Category Archives: Gold Country Life

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 26, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY May 26, 2014

Outside my window… hot. The high was 94F today. It’s hopefully supposed to cool off a bit this week though it will still be summer temperatures. *sighs* Definitely not helpful that we have a drought happening in California at the moment.

I am thinking… about everything coming up in the next few weeks.

I am thankful… for my in-laws and the way they’re helping us make some decisions right now.

In the kitchen… dishes!

I am wearing… my Run for Courage shirt and black yoga pants.

I am praying for… the ability to make good decisions, the strength to confront everything happening over the next few weeks, and for a number of special intentions.

I am going… to Trader Joe’s tomorrow. We need sourdough bread and I need some ginger mints.

I am wondering… why I seem to get stuck with the women who take Titus 2:3-5 literally and wax poetically about how they wish they had an older woman like that in their lives when they were young. They don’t care about making me into a Biblical woman — they just want to be able to boss younger women around because they think they *gasp* “know what it’s like to be a young mother in [my] situation”. Ummm… no.

I am reading… A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans.

I am hoping… that my hands eventually stop hurting.

I am looking forward to… having some of these decisions behind us.

I am hearing Jon typing on his laptop. Daniel is still asleep. *crosses fingers that he stays asleep*

Around the house… decluttering and organizing.

A favorite quote for today… “A towel, [The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy] says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.” — Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

One of my favorite things… quiet evenings after my precious sweetling has been knocked off his schedule and is being bratty.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ABA therapy every afternoon, a counseling appointment on Friday, and that’s pretty much it.

A peek into my day… My grandfather (an aviator with the U.S. Navy in WWII) and me probably 30 years ago.

My grandfather and me in 1984.

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 19, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY May 19, 2014

Outside my window… dark. It was pretty nice outside today.

I am thankful… for a good day with my family on Saturday.

In the kitchen… dishes. Always dishes.

I am wearing… light blue preeclampsia survivor shirt and black sweats.

I am praying for… guidance for what comes next.

I am going… to try and get all the bills paid tomorrow.

I am wondering… what I’m going to hear at the end of the week.

I am reading… A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans — it’s actually a re-read.

I am looking forward to… my massage on Friday.

I am hearing the episode of Leverage where they’re trying to scam a corrupt car dealer.

Around the house… ignoring housework today as it’s my birthday.

A favorite quote for today… “Atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.” — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… sushi.

A few plans for the rest of the week: errands tomorrow morning, ABA therapy the rest of the week, parent training on Wednesday morning, counselling appointment and massage on Friday.

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 12, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY May 12, 2014

Outside my window… dark. It has gotten warm lately and it’s supposed to be 95F tomorrow. I am not amused.

I am thinking… that my Netflix membership is paying for itself in the seasons of Leverage that I’m going through right now.

I am thankful… that Daniel hasn’t come out to curl up with me — I might get some quiet prayer time tonight without having to think about getting the bear child back to bed.

In the kitchen… dishes to do. Wheeeeeeee!!!

I am wearing… purple Old Navy shirt and black sweats from Target.

I am praying for… a special intention, for Daniel to keep developing speech, for peace in my life, and for Mairama Y., one of the young women in Nigeria who was kidnapped by Boko Haram.

I am going… to enjoy my mani/pedi tomorrow.

I am wondering… what Ann Coulter was thinking this weekend. I think the best one was “I am a miserable person who peddles hate to make money off of dumb Republicans.” Just sayin’.

I am reading… Girl At the End of the World by Elizabeth Esther. I finished Something Other Than God by Jennifer Fulwiler yesterday and it was AWESOME.

I am hoping… getting my calluses removed with a Dremel tool tomorrow isn’t too painful. They’re pretty bad.

I am looking forward to… seeing my evil twin and his wife this weekend for the communal birthday celebration. I haven’t seen my sister-in-law since Thanksgiving and I haven’t seen the evil twin since March.

I am hearing the clock belonging to Jon’s great-grandfather.

Around the house… quiet right now. I’m thankful for it.

I am pondering… so many things internally. Introvert, yo!

A favorite quote for today… “Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of faith. I don’t agree at all. They are afflictions, not sins. Like all afflictions, they are, if we can so take them, our share in the Passion of Christ.” — C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcom, Chiefly on Prayer

One of my favorite things… silly house panthers who are claiming abuse and neglect. (Can you tell Edda is being a pest?)

A few plans for the rest of the week: mani/pedi tomorrow morning, ABA therapy for Daniel every afternoon this week, hair cut on Thursday, meeting and errands in Elk Grove on Friday, and spending Saturday with my parents.

A peek into my day… “Come and I Will Sing You” by Great Big Sea. Lyrics and meanings are here. It’s one that gets stuck in my head.

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 5, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY May 5, 2014

Outside my window… dark. It’s 11:00 p.m. and I’m blogging to clear out my brain before I sleep.

I am thinking… about everything going on tomorrow morning and how to get it all done.

I am thankful… for my talk being over and for it going so well.

In the kitchen… pesto quinoa salad with Kalimata olives and feta cheese.

I am wearing… CPC t-shirt and black running shorts.

I am praying for… for the crud in my upper respiratory to go away, for wisdom in how to parent Daniel, and for a few special intentions.

I am going… to be focusing on housework tomorrow morning.

I am wondering… what the future has in store for me after June 15th.

I am reading… Something Other Than God by Jennifer Fulwiler. It’s resonating with me as a convert from atheism/agnosticism to Christianity.

