Category Archives: Faith

What I Wore on Sunday: Mother’s Day 2013

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What I Wore on Sunday

The pastor’s wife managed to make it to church! Wooohooooo!!! This has been a rare event this year due to Daniel being sick, me being sick, Daniel being in a mood, and me being my normal insomniac self. Two weeks ago, I planned to go but my little alarm clock let me sleep until 11:00… when church was over. (How Daniel slept in and let me sleep that long boggles my mind.) Last week, I was with my parents and probably could have gone to the church I attended in high school and on breaks in college but Daniel would have complicated things. This week, I was awake on time and determined to make the effort to go.

So… Daniel was a muted version of himself. He was content to go open and close the bathroom doors and the sanctuary doors and thankfully, he can do that quietly. Yes, it’s not ideal and yes, it does disturb some people but I’m blessed to have a congregation who is chill with that (for the most part) if it means that he and I are in church. Metanoia peeps, I love you muchly. (Metanoia is my codename for the congregation Jon pastors.) Having an usher who is beyond awesome and willing to keep an eye on Daniel so I can sit and maybe participate in some of worship was good.

So here are the pics:

Daniel and I.Another attempt that captures my muffin top and shoes.

I posed with Daniel because cooperative cats were in short supply. (I think Edda was in her cell meditating as she is the abbess.)

The details…
Shirt: Foot Locker
Skirt: Hand me down from my sister-in-law
Flip-flops: Old Navy

Daniel is dressed in a shirt and shorts from Kohl’s which were a gift last year from a neighbor of my in-laws.

A close up of my flower:

My Mother's Day flower

All the mothers at church received them today. They were crocheted by one of the women in the church (who is the closest mom to my age) and they are beautiful.

Before I go, please go read this by Kelly @ This Ain’t the Lyceum which is making me want to fly to New Jersey and bow down and kiss her feet.

Finally, go love up the other beautiful women at Fine Linen and Purple.

Five Favorites: Miscellanea (II)

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Five Favorites

Ko

Because “House M.D. is off the air… I am reading through the archives of Dr. Grumpy in the House. He’s a neurologist and talks about his more… interesting patients as well as reporting on boring medical symposiums, stupid criminals, and interesting war anecdotes.

Bi

Old Navy flip flops. I am a BAD pastor’s wife because I’ve worn these to church on a few (OK… MANY) occasions because I’m having to chase a 4 year old around. It’s also what I wear a lot of the time when I don’t have running shoes on and I can’t be barefoot. (I’m in a perpetually discalced state most days.)

Old Navy flip flops

Hiru

Louise Penny. I discovered one of her latest books randomly at the library and immediately checked it out to read. It takes place in a monastery where one of the monks has been killed over the chants they do every day as part of their daily prayers. Penny manages to write with a chiaroscuro-like view where you see both the inner darkness of the person as well as elements of light. It’s what makes her novels so excellent.

A Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny

Lau

Frappucino love. Starbucks has a new frappucino or two out these days and I’m dying to try the Caramel Ribbon Crunch one. It’s one where it would have to be my breakfast because of the calories and the fact that it packs 3 meals worth of carbs. I must resist the temptation…

Caramel Ribbon Crunch frappucino

Bost

Arabic Easter song. A friend of mine who is an Orthodox deacon’s wife posted this on Facebook and I wanted to share it because it’s an amazing video. Lebanese Christians are effectively doing a flash mob to sing an Easter praise song which actually sounds less strange to my ears than much of the music coming out of the Antiochian Orthodox churches and the Coptic church. (Sorry Tasoni — I’m still getting used to your church’s music. It’s beautiful but it sounds… different to my Western ears.)

Go love up Grace and the others. Grace is hosting this week while entertains guests and enjoys the chrism scent on Mr. Charlie after his baptism.

