Category Archives: Personal Issues

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: March 9, 2015

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY March 9, 2015

Outside my window… dark. As usual, I’m blogging after midnight. My excuse this time: working on taxes.

I am thinking… about what tomorrow has in store for me.

I am thankful… for the Turbo Tax Home/Business and how it saves me at least $100 every year from not having to pay someone to do my taxes and being able to get my refund immediately (or at least know what I have to render unto Caesar).

In the kitchen… chicken over quinoa tonight.

I am wearing… light grey v-neck shirt and black capri sweats.

I am praying for… a call for Jon, various people per one of my Lenten disciplines, and for a bunch of special intentions.

I am going… to Target in the next few days. It’s probably good I get all the 5% pharmacy reward cards from them for refilling my legion of prescriptions because I give them a healthy chunk of change every week.

I am wondering… how long it will be until Daniel sleeps through the whole night in his own bed without one of us bunking with him.

I am reading… Crouching Buzzard, Laughing Loon by Donna Andrews. I read and finished The Penguin Who Knew Too Much this past weekend.

I am hoping… to be able to sleep soon. I just made myself some peanut butter and bananas and I’m hoping it makes my hunger pangs go away.

I am looking forward to… seeing what people bring for midweek Lenten soup supper on Wednesday night.

I am hearing… Daniel snoring softly.

Around the house… silence as everyone is asleep other than me.

A favorite quote for today… “Christ, who came on earth to teach the ways of sanctity and prayer, could have surrounded himself with ascetics who starved themselves to death and terrified the people with strange antics. But his apostles were workers, fishers, publicans who made themselves conspicuous only by their disregard for most of the intricate network of devotions, ceremonial practices and moral gymnastics of the professionally holy. The surest asceticism is the bitter insecurity and labor of the poor. ” — Thomas Merton

One of my favorite things… peanut butter and bananas.

A few plans for the rest of the week: taking my father-in-law to chemo tomorrow (today?), church stuff on Wednesday, a meeting with the school psych at Daniel’s school on Wednesday morning, and whatever else comes up.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: A Somewhat Better Week

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Daniel’s IEP. Daniel’s IEP meeting was yesterday and it was the triennial one so there was a pretty significant amount of testing done. I learned that I should have really pushed for more OT and PT when he was in preschool because they’re still working on a lot of foundational skills and he is still pretty delayed. He’s doing some normal kindergarten work but he has the potential to get behind his age group peers so I’ll be working with him on age-appropriate curriculum when he comes home from school so that they can focus on catching him up in other ways.

One thing everyone mentioned: how sweet he is, how happy he is, and how compliant he is. It’s not a guarantee with a lot of autistic kids so I’m pretty thankful I have a sweet one.

— 2 —

Sweetness. I missed Bible study on Wednesday because I woke up with a migraine and when I walked into the midweek Lenten soup supper, some of the members hugged me and told me that they had missed me that morning. It’s so nice to be loved because I’m Jen and not just because I happen to be married to the pastor. It’s also nice to be welcome to do what I want instead of what people thing the perfect pastor’s wife should do.

— 3 —

Gah. Daylight Savings Time starts on Sunday. Does anyone else hate this weekend of the year besides me? Let the sleep deprivation begin (or continue if that’s the case for you)!

— 4 —

PSA on the current challenges to the Affordable Care Act. The challenges to the Affordable Care Act before the Supreme Court are not just an attempt to get rid of the birth control provisions. It would roll back care for people like me who cannot get healthcare except by the public exchanges. While Covered California’s website is a piece of crap, the insurance I have is covering all of my medications which are for things that are hereditary and things that arose as complications from my pregnancy with Daniel. It could also mean that insurance companies would not have to cover maternity care which would screw just about every woman who has a baby because none of their prenatal care would be covered as well as the hospital bill from the birth. Seriously, I cannot understand how politicians who are pro-life and against birth control can support this because what it’s doing is giving women another reason to consider abortion.

As far as the federal subsidies in question, they exist for people in the 34 states that have refused to set up exchanges where people can buy insurance. My insurance is subsidized currently because of my income and without that subsidy, we couldn’t afford insurance. (We qualify for Medi-Cal but the system is so overtaxed and for some incredibly stupid reason, the plan we were assigned has no doctors within an hour’s drive of us.)

