Category Archives: Web Schtuff

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 22, 2016

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For Today…

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… cloudy and in the 60’s. It’s been cool all day and threatening to rain. Given how much I hate hot weather, I’m all in favor of it even if it gives me migraines.

I am thinking… about the move in 2 1/2 weeks.

Oh yeah… this is what the vague-blogging has been about. My parents and Daniel and I are moving to Washington in June. It’s been in works since November. We had to be out of the house for two weeks in April while the floors were redone, the doors replaced, and the trim replaced. After that, we had a week of realtor showings that required vacating the house at a moment’s notice. The house sold fast and Mom and Dad spent a couple days in Washington house-shopping. They put in an offer which was accepted and closing is on June 3rd.

I am thankful… for today’s choir anthem going well.

One of my favorite things… office supply stores. Staples is my idea of nirvana.

I am wearing… long-sleeved green striped shirt and jeans. For church this morning, I traded my jeans for my black dress slacks and black flats.

I am creating change-of-address postcards.

I am reading… The Fear Babe: Shattering Vani Hari’s Glass House by Marc Draco, Kavin Senapathy, and Mark Alsip. The book takes all of the Food Babe’s pseudo-scientific stupidity and deconstructs it using facts, actual science, and logic.

I am hoping… a friend comes home from his missions trip safely.

I am learning… about the various state agencies that work with kiddos like Daniel in Washington.

In my kitchen… Dad is making hot dogs tonight.

In the school room… Daniel has two weeks left and I’m starting to scan paperwork to send to the school district in Washington.

Post Script… if you know someone with fibromyalgia, I recommend reading this.

Shared Quote… From Facebook…

I couldn't resist sharing this one from Facebook...

A moment from my day… As it is Trinity Sunday I thought I’d share this.

Closing Notes: I saw a blog post shared on Facebook this weekend in which a mommy blogger who had done lots of giveaways and earned money from her blog was telling all the other mommy bloggers to give up their blogs because she had seen the error of her ways and, like, nobody cares or is reading mommy blogs anymore. I’d disagree that mommy bloggers need to stop writing and give up their blogs. Readership of blogs is down across the board but if it brings you joy to blog and scratches that itch, go for it. Unless you are saying something dangerous, something seriously untrue, or being a complete and utter Sanctimommy, I’ll generally ignore you if your blog has too many sponsored posts or if you bore me to pieces.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: TGIAF!

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7 Quick Takes

It’s been an insane week here and I have one more thing tomorrow before I feel like I can breathe again. Thank goodness it’s almost Friday!

— 1 —

Prayer request. The person assigned to Daniel at the Lodi Social Security Office fouled up his SSI payments and I have an appeal hearing tomorrow on some issues related to them. Please lift me in prayer around noon PDT. Thanks!

— 2 —

Climate change deniers. This video explains climate change in a way that even Donald Trump supporters can understand. 😉

— 3 —

One last political take. While I am completely overjoyed at Ted Cruz dropping out of the race and Carly Fiorina being an even bigger loser than before, I’m kind of bummed that I won’t be using this picture more often…

Thank goodness this isn't a possible combination in the White House!

— 4 —

I want this shirt! My birthday is two weeks from today and I will be your BFF if you get me this shirt in green and XL.

— 5 —

On the homeschooling front… Dawn of Ladydusk wrote this amazing piece on starting to homeschool and what she learned from it. I recommend reading it if you think you eventually want to homeschool your kids as Dawn is a mom I trust for this kind of thing.

— 6 —

Making a crossbow out of office supplies. This is kind of cool.

— 7 —

Doctrine vs. discipline. Simcha nails it with her post on Ascension, the crazy go nuts schedule of her kids, and why it actually matters to make it to Mass if it’s a holy day in your diocese. (San Jose abrogates it to Sunday.)

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

7 Quick Takes: I Can Haz Quick Takes???

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Planner nerd. I finally got my planner filled out with numbered days and stuff today. (I was up to August and somehow got waylaid from finishing for 3 months. A small child might have something to do with it.) Of course, because it’s me, it’s also color-coded. 🙂

Then today, I started drooling over the planner section while at Staples giving the kid a pre-dinner run to work off energy until he could have his ADHD meds. None of the ones being sold there really work for what I need but visions of rulers and colored pens and schedules were dancing in my head.