I am hoping… my eye appointment on Wednesday goes well.

I am looking forward to… my massage on Thursday.

I am hearing the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles on iTunes. They are on a playlist with all of my Bach and some of my other classical, chant, and Taizé music.

Around the house… going to be focusing on the kitchen tomorrow.

I am pondering… various things internally.

A favorite quote for today… “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” — C.S. Lewis (I know I share this at least every quarter but it’s one that accurately reflects where I stand on things.)

One of my favorite things… quiet time late at night for prayer.

A few plans for the rest of the week: parent training tomorrow, eye appointment on Wednesday, massage on Thursday morning, counseling appointment on Friday, ABA therapy on every weekday afternoon, and whatever else pops up. I may or may not go to Ladies’ Night Out on Wednesday night depending on how I feel.

A peek into my day… Daniel with my father’s hat at the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia in San Jose on Saturday. Dad kept sticking it on his head and Mom got a picture of it before Daniel removed it.

Daniel with Dad's hat

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook: April 29, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY April 29, 2014

Outside my window… dark. It’s 4 a.m. and I’m having fibro pain in my legs as well as insomnia.

I am thinking… about what I’m going to be facing in a matter of hours in terms of my day.

I am thankful… for those who have donated to my participant page for the Promise Walk.

In the kitchen… need to cook the last of the quinoa.

I am wearing… green t-shirt and black capri sweats.

I am praying for… sleep (failing there), various people, the ability to forgive, and a couple special intentions.

I am going… to hope that they can fix our bathroom fan tomorrow.

I am wondering… why I’m getting hit with insomnia and fibro pain tonight/today.

I am reading… Jesus: A Pilgrimage by James Martin, S.J. — I’m reading it one chapter at a time so that I’m not having to remember too many details when I have to put the book down.

I am hoping… I can get my fabric trimmed tomorrow and primed to cut the strips for tying.

I am looking forward to… the Promise Walk on Saturday.

I am hearing Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me on iTunes.

Around the house… lots of cleaning to do in the dining area part of the kitchen.

A favorite quote for today… “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn: We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously—no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner—no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat—the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.” — C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

One of my favorite things… Trader Joe’s Organic Tea – Lemonade.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ABA therapy for Daniel on weekday afternoons, mani-pedi on Friday, counseling appointment on Friday, and the Promise Walk on Saturday.

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook: April 22, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY April 22, 2014

Outside my window… dark. I’m blogging after midnight as usual. It was actually pretty nice yesterday.

I am thinking… about how I’ll make it through tomorrow. Daniel doesn’t go back to school until Wednesday and I think he’s getting cabin fever

I am thankful… that Holy Week is over and for a lovely Easter afternoon and evening with my parents on Sunday.

In the kitchen… dishes. Always dishes.

I am wearing… blue t-shirt from Old Navy and black sweats from Target.

I am praying for… discernment, a special intention, for Daniel to get the hang of potty-training, and for my family to come to know Christ. (I’m a convert.)

I am going… to probably take Daniel with me to get some chai tomorrow morning as an excuse to get out of the house.

I am wondering… if we’re going to be getting rain up here. My dad was saying that they were supposed to get some in San Jose today.

I am reading… Jesus: A Pilgrimage by James Martin, S.J. — finally getting back to it after a brief break to get through the murder mysteries that arrived from the library for me over a very short period of time.

I am hoping… Daniel catches on to potty-training soon. I want this behind me.

I am looking forward to… Picnic on the Green at Daniel’s preschool on Friday. Parents bring lunch for their kids and we have a picnic on the lawn with them.

I am hearing YouTube hymns from my blog — listening to music I’ve linked in the past.

Around the house… dishes to do (my kingdom for a dishwasher!), laundry to fold, and a kitchen to clean.

I am pondering… life after June 15th.

A favorite quote for today… “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” – C.S. Lewis

I actually brought this quote up in Bible study last week!

One of my favorite things… a quiet house.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ABA therapy for Daniel every afternoon this week, returning my flats to Payless on Wednesday or Thursday, counseling on Friday morning, Picnic on the Green afterwards, and taking stuff to be shredded on Saturday.

A peek into my day… Madeline Kahn and Grover singing the “Echo Song”. I sing it to Daniel frequently.

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What I Wore on Sunday: April 13, 2014

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What I Wore on Sunday

I made it to church on a Sunday. This is SHOCKING!!!!!

Yeah, I made an extra effort because the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia is coming up next month and I need to fundraise for it.

As it was Palm Sunday, I decided to go Hawaiian and wear a shirt with palm fronds. I realized when I got home that I had another shirt that would have worked but it was nice to take the Hawaiian shirt out of my closet for the first time in a bit. To make it “church modest”, I put a white tank top under it.

Daniel did OK during church though we went home during the choir anthem to get the Promise Walk stuff. One of my favorite people handed me a $100 bill and told me that they needed people like me to tell our stories and let people know about the risks. I proceeded to CRY. ALL. THE. TEARS!!!!

Daniel and I.

Daniel’s clothes are all from Circo via Target.

Of course I wasn't using my palm frond as a Celtic broad sword!

Hawaiian shirt: thrifted from the Goodwill at the corner of Garey and Foothill in Pomona
White tank top: Mossimo (Target)
Denim skirt: hand-me-down from my sister-in-law
Sandals: Naturalizer

Jon having a sword fight with me.

Clerical shirt/tab: Autom
Khakis: Kohl’s
Shoes: Kohl’s

Go see the other ladies at Fine Linen and Purple.