Minor freak out and more creatures...

I just clicked my blog and there is nothing in the sidebar... Ahh! What happened to all of my stuff?! It's still in my layout but it doesn't show up. Anyone else having this problem?

I still need to explain the creatures... maybe tomorrow! I'm preoccupied with other thoughts today. Good thoughts! God works in ways we can never understand and His blessings to us are often through the kindness and generosity of others. Today, I was blessed with an incredibly special gift and I am so grateful. For you (both), I am grateful.

Russia, I need you!

I was just looking at my dots map and there are NO dots on Russia!

Russia -- where are you? I know you are there...

I'll explain later...

Weird & Random Habits

Several years ago (ok, when I was in middle school), my great aunt Emily, a school teacher, fell while on a roller skating field trip with her students. She used her hands to catch herself and she broke her wrist in multiple places. She ended up with pins in her arm and a very long recovery.

My sister and I would often go to her house and help out with random house work, or just keep her company. Once the pins were removed she had hand therapy and occupational therapy. It could have been one in the same but I digress... Her wrist often hurt her so she'd use her other hand and hold her wrist and sort of move her hand in an odd direction. Seeing her do this so much caused ME to do the same thing with mine despite having a perfectly normal working wrist. Every now and again I catch myself doing this even though it's been YEARS since she's even done it.

This leads me to my next habit. I broke my foot in three places two years ago in November ('06). The breaks were on the bridge area of my right foot -- it was awful! I'd broken my right leg when I was younger but I was small enough to be carried so I didn't have to use crutches. I wasn't so fortunate to be carried this go-round. Crutches hurt!

Anyway, after my eight weeks of crutches I finally got to walk with my boot on - yay! Then after weeks of that I could walk regularly. Except I was still sore so I limped on it. I finally got to the point that I didn't have to limp but every once in a while it would hurt (this still applies today).

I can't wear certain shoes. Heels are out of the question unless it's for a short period of time. Tennis shoes, Danskos, Chacos, and Merrells are about the only shoes I can wear. Anyway, sometimes, even when my foot isn't hurting at all, I find myself limping! I think it's because I limped for soooo long I just sorta got used to it.

I'm sure there are other weird things I do... other than obsessive counting (i.e. bathroom tiles, ceiling tiles, etc...). And I'm sure you will have a happier Friday knowing that there's someone a tiny bit crazier than you think you are. Ha!

Incredibly sweet letter

I don't typically share letters from my sponsored children here because I want to preserve integrity, but this one was too sweet not to share in its entirety.

Clara's mom typically writes but late last year Clara (age 10) started writing on her own! In her first letter she said "can you believe it's really me, Clara, writing to you?!" How precious is that?!

This letter was written just four days before her birthday (November '08).

"First I would like to greet you a pleasant day and Hi! through the guidance of our Lord, I am very fine with my family and I hope you are also in good health at this moment. I'm so happy and surprised today. Now, I am so excited to say thank you very much. I am so lucky because God hear my prayers and there's always the answer in advance. I realized that God is always with us. I must say that I am the most lucky girl in our home because I have a sponsor like you. You're so blessed and have a big warm heart to me always.

That's why in behalf of my family we thank you so much for sharing me your blessings. I bought a part of sandal, blouse, and pants and I will wear it in going to school and in the church. Some of it I will buy things that I need in school. again, thank you always for being there. For all those sacrifices, I do not know how I pay you back. I pray that you have more blessings, have a good health always and may you find the right man who cares and loves you for the rest of your life. I love you so much! 'Tsup! Tsup!' [No earthly idea what this is, appears to be a sound, kisses maybe??? Any insight, let me know!]

Kindly pray for me to finished my schooling with high grades. And my younger brother celebrate his birthday today but he suffered from cough and fever. Please also pray for him. How's your weather? How's your family bonding? Wishing you more blessings to come. Till next time. May God bless you always. Love and pray, Clara Mae"

You can sponsor a child too! Visit Compassion's website -- there are hundreds (dare I say thousands?!) of children whose photos are depicted on the website. I've had the best correspondence with children from Philippines, Tanzania, El Salvador, Guatemala, Thailand and India. I think India and Philippines are a tie. I have a child I write to in India and I typically receive at least one letter/month from her. Clara replies to all of my letters. Other friends I have who sponsor in the Philippines have similar correspondence. For a first sponsored child, I'd recommend Philippines! And I'd also recommend a child older than eight, because they often have waited the longest.

