Category Archives: Gold Country Life

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: June 24, 2013

Posted on by

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY June 24, 2013

Outside my window… cloudy. It apparently rained this morning and I’m hoping for more.

I am thinking… about Daniel’s one-on-one ABA therapy which will be starting in 15 minutes.

I am thankful… for a wonderful weekend with my parents, getting to have coffee with my friend (as well as maid-of-honor and Daniel’s godmother) Rebecca, and a wonderful time at the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia yesterday.

In the kitchen… marinating some turkey breast for my dinner tonight.

I am wearing… a blue t-shirt and black sweats.

I am creating… blog posts.

I am going… to enjoy any quiet mornings I have this week.

I am wondering… what time Daniel’s pre-op is on Wednesday — I need to call and find out.

I am reading… Between Heaven and Mirth by Fr. James Martin, S.J. I finished Maphead this past Friday and read Killer Honeymoon by G.A. McKevvett on the drive to and from San Jose.

I am hoping… I don’t have to participate too much in Daniel’s therapy today.

I am looking forward to… seeing what a couple “creative” parishioners come up with for the church picnic on Friday. Last year, they built a fully-functional fountain in our church parking lot out of a recirculating pump, PVC pipe, some Rubbermaid containers, and pool toys. They also transformed our fellowship hall into a four-star restaurant every Valentine’s Day for the last two years.

I am learning various ABA techniques.

Around the house… next question!

I am pondering… too many things. It’s why I blog — to clean out my brain.

A favorite quote for today… “I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it. ” — Garrison Keillor

One of my favorite things… Lipton Pure Leaf Raspberry Tea.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Morning Prayer tomorrow, ABA therapy every afternoon this week, Daniel’s pre-op on Wednesday, Daniel’s sedated ABR on Thursday, WIC appointment on Friday, and church picnic on Friday night.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: June 18, 2013

Posted on by

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY June 18, 2013

Outside my window… dark. It was kind of warm yesterday (it’s past midnight here) and I think we’re supposed to warm up this weekend.

I am thinking… snarky thoughts at the moment about the person whose blog entry I am ripping apart and I am trying to remind myself to be charitable. I am unfortunately failing at this.

I am thankful… for a nice getaway on Saturday night and getting to go hang out with my parents this weekend.

In the kitchen… grilled chicken and turkey. I’m trying not to thinking about the box of Trader Joe’s Hold the Cone! Ice Cream Cones I just inhaled, 7/8 of it in one sitting.

I am wearing… holey navy maternity shirt and my super comfy light blue striped pj pants.

I am creating… a series of posts on why I am not homeschooling Daniel.

I am going… slowly crazy 1 2 3 4 5 6 switch! Crazy going slowly am I 6 5 4 3 2 1 switch!

I am wondering… if/when my stupid ulcers will go the duck away!!!

I am reading… Maphead by Ken Jennings and Agony of the Leaves by Laura Childs when my NOOK needs re-charging (meaning that I have to put Maphead on hold).

I am hoping… I can get all my writing done tonight and do so without being a snarky wench in the homeschooling entry.

I am looking forward to… the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia on Sunday. You *KNOW* you want to sponsor me.

Around the house… I am probably doing a mountain of laundry tomorrow and must re-appropriate the laundry basket from Daniel.

I am pondering… various moves on Words With Friends.

One of my favorite things… playing on the swings with Daniel. I can’t wait until he can sit on a regular swing and pump his legs so I can swing too!!!

A few plans for the rest of the week: height/weight/iron check at the clinic on Wednesday, WIC on Thursday (dreading this), massage on Friday, heading to San Jose on Friday, and coffee with mi amiga Rebecca on Saturday.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Fundraising, Baseball, and Eating Issues

Posted on by

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Kym’s Hysterical (not) Hysterectomy. My friend Kym DuPont was diagnosed with stage 1 uterine cancer a few months ago. They tried hormone therapy which ultimately didn’t work. The only cure at this point is a hysterectomy which she has to pay for out of pocket because she is uninsured. (Obamacare doesn’t kick in for people like her until 2014.) Surgery + anesthesia + everything else will be ~$60000 so she has a YouCaring.Com page up for it. If you can spare a few bucks head over there.

— 2 —

Promise Walk. Is this a good enough reason to sponsor me in the Promise Walk?

Baptizing Daniel at 4 days old.