I’m seriously not trying to start a fight here or play one political party against another — I’m trying to get people to see that this issue does have a face and said face is me.

— 5 —

Spring is here. It’s in the 80’s here today. While I miss four distinct seasons (and I’m sure people in New England and places in the southeast with the ice storm are wanting to throttle me right now), it is kind of nice to have flip-flop weather.

— 6 —

My baby is growing up. The changing table/dresser we had for Daniel was pretty much irrepairable and he had outgrown his toddler bed so we disassembled both of them on Monday for a dump pick-up on Tuesday. We’re now using one of the dressers in the room that he’s occupying and we’ve got the futon pulled out so he has a full-sized bed. It was sad in a way because he will probably be our only child and this means that his “baby years” are over, even though he’s definitely not functioning at an almost six year old level these days.

One downside for the cats: Freya now doesn’t have a perch where she can snoopervise the neighborhood and watch birds. She has taken over my desk but I can tell that it isn’t the same for her.

— 7 —

Adorableness. One last cool thing from my Confirmation on Sunday: since the bishop was present, we had festival-level worship which meant that we had flags and incense in addition to the normal crucifer and torchbearers. Incense in worship means a thurifer (to swing the thurible with the incense) and a boat boy to carry the boat (bowl with the incense). The thurifer was one of the young fathers and the boat boy was his oldest son who I am guessing is probably 6 or 7 years old. It was seriously adorable to see the two of them together!

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

#FiveFaves: Miscellanea (XXIX)

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#5Faves

One

Veronica. She designed a coat that converted into a sleeping bag… and then started a company to give jobs to the homeless that the coat was designed to help. Eschet chayil!

Two

“Immanuel” recorded by David Wesley. I am seriously addicted to this song by Stuart Townsend and I love how David sets it.

Three

Midweek Lenten soup suppers. I never turn down food that I don’t have to make myself. (Actually, I *did* make the cookies for it tonight, but I think y’all know what I mean.) The fact that it also means being able to hang out with my very awesome fellow parishioners is bonus.

Four

My local Trader Joe’s. If any of you are anywhere near Claremont, please go and shop at the Trader Joe’s there. Daniel is a person to them and they addres Continue reading →

7 Quick Takes: An End to an Intense Week

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

The color of the dress. There was a debate online today about the color of the dress that someone posted on Tumblr. (Here’s a link to one of the articles on it for those who are interested.) The answer: it’s blue/black or white/gold depending on the light and angle at which you are viewing the picture.

— 2 —

Thank you. Thank you to those who have emailed or messaged me on Facebook over the last few days to express your condolences on the deaths of Trail Kitty and Cullen. It means a great deal to me. I think I’m dealing better with Cullen’s death than Jon is because I was present for it and I know he didn’t suffer. It was also the humane thing to do because apparently, he was having problems moving.

I am eternally grateful to Audrey, the woman who adopted my boys, because she’s given them a wonderful retirement home as they are now retired church cats. She lives in a retirement community for church workers so it is definitely fitting.

— 3 —

Midweek Lenten Soup Suppers. For those of my readership who are Catholic or Orthodox, a number of liturgical Protestant denominations have midweek Lenten soup suppers where people sign up to bring soup and other people bring salads and desserts. (My husband’s internship supervisor commented on Ash Wednesday 2003 that “Catholics fast, Lutherans eat.” At my Episcopal church, 4-5 people sign up to bring soup (homemade or store-bought — both are acceptable), 2 people bring salads, 2 people bring bread, and 2 people bring cookies. Last night, we had four options: egg drop, tomato bisque, chicken tortilla soup, and goulash. I went with the goulash as I’m allergic to eggs and the tomato base of the other two doesn’t sit well with my stomach. It was different than the goulash I was picturing — it was macaroni, ground beef, tomato paste, and a little bit of cheese to hold it together. I definitely needed some comfort food and it did not disappoint! We also do “Lenten interest groups” and mine is on prayer, so that was pretty fun.

— 4 —

A “liberal” reason to hate Susan G. Komen. Some of my Catholic friends are against Susan G. Komen because they get funds from Planned Parenthood. Well… now there’s a “liberal” reason to hate them: they’re partnered with Baker Hughes, a fracking company. They made a $100,000 donation to Komen and are passing out pink drill bits to their fracking sites.