*Photo from Compassion's website.

Dentist

I'm not feeling well today... I came home around 12:30, slept a few hours and am trying to sit up for a while hoping that if I pretend to feel better I really will. Not sure what's going on... between my upper back (yah, weird, I know...) and my tummy... I think it's sympathy sick for Luka.

Anyway, check out this video, it's stinkin' hilarious. I wish I had something more insightful to write about. I am sure I could, but I'm not feeling up to it. We are now officially in the Lenten season. I'm not "giving up" anything but I am excited about our 40-Days of Water Challenge!

ERR! YouTube is being a PAIN... I can't embed the video b/c it's not letting me copy the link. Click HERE and it will take you to the site to watch it. Sorry for anyone who has me in their reader and can't access YouTube at work for any reason... It's *totally* worth it to come back and watch this, soooo funny!

(What's not funny is Luka peeing on my bathroom rug and throwing up on the floor... it's like kids...)

Surgery Kitty

Luka had a dental today. He'd broken a tooth some time ago but recently it became inflamed so that and the fact that the plaque on his molars had calcified meant - time for a dental. He doesn't do well under anesthesia so I was a little concerned but he passed his blood test with flying colors! Yay! Relief... 16.5 lbs of cat worried me. His little eyes are still dilated but aren't they the most beautiful green eyes you've ever seen? I love his eyes. They really are that green.

Finley wasn't sure what to make of the "vet smell" so he pitched a hissy little fit for a while (haha).

Luka finally settled down, but for the record Biggy Big went straight for the food bowl when he got home. Of course he was still loopy and couldn't jump on the dryer to get it (he fell, poor baby) and when I did offer him some he couldn't figure out how to eat it, so I found some canned food and he devoured it.

I had lots of bloggy thoughts today... mostly fun ones that included a Hope Aid fundraising update, slang words, and something about "jive turkey," but I just haven't felt up to posting much. Tomorrow.

40 Days of Water: Challenge!

Challenge time!



In November, Abbie set up a Fast and Feast Challenge for Thanksgiving... I didn't fast, but I did pray during my time slot and at random times throughout the day. This idea sparked D and I to try our own challenge... but it didn't exactly go as planned...



So I'm trying yet another challenge. This time, I am going to do better!



Here's the plan... to drink only WATER for 40 Days!



We'll begin on March 1st and continue through April 9th (lenten season). Blood:Water Mission, the organization hosting the challenge, is suggesting that the money participants would have spent on beverages be donated towards their well fund. I think there are a few options here; that is one, another is sending the money to your favorite charity, or simply using this challenge as a time to reflect and remember those less fortunate and to remind ourselves of Him who truly satisfies thirst.

BWM was founded by Jars of Clay, a passionate group of musicians with a heart for Africa! Read more about how BWM was founded here.

"Blood:Water Mission is partnering with groups and individuals to empower Africans to build healthier communities through sustainable clean blood and clean water solutions, while developing social responsibility in the U.S. through initiatives that provoke personal engagement and ownership."

Blood:Water Mission has a shop on their site that has some really neat water bottles. I happen to be a fan of Nalgene myself and even contributed my two cents to our company's blog.

Don't forget to check out Blood:Water Mission's blog!

I'm sure I'll post more about this later... lunchtime blogging is just not sufficient enough! :)

JOIN ME!!!

Sunday, fun day

I am a little sad the weekend is almost over... but happy because that means March will be here soon and D will be here for almost TWO WEEKS in March - YAY for that!

I got up early and started cleaning the house, it was rainy so I have no idea where my motivation came from... maybe the huge pile of laundry making itself comfortable in the middle of my bedroom? I even ended made a grocery bag holder with some of my new fabric! My sister stopped by and said she thought the fabric was ugly, but I like it. And frankly, it does the job! Actually, I could have made a bigger one because I still have a pile of bags but they're folded because I grabbed a stack at Walmart after the woman told me I could take a few. Wonder if we should have defined "few?"

Now if I could only figure out how to make a tote... I printed a really cute pattern last week but it is WAY too advanced for me. Instead, I found a $1 Care Bear tote I bought at Target last year for one of my kids and apparently forgot I had it. If I feel daring I may try to make a pattern from it. I don't think it will be too hard... but I'm not really one for patterns.

