Category Archives: Media/TV

The Simple Woman’s Day Book: May 2, 2016

Posted on by

**NOTE** I did one yesterday and then found that the prompts had changed a bit when I went to link up. I’ve got some spare time this morning so I’m redoing it for today. Also, for anyone that needs the new prompts and wants some code for them to insert into an entry, click here and copy/paste into a text editor so that you can create a text file (*.txt file) with them for use every week.

For Today… May 2, 2016

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… sunny and clear. I think it is supposed to be in the 80’s.

I am thinking… about the things that are supposed to be happening this week. I apologize for vague-blogging but I can’t talk about the upheaval in my life until things are more set in stone. (It’s nothing bad — just a lot of uncertainty.)

I am thankful… for the day trips with my parents and Daniel this weekend. We went to Henry Cowell Redwoods on Saturday and the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Sunday.

One of my favorite things… café vanilla frappucinos at Starbucks. I’m also a fan of functional Internet and functional plumbing but that’s another story for another day!

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

I am creating my temperature afghan. I’m 2 months behind now but I will eventually get caught up.

I am listening to… the Reply All podcast which was recommended to me by a couple friends. This episode involves an email malfunction that tangents into stories of survival in a Chinese concentration camp during World War II. The story that the woman tells is told in a very cheerful and matter of fact way that seems to be somewhat common among survivors of concentration camps in Europe and Indonesia that I’ve met. (If you have a sizeable Jewish population, you probably have someone of that generation who survived and emigrated from Europe afterwards, so I remember hearing probably 5-10 of them speaking to us in middle school and high school. The one I know who was in the Indonesian one was one of my seminary professors.)

I am hoping… my fibromyalgia medication snafu gets resolved soon. (My PA is being a jerk about refilling my meds and is referring me to a rheumatologist. After he mansplained fibromyalgia to me on Thursday, I may or may not have ripped his head off and got a ONE TIME LAST REFILL because I managed to make logical sense. Of course, he cut my dose in half but half a dose is better than no dose.)

I am learning… to just shake things off. It helped me when I came out of the house this morning and found a flat tire. I rolled my eyes, went back in the house to drop my stuff off, and got ready to change it on my own. My mom saw this and replied, “Just call AAA. It’s why we have them.” OK. They had someone out to change it in 15 minutes and while I missed my meeting this morning, it wasn’t an essential one and we were able to just check in by phone.

In my kitchen… no clue on dinner tonight. Dad did the normal Sunday fare of steak, tater tots, and Caesar salad last night and all the adults ate outside by lantern light. Fun fun fun.

In the school room… I have an IEP amendment meeting for Daniel on Thursday afternoon to go over occupational therapy goals.

Post Script… for all who read the selfish essay on “meternity leave” from the NY Post, there are some good rebuttals and satires here, here (tw: language), and here (tw: mention of body parts). I think the last one is the best one of all.

Shared Quote… I think I’ll share my Facebook commentary on the above foolishness!

“Is of the opinion that she can have a “meternity” leave for self-discovery and growth if she is willing to gain 50+ lbs over a 7-month period, have emergency surgery requiring at least a 8 week recovery (from which she returns 2.5 weeks early for financial reasons), deal with scar tissue adhesions on her abdomen every time she moves, and then give up regular sleep for a year following it.”

Because, you know, it’s not like that all happened to me or anything…

A moment from my day… Here’s a picture of my very silly and ticklish boy and me at the Monterey Bay Aquarium yesterday.

My silly boy and me at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Closing Notes: Someone shared this story on the winners of the Biggest Loser and their weight gain battles in one of my Facebook groups and it makes SO. MUCH. SENSE.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: April 17, 2016

Posted on by

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY April 17, 2016

Outside my window… dark. It was 90F today. So *NOT* a fan!

I am thinking… about what the week of April 24-30 holds for us.

I am thankful… that Jon’s visit last week went so well.

In the kitchen… steak, fries, and caesar salad. Yum.

I am wearing… jammies (my Run for the Little Flowers shirt and black capri sweats) but I wore a dress from Kohl’s for church today and then a fitted tee from Old Navy and running shorts from Target afterwards.

I am going… to have to drive Daniel to school all this week. Mother-son bonding time!

I am wondering… what the next couple months hold for me. (Yes, I’m vague-blogging. Once I’m allowed to talk about the details, I’ll make all of this clear.)

I am reading… Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber. I have a bunch of books from the library as well.

I am hearing… Long Lost Family, a show on TLC. I may or not be getting really teary.

A Daniel story for today… Kiddo was so adorable when meeting people at church today when Mom met me there with him.

A favorite quote for today…

I didn't know I was drowning...

One of my favorite things… Chunky Monkey almond milk ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s.

A few plans for the rest of the week: collateral services meeting with Clementine, psych appointment for Daniel on Thursday, morning prayer and Bible study on Thursday morning after the psych appointment, and whatever else comes up.

Post Script…

My college classmate Ian passed away this morning from acute myeloid leukemia.

