Category Archives: Silicon Valley Girl

7 Quick Takes: OMG I’m Hosting!!!!!!! Edition

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7 Quick Takes

Our intrepid hostess Kelly of This Ain’t The Lyceum has her hands a bit full, so she asked if I could host this week. My response: SURE!

So, who exactly am I? Well…

— 1 —

I’m a blogger. This July will mark 20 years of blogging. All but maybe 2-3 months of archives are here if you ever get bored one night and want to read them. Warning: I get a little verbose on occasion.

— 2 —

I am the mama of a special kiddo. My son is Daniel and he has a genetic abnormality called 22q duplication (in addition to others) that manifests in autism, ADHD, developmental delays, mild/moderate hearing loss, and a few other things.

I am also the servant of a magnificent panther named Minion.

— 3 —

I am a $tarbux junkie. My local $tarbux baristas know me so well that they start making my drink when I walk in the door if I haven’t mobile-ordered it already and me changing my milk preference is causing a great deal of shock. (They’ve re-made it a few times with apologies and expressed shock that it was supposed to be the way it was mobile-ordered.)

— 4 —

I am a tutor. I currently tutor all the Accounting and OBT classes at Skagit Valley College. I joke that my job is to teach people how not to crash their Microsoft applications and how to love Accounting. (I was sitting next to my priest at coffee hour one time when I said that, and he made the Sign of the Cross on me before saying, “bless you, child.”)

— 5 —

I am a proud Episcopalian. I sing in my church‘s choir, serve as a lector, help with the Facebook and web presences, serve on the Finance Committee, and edit the Advent and Lenten devotional books.

— 6 —

I am a 49’ers fan. I root for the SeaChickens when they aren’t playing the Niners, but I am OVERJOYED that they shredded the Packers and are headed to the Super Bowl.

— 7 —

I am a Giants fan. I gleefully root against the LA Dodgers Losers whenever possible.

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7 Quick Takes: 17 Years of Blogging!

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7 Quick Takes

July 19th was my 17th blogiversary and it passed quietly because of school and things in my personal life. As a way of ignoring the crappy health news I got today, here are are some ways my life has changed since I started blogging on July 19, 2000.

— 1 —

I’ve come full-circle in terms of relationships. When I started this blog, I was dating Jon. Then we went through our long engagement, marriage, a short separation, and now divorce. It’s a painful realization in a lot of ways but it also provides me with a record of the good times that I can look back upon eventually.

— 2 —

I have lived in five states. I had spent my life in California and was living with my parents over the summer before my senior year of college. Since then, I have lived in: Ohio, Minnesota, Montana, California (again), and now Washington. I’m glad to have had these experiences in seeing how people across the country live.

— 3 —

I am no longer vegetarian. I added meat back into my diet in December 2000 and while I don’t eat a lot of it, I have not given it up again except for Lenten purposes.

— 4 —

I have stopped coding largely by hand. For the first year, I coded by hand and then went to Livejournal, two iterations of Greymatter, Movable Type, back to Greymatter, b2, and then WordPress 12ish years ago. It’s good to know how to do some of it still so I can fix sidebars but I’d have to learn PHP to be able to create my own themes.

— 5 —

I’m Episcopalian again. At the time I started blogging, I was attending my Episcopal church at home and then attending an evangelical church at school. Eventually, I attended an LCMS church, went ELCA for 10 years, AALC for three years, and then became Episcopalian again.

— 6 —

I have 1.5 degrees and am getting another one. I graduated with my B.A. 11 months after starting the blog, worked on an MTS, and am now doing an ATA.

— 7 —

I’m missing a body part or two. I gave up my gallbladder in 2005 and there is less liver than there was originally due to scar tissue from the gallbladder issues.

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

7 Quick Takes: Things I Will Not Miss About California

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7 Quick Takes

I’m less than a week from the move and to keep myself in the “Washington is a good move” mode, here are some things I will not miss about California. (To be fair, I will miss a lot of people, the redwood forests, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco.)