I didn't use anything to make the grocery bag thing, but then, it wasn't really hard to figure out so I guess that's not saying anything. I just don't see why I couldn't free hand everything, right? That's the way I learned how to play piano (by ear) and guitar, and saxaphone, so I blame my music background for preventing me from using sewing patterns. That's fair.

I really have nothing too exciting to say so, if you even made it this far I owe you a box of Girl Scout Cookies!

What's in YOUR bag?

Jess and Abbie did it, so of course I want to do it too! :) Here's what's in my day bag. Now, typically I think this is for purses, but I've not had a purse since my Kate Spade days... and I can't afford that anymore. Actually, when I got Nola a couple of years ago (ahh, it's been that long already?!) I started carrying a bag in addition to my pocketbook (purse, whatever...), then I realized I just needed a better bag. Introduce this awesome sling! Actually, I've had a couple in between that I've loved. Mountainsmith makes a really good one that I've used. It has a rubber bottom so if anything spills you can just fill it up with water, rinse, and voila - new again! Anyway... what's inside? What isn't!? This isn't bad actually, I used to cram all sorts of stuff in there.

Necessities:
-Wet Ones wet wipes (I have a few types, you can never have enough!)
-Nail file, nail clippers, comb, lotion, chapstick, lipstick, facial moisturizer travel sized
-Umbrella
-Japanese rice paper mom brought back from Japan last summer
-Market bag rolled up
-Poop bags (Always a must have!)
-Note pad, pen (Seriously, I only had one pen in there?! I usually have at least 8!)
-Extra dog collar (Left over from trip to the mountains last weekend.)
-Hair bands
-Granola bars (Restocked weekly.)
-Wallet

So, what's in YOUR bag?

Let'$ go deep...

I've been a little frustrated lately, but I'm on the right track. Part of me just doesn't want to do what I know I need to do. The other part of me is just afraid (of what, I have no idea...). This touched me today:

An Unfettered Mind
(Gerry Straub)

The less you have, the less you have to distract you from God.
To become poor is to know the richness of God.

The danger of building up riches is that an accumulation of wealth
makes it easy to succumb to a self-complacency which makes God superfluous.

Without clinging to anything, we must patiently stand before God with open hands.
Jesus is not asking us to get rid of our possessions; he is asking us to lose our attachment to them.

He knows an unfettered mind is essential to reaching the emptiness where God can meet us.

Some random things...

I realize I've been completely random this week. Maybe my personality is more random than I knew...

1) It really bothers me when dogs' collars are upside down. REALLY bothers me. The label (or image) should be read (or seen) clearly if you were beside or in front of your dog. Not if you were looking at your dog from it's back. Item in question: (the cows are upside down)

2) Gum drives me crazy. I rarely tell people that though because I know a lot of folks like it. It's okay with me if you like it. I think it's icky. I also don't like it when people talk with food in their mouths. Drives me crazy. I'm just confessing things now... that's still random. Which makes it relevant for today.

3) It's been impossible to work in my office this week because one of the office's beside mine is really cold all of the time so buildings and grounds has been here all week in the ceiling playing with pipes. I can hear them talking. I almost want to take notes in case they say something interesting. I've resisted that urge so far...

4) When I stepped out of my office to chat this morning (due to the ceiling crawlers overtaking a corner with their giant ladder), then returned, I'd been at my desk for about a half hour before noticing that someone put a sharps container on my desk. I have thought it was strange until just now when, as I'm typing this, I realize that the ceiling crawlers must have moved it from on top of my cabinet to my desk so they wouldn't knock it over. Good move guys... except now I feel like an idiot for not realizing it was my own sharps container... nice freak out moment. At least it's empty. And actually, now that they make retractable, disposable finger pricker needles I don't even use the thing... but I digress. Wait! Should I mention that I use them for doing rapid HIV tests on people? That's why it's disturbing... sharps containers are no fun.

5) I don't have to work tonight and I have SO many things I want to do!!!

