How much is that Puppy in the window?

It's been awhile since I got on here.  I feel a little like I've missed out on some of the things that are happening in your lives, but then, maybe I'm still up to date as long as you're still on Facebook!  I check FB but rarely have a lot to actually post on there.  Maybe because so many people that I don't actually care to know all my life details may read it...but here, with my few close friends, I feel like I can share more information without as much reserve.

So let me tell you about the newest exciting thing in my life!  I decided to get a puppy!  I've wanted one for a long time, and a friend's dog had a litter.  I'd decided early that I wasn't ready, but then she was going to have a puppy returned to her since the buyer was facing a serious illness.  I decided it was a "sign"!  And I made an offer.  Unfortunately, the buyer hadn't totally made up her mind...so was I willing to wait a month or so (while the puppy lived with her, getting attached to her, was being trained by her)?  Umm, I decided no.  For the simple reason that this dream puppy I have wanted is a Rottweiler.  Yes, I know the stereotypes, but I have known some amazing Rotti dogs.  However, if I'm going to have one, I want to train it from the earliest possible point, so that no friends or family have to be concerned about coming to visit.

So I said no to being "wait-listed" for the puppy.  Sad day!  But I'm pretty sure it was the right decision.  In my sadness, I browsed through some rescue websites...and lo, and behold, I found a dog.  Not a puppy.  Not a pure Rotti.  But possibly the most adorable, tragic story, trained, good-fit-for-my-family dog ever.  (Besides of course, our yellow lab Toby who is a great dog!!)

So on Sunday, Luna is coming to visit!  We will see if she and Toby seem they can be friends, and if so, Luna will stay through Wednesday to find out if she's a good match for us, and us for her!  I'm so excited.  I really had wanted a puppy to train and raise, but I feel good about the potential for Luna to become part of the family.  She needs a good home since her current owner's job requires so much travel, and I can avoid the whole house training/initial costs of a puppy thing...Here's a Luna pic:

I've been looking up lots of tips for helping an adult dog adjust.  I didn't realize how many great sites and information are out there!  So here's a plug--if a pet is right for you, check out how many there are out there that just need a new good home.  With much less cost and effort than a new puppy, you may find a perfect match for you.

I'll let you know how things go--if Luna becomes a family member or not--and what we learned to make the transition easier!

Moving along

I meant to do an update earlier about the whole dr./exam situation.  But I was so relieved after my "delightful" mammogram/ultrasound experience on that Wednesday that I was exhausted.  Emotionally more than physically, but enough to want to just have some down time for the rest of the day!  The results reported on site were normal!  Hooray!  (By the way, the whole mammogram thing--not anywhere as bad as I'd ever imagined...awkward but nothing bad!)

Later that day my phone was acting up, and about 10:30 at night I saw that my Dr. had called and left a voicemail.  I checked it, and she just asked for a callback mentioning she would be out of the office the next day.  So I called her that Friday.  She told me she was not completely content with the results of the testing.  After all, there is a lump and the tests didn't show just a fluid cyst (which would have ruled out anything going on).  I had thought since no lump showed, there must not be anything at all!  The Doctor isn't as convinced.  So I now get to go to a specialist this Wednesday coming up.  Apparently this specialist can do exams/ultrasounds/ and needle biopsies on site.  I hope this means that soon I will have absolutely conclusive results...

So once again, while I'm doing pretty well mentally and emotionally about this whole process, it's been hard at times.  Mostly just because I thought I was all done and good to go! But now there's still a lingering question, and I would like this to be over.  Done and dusted! 

I am learning more than I would have cared to about some of these processes, and I learned that in young women, mammograms and ultrasounds tend to miss concern-causing lumps because younger women have more dense breast tissue.  So again--please allow me to remind you to be aware of your own body and don't be afraid to take advantage of the great medical resources that we have...

Next month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month--it has held a special place in my heart because of my Mom having had breast cancer, but now I feel that I've got a great advantage on the awareness part!

When the room spins 'round...