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant, Ian. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

Please pray for his widow Christy and their daughters Asha and Fiona as they adjust to the new normal in their life without Ian.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

{five favorites}: Miscellanea (LX)

Posted on by

#5Faves

One

World’s Strictest Parents. It’s been enlightening to see how some of the parents are able to work with the kids that are sent to them. It’s further evidence to me of the need for very strong boundaries and expectations.

Two

Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry Juice. The Cipro tastes foul and this masks the taste of it. Thankfully, I only have one dose of it left!

Three

Being able to breathe again. I didn’t realize how incredibly sick I was until I started feeling better. Last week was definitely scary on that front.

Four

Laura of Coptic Dad and Mom. Girlfriend mothered me by Facebook messenger and email all last week, making sure I was eating and getting medical treatment. Her title “tasoni” means “my sister” and she is truly a sister to me, which I appreciate more than she will ever know.

Five

Jenny Lawson’s tribe. On Saturday, someone tweeted Jenny to say that they know depression lies but they were having trouble holding on. Not only did Jenny respond but so did a number of her readers. This resulted in Jenny’s Easter post in which she invited people to leave their Twitter handles and a description of themselves in the comments. I now have some new friends as a result. 🙂 I am also TOTALLY fangirling over Jenny sending me a follow request on Twitter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go love up Ashley and the others.

{five favorites}: Miscellanea (LVII)

Posted on by

#5Faves

One

Days when I have enough time to crochet. I’m only 13 days behind right now and I’d probably be caught up already if I hadn’t started my temperature afghan in a stitch pattern that was time-consuming. #crocheterproblems #temperatureafghan

Two

This man. A Kenyan Muslim man who was shot while trying to protect Kenyan Christians in an attack on a bus by Al-Shabab died today from his injuries, a month after the attack. He was truly a hero and his family hopes that his death will inspire Kenyans to live as one community regardless of religion.

Three

Sleep. I am not getting enough of it these days due to a certain young man who has decided that 1 a.m. is a superb time to wake up, party, and demand milk or cheese. He also intensely dislikes hearing the words “no” and “go back to sleep”. Hmph!

Four

The idea of voting for the president in the style of the TV show Survivor. I broached this idea in a thread on the Facebook of one of my younger cousins. Basically, every candidate would be split into teams (let’s mix up members of the political parties for fun), live communally, participate in legislative challenges that would show whether or not they actually grasp basic governmental/legislative/judicial knowledge, and then the country gets to vote one off each week. Who knows? We might actually end up with a president that everybody likes and who actually knows what they’re doing. 😉 (And yes, I *LIKE* President Obama and I’m suggesting this… though it’s mostly to knock blowhards like Trump and Hillary out of the race.) #Bernie2016

Five

Pesto bagels with garlic shmear. This is my happy food from the local bagel shop. It doesn’t pair well with coffee but it makes an interesting lunch.

Go love up Ashley and the others.

7 Quick Takes: Temperature Afghans, Chuck Jones, and Why I Don’t Homeschool Daniel

Posted on by

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Temperature afghan progress. My yarn finally arrived yesterday and I did all the calculations on how many to chain for the correct width for this pattern. Let me tell you… it’s so much easier to chain 402 stitches in groups of 16 than it is to count to 400 and then have to put stitch markers in various places! (Don’t worry — I just counted to 16 every time and then counted the stitch markers, 25 in all, plus the two extra chains for turning.) I’m in the part I hate most right now (the first row) but when I’m done with that, things will be a lot easier!

The chain last night with stitch markers:

The chain with stitch markers.

The first row (yarn is Herrschner’s 2-Ply Afghan Yarn in “Forest”):

Row #1

What I have left to do on the first row:

What I have left on Row #1

— 2 —

Beep-beep! I did not know that Chuck Jones had 9 sacred rules for every episode with Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner. This explains *SO* much.

— 3 —

The immigrant experience. Reddit users were asked what the most pleasant surprise they experienced when they came to America as immigrants. Here are their answers.

— 4 —

A political sign I can stand behind. Godless in Dixie shared this on Facebook and it cracked me up!

Anyone but Trump 2016!

— 5 —

To the twits who give me a hard time for not homeschooling Daniel. Seriously, I still get people asking me why I don’t homeschool Daniel because he’s autistic. For the last time…

#1: I don’t have a degree in education with specializations in special education and rare conditions. I believe that whoever is teaching my kid needs to have a 4-year college degree in the subject and the specialized knowledge to do so. (Most of the people I know who turned out brilliantly from being homeschooled were that way because their parents had college or graduate degrees which gave them the mindset and skills to teach them well. I’ve also seen some people come out almost completely illiterate when the parents have barely a high school diploma and decide that it’s enough to be able to teach their children.) This would apply even if Daniel was neurotypical — I’d still send him to school because… I DON’T HAVE AN EDUCATION DEGREE.

#2: I have the patience of a Marine drill sergeant. Can we say “not a good combination with a kid who does not respond to conventional tactics”?

#3: I am a serious introvert and already am pretty taxed by the amount of intensive time I spend with Daniel and what that time constitutes. You can’t give what you don’t have and if I don’t have some Daniel-free time to myself to recharge (even if that means I’m working a 9-5 job outside of the home), I have a really hard time being the mom I need to be. I’m good with spending time away from my kid — it means I get to miss him a little bit and it makes the time we do spend better.