That’s Jon and I at Daniel’s baptism when he was 4 days old. My little hand is on the bottom and Jon’s hand is on top. For those who don’t know the backstory, I developed HELLP Syndrome and they had to do a really quick ambulance transfer from my tiny town in Montana to the hospital in Great Falls that had a NICU and where my perinatologist was based. I was in surgery within 45 minutes to 1 hour after arriving and they delivered Daniel by emergency c-section at 29.5 weeks gestation. He was 14 1/4 inches long and weighed 1 lb 15 oz. at birth. Additionally, I had a 30% placental abruption that they discovered upon opening me up and was bleeding severely. (I just barely missed ICU admission because the HELLP Syndrome started resolving itself with the delivery of Daniel.) As a way of dealing with what I went through, I got involved with the Promise Walk in 2011. Preeclampsia is a condition that affects 1 in 8 pregnancies and we still don’t know the cause so I want to ask that you please consider supporting me (even $5) in this effort.

— 3 —

Orphans. Do you see these three adorable kidlets?

First row: Brett and Iris.
Second row: Kaia.

BrettIrisKaia

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her. Kaia has a family committed to her who will be traveling to her country at the end of July to meet her and spend some time with her as well as complete paperwork. Click on their names to see their Reece’s Rainbow pages.

— 4 —

Progress on the Whole Change of Diet. It’s been a hard week. Daniel is on summer break from preschool and is in “destructive toddler” mode. This makes it really hard to make food because I can’t leave him alone and he currently isn’t allowed in the kitchen. I’m trying to avoid processed foods as much as possible but it’s pretty hard because those are the convenient foods when you have little ones like Daniel. I’m also now finding out how many calories I was usually eating — a packet of gummy worms is 110 calories per serving… and a serving is 5-7 gummy worms, making the entire package around 770-800 calories! My head has become a calorie computer and it’s to the point where I could get really OCD about this whole thing. I don’t own a scale for a reason — I’d be completely obsessive about my weight and could easily cross over into eating disorder mode.

— 5 —

Baseball! *sighs* The Giants dropped two of their three games against the Pirates. Their effort yesterday was pretty good considering they were without Angel Pagan, the Panda, Marco Scutaro, one of their pitchers, and Bruce Bochy — 12-8 was not the worst they could have done. They shut the Pirates out today which helped. I believe they’re on their way to Atlanta now.

— 6 —

Entry in the works. I’ve been pondering a blog post on why I don’t homeschool Daniel in response to the annoying twits I occasionally encounter in the blogosphere who act like public schools are going to turn children into Communists and godless heathen or who can’t *BEAR* to be away from their children and not share in all their learning adventures. (Gag me with a freaking spoon.) I’m being judicious about it because I know so many moms who homeschool their kids and are lovely, well-rounded people like priest’s wife, Sara, Cari, Dwija, and Kelly. I’m also trying not to write it only because I’ve been stuck in a house with a four year old who has been having communication tantrums for 4 days and I’m counting down the minutes until summer school starts. (Autism is a freaking joy on occasion.)

— 7 —

Mani-pedi time. My pedicurist talked me into getting a mani-pedi tomorrow instead of just a pedicure so I’ll be doing that tomorrow morning. I have my hands in so much stuff that’s either gross or corrosive so I usually wouldn’t do it but I figured it’s worth a shot. After the week I’ve had, I’m looking forward to it.

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: June 11, 2013

Posted on by

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY June 11, 2013

Outside my window… dark. Yesterday, it was back down to decent temperatures (70’s) after a high of 110F on Saturday.

I am thinking… that I wish I’d discovered Call the Midwife sooner. I just started watching the first season on Netflix and I’m hoping Season 2 gets added soon!

I am thankful… for the quality time Jon and I have been getting after Daniel goes to bed.

In the kitchen… teryaki chicken on my George Foreman grill.

I am wearing… my Run for Courage shirt and my fleece pajama bottoms.

I am creating… threads for my NaNoWriMo piece in November.

I am going… to hope I can get my father-in-law’s present mailed tomorrow.

I am wondering… how to gently tell someone to cut the apron strings already for their kid. Once they pass a certain age, they need their freedom and they’ve already proved themselves capable of living on their own.

I am reading… Maphead by Ken Jennings (still) and a few other things.

I am hoping… I can get all of Call the Midwife before the season 2 episodes expire on PBS.

I am looking forward to… Respite Night on Saturday night for Daniel.

Around the house… *closes my eyes and sticks my fingers in my ears in the hope that the mess will GO AWAY!!!!*

A favorite quote for today… “Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati” — Red Green

One of my favorite things… Coffee Latté and Cream Bars from Trader Joe’s.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Home with Daniel, mani-pedi on Friday, and Date Night/Respite Night on Saturday.