— 1 —

The heat. It’s in the 90’s this week and might hit 100F on Friday. I’m looking at the radar for the area where I am moving in Washington and it’s in the 50’s there. I’m jealous — I hate the heat and I can’t wait to not be dealing with high 80’s and 90’s every day of summer. #climatechangeisreal #globalwarming #hothothot #noairconditioning

— 2 —

Non-Californians assuming that I live near Disneyland and that I could go every day. Anaheim (where Disneyland is located) is 8 hours away from where I live right now. Even when I was living in southern California, I never went because it is seriously expensive to go and Daniel would not get anything out of it. I think the last time I went was 13.5 years ago?

— 3 —

The desert. Just nope. Hot, ugly, and full of poisonous snakes.

— 4 —

Southern California in general. I’m a die-hard northern Californian. I instinctively root AGAINST the Dodgers, the Angels, the Lakers, the Chargers, and any other southern California team. It’s also too hot down there, there are too many people, and very little is within walking distance because it’s completely a car culture.

— 5 —

Traffic. LA traffic is horrible, Sacramento traffic is a level of hell, and Bay Area traffic can be annoying. Granted, Seattle traffic is worse (and they’re in denial about it) but I won’t be living in Seattle, so I probably won’t have to deal with too much of it.

— 6 —

Avocado on everything. I hate avocados. I hate guacamole. I hate Mexican food.

— 7 —

The pollution. While southern California has gotten better about smog, the Central Valley is horrible as is the Sacramento area. Daniel had more respiratory issues up there than anywhere else we have lived.

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 29, 2016

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For Today…

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… dark. It was in the 80’s today which is not to my taste as I hate hot weather and it’s only supposed to get hotter this week.

I am thinking… about the move.

I am thankful… for a nice dinner with family friends last night.

One of my favorite things… the San Francisco Giants winning and the LA Dodgers losing games

I am wearing… jammies. Today’s outfit for both church and afterwards was the same as it was Folk Choir Sunday which tends to be more casual with people wearing jeans. I went with a blue-green fitted tee from Old Navy and black capris from Kohl’s.

I am creating change-of-address postcards

I am reading… The Fear Babe: Shattering Vani Hari’s Glass House by by Marc Draco, Kavin Senapathy, and Mark Alsip. I haven’t gotten a chance to read this weekend but I’m enjoying the book.

I am hoping… Daniel sleeps through tonight and let’s me sleep in tomorrow morning. Getting by on an average of 6 hours of sleep a night is not doing good things for me.

I am learning… about all the disability services in Washington state.

In my kitchen… hamburgers tonight.

In the school room… Daniel’s last week of school. He finishes on Thursday.

Post Script… for anyone who read this article, there is good news.

Shared Quote…

Some sage advice.

A moment from my day… Another amazing version of Baba Yetu.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 22, 2016

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For Today…

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… cloudy and in the 60’s. It’s been cool all day and threatening to rain. Given how much I hate hot weather, I’m all in favor of it even if it gives me migraines.

I am thinking… about the move in 2 1/2 weeks.

Oh yeah… this is what the vague-blogging has been about. My parents and Daniel and I are moving to Washington in June. It’s been in works since November. We had to be out of the house for two weeks in April while the floors were redone, the doors replaced, and the trim replaced. After that, we had a week of realtor showings that required vacating the house at a moment’s notice. The house sold fast and Mom and Dad spent a couple days in Washington house-shopping. They put in an offer which was accepted and closing is on June 3rd.

I am thankful… for today’s choir anthem going well.

One of my favorite things… office supply stores. Staples is my idea of nirvana.

I am wearing… long-sleeved green striped shirt and jeans. For church this morning, I traded my jeans for my black dress slacks and black flats.

I am creating change-of-address postcards.

I am reading… The Fear Babe: Shattering Vani Hari’s Glass House by Marc Draco, Kavin Senapathy, and Mark Alsip. The book takes all of the Food Babe’s pseudo-scientific stupidity and deconstructs it using facts, actual science, and logic.

I am hoping… a friend comes home from his missions trip safely.

I am learning… about the various state agencies that work with kiddos like Daniel in Washington.

In my kitchen… Dad is making hot dogs tonight.