— 2 —

Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh!!! Bunmi Laditan has a YouTube channel now!!!! (I may or may not be dancing around the room at this discovery.)

— 3 —

*sighs* The #DemDebate hashtag is trending on Twitter. While the Democratic field doesn’t entice me to take a screwdriver to my temple as much as the Republican field does, I would REALLYREALLYREALLY like the various political conventions to please take place so there can be only TWO candidates to block out instead of eleventy billion of them.

— 4 —

Clickbait fun. I love this list of 16 times Dad won at life. #4 and #10 are the best ones.

— 5 —

How did I not know about this?!?!?!?!? I just discovered the 50 Days of Fabulous page on Rev. Tim Schenck’s Twitter. (Fr. Tim is the founder of Lent Madness, for those who are unaware of his awesomeness.) I really need to pay better attention to Forward Movement. #badepiscopalian

— 6 —

Because Ben and Jerry’s. It’s been a stressy week so I picked up some ice cream at Target and was encouraged to see some non-dairy Chunky Monkey. I just had a little bit and it is AWESOME!!!! I highly recommend it to my vegan and non-dairy people.

— 7 —

So much grace. It was revealed in the last week that the father of Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury (head of the Church of England and Anglican Communion), is not the person he thought he was and is instead the late Sir Anthony Montague Browne, secretary to Winston Churchill. Archbishop Welby released this beautiful and grace-filled statement that I think needs to be read by everyone. He makes me proud to be Anglican.

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

7 Quick Takes: From My Bookmarks This Week…

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Someone cute turned 7 today. I can’t believe that 7 years ago today, Mr. Cutie Pie was born by emergency c-section.

His baptism on April 10, 2009.

He is, in the words of my mother-in-law, such a big galoot now!

Daniel.

— 2 —

Breathtaking. Someone in one of my Facebook groups shared this video of Armenian liturgical chant from this CD. It’s beautiful enough that I would listen to it while working or if I couldn’t fall asleep at night to help me relax.

— 3 —

Addressing a problem with our young men in America. This is a really good piece by Rod Dreher on the problems caused by young men being exposed to pr0n at an early age. Here’s a pertinent quote from the end:

There you see the attack on the family, down to the neuroscientific level. Brilliantly evil. Think about what you might be setting your son up for by giving him a smartphone. A junior high school principal said to me recently that she invited a specialist in porn addiction to give a talk at her school about this, but parents balked, saying their kids didn’t even know what that was.

Fools.

This is not simply a matter of getting a smartphone out of your kid’s hands. Remember my telling you about the family I know who removed their kids from a school because fifth grade boys in her son’s class were watching hardcore porn on smartphones their parents gave them? The boys were building a pornified culture of boyhood. Fifth graders.

— 4 —

Mom text fails. This is probably NSFW but a woman in Ohio did a screenshot of her mom’s texts and has been sharing them on Facebook. I read them a couple nights ago and was dying of laughter at some of the pranks she has played on them and on the mother/daughter relationship.

— 5 —

Scruples and mercy. Simcha Fisher had a couple really good posts this week, one on scruples and the other on mercy. I also recommend her field guide to Dominicans and other terrors.

— 6 —

Scripture cake. For those who have read Christy by Catherine Marshall, you might recall mention of Little Burl telling Miss Christy that his mama was going to bake her a “Scripture cake”. This is a recipe for it. (HT: Goodnight Gram)

— 7 —

Special intention. If y’all could be praying for a special intention of mine this month, I’d greatly appreciate it. Please and thank you!

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: March 27, 2016

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY March 27, 2016

Outside my window… sunny. I think it’s supposed to get to 69F today according to Weather Underground.

I am thinking… about the wrap-up post on my Lent that I’ll be writing for Laura.

I am thankful… that Christ is risen and the world is different as a result.

