Month: November 2023

Discussion

We started going through some question and answer things together tonight, and actually discussing some of it… and I feel so satisfied by the conversation as a whole, so accomplished, satiated… satisfied not as in proved right, but as in filled, whole. I have been wanting to do just this for so long, and we are finally doing it clearly and intentionally, and it is wonderful. We both are learning, I think, both about each other and about how to discuss different things effectively with one another, and both are extremely valuable in any relationship. So, I go to sleep incredibly grateful tonight.

Thank you, God, and thank you, my man, for the communication, the willingness, and the love involved in it all. Thank you, God, for this life. Please, make clear our next steps always in pursuing and fulfilling your will. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

P.S. In class today, we started discussing jobs and work and careers and crafts. (This is French class.) At the end of class, we started reading together an article on the Japanese concept of ikigai. (If you don’t know it, look it up, because it is really cool.) Tonight, as I looked at my memories on Facebook, I crossed a post from this day seven years ago talking about how I had just discovered the Japanese term ikigai and that it was an awesome addition to my vocabulary. How fun! 😛

Nicknames

I mentioned something about my brother tonight, and my man wanted to confirm that he was thinking of the right person by that name. My brother has a farm, so he said, “Farmer ——?” No one had ever referred to him that way, so I confirmed myself by saying, “Brother ——-”. And, just for fun, I then gave his various nicknames from childhood. I then listed who used which names. My man said one of them was mean. I said how it was actually an endearing one and that my brother was fine with it, just like how I was called “Nina” by one sister and “Chickadee” by another.

As I typed my next comment of, “The only thing I would brainstorm about how to put on a license plate one day,” referring to Chickadee, my man said, “K nickname overload”, and I promptly stopped the rolling discussion that was developing in my brain. 😛 He has a fair point – five nicknames in thirty seconds just before bed is a lot to take in. Especially for people whom one doesn’t know all that well. It had me realize how many names we all had for each other, though, and how important each one was to us all, including that we had the right to use them… kind of makes for a really cool bond, now that I’m thinking about it. We didn’t make them on purpose. They just happened. Those are the real nicknames, the precious ones.

Anyway, as my brain went on this new route on its own, I then had a follow-up message of my man sending me a screenshot of an available version of “Chickadee” for a license plate. 😛 He’s just perfect for me, and I love him immensely.

Thank you, God. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Quizlet

I have been using my first Quizlet and the first shared with me the past two days. A fellow classmate shared his Chinese flash cards with me, and I then went and added pronunciations to them to make my own set. Now, I can practice them as both just characters and meanings and with pronunciations, too.

I still need to make my own hard copy set, but this is good practice for now, and it took minimal time to ‘create’ them, so I accept the do-for.

Thank you, God, for this wonderful chance to learn and expand and improve myself, both as a person and student, but also as a teacher, too. In your name, I pray. Amen.

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P.S. Please, keep my man and the dog and their stuff all safe, please. Give him the confidence and the words he most needs. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Word nerd

According to Merriam-Webster online, an acronym is only a word made up of initial letters from a set of words. It is a form of an initialism, which is anything made up from the initial letter or letters from a set of words. Example? Radar is an acronym (for “radio detection and ranging”), but FBI is only an initialism (for “Federal Bureau of Investigation”). Radar is also an initialism, of course, as all acronyms are initialisms, though not all initialisms are acronyms.

So, that’s all for my nerdy sharing for tonight. Goodnight!

Dear God, thank you for my nerdiness. In your name, I pray. Amen.

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Happy Thanksgiving

As usual, my family and I celebrated Thanksgiving today, the Friday that follows the official holiday. And, as usual, we had a lovely time together – I very much enjoyed being with those who attended and am very grateful for the time we all spent together.

However, I am absolutely exhausted, and so must sleep. My man is driving to Mexico tonight and then tomorrow for the long haul actually into and through Mexico. As usual, I am scared.

Dear God, thank you for this lovely day and family. Thank you for my man. Please, help him to be safe on his trip. Keep him always safe, happy, healthy, and holy. Help him, please, to follow and pursue your will. Bring him back home to me safely, happy, healthy, holy. Watch over him and guide him, please. And help me to trust in You and Your protection, and to release this fear I am presently carrying. Help me to find comfort and ease in Your promise and love. Keep him and the dog and the car and all the stuff safe, please. Bless his driving. In your name, I pray. Amen.