— 6 —

For those who love to read. There’s a reading group over at Liturgy of Life and it looks interesting. I’ve got too many balls in the air to participate but I wanted to put it out there for those who are interested.

— 7 —

Because Geraldine is AWESOME. For those who are into yoga and fitness, go read this. You will die laughing.

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

{five favorites}: Miscellanea (LVI)

Posted on by

#5Faves

One

My temperature afghan yarn. I finally have it in my hot little hands!!! *bouncebouncebounce* I’ve got the scheme worked out and I’m doing my least favorite part: chaining and the first row. My pattern involves stitch sets so I’m having to count off a specific number of stitches and put a safety pin to mark the stitches. Once I’ve gotten a couple rows in, it will be easier.

My yarn for my temperature afghan.

Two

Coffee. Given that it’s an El Niño winter, I’m waking up with a decent headache every morning. (Weather changes are one of my migraine triggers.) This is not making me happy but my daily coffee does.

Three

The Rose Ensemble. I have seriously fallen in love with this ensemble from the Twin Cities. So much pretty music! So much academic background! This is one of my loves right now:

(It’s a medieval hymn to St. James sung on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Campostella. #musicgeek)

Four

This bedtime checklist for toddlers. It also exists in our house except that it involves requests for cheese and milk. While I’m not a fan of negotiating with terrorists Daniel, giving in to that one means I don’t get woken up at 3 a.m. with requests for food… most of the time.

Five

Viperkeeper. This is probably the worst thing for me to watch to fall asleep because of my fear of snakes but it’s so darn entertaining!

Go love up Ashley and the others.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: January 3, 2016

Posted on by

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY January 3, 2016

Outside my window… dark and showering a little bit. It was sunny and 61F when I went to church and $tarbux with Rebecca today. It got grey later on when the storms started rolling in and we ended up getting some sprinkles. The fun is supposed to be Monday night into Tuesday. Bring it, El Niño!

I am thinking… about the temperature blanket I’ve planned to do. Herrschners hasn’t shipped my yarn yet so I might have quite a bit to make up when it finally does arrive! I’m thinking I’ll do either this pattern or this pattern as I’ll have 366 rows plus edging to do!.

I am thankful… that my kiddo went to sleep around 7 and has largely stayed asleep. It meant that I could get my mom’s help in getting the fleece cut for my dad’s Christmas present which will be tied on Tuesday while I’m sitting and meeting with someone.

In the kitchen… I’m feeling so crummy from this mutant death cold and fibro flare (because nasal congestion is just so much more enhanced with moving fibro pain, right?) that I just heated up some frozen pizza. Thankfully, I didn’t have any eating resolutions for the New Year!

I am wearing… my Run for the Little Flowers shirt and black sweats. (They’re my jammies tonight.)

I am going… to go back to watching Viperkeeper videos when I finish this post. Well… it’s either that or draft one on Titus 2 women.

I am wondering… if I’ll be able to make the necessary appointments for Daniel and I this week or if I’ll have to take the kiddo to Urgent Care to get more Adderall. (Our insurance changed and I spent the afternoon of the 31st working out who our doctors will be because all the ones near me or admit to my local hospital that are on Santa Clara Family Health Plan aren’t taking new patients.)

I am reading… Parchment and Old Lace by Laura Childs. After that, I’ll tackle A Lesson in Hope by Phillip Gulley. Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber is on hold until I get through all the stuff from the library. Thankfully, it’s mostly essays so it’s OK. *pets my e-reader*

I am hoping… I win at least extra stars in the Starbucks for Life contest.

I am looking forward to… Bible study with my ladies on Thursday and the Eucharists for Epiphany on Wednesday.

I am hearing… silence as Daniel is asleep, my mom is asleep (though her TV is on), and Dad is at the other end of the house watching something on PBS.

A Daniel story for today… When the kiddo wakes up after falling asleep on the heating vent, he’ll crawl into bed with me; and for some odd reason, his feet have to be touching me for him to sleep… and they’re usually cold! As a result, I’ve been having to make kind of a blanket fortress to protect myself and keep myself warm.

Around the house… the painting continues. Mom got her bedroom closet done this weekend.

A favorite quote for today… “Praise youth and it will prosper.” — Irish proverb that I think is very true, especially after hearing some of my husband’s former parishioners grousing about “young people” in his last parish. (The “young people” in question were 50-60 years old!)

One of my favorite things… uninterrupted sleep. I rarely get it these days.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Target and errands tomorrow, long drive for a meeting on Tuesday and possibly Knit Wits, Epiphany worship on Wednesday, Bible study and choir on Thursday, doctor’s appointments at some time during the week, and a games night with friends on Saturday. Oh yes… the kid goes back to school on Tuesday which is a good thing — he needs more structure than I can give him, especially when I’m this sick and barely able to adult on my own.

A peek into my day… Daniel asleep on me right before our trip to Washington for Christmas

Daniel sleeping on me.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.