Category Archives: Music

7 Quick Takes: All Over the Map

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

I’m really wanting to smack some people. Rebecca of The Road Home posted something on her blog for the first time in months yesterday and it was a bombshell to say the least. (The tl;dr version is that she and her husband civilly divorced at the beginning of the month, part of it was due to infidelity on her part, and she is now pregnant as a result.) She turned on anonymous comments and some of the anonymous commenters have raked her across the coals, telling her in no uncertain terms of their disappointment with her and how she should stop blogging as a result.

…

Their words are making me quite livid. Rebecca has said in no uncertain terms that her actions were wrong and is taking responsibility for them… and yet, people still feel that they need to tell her about how she is a horrid example. To those anonymous commenters, I have this to say: it’s easy to make comments like that when you’re anonymous so why don’t you OWN YOUR WORDS AND SIGN YOUR NAME! Rebecca owes you no explanations and you have no obligation to read her blog. Seriously y’all, there’s a lovely saying we learned in preschool: if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.

— 2 —

Trader Joe’s love. For those who have never experienced the awesomeness that is TJ’s, I pity you. Here are some things that the rest of us probably didn’t know about them.

— 3 —

Must take up cross stitch again. It is quite NSFW and not safe for me to show parishioners but Subversive Cross Stitch is a guilty pleasure. I particularly love this one and this one.

— 4 —

Yay Simcha! The amazing Simcha Fisher had a lovely piece in the National Catholic Register on Tuesday about what Catholic parents can learn from Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

— 5 —

More Simcha. Girlfriend posted some amazing recipes for Passover. Well… the actual recipes are here but her commentary on the food was awesome including the stuff on gefilte fish.

— 6 —

Like I need more crochet projects! Anyone want to order this for me? 🙂

— 7 —

Disney Princess rap battle. This has been around for a while but it still cracks me up.

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: March 22, 2015

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY March 22, 2015

Outside my window… dark. It was cloudy this morning and got nice again in the afternoon. I think it was in the 70’s? I missed church this morning because of the weather change. (I freaking love being migraine-prone.)

I am thinking… about the photo book I’m working on for Daniel.

I am thankful… that Daniel is finally asleep. I thought I had gotten him down earlier but I hadn’t and he wandered into the kitchen where I was emptying the dishwasher. When I told him to go back to bed, he went down the hall but kept returning and finally started crying because I wasn’t coming and sitting with him. (I had selfishly decided to make my dinner before heading back to his room because it was 8:40 p.m. and I hadn’t gotten dinner yet.) My mother-in-law gave him some milk (which he shotgunned) and I gave him some cheese. Once he was finished eating, he got up, pushed in his chair, and went back down the hall to his bedroom where he was waiting on his bed in sleep position with the lights on. I forgot to turn off the hall light when I went into his room so he looked at me with a “what-is-wrong-with-these-stupid-people?!?!?!?!?” expression, got up, turned off the hall light, and climbed back into bed.

In the kitchen… dark. I baked cookies for Easter earlier. (We’re having 18 people for Easter so we’re making as much ahead as we can and freezing it.)

I am wearing… green shirt and black sweats.

I am praying for… a call for Jon, for my tax return to come soon, and for a number of special intentions.

I am going… back to Target for my prescriptions tomorrow. We’re apparently eligible for Medicaid based on Jon’s income last year and the insurance they have on file should not have been effective for the last three months so… I get to sort out the mess tomorrow with Blue Shield of California and Covered California. (Oh freaking joy.) At least my meds are cheaper (if not completely free) on Medicaid.

I am wondering… where Jon and I will go for our anniversary tomorrow.

I am reading… Owls Well That Ends Well by Donna Andrews. I finished We’ll Always Have Parrots last Wednesday.

I am hoping… to have the energy to work out and go for walks this week.

I am looking forward to… Thursday when I can hopefully get this editing project behind me.

I am hearing… this song that Jennifer Fulwiler of Conversion Diary recorded with Marie Miller that is based on stories from her readers on their worst experiences with their kids in church.

Around the house… silence. Everyone is sleeping except for Jon and I.

