Category Archives: Media/TV

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: November 14, 2011

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY November 14, 2011

Outside my window… night and supposed to be a bit chilly.

I am thinking… that I’m pretty exhausted even though it’s only 7:05 p.m.

I am thankful… that “Hart of Dixie” is on tonight.

From the learning rooms… speech therapy today.

In the kitchen… potato soup at some point this week.

I am wearing… black Arabic shirt and blue striped pajama bottoms.

I am creating… my NaNo piece and some prayer shawls (the secret came out).

I am going… to hopefully grab a shower tonight.

I am wondering… how awful a person’s life had to be for them to shoot and wound a CHP officer and then be shot by cops for refusing to show their hands. (Story here.)

I am reading… still Shirt of Flame by Heather King though I did just finish Time Crunch by Diane Mott Davidson.

I am hoping… we can get some occupational therapy rescheduled this week.

I am looking forward to… Thanksgiving with my parents, brother, and sister-in-law.

I am hearing… Daniel’s LeapPad and “Willa’s Wild Life” on TV.

Around the house… just did a sink of dishes. More to do once those dry. I really want an automatic dishwasher.

I am pondering… plot things for my NaNo piece.

One of my favorite things… “Hart of Dixie” on the CW. I wish it was 2 hours long or that I had the season on DVR because it’s a great show in which to lose myself.

A few plans for the rest of the week… physical therapy tomorrow, peds appointment on Wednesday, WIC and nutritionist on Thursday, and hopefully some reading time on Friday.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes — Purging My Brain

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7 Quick Takes

This is a week of quick takes for purging my brain, It’s been crazy here and I have too much ruminating in my head.

— 1 —

I’m almost done with Shirt of Flame: A Year with St. Therese of Lisieux by Heather King. It’s been an interesting read and I have 3 chapters (October to December) to go. I highly recommend it as I believe King stays true to the spirit of St. Therese’s writings. I got mine from Barnes & Noble though Amazon also has it and has a Kindle version available.

— 2 —

NaNo has been going well. I’ve been able to keep up with my word counts though I need to find some things for my characters to do. This is my first year of writing straight fiction instead of a murder mystery so it’s been interesting.

— 3 —

We’re prepping for Daniel’s yearly IFSP. “IFSP” stands for “Individualized Family Services Plan” and it’s essentially an IEP for the Regional Center in California when they’re providing early intervention services for kids like Daniel. It involves reports from his occupational, physical, and speech therapists as well as a status report on where things are medically. The meeting with our case worker from the Regional Center is the 22nd and I’ll be doing LOTS of cleaning before that.

— 4 —

My Christian witness is being completely eroded by having to drive in Sacramento. OK… not just Sac but also around town. We’ve got teenagers who are under the mistaken impression that they are the only ones on the roads, people who drive according to the rules of their country of origin, and the traffic mess that are the Tuesday and Wednesday markets. My horn has become my friend and I’m having to force myself not to use my driving finger. Geez… I live in a bedroom community of Sacramento, not a third world country.

— 5 —

We’re getting back to normal in terms of Daniel’s bedtimes. During the week Jon was gone last month, he got used to staying up late with me. It’s taken about a month to get him back to normal and the days when he doesn’t nap are actually the ones where he goes down with less of a fight. We’ve also learned that after his story and prayer, he’ll stay calm if we put some classical music or instrumental hymns on. (I recommend “Guitar Prayer” which is put out through GIA Music.)

— 6 —

I am seriously in love with “Hart of Dixie”. I wish we had it on DVR so I could watch hours of it on end. Oh well… I could probably go onto the CW website and do it. Still, I find myself wishing that each episode was two hours long because I find myself getting lost in them.

— 7 —

I was totally amused by CBS actors/actresses taking over Facebook and Twitter this week on the day of their big shows. My favorite was probably Mayim Bialek talking about her character and how it worked out. She’s actually a neuroscientist in real life and they actually changed the character of Amy Farrah Fowler to reflect that.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

7 Quick Takes — More of the Same

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

I need to apologize to someone. Elia of ConservaMom has been referring to the Occupy protesters as “dopes” and instead of just ignoring her site and not reading it (which is what I do when I come across sites that make me want to throw things), I left a really terse comment. She responded to all my points more gracefully than I deserved and I owe her an apology for the comment I left. Elia, I’m sorry. In the future, I’ll just skip her blog on the Quick Takes list. I also still resent her calling the Occupy protesters “dopes” but it’s something on which I’ll have to agree to disagree with her.

— 2 —

The shots of Morgan at the end of CSI this week reminds me of the way I feel like I look at the end of the day. For those who aren’t CSI addicts like I am, she had been in a helicopter that had been hijacked and shot down. There are a lot of days where I feel like I’ve had all those things happen during the day. Yes, I’m a stay-at-home mom and yes, I only have one child. However, Daniel isn’t your normal child and I feel like I’m constantly on my toes trying to reinforce what we do in therapies and also trying to keep the “terrible two’s destructiveness” to a minimum.