• Choose fabric for the quilt I'm making attempting to make.
• Finish catching up on Bible study.
• Go to the bookstore to buy Riven that my friend Kalaya insists I read.
• Clean the house from the dirtiness I brought back from the mountains.
• Stop by other work to pick out my free, defective item of the month (gear returns).
• Sew something. (Anything.)
• Make homemade bread. (I blame Jess for this...)
• Run. (I don't really want to do this though.)

6) I'm addicted to Etsy. Seriously. Somebody needs to stop me. I can't stay off. I don't even remember how I found Etsy. I almost regret finding it. I bookmarked it months ago and when I was cleaning out my links list I saw it, visited, and pretty much made it a daily habit. (HABIT!) HELP. (I'm not actually sure I am ready for help just yet... I still like it. But it will soon become a serious addiction that overtakes my life. When I get to that point, then help...but I'll let you know when I'm there. Til then, just watch me crumble under the pressure...)

I better stop while I'm ahead.

Happy Friday Peeps!

Completely Random

...but I hope you'll laugh.

Road to Heaven

I know I was supposed to write something happier, but today I lost a friend. I don't think I've mentioned it on my blog before, but I work at a health department and coordinate communicable disease outreach efforts for our county. "Communicable disease" is primarily HIV. Before I worked here, I was with American Red Cross and taught the HIV/AIDS prevention courses, and also did a lot when I worked at the med school. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've always been involved with HIV/AIDS in our community for as long as I can remember.

My friend David Aldridge has always been there. We met when we took our instructor course together several years ago. We've worked together planning events, support groups, and all things in between. His wife worked for my stepdad years ago and they were just great people. David was HIV+. He also had cancer. I talked to him before I left for the mountains and I knew he was sick. I knew his brain tumor was back and I knew he was struggling.

I said a prayer for him, and for his wife. But I knew he would bounce back. He always does. He'd been battling HIV and cancer for years. He was a fighter. When he was sick, I worried, but I didn't panic because he always got better. He always did.

The tumor caused seizures and convulsions so he was medically induced into a coma. Last night, his soul went to Heaven. David was the happiest, most upbeat person you could meet. He was real. He was my go-to person when I needed help with someone who was newly infected. He was my go-to person when I needed a boost in my work. More importantly, he was loved by everyone who knew him and he will be missed more than he could ever know.

Today, I am sad that I have lost a friend, but I am comforted in knowing that he is with the Lord and in a place with no pain or struggle. Please pray for David's family.

Money. Root of evil?

I'm inching towards a limb today. Mainly because I've got money on my mind. I hate it. No, I love it. It means that I can eat, sleep in my bed, warm my house, care for my 3 furries, and help others. At the same time, I hate it because it's tempting to be selfish. My television died last week. I bought a new one. I knew I would be needing a new one but I didn't realize how soon that would be. I found a used one for a fraction of the cost a new one would have been. I didn't pay for it all at once. Thankfully, my family knows the owner of the store so I paid half and can pay the balance as I am able.

Did I really need a new TV though? Seriously.

Luka is scheduled to have his teeth cleaned next week because he'll be 9 this year and has awful yuck in his mouth. Nola has been growling at me (her new name is Gator) over random things. She needs a behavior consult. It's not free. The taxes on my car just arrived in my mailbox. I'm behind on my neighborhood homeowners' dues. Oh, and while we're at it, let's just toss in all the credit card bills and other household statements.

And then... I see that the She Speaks conference is going to be in Charlotte this year -- NC! Oh how much fun it would be to meet some of the bloggers whose blogs I stalk on a daily basis! And I don't even have to fly anywhere -- it's only a few hours away!

I won't be going. There is no money for things like this. I suppose there could be but that wouldn't be using good judgement in spending. And aside from that, I am reminded of the conferences that David has wanted to attend in Kampala. A couple of years ago he and his wife Linda attended the Watoto conference and were able to make a lot of great contacts for Hope Aid. It was awesome! It took two of us to pay for their registration but we made it happen! This past year, we weren't as fortunate so they were unable to go.

I got a second job last summer and it has been a life saver financially -- it's an extra little bit each month that I've been really good about putting towards debt. But there are some months when I still feel like I'm swimming. I try not to look at the giant picture and instead focus on the corners, but it's not always easy.

I don't know why I'm writing all of this... frustration? Last week, I went to pick up my Bible study book I ended up buying a Dave Ramsey money makeover book -- I had to laugh at the fact that I'd made an impluse buy, on a debt book, at the Christian bookstore, and didn't walk out with what I'd gone in to get! I still laugh at that a little bit.