In the school room… Daniel has two weeks left and I’m starting to scan paperwork to send to the school district in Washington.

Post Script… if you know someone with fibromyalgia, I recommend reading this.

Shared Quote… From Facebook…

I couldn't resist sharing this one from Facebook...

A moment from my day… As it is Trinity Sunday I thought I’d share this.

Closing Notes: I saw a blog post shared on Facebook this weekend in which a mommy blogger who had done lots of giveaways and earned money from her blog was telling all the other mommy bloggers to give up their blogs because she had seen the error of her ways and, like, nobody cares or is reading mommy blogs anymore. I’d disagree that mommy bloggers need to stop writing and give up their blogs. Readership of blogs is down across the board but if it brings you joy to blog and scratches that itch, go for it. Unless you are saying something dangerous, something seriously untrue, or being a complete and utter Sanctimommy, I’ll generally ignore you if your blog has too many sponsored posts or if you bore me to pieces.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 15, 2016

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For Today…

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… sunny and breezy with temps in the mid 70’s. (I’m doing this during daylight hours for a change.)

I am thinking… grumpy thoughts about the hospital pharmacy who made a typo when they transferred one of my prescriptions to Target which caused the prescription to expire 11 months early. (Prescriptions expire after a year — they said it was written on April 13, 2015 instead of April 13, 2016. I only have one dose of it left and I’m not feeling optimistic about it getting fixed tomorrow. Hmph!

I am thankful… for one of my favorite church kids doing a flawless job reading the Acts 2 passage this morning. I usually have to sit in the pew and cringe while adult lectors butcher all the names and nationalities of the people so it was wonderful to hear it done well. I’m kind of hoping my priest puts her in the lector rotation even though she’s only in elementary school because I think she’d do a fabulous job.

One of my favorite things… the smell of star jasmine in the morning when Daniel is leaving for school or I am leaving for church.

I am wearing… a burgundy fitted tee from Old Navy in honor of Pentecost and jeans from Kohl’s. I swapped out my jeans for my black dress slacks this morning for church.

I am creating my temperature afghan during my spare moments.

I am reading… Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber. I need to swap out my e-reader for my laptop at night so I can finish the book and move on to my mountain of books-to-be-read.

I am hoping… Daniel sleeps through tonight and doesn’t wake me up wanting milk/juice/cheese/my credit card.

I am learning… about social services in other states. Woohoo.

In my kitchen… something grilled for tonight. It’s Sunday family dinner and Dad is in charge of the food.

In the school room… working on various speech things with the kid.

Shared Quote…

Wise words on the bathroom debate.

I have friends who are transgendered and most of them have been using the bathroom of the gender with whom they identify for years without issue. In fact, one of them shared the story of a woman in Kentucky who was attacked for looking too masculine while people looked on without helping her. This terrifies me. There is no excuse for violence.

And for the record, the man that strangled the 8 year old girl in the bathroom in the Chicago deli was not transgendered. Most pedophiles are statistically married and heterosexual, not transgendered.

A moment from my day… Kiddo climbing one of the apple trees while helping my mom in the garden.

A boy in a tree.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

{five favorites}: Miscellanea (LXIV)

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#5Faves

One

This good news. A species of starfish that was dying off has made a rebound. Given that they’re a keystone species and they predict the health of the ocean, this is amazing news.

Two

Tuesday being over. A psych appointment for Daniel, errands, a massive meltdown over Daniel’s communication issues… I was happy to go to sleep and end the day.

Three

Prescription sunglasses. Mine have disappeared and I’m really missing them today as I’m fighting a fibromyalgia flare-up and migraine.

Four

The DMV counter at my local AAA office. If you live in certain states (California being one of them) and you’re a AAA member, you can go to your local AAA office to register your car, renew your driver’s license, and do a couple other DMV tasks. I was able to go in and put my car in my name and it only took 5 minutes compared to the hours I would have spent at the DMV.

Five

Grey kitties with tummies. My parents’ cat Homer is rolling around on the patio exposing his tummy. It is very soft and he is purring. He is a wonderful “loaner cat” for me. (He also loves Daniel.)

Go love up Bonnie and the others.