Category Archives: Personal Issues

Five Favorites: Dental Work Coping Mechanisms

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Five Favorites

I had to have dental work done today so these are my favorites related to that.

One

My mother-in-law. She took care of getting Daniel off his bus today as I was at the dentist’s office and she took Daniel out with Jon a bit ago so that my father-in-law could have a nap and I could lie down and deal with the headache from my jaw being propped open for 2 1/2 hours.

Two

My dentist. She is a lovely Iraqi woman who wears beautiful scarves… and her concern today was to put me in the least amount of pain possible. I was supposed to have a root canal and two fillings (broken tooth that formed a food trap) but the broken part didn’t extend down to the nerve so she didn’t want to mess with it. Instead, they shaped it for a crown and did the two other fillings. I’m grateful that she has this attitude because it means my bill will be much lower and I’m not in as much pain.

Three

My 6 year old iPod nano. I charged it for the first time in 4 years today (haven’t had to use it since 2010 because it was mainly what I used to listen to music at work in Montana) and spent most of my time in the dentist’s chair listening to Bach and classical music from various iTunes playlists on my computer.

Four

Aleve. I’m not having serious pain right now. Granted, it’s early yet but the numbing is almost gone from my jaw and I don’t have more than a headache.

Five

Jamba Juice. I needed something I could just drink for lunch today and the smoothie I got had the right combination of protein and carbs. It allowed me to have something on my stomach so I could take the Aleve and the cold was therapeutic.

Go love up Heather.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: August 31, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY August 31, 2014

Outside my window… dark. It was seriously hot today — 96F.

I am thinking… about the Victoria Osteen debacle and the various quotations from Luther’s works that apply.

I am thankful… for my mother-in-law letting me sleep in the last few days because I’ve been up dealing with a sick kid or on-call in case we have to do an ER trip.

In the kitchen… clean. I just loaded the dishwasher.

I am wearing… my MomCat shirt and black capri sweats from Lands’ End. I generally write this at night and these are usually my sleeping clothes.

I am praying for… Mary of Passionate Perserverance as she and her husband make decisions regarding their daughter Courtney.

I am going… to hopefully catch up on sleep tonight.

I am wondering… about a number of things in my life that I can’t talk about on here.

I am reading… Gone with the Win by Mary Daheim — it’s one of her B & B mysteries so it makes fun of a number of Seattle institutions and landmarks. I finished up all the scrapbooking mysteries by Laura Childs and have ordered all of the Cackleberry Club books of hers from the library.

I am hoping… to have a good day with Daniel tomorrow as he’ll be off school for Labor Day. We might hit up the mall to go for a walk.

I am looking forward to… my dentist appointment on Tuesday, hoping that we will get me into an endodontist with all possible speed to fix my broken tooth and end my jaw pain.

I am hearing… Mary of Passionate Perseverance doing her “Coffee for the Heart” video from this past week.

Around the house… quiet — I’m the only one up.

A favorite quote for today… “The Christian says, ‘Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or to be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that country and to help others to do the same.”

One of my favorite things… ice. Chewing it numbs my jaw a bit.

A few plans for the rest of the week: dentist appointment on Tuesday morning, doctor’s appointment for Daniel on Tuesday afternoon, and whatever else comes up.

A peek into my day…

Daniel in his school shirt.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: The Exhaustion Fairy Visits, Scrapbooking Mysteries, and Back to School Night

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Brett. The seriously good news: HIS FAMILY IS FULLY FUNDED AND CAN BUY THE PLANE TICKETS HOME! After two years of praying for him, this is amazing news. God willing, his adoptive family will send me updates on how he does.

— 2 —

Kindergarten. Daniel is in his second week of school and seems to like it. I’ve run into a couple of his aides while out and about and they are in love with him. His transportation is worked out as of last Friday and I think today was the first day he didn’t get on the bus in tears. (I figured there would be a week of adjustment that way.)

— 3 —

Back to School Night. Jon and I went on Wednesday and got almost individualized attention from Daniel’s teacher. Jon was able to network a bit and it was a reminder for me that my kid is not that weird. It was totally up Jon’s alley (he is a people person and a networker) and he actually had FUN at the impromptu PTA meeting afterwards while I curled up into Laura Childs’ New Orleans.

They were talking about Common Core and the implementation at the school. As one who has the possibility of moving between states or halves of states, I’m actually all for the standardization of curricula and we’re being given the chance to review any Common Core curricula that our kids will be using. I know a lot of my homeschooling friends are up in arms over this and that’s understandable; but I’m not finding any problems with any of the material that I’ve seen.

And seriously, our kids are not learning how to twerk in PE like some people have claimed.

— 4 —

Laura Childs. I’m almost completely through her scrapbooking mysteries and have requested her Cackleberry Club mysteries from the library. Yes, she is that good. Her author website is here.

