Category Archives: Cats

7 Quick Takes: Gluten-Free, Soccer Moms, and Morons Taking Selfies

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Soccer mom. Daniel had his first VIP soccer practice with AYSO tonight. We only made it through about 35 minutes until he melted down and wanted to be “all done” but hey… it’s a start. Since I’m now officially a soccer mom, I’ll be starting a GoFundMe to pay off my current car and buy a minivan. Any recommendations? [/sarcasm]

— 2 —

Gluten-free take #1. My doctor hasn’t gotten back to me with my biopsy results yet from last week but I’m planning to go completely gluten-free in October to see if it helps me at all. A complicating factor is that I’m allergic to eggs and that limits what I can eat even more, which is the reason I haven’t tried going gluten-free before now. (There’s also the “my-bloodwork-did-not-show-celiac-disease-and-I-do-not-do-fad-diets” thing but that would be snarky.) If you are gluten-free and have any recipe suggestions or possible substitutions, leave them to me in the comments.

— 3 —

Gluten-free take #2. I grabbed some “rice pasta and cheese” from Trader Joe’s to see if it was any good… and it was fabulous! It tastes like the cheap $1 mac n’ cheese from Kraft that contains all the yellow dyes banned outside the USA but without the evil dyes or the gluten. Yay!

— 4 —

Fibro flare. I’ve been dealing with a fibro flare since Sunday and this has meant that I’ve been spending mornings sleeping because I’m fighting insomnia at night. It’s impeding my ability to get things done so I’d appreciate prayers that it goes the duck away. Please and thank you!

— 5 —

Because we *TOTALLY* need more cat memes! This is one of the better Kim Davis memes I’ve seen recently:

Schrodinger's cat meets Kim Davis

— 6 —

I shouldn’t laugh but… I read an article today which claims that more people have died from selfies this year than from shark attacks. I am totally unsurprised that there are people stupid enough to take selfies while running with the bulls and doing other dangerous things that require one’s full attention. This one, however, takes the cake. (I’m guessing he’s probably at Loma Linda University Medical Center given where he’s from and the fact that “Venom ER” doctor Sean Bush is there.)

— 7 —

Prerequisite baseball take. Jon had the time of his life at the Dodgers game last week while my experience was kind of “meh”. We were pretty high up so the players on the field were like little action figures and I felt pretty disconnected from everything that was going on. (The other downside: the Dodgers won.) The bus ride to and from the church was an experience in claustrophobia for me and that probably didn’t help.

Anyway, it’s pretty likely that the Dodgers are going to take the division unless the Giants can pull a serious miracle. (The magic number is “4” so the Dodgers have to win 4 or the Giants lose 4 and it’s close to the end of the season.)

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: August 2, 2015

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY August 2, 2015

Outside my window… dark. It’s my usual late night blogging time. It was hot today though not completely unpleasant considering it was reported as being 95F. The breezes help.

I am thinking… about the things going on this week and the trip to be with my parents this coming weekend. I’m hoping my car’s CD player starts working well or it will be a boring drive.

I am thankful… that Todd, the newest cat addition in our house, is calm and not growling or swatting at us. Last night, he sat with me even though he was growly. When I went out for a midnight snack, he touched his nose to my fingers and let me pet him. Today, he has been licking my fingers and purring for me. I think he really just needed to know that he would be loved up and have human attention.

In the kitchen… my mother-in-law made pizza from scratch for my sister-in-law’s birthday.

I am wearing… jammies.

I am going… to have to figure out a game plan for Wednesday when the power will be off from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and I have to entertain Daniel.

I am wondering… about how to remove certain food dyes from Daniel’s diet and if it will make a difference.

I am reading… The Alpine Zen by Mary Daheim. I actually finished it earlier this week (I could barely put it down) so I’m re-reading it. I finished Vanishing Grace by Phillip Yancey this week as well and *VERY HIGHLY* recommend it.

I am hoping… that my sleep deprivation feelings cease soon.

I am looking forward to… seeing my family.

I am hearing… the hymns I am listening to on YouTube.

A Daniel story for today… my little monster fell asleep at 7:30 and at 10:30, he walked into my bedroom rubbing his eyes and climbed on the bed where he preceeded to fall asleep.

Around the house… quiet. It’s wonderful.

One of my favorite things… well-done hymns.

A few plans for the rest of the week: PT on Tuesday morning, Daniel’s dentist appointment on Wednesday, and whatever else comes up.

A peek into my day… Today was the “bread of life” reading in the Gospel of John so I thought I’d share one of my favorite hymns.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Seriously Wanting Friday to Come Soon!

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Sadness. We had to put my in-laws’ cat Nicholas to sleep today. We brought him into the vet for what we thought would be an antibiotic shot and they found a tumor in his abdomen. Given that he had lost something like 2 lbs in the last month and was very noticably in pain, it was actually not a hard decision. I am sad for my in-laws though and we seem to lose at least 1 cat per year and the rest of the cats in the house are relatively young — I think the oldest one now is maybe 13 years old and the second oldest is 12 with the rest being between the ages of 6-8. (Nick was 15.5 years old.)

