Category Archives: Music

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: June 5, 2016

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For Today… June 5, 2016

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… hot hot hot. 90F at the moment and I can’t wait to move to a colder climate!

I am thinking… about what is on my plate tomorrow as far as packing up the contents of my closets as well as my clothes. There will definitely be laundry involved.

I am thankful… that lectoring went well this morning. I was “in the zone” and made it through with only one tiny mistake.

One of my favorite things… rain. So excited to head to Washington and have some. (We’ve been in drought for the last few years in California, last year pretty intensely.)

I am wearing… blue-green shirt and black shorts. I wore a wrap dress with a camisole under it this morning for church.

I am creating packing lists for the things I need to take north with me in my car.

I am reading… The Fear Babe still. I haven’t had a lot of time to read lately.

I am hoping… everything goes smoothly with the move.

I am learning… about various requirements for establishing residency in Washington.

In my kitchen… I’m heading to a potluck for choir in a few minutes so I don’t know what my parents and Daniel are going to be doing tonight.

In the school room… Daniel finished school last Thursday!

Post Script… Voting for the 2016 MLB All-Star game is still going on. If you aren’t sure who to pick, any player with “SEA” by their name in the American League or “SF” by their name in the National League are fabulous choices. 😉

Shared Quote… “Never once did Jesus scan the room for the best example of ?holy living and send that person out to tell others about him. He always sent stumblers and sinners. I find that comforting.” — Nadia Bolz-Weber

A moment from my day… a channel full of music from The Chieftains — it’s one of my happy places.

Closing Notes: Please pray for me on my move north. I’ll be leaving on Tuesday and doing the drive over three days.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 29, 2016

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For Today…

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… dark. It was in the 80’s today which is not to my taste as I hate hot weather and it’s only supposed to get hotter this week.

I am thinking… about the move.

I am thankful… for a nice dinner with family friends last night.

One of my favorite things… the San Francisco Giants winning and the LA Dodgers losing games

I am wearing… jammies. Today’s outfit for both church and afterwards was the same as it was Folk Choir Sunday which tends to be more casual with people wearing jeans. I went with a blue-green fitted tee from Old Navy and black capris from Kohl’s.

I am creating change-of-address postcards

I am reading… The Fear Babe: Shattering Vani Hari’s Glass House by by Marc Draco, Kavin Senapathy, and Mark Alsip. I haven’t gotten a chance to read this weekend but I’m enjoying the book.

I am hoping… Daniel sleeps through tonight and let’s me sleep in tomorrow morning. Getting by on an average of 6 hours of sleep a night is not doing good things for me.

I am learning… about all the disability services in Washington state.

In my kitchen… hamburgers tonight.

In the school room… Daniel’s last week of school. He finishes on Thursday.

Post Script… for anyone who read this article, there is good news.

Shared Quote…

Some sage advice.

A moment from my day… Another amazing version of Baba Yetu.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 22, 2016

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For Today…

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… cloudy and in the 60’s. It’s been cool all day and threatening to rain. Given how much I hate hot weather, I’m all in favor of it even if it gives me migraines.

I am thinking… about the move in 2 1/2 weeks.

Oh yeah… this is what the vague-blogging has been about. My parents and Daniel and I are moving to Washington in June. It’s been in works since November. We had to be out of the house for two weeks in April while the floors were redone, the doors replaced, and the trim replaced. After that, we had a week of realtor showings that required vacating the house at a moment’s notice. The house sold fast and Mom and Dad spent a couple days in Washington house-shopping. They put in an offer which was accepted and closing is on June 3rd.

I am thankful… for today’s choir anthem going well.

One of my favorite things… office supply stores. Staples is my idea of nirvana.

I am wearing… long-sleeved green striped shirt and jeans. For church this morning, I traded my jeans for my black dress slacks and black flats.

I am creating change-of-address postcards.

I am reading… The Fear Babe: Shattering Vani Hari’s Glass House by Marc Draco, Kavin Senapathy, and Mark Alsip. The book takes all of the Food Babe’s pseudo-scientific stupidity and deconstructs it using facts, actual science, and logic.

I am hoping… a friend comes home from his missions trip safely.

I am learning… about the various state agencies that work with kiddos like Daniel in Washington.

In my kitchen… Dad is making hot dogs tonight.

In the school room… Daniel has two weeks left and I’m starting to scan paperwork to send to the school district in Washington.

Post Script… if you know someone with fibromyalgia, I recommend reading this.

Shared Quote… From Facebook…

I couldn't resist sharing this one from Facebook...

A moment from my day… As it is Trinity Sunday I thought I’d share this.

Closing Notes: I saw a blog post shared on Facebook this weekend in which a mommy blogger who had done lots of giveaways and earned money from her blog was telling all the other mommy bloggers to give up their blogs because she had seen the error of her ways and, like, nobody cares or is reading mommy blogs anymore. I’d disagree that mommy bloggers need to stop writing and give up their blogs. Readership of blogs is down across the board but if it brings you joy to blog and scratches that itch, go for it. Unless you are saying something dangerous, something seriously untrue, or being a complete and utter Sanctimommy, I’ll generally ignore you if your blog has too many sponsored posts or if you bore me to pieces.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

The Simple Woman’s Day Book: May 2, 2016

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**NOTE** I did one yesterday and then found that the prompts had changed a bit when I went to link up. I’ve got some spare time this morning so I’m redoing it for today. Also, for anyone that needs the new prompts and wants some code for them to insert into an entry, click here and copy/paste into a text editor so that you can create a text file (*.txt file) with them for use every week.

For Today… May 2, 2016

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… sunny and clear. I think it is supposed to be in the 80’s.