A favorite quote for today… “Some of my students have been shocked to learn that material aid to the poor and disadvantaged is biblically not a matter of sentimental and paternalistic good will but of strict duty and justice. Before the call of God, there is no such thing as a right to a certain standard of living.” — James P. Hanigan

One of my favorite things… mint chip ice cream.

A few plans for the rest of the week: dinner out with Jon tomorrow night, various errands, audiology appointment for Daniel on Wednesday afternoon, working/finishing projects on Thursday, and heading up to San Jose on Saturday.

A peek into my day… Me on my wedding day 13 years ago with some of my mom’s best friends from college whom my father christened “The Broad Squad”. (I also have a picture where they are posing with him and two of them are kissing him on the cheek.)

Me and The Broad Squad

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Things You Don’t Pick Up About Me Online

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

I am incredibly shy. I come across as much more outgoing online than I am in person. I’m polite and usually pretty warm when I meet people but I’m less likely to go up and strike up a conversation with a stranger than most people are.

— 2 —

I talk a lot with my eyes. Unless you’ve seen a video of me posted on Facebook, you probably wouldn’t know that my eyes show a lot more of my mood and how I’m really feeling than my tone of voice does.

— 3 —

My guiltiest pleasure is singing along with the radio when I drive. It’s actually pretty common for me to sing along with CD’s or whatever I’m listening to on the radio when I’m in traffic, given that I have absolutely nobody around here who I feel like I have to impress. It’s how I learn music for church if we’re singing something interesting.

— 4 —

My son Daniel is just slightly over a foot shorter than I am. Daniel will be six in April and he is almost 4 feet tall. I’m 5’1″ so the odds are pretty good that he’ll eclipse me height-wise in the next 2 years. It also really surprises people that I’m so short because I guess I come across as taller online?

— 5 —

When I read, I can usually block out the world around me. One of my favorite things to do is to go curl up at a coffee shop or restaurant and get lost in a book. The only problem: I get so caught up in my reading that I will actually block out people and sound if I’m not careful. We had some parishioners in Montana who got really pissy with me over this so I have to tell people that if they want my attention and I’m not responding, they need to gently touch my hand or my shoulder.

— 6 —

I’m allergic to cats. Yep… I am actually allergic to cats. We found it out right after we adopted Freya and Edda and moved to Minnesota. It’s a mild allergy but Edda sleeping on my chest (her favorite spot) used to make me sniffly and my eyes feel itchy. I’m far more allergic to grass and various pollens (which is why I’m in purgatory at the moment — spring has busted out all over southern California) than I am cats though.

— 7 —

I am addicted to hand sanitizer. I had a preemie so I spent lots of time in the NICU after he was born and in the peds ER and PICU when he got older. When you’re around hospitals that much, you have to wash your hands and put hand sanitizer on every time you leave a room and I got into kind of an OCD habit.

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

7 Quick Takes: An End to an Intense Week

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

The color of the dress. There was a debate online today about the color of the dress that someone posted on Tumblr. (Here’s a link to one of the articles on it for those who are interested.) The answer: it’s blue/black or white/gold depending on the light and angle at which you are viewing the picture.

— 2 —

Thank you. Thank you to those who have emailed or messaged me on Facebook over the last few days to express your condolences on the deaths of Trail Kitty and Cullen. It means a great deal to me. I think I’m dealing better with Cullen’s death than Jon is because I was present for it and I know he didn’t suffer. It was also the humane thing to do because apparently, he was having problems moving.

I am eternally grateful to Audrey, the woman who adopted my boys, because she’s given them a wonderful retirement home as they are now retired church cats. She lives in a retirement community for church workers so it is definitely fitting.

