Category Archives: Family

7 Quick Takes: C.S. Lewis Plaque at Poet’s Corner, Grousing About Politics, and NaNoWriMo Updates

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Quiet here. Becky of From Mrs. to Mama didn’t post a link-up this week so I didn’t post on Monday and as I’m doing NaNoWriMo, I’m focusing my writing time on my murder mystery for this year. I’m about 10,000 words in and kinda-sorta on schedule. I’m going to start trying to do around 2,000 words a day so I can finish early because I know I won’t be able to write much over Thanksgiving due to family commitments.

— 2 —

There will be a plaque in memory of C.S. Lewis placed in Poet’s Corner at Westminster Abbey on November 22nd (the 50th anniversary of his death). Westminster Abbey does not finance the plaque (they just give permission to place it) so various academic societies dedicated to the study of Lewis’ works are trying to raise the funds for it. The cost will be ?20,000 (about $30,000 in USD) and there’s a link here where you can donate to the cause. I have vivid memories of Westminster Abbey from a 24-hour layover in London 15.5 years ago on the way to Ireland and I remember Poet’s Corner so I’ve donated.

— 3 —

Fascinating. From Facebook, here are stunning portraits of remote tribes before they pass away. It’s NSFW due to cultural beauty standards being what they are but it’s amazing.

— 4 —

Shaking my head… I had someone snarkily remark last night that I should know what’s going on with the parish because, after all, I’m the pastor’s wife. Ummm… if she’d been paying attention for the last 2.5 years, she would probably have heard me say *MONTHLY* that being the pastor’s wife just means I’m married to Jon — he doesn’t tell me anything.

*smh*

— 5 —

Orphans. Do you see these darling children?

L-R: Brett and Iris
BrettIris

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and they are compiling their dossier to send to her country.

— 6 —

Just wondering… If the Affordable Care Act was the work of a Republican president (let’s call it “Romneycare” because it was based on that legislation), would there be as many people engaging in partisan grousing about the website not working? Because as anyone who has ever dealt with the roll-out of software or a website knows, you don’t know what bugs exist until you have a high volume of users. (I grew up in Silicon Valley. This is in my blood.)

It’s also completely unsurprising that insurance companies are engaging in shenanigans. When Jon and I were having to insure ourselves 10 years ago, maternity coverage was an extra $490 per month. It was cheaper to be on the Pill. I also have to laugh when Blue Cross of California claims to be “not for profit” because they are making a bundle on insuring people in California now that insurance companies who don’t want to be regulated have fled the state.

— 7 —

Fundraising for Brett. I’m planning to use NaNoWriMo to help raise funds for Brett. Once I have things figured out, I will let y’all know.

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

7 Quick Takes: My Week, Requests for Help, and World Series Musings

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Relief. Jon is home after being gone since Monday to our denomination’s pastor’s conference. It’s good to have him home and I’m not just saying that because I now have someone to do the laundry/dishes/cat care. I’ve had a sick kid since Tuesday night and had to haul butt to UCD Pediatrics Urgent Care yesterday — it’s good to not be handling this alone.

— 2 —

The sick kid. Daniel refused to go to sleep on time on Sunday and Monday nights. I thought that it was probably due to Jon being gone on Monday night but he went down super early on Tuesday night which would have been great had I not been hit with restless leg syndrome. (Fibromyalgia, you suck!) Wednesday, he got sent home from school with a fever of 100F and I got the call right as I was putting my feet in the warm water for my pedicure. (I know… #firstworldproblems) His temperature started spiking so that it was 102F by mid-afternoon and I called the advice nurse at UCD Pediatrics Urgent Care to ask what they wanted me to do. The answer: “GET. UP. HERE. NOW!!!!” Diagnosis: a bad ear infection in his left ear and an upper respiratory infection which was setting off his asthma. He’s on antibiotics and I was alternating Motrin and Tylenol to lower his fever. I’m hoping he’ll be back to school tomorrow.

— 3 —

Forty to Forever. From my Facebook wall:

OK… I’m the social media person for the Forty to Forever fundraiser and we’re trying to raise money for families adopting kids internationally who have special needs. We need two things:

1.) We desperately need churches who are willing to sponsor families with prayer and also with funding to a degree. This doesn’t have to be costly and there is information on the website about what to do. If you ladies could talk to you church councils/pro-life groups/ missions people/women’s ministries/whoever, I’d greatly appreciate it. If you can’t find the answer to one of your questions, let me know and I’ll get the information for you. You can find most of what you need here.