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Thanksgiving Day

Today was a lovely day. I chatted on the phone with my sister for an hour and a half, then watched a movie with my man on the sofa, snuggling against the cold and drizzly weather, then took a nap before watching a couple episodes of “Fixer Upper” with my man while I baked sweet potatoes for tomorrow, and also watched the end of the movie we’d started the other day.

It was cold and slightly dreary, and we had a wonderfully lazy and wholesome day of rest. I am very grateful for today – it was just what we both needed, I think.

Thank you, God. Goodnight and Amen.

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P.S. Two months from today… 😛

Social energy

After my cousin and his friend left late this morning, his parents, my aunt and uncle, showed up to pick up my uncle’s boat that we had been storing for him. So, I spent the morning interacting with the cousin and friend, then the midday and early afternoon with my aunt and uncle. By the time our dads and their wives arrived for dinner (almost an hour late) close to five, I was kind of done with my social interactions for the day. 😛

Quite convenient, I know. So, I stuck it out and participated a reasonable amount, I believe. But the seating arrangement allowed for me to take it easy and talk to the grandmother in the living room while the dads and wives all chatted together at the dining table – their spending time to get to know each other was kind of the main point of the dinner, after all. And I got to do a lot of cleaning etc. in the kitchen, which helped me balance it all, too.

Nonetheless, I think the evening was a rather good time as a whole for everyone. I’m very grateful to be going to bed now, though it is after ten PM.

Thank you, God, for today’s blessings. He’s me and help me always to do your will. In your name, I pray. Amen.

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Musical Evenings

We celebrated my grandma’s 93rd birthday this evening at her building’s happy hour. After a bit, my cousin jumped on the (baby?) grand piano – lid up, of course – and started playing some old favorites for her (and the other folks there), as well as a few for us. I rather especially enjoyed singing “All for the Best” from Godspell with my mom and aunt and cousins… almost like we were mad, but we were truly just having such a great time with the song, we were actually jumping up and down and all as we did it.

It all was just really great. Even the regular Alzheimer’s granny was singing along with enthusiasm and energy I had never seen in her before tonight. That made it all even sweeter.

And then, by happenstance and poor planning, the piano cousin and his friend ended up staying at the house with us tonight. They arrived while I was showering, and it was no surprise to me to hear both the piano and a guitar already being used within minutes of their arrival. Naturally, we had a next few hours filled with music and merriment.

The nerdy bit was when I mentioned the NPR Piano Puzzler, a really cool bit where this pianist composes and performs a popular song in the style of a famous composer (who did not write the song). A listener has to guess the song and the composer, but it is just as fun to play at home or in the car just listening. My cousin hasn’t heard of it. Fortunately, they are all available to hear online, so we pulled up a few and had a grand old time listening to them and guessing together. If you like music and haven’t tried them already, check them out!

Anyway, thank you, God, for such a blessing tonight. Grant us all renewing sleep each night and energy and will to pursue and fulfill your will each day. In your name, I pray. Amen.

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Talk about toothbrushes

Toothbrushes… they seem to be one of those things you can find anywhere and in all different types and styles, and it seems that it really doesn’t matter which one you pick, because they’ll all get the job done about the same. The electric ones seem to be the only real difference in quality of result… supposedly, anyway. I’ve never read a study on them, and advertisements don’t really use quality ones to express their preferred outcomes, so we may never know the actual facts of the matter. It certainly makes sense that they’d be more efficient, but it isn’t a guarantee.

Anyway, I have a comment on this: The greatest toothbrush I have crossed to this day is the Preserve recycled yogurt cups toothbrush.

First off, it’s being kind to the planet in a way. That’s great. They even ask to have the toothbrushes returned afterward for further recycling of the plastic. Even cooler.

Secondly, they have various levels of bristles softness. I use the ultra soft, of course, because I don’t need to be pushing hard on my teeth. We all have our own opinions for our own teeth, of course.

Thirdly, and this is the best part, they have a curved handle. Instead of being a straight stick that requires us to open our mouths wide to get to the back, this curved one makes it loads easier to brush anywhere in the mouth without opening up the mouth a whole bunch (and likely spilling) and without having to get creative with wrist angles. In a way, it is a lazy man’s non-electronic toothbrush. It’s awesome.

And, just for fun, fourthly, they come in all different colors. Beautiful.

Anyway, try them out. They’re aesthetically pleasing and ergonomically efficient, as well as kinder to the environment than other brushes and just plain neat. They’re only a few dollars. So far as so can tell, while you can get them at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s always carries them for much less. Likely, any local health-type foods store will carry them, too… that whole genre of shops, you know. Preserve toothbrushes. They’re stellar and totally worth the quality price.

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