— 2 —

Seriously?!?!?!?!? We were leaving the $tarbux parking lot today when my battery light flashed on and I couldn’t restart the car. Daniel commenced having a meltdown as I tried to find a tow truck company that we could afford. (Thankfully, my auto insurance comes with Roadside Assistance so we didn’t have to mortgage anything to get towed to my mechanic.) Jon came and got Daniel and I settled in to wait for the towing company. Apparently, I was blocking the way for a delivery driver because he told me he was going to give me a push aside. Well, I was suddenly in the bushes in the parking lot of the Chevron station next door. The delivery driver didn’t speak much English and I had to tell him to leave me alone to keep him from pushing me out and messing my bumper up more. Thankfully, I managed to get the information off of his truck while he was making deliveries so my insurance company is pursuing the claim and I will have a rental car while they fix mine. (I’m pretty sure the underside of my car has some damage as a result of the push and my bumper has a new dent.) Not the best day by far!

— 3 —

A good reason for the rules prohibiting the marriage of two people if one (or both) are intoxicated. A few people here know that my husband is a pastor who performs weddings as a way of paying the bills. When I saw this article, I had to send it to him. I don’t think either the bride or groom was intoxicated while the wedding was performed but they sure were after! It’s probably not a good thing to leave your wedding in police-issued handcuffs or in an ambulance to the hospital with alcohol poisoning.

— 4 —

Joy joy joy! My in-laws have been singing “I’ve Got the Joy Joy Joy” to Daniel every day to teach him about God (because his mother totally doesn’t listen to *ANY* Christian music in the car EVER) and a few days ago, he said “joy joy joy!” so they sang to him. He now requests the song every day and I told him that we would sing it at VBS next week… which led to him starting to sing it (or at least try). It was seriously cute but that’s normal for my seriously cute boy.

— 5 —

Daniel and VBS. At the VBS meeting on Monday, I asked my priest if there was any way that Daniel could attend because we’d need someone to shadow him and I didn’t know if we had enough people. It turns out that one of the dads can do it… and the woman running VBS is also willing to have him be her “helper” if need be. (Daniel likes to help.) I also have some church members who are former special ed teachers who will be there and others who are totally excited about finally meeting Daniel. (He goes to a church closer to the house for Sunday school because my mother-in-law is the one who takes him most of the time.) I am so thankful to be part of a church which really wants to make it so that EVERYONE can participate and has clergy who absolutely love my kiddo.

— 6 —

We are family. Some of Jon’s relatives on his dad’s side are in town for a wedding this weekend (including his aunt who reads my blog — HI AUNT JANICE!!!!! *waves*) so we all had lunch on Wednesday. It was the first time meeting a couple of them for Daniel and the first time seeing others in a few years. He came home to a house with 10 people when he got off the bus and he did extremely well at eating at the table (better than many adults) and he was pretty calm the whole time. He did love it when we sang “I’ve Got the Joy Joy Joy” to him and started banging the table in rhythm.

— 7 —

Prayer request. If you could pray for a special intention for Jon and me, I would greatly appreciate it. Please and thank you!

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 10, 2015

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY May 10, 2015

Outside my window… dark. I’m blogging late yet again. It was in the 80’s today though it has cooled down to the 60’s at this time of night.

I am thinking… about how to deal with my troll who has followed my husband on Twitter in an attempt to get information about me.

I am thankful… for the opportunity to see a good friend of mine from high school yesterday. I also got to finally meet his wife and 13 month old daughter.

In the kitchen… some sushi from Trader Joe’s.

I am wearing… light grey v-neck and capri sweats.

I am praying for… a call for Jon, relief from my neck/back issues, and for assorted other things.

I am going… in for bloodwork and a x-ray tomorrow morning. Whee!

I am wondering… how to make the fly in my room go away. I kind of wish that Freya was in a hunting mood, even if it meant her leaping on my head.

I am reading… Sinister Sprinkles by Jessica Beck. I’m caught up on Donna Andrews’ work and also read/finished Fatally Frosted by Jessica Beck. I started reading Being Mortal by Atul Gawande and put it down in order to get it on my NOOK as something to read when I finish all of Jessica Beck’s work.

I am hoping… to upgrade my NOOK with any birthday money I get that isn’t going to bills.

I am looking forward to… the wi-fi getting fixed so I don’t have to stand in the kitchen to get a signal in order to post this entry.

I am hearing… Jon’s CPAP machine. (I managed to kill the fly by closing my laptop on it.)

Crocheting… Daniel’s big boy blankie and the amigurumi stuffed animal from last week.

Around the house… everyone is asleep except me.