If you’re disgusted by this (especially as 25% of the more than 700 chemicals used in fracking are carcinogenic), sign this petition.

— 5 —

An update on the whole “read the Bible in a year” thing. I just got through Leviticus in the Old Testament which was pretty dry and I’m in Numbers right now which is only marginally better. This is probably why my AP English teacher told us to to read Exodus but not take note of all the specs for the ark of the covenant unless we wanted to build one. 🙂 I continue to be introduced to some wonderful Psalms (strangely, there are some I haven’t read before even though there’s at least one in the lectionary every Sunday) and I’m now into Luke’s Gospel in the New Testament.

— 6 —

Update on Lenten disciplines. When my mother-in-law saw me opening the last can of Coke in the house on Sunday, I may or may not have said something along the lines of “Yes, this is a can of Coke. Sundays are mini-Easters. Don’t judge me!!!!” Yeah… I’m doing just *SO* well at my abstaining of Coke for Lent. 🙂 Otherwise, my prayers are at least happening and I’m getting the extra reading done daily.

— 7 —

Keeping myself sane. Megan at Clearing the Sill of the World introduced me to the wonderfulness that is Tim Hawkins 3 Lents ago and I’m re-posting his “hedge of protection” sketch because it’s one of my go-to YouTube videos when I need some levity.

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: February 23, 2015

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY February 23, 2015

Outside my window… sunny but a bit chilly still. It will probably be in the high 50’s today and we have a chance of more rain. Given how completely far behind we are, I say, “BRING IT!!!!” Despite the pain I get from all the weather changes, I really *did* enjoy the rain yesterday and the intermittent downpours last night. My beneficent mother-in-law (who quite graciously watches “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” with my child so I can have a shower and who is also reading over my shoulder) took Daniel to play in the gutters yesterday. The way our cul-de-sac is, they turn into a pretty decent river when it rains and my wee bairn had a blast!

I am thinking… about the tax stuff I’m trying to do.

I am thankful… that Daniel has a 5-day school week again though we’re headed into vacation time and teacher-inservice days next month.

In the kitchen… not sure what I’ll do for lunch. Maybe chicken over quinoa?

I am wearing…my Run for the Little Flowers 5K shirt and jeans. (I also added my UCSC Alumni sweatshirt midway through typing this.)

I am praying for… the Social Security blunders that I’m having to spend time straightening out, a call for Jon, Daniel’s IEP next week, and a bunch of special intentions along with my Lenten prayer practices.

I am going… to call Social Security in a few minutes to yell at them.

I am wondering… if we’ll be getting any refund this year on our taxes.

I am reading… The Hen of the Baskervilles by Donna Andrews. I read and finished Landlines by Rainbow Rowell this past week.

I am hoping… for a good afternoon with Daniel.

I am looking forward to… Wednesday.

I am hearing… various machines and robots cleaning.

Around the house… machines going (dishwasher, washer/dryer, Roomba, Mints…).

A favorite quote for today… “God loves human beings. God loves the world. Not an ideal human, but human beings as they are; not an ideal world, but the real world. What we find repulsive in their opposition to God, what we shrink back from with pain and hostility, namely, real human beings, the real world, this is for God the ground of unfathomable love.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

One of my favorite things… mint and chocolate.

A few plans for the rest of the week: sort out taxes, Bible study/meeting with speech therapy/class/choir on Wednesday, date night on Friday, and whatever else comes up.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Ashtags, Simcha Fisher on Lent, and Ministry Links

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

#Ashtag. Ignoring the naysayers, here is my #ashtag:

#ashtag

Not the best picture of me but it seemed wrong to do any photo-editing to make me appear like I wasn’t exhausted and my hair wasn’t standing on end after being in motion for about 9-10 hours at that point. There was also the fact that I was taking the pic in Daniel’s room with the lights off because I was trying to get my bear child (who was being a holy terror) to sleep.

— 2 —

Lenten disciplines. For Lent, I’ve got the follow disciplines going:

[-] Giving up Coke.
[-] Taking on extra reading. (I’m using this).
[-] Kelly’s discipline for me which is offering up every day for someone including 5 “enemies”. I was already planning to pray for a different person daily as suggested by priest’s wife so this totally works.

— 3 —

I heart Simcha Fisher. Girlfriend has two really good posts up about Lent here and here at the National Catholic Register.