A peek into my day… My parents’ cat Jethro looking quite irritated at being swaddled so I could clean out a wound and prevent an abscess from developing during one of my visits last month.

Just wait until I'm unwrapped!

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Prayer Requests, Whining About Heat, and Opinionated Rantings

Posted on by

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Prayer Requests. Lots of prayer requests for people this week in my life so if you’re so inclined, please pray for…

[-] healing for Hevel from encephalitis.
[-] healing for Josh as he spends another night in the hospital getting things back on track after severe nausea.
[-] emotional peace for Josh’s parents Alex and Susan in the midst of his illness.
[-] healing for my father-in-law.
[-] adjustment to some kind of schedule for my brother-in-law (Chris) and sister-in-law (Joanna) now that Joanna and Patrick (my adorable nephew) are home from the hospital.

— 2 —

Orphans Do you see these three adorable kidlets?

First row: Brett and Iris.
Second row: Kaia.

BrettIrisKaia

Brett and Iris need a mama and papa. Kaia has a family committed to her. Click on their names to see their Reece’s Rainbow pages.

— 3 —

Anti-smoking spiel of the week. Are there any of readers who aren’t aware that I think the term “smoker’s rights” is an oxymoron? Their right to smoke ends where my air supply begins which means that they effectively have no rights. This NPR story talks about the cost of employees that smoke and I can attest to this based on the complete lack of productivity of one of my co-workers in Montana. Between all her smoke breaks and the fines leveled by Customs due to her complete incompetence, she probably cost my company the equivalent of her salary yearly. (I have no idea why she wasn’t fired.)

— 4 —

Don’t make me turn this plane around! Apparently, 100 kids/adults were kicked off a plane headed to Atlanta because they wouldn’t sit down and turn off all their electronic devices. After several requests from flight attendants and the captain coming on and specifically announcing it to the kids, they still didn’t comply and were then told to disembark. They had to be squeezed onto later flights and I guess it took some of them 12 hours to make it to Atlanta. Southwest has offered them vouchers for future travel which I think is ridiculous because it’s punishing bad behavior. The kids should have complied from the beginning and it serves them right that they had to endure a bunch of transfers and more difficult travel. [insert rant about how this *never* would have happened when I was a kid]

— 5 —

Can we say “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face”? Apparently, there are churches who are cutting ties with the Boy Scouts because of the vote to allow openly gay scouts. OK… let me explain what this change *actually* means: The only big change is that openly gay scouts will still be able to earn their Eagle. There will be no orgies on camp-outs. Scouts will not be taught that being gay is totally acceptable — in fact, I’d kind of worry if my son came home from a Boy Scout meeting and told me that they discussed sex. I’ve been involved in both Boy Scouts (through my dad/evil twin/husband) and Girl Scouts for 25 years and I honestly can’t say that sex ever came up at any scout meeting. EVER. I worked on a camp staff that was 2/3 lesbian and I never knew that until one of my former co-workers brought it up a few years later. (I know that our girls were oblivious to it.) Scouting is a wonderful organization and both my husband and I are better people for being part of it. Heck, my husband was even a unit commissioner in Montana.

— 6 —

A good point. I read a brilliant article from Soujourners this week in which the author asked that people stop telling them what is anti-Christian. I concur. I’m a bit tired of people obsessing about how someone’s $tarbux habit is causing moral decay across the globe because $tarbux supports same-sex marriage. If you’re so completely offended by them, DON’T. BUY. THEIR. COFFEE. Support your local coffeeshop. Make your own at home. By the same token, the whole Chick-Fil-A debacle last year causes the same reaction in me — don’t buy their fried crap if you don’t like their corporate giving and don’t act incredibly self-righteous if you do decide to support them, claiming that it’s the “Christian” thing to do.

— 7 —

Hot Hot Hot! It’s supposed to be 110F here this weekend. Pray for me. I hate heat. I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: June 3, 2013

Posted on by

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY June 3, 2012

Outside my window… dark. It was in the high 80’s today and it’s supposed to be 105-110F this weekend. I’m pondering the idea of relocating to Alaska.

I am thinking… about what I need to get done tomorrow while Daniel is in school.

I am thankful… for my weekend in San Jose with my parents. Oh yes… also *incredibly* thankful for air-conditioning.

In the kitchen… chicken on my new George Forman grill.