— 5 —

Exhaustion fairy. I somehow missed a dose of medication on Wednesday and had a really bad time sleeping that night so I spent Thursday like a zombie. My mother-in-law took one look at me when she and Jon got home at 6 and ordered me to go to bed. I wrote a couple of these last night but fell asleep typing. I’m still tired this morning but functional thankfully.

— 6 —

Bill Gothard. I’m reading stories on the Recovering Grace website and it’s showing me how much of a bullet I dodged when I converted. I had pen pals who were part of ATI and while they thought I was strange, I’m seeing that they were part of a cult. *shivers*

— 7 —

Bill Cosby and Victoria Osteen. Is anybody besides me convinced that Joel Osteen and his wife are the Christian version of Oprah? (By the way, my church attendance is *TOTALLY* about God, not about making myself happy.)

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: August 24, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY August 24, 2014

Outside my window… dark and cool. A nice change from the heat of the day.

I am thinking… about the errands I have to do tomorrow morning while Daniel is in school as well as the dental work that will be coming up.

I am thankful… for my mother-in-law watching Daniel this afternoon so I could have a much needed nap.

In the kitchen… pesto tortellini tonight.

I am wearing… a plum heather shirt from Old Navy and black capri sweats from Target.

I am praying for… a new parish for Jon, healing for some of the people in my life, and for some special intentions.

I am going… on “epic errands” tomorrow morning.

I am reading… Skeleton Letters by Laura Childs. I’m binge-reading all of her scrapbooking murder mysteries.

I am hoping… Daniel does well this week at taking the bus to school. I’m also hoping that we have the same bus driver as last week because she was very nice.

I am hearing… my girls being nocturnal.

Around the house… silence as I’m probably the only one up.

A favorite quote for today… “Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and go well with ketchup.”

One of my favorite things… ice chips.

A few plans for the rest of the week: working on my proficiencies for ODesk, doing errands as needed, and whatever else comes up. I don’t know that I have any really major plans.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Kindergarten, Grumping, and Murder Mysteries

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Brett His family passed court a few days ago and are now in the 10-day waiting period. They are, however, not fully funded and need $2500 added to their FSP before they can book their plane tickets home. Here is the link to their FSP. Could you please share it on your blogs/Facebook/Twitter and let people know that the number needs to read $13,000? Thanks!

— 2 —

First week of school. In case you missed my post on Monday, Daniel started kindergarten this week and it’s been a mixed bag. We love the school, his teacher, and the aides. What we don’t love: the transportation hell that we’re in. They hadn’t gotten him on any of the class lists last Friday so I had to bring my BINDER OF FUN down to the school to fill out paperwork and give them every recent evaluation of every kind. This also meant that they hadn’t gotten him routed for the school bus… and I’m glad my mom suggested I call and find out. Well… Claremont Unified decided to use their transportation instead of Bonita Unified doing it. On Wednesday, we put Daniel on the bus… which then refused to start. OK… one more day of taking him to school. We put him on the bus again this morning and it was fine… except that they screwed up the pick-up time and Claremont Unified decided not to call Daniel’s school back to let them know that they were dispatching someone. I realized that his bus was in front of me and called the school to tell them not to put him on the bus. The school secretary was spitting fire over the whole transportation screw-up (as I would hope she would be, given that Daniel is non-verbal and people had seriously screwed up) and I got a call from the principal personally apologizing for what happened.

Is all of this making me wish I homeschooled? OH HADES NO!!!!!!!!!!!! I have no regrets about putting him on a bus and sending him to school — I just wish the person coordinating this stuff (the special ed person for Claremont Unified) was actually competent. I’m at the point of asking for her head on a platter and I don’t think the people at Daniel’s school would mind helping me with that! (They’re pissed with her as well.)

— 3 —

Special intention. I had a seriously painful dental appointment today… and it was just the consultation. Blue Shield of California also screwed up my insurance so my dentist can’t even refer me out for treatment because they don’t know what insurance will cover or who of their endodontists I can see. Could y’all please pray that they can get their acts together so the office manager of the practice and I can hammer out a treatment plan on Monday? I’d also love prayers for my headache to go away.

— 4 —

Sleep deprivation. You know you’re sleep-deprived when you swallow your handful of night pills and then realize they were your morning pills for the next day. God willing, I’ll sleep OK tonight…

— 5 —

Baseball. The Giants are only 3.5 games back from the Dodgers right now. They could conceivably take the division if LA starts playing as crappy as they normally do. The Cardinals are also 2nd in their division though it’s fairly close with them and Milwaukee — only 1.5 game back.