The room almost felt like it started spinning on Tuesday morning:

One of those women's appointments that you're really supposed to have annually.  Yet for people like myself who just love doctors, it was something more like 4 years in between.  Typical appointment, physical, exam, blood taken, etc.  Then suddenly, a "hmm, here's a cyst."  Okay, I think.  That doesn't sound like a big deal.  Then I look at the doctor's face.  She's very serious and studying my face.

Doctor's orders for a mammogram (I'm 27 years old for crying out loud!  I thought I had at least 13 years before going through that torture that I've heard my mom and so many other women complain about!).  So now a week in between the doctor "finding a lump" and my mammogram/ultrasound appointment.  Great.

Talk about a week of ups and downs!  I know these things are common, and that they're commonly no big deal.  But just try convince your emotions of that at random points during the day when your logic can't seem to win out...I really don't think it will be anything.  But the nagging lack of knowledge about what it is precisely is frustrating.

The main reason for the doctor's concern and contributing factor to my own occasionally unsure-ness is that almost exactly 7 years ago my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.  It's a sobering week for me (and my family) although, at the same time, we are at peace for we know that He who has been with us before is with us still and will be again.

So what do we learn from this?

I suddenly realize that I need to have some paperwork/information sorted and organized.  I find myself not so concerned with some of the little things that aren't really so important.  And right now--I'm kicking  myself for not getting the exam sooner.

Recommendation as of Friday evening (and 5 days out from the next time I get to learn anything):

Get your check-up.  Keep up with your own self-exams.  And don't let a little discomfort with a doctor appointment keep you from taking care of yourself.  Life's short.  Life's important, and there are more people whose lives are tied to yours and who care about you than you realize.  I'm so grateful for my family caring about what's happening with me, and even more importantly--they care about how I'm doing mentally and emotionally.  They mean the world to me.

The song I heard twice on my way to my dr. appt and the lyrics that speak to my heart right now:

Let The Waters Rise 


Don't know where to begin
Its like my world's caving in
And I try but I can't control my fear
Where do I go from here?

sometimes its so hard to pray
When You feel so far away
But I am willing to go
Where you want me to
God, I trust You

There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

I will swim in the deep
'Cuz You'll be next to me
You're in the eye of the storm
And the calm of the sea
You're never out of reach

God, You know where I've been
You were there with me then
You were faithful before
You'll be faithful again
I'm holding Your hand

There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

God Your love is enough
You will pull me through
I'm holding onto You
God Your love is enough
I will follow You
I will follow You

Ohhh

There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You




  (Mikeschair group)

Shameless pitch!

Today is my catch-up day.  About once a month (or every 2 weeks if possible), I catch up on the mountain of paperwork that accrues on my rather large walnut desk.  I point out the size, because it really should be able to swallow up and conceal the bills, fliers, magazines, and random papers that I stick upon it throughout the month.

It doesn't.  The pile starts to grow, and I can't help noticing it and shuddering a little until days like today.  My Monday off.  From my regular job.  It's usually less of a day off and more of a day ON!

I love this point in that day "on", though.  The desk is organized once again; dusted (though heaven only knows how dust gets in and under that Everest of paperwork); and once again, it's functional!  Much of the time, I am poorer by the time I've sorted everything out, paid what needs to be paid, and sigh at what I would like to get from those magazines but decided I really can't afford.  By the way, tip of the day for everyone--shop right AFTER you've paid bills.  It makes me incredibly more discerning about what's really worth it...

Today though is a special day in that it's time to write to my child.  ("What?!" -- I can hear you now under your breath-- "I didn't know she had a kid!") And only imagine what my situation would be if I were only communicating with that child in a once-a-month letter!

My child's name is Angie Sabido.  She lives in a very rural northern part of the Philippines.  I am her Compassion International sponsor.  For $38 a month, I am a part of changing her life and that of her family.  My sponsorship allows Angie to learn at the Compassion International center, get nutritious meals, get regular health screenings and medical treatment when necessary.  She will also learn about the love of Jesus, receive personal attention, play with other children in a safe environment and know that she is loved by Christian adults who care about her and her personal welfare.  (details/wording plagiarized from the Compassion sponsorship packet.) 

Wow.  For the price of a tank of gas, I can let a little 7 year old girl know she is loved, and more than that--to let her be taken care of by people in her community with outside assistance as necessary.  That's pretty cool.

