...a puppy stole Grandma's name.

Bertie at 6 weeks old

(1" diameter ball)

All grown up

...in a dog's previous life...

An interesting thing happened to me on my way home from work yesterday. I walked past this black truck, I'd never seen before, parked outside our building. I thought to myself, "Hmm... that's odd."
I walked inside, got our mail, and was nearly plowed over by two young boys running down the stairs. Living in a building of nearly all elderly women, I thought that was odd, too.
Inside my apartment, I started listening to messages when I heard a loud knocking at the door. Looking out the peephole, I saw the two young boys and a woman I could only guess was their mother. I tried to quiet down Bertie (our rat terrier), who thinks it is her job to be our personal alarm if she hears a noise of any sort.
I opened the door to find...
... the family we bought Bertie from!? I have no clue how they tracked us down, but there they were!
The boys had a great time playing with her after she finished with her 'bark for 5 minutes at anyone who walks in the door' routine. They were so impressed with all of the tricks she's learned, that one of the boys asked if they could trade me for one of their other dogs.
He was pretty disappointed when I said, 'No'.
We had a... interesting view of this family, when we bought Bertie from them 2 years ago. Monica, the mom, is a sweetheart with a few problems of her own. Her eyes go in opposite directions and she has hearing aids for a pretty bad hearing problem. I was amazed at how much she loves her dogs! Her boys were hyper and out of control when we first visited their house. It was summer- and hot- so they had their sprinkler running in the front yard, and one of the boys kept messing with it. After a few minutes, we turned around to find that he'd moved the sprinkler in direct line of our car. The water was shooting directly into our open car window!
I'm glad they found us yesterday. Those boys were so happy to see their puppy all grown up.
We are going to set up a time to bring her over to see her mom. Not sure how that will go, since Bertie has no clue she's even a dog. No amount of socializing with other dogs has helped. Right now she's learning to walk on her hind legs... and since she's technically 14 in dog years... she'll soon be out looking for a summer job.

... a dream came true

A few years back, Matthew was in CTI (Carpenter's Tools Intnl). It draws people from all over (mostly States and Canada) that want to use their musical talent to reach young people all over the world, presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ. Very cool ministry. I suppose I'm a bit partial- it brought Matthew to my town of Willmar, and into my life. It's a family of sorts b/c anyone who's been in it tends to stick around for quite awhile.
While Matthew was in CTI, I became friends with some of his buddies there. Sheree Plett has this indie-folk sound to her voice that draws you in like no other. God blessed her with an amazing voice, I'm sure because He knew she could handle it properly, with humility. She was a blast to have around!
She's now off to bigger things- she's worked hard since CTI, giving concerts all over Canada and the US, producing demos, and has now signed on with Worship Circle Records! She's just put out her first full length cd, so check it out on her site: http://www.shereeplett.com/
or: http://www.worshipcirclerecords.com/ (you can buy it there!).
It's amazing to see what God will do with perseverance. He's given each of us unique talents for a purpose. It's our job to see they get used, not for our own boasting and glory, but to bless others and take as many people to heaven as we can...

I am dedicating this blog entry to my husband,

because he is wonderful

and handsome...

and he helped me figure out

how to post pictures on my blog.

...Poopsmith!

Click on the link below for a little ditty by my favorite band, Over The Rhine. They wrote this song for a children's record to raise money for several Ohio charities.
While you're there, check out the rest of the site. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

http://www.overtherhine.com/music/mp3rarity/Poopsmith.mp3



If the link doesn't work on your computer (you need QuickTime I believe),
go to www.overtherhine.com/music/mp3rarity and click on the little link
at the bottom of the page that says, "download 2.3 meg MP3 file".

"Top Ten Signs You've Got A Bad Summer Job"

(from Letterman's June 10 show)

10. You have a 40-hour week schedule, but you only work

Monday and Tuesday

9. You greet customers by saying,

"Hi, welcome to Kenny's Rotting Shellfish Shack"

8. Interviewer asks if you know how to type, take dictation

and dispose of a body

7. Donald Trump hired you as apprentice

in charge of checking hairpiece for ticks

6. Sign in bathroom reads: Employees must wash manager

5. Asked if your sense of taste has been

destroyed by the asbestos yet

4. You're posing for "before" photos for diet plans,

dermatologists, and plastic surgery

3. The commissary's chowder is made from broiled wite-out

2. Employer contacts you daily via satellite phone from undisclosed location in mountainous region of Afghanistan

1. Eight hours a day, Russell Crowe throws stuff at you.

...there was a lonely blogger

Things have been a bit abnormal lately. I've been changing my routine with summer being in full swing. Not that my schedule is THAT much different than it had been before, but sunshine really does change things. Outlooks on life are completely different from winter, especially in Minnesota. People go from, "It's too cooooold" to "It's too hoooooot". You have to find some humor in it, that in a place where literally half the year is below freezing and cold enough for the snot in your nose to freeze, the other half is high humidity and infested with blood sucking insects. What doesn't kill us WILL make us stronger!
I guess subconsciously I haven't been interested in my blog much anymore, either. I shouldn't gauge the necessity of my blog by the amount of people that write comments or seem interested, but I'm forced to put some thought in that direction.

I am currently taking applications for blog friends.