I am thinking… about the things that are supposed to be happening this week. I apologize for vague-blogging but I can’t talk about the upheaval in my life until things are more set in stone. (It’s nothing bad — just a lot of uncertainty.)

I am thankful… for the day trips with my parents and Daniel this weekend. We went to Henry Cowell Redwoods on Saturday and the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Sunday.

One of my favorite things… café vanilla frappucinos at Starbucks. I’m also a fan of functional Internet and functional plumbing but that’s another story for another day!

I am wearing… charcoal fitted shirt from Old Navy and jeans from Kohl’s.

I am creating my temperature afghan. I’m 2 months behind now but I will eventually get caught up.

I am listening to… the Reply All podcast which was recommended to me by a couple friends. This episode involves an email malfunction that tangents into stories of survival in a Chinese concentration camp during World War II. The story that the woman tells is told in a very cheerful and matter of fact way that seems to be somewhat common among survivors of concentration camps in Europe and Indonesia that I’ve met. (If you have a sizeable Jewish population, you probably have someone of that generation who survived and emigrated from Europe afterwards, so I remember hearing probably 5-10 of them speaking to us in middle school and high school. The one I know who was in the Indonesian one was one of my seminary professors.)

I am hoping… my fibromyalgia medication snafu gets resolved soon. (My PA is being a jerk about refilling my meds and is referring me to a rheumatologist. After he mansplained fibromyalgia to me on Thursday, I may or may not have ripped his head off and got a ONE TIME LAST REFILL because I managed to make logical sense. Of course, he cut my dose in half but half a dose is better than no dose.)

I am learning… to just shake things off. It helped me when I came out of the house this morning and found a flat tire. I rolled my eyes, went back in the house to drop my stuff off, and got ready to change it on my own. My mom saw this and replied, “Just call AAA. It’s why we have them.” OK. They had someone out to change it in 15 minutes and while I missed my meeting this morning, it wasn’t an essential one and we were able to just check in by phone.

In my kitchen… no clue on dinner tonight. Dad did the normal Sunday fare of steak, tater tots, and Caesar salad last night and all the adults ate outside by lantern light. Fun fun fun.

In the school room… I have an IEP amendment meeting for Daniel on Thursday afternoon to go over occupational therapy goals.

Post Script… for all who read the selfish essay on “meternity leave” from the NY Post, there are some good rebuttals and satires here, here (tw: language), and here (tw: mention of body parts). I think the last one is the best one of all.

Shared Quote… I think I’ll share my Facebook commentary on the above foolishness!

“Is of the opinion that she can have a “meternity” leave for self-discovery and growth if she is willing to gain 50+ lbs over a 7-month period, have emergency surgery requiring at least a 8 week recovery (from which she returns 2.5 weeks early for financial reasons), deal with scar tissue adhesions on her abdomen every time she moves, and then give up regular sleep for a year following it.”

Because, you know, it’s not like that all happened to me or anything…

A moment from my day… Here’s a picture of my very silly and ticklish boy and me at the Monterey Bay Aquarium yesterday.

My silly boy and me at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Closing Notes: Someone shared this story on the winners of the Biggest Loser and their weight gain battles in one of my Facebook groups and it makes SO. MUCH. SENSE.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

{five favorites}: Miscellanea (LXIII)

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#5Faves

One

Coptic Holy Week music. Laura, the amazing tasoni and blogger at Coptic Dad and Mom, has put together a YouTube channel of Coptic Holy Week music so that the Coptic readers of her blog can teach their kids (and themselves in some cases) the songs that they’ll be singing in church next week which is their Holy Week. The tonality is different from what many of us are used to in the West but it is beautiful.

Two

This video from Spode. Spode is a British pottery and housewares company and one of their designs, Blue Italian, turns 200 years old this year. They company produced this video which shows the making of each piece.

Kind of a cool story: my great-great-aunt had a set of pink Spode that got passed down to a couple of the women in my mom’s generation. The set was actually the second set she had ordered (and it was service for 24!) because the first set was on a ship sailing from England to America that was sunk by a German u-boat during World War II.

Three

Naps. I have a small child who is not sleeping well so I had to take one today. It was glorious.

Four

Prescription sunglasses. I’m on my second pair. Given how migraine-prone I am, it’s money well-spent.

Five

Air-conditioning. It’s been in the 80’s here. If it’s this hot now, I’m dreading this summer. #climatechangeisreal

Go love up Ashley and the others.

{five favorites}: Miscellanea (LXII)

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#5Faves

One

Caramel frappucinos. It’s been a bit of a crazy week and this was breakfast for me this morning as I fought traffic on my way to my psychiatrist appointment. It made a hectic morning a bit better.

Two

The $tarbux mobile app. It lets me put my order in at the nearest $tarbux and pay on my phone so that all I have to do is walk in and pick it up without having to wait in the drive-thru or stand in any line. This is a godsend when I am in a hurry as I have been the last few mornings.

Three

My psychiatrist. She found a justification for prescribing me my migraine preventative. It’s actually a psychiatric medication used off-label for migraines so she’s claiming it as something to help with my depression. Given that I’ve been on it for 6.5 years without a problem with it interacting with my normal anti-depressant, I’ll take it.

Four

World’s Largest Virtual Hallelujah Chorus. Michelle of Scenes from the Wild shared this and I am so jealous of everyone who got to participate! My mom and I used to do the You-Sing-It Messiah sponsored by the San Jose Symphonic Choir when I was in high school and college. Since then, I’ve performed the Christmas section a few times or have been a rent-a-soprano or rent-an-alto when choir directors I know have done choruses from Handel’s Messiah.

Five

Simcha’s article on daily prayer. The only thing I would add to Simcha’s article on daily prayer is saying Compline while putting your kiddos to bed.

Go love up Ashley and the others.