In the kitchen… my dad will be making tenderloin tonight and we’ll probably have it with tater tots and caesar salad.

I am wearing… charcoal fitted shirt from Old Navy and khaki shorts from Kohl’s.

This morning’s Easter finery was a dress I got at Goodwill 6 years ago and have worn on a couple of other occasions. Don’t worry — I had a choir robe on over it for most of the morning so my shoulders were covered! (Pardon the messy room and unmade bed in the first picture.)

A full-length shot. Pardon the messy room and unmade bed.
Head shot c/o Rebecca.

I am going… nowhere else today. I’m enjoying being home.

I am wondering… if Daniel is going to get my bronchitis.

I am reading… Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber. Calmness is being shelved for the moment.

I am hoping… that I’m DONE with this bronchitis. I had flare-up #2 while by myself with Daniel this past week and was panicking about what I would do if I had to go to the hospital. Thankfully, Symbicort and a monster dose of Cipro seem to be knocking this remnant out. I *NEVER* get as sick as I’ve been this month so it has been really scary.

I am looking forward to… not being this sick.

I am hearing… Enya on the stereo, Daniel playing some game with Enya on his tablet, and the dishwasher running.

A Daniel story for today… I came home from church to find my parents’ two cats “nannying” Daniel:

Homer and Jethro taking care of Daniel.

Around the house… renovation projects being completed.

A favorite quote for today…

Dave Barry on coffee

One of my favorite things… Cadbury mini-eggs.

A few plans for the rest of the week: collateral services appointment tomorrow and games night on Saturday.

A peek into my day… Let’s just say that everyone is in agreement that I get to be the Easter Bunny again next year. (Yes, those are cans of Guinness in the Easter basket on the right. The recipient was over the age of 21 and allegedly doesn’t like sweets.)

Easter baskets for 2016.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

{five favorites}: Things That Are Making Me Happy

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#5Faves

One

This picture. My cousin Sarah has a love of sloths so we share lots of sloth memes on her wall. During my week of silence after making the decision to end my marriage, this picture was one of the few things that made me laugh.

Sloth meme.

Two

Cashew milk ice cream from So Delicious. Seriously, these are better than real ice cream. My favorite thus far is the Dark Chocolate Truffle flavor though the Snickerdoodle stuff in the freezer is also pretty amazing.

Three

This calligraphy of one of my favorite prayers. An Episcopal priest rendered this prayer in calligraphy and I love it.

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.

She has some other really pretty images in her shop and she was wonderful to work with when I sent the calligraphy to a dear friend for her daughter’s room.

Four

Morning Prayer. My church has had BCP Morning Prayer before Bible Study during Lent and it has been a really beneficial practice for me.

Five

This app on my phone. I have the app version of this website on my phone and I seriously love it. It has liturgies for almost every Christian tradition I can think of, the ability to save reminders for things, and it allows me to add sites to it to help me learn, reflect/pray, or be productive.

It is unfortunately only available for Android though.

Go love up Ashley and the others.

{five favorites}: Miscellanea (LIX)

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#5Faves

One

Progresso Creamy Roasted Chicken Wild Rice Soup. When I went to Target on Saturday for Sudafed, I picked some of this soup up as well. Yes, I realize that it is not vegan and totally not siyami. Oh well… bronchitis trumps fasting.

Two

So Delicious French Vanilla Coconut Milk “Creamer”. My mom has been making me lattés with this since I got sick last week. It is awesome and saves me money by not depending on $tarbux for my coffee.

Three

Calmness by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III. I haven’t gotten super far with this yet because I’m reading it on my phone but I’m liking it and will probably read a fair amount tonight after the kid goes to sleep.

Four

This post from Jamie. Jamie of Jamie the Very Worst Missionary posted on having to take Zoloft 3 years ago and shared it again this week because she decided to go off her meds. That did not go well. As someone who has spent close to half her life on various meds for depression and anxiety, I recommend reading it.

Five

Bunmi Laditan. If you don’t follow her on Facebook, run and do it! She is hysterically funny. She’s the amazing mind behind Honest Toddler.

Go love up Ashley and the others.