Why do I love her so much? In March 2011 when I was dealing with a critically ill kid in the PICU at UC Davis Medical Center and wondering if I’d ever see my cats or my own bed again, she posted this. The idea of doing extracurricular work at my local Santaria club caused me to laugh so hard I was crying and caused nurses across the floor to congregate in Daniel’s PICU bay.

— 4 —

More Lenten fun. My favorite Jesuit author, Fr. James Martin, linked up a video on his Twitter about Lent and showed various America Magazine staffers as well as Stephen Colbert talking about what they’ll be doing for Lent this year.

Oh… and for those familiar with his buddies telling him what to give up for the last 30 years, this year’s list is: sno-balls, wintergreen flavoring, snow peas, and quinoa.

— 5 —

Understanding introverts. I think I saw this on Facebook but regardless, I think you need to read it. It’s about the things introverts would never tell you and it very perfectly describes me.

— 6 —

A blog post that should be sent to every church looking for a pastor. One of our dearest colleagues from Montana shared this article on Facebook about when churches are looking for a pastor to bring in young families. It says everything I’ve wanted to tell people when they kvetch about how “young people don’t do ________” and they wonder why young families don’t go near their church with a ten foot pole.

— 7 —

Promise Walk. I’m pondering the idea of doing a virtual walk for the Promise Walk this year as the closest one is 2 hours south and on a Sunday. I’ll let y’all know what I end up doing.

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

7 Quick Takes: Things I’ll Be Doing This Weekend Instead of Going to See “50 Shades of Grey”

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7 Quick Takes

I’m pretty sure that dissing “50 Shades of Grey” is going to appear in most peoples’ Quick Takes this weekend. There are already some interesting posts on the subject here, here (warning: some swearing which makes it NSFW), here, and here.

— 1 —

Letting Kelly pick my Lenten discipline. I’ll be giving up Coke, doing some extra spiritual reading, doing some extra praying, and then one more thing that Kelly (our Quick Takes hostess-with-the-mostess) gets to pick. She has until 11:59 PST on the 17th to tell me what it is and get supplies for said discipline to me.

— 2 —

Trying to learn all the words to “Baba Yetu” (and how to pronouce them). The utterly amazing Peter Hollens and his friend Malukah covered Christopher Tin’s Grammy-winning composition “Baba Yetu” which is the theme to the computer game Civilization IV. It’s the Swahili translation of the Lord’s Prayer (or at least most of it). It’s amazing but I do have to work on how to pronounce some of the words. (I’ve learned from previous experience that Swahili is not a language that flows from my tongue well.)

— 3 —

Putting together valentine’s for Daniel’s class. I actually am almost done with these valentines from a free printable created by Amy of Living Locurto. (Go check her out. She is crazy talented!) My thanks go to Ann of House of Estrogen who featured them on her blog 4 years ago.

— 4 —

Reading Unvirtuous Abbey’s Twitter stream. If you haven’t read the Twitter stream of Unvirtuous Abbey, stop whatever you are doing and click on their name!!!! They are irreverent and funny in ways that only Canadians can be.

— 5 —

Listening to David Wesley. If you’re a fan of Peter Hollens, check out David Wesley. He does amazing acapella mixes of popular worship songs. My props to priest’s wife who introduced me to him.

— 6 —

Bonding with family. My sister-in-law Joanna, her son Patrick, and her mother-in-law Margie are coming up tomorrow to spend the afternoon with us for Valentine’s Day. I need to put together the Valentine’s Day present I have for Patrick — I’ve got some squeeze pouches of applesauce from Trader Joe’s and I’m going to put a wrap on them with his picture and some heart stickers. On his picture will be some text that says, “You are my main squeeze.”

— 7 —

Dreaming of the pedicure I’ll be getting with the present Jon gave me for Valentine’s Day. Jon has two weddings on Saturday (and probably turned down ten more) so we did “date tea” instead of doing a date night on Saturday. We went to $tarbux and Jon got lunch (a grilled cheese sandwich and passion tea lemonade) while I got my iced vanilla latté and some marshmallow dream bars. His present to me was a gift certificate for a mani-pedi which will probably be a pedicure with extras given that regular nail polish doesn’t stay on my fingers well. (My present to him was some special coffee and moscato from Trader Joe’s.) It will be nice to be able to have some pampering that isn’t usually in the budget these days.

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