Category Archives: Silicon Valley Girl

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: December 13, 2015

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY December 13, 2015

Outside my window… dark. It was in the mid-50’s with rain today. I found it positively delightful. Next weekend is supposed to be rainy as well. El Niño is more than welcome in my humble opinion.

I am thinking… about what I need to get accomplished this week.

I am thankful… for the chance to sleep in until 9 a.m. yesterday. I sorely needed it.

In the kitchen… Dad made steak, potatoes, and salad tonight. He also got Cherry Garcia for dessert. Yum!

I am wearing… my VBS shirt from this year and black capri sweats.

I am going… to be working on Daniel’s SSI overpayment appeal this week.

I am wondering… if we’ll have the kitchen back to normal this week. *crosses fingers*

I am reading… some Jessica Beck murder mysteries and Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber.

I am hoping… the counters arrive this week so the sink and stove can be installed and I can cook again.

I am looking forward to… seeing family at Christmas.

I am hearing… The Bells of Dublin by the Chieftains. It’s my favorite Christmas album and what we used to put on while decorating the tree.

A Daniel story for today… Mr. Boy curls up on the heating vents in the morning so I curled up with him on the one in the living room this morning and wrapped a blanket around us to keep the heat in. He is a wonderful cuddlebug.

Around the house… people sleeping. I think I’m the only one awake.

A favorite quote for today… “How can God stoop lower than to come and dwell with a poor humble soul? Which is more than if he had said, such a one should dwell with him; for a beggar to live at court is not so much as the king to dwell with him in his cottage.” — William Gurnall

One of my favorite things… Coca-Cola. I know how bad it is for me but it’s irresistible at times.

A few plans for the rest of the week: organize my Christmas card list, work on Daniel’s appeal, knitting group on Tuesday, Daniel’s 30-Day IEP meeting on Wednesday, Bible study on Thursday morning, choir on Thursday night, and whatever else comes up.

A peek into my day… Our anthem from this morning:

Post Script…

My friend Carrie also blogged about gluten-free life for 31 Days of Writing and she compiled all her recipes into a new cookbook. She offered me a copy and after reading it, I am excited about cooking!

I should warn people that it isn’t grain-free in the event that people are following the advice of renowned quack William Davis of Wheat Belly. (I’m not linking to his blog because I don’t want to give him any more hits than necessary.)

Anyway, go check it out!

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: December 6, 2015

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY… December 6, 2015

Outside my window… dark. It was in the 60’s earlier when I got out of church. (Granted, it’s technically 1 a.m. on the 7th as I’m writing this.)

I am thinking… that Daniel really needs to be going back to sleep. *looks at the small child who is finding new and creative ways to fall asleep while touching me*

I am thankful… that Daniel was a complete angel today. He snuggled with my mom, focused on his Legos and engaged in focused play, and went to sleep with no drama tonight. The current round of wakefulness is mostly due to me daring to get out of bed to use the bathroom and disturbing his sleeping position (his head on my stomach and the rest of him contorted around me).

I am wearing… charcoal shirt and black capri sweats — my jammies.

I am creating… this entry. 🙂 Also a big boy blanket for my wee bairn.

I am going… to try and find a provider who will see my kiddo on straight Medi-Cal so I can avoid having to deal with the county hospital’s pediatric urgent care. Kiddo runs out of Adderall on Wednesday and I don’t want him missing any days as we’re seeing some serious improvement with him on it.

I am wondering… when I’ll be able to do some Christmas shopping.

I am reading… a bunch of Jessica Beck murder mysteries. I also have Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber on my e-reader for the time when I run out of library books.

I am hoping… my kiddo goes back to sleep and stops balancing on his elbow on my leg. It’s causing me a bit of discomfort. *gives the kid a sideglance*

I am learning… to back up my data lest I have to take my laptop to Best Buy again to have them extract all my data.

In my kitchen… Dad made steak for dinner. Yum.

A favorite quote for today… “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… Definitely this list of fabulous Christmas carols. Someone even made a playlist of all the YouTube videos she mentioned:

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Blog.

The SImple Woman’s Daybook: November 29, 2015

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY November 29, 2015

Outside my window… dark. It got to about 59F earlier when I was sitting out at $tarbux having coffee with Rebecca. I was loving the cold even if I wasn’t dressed for it at the time. (Note to self: tights are a good thing in places where it gets chilly during late fall/early winter.)

