Done with My Sabbatical But Still No Laptop

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Jen

Jon has offered his laptop to me until mine comes back from the repair facility. My mother-in-law lent me hers while I was down there so I’ve been able to read the guest posts during my sabbatical. My deepest thanks to Kym, Mandi, and Beth Anne for doing some guest posts while I was with family. I appreciate the three of you so much!

While I was gone…

-I read some good books: Mysteries of the Middle Ages And the Beginning of the Modern World by Thomas Cahill, Death’s Parallel by Oakley Jordan, and the first chapter of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life by James Martin, S.J. (the official chaplain of Colbert Nation).

-I spent some time with family and friends: December 25-28 in San Jose where I spent time with my parents, had coffee with my friend Rebecca, and took some walks with Daniel. December 28-January 2nd was spent in Claremont with my in-laws. I got to see my nephew Patrick (who at 7 months outweighs Daniel at 2 years old — he’s a chubby baby but I also have a seriously underweight child) and some of Jon’s extended family as well as get some rest while my mother-in-law took over Daniel care.

-I’ve been limited in my Facebook and Twitter time which isn’t a bad thing.

-I’ve escalated things with HP to the point where I now have my own case manager. I’m calling them daily to get updates on my laptop since nobody seems to know what’s going on. I think Kelly is right — this is customer service hell!

I uploaded all my text files onto my cloud before I sent in my laptop so I thankfully have everything necessary to participate in memes. Now, I think I’ll go hit up Target for some latches to replace the ones that Daniel has figured out. (Life with an autistic kid is not boring in the slightest.)

Italian Christmas Traditions

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Solstice Sabbatical Bloggers

Thanks Jen for letting me Guest Post during your Sabbatical! Here is another post about Family Holiday Traditions

Growing up holidays were always a pretty big deal. I’m 3/4 Italian. My dad was Italian on both sides and my Mom was 1/2 Italian (her mom was Italian and her dad was English)..but lets face it 90% of the traditions she has are italian as her grandma also lived with them most of her life. My great-grandparents were never divorced but lived separately for MANY years…my grandmother was very Catholic and was of a generation that didn’t believe in divorce.

Every Christmas for as long as I remember we’ve made the same things. Italian Cookies, Butter Cookies, and homemade Raviolis. And every year when we make them we tell stories of how my grandmother and great grandmother used to make them differently. Several years ago my Aunt made everyone a binder of all my great-grandmother’s christmas recipes we use it every year.

This year was no different. We made Italian Cookies.and as my mom iced them we joked about the way my great grandmother used to take a knife and individually ice each cookie…and we are way too impatient for that and just dunk the cookies into the icing (it’s a very thin icing).?Some years we went to NY to visit relatives and my cousins and I would make the cookies together. This year we exchanged text messages and photos of our cookies.?
All of our cookies:?The way we make Ravioli’s has changed since my great-grandmother’s time. She used to use nothing but a rolling pin and a pasta board….yeah we tried that once and didn’t get very far….we now use the pasta attachments for the Kitchenaid (and let me tell you what used to be an all day affair is now done in less than 2 hours) and this year we added the ravioli attachment. I haven’t decided how I like that attachment yet…Christmas Eve was also a pretty big deal. We always celebrated the Feast of the Seven Fishes. I honestly never knew where this tradition came from. I just knew you either had 7 fish dishes to represent the 7 sacraments or 12 for the 12 disciples. However this year I decided to google about the feast and I found this website. And according to tradition back in the day Christmas Eve used to be a penitential day (similar to Good Friday) and many Italian Catholics didn’t eat meat until after they received communion at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.?I shared the article with my mom and this is what she had to say,?

The people from Naples are famous for their elaborate spreads of cold shellfish cocktails and hot fish dishes, as well as the?roasted peppers?and?antipasti.?—- ha ha that’s where i get it from…my grandmother was from a mountain town not far from naples/foggia italy

One thing I have learned over the years is no matter how old I get and whether we have dinner for 3 or dinner for 30 on Christmas Day the traditions are very important to me. It’s weird to have Christmas and not do any baking…even if we only make one batch of cookies. Every year we tell the same stories about how things used to be and how Grandma and Great-Grandma did things differently and laugh at their crazy stories. It’s a fun way to spend time together and I wouldn’t have the holidays any other way.?

Beth Anne is a single catholic blogger that blogs about the single life, being catholic, her love for Disney, her frugal adventures, her crazy cats, and other adventures she comes across. She lives in historical St. Augustine, FL and once received a postcrossing postcard that told her her city was like living in a Fairytale :). She blogs at BethAnnesBest.com and tweets @BethAnnesBest

Solstice Sabbatical

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Jen

Due to my laptop being sent in for repairs, I’ll be taking a sabbatical from blogging for the next two weeks as any online time I have will be because I’m borrowing a computer. ?This is irritating because I’m pretty dependent on it as I don’t have a smart phone. ?On the other hand, it will mean that I can focus on family and faith in this season and maybe I’ll be a bit less Scrooge-like. I’ve got some important reading to do as well as some personal journalling to do on some faith issues. I’m also looking forward to spending time with my parents and my in-laws.