— 3 —

KFC has a new famous bowl which features bacon and cheese. I can’t believe people eat stuff like this. It’s mashed potatoes, chicken, cheese, and bacon in a bowl. They were talking about it on KLOVE on Wednesday with people calling in and playing “can you top this?” with worse foods. One mentioned was on the Denny’s menu and it’s a patty melt with mac n’ cheese in it. My dearly departed gallbladder is seizing in a specimen jar someplace.

— 4 —

Speaking of food, I made quinoa for the first time this week. For those not in the know, it’s a “pseudo-cereal” grain-type plant from South America that is a complete protein and has a number of nutrients like iron and calcium. It looks like birdseed and it has a nutty flavor that’s kind of like that of some wild rice components. Daniel didn’t care for the texture though I ate it quite willingly. (I had made my family’s chicken recipe and the sauce will make anything taste good.) I’m scanning all my recipe websites for other things to do with it because it’s not something that would work with pesto. (The grains are too small — it really does look like birdseed.)

— 5 —

I’m currently reading Shirt of Flame: A Year with St. Therese of Lisieux by Heather King. I’ve gotten partway into the introduction and I think I’m going to have to read the chapters in their entirety like I would an essay. It’s so new that it’s not available for my e-reader so I have an actual paper copy. (I like my Nook but I also love real books.)

— 6 —

We have a new speech therapist for Daniel. His former speech therapist is having surgery so Easter Seals put us with a new one. She’s a sweetheart and just engaged Daniel in whatever he wanted to do, which was putting things into a sorter and opening/closing the doors of it. (I learned the signs for “open” and “close” today.) It was educational for me because it showed me that I need to stop flipping out about Daniel not engaging and going with the program. As my mom reminded me, these therapists get paid to do this and it’s not the first time they’ve dealt with an obstinate child. His new therapist is also just going to piggy-back on whatever we’re doing in other therapies.

— 7 —

I have had to change some of the names in my NaNo piece to protect the stupid. If I were to ever edit my piece and submit it for publication, I would have to go back in and redo all the names of the stupid people because I based them on the initials of the real life people from whom I was drawing the inspiration. (Believe me… there could be some really good slander suits if the real life people could reasonably connect themselves to what I wrote.) So… I’m having to go back into my plans and do a “find and replace” — I just wish OneNote gave me the option to replace whatever I found.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

Reflections on Tonight’s Episode of “Harry’s Law”

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Yes, I’m aware that it’s technically Sunday morning. Deal with it.

Baseball has taken over FOX (meaning that I can’t watch COPS on Saturday nights) so I was surfing around and found “Harry’s Law” to be an acceptable substitute. The main case of the episode was involving a girl who was being held criminally liable for a classmate’s suicide. The blogger (Sela) had posted that her classmate was gay, had called her names, and had called on her classmates to be “tuna helpers” and nod to let this girl know that they knew that she was lesbian. Said girl killed herself by car exhaust poisoning. The jury finds Sela not guilty of being criminally liable for the death but it takes Harry (Kathy Bates) pointing out that the lesbian girl had pretty much had to keep her sexual orientation a secret from everyone including her family/friends/church. Harry also points out that it’s the mean people in media who get the attention.

It was interesting casting because Camryn Manheim played the prosecuting attorney. She’s known for playing characters that aren’t the norm. She’s a huge advocate for gay rights, fat acceptance, and generally the rights of women. (She’s also a UC Santa Cruz alum. Go banana slugs!) Given her work on “The Practice”, she was the perfect choice.

One of the main issues was cyber-bullying and the fact that there have been a rash of suicides resulting from it. Nobody can say that Sela was out of line in what she posted and the Camryn Manheim character accuses her of recruiting her classmates to torment this girl. She has a snark blog and by being a snark, she gains some popularity. It’s kind of a reminder that our words have consequences and we can unintentionally cause someone’s life to fall apart by what we write.

My first inclination as my blog is a form of therapy is that I should be able to dump all my feelings here and people need to suck it up. I may criticize people in the media (example: my intense dislike of our former president) but I never go after people in my real life. There are several reasons for this: in order for this blog to be therapeutic, there has to be somewhat of a disconnect between it and my real life; and in many of the places Jon served, what I wrote could have been influential or it could have really screwed him as things did in 2005 when people got together and cut-n-pasted my blog entries together. (I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if they could have gotten into the passworded stuff.) Basically, things work better when my readers aren’t living in my community and part of my every day life.

