puppies

Yesterday, we walked the four blocks to Derik and Linda Cree's house to see eight two-day old border collie puppies that were born to their dog, Lily, a playmate of Lola's. We got to the house, released Lola into their backyard to play with Arlo, the other (male) dog of the household, and we went inside to see the pups. And there they were. Eight little black and white creatures, no bigger than hamsters, all whimpering, huddled into a corner of the wooden box that Derik built specifically for the birthing.
I gently picked one up, and found that he fit so comfortably in the palm of my hand. I held him for a few minutes, and then put him back down into the box, watching as he snaked his way to his mother, led by his nose...so far his best functioning sense. I had never seen puppies so young before. I had not expected them to be so small and fragile. Their eyes and ears had not yet opened. I had to wonder if they could hear their own whimpers and cries. All eight of them tumbled over each other to get to their mother, desperate for her attention, nourishment, and love. Lily still looked so tired from the ordeal of releasing eight of these tiny ones into the world. Every few minutes she would lift her head to lick her babies and snuggle them closer to her.
Of course, after sitting with the puppies for about an hour, I spent the next couple of hours trying to forget about them and the idea that we should bring one home in eight weeks. As adorable as they are, we should hold out. Our smaller, more appropriate, Netboot or Magellan will come along soon enough.

Sprouts

Bean sprouts, broccoli sprouts, radish sprouts.
I put some in my spinach salad.
They winked back at me as I sprinkled in feta cheese, and drizzled on some Italian dressing.
I put them in my turkey sandwich.
They tucked under a slice of turkey as I folded the bread over.
I can't wait to eat lunch.

saturday sunrise

This morning, Lola and I had the blessed chance to hang out on the front porch and watch the sun rise. What a glorious morning! Not cold at all! I wrapped myself in a lightweight blanket, sipped my freshly brewed coffee, and curled up on the porch steps with my book. I haven't had the opportunity to enjoy a morning sunrise on the front porch since November of last year. It is mildly irritating to think that it was over five months ago! A petty thought, compared to the actual problems of the world. But, still, Wisconsin winters deserve some complaint.
Lola was laying peacefully by my side. Well, for about 2 minutes anyway. I have not seen her this languid in a long time. Unfortunately (or fortunately), she has been laying down a lot since she was sick last week...most likely the result of a lot less energy. Which is very conducive to us getting things done around the house without having a puppy constantly in our business. However, she is healing fast and will soon be back to normal.
The weather report today says it will be 57 and sunny. Maybe I'll wear shorts.

the ant and the grasshopper

This morning, I read my favorite column on Yahoo Finance. The column is one of my favorites because they are well-written, usually thoroughly researched, and so easy to read. More often than not, I tend to agree with them. This particular column provided a view of today's economic mess through the lens of an old Aesop fable - the Ant and the Grasshopper. The Ant is the meticulous saver and the Grasshopper is the irresponsible squanderer. The column went on to say that times are tough right now and the Ants seem to be taking the brunt of it all, while Grasshoppers get the bailouts, continue to live irresponsibly and fail to learn the lesson. However, in the long run, the Ants still eat food and end up happy because they have been in control of their personal finances all along. This made me consider a few things:

I am an Ant and always will be. So is my husband, and so will our our future children. We live within our means. We have clearly defined financial goals, because of which we will be able to do all the things that we want to do. We were not born this way. We choose to live this way. For these things I am thankful.
However, we are going to be affected by the Grasshoppers in our lives (i.e., loved ones who live irresponsibly), whether we like it or not, because Ants are left cleaning up the mess. For this, I am furious. And not sure of a solution. Yet.
I do not have the ability to vote for better policy-makers, or change my family, but I do have the ability to to encourage people to vote for the candidate who will do the most responsible thing, not the one who will give the most handouts. I will continue to take opportunities to educate more people, like we did last year by leading a Financial Peace group.

In the meantime, we will continue to be Ants: in control of our finances, and responsible for our choices. We know that there is tremendous value in that.

"The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender" - Proverbs 22:7

older and wiser

Today is my birthday. I am now 24 years old. Do I feel any wiser? Perhaps. I do feel more accomplished, and maybe there's an ounce or two of wisdom that I have gained through said accomplishments. With that being said, the getting older part doesn't bother me as long as it is accompanied by getting wiser.

To take stock of a few of last year's wisdom-bringing events:

March '07: Ryan and I started leading our very own small group
March '07: baptised in water at Hidden Valley
April '07: a fairly significant promotion at work
May '07: Ryan walked across the stage and received his degree (OK, so this is not "my" accomplishment but, since we are one unit, it counts), his graduation party in Platteville
June '07: started singing with the worship band at Hidden Valley
July '07: Ryan and I closed on our house
August '07: brought home our first practice-baby at 11 weeks...our beautiful black lab puppy, Lola, the joy of our lives
August '07: Ryan's backyard head-injury and taking him to the emergency room
September '07: the weekend-to-remember conference, again, in Madison

And, there were so many incredibly fun and memorable events and getaways:

April '07: Minneapolis/St. Paul to spend Easter weekend celebrating our first wedding anniversary
May '07: the weekend in Ripon for Melissa's wedding
May '07: Mother's day weekend in Springfield, and also Josh's Seminary graduation
May '07: our fantastic 3-day Mississippi River adventure to celebrate Ryan's graduation
June '07: Crystal's wedding in Boscobel
July '07: drove to Salina, KS and visited Gina and Eric (and then unborn Raeann), the 4th of July, Gina's birthday, and the baby shower with the incredible double-action breast pump!
September '07: Devil's lake to cheer on Jill in the triathlon
November '07: weekend at Josh and Allyn's in Princeton, IL to organize their youth group paintball game, staying in their beautiful new home and playing with their puppy Cocoa Rocket
November '07: weekend in Milwaukee to celebrate 2 years since the day Ryan and I met :-)
December '07: Springfield again for Christmas

Jan / Feb '08: The most amazing trip of all, the three weeks we spent in India and getting to see my family and beloved Grandfather

This tiny list does not even include the hundreds of walks around town, and the many trips to Governor Dodge to hike on the trails or frolic in the beach.
How I have enjoyed these past twelve months. If last year was this fantastic, surely, I can look forward to another year of adventure, memories, accomplishments, surprises, and of course.......getting wiser.

left brain right brain

I love art. I do. And I appreciate the effort that goes into others' artistic works. But I don't necessarily have the talent, patience, or organizational skills to pursue it seriously. In the meantime, I can pick up a pencil and draw something perfectly reasonable at a moment's notice. Whatever I draw may not turn out to be great, or even good, but it gives me the pleasure of saying that I drew it. With my own hands, and with my own imagination, and with my own talent.
So, last August, newly inspired after we bought our beautiful home, I had the burning desire to create something for the bare walls. So, I made two sketches...and they turned out just OK. And they lay in a corner of the study gathering dust, until yesterday. We found two frames that fit, also just OK. And then we hung them up in the guest bathroom downstairs. And this is how they look.





It's amazing how a couple of mediocre sketches can look so good. At least I have enough talent to do things like this once in a while. They do look really good hung up. And I feel prety good about that.

black and white

I love seeing Lola go out into the snow. Her shiny black coat stands out against the white blanket. How beautiful she is...