I am thinking… about Advent things and worship this morning at my church. I love the Trisagion setting that we are doing in place of the Gloria for Advent. (The text is here and the music is here.)

I am thankful… for several days with Jon, my evil twin, and the evil twin’s wife.

In the kitchen… shrimp linguine made by my dad. We all licked our plates completely clean.

I am wearing… charcoal shirt and gray pajama bottoms.

A Daniel story for today… Kiddo lost his other front tooth while eating corn chips on Thanksgiving. He’s missing exactly the same teeth that I was at his age. (We watched some old home movies from that year this last weekend.)

I am going… to be making a Goodwill run tomorrow morning. I think the guy who mans the trailer is pondering closing it up and claiming that it’s full each time he sees me.

I am wondering… what to do to get my kid to sleep well again. He’s finally going to sleep… at 9:45 p.m. after my mom chewed him out for screwing around. (I think he’s really stuffed up and uncomfortable so he’s having a problem getting to sleep.)

I am reading… Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon. It’s interesting to read the story from the point of view of some of the other characters.

I am hoping… that I can go to Knit Wits on Tuesday.

I am looking forward to… Daniel sleeping well again.

Around the house… sheets to wash tomorrow.

I am pondering… what I have to get done this week.

A favorite quote for today… “Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised…” — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… venti iced vanilla lattés from $tarbux.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Goodwill runs, possibly Knit Wits on Tuesday night, choir on Thursday night, and whatever else comes up.

A peek into my day… My friend Thomas put together a wonderful Advent playlist on YouTube several years ago. As I’m without my iTunes at the moment, I’m listening to it to scratch that itch.

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7 Quick Takes: Gratefulness

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7 Quick Takes

It’s been a tough couple of months so I thought I’d go this for my Quick Takes today as a way of getting perspective.

— 1 —

I am thankful for God in my life. Can we just say that without the grace of God working in me and without His mighty hand slapping me upside the head occasionally I’d be in BIG trouble? (Yes, I know my image of God at this very moment is that of Gibbs on NCIS.)

— 2 —

I’m thankful for Daniel. My job as a mom is to help him to heaven but I think it works both ways. Kiddo has seriously purged almost every ounce of selfishness out of me and has made me a far better person that I would be ordinarily. He’s also a very good cuddlebug and full of sunshine 95% of the time.

— 3 —

I’m thankful for my mommy. My mom is amazing. She is incredibly diplomatic, she instinctively knows how to work with Daniel, she backs me up 100% in my parenting, and she babysits so I can go be a human being a couple times a week. On Tuesday night, I came home to Daniel asleep on the heating vent in my room (it doesn’t get too hot so it was fine) and some Kraft mac n’ cheese on the stove for me because she didn’t know if I had been able to get dinner before my 3 hours of church stuff. She is freaking awesome.

— 4 —

I’m thankful to get along with my family so well. We’ve got 7 people in the house right now and nobody is fighting or grumping or being miserable. This is pretty awesome. I’m also glad to be able to spend the time with Jon, my evil twin brother Sean, and his wife.

— 5 —

I’m thankful that I live within walking distance of almost everything I need. We have to drive to get to Daniel’s school but I live within walking distance of the park, the library, a grocery store, and $tarbux. It makes it easier to go have “adventures” with my munchkin.

— 6 —

I’m grateful for the two churches I have been part of this year. St. John’s Episcopal Church helped to heal me from bad pastor’s wife experiences and welcomed me with open arms into their choir, the Wednesday morning Bible study (whom I miss greatly), and their community. When I had to move back up to northern California, the Episcopal Church in Almaden (who loved me into faith as a high schooler) welcomed back with open arms into their choir (there are benefits to having known the choir director for more than half of one’s life) and into the parish community.

— 7 —

I’m thankful to Al Gore for creating the Internet. The internet allows me to keep in touch with people and be less isolated than I would be if I had to go interact with people face-to-face. I also have a great community on Facebook who pray for me and keep me going.

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: November 23, 2015

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FOR TODAY November 23, 2015

Outside my window… dark. It was in the mid 60’s today, I think.

I am thinking… about tomorrow night’s choral evensong service.

I am thankful… for my parents getting some painting done today.

In the kitchen… paint dust so we ordered pizza.