Speaking of -- I have the best Bible study buddy ever! Jess scanned all of the pages in our book that I'd need to catch up while I wait for the two-day delivery of my book. Thanks Jess!! And Abbie sent the intro listening guide so I could follow that! Thanks Abbie!!

I feel like I owe my blog a better post this afternoon. I often feel bad about posting things like this but then I'm reminded why I started this blog - to reflect and to grow. And I can't very well do that without being honest with myself and with others. That being said... I'm peacing out and heading back to work.

Trendy Pup

By the way... did I need to mention that Nola received tens of compliments on her booties doggy trail shoes??? Every person we passed (ok, not every person, maybe every other person [D agrees, I had to ask because you know, I don't want to exaggerate...]) commented on them! They either liked them, thought she was cute in them, or needed to get some for their own Fido.

(Total side note, Fido is latin for "faithful friend"/"i am faithful" -- sweet...)

Trail Dog Extraordinaire

The Blue Ridge Parkway is gorgeous, most especially during the spring and summer when the flora is in bloom, but I love it in the winter months because you can really see how its beauty gives it its name.

We drove out to Graveyard Fields (sounds creepy, I know... a fire burned the area years ago and the trees looked like grave markers so that's how it got its name) earlier today and hiked several miles. It was a perfect day to be outside. I think the high was 50 but with the wind it was more like 45 or a little below that. Above is D at the upper falls. We finally made our way there after a few horse trail side hikes.

Nola is the trail dog extraordinaire -- right! Actually, she was great. The trail was moderate, definitely not easy but not too strenuous either. Although there were parts that I would consider a little more difficult than others. I had to carry her across a few of the stream areas because I didn't want the water to get in her booties and keep her paws wet. Trust me, she would have LOVED to run through these little areas. I did let her go through some but only when the water was low enough not to wet the top of her paws.

We were done with the trail and thought we were also done with inclines... then we remembered the stairs we had to climb to get to the car. Ugh. We were tired. My legs burned from having to carry little Miss Sunshine over some of the rocks. There weren't enough spaces for her feet without a slick surface. Why don't dog booties come with vibram soles?!

Back on the road to the cabin, we decided to stop at an overlook to take a picture of Looking Glass Rock. This would have been a great hike but not something for our little trailblazer. I think it would have been way too difficult for her if not just down right impossible. The trail is pretty rough from what I understand, but the view is worth it. I actually liked looking at the rock from the parkway myself... but then, I'm pretty easy to please.

We're heading home tomorrow, but not before stopping by Waggers to get Sunshine Trailblazer a marrow filled cow bone (gross) for the ride home.

Cabin fever

Is this not the cutest little cabin you've ever seen?! Last year some girlfriends and I rented a cabin in Shenandoah and it was similar but bigger. Ours is small and perfect for the three of us. The heater is surprisingly warm and the kitchen is well equipped! I'll spare you the bathroom plunging story... just know that because men are dirty, messy manfolk, I ended up using Dawn dish detergent to scrub the floors after an unfortunate plunging incident that left puddles on the floor. If anyone needs a laugh let me know and I'll save that story for a rainy day! ;)

We got in trouble at this park... apparently you're supposed to have a "dog walking permit" to take your dog on the trail. It's $50/year! Silly. The warden stopped us and asked for our permit. I acted like I thought it was a rabies vaccination certificate and said we had it (I did, it was in my Nola-dog-pack in the car) but he informed us otherwise (duh). He even flashed his badge as if we needed to know he was truly the lake warden. It was funny. He was nice enough to allow us to finish our walk but was clear it was "only for today." It was a beautiful lake... the houses were gorgeous! We liked almost all of them.

Since it rained this morning we're saving our longer day hike for tomorrow. We spent today at a few shops around town. We drove out to some outdoor shops then hit up some dog stores for Nola. She ended up with a few treats that are impossible to find back home, and a few that are find-able at home but are more than twice the price. Needless to say, we stocked up. But I blame D for that since he started the trend with antlers (plural).