One of my favorite things… working wi-fi. *sighs* #FirstWorldProblems

A few plans for the rest of the week: bloodwork/x-ray tomorrow, PT and errands on Tuesday, Bible study on Wednesday, and heading up to San Jose on Friday to be with my family for the communal birthday weekend.

A peek into my day… Freya sitting on the piano and getting it furry.

Miss Freya on the piano getting it furry

Post Script…

For my 35th birthday on May 19th, I’m walking a 5K to raise money for preeclampsia research and awareness. If you’d like to sponsor me, click here.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Me Running My Mouth Again…

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Can we say “duh”? News flash: Measles Vaccine Still Doesn’t Cause Autism. The paper on this is here. I will be writing more about this in order to explain the scientific bases of all of this in the next week or so.

Until then… VACCINATE YOUR FREAKING KIDS!!!! And for those who claim a selective/delayed vaccine schedule is a good thing, your argument has been proven invalid in this study.

— 2 —

Wonderful concert. I was blessed to be able to hear the Claremont Chamber Choir sing tonight at the Drinkward Recital Hall at Harvey Mudd College. One of the basses was conducting it as part of his studies toward a DMA in Conducting. It was interesting to watch Dr. Charles Kamm (the actual director) sing because he was so expressive and looked like he was having a lovely time.

Seriously, one of the positives of my living situation is that I have free concerts in the community that are of serious quality. Tonight’s concert was a collection of madrigals and folk music from around the world and it was heavenly.

— 3 —

Rachel Held Evans’ most recent book. I finished Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans today and I highly recommend it to anyone wondering why Millenials are leaving the faith in droves as well to those who have left the faith and might be slightly amenable. Rachel’s sister Amanda is a singer/songwriter and she composed a few songs based on the sacraments framing the book. Everyone who pre-ordered the book received a download code for the album and I found them to be positively fabulous.

Another person created seven pictures of birds based on things they read in the book. I think my favorite one is for “Communion” and involves hummingbirds drinking around a flower.

— 4 —

A thank you. I was at Target with Daniel this afternoon and decided to have him put stuff on the belt to practice good behavior while shopping. The woman in front of us watched for a bit and complimented him on how he was doing. She then looked up at me and said, “You’re a good mother.”

I honestly don’t think she realized how much I needed to hear that after Daniel had a rather public tantrum on Sunday.

— 5 —

On the subject of kids and cats… I saw this online a few days ago and had to share. It’s a tongue-in-cheek list of reasons that kids should never have cats. It’s amusing to say the least.

— 6 —

Love. I’ve missed two Sundays due to fibro-related fatigue so Bible study on Wednesday was one of my chances to connect to church. I ended up sitting next to one of our founding members M who is 94 and reminds me so much of my grandma. Our priest was passing around pictures she took while walking the Camino de Santiago last year and M had just gotten shots in her eyes so she couldn’t see them. I spent much of Bible study taking her hand and pointing out various things in the pictures for her. When Bible study ended, she gave me a hug and told me she loved me.

No lie, it brought me to tears at that point and remembering it brings me to tears now because she reminds me so much of my grandma who I thankfully got to see a few months ago (for the first time in 4 1/2 years) but who I miss dreadfully. (She’s in Washington and I’m in southern California.)

— 7 —

Weekly trash-talking regarding baseball. I do believe my boys (the Giants) done swept my husband’s boys (the Dodgers). And wait… don’t I recall Jon saying that he’d get a pedicure in Giants’ colors if they swept like that? To the nail place we go!

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

#FiveFaves: Miscellanea (XXXI)

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#5Faves

One

Rachel’s new book. Rachel Held Evans’ new book, Searching for Sunday, just came out. I’m trying to finish my current murder mystery (which is amazing) so I can read it! You can get it here or here.

Two

APL Cat Lady. She used to have a Facebook page called “Sticky and Co.” about her kitties. She adopted some black kitties with asthma and then started fostering kitties for the Ashtabula County Animal Protection League, focusing specifically on black kitties. When we were trying to find homes for my boys and Freya, she made some beautiful signs for them and she was really wonderful to me when Edda disappeared and when Cullen died. Her Facebook page is here.

Three

This story. When my grandfather was in his last days and living at a nursing home in Washington, Mom brought me out on the train to visit him. He was missing their cat Emily so we found him a stuffed cat to have so he could pet it. We asked him the name of his cat and he replied, “Grendel”. Given how far gone his mind was, it was a flicker of his normal sense of humor and we were joking about how the stuffed cat liked to eat “Great Danes”. It’s been 9 years since he passed away and I still miss him dreadfully.

Four

Being a regular layperson. I’m going to help with a funeral at church this morning and I’m seriously looking forward to being just an extra set of hands instead of “Pastor Jon’s wife”. Don’t get me wrong -I do enjoy being pseudo-clergy most of the time – but it’s kind of nice to just be “Jen” on occasion.

Five

Having my taxes done a month early. It’s nice not to have any pressure this week.

Go love up Jenna and the others.

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.