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.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: August 8, 2011

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY August 8, 2011

Outside my window… dark of night. It was an OK day though in terms of heat.

I am thinking… that it’s going to be hard to get up tomorrow for Daniel’s speech therapy. (It’s at 8:45 and it’s a 40 minute drive away.)

I am thankful… for the snuggle nap I got with Daniel today.

From the learning rooms… nothing new, I’m afraid.

In the kitchen… butter thawing in the fridge for cookies. (It had been in the church freezer.)

I am wearing… black t-shirt, black sweat capris, and a black scrunchie in my hair. Edda (my house panther) approves.

I am creating… entries for Michelle.

I am going… to Sacramento tomorrow with a probable stop at WinCo on the way home.

I am wondering… if we’re going to use up all the cookies from Wednesday at the farmer’s market on Thursday.

I am reading… the Dearest Dorothy books by Charlene Ann Baumbich, a long-ago friend of this blog.

I am hoping… Daniel’s clot is gone. The ultrasound tech didn’t see it on the Doppler this afternoon so I’m cautiously optimistic.

I am looking forward to… baking with two of my favorite people on Wednesday.

I am hearing… Jon reading to Daniel and He Man and the Masters of the Universe on TV.

Around the house… chaos — trying not to think about this.

I am pondering… various and assorted things.

One of my favorite things…Trader Joe’s Iced Tea Lemonade.

A few plans for the rest of the week… speech therapy tomorrow, physical therapy tomorrow or Wednesday, farmer’s market on Thursday, and possibly the Train Museum on Friday.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing… Daniel with his “laptop”. He’s addicted to ours so my mom got him his own.

Daniel and his

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes — House Panther Edition

7 Quick Takes

I’m actually getting on my Quick Takes early this week — it’s only 9:45. 🙂 I also have a house panther at my feet. (She is a love.)

–1–

I am so happy that Brendon went home on Big Brother. I only wish it had been Rachel. I’m sure both of them are lovely in real life but Rachel comes off as a she-witch on the show and Brendon comes off as incredibly arrogant. Rachel was just nasty during the HOH competition and I’m hoping Kalia (who won the HOH competition) puts her up on the chopping block next week.

–2–

I was in the ugliest doctor’s office on the planet today. Daniel had a weird result on one of his thyroid hormones so his neurologist sent us to a pediatric endocrinologist. A lot of pediatric offices have themes and this one was basically a flower garden… except with pastel pink 70’s IKEA chairs, horrendous fluorescent lighting, three ugly flowers with over-sized stalks on one wall, and hot pink formica cabinets in the receptionists’ area. I should have taken pictures because words just cannot communicate how ugly this was. The exam room was somewhat better and the nurse told Daniel to go wild. I almost hugged her. The doctor was lovely and agrees that the result was probably a fluke. He did, however, order the tests drawn again because it had been 3 months. If the tests come back OK, we’ll just assume it was a fluke. If they come back weird again, we’ll go from there.

–3–

I apparently live in a cartoon world. I heard on the news last night that a cake with a shank was found in a Sacramento jail. Seriously… a cake with a file? I knew my life was Looney Tunes but something like this takes the cake! (No pun intended.)

–4–

I’m still trying to get the podcast going. I don’t have a lot of spare time except for the time after Daniel goes to sleep. I need to come up with some show notes and plans for at least 10 episodes.

–5–

I have a massage scheduled tomorrow afternoon. I’m seriously looking forward to this. It’s helping with the fibromyalgia and also lowering my stress level a bit. My masseuse is a former church member (before my time) and she’s an amazing believer.

–6–

I love my Trader Joe’s because they love up Daniel. Trader Joe’s is a great store to begin with and a company that I could totally work for (and have applied in the past to do so). The Trader Joe’s in Elk Grove, however, is just special. I’m in the store at least once or twice a week so staff knows us and they will go out of their way to talk to Daniel and interact with him. The guy helping us out to the car today was making car noises as he pushed Daniel in the shopping cart. it was so cute. Other ones will stop on their way to the back room and have conversations with Daniel. It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t respond back — they do it anyway. It warms my heart that they treat him like a person of worth because not everybody does.

–7–

Ladies’ Night Out was awesome this week. Metanoia Lutheran Church does Men’s Night Out and Ladies’ Night Out during the first week of the month and it’s been an amazing gathering. The women usually have twice the number of participants that the men do and we all go out to a restaurant in the community. Last night, we went to a pizzeria and had great food and great conversation. One person “hosts” by picking out the place and doing the devotion. The host for this month asked me to do the devotion so I did this one. It’s an opportunity to have bonding time with my ladies and it’s an evening where I’m not responsible for Daniel. (It means that Jon gets some bonding time with him.) I’m not a WELCA/Ladies’ Aid kind of girl so this lets me be involved in things without a lot of pressure. Our conversations can be educational — I’ve taught them some things and they’ve been great about helping me problem-solve things with Daniel.

For more Quick Takes, head on over to ConversionDiary.Com.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: August 1, 2011

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY August 1, 2011

Outside my window… a nice blend of warmth and breeze. I could live with this.

I am thinking… that they really need to coordinate all the road repair work on Highway 99 better — they keep closing all the necessary entrance and exit ramps.