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Mountain Get-away

How silly are we?! We came to the mountains to get away from everything and this is what we did within about 15 minutes of getting our stuff in from the car. We had to plug the computers up in the kitchen because the cabin was built in the 1930s and has two-prong outlets... we needed three prong outlets. The only three prongs are in the bathroom above the sink and in the kitchen by the fuse box. So... here we are.



We found a great trail off the Parkway, the weather has been perfect!!! It was a little warm on the way up the trail but by the time we came back we were glad we'd brought our heavier jackets.

This picture makes me laugh...D was trying to be all serious and model-like but he was really about to crack up laughing.

Nola got antlers!!! D drove all the way to Roslindale (suburb right outside of Boston) to get Nola more antlers! She just finished the one we bought her in November. It lasted three months! She is in pure heaven. What you don't know is that I have about 14 other pictures of her in action on the new antler. Needless to say, she LOVES it. Happy Valentine's Day Belly!

I'm sure we'll post more pictures, we're internet addicts so expect nothing less than full updates periodically! :P

(OH MY! Guess what?! D likes to smell books too!!!! Amazing! Do you like the way books smell?)

Happy (early) Valentine's Day!

My shirt is SO famous!

So I'm watching HGTV the other night and they're advertising a new show, Generation Renovation... then... I see it! My shirt! It's MY SHIRT! I totally have the same one! Well, mine is light blue, but holy cow! How cool?!

I tried to find a clip of the exact scene I saw but I'm trying to get some work done today (okay, I pretend to work sometimes and am really reading blogs but... I think about working a lot).

Anyway, here's a picture from Gloucester that's on another blog of mine. And...here's the place where I got my shirt! The movie A Perfect Storm was filmed in Gloucester (MA) and the entire town (it's small) thrives around fishing. Since there is so much fishing, they have to have lots of ice to keep the fish fresh until they're back to shore. It was a neat place. They have statues to honor the fishermen who have lost their lives working on boats. The beaches pebble shores are small and have lots of huge rocks. It's really pretty.

If you visit Cape Pond Ice's website, you too can have a famous shirt!

Ethiopia

Last week I'd planned to talk (write) about Ethiopia. I think I mentioned at some point that I wanted to adopt and I've always known I'd adopt at some point. I don't necessarily have a country in mind although I've always assumed either Guatemala (because I have a random fascination with Guatemala, always have...) or somewhere in Africa. I'd prefer, of course, to adopt from Uganda, but to do that you have to foster the child for three years in the country and let's face it, the likelihood of that happening is slim.

Anyway, I came across Joy's blog via another blog (adoption of course :)) and saw a really cute bag she made. It was adorable so I emailed to ask her about making one for me (my sewing skills are soooo not quite there!). I got it last week and LOVE it (thanks Joy!)! I can't wait to start using it! I can't decide if I will use it for my knitting or as my "car" bag for travel trips. I suppose I could use it for either and all but then I couldn't justify another at some point. See how I roll? ;)

Here's my cute tote:


And here's my cute pup after our tiring day playing outside in the beautiful weather:
(By the way, you can't smell her but she smells divine! She's just had a bath and is obviously ready for bed!)

Oh! I almost forgot! Ethiopia! Later this month I will be matched with a child from Ethiopia through Hope Chest. Tom Davis, who wrote Red Letters: Living a Faith that Bleeds, has just returned from Ethiopia with information about children from a couple of orphanages. These children are not eligible for adoption and thus will always live in a home. I'll post more later. I'm not sure how much information I will be able to share but I will post when I learn more. It's very exciting!

On another note while I'm thinking about it -- Irene left for Rwanda yesterday. She's going to be getting in touch with Sister Pat and I'll know more about what transpired with the medical situation. I'm waiting to hear from Dr. Gleason to see if Hope Aid can be of any help too. Not too much of an update but hopefully we'll know more soon. I imagine Irene will email me when she's spoken to Sister. They'll be in Rwanda for a month so it could be a few weeks before I find out what's going on.

I'm looking forward to a warm week with temps in the 60s! Can't wait!

70 degree weekend

We decided to take full advantage of our 70 degree weekend and hit up the local park. There were at least 20 different dogs out hiking today. Nola would have no part of mingling, but then she's not been her usual self this week. Even at Petsmart this afternoon she was snooty. She's sleeping now so I hope she was just tired from all the activity...

Nola's pal Boulder (I named him! :)) gives his sweetheart a smooch!