— 3 —

Midweek Lenten Soup Suppers. For those of my readership who are Catholic or Orthodox, a number of liturgical Protestant denominations have midweek Lenten soup suppers where people sign up to bring soup and other people bring salads and desserts. (My husband’s internship supervisor commented on Ash Wednesday 2003 that “Catholics fast, Lutherans eat.” At my Episcopal church, 4-5 people sign up to bring soup (homemade or store-bought — both are acceptable), 2 people bring salads, 2 people bring bread, and 2 people bring cookies. Last night, we had four options: egg drop, tomato bisque, chicken tortilla soup, and goulash. I went with the goulash as I’m allergic to eggs and the tomato base of the other two doesn’t sit well with my stomach. It was different than the goulash I was picturing — it was macaroni, ground beef, tomato paste, and a little bit of cheese to hold it together. I definitely needed some comfort food and it did not disappoint! We also do “Lenten interest groups” and mine is on prayer, so that was pretty fun.

— 4 —

A “liberal” reason to hate Susan G. Komen. Some of my Catholic friends are against Susan G. Komen because they get funds from Planned Parenthood. Well… now there’s a “liberal” reason to hate them: they’re partnered with Baker Hughes, a fracking company. They made a $100,000 donation to Komen and are passing out pink drill bits to their fracking sites.

If you’re disgusted by this (especially as 25% of the more than 700 chemicals used in fracking are carcinogenic), sign this petition.

— 5 —

An update on the whole “read the Bible in a year” thing. I just got through Leviticus in the Old Testament which was pretty dry and I’m in Numbers right now which is only marginally better. This is probably why my AP English teacher told us to to read Exodus but not take note of all the specs for the ark of the covenant unless we wanted to build one. 🙂 I continue to be introduced to some wonderful Psalms (strangely, there are some I haven’t read before even though there’s at least one in the lectionary every Sunday) and I’m now into Luke’s Gospel in the New Testament.

— 6 —

Update on Lenten disciplines. When my mother-in-law saw me opening the last can of Coke in the house on Sunday, I may or may not have said something along the lines of “Yes, this is a can of Coke. Sundays are mini-Easters. Don’t judge me!!!!” Yeah… I’m doing just *SO* well at my abstaining of Coke for Lent. 🙂 Otherwise, my prayers are at least happening and I’m getting the extra reading done daily.

— 7 —

Keeping myself sane. Megan at Clearing the Sill of the World introduced me to the wonderfulness that is Tim Hawkins 3 Lents ago and I’m re-posting his “hedge of protection” sketch because it’s one of my go-to YouTube videos when I need some levity.

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

#FiveFaves: Things To Distract Me from the Suckiness of My Life At the Moment

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#5Faves

In the last 48 hours, the following things have happened: I’ve had to fight with Social Security only to discover that I’m being penalized for their screw-up, my parents’ Maine Coon passed away, I got a call from Cullen’s new mommy telling me that he would be having to be put to sleep today due to advanced cancer of the intestine, I took Cullen with his new mommy to his vet appointment where he crossed the Rainbow Bridge (so glad I did — he went peacefully within a minute and a half with his new mommy and I stroking him and scratching his ears), and I’m dealing with financial issues.

So… right now, I’m wanting anything and everything that can distract me from my desire to just pull the covers over my head and hide. Here are some things that are keeping me from losing my mind.

One

Crocheting. I’m sitting at $tarbux working on some amigurumi crocheting for a friend while catching up on some of my favorite shows.

Two

“All About That Bass” rendered by Straight No Chaser. Because tenors can be *SUCH* primadonnas!

Three

Inquirer’s Class. I’ve been attending an Episcopal Church since we moved down to southern California in June and I was invited to attend the Inquirer’s Class in preparation for the bishop’s visit in March to figure out what steps I would need to take to join. The answer is apparently Confirmation. So… I’m being confirmed on Sunday after 20 years of being Christian. (My mother-in-law’s response: “It’s about time you were confirmed!”)

Four

Tim Hawkins on going to a “hand-raising” church. If you’re familiar with megachurch worship, this will cause you to die of laughter. It’s one of YouTube videos I go to when I need a pick-me-up.

Five

Rice Krispies treats. They are my kryptonite.

Go love up Jenna and the others.

7 Quick Takes: Things I’ll Be Doing This Weekend Instead of Going to See “50 Shades of Grey”

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7 Quick Takes

I’m pretty sure that dissing “50 Shades of Grey” is going to appear in most peoples’ Quick Takes this weekend. There are already some interesting posts on the subject here, here (warning: some swearing which makes it NSFW), here, and here.

