Category Archives: Faith

7 Quick Takes: School Enrollment Woes, the Latest Disrespect Toward Black Women, and Books to Which I Look Forward

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Srsly?!?!?!?! San Jose Unified sprung a new requirement on me: a TB test for Daniel. Apparently, they (not every other school district) require it of kids transferring from outside the district. I get it (sort of) but it seriously would have been nice to know that BEFORE TUESDAY. We found a CVS Minute Clinic and got it done this week but it knocked off our ability to enroll Daniel by a few days.

— 2 —

Prayer Request. I have an enrollment appointment with the district tomorrow morning at 8. Could y’all please pray that they’re happy with all my documentation (especially since Daniel’s withdrawal form may not be what they want)? He has to be enrolled before they will even look at his IEP and determine placement. I’m also praying that wherever he gets assigned has an autism program because a special day class (SDC) doesn’t guarantee that the teacher has any experience with autism.

— 3 —

WTF?!?!?!?!?!?!? Here’s the video and commentary on the young African-American woman who was thrown to the ground and handcuffed in South Carolina. She had just been orphaned and was acting out by refusing to put her cell phone away or let the teacher confiscate it. Still, that was no excuse to have the police called, be thrown in her desk to the floor, and then be dragged across the room with her desk to be handcuffed. Seriously, I question the humanity of anyone who can justify all of that!

— 4 —

Sage advice. Dear Abby answered a non-believing teenager in Alabama who was pondering becoming Christian to fit in. My take on her answer: brilliant. (HT: Friendly Atheist)

— 5 —

Seriously looking forward to this! I’ve known Maria through various channels for a couple years now and am *seriously* looking forward to her book on saints. I encourage you to check it out.

— 6 —

Fighting the fearmongerers. There is a new book called The Fear Babe: Shattering Vani Hari’s Glass House that takes down the Food Babe. Given that I’ve seen only a handful of Hari’s schlock and she makes me stabby, I’m seriously looking forward to reading this.

— 7 —

Why I don’t watch daytime TV. My mom told me today that there are some anti-vax groups that are taking out ads on daytime TV to spread their deceit.

…

Because, you know, none of the people in these groups actually *REMEMBER* a world with measles outbreaks or serious widespread fear of polio because… THEIR PARENTS VACCINATED THEM!!!!! Why the fur would anyone *willingly* choose to subject your kids to these diseases?!?!?!?!?!?

VACCINATE YOUR FREAKING KIDS!!!!

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: October 27, 2015

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY October 27, 2015

Outside my window… dark as it’s 1 a.m. Temps have been summery though.

I am thinking… about the things I need to do tomorrow to start building Daniel’s support issue in San Jose.

I am thankful… that the first part of the move and the 7 1/2 hour drive are over.

In the kitchen… Dad brought home Hawaiian pizza for me. I’m thankful to be done fasting from gluten!

I am wearing… Momcat shirt and navy/white striped pj bottoms.

I am going… to hopefully be able to sleep soon.

I am reading… Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson.

I am hoping… that my call to Social Security goes well tomorrow.

I am looking forward to… church on Sunday at ECA.

I am hearing… silence.

A Daniel story for today… he woke up to find himself alone in his bedroom tonight around 10 so he went and climbed into bed with my mom. Thankfully, she found it cute and I was able to settle him back on his bed.

Around the house… painting and decluttering going on.

One of my favorite things… the song “God of This City” by Bluetree. The Chris Tomlin version is sub-par.

A few plans for the rest of the week: un packing, enrolling Daniel in school, and getting services for him transferred up here.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Thoughts While Trying to Get My Kiddo to Sleep…

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Dealing with SSA is an occasion of sin for me. Every so often, the Social Security Administration makes people receiving SSI prove that they qualify medically (what… you thought “SSA” was “same-sex attraction?) so I spent the better part of two evenings filling out a ton of paperwork and copying about 50-100 pages of documentation to send in to their office in Pomona. The 50-100 pages of documentation are the assessments and IEP from March because it’s a triennial IEP. (Every three years, they do a whole new battery of tests to see if an IEP is really necessary. In Daniel’s case, that would be a resounding “YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”) I couldn’t fit the documentation in the envelope they sent so off to the post office for a Priority Mail envelope I went! The good thing about using them: I can track it to make sure the SSA office received it as I’m completely convinced from past experience that their mailbox is connected to a paper shredder with all the paperwork they lose! (Currently, it is sitting at the sorting center in City of Industry.)