7 Quick Takes: Blessings, Wait Wait Cinecast, and a Diagnosis.

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7 Quick Takes

Usually, I’m chomping at the bit to be first. Tonight, that’s not going to happen. I headed to the Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me cinecast tonight which is a birthday present from my AWESOME and WONDERFUL husband Jon who is staying home with Daniel while I go live it up. (My birthday isn’t until the 19th so you have 16 more days to shop! Hint: I love Barnes & Noble giftcards!) I got home at 10 p.m. and decided to take a shower before I got caught up on blogs/surfing/news and it’s 1:30 a.m. as I’m settling down to do Quick Takes (which are usually done in advance).

— 1 —

Orphans. Do you see these adorable kids?

BrettKaia

Brett (on the left) needs a mama and Kaia (on the right) has a family who needs help raising the funds to bring her home. If you can help out at all, click on their pictures. Please and thank you!

— 2 —

Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me cinecast. It was *fabulous*. It was basically the live taping of the radio show but beamed to movie theaters across the country. It was nice to actually see what Tom Bodett looks like, to see Paula Poundstone now 20 years after she used to occasionally be on VH-1, and to watch Mo Rocca who looks so much older than he did in all the “I love the [insert decade]” shows on VH-1. (Yes, I’m aware that it’s been 5-10 years since those were made in many cases). Steve Martin was the special guest and I was a bit underwhelmed by him. Peter Sagal was fabulous and reminded me of a sexy Fortune 500 CEO. Carl Kasell looks elderly but I also remember him reading the news on Morning Edition 30+ years ago while getting dressed in my parents’ bedroom for school while my mom woke up and got ready as well. I’m totally glad I went!

— 3 —

God’s sense of humor. Last Saturday, Daniel decided to take some keys of the keyboard of my laptop while I was in the bathroom dealing with IBS issues. I was able to get most of them back on but some of the plastic pieces were broken so I called HP parts and ordered a new keyboard. After placing the order, I logged into my bank account to transfer funds around because Jon’s paycheck wouldn’t be there until Monday… and found a charge on my debit card for $73 (almost the exact price of the new keyboard) that I hadn’t made. Oh crap! I immediately called my bank and reported it. They were awesome, took all my information, gave me a claim number so I could file a police report, credited the money back to me, and started an investigation. In the meantime, they told me to go to my local branch and get a temporary debit card as mine had been compromised and would need to be replaced. I did have to wait 30 minutes to get a new one (which sucked because my parents were visiting) but I did get some of my murder mystery (A Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny) read and the banker I worked with was helpful. I filed the police report on Monday with my town’s police department and had two excellent officers work with me. My new debit card arrived yesterday and things seem to be fixed for the moment. Meanwhile, I’m having to watch my checking account to see if it has been completely compromised.

Why is this God’s sense of humor? If Daniel hadn’t broken the keys off my laptop, I would never have looked in my account and found the charge and the person could possibly have done worse damage.

— 4 —

Finally! I had to drop pages of health history off with the G-I specialist I see next week this past Wednesday and I scheduled an appointment with my regular nurse practitioner to go over my bloodwork from last week and get back on Singulair because allergies are kicking the crap out of me. Well, last week I had been telling her about all the health issues that I was having and mentioned that my period was being screwy after nearly 20 years of cycles like clockwork (except for pregnancy). She has been suspecting that I have some kind of metabolic syndrome so she added that panel to my lab order. Lo and behold, the panel came back indicating a high likelihood of PCOS which my neurologist (whom I loved and whom I miss a lot) had suspected 5 years ago when she first started treating me. (It was something she picked up on in my health history.) I’m getting in for an endocrinology consult ASAP and will probably also be going to bond with an OB/GYN as well (there will be an ultrasound needed) but it’s nice to know that my inability to lose weight and all that isn’t because I’m lazy — there’s something else going on!

