Saturday

I love Saturdays! This was not the case when I was sofa queen of the world- they usually meant getting up early for 12 hour sales at the furniture store. But now, now they mean rolling out of bed whenever I feel like it... it is mine to enjoy watching LINGO on tv and taking Bertie out to play frisbee.

Today I'm hoping Matthew and I will go to St. Cloud. It's like the Sioux Falls of Dordt- about an hour away and lots to do. We still have gift cards from Christmas to use up, and I have been craving a good art supply store. I don't know what's wrong with Willmar, but all of the stores that carry any semblance of art supplies are running out and not restocking. Then there's the one store that has tons of stuff and they've decided not to open for the last 2 weeks. "Closed until further notice" says the sign. 'But I can see the thing I want to buy through the gate- can't I please come in?' (I think to myself as I stare into the blackened store) No dice.

The sunshine is calling.

peace and quiet

That feeling after you've been listening to the radio for a long time, and then finally reach out your hand and turn it off. When did my life become so noisy that I've lost appreciation for silence?

Today at lunch I decided to do something different. I drove to McDonald's. Not common because I have loathed that place since I was a kid in Oregon. They had the audacity to constantly put tiny onions all over my burger (my parents would not let me place a 'special order' without). But they have that new dollar menu so I gave it another chance. Great Choice! Chicken wrap and yogurt parfait- tasty and cheap. However, I was a little confused that they wanted to charge me over a dollar for water (I passed).

So I drove to a lake near work and sat in my car with my lunch. It was really windy and cold today, but the sun felt so good beating in the windows, and the clouds were fantastic! I tuned my radio in to this quiet, soothing classical station and was instantly brought back to my childhood. It reminded me of sitting at a campground learning to burn letters and pictures on pieces of wood- there was always classical music playing in the background when my Dad was around. My lunch felt like a blessing from God.

I really believe our days are full of little blessings from God- it's our choice to really take them in or to go about the day in a hurry. I used to notice those little blessings all the time... before I let myself grow selfish of my time and energy. Making up for lost time is not as easy as if I had continued on the previous path. Well worth the end result, though. I am happiest when walking with Jesus.

Life is but a shadow.

New stuff!

I posted some new stuff on my art blog.
You can check it out by clicking
on the link to the left. Under 'Links'
it is titled Cristina Cherry BlogGallery.
Please feel free to tell me what you think.
Here or there- I don't care...

This is my niece, Kyla.

How cute is she!?!

She is 9 months old

and crawling everywhere.

(We went to my sister's on Saturday)

for your enjoyment... but mostly mine.

The view outside my window...

Spring is here!

You thought I was kidding when I said