Category Archives: Faith

7 Quick Takes — Reformation Day, NaNoWriMo, and Anything Else That Comes to Mind

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7 Quick Takes

I was a bit enamored with baseball last week so I think this Quick Takes might just combine two weeks into one. Seriously though, it was an awesome World Series and I’m glad St. Louis messed with Texas and that David Freese was MVP.

— 1 —

Reformation Day was Monday. It’s the 494th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing the 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. (Yes, I’m linking this on a Catholic blog. I’m Lutheran, so deal with it!) It’s the closest thing Lutherans have to a Catholic saint’s feast day so we live it up. (Yes, we like the saints. We revere them. We’re not so big into asking them for intercession though.) Since we observe it on the Sunday preceeding October 31st, the altar is red/white which led to some jokes this year about it being a celebration of the Cardinals winning the World Series. Here’s a link to some Reformation Day humor. Keep in mind that all these things are meant to be tongue-in-cheek.

— 2 —

I’m on track to win NaNo so far. I’ve made my minimum word counts each day and am trying to actually go slightly over so that I have a cushion on days when writing that much isn’t possible. I don’t have any 8 hour drives coming up so I should have plenty of writing time.

— 3 —

Plotting for NaNo is a little harder this year. I’m trying my hand at general fiction and this means not having people to kill off like I would in a murder mystery. (I’d do a murder mystery but nobody has pissed me off enough to want to kill them… yet.) Ideas are always welcome.

— 4 —

The creative killings for charity are back again this year. Make a food pantry donation, let me know where you made it, and tell me how you want to be killed off. I’m jen at grace-filled dot net. The only rule is that there can’t be any ritual cannibalism, galatining, or anything too gruesome. We’re killing people creatively for fun here, not for a slasher horror competition.

— 5 —

I’m trying out PangurPad this year. So far, I’m kind of unimpressed. It’s not letting me do any fonts and very little formatting which is annoying me. Then again, I have a free account for NaNo and I doubt they’re rolling out the good stuff for someone who isn’t paying for it. A founding membership is only $45 AUD which is $46.79 USD and it’s a one-time payment so I may consider that if I win NaNo this year.

— 6 —

Daniel was Pooh Bear for Halloween. I seriously should have done a dry run with getting his costume on because it took tears on his part and almost on my part to get his head through the zipper hole. He was very cute though and we had a good time. The only problem was that we ran out of candy and I had to raid his stash to take care of the last trick-or-treaters. (On the other hand, it got rid of some of the candies I hate.)

Pooh Bear

— 7 —

I just looked over and saw that Jon had gotten horse shampoo for himself at the dollar store. When I questioned him about it, he said he liked what it promoted: longer hair. (For the first time in his life, he has more hair than I do.) He’s asked me to stock up on carrots and oats. I’m getting scared…

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

Massive Major News

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Daniel has been walking with his physical therapist for about the last month, the last few weeks holding on to an object in the false idea that he’s holding on to something to help him balance. (Think Dumbo’s feather.) Well, he walked all by himself with S (his physical therapist), Jon, and I following him. I thought that this is great but it would be awhile before he walked on his own and of his own intention.

Well… last night, he just walked over to me. He let go of whatever he was holding and walked by himself. (Yes, I know he’s 2.5 years old and most kids walk by the time they’re 1.) This is massive major news for us and a BIG development toward him being independent and catching up with his peers. I am so incredibly thankful to God that we’ve FINALLY hit this milestone. Granted, he’s not doing this 100% of the time… but he can!

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: October 24, 2011

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY

Outside my window… sunny and in the 70’s.

I am thinking… that it’s almost November and we need some cooler weather and maybe even some rain.

I am thankful… that Daniel is taking his nap.

In the kitchen… nothing cooked yet though I’m sitting here eating garlic-stuffed olives from WinCo.

I am wearing… black shirt and Jon’s Left Behind shorts.

I am creating… NaNo plots and the second half of the super-secret crocheting project.

I am going… to Bible study tonight.

I am reading… Shirt of Flame: A Year with St. Therese of Lisieux by Heather King.

I am hoping… that it’s a quiet week.

I am looking forward to… heading to San Jose for the weekend.

I am hearing… Catholic Weekend on iTunes. I’m their token Protestant listener.

Around the house… floors to clean.

One of my favorite things… Crystal Light lemonade.

A few plans for the rest of the week… Daniel’s therapies, errands, and heading to San Jose on Friday.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing… Daniel at the pumpkin patch yesterday.

Daniel at the pumpkin patch.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

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.

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.

The Downsides of Political Involvement for Me

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If you know me, you know that I am patently anti-Tea Party (silly hobbits), would rather chew ground glass than vote for any of the GOP candidates in the field, wish that the GOP would at least *try* to put up someone that’s 180 degrees from Sarah Palin (why the heck did they put her on the ticket in 2008 — she screwed any chances of McCain being elected), and have to turn off the TV when Senator Mitch McConnell comes on because I have severe temptation to throw heavy objects at it whenever the [insert words not printable on this blog] opens his mouth. This means that I am, like, totally stumping for Obama, right? And I’m totally going to put one of his 2012 bumper stickers on my car? And I’m going to bring Daniel down to the local campaign headquarters to answer phones and do whatever needs to be done?

Ummm… no.

While I can’t fathom how any of my parishioners can call themselves Christian and vote Republican, they are entitled to the right to do so and they do pay Jon’s salary. They are the people who I can’t afford to piss off right now so there’s a lot of smiling and nodding and removing myself from political conversations that takes place. Not attending worship (combination of two year old plus fibromyalgia plus no cry room) makes that somewhat easy in that I only deal with the women once a month and there hasn’t been a political conversation thus far at those gatherings.

So why am I not more forthright in my support of Obama? Again, we have some die-hard Republicans who think Fixed News FOX News is the Gospel and I’d prefer not to piss them off. Otherwise, I’d totally be rocking a hash-tag t-shirt and have Obama’s 2012 bumper stickers pasted all over my car.

Oh yes… I thought this was interesting.

Oh… are the comments disabled? Oops!