Coming To You From An Undisclosed Location

I just realized I haven't posted since last Friday.

You'd think I'd have lots to share with you. Not so much.

I am currently watching American Idol and lovin' me some Wi-Fi in an undisclosed location. I will share details with you soon.

Aren't you all a-twitter with excitement?! Yeah, it's not that great really. But a rainy day in ___________ is better than a sunny day at work!

Today I took all three of my dogs to the vet at the same time. What was I thinkin'?

Caitlin carried Tess, the Sheltie. Trying to walk with her on a leash is like having the Tazmanian Devil on a string. Or a bumblebee. Whatever.

That left me and my weakling, arthritic, fibromyalgic self holding on desperately to 130 pounds of dog: Maddie the German Shepherd and Dazey the Golden Retriever. Maddie terrified everyone in the lobby because she's huge and scary-looking and she wanted to inspect everyone. She's very safety-conscious. We call her Patch the Safety Pony. Dazey is just a big goofball and tried to hide behind me which made it difficult to walk. And drive. Have you tried driving with a 65-pound dog in your lap? One woman commented to me that she hoped I was really strong. And with that, the vet quickly ushered us into the back room. Can't say I blame him.

I'm SO NOT doing that again!

I'm checkin' out for now. See y'all!

Freedom Friday 03.20.09

Welcome to another edition of Freedom Friday!

Today we will discuss the third principle:

I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

I think one of the greatest problems in our society today is that we no longer trust each other. Why have we lost that trust? Because we aren't honest with ourselves and with each other.

We can point to Bernie Madoff as a prime example of greed and dishonesty in business. We can voice outrage at the lies of Senator Chris Dodd . Yes, there are scores of examples of dishonesty in business and public life.

But let me ask you this: What about us - you and me?

When did we cease to value honesty in people? When did we start to reward those who tell us what we want to hear whether or not it's the truth? When did we decide that if you were smart enough or important enough then it didn't matter if you were honest? Why do we continue to elect to political office men and women who don't make honesty a priority? We continue to vote for the ones that promise us stuff we like, for the most eloquent speakers, the most personable individuals, the ones with the most money that can buy the most entertaining commercials.

How can we expect our leaders to live by principles that we ourselves don't value?

When the phone rings and it's someone you'd rather not talk to, do you tell your kids (or whoever answered the phone) to tell the person you're not home? Do you fudge your deductions on your tax return because you know most likely no one will ever know? Do you tell "white lies" to avoid hurting someone's feelings? Ouch. That's the one I have trouble with.

"No, dear, that shirt doesn't make you look fat."

"No, honey, I can't eat at school with you today because I have an 'appointment'."

"I really like your new haircut."

Let's agree to challenge ourselves to be more honest each day. We won't be perfect, but it's a start. And then let's agree to expect honesty from each other and then let's expect it from our leaders- local and national.

“I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” - George Washington

"A psalm of David. Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken. " Psalms 15:1-5 (NIV)


One last thing: My hubby is bummed that these Friday posts don't get many comments. He's afraid that I've alienated all my readers--actually, he thinks you may all be closet socialists. Could you leave me a comment just to let us know you're out there and that I haven't run you off...yet?

Ahhh...

That's MUCH better!

It this doesn't make any sense to you, you must have missed
this post.

Of course, I really just moved most of the stuff into my armoire. At least I don't have to look at it. I did manage to file all of my brokerage statements. Huh. I just realized that if you break that down you get "broke" and "rage." Irony. I love it.

Now my dog thinks the chair is just for her. Does anyone know where I can get one of these? Have you used one? Does it really work?

Rachel’s Tears by Beth Nimmo and Darrell Scott with Steve Rabey is a very touching account of the life of an incredible teenage girl, Rachel Scott, who was killed in the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. Written by her parents, this book is much more than just a blow-by-blow account of the days leading up to and including the shooting. It is a very personal account of Rachel’s life and faith. Although Rachel was a typical teenage girl, she was also a girl with a remarkably deep faith and spiritual maturity beyond her years. She was a devoted follower of Christ and millions of lives are impacted each year as her family continues to share her story to students all over the country. I was inspired by Rachel’s courage and convictions as well as her family’s response to the tragedy. Instead of reacting with bitterness, they are an encouraging example of forgiveness and peace amidst trials. The book includes a lot of excerpts from Rachel’s journals and drawings and it is fascinating to see that she seemed to sense that her time was short and she wanted to make the most of it. I expected the book to be sad and depressing but instead found it to be uplifting and hopeful.

You can purchase this book here.

Another Shameful Confession

Since you really seem to love it when I humiliate myself on the World Wide Web, I thought I'd toss you this hunk o' red meat. Let the feeding frenzy begin...

I actually slept in the guest room the other night because the clutter in the master bedroom made me too nervous to sleep. THIS is what the corner of my bedroom looks like:

Let's see what we have here:

1. See the square bamboo basket with the cream fabric liner? It's part of a set of 3 that I bought A YEAR AGO to organize my laundry room cabinets. It is currently holding some of my dog collar inventory and some books I'm reading.

2. See the two woven baskets? I bought those a while back to organize my paperwork. They are both full of papers that need to be filed, magazines I need to read, catalogs I plan to look at someday, our new health plan info that I plan to study one of these days, probably a few bills that need to be paid and a myriad of other REALLY IMPORTANT stuff that I haven't found the time to pay any attention to.

3. Yes, that is a bag of Ghiradelli chocolate. Very good for relieving clutter-induced stress.

4. That flat priority mailing box contains the fabric I ordered a while back to make new bedding and window treatments. Obviously that project is coming along nicely!

5. See the big oval basket on the floor? It's full of blank cds, picture cds, cd cases, usb cables, power cords, etc. And a 3-hole puncher. You know, for all that filing that I do.

6. See my favorite Skechers tennis shoes? I heart those.

So, don't you all feel better about yourselves now? You're welcome!

In other news, we had Hayley's 13th Birthday party on Friday night. We had about 13 teenage girls and one lone boy running amok for four hours. At one point, it got eerily quiet so I decided I'd better go see what was going on. I tiptoed upstairs and peeked in the playroom, which was entirely dark, and they were all sitting in a circle on the floor with Casting Crowns' "Praise You In This Storm" playing in the background. So I queried, "What are y'all doing?" and there were a few nervous giggles and then a tentative little voice said, almost apologetically, "We're praising the Lord?"

Well, then. Carry on.

Also, that night the dog slept with Hayley and peed on her pillow...while her head was on it. HA! HA! HA! I thought it was pretty funny until I remembered that I'm the one who has to wash all the bedding. Bummer.