Angie likes singing, playing house, and art...She sent me a letter with some of her favorite things (game, song, best friend...)  I love this little girl already.  I'm not taking the place of anyone in her family or community, but I know already from the letter her mother wrote me that I do have a very special place in her life.  I can help her break the cycle of poverty and by doing so, touch her family as well.

I'd just like to take this chance to say please consider sponsoring a child whose life is entrapped in poverty.  A little bit on our part (which I know can be a sacrifice at times for many!) can change a life forever.  Please consider Compassion International or at least an organization who values the dignity of the children they serve and who is transparent on how your money is used to help.

Thanks for "listening."  :)

Interpersonal Perspective

I really, really did not want to help him.  

He's a semi-regular customer (in that he's been back a few times).  He's military which usually means he needs a project done five minutes ago.   And at a lower cost than any other bidder!  However, this guy has all the time in the world.  He is full of stories.  The earlier times he was in I heard about Iraq, how he just returned, and how now he is trying to put life back in order...The first couple times I worked with him I was interested in the stories and did not mind at all helping him figure out how to frame a beat-up old guidon.  Yet I found myself hiding the third time he came in!  I had so much to do, I was already behind, and I simply could not bring myself to spend an hour or more just to hear the same stories.

Today, he came in again.  I didn't remember him at first.  Until he started talking.  And then I wished desperately that there would be another framer who could help him.  But I was alone, and he needed help.  I laughed internally when I heard he'd been at another one of our locations the day before (but they weren't as helpful or nice!).  So, I spent the next hour and a half working with him on choosing colors, discussing framing techniques, and sharing trade secrets -- since I think he actually knows more than I do but it's fun to pretend I'm so wise and knowledgeable in my trade.  As the time went on, and he very politely let me help the four other customers who came through and also answer phone calls, I learned more than I ever cared to know about his family homestead, his family history, and the giant petrified wood log they'd found on the farm.

Then yet another customer walked up, and he decided it probably was time to go.  Without actually placing a formal order or purchasing anything.  I was too busy helping the next customer to worry about it until later.  And then I began to feel a little guilty.

What is customer service? and how do you offer it without wasting your employer's payroll?  But it's occurred to me that sometimes it's just what it says -- actually serving the customer.  Maybe this guy didn't get anything this time.  Maybe he just needed some ideas.  I'm pretty sure he'll be back to have us finish what he can't do.

But I think the real story is something much more -- I think he just needed to talk.

As I remember some of the stories he'd told me before, and I begin to put pieces together, I am ashamed for not being more genuinely interested in his stories and ideas even if for the very reason he is another person.  A person who's been through a hell in Iraq that I will never be able to understand.  A man who's come home to his children that barely know him.  He's a veteran who could not afford to buy the family farmhouse when the great-aunt decided to let it go.

He has some mementos of that farm that he wants to save, to preserve for himself and for his children.  This time instead of saving a tattered flag from Baghdad, he's preserving his family history.

And I didn't want to help him because I had too much to do.  That's the problem isn't it?  We all have so much to do.  We're behind on projects.  We are so concerned with deadlines and the stress of our own lives, we forget the people in front of us have stories, too.  They have lives, deadlines, jobs to get done, family to take care of, and to-do lists to finish.  I forgot the person behind the face, and I forgot the service I'm paid to provide regardless of what exactly the customer may or may not buy.

So here's my commitment to remembering the person that's standing on the other side of the counter.  I hope we all can do a little better at recognizing the value of those around us...

Catching Up

So here goes:


my very first blog!  I've known people to be blogging for about 7 years now but while I loved to read others' on occasion, I'd never joined the movement.  Until now.  Just because I wanted to be able to comment on a friend's blog.  I think it's a great reason, and who knows--maybe I'll actually write often.  


Or once every few months.  Or once a year (which may be the most likely!).  Still, I love to share my opinion and thoughts, so if you read this, I'll assume you are interested in what I have to say and maybe I'll keep it up.  After all, we all really do think our lives, stories, and opinions are worth sharing, and if we learn anything from each other or just continue sharing life together, it really is worthwhile.