 —

“Have you tried [insert some homeopathic cure like essential oils] for your fibromyalgia? My neighbor’s cousin’s college roommate’s niece was cured from her fibromyalgia when she tried [insert homeopathic quackery].” *sighs* Why are you still here? You are not helping. Seriously, my Old Testament professor from seminary claims her fibro was cured by body talk and she has become a practitioner of it. I think it’s all just quackery.

— 6 —

*upon seeing my raccoonish eyes* “You need to take care of yourself.” OK… so would you like to drive me to the local nail place and babysit my kid so I can have a mani-pedi and some reading time? Please and thank you!

— 7 —

A prayer request. Mary Lenaburg of Passionate Perseverance and her family are dealing with the impending loss of their daughter Courtney. Please keep them in prayer as they’re trying to let go while being present with her in her last days.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

Advent Blog Hop: My Relationship with Mary

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Beth Anne's Advent Blog Hop

Did you know that Mary is my homegirl?

Wait… Jen, aren’t you Lutheran? Doesn’t that mean that you forgo Marian devotion?!?!?!?

Kind of sort of yes. Prayers like the Hail Mary in its post-Trent form (when the “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death” was added) and the Hail Holy Queen make me a bit nervous but it doesn’t mean that I don’t like Mary. Heck, I’m chill with her as the Theotokos (that would be the “God-bearer” as the Orthodox refer to her) and I started understanding her a bit more six years ago while pregnant with my son Daniel.

Do tell.

I shall!

Six years ago (for those counting on fingers and toes, that would be 2008), I was ~3 months pregnant with Daniel. We had just had our first ultrasound with him and gotten to see him being adorable and waving his little limb buds at us. We were living in northern Montana at the time and being December in Montana, we went into the annual tradition of several weeks of -20F weather (not counting wind chill — with wind chill, it was more like -40F). For those not familiar with how to live in such a climate, cars do not start well in cold like that so many people have block heaters on their engines and even if you do, you still have to start your car about 10-15 minutes before you plan to drive it. I remember waking up, tossing boots on, tossing my parka and a scarf on (to cover my nose and mouth — bare skin is a no-no in cold like that), starting my car, and going back into the house to get ready while the car warmed up. For whatever reason, the cold made my hands ache like nothing else. I would have knitted gloves on, insulated mittens over the gloves, and then socks over the mittens but my hands would still ache for most of my 60 mile commute each way to and from work.

One particularly hard day, I was having a pity party for myself and it occurred to me that I could understand some of what Mary felt in having to journey the 103 miles to Bethlehem from Nazareth while pregnant. Having lived in a Mediterranean climate (a.k.a. northern California), I can tell you from experience that while it’s relatively warm during the day, it gets pretty cold at night with temperatures close to 40F on average. Imagine having to travel that distance on a donkey while 9 months pregnant and freezing your tail off. Imagine arriving and finding out that there was no room at the inn and you’d be forced to give birth in a cave where the animals were kept. While my birth experience with Daniel 4 months later was pretty traumatic, it pales in comparison to the conditions in which Mary would be giving birth.

As I pondered these things more and more, I came to the realization that I also could understand some of the fear she had when visited by the Angel Gabriel and told that she would be bearing God’s son. I had feelings of both joy and complete terror two months earlier upon discovering that I was pregnant. (For some of my favorite settings of Mary’s song, the Magnificat, click here.) I also realized that I was understanding the verse about Mary “treasur[ing] these things and ponder[ing] them in her heart” because I was doing similarly.

4 months later, I would give birth to Daniel and start understanding how Mary must have felt seeing her Son up on the Cross, a feeling I would experience again 2 years later. It took me a fairly long time to understand that in looking to Mary and how she handled all of this, I would have a model in how to deal with what God was throwing at me; but when I did, I started understanding the love that my Catholic friends had for her.

It is still pretty weird for me to consider saying some of the Marian prayers but I feel like a connection was made with her that cold day in December.

7 Quick Takes: Highs and Lows

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Low: I had a screaming fit at Daniel’s school district on Monday. Their idiot special ed person was not communicating with me and I finally called up the chain of command and made sure that the superintendent and the assistant superintendent knew exactly what was happening. The assistant superintendent kicked the special ed person off of Daniel’s case and has found me someone who is being pro-active about working with me.

— 2 —

High: I got all the ornaments crocheted and starched for Daniel’s support people. This is the pattern I used and this is how I starched them.

— 3 —

Low: We had the family memorial service for Edda (my black cat) and placed her memorial stone in the garden. It’s been a month and we’re pretty sure that she isn’t coming back. Tuesday (the day we placed the stone) was pretty hard for me and I think I cried more than I have in a long time. Edda was a really special little girl to me.

— 4 —

High: I got to go sing portions of the Christmas section of the “Messiah” on Wednesday. We’re doing it as the Christmas Eve cantata. I am in music geek heaven. I spent last Thursday pounding out my parts on the piano and it made this Wednesday a lot easier because I could hold my own while practicing the choruses.