I am thankful… for a weekend with my parents.

From the learning rooms… Daniel is still working on the sign for “more” and he’s working on standing up. Mommy would like to work on her Arabic but she has to wait until Daniel is asleep or otherwise occupied.

In the kitchen… cookie dough of various natures.

I am wearing… my black “We will not be silent” Arabic shirt, khaki capris, and my hair is pulled back with a black scrunchie.

I am creating… entries for Michelle and podcast episodes.

I am going… to Sacramento tomorrow for speech therapy with Daniel and out to Walgreens later this week. I was already at WinCo and Walgreens today.

I am wondering… about various spiritual things internally. (Not able to vocalize them yet.)

I am reading… the Dearest Dorothy books by Charlene Ann Baumbich.

I am hoping… Daniel will do down for a nap without a fight today.

I am looking forward to… my massage on Friday

I am hearing… Pearlie on Qubo.

Around the house… need to clean off the kitchen floor so the Mint can run.

I am pondering… how to reset the remote for TV and DVD stuff.

One of my favorite things… Edda at my feet

A few plans for the rest of the week… speech therapy, Ladies’ Night Out on Wednesday, Daniel doctor’s appointment on Thursday, and massage on Friday.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing… my mom’s cat Homer who would come and hang out with me once Daniel was asleep.

Homer the gray Pooh Bear cat

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes — More Late Night Randomness

7 Quick Takes

It’s 11:30 and I’m online again on a Thursday night. Not a good thing for sleep, I guess. Here are my seven random thoughts.

01.) Rachel on Big Brother needs to be eliminated… NOW. With Dani as HOH, it might conceivably happen?

02.) What is up with drivers cutting across 3 lanes of traffic without signalling? Seriously… somebody is going to get hurt one of these days… especially at the 580/680 interchange when there’s a line backed up and it’s impossible to get in or out.

03.) I’m down in San Jose with my parents. It was supposed to be in the triple digits this weekend up in Sac (which they’ve now amended to 95F) and it’s at least 10-15 degrees cooler down here.

04.) I’m hoping Daniel sleeps in tomorrow. It would cause much joy in my life. I’d also be a nicer person.

05.) I’m trying to find time to record the first episode of my podcast. It’s going to be about faith, life, and raising a child with developmental delays. Details will come later.

06.) I forgot my sister-in-law’s birthday. Bad Jen! No cookie! Actually, one of them had a birthday last weekend and one has a birthday on Monday.

07.) I’m re-reading the Dearest Dorothy books. If you haven’t read them and are looking for Christian chick lit, I *HIGHLY* recommend them. The author, Charlene Ann Baumbich, also has stopped by my blog and left comments so she seriously rocks.

(For more quick takes, go see Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.)

Do Me A Favor

Danny, the son of one of the bloggers I read, is having surgery tomorrow to find out what’s causing bleeding around the feeding site in his stomach. This is a kid who deals with cerebrial palsy caused by MSUD, is on oxygen a lot of the time, and is seven years old.

Here’s the favor:

-Go to his website ParadeSchool.Com
(which he hand-coded BTW), surf around, and then email him at paradeschool -at- gmail -dot- com with get well wishes.

Thanks!

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: July 25, 2011

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY July 25, 2011

Outside my window… sunny and warm. According to Weatherbug, it’s in the 80’s.

I am thinking… about cookie baking for Metanoia’s booth at the Farmer’s Market in a few weeks.

I am thankful… for Daniel’s various therapists.

From the learning rooms… the sign for “more”, body parts, and walking while only holding on to one finger.

In the kitchen… pasta salad made from a Trader Joe’s recipe.

I am wearing… olive-colored t-shirt and sweats.

I am creating… entries for Michelle and a podcast episode.

I am going… to be with my parents this weekend.

I am wondering… how Daniel’s child development person and especially his physical therapist have so much energy. His physical therapist is amazing in that regard.

I am reading… the Dearest Dorothy books by Charlene Ann Baumbich and wishing that she would write more in that series! A.J. Jacobs will have my attention again soon.

I am hoping… Daniel goes down for a good nap after therapy today.

I am looking forward to… the weekend with my parents.

I am hearing… Daniel’s child development person working with him. (Thank God for Easter Seals and that they make home visits.)

Around the house… testing out the Mint floor cleaner that my mother-in-law gave us.

I am pondering… a number of things.

One of my favorite things… Daniel lying on my tummy with his head on his arms staring at me and smiling.

A few plans for the rest of the week… Speech and PT for Daniel tomorrow, nutritionist appointment on Wednesday, and road trip to San Jose (all 2 hours of it) on Friday.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing… Daniel asleep on the hardwood floor after his physical therapist tired him out last week. Being the wonderful mother I am, I took a picture before I took his sandals off and stuck him on a blanket.

Daniel asleep on the hardwood floor

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

Tragedy vs. Shame

Let’s make this very clear.

Amy Winehouse’s death is a shame. Should she have died at 27? No, but it also isn’t surprising.

Norway’s situation is a tragedy. We’re talking 92 people dead (most of them youth) in a country whose population is lower than some U.S. states.

Any questions?