— 1 —

Letting Kelly pick my Lenten discipline. I’ll be giving up Coke, doing some extra spiritual reading, doing some extra praying, and then one more thing that Kelly (our Quick Takes hostess-with-the-mostess) gets to pick. She has until 11:59 PST on the 17th to tell me what it is and get supplies for said discipline to me.

— 2 —

Trying to learn all the words to “Baba Yetu” (and how to pronouce them). The utterly amazing Peter Hollens and his friend Malukah covered Christopher Tin’s Grammy-winning composition “Baba Yetu” which is the theme to the computer game Civilization IV. It’s the Swahili translation of the Lord’s Prayer (or at least most of it). It’s amazing but I do have to work on how to pronounce some of the words. (I’ve learned from previous experience that Swahili is not a language that flows from my tongue well.)

— 3 —

Putting together valentine’s for Daniel’s class. I actually am almost done with these valentines from a free printable created by Amy of Living Locurto. (Go check her out. She is crazy talented!) My thanks go to Ann of House of Estrogen who featured them on her blog 4 years ago.

— 4 —

Reading Unvirtuous Abbey’s Twitter stream. If you haven’t read the Twitter stream of Unvirtuous Abbey, stop whatever you are doing and click on their name!!!! They are irreverent and funny in ways that only Canadians can be.

— 5 —

Listening to David Wesley. If you’re a fan of Peter Hollens, check out David Wesley. He does amazing acapella mixes of popular worship songs. My props to priest’s wife who introduced me to him.

— 6 —

Bonding with family. My sister-in-law Joanna, her son Patrick, and her mother-in-law Margie are coming up tomorrow to spend the afternoon with us for Valentine’s Day. I need to put together the Valentine’s Day present I have for Patrick — I’ve got some squeeze pouches of applesauce from Trader Joe’s and I’m going to put a wrap on them with his picture and some heart stickers. On his picture will be some text that says, “You are my main squeeze.”

— 7 —

Dreaming of the pedicure I’ll be getting with the present Jon gave me for Valentine’s Day. Jon has two weddings on Saturday (and probably turned down ten more) so we did “date tea” instead of doing a date night on Saturday. We went to $tarbux and Jon got lunch (a grilled cheese sandwich and passion tea lemonade) while I got my iced vanilla latté and some marshmallow dream bars. His present to me was a gift certificate for a mani-pedi which will probably be a pedicure with extras given that regular nail polish doesn’t stay on my fingers well. (My present to him was some special coffee and moscato from Trader Joe’s.) It will be nice to be able to have some pampering that isn’t usually in the budget these days.

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

#FiveFaves: Miscellanea (XXVIII)

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#5Faves

One

This offering from Peter Hollens and Malukah. It’s the Lord’s Prayer in Swahili which is used in the game Civilization IV.

Two

The fact that a school bus picks Daniel up each morning and brings him home. I had to drop some paperwork off for one of his therapists at his school and I managed to forget that Wednesday is a “Compact Day” for everyone else so pick-up time is around 12:45 p.m. Oh vey… I keep forgetting how much of a pain in the rear it is to do “drop-off” or “pick-up” and how I’m so incredibly lucky not to have that be a part of my day. I had to park a decent walk away from the school (well… a decent walk for someone with a bum foot) and it was definitely a painful walk!

Three

Marshmallow Dream Bars. These are the $tarbux equivalent of a Rice Krispies treat. In any case, it’s like kryptonite for me.

Four

Bible studies with my church ladies. The other woman at the Wednesday morning Bible study (with the exception of my priest) are old enough to be my mother or even my grandmother in some cases… but they are absolutely delightful and act happy to see me even if I’m sitting there crocheting through all of it. They tell me how wonderful it is to see me and when we had a combined service for the annual meeting, they complimented me on the choir music. (They’re all attenders of the 8:00 service and I’m at 10:00 with the choir.)

Five

Dave Barry. Dave Barry, whose writing I have loved for 25+ years, took on 50 Shades of Grey. It’s worth reading — go to it!

Go love up Jenna and the others.