— 2 —

I resonate with this. A friend sent me this article on how doctors take women’s pain less seriously. I’ve had several ovarian cysts and on a scale of 1-10, the pain is an 11. It is seriously the worst pain I have ever had and required Demerol to even remotely touch it. (Waking up after abdominal surgery is a 7.) Anyway, I agree — doctors do not take our pain seriously and I say this having a fairly high pain tolerance. This might also be why many doctors think fibro pain is imaginary.

— 3 —

Prayer request. My dear friend Mandi is in the home stretch of her pregnancy and I would like to ask if you’d please pray her through. Thanks!

— 4 —

Srsly?!?!?!?!? I’ve had a couple of friends whose younger sisters have gone through this. I get the need for modesty but subjecting young women to a hem test like this one is just wrong. Equally if not more wrong were some of the adult comments.

— 5 —

What are the odds??? All three radio stations I listen to on a regular basis (Air1, NPR, and a classical station) are having their pledge drives right now. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I could afford to give to all three, I would totally do it just to make the madness stop!!!

— 6 —

Prerequisite baseball take. So… THE METS KNOCKED THE DODGERS OUT OF THE PENNANT RACE LAST WEEK!!!!! The Mets also just took the National League pennant. (I feel that any news about Dodger losses trumps any other baseball news unless it’s the Giants winning.) I haven’t even looked to see who the Mets will play!

— 7 —

I’ve been saying this for a while… Yet another person talking about the movement of my peer group to more ancient forms of worship. Not all of us want rock n’ roll!

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

#5Faves: Miscellanea (L)

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#5Faves

One

Canticle of the Turning. It’s on of my favorite newer hymns and it probably doesn’t hurt that I like the folk song from which its tune comes.

Two

Concerts with my father-in-law. I’ve been blessed to be able to attend a lot of different classical concerts in the area because of escorting my father-in-law. It has ranged from the select choirs at the Claremont colleges to lunchtime harp recitals to Claremont Symphony Orchestra concerts such as the one we attended last Sunday. These are definitely not concerts I would have attended on my own, so I am incredibly grateful to my father-in-law Ray for helping me expand my taste in classical music.

Three

Early music with harps. Another pretty one by la harpe de melodie. This one is “O Viridissima Virga” by St. Hildegard of Bingen.

Four

Jenny Lawson. I am so incredibly thankful for Jenny Lawson, a.k.a. The Bloggess because she is giving mental illness a face and her latest book is educating people about what it looks like. As one dealing with depression and an anxiety disorder, I appreciate this more than most.

Five

The hymn tune “THAXTED”. It comes from Gustav Holst’s orchestral suite “The Planets” and is the tune for “Jupiter”. I think I’ve only sung it once in church but you tend to hear it a lot in British choral music.

Go love up Jenna and the others.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: October 19, 2015

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY October 19, 2015

Outside my window… gray. It’s been sprinkling on and off which is making me happy. I’m hoping for a serious El Niño this year!

I am thinking… about the changes coming up this next week and what I have to do this week to prepare.

I am thankful… for the rain and the cooler weather.

In the kitchen… veggie chips and pub cheese from Trader Joe’s.

I am wearing… blue-green shirt (the color of my eyes) and jeans. As usual, I have bare feet.

I am going… to have a lot of errands tomorrow morning.

I am wondering… about some things going on in my life.

I am reading… still Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson.

I am hoping… for a smooth week this week.

I am looking forward to… the Fall Fundraiser for church on Saturday night.

I am hearing… Daniel bouncing on my bed.

A Daniel story for today… his doctor prescribed Clonidine for him to help calm him down at night and it’s such a small pill that I tried putting it in a little bit of peanut butter to see if he could swallow it that way without me having to grind it into powder. Mission accomplished. 🙂

Around the house… windows open and fans on. It’s gray outside but it’s still humid and warm.

A favorite quote for today… “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” — Robert Frost

One of my favorite things… carrots and garlic hummus.