— 5 —

Blessings. Tuesday night, I notice water on the floor of the laundry shed and a load of laundry on Wednesday morning exacerbated it. It was, of course, the morning where I was supposed to be running from 8:30 a.m. until Daniel was picked up from school at 1 p.m. so I expected all this to put hold when I called one of our deacons to deal with it. D, our deacon, cheerfully told me he would be over in 20 minutes and showed up with towels to mop up the water and a bucket to bail the water out of the washer. He took it apart and discovered the issue. While consulting with one of our elders (who used to be one of the deacons), they were en route to a parts store and passed a used appliance place. Well… it turns out that a new used washer was incredibly cheaper than parts and would function better. Our council president went and took care of buying it, the store delivered it, and took the old one away. Meanwhile, D took the clothes that had been in the washer back to his house and washed/dried/folded them before leaving them on our back porch. Given that I was out of clean underwear, convinced that I would have to hit up a laundromat, and deal with that plus Daniel, I was almost sobbing with gratitude to have clean clothes and most importantly CLEAN UNDERWEAR!!!!!! I thanked D profusely over the phone and told his wife M at dinner (it was Ladies’ Night Out for church) how incredibly grateful I was to her for D and how wonderful her husband is. Thank God for wonderful deacons and elders!

— 6 —

Promise Walk for Preeclampsia. You’ll see me start publicizing my Promise Walk in a few weeks but today, I’d like to draw your attention to my dear friend Kate.

Kate and Gus

(I stole this picture off her participant page. Kate, if you want a different one, email it to me and I’ll replace it post-haste.)

Kate is one of the reasons I’m involved with the Promise Walk. She’s heard me talking about my experiences with preeclampsia/HELLP Syndrome and her recognition of her symptoms meant that they were able to monitor her and she was able to carry Gus almost to full-term(?). Things did go south during his birth and a c-section was needed to keep both of them alive but knowledge of the condition was what saved their lives. She’s participating in one of the walks this year so that other women can be made aware of the condition and more lives can be saved. I am totally proud of her and I’d like to ask you to consider throwing a few bucks her way.

— 7 —

Wedding bells. One of the blessings of participating in the Quick Takes for the last two years is that I’ve been blessed to form friendships online with some pretty amazing women. One of them, Emily of A Day in the Life / Emily Runs / Fine Linen and Purple, is getting married tomorrow after an epic engagement (594 days!). Blessings to you and your beloved, dear one and I really hope that some of the wedding pictures involve a light saber battle because you *are* getting married on Star Wars Day. 😉

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

Five Favorites: Miscellanea (I)

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Five Favorites

Un

TED talk on PostSecret This is just awesome on many levels. Frank Warren talks about how PostSecret started and some of the postcards he received. If you’ve been a fan of it, I highly recommend you watch this.

Dous

Sergio Romo. He’s tied for #1 in the National League for saves. I wish I had a shirt with 54 on it for him because he is awesome.

That's what's up!

Tres

Litany Run. I have mad respect for Jenn for several reasons:

1.) She is dedicating her life to God.
2.) She is running a marathon. This is something I will probably never do given that I can’t run the length of my blog without dying.
3.) Her name is Jenn. That alone makes her awesome.

Jenn the potential Norbertine Cannoness

Y’all need to go sponsor her. Do it now.

Catro

Tostitos Multi-Grain Scoops. I told my IBS to take a hike because I wanted chips and salsa. These seemed like an OK compromise.

Tostitos Multi-Grain Scoops

Coupled with some decent salsa and cottage cheese, I’ve been able to enjoy my chips and salsa with the least amount of… G-I unpleasantness.

Cinco

NCIS. Is anyone who knows me surprised? Last night’s episode was pure awesomeness. Ziva is my homegirl. I heart Gibbs.

Gibbs
(HT: CBS)

My house panther has announced that I’m waaaaaaay up past my bedtime as well as hers. Go love up Hallie and the others.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: April 29, 2013

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY April 28, 2013

Outside my window… dark. It was in the 90’s today. I will be smacking the next person who denies climate change.

I am thinking… that in response to people posting about homeschooling their kids to keep them away from “godless liberals”, I totally want to respond by saying that I’m sending my kids to public schools to keep them away from the people saying those things. I almost want to get a shirt that says “I’m the godless liberal your parents warned you about.”