2.) We need people who can commit to being prayer warriors and praying for us/the families/the kids one day a week during Lent. (We could also really use it right now.) It’s a fifteen minutes per week commitment and if it would help, I can send you prayers, a litany, or whatever you need in terms of help in how to pray. The page for sign-ups is here.

The website is http://www.fortytoforever.com/ and we’re also present on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks!

— 4 —

NaNoWriMo fundraiser. I’m taking part in NaNoWriMo this year and I’m pondering the idea of making it into a fundraiser for Brett. I’m thinking of offering to let people read my manuscript for a $10 donation. What say you, readers?

— 5 —

World Series. The Cards just took Game 2 and I was happy that they showed up to play tonight instead of sending their middle school doppelgangers. (Obviously, I’m rooting for them and not Boston.) The series goes to St. Louis next and I’m hoping the Cards do better on their home field.

— 6 —

Orphans. Do you see these two cute children?

L-R: Brett and Iris
BrettIris

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and their dossier is on its way to Iris’ country.

— 7 —

World Series fun. You have to love it when the *ORCHESTRAS* from the cities of the World Series teams start trash-talking. 🙂

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

52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose: Random Facts About Your Other Half

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This week’s topic: random facts about Jon.

[+] His foreign language in high school was Scots-Gaelic. Seriously. His teacher was at our wedding. He even did some study abroad in college on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.

[+] He loves jazz. I got him a membership in the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society for his birthday which is something he can do on his own… because I hate jazz. Oh yes… I also got him a CD of some jazz I could mildly stand and let him listen to it in the car on the way back to northern California.

[+] He is about 9 inches taller than me. I’m 5’1″… on a bad hair day. He’s 5’10”. He dwarfs me in pictures.

[+] He is an extrovert. About 80% of clergy are introverts so he’s the exception. I’m an introvert so before we had Daniel, we used to go to events in separate cars so I could leave when I was overstimulated.

[+] When he is on a long phone call, he micro-folds pieces of paper. I’ll find pieces of paper folded into really tight squares around the house. I need to get him an origami book or something.

[+] He is a Dodger fan. Don’t look at me! I don’t understand it either. I mean, it works this year when his team isn’t “cellar-dwelling” but usually, they’re sucktastic at best!

[+] He is an Ole. Translation: he is a graduate of St. Olaf College in Minnesota. Um Ya Ya! Like most Oles, he studied abroad. (Seriously, the first question I ask people when I find out that they’re an Ole is where they studied abroad or will be studying.)

Now go see Becky and what everyone else shared.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: October 6, 2013

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY October 6, 2013

Outside my window… dark. I meant to finish this earlier. Oops!

I am thinking… about the traffic to Daniel’s peds appointment tomorrow. Not looking forward to it!

I am thankful… for the time this weekend with my family.

In the kitchen… nothing new.

I am wearing… grey maternity shirt and black capri sweats.

I am creating… novel plans for NaNoWriMo.

I am going… to hope for a quiet day with no surprises tomorrow.

I am wondering… what the heck is with drivers who assume that your turn signal is a request for them to pull up next to you and refuse to let you pass?!?!?!?!?

I am reading… Pastorix by Nadia Bolz-Weber.

I am hoping… Daniel goes down easily tonight.

I am looking forward to… my massage on Wednesday morning.

I am learning to ask for help.

Around the house… cleaned up real good.

I am pondering… many many things.

A favorite quote for today… ??What does seem to me poisonous, what breeds a type of patriotism that is pernicious if it lasts but not likely to last long in an educated adult, is the perfectly serious indoctrination of the young in knowably false or biased history – the heroic legend drably disguised as text-book fact. With this creeps in the tacit assumption that other nations have not equally their heroes; perhaps even the belief – surely it is very bad biology – that we can literally ‘inherit’ tradition.?? — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… flour taquitos.

A few plans for the rest of the week: peds appintment for Daniel tomorrow, massage and errands on Wednesday, and ABA therapy every day from Tuesday to Friday.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: A Relatively Boring Week

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Take that, Joel Osteen! I don’t remember who shared this during the week but I love it! It’s a series of /joel Osteen tweets with responses taken from some of Luther’s more *interesting* responses. As I despise Joel Osteen for many reasons, this made me proud to be Lutheran.