I’ve had guest bloggers post while I’ve traveled before and I treasure those posts, especially after one of the guest posters passed away earlier this year. Because of this, I put out the request for some guest bloggers and had some takers. I’ll let them introduce themselves when they blog. 🙂

I hope all of you have a wonderful season of joy. I’ll be checking email sporadically so please feel free to email me (jen at grace-filled dot net) prayer requests if this is a really hard season for you.

Blessings to you all and see you in January!

7 Quick Takes: Favorite Christmas Songs

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Jen

7 Quick Takes

Why yes, I am aware that we have one more Sunday of Advent before Christmas starts. 🙂 I am usually teh Scrooge at this time of year because Christmas is a religious holiday for me, and I’m not amused at the secular celebration of it.

— 1 —

“2000 Decembers Ago” sung by Joy Williams. I first heard this on KLOVE yesterday while waiting for my prescriptions at Walgreens. (I was in my car in the drive-thru lane — Walgreens isn’t playing anything this religious in their stores.) I love the words and I love the haunting quality of the music.

— 2 —

“Go Tell It On the Mountain” sung by NEEDTOBREATHE. I love this Christmas carol enough to sing along in the car when it plays. (OK… that isn’t a stretch for me — I sing along to everything.) I love the encouragement to tell aloud the news of Christ’s birth. I also have good memories of being on a Christmas train ride 25 years ago when I first heard it.

— 3 —

“The Huron Carol” sung by the Canadian Tenors. I love how this carol combines the Christmas story with elements of Huron culture. It dates back a few hundred years and was written by a French Jesuit priest (St John de Brebeuf, SJ). It’s also one I remember from attending Midnight Mass with my grandfather.

— 4 —

“Gabriel’s Message” by the Good Shepherd Band. This is a Basque carol and I love its haunting quality. The Good Shepherd Band keeps its plainsong sound and there are beautiful harmonies. The instrumentation is fairly minimal and enhances it rather than detracting from it.

— 5 —

“For Unto Us A Child Is Born” from Handel’s Messiah. I sang the Messiah with the San Jose Symphonic Choir for their “You-Sing-It” one during high school and college though this has been one of my favorite choruses since I was a kid. It’s one that I can sing from memory (for both the soprano and alto parts) and it figured into today’s devotion from Our Daily Bread.

— 6 —

“The Rebel Jesus” sung by Jackson Browne. I first heard this song (and this album) in December 1991 (my family is hugely into the Chieftains and we’ve seen them in concert) and it’s been a favorite of mine since then. It brings to light some of the not so sweet aspect of Jesus’ life at a time of the year when his innocence and sweetness as a baby seems to be the focus. It also brings to light the hypocrisy in our giving and our materialism.

— 7 —

Need guest posters. I’m needing to take a blog break for two weeks while my laptop is off at HP being repaired and while I’ll be visiting family. I’d like to have some people guest post during that time so if you’re interested, email me — jen at grace-filled dot net.

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: December 15, 2013

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Jen

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY December 15, 2013

Outside my window… dark. As usual, I’m doing this at night once every other creature in the house is asleep. It was maybe in the 50’s today — definitely warmer than a week ago!

I am thinking… about Thomas‘ twins who were born this weekend.

I am thankful… that I have less Christmas crocheting than I anticipated.

In the kitchen… I baked 3 batches of cookies yesterday, most of which disappeared after church this morning.

I am wearing… black t-shirt with constellations and my blue striped fleece pajama bottoms.

I am creating… cotton snowflake ornaments for the family gift drawing this year. The theme is “homemade”.

I am going… to be starching these ornaments tomorrow.

I am wondering… if I missed anyone on my Christmas card list. I got all of them done this afternoon while sitting at $tarbux and listening to a talk by Fr. James Martin, S.J. on humor and faith.

I am reading… Mysteries of the Middle Ages by Thomas Cahill. I don’t get a lot of reading time right now (my own fault) so this might be a book I finish on the way down to southern California after Christmas.

I am hoping… I can get all my shopping done and everything mailed off in time for Christmas.

I am looking forward to… my massage on Friday.

Around the house… my Roomba just finished cleaning the floors. (It was a gift from my mother-in-law for my last birthday.)

I am pondering… many things.

A favorite quote for today… ??For outlandish creatures like us, on our way to a heart, a brain, and courage, Bethlehem is not the end of our journey but only the beginning – not home but the place through which we must pass if ever we are to reach home at last.?? — Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat

One of my favorite things… my Jacquie Lawson Advent calendar.