— 6 —

Murder mysteries. I’ve gotten addicted to Laura Childs’ scrapbooking murder mysteries about a scrapbooking store owner in New Orleans named Carmela Bernard. There has already been some crossover between these and her tea shop mysteries and I’m wondering if her tea shop people (in Charleston) are going to make a trip to the scrapbooking store in New Orleans or vice versa.

— 7 —

Special intention. Could y’all keep praying for our special intention regarding ministry? Please and thank you!

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: August 17, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY August 17, 2014

Outside my window… sunny and incredibly hot. It was 93F earlier and that’s warmer than I like.

I am thinking… about the messes that I have to sort out tomorrow. There’s the SSI mess, the car insurance mess, and the mess with Daniel’s transportation. I am so NOT happy about this.

I am thankful… that we went to the teacher meet n’ greet on Friday at Daniel’s elementary school — we found out that none of his paperwork had been processed yet so I had to go back over with my BINDER OF FUN and give them copies of Daniel’s IEP, his immunization record, his birth certificate, the most recent school psychologist report, and copies of the most recent evaluations for PT and OT. We also got to meet Daniel’s teacher who was a bit shocked that she now had one more kid in the class. Apparently, her class roster has been shifting around quite a bit and Daniel’s placement in her class on Monday hadn’t reached her yet.

In the kitchen… I had to put the Skittles up high because Daniel was trying to climb on the counter to get them.

I am wearing… charcoal-colored “Strike Out Cancer” shirt from 108 Stitches and khaki shorts.

I am praying for… guidance, the ability to forgive someone, for Daniel’s first day of school, and a few special intentions.

I am going… out to dinner with Jon for his birthday tomorrow.

I am wondering… who put me on the Rick Perry for Governor mailing list. I got an email from Ted Cruz today asking me to stand up with Rick Perry. I traced it and apparently, my email address was put on a Romney for President list without my permission. I was tempted to email them back and tell them that I’d rather chew ground glass than support Rick Perry but that would be wrong. #bluestateproblems

I am reading… Motif for Murder by Laura Childs. My mother-in-law also lent me Designated Daughters, the latest Margaret Maron book, this weekend and I couldn’t put it down.

I am hoping… to get some freelance work once Daniel goes back to school.

I am looking forward to… my dentist appointment on Thursday so that maybe we can get to the source of my jaw pain.

I am hearing… Daniel talking to himself and looking through books.

Around the house… robots vacuuming and cleaning floors.

From the learning rooms… working on writing letters and numbers.

A favorite quote for today… “I have learned now that while those who speak about one’s miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.” — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… ice chips.

A few plans for the rest of the week: taking Daniel to school in the mornings until transportation for the district is worked out, probably dinner with Jon tomorrow night, dentist appointment on Thursday, and whatever else life throws my direction.

A peek into my day… Here’s my “What I Wore on Sunday” picture.

Me pondering the grandfather clock.

Shirt: Old Navy
Skirt: Kohl’s
Shoes (not pictured): Naturalizer

Then there’s the cute little boy who will be starting kindergarten tomorrow…

Mommy loves Daniel. Daniel loves Mommy.

What I Wore on Sunday

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook: August 13, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY August 13, 2014

Outside my window… warm. The city is repaving streets so there are asphalt trucks and workers out.

I am thinking… about Daniel’s IEP this afternoon. His school situation got fixed kind of amazingly on Monday and I’m dealing with someone in another school district who is actually treating me (and Daniel) like a person and not like a problem they’d like to make disappear.

I am thankful… for the weekend with my parents and for drama-free drives up and back by myself with Daniel.

In the kitchen… Jon is making himself lunch. I had elevenses so I’m not thinking about food-type stuff for a few hours yet.

I am wearing… charcoal shirt and tan khaki capri cargo pants.

I am praying for… some special intentions, discernment about our next step in ministry, and that this afternoon’s IEP goes well.

I am going… hopefully nowhere tomorrow.

I am reading… A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren. While I was up in San Jose, I also read a couple murder mysteries: Cutwork by Monica Ferris (meh) and Death by Design, a three-pack of murder mysteries by Laura Childs which was good enough that I just requested the other books in the series from the library.

I am hoping… Daniel takes a long nap so I can get some writing done.

I am looking forward to… going to an ordination on Saturday.

I am hearing the ticking of the various clocks in the living room.

Around the house… quiet as people take naps or read or do whatever.

From the learning rooms… the usual: letters, numbers, writing, days of the week, months of the year, etc. School starts next week for Daniel and I’ll be happy to be done “homeschooling” so I can start focusing on freelance work again to pay the bills.

A favorite quote for today… “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” — C.S. Lewis

I post this one every couple months but it’s one that resonates well with me.

One of my favorite things… a quiet house.

A few plans for the rest of the week: IEP today, some business calls tomorrow, open house at Daniel’s school on Friday morning, possible date night on Friday night, and heading to an ordination on Saturday.

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