I am wearing… navy blue maternity shirt and black running shorts.

I am creating… not much of anything at the moment.

I am going… to hope Words With Friends is back up. I haven’t been able to play in a few days.

I am wondering… when Daniel will go to sleep. Granted, he did have a long nap this afternoon (thanks to me taking a long one).

I am reading… Maphead by Ken Jennings. I’m on a chapter about geo-caching.

I am hoping… I sleep well tonight.

I am looking forward to… my massage on Friday.

Around the house… my Roomba is doing the floors. (It’s either that or a really helpful Dalek.)

I am pondering… too many things.

A favorite quote for today… “If we are skeptical we shall teach skepticism to our pupils, if fools only folly, if vulgar vulgarity, if saints sanctity, if heroes heroism.” — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… Lipton Pure Leaf Raspberry Tea.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Morning Prayer and errands tomorrow, Ladies’ Night Out on Wednesday, Autism meeting on Friday morning, and a massage on Friday afternoon.

A peek into my day… Laptime with the bear child this weekend.

Daniel and I in San Jose this weekend

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Tom Lehrer, Messy Faith, and Hating the Heat

Posted on by

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Tom Lehrer’s “Irish Ballad”. Only certain schools have internationally-renowned mathematics professors also teaching Musical Theater. UC Santa Cruz is one of those schools and Tom Lehrer is that professor. (Yes, I am totally proud to be a fighting banana slug!) Some of my friends were in the last university class he taught in 2001 and he used to sing his songs in class. My favorite of his songs has to be his “Irish Ballad” which talks about an Irish girl murdering her family in gruesome way and when the police come around, she admits to everything… because she knew lying was a sin.

It’s most likely NSFW and definitely NSFK (not safe for kids), especially if your last name is Donaldson.

This is Lehrer himself singing it.

In looking for a video of Tom Lehrer, I found this version by Ann Murray. I love it because she’s dressed up in her operatic finery… and singing something silly.

— 2 —

Messy Faith. This article had me at the title. I find that very few things are black and white — there’s too much grey in my world. I also have found that the more I read the Gospels, the more I am convinced that Jesus did not live in a nice little sanitized bubble. He lived in a world with very severe differences between the haves and have-nots and where those in power abused it. In other words, it was a world much like today. His means of death was also messy — crucifixion is the last punishment you’d want if you wanted a sterile environment. Lots of blood, lots of sweat, lots of tears.

— 3 —

Orphans. Do you see these two darling children?

BrettKaia

Brett (on the left) needs a mama and Kaia (on the right) has a family who needs help raising the funds to bring her home so she can start kindergarten (hopefully this autumn). If you can help out at all, click on their pictures. Please and thank you!

— 4 —

Cleaning up my diet. I can totally believe that the claims made in Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss are true. I’ve been focusing on a clean diet this week because of the ulcers and I’m totally craving a quarter pounder with cheese/fries/Coke right now. Our brains are being rewired to crave all these things and it’s disasterous for our waists, our health, and our environment. Granted, I am still using a marinade on my chicken that is produced by Wishbone but I’m finding that I like the plain chicken without the bun, the sauces, etc. Coke has been the hardest to give up but my fear of the ulcers in my stomach causing bleeding is keeping me on track. (Fear is a serious motivator.) It’s been hard to do this because it creates even more food issues and food guilt for me and I probably need to blog this out at a later time. I’m thankful for FitDay.Com — it’s been enlightening to see what I’m eating and what the actual portion sizes, carb counts, etc. are.

— 5 —

Not the stereotypical California girl. I’m fleeing to my parents’ house this weekend because it will be cooler than Sacramento. We’re supposed to come close to hitting triple digits this weekend where I live while the temperatures will be in the high 80’s at my parents’ house. I’m not the stereotypical California girl — I hate heat and I love rain. I also love four distinct seasons and actually miss snow.

— 6 —

Being so young to be so sick. I can guarantee you that I will start thinking about ways to kill you if you tell me that I’m too young to be so sick. Believe me… I’m totally aware of this and it just makes me resent it when you vocalize it.

— 7 —

Support me in the Promise Walk. I’m participating in the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia on June 23rd for my third year in a row. You know you TOTALLY want to sponsor me, right? I’m a survivor of HELLP Syndrome and doing this helps me to ensure that other women aren’t going to face the severe illness that I did or the after effects of high blood pressure and “preeclampsia brain” where I have short term memory loss to the point where my normally photograpic memory is no longer that way.

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