— 5 —

Low: Some malware got on my computer. Symantec worked for an hour and couldn’t get it off so I was grumping about having to take it to a tech. I was talking to my mom who suggested googling the problem and seeing what I could find. Google had something and I was able to get the bad stuff off. I unfortunately lost all my bookmarks on my Chrome but oh well.

— 6 —

High: I got to bake cookies this morning. I have a cookie exchange for church on Sunday night and I also have people to whom I have to give presents. The baking went really quickly and I can focus on Christmas cards now.

— 7 —

High: We’re getting rain right now in California. Northern California got smacked with the storm and we’re getting hit pretty hard today down in Claremont.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

What I Wore on Sunday: Second Sunday of Advent 2014

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I haven’t linked up here for a while, mostly because I frequently forget to take pictures of what I wear. Today, I changed back into church clothes midway through the afternoon because I was escorting my father-in-law to a concert of the Pomona College Choir so I took pictures when I got back. I needed a prop and as I’m singing the Christmas section of Handel’s “Messiah” with my church choir in a few weeks, I thought my copy of the work might be a good one.

Here I am pondering those lovely sixteenth note runs in the “For Unto Us A Child Is Born” chorus:

Me looking over the sixteenth note runs in the 'For Unto Us A Child Is Born'.

My mother-in-law was taking the pictures and this one was where she told me to look happy to see the piece without looking too manic. I ended up laughing and the picture turned out well.

My mother-in-law making me laugh while I was singing one of the solos for pictures.

And here is one of me from head to toe. I’ve lost enough weight that the pants are baggy on me right now!

Me from head to toe.

Cardigan: Kohl’s
Shirt: Old Navy (I love their “perfect tees”.)
Pants: Kohl’s
Shoes: Payless Shoe Source

Go show the other pretty ladies some love.

7 Quick Takes: Zero to Car in 4 Minutes

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7 Quick Takes

OK… these are actually hosted by the incredibly awesome Kelly of This Ain’t The Lyceum but she doesn’t have a super cool picture yet for this meme so we’re sticking with the old one. Got it? Good.

These takes are inspired by a remark my mother-in-law made last Christmas visit about how I can go from “zero to car in 4 minutes”. It’s not usually *THAT* fast (though I can totally do it) but I thought I’d share my tips for getting out of the house quickly in the mornings, especially with kids.

— 1 —

I shower at night. I find that it works better for getting out of the house in the morning if I shower the night before. My hair actually looks better after I have slept on it. Not showering when I get up cuts down on time in the mornings, not to mention it eliminates the possibility of my hair freezing solid if I happen to be living in colder climates. (Not that this happened…)

— 2 —

I have a hairstyle that doesn’t require a lot of work. My hair is very fine and usually at a length somewhere between chin-length and shoulder-length. All it generally takes in the morning is a wet comb to make it presentable.

— 3 —

I generally have some idea of what I plan to wear ahead of time. I live in jeans and t-shirts — those are easy. If it’s a formal occasion (i.e. church or a concert), I have a section of my closet for that and I’ve usually made sure that whatever I plan to wear is clean and pressed.

— 4 —

My shoes are always in a condition where I can just slip them on and go. I finally tossed my Old Navy flip-flops last week but those were my go-to shoes for a good chunk of this year. (I live in southern California so I can get away with that.) Unfortunately, I’m constantly on my feet chasing Daniel so I started having problems with my right foot. Switching to running shoes helped that (as did athletic tape) and my running shoes are always tied in such a way that I can just slip them on and go. My flats are also easy to slip on for more formal occasions. (I seriously own maybe 5 pairs of shoes total.)

— 5 —

My purse/keys/phone are always in the same place. Not having to search for my stuff means that I can focus my time on getting Daniel ready to go (if he is coming with me) and making sure I have everything I need.

— 6 —

Daniel goes in the car barefoot. Again, I live in California and we’re in the middle of a drought so it’s not like I’m asking him to venture out barefoot in snow or any kind of inclement weather. Socks and shoes can theoretically wait until we get to our destination and usually by that time, he’s jonesing to GET OUT OF THE CAR AND GO (!!!!!) so he doesn’t dawdle in getting them on.

— 7 —

I prep all of Daniel’s stuff the night before. His school has a uniform (more or less) so that part is easy. We lay clothes out the night before and he knows how to dress himself. (The issue is usually him farting around instead of getting dressed.) If food needs to be taken, I will have prepped it and/or packed it the night before so we can grab it and go. He has a couple “car cups” and I will take one or more of those and stock them with juice ahead of time. If there is paperwork, I make sure it is filled out the night before and put it in/next to my purse.

— Bonus —

I have a “go bag” in the car that has spare clothes for Daniel, training pants, wipes, snacks, etc. I go through it regularly to make sure the clothes still fit, the snacks haven’t hit their expiry date, and that I have enough training pants. Keeping it in the car means that I always have access to it on the go and I don’t have to worry about what to stuff in my purse. (My purse is actually pretty small for the simple reason that it keeps me from acquiring junk.)

For more Quick Takes, go love up Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.