— 2 —

A useful tool. One of the parody accounts I follow mentioned Perfect Potluck. If my church wasn’t an older congregation, I would totally suggest this for the next gathering. I might even suggest it for the next family gathering.

— 3 —

Orphans. Do you see these two darling children?

L-R: Brett and Iris
BrettIris

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and they are compiling their dossier to send to her country.

— 4 —

OMG NCIS!!!! I’ve loved the episodes of NCIS from the last two weeks. It was sad to see Ziva that dejected but I think it was a good way to wrap things up with her. I also love that the new NAVSEC is female. I forsee that this will be an interesting thing for story lines.

— 5 —

The Millers. I’m currently watching it and it’s interesting enough. The mom is kind of like an American version of Hyacinth Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances. The father is incompetent in a comic way. It’s not addicting like The Big Bang Theory is but it works for 30 minutes.

— 6 —

Respite. I’m headed to San Jose for the weekend for some respite. It’s been an insane week with some less than pleasant portions. My parents will be happy to see Daniel and I could use some TLC from my mom as well.

— 7 —

Bliss. Daniel’s latest “falling asleep” thing has been curling up in our laps while we’re watching TV and cuddling until he falls asleep. I know this isn’t a forever thing so I’m enjoying it while it lasts.

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

{Virtual} Coffee Date (vol. 9)

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{Virtual Coffee Date}

Once you’re done here, go visit Karianna and the other coffee drinkers.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you how well Daniel’s audiology appointment went this morning and how he wore his hearing aids for 8 STRAIGHT HOURS without taking them out. It was amazing. I just hope I can get them in correctly tomorrow as I won’t have his audiologist helping me.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you about this news story and how I have no sympathy for them. (The gist of it: she ran a red light and her fine was $100 more than on the sign.) Suck it up, buttercup! You ran the light. You were caught on film. You can pay your fine. I’m glad the judge didn’t see through your sob story.

If we were having coffee, I’d ask you to pray for Mary of Passionate Perseverance. She tweeted and posted on Facebook that she and her daughter Courtney were in route to Georgetown ER after Courtney had 3 seizures in 30 minutes and turned blue. Serious prayers are needed for Courtney that the doctors can figure out what’s going on and how to treat it as well as prayers for Mary and her family because this is a terrifying situation.

Thanks for having coffee (or herbal tea since it’s pretty late at night) with me. See you next week!

52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose: How My Childhood Impacted Who I Am Today

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This week’s topic: how my childhood impacted who I am today.

This should be an interesting list.

[+] I am compassionate because my mom modeled it on a daily basis. She’s the one who would give money to people with “out of work” signs and buy the ingredients for a separate Thanksgiving dinner for the food pantry. I also had lots of service opportunities through school and Girl Scouts.

[+] I am creative because I had parents who encouraged me to read whatever I wanted, draw, and write stories. My mom has “books” that I made when I was 5 and 6.

[+] I am shy because I was bullied in school and consequently am really wary around people until I know I can trust them.

[+] I am good at thinking on my feet because of Girl Scouts, particularly my Senior troop. We got to do lots of activities where we had to think through all the steps independently and they taught me how to rely on my own everywhere from a job interview to the wilderness.

[+] I am focused because I wanted to be the best at everything and my classmates in middle schoo; and high school gave me a run for my money.

[+] I am a blogger because I was bored one afternoon in February 1997 (I think it was the 10th) and heard about this site called Geocities that allowed you to build your own personal website. I started blogging three years later.

[+] I am a Christian because I was blessed to have a neighbor who read me the Gospel when I was 6 years old and showed me what it was to be a godly woman. She was one of the Scripture readers at my wedding and I miss her so much! (She lives in Oregon now. The last time I saw her was 7 years ago when I was in Oregon for my grandfather’s funeral.)

[+] I am addicted to georgraphy because I had a first grade teacher who handed me a map and explained how it all worked. I knew all my state capitals before the year was up. Playing “Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego” obsessively in second grade also helped.

[+] I am a good cook because my mom had my brother and I “helping” her from the time we could pull chairs to the counter. It took her three times as long at first but we could follow a recipe by the time we were 7 and cook dinner by the time we were 9.

[+} I am a classical music lover because my mom had it on all the time. She also did the “You-Sing-It Messiah” with me in high school and college. By the time my awesome Music Appreciation class rolled around in high school, I knew more than most of my clasmates.

Now go see Becky and what everyone else was impacted by their childhoods.