Having said all that, I would never advocate the kind of things that Sela did on her site. My faith would preclude that kind of thing and honestly, it would really ruin things for Metanoia and their community outreach. Being a pastor’s wife, I do represent the church whether I like it or not and whether I’m intentionally trying to represent or whether I’m being my usual hermit self. If I was still living in Montana or Minnesota, the kind of stuff that Sela did would be a BIG DEAL because it dealt with someone’s sexuality and identity. In northern California, being gay is not a huge deal (even in the smaller town in which I life) and I can’t see that someone coming out or not coming out would be a big deal. (I can think of five or six things that rank higher on people’s minds.)

Truthfully, I’m also just not that popular or widely read. It isn’t like what I write is stirring people to political action or causing people to vote a certain way. The only thing I might do is increase advocacy about a cause or issue.

/ranting and reflection

7 Quick Takes: NaNoWriMo Prep and Alone with the Kid

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7 Quick Takes

Jon was in St. Louis for a denominational pastor’s retreat so I had Daniel by myself this week.

— 1 —

Bathroom breaks were a privilege this week and showers were a luxury. Daniel was a little clingy. I’m usually home with him during the day but he knew that Jon was gone and I think he was a little afraid of me leaving as well. We’d play the “knock knock” game where I’d be in the bathroom and knock on the door. He’d knock back and this would let him know that I was still here. However, I didn’t get a shower until his nap on Wednesday. That night, he puked on me (as well as pretty much every surface in the house) and managed to remove the faucet head for the hot water in the bath/shower. I had to make do with Clorox wipes to clean myself up.

— 2 —

Daniel walked the length of the driveway TWICE while holding on to a leaf. His physical therapist calls this “Dumbo’s feather”. (I haven’t seen “Dumbo” in 20+ years but I guess he could fly while holding on to a feather?) Basically, he can balance and be confident if he has something in his hand, regardless of whether it’s actually helping him balance. The key now is to build his confidence so that he can do it without holding something.

— 3 —

The hardest time this week has been bedtime. Jon usually puts Daniel to bed while I chill, crochet, and/or work on NaNoWriMo prep. With him gone, I’m the one putting him to bed and his bedtime seems to coincide with my 9:00 shows. We watched “Hart of Dixie” together on Monday and “He-Man” last night. When Jon called to read Daniel his Winnie the Pooh story, Daniel gave me a look as to say, “Woman! You’re disturbing ‘She-Ra’!” (“She-Ra” comes right after “He-Man” on Qubo Night Owl.)

— 4 —

The NaNoWriMo is updated for the event this year. This is good because it forced me to get my mind back on my novel and choose a title. Given that I don’t have enough hatred built up to do a murder mystery this year, it will be chick lit. (They actually have “chick lit” as a genre on the NaNo website which kind of scares me.)

— 5 —

One of the corporate sponsors for NaNo this year is PangurPad. I’m sure that PangurPad provides great software and I may try a trial membership with them; but that isn’t the reason why they are unbelievably cool. The reason they’re that cool: their name comes from the 9th century Old Irish poem written by an Irish monk about his cat Pangur Bán. Why yes… I am that kind of geek. What was your first clue?

— 6 —

I’m taking requests for gratuitous killings again. (Sorry to Pisco and Anita — I didn’t get you killed off last year. I’ll kill you for free this year unless you want to donate to the cause.) I haven’t decided what the charity donation will be but I’ll announce it on this page as soon as I decide on one. (For those who haven’t read my blog during a NaNo attempt before, I’ll kill you off in the creative way you choose in exchange for a charity donation of some kind. One year, we did food bank donations and last year, it was to Daniel’s band for March of Dimes.)

— 7 —

I think we’ll have another He-Man/She-Ra marathon tonight. I’m sleep-deprived enough that I don’t know if I can deal with Daniel refusing to go down again (Thursday night) so I’m willing to wait until Jon gets in and can put Daniel down himself. This might mean some Qubo Night Owl watching but I think Daniel will probably consent to cuddle during that. He’s the age I was when He-Man was popular in the first place.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

7 Quick Takes — Miscellaneous

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7 Quick Takes

I was thinking about themes for this week and decided to just go with miscellaneous things on my mind from the last few days.

— 1 —

For those who homeschool, may I *HIGHLY* recommend Postcrossing.Com as a way of supplementing geography instruction? The premise is simple. You sign up for an account and put in it as much personal information that you want to reveal, any preferences you have for postcards, and then you click on “send a postcard”. It gives you the name of someone in the world who has also signed up and you send them a postcard. Once that person gets the postcard, they register it and your name is given to someone else for them to send you a postcard. As an example, my profile is here. I even have one set up for Daniel if you want to see what a child’s account could look like. It’s been amazing to be part of this and I’m putting the ones for Daniel in an album for him to have when he’s older. I’ve also sent quite a few postcards to people who register their account for their family (i.e. “The Johnson Family” instead of “Bob Johnson”).