I am thankful… for the water fight and tickle fight I had with Daniel today and in general I’m thankful for his laugh.

In the kitchen… nothing from scratch. Must fix that.

I am wearing… blue v-neck shirt and capri sweats.

I am creating… nothing yarn-wise but always coming up with plot things for NaNoWriMo.

I am going… shopping tomorrow for toiletries and trying to figure out something to cook that I actually want to eat.

I am wondering… how to post something on Facebook calling out those who are posting partisan and factually incorrect things and telling me that I don’t know that I’m talking about because I give in to the “liberal media”. Riiiiight… the fact that I have a B.A. in Religious Studies focused around comparative religon and part of a Masters in Theology can’t mean that I actually know what I’m talking about, right? (Not to mention that one of the things that they’re making factual inaccuracies about is one of my areas of specialty.)

I am reading… Just finished The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. She is amazing when it comes to the chiaroscuro of the human soul. Next book will be Death by the Dozen by Jenn McKinlay or possibly taking Maphead by Ken Jennings back up.

I am hoping… my allergies/cold/crud is on its way out.

I am looking forward to… Ladies’ Night Out on Wednesday.

Around the house… clean thanks to having company on Saturday and a young mom in the congregation to come and clean for me. (I pay her well and she is the reason I’m functional.)

I am pondering… how someone could have gotten my debit card number when I’m fanatical about keeping it secret. Thank God I was checking my account online and caught the bogus charge.

A favorite quote for today… “Why I often find myself at such cross-purposes with the modern world: I have been a converted Pagan living among apostate Puritans.” — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… making a good play on Words With Friends.

A few plans for the rest of the week: shopping tomorrow and possibly filing a police report, Morning Prayer and NCIS/NCIS:LA on Tuesday, Ladies’ Night Out on Wednesday, watching the cinecast of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me on Thursday, and possibly a trip to San Jose this weekend.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Insane Fast Food Creations, Murder Mysteries, and the 2013 All-Star Game Ballot

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

20×20. If you know what In-n-Out Burger is, you know that you can get some rather interesting combinations on their “secret” menu. I know my brother ate an 8×8 (8 patties and 8 slices of cheese) once and I guess the most that has ever been allegedly ordered is a 100×100. I found an account of someone who bought (and ate) a 20×20. I was pondering the sheer number of calories in that so I looked up the nutritional information and by subtracting the calories in a regular cheeseburger (480) from the calories in a double-double (670), I came out with the number of calories per extra cheese/patty (190). I multiplied that by 19 (getting 3610) and added the calories in the cheeseburger (480) back in, getting a total of 4090. Given that the estimate I saw on the 100×100 from Eat This, Not That was 19100 calories, I think this is probably pretty close to accurate.

It’s also no longer possible to order something like this — they capped the limit at 4×4 because they were getting some really bizarre orders.

— 2 —

All-Star Game ballot. The ballot for the 2013 MLB All-Star Game is out. I thought I’d link it here so you can all go vote for San Francisco Giants players. In case you need help doing this, here’s a list:

1st Base: Brandon Belt
2nd Base: Marco Scutaro
Shortstop: Brandon Crawford
3rd Base: Pablo Sandoval
Catcher: Buster Posey
Outfield: Gregor Blanco, Hunter Pence, and Angel Pagan

— 3 —

More fun Amazon.Com reviews. Apparently, people haven’t seen enough hilarious Amazon.Com reviews because this one was shared on Facebook on Wednesday. Even better, the things that “other customers viewed” are other joke Amazon.Com reviews.

— 4 —

Contemporary Worship Humor. Priest’s Wife shared this on Twitter this week:

It’s hysterically funny because it’s so true. I could walk into Bayside Church or any of the other megachurches in Sacramento and I could find a copy of this.

— 5 —

Orphans. Do you see these adorable kids?