A few plans for the rest of the week: errands and packing tomorrow, Bible study and packing on Wednesday, packing on and possibly soccer practice on Thursday, errands and packing on Friday, and possibly soccer and Fall Fundraiser on Saturday.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Mining My Links Collection and a Post-Season Baseball Take

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Very interesting. My priest’s husband shared this article on Facebook and I thought it was worth sharing. If Oklahoma City can lose a million pounds, what is stopping other cities with at-risk health populations from doing the same?

— 2 —

#MedicatedAndMighty Because there is no shame in me taking antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds to keep myself healthy and I am not alone.

Me and my meds.

— 3 —

Impressed. I don’t know who shared the Fat Girl Running blog with me; but dang it, y’all need to go read it and give Mirna some love. She is freaking amazing!

— 4 —

Holy frivolous lawsuits, Batman! Did you hear about the woman who sued her 12 year old nephew for $127,000 because he was overly effusive in greeting her when he was 8 and accidentally knocked her down and broke her wrist? I mean, he injured her so badly that this “severely disrupted her life in Manhattan” and she was at a party the week before where couldn’t hold her hors d’ouevres plate. Yeah… I’m thinking she’s childless because HE WAS 8 YEARS OLD!!!!!

— 5 —

Prerequisite baseball take. The Mets play the Dodgers tonight in LA to determine who gets to go on and face the Cubs. Go Mets! #BeatLA (Bummed that the Cards were knocked out by the Cubs but I’ll live.)

— 6 —

Calvinism humor. Jessica posted this link to a page about the warning signs of adult onset Calvinism. This is totally tongue-in-cheek and scarily reminds me of some people I knew in college!

— 7 —

IKEA contest. I saw this IKEA contest in my email and wanted to share. I’m probably going to enter a recipe my dad made for my mom when they were dating. (They’ve been married for 43 years.)

— Bonus —

Link-toberfest: Week 3. Kelly’s bonus question this week is: “Who is your favorite blogger that you discovered through Quick Takes?” She shared me as hers and she is definitely mine — as she said, we’ve bonded over the struggles of special needs parenting, I love her off-the-wall sense of humor, and the fact that she doesn’t gloss over the good and bad in her life. She is very truly the definition of “authentic”. I also am pretty sure that there isn’t a place that can contain all the AWESOME if the two of us get a chance to meet. 🙂

Some others who make my favorites list are… Kathleen (another mama who I defer to when it comes to parenting a kiddo with special needs), Jeanne, Angie, Thomas (not blogging these days as being the dad of twins occupies his spare time), Emily, Kate, Jessica (a fellow CofE person and southern Californian), Beth Anne, Mandi, Bonnie, Jennifer (I prayed Joshua home), Marie, Bobbi, and so many others. My Bloglovin overflows on Friday because of Quick Takes! 🙂

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

#5Faves: Miscellanea (XLIX)

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#5Faves

One

la harpe de melodie. This is the YouTube channel of a woman who is a fabulous harpist and vocalist. From what I can tell of her channel, she does Celtic music and early/medieval/renaissance music which are two of my favorite genres. Here are two songs I am liking after discovering her only 15 minutes ago.

Two

My mom. She made sure I got some down time to watch NCIS and crochet this weekend as well as backing me up with Daniel when needed.

Three

This piece on the Rosary. This piece in America magazine resonates with me though I am more introverted when I pray. I have a full Catholic rosary in my purse from Sara, a chaplet from Rebecca that I use on my walks when I pray, and a couple Anglican rosaries from my priest and from a class I took at church during Lent. I find that the beads help me to focus and pray when I need to not be distracted. I am using the Jesus Prayer more often than the Rosary these days but both provide me with words for prayer when I have none.

Four

Sara Groves. I first heard of her on Valentine’s Day 2008 when I was driving to work and listening to Your Network of Praise. It seems like every time I find a new song that seems to describe my life, she is singing it. She has also teamed up with International Justice Mission, one of my favorite charities for advocacy purposes. Her website is here.

Five

Words with Friends. It’s brainless enough to let me think through things while I play and I enjoy trying to put together fabulous moves.

Go love up Jenna and the others.