— 2 —

We’ve been getting our first rain of the fall this week. Despite the fact that the pressure changes can be migraine triggers for me, I’m loving this. I just kind of wish that the rain was beating on the windows instead of dripping from the carport. This weekend is supposed to be “good” weather though. I’m hoping for no temperatures above 75. This is October, for crying out loud.

— 3 —

Is anybody else irritated with seeing Christmas stuff in shops? OK… granted it was Michael’s and crafters have to get a leg up on Christmas but I’m going to be very stern and flustered if I see it anywhere else. Oh yeah… I also had to switch the CD playing machine off of Christmas music at Bed, Bath, and Beyond last Saturday.

— 4 —

“Hart of Dixie” is proving to be a pretty good series. The last CW series I liked or even really watched (because CW wasn’t part of cable or satellite when I lived in Minnesota and Montana) was “7th Heaven”. I can identify with Zoe feeling like a fish out of water and wanting to know what to do to fit into the town. I’ve had that everywhere I’ve lived and one of the things I learned to do was to do what the people do. I crafted with the women in the area every Tuesday morning in Montana until I got my job at UPS-SCS and I went to basketball games at the high school in Minnesota.

— 5 —

I ended up making the best pizza on the planet last Friday night. My parents and evil twin were joining us for dinner and there wasn’t going to be time for everyone’s pizza to cook on the pizza stone on the barbecue so Mom and I just baked ours in the oven. Tomatoes can incite IBS in me (it’s a 50/50 shot) so I eschewed tomato sauce in favor of homemade pesto, mozzarella cheese, feta, and black olives. The crust was the bulk mix from WinCo and it ended up being some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. And for the record, there is no such thing as too much pesto. Just wanted to make that last thing clear.

— 6 —

According to CNN, Bank of America is defending their “right to make a profit”. This is true — they have a right to make a profit. I also have a right not to bank with them. 🙂 My own bank (Wells Fargo) is trying out new fees on accounts as well. There are a number of banks doing this because new regulations cut into their profit margins. An alternative is to bank with a credit union.

— 7 —

I’m still standing with those protesting on Wall Street. I’m aware that protesters are being arrested and some of the arrests are due to them doing things like blocking off the Brooklyn Bridge or jumping over barriers. There are some unwarranted arrests and police officers using unnecessary force but it would be wrong of me to say that it was all the police’s fault and that the protesters are completely blameless.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

7 Quick Takes — Whine and Maybe Some Cheese

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7 Quick Takes

Hopefully, I’m at the Sacramento Zoo as most of you are reading this and we haven’t had to cancel again due to weather. The Sacramento Zoo trip is on!

–1–

I got my flu shot on Wednesday. (I also keep being tempted to add an “e” to flu.) It was my annual exam and they were already doing unpleasant things to me so I figured that one more wasn’t going to make the occasion any less wonderful. At least mine is out of the way now and I can focus on making sure that Jon and Daniel (especially Mr. No-Immune-System-To-Speak-Of) get theirs.

–2–

I probably could have avoided going in for my annual exam. One of the FNP’s at the practice (which is huge — 12 providers) had called in a year of refills on my birth control pills. (We’ve been through this.) The only reason I’m so good about going in for my annual exam is so that said doctor will refill my birth control. After all, I believe that I should be monitored by a doctor if I’m going to be on a medication like that. It was so tempting though to cancel the appointment because the refills were called in anyway… (Can you tell how much I hate my annual exam?)

–3–

I hate Lion Brand Homespun yarn. If the super-secret project(s) I’m working on didn’t call for it, it would still be in its bin at Michael’s. The only benefit is that it crochets up relatively fast. (I’d post pictures except that people close to the recipients read my blog and I don’t want the secret to get out.) My doctor did also criticize my mad crocheting skillz.

–4–

Crocheting with fibromyalgia is an adventure. I have a prayer team dedicated to praying for my joints as I work on these projects. So far, I’ve been amazingly lucky and the arthritis in my right thumb isn’t messing with things too much. I have to be aware of what I’m doing as far as my wrists, fingers, and elbows but my thumb has behaved.

–5–

I still haven’t caught an episode of The Biggest Loser this season. Tuesday has become NCIS night for me and I’m too addicted to switch. I’ve been meaning to catch The Biggest Loser online but haven’t yet. Uff da!

–6–

I have a strange craving for Brie on crackers. (I needed some cheese with my whine, right?) Seriously, I do crave Brie right now. I could theoretically pick some up at Trader Joe’s (along with some crackers) but I haven’t because I don’t usually think of it while I’m there. There’s also the lactose-intolerance issue and the fact that it would probably cause some major IBS issues.

–7–

I’m craving stinky cheese in general. If I had my druthers and could eat anything in the world without gaining a pound or adding to my liver damage, I’d be noshing on some Pub Cheese and vegetable chips from Trader Joe’s. *sighs*

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.