BrettKaia

Brett (on the left) needs a mama and Kaia (on the right) has a family who needs help raising the funds to bring her home. If you can help out at all, click on their pictures. Please and thank you!

— 6 —

Mysteries. I’m currently reading A Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny and it’s her normal excellence. It’s hard to find a suitable adjective for the feeling that her mysteries evoke. It’s “dark” in the way that dark chocolate (with a high percentage of cacao) and I guess “somber” is the other adjective. She’s a crime writer in real life and she does an excellent job of portraying the darkness of our souls. Is “chiaroscuristic” a word? That’s probably the best term.

— 7 —

Prayer request. I am in allergy hell at the moment because every freaking plant is reproducing and we’re having lots of wind which is blowing it around. I’m not sleeping well because my face is congested, I’m coughing up nasty looking things, and the congestion is giving me wicked headaches. Could you please pray for some relief from it for me? Thanks!

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

Five Favorites: Stupid Things People Say When I Tell Them That I’m A Pastor’s Wife

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Five Favorites

If you didn’t know, I’m married to a Lutheran pastor. Most people either know this or smile and nod politely but it causes some people to say some pretty *interesting* things. Here are the five most interesting ones that I remember, three that are reactions to hearing that I’m a pastor’s wife and two that are stupid things people have said because of who I am.

One

“So this means you can have sex, right?” This was said to me at 2003 at a visitation for a parishioner who had passed away by a co-worker of the parishioner’s son. I was standing in the funeral home next to the church in some fairly conservative clothes with my husband and his internship supervisor next to me. My response: “I really hope so.” The person walked away and I remember seeing my husband’s internship supervisor’s face turning an interesting shade of purple and his eyes almost popping out of his head. Apparently, this was one of the more interesting things he had encountered at a funeral visitation.

Two

“Does this mean that you’re a nun?” This was said to me by a Lutheran kid at a Lutheran church camp. (I point out that it was a Lutheran setting because our clergy are almost always married.) Apparently, he really hasn’t paid attention in church because I knew his pastor and said pastor is very much married with kids who are my age!

Three

“But you don’t look like a pastor’s wife!” One of my former co-workers said this during my second week of work when I came to work wearing my “Pastor’s wife of an LQPV Eagle” sweatshirt. (LQPV is the local high school in the area where my husband served his first parish.) Apparently, I’m supposed to be old and wear long dresses or denim jumpers or something??? I mean… I did the long dresses and skirts but apparently I don’t fit the stereotypes otherwise?

Let’s now just go into stupid things people have said to me because I was the pastor’s wife.

Four

“You’re a pastor’s wife! You’re supposed to be holy and doing the work of God’s church!” This was said to me by a 90something parishioner in Minnesota when I told him that he couldn’t just walk into our parsonage unannounced. It had been a week since I had undergone a laproscopic cholecystectomy (“lap chole” for short — gallbladder removal) and I was walking around the upper floor of our parsonage in my sports bra and running shorts, so I was a bit panicked when the front door suddenly opened and I heard someone calling out, “Pastor?!? Mrs. Pastor?!?” Thankfully, one of our elders was nice enough to go talk to him and explain politely why this wasn’t allowed. He was more amenable to him explaining it than the 25 year old pastor’s wife.

Five

“You’re a pastor’s wife. You can’t drink alcohol if you’re out at a restaurant.” This was said to me by one of my “special” people in Montana who decided that she needed to lecture me about my appearance and my reputation when she saw me out shopping in sweats. What she didn’t know: I never drank alcohol around parishioners and I hadn’t had a drink in probably… over a year at that point because my liver had a death wish and they had to scrape scar tissue off of it when I had my lap chole. (I’m also the world’s cheapest drunk so it wasn’t a stretch to give up drinking.) She felt that she had a duty to lecture me about my reputation and standing as a pastor’s wife which meant that she would criticize everything I did, regardless of whether or not everyone else approved of me.

Go love up Hallie and the others.