A few plans for the rest of the week: installing my new keyboard whenever it arrives (a certain little blond boy decided to remove the keys from my current one and broke the Tab key), ABA therapy for Daniel in the afternoons from Monday to Friday, doctor’s appointment for the wee bairn on Tuesday morning, quarterly meeting with all of Daniel’s ABA staff, my massage on Friday afternoon, and a respite night on Saturday night.

A peek into my day… the talk I was watching while compiling Christmas cards.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: December 9, 2013

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Jen

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY December 9, 2013

Outside my window… dark and cold. It’s definitely winter here even if the solstice hasn’t happened yet. I’m watching the news and the hard freeze is scaring citrus growers in the area because the temperatures have been dipping into the 20’s at night.

I am thinking… about what needs to get done this week.

I am thankful… for my parents helping us to clean out the cat cave on Saturday.

In the kitchen… lasagna.

I am wearing… blue shirt and navy blue striped fleece pajama bottoms. I’m also under a comforter.

I am creating… entries and such for the blog.

I am going… to hope my bloodwork reaches my endocrinologist for my appointment on Thursday. It will be drawn tomorrow.

I am wondering… how to explain to someone that their attitude and words are driving people away from the Church because they act like such a scold.

I am reading… Mysteries of the Middle Ages: And the Beginning of the Modern World by Thomas Cahill. I find that the odd-numbered books in his “Hinges of History” series tend to be the good one which is kind of too bad because #6 is out and it’s partially about the Reformation.

I am hoping… Daniel goes down without a fight tonight. Jon is out of town and I’d like to be able to get him to bed so he won’t be grumpy tomorrow.

I am looking forward to… Ladies’ Night Out tomorrow — hopefully, we all have a good time.

I am learning to pick my battles.

Around the house… my Roomba will get a workout tonight.

I am pondering… many things — it’s Advent after all.

A favorite quote for today… “If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong (sin boldly), but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2. Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign.” — Martin Luther

One of my favorite things… Daniel’s laugh.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ABA therapy Tuesday-Friday afternoons, bloodwork tomorrow morning, Ladies’ Night Out tomorrow night, Advent midweek worship on Wednesday, WIC and endocrinology appointments on Thursday morning, and thankfully nothing on Friday.

A peek into my day… Our Christmas picture for this year which was taken on my birthday in May.

This year's Christmas picture.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Jeans, Snow, and Advent Music.

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Jen

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Orphans. Do you see these precious children?

L-R: Brett and Iris
Brett Iris

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and their dossier has been submitted to her country.

— 2 —

Because, you know, speaking normal English would defeat the point. My tasoni friend sent me this. I understood and resonated with all the jargon spoken by the blogger about his autistic son and am shaking my head because my people use a whole different set.

— 3 —

Let it snow. We might actually get a trace amount of snow in Sacramento on Friday night. It’s down in the 20’s at night right now which is freaking out a lot of people and making me laugh because the 20’s are a walk in the park compared to some of the temps in Minnesota and Montana when I lived there. (It was -25F in Great Falls this morning according to some of my friends there.) The hard thing for me is that our washer/dryer are in a laundry shed so I’m going to be getting up shortly, putting on fleece, and going out there to sort through clothes and find something for my wee bairn to wear to school tomorrow.

— 4 —

Jeans. Last week, I was getting a pair of my 4 year old jeans from Lands’ End out of the dryer to wear them to the airport to pick up Jon and discovered that they had a massive hole in the rear end. (Thankfully, I discovered this BEFORE I wore them.) I went onto the Kohl’s website to order more, figuring that I wouldn’t be able to go shopping before Black Friday (when I wanted nothing to do with retail) only to find out that Jon was fine with watching Daniel so I could go after his eye appointment the next day. OK… It was too late to cancel the order on the Kohl’s website so I just kept those and went out to shop the next day. End result: 4 pairs of jeans that fit me (after taking them to my seamstress to be hemmed) for less than the cost of 2 pairs of jeans from Lands’ End. I still have one pair of 4 year old jeans from Lands’ End left so I actually have enough pants for a change.

— 5 —

Advent music. My friend Thomas of Fuller Life put together an amazing playlist for Advent.

— 6 —

More Advent music. Bonnie of A Knotted Life has a great playlist as well that she shared a few weeks ago.

— 7 —

Potty-training. I think I should be getting time off of Purgatory for the time I spend potty-training Daniel. We’re on our second shot of it and it’s a headache for me, especially as nothing we try seems to be working. I have his ABA therapists working with me on it and even they are a bit stumped because this is definitely not anything they’re used to (and these are people who have been in the business for a fairly long time). Pray for me.