I am wearing… my VBS shirt from this year and black sweats

I am going… to have a fair amount of cleaning to do tomorrow.

I am wondering… about some things related to today.

I am reading… some Jessica Beck mysteries and Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber.

I am hoping… I can recover some files that might be lost.

I am looking forward to… seeing family from out of town this week.

I am learning to back up my files better.

Around the house… cleaning to do tomorrow. Whee!!!

I am pondering… the mystery I am reading at the moment.

One of my favorite things… Hawaiian pizza.

A few plans for the rest of the week: clean tomorrow, choral evensong tomorrow night, dinner with peeps on Thursday, and whatever else comes up.

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook: November 8, 2015

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY November 8, 2015

Outside my window… Dark and down in the 40’s right now. I love that I’m getting to feel winter in northern California. The only more perfect thing would be my dad building a fire in the fireplace.

I am thinking… about the stupidity erupting over the holiday cups at $tarbux. There’s even a wacko calling for people to go to $tarbux and give their name as “Merry Christmas” to force the baristas to say it… which is pretty ludicrous when you consider that all their baristas are literate (and many have probably read this or other pieces on the subject) and the practice in most of the ones I visit is to call out “I have a [insert name of drink] for [insert first name]!” It isn’t going to force them to say “Merry Christmas” more than anything else will.

Another thing: $tarbux still gets your money if you do that so you’re basically funding a company whose morals you hate. Wouldn’t it be better to patronize your local independent coffee shops or to just make your coffee at home and donate what you would have spent to charity? Just a thought!

I am thankful… for rain and cold weather. Bring it, El Niño!

In the kitchen… Dad made shrimp pasta with lemon, basil, garlic, and prosciutto. *swoons*

I am wearing… navy blue fitted tee from Old Navy and blue/white striped pj bottoms from Tarzhay.

I am going… to be calling and annoying the Special Ed peeps at San Jose Unified again tomorrow morning to see if I can get them moving faster on finding Daniel a placement.

I am wondering… how many words I can get through tonight for my NaNo piece.

I am reading… Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber. I finished Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson on Tuesday during my two hour wait at the local Social Security office to find out that they don’t do what I needed them to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I would have to come back on Friday. (I prevailed on Friday thankfully.)

I am hoping… for Daniel to get placed in a school program this week.

I am looking forward to… seeing some family friends for the first time in 9 years on Friday.

I am hearing… my mom watching The Librarians.

A Daniel story for today… Mom took him to a local park while I was at church and partway through their park date, she heard him howl. She rushed over and he was covered in blood and one of his front teeth was missing. We think he likely was grinding his teeth and bit it strangely so it came out sideways because he’s still a bit bloody in that spot and has a dark bruise there. His other front tooth is loose as well!

Around the house… I can hear the furnace. It’s making me feel all koselig, which is a Norwegian word for a sense of coziness. (HT: this article)

A favorite quote for today… “TIL that Starbucks is rounding Christians up into coffee death camps and making them drink Pagan Spice Lattes.” — Mark Jaquith snarking about the flipping out over the $tarbux holiday cups. (Just for the record, I really prefer Peet’s and It’s A Grind over $tarbux any day.)

One of my favorite things… coffee with Rebecca… at $tarbux. 😉

A few plans for the rest of the week: park dates with Daniel, Bible study and choir on Thursday, dinner with friends on Friday, and a game night with a good friend from childhood on Saturday night.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

#5Faves: Miscellanea (LII)

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#5Faves

One

My mommy. She has backed me up with giving Daniel his meds in the morning which is becoming a trial because he has caught on to the fact that the capsule of Adderall is in the spoonful of peanut butter. She also watched Mr. Ornery this morning so I could go deal with Social Security.

Two

Rain. We got an inch of it yesterday. I am positively giddy.

Three

This hymn. I love Michael Card and I love The Ash Grove so I definitely love his version of “Let All Things Now Living”.

Four

Van Morrison and the Chieftains. Totally sharing these for my favorite Tasoni. 🙂 This is how I hear these particular songs in my head.

Five

NaNoWriMo As usual, I decided to participate at the last minute and I think it will make for an interesting month. I’m doing it for fun this year to process some things in my life. (For those not familiar with it, go check out the NaNoWriMo website.)

Go love up Jenna and thank her for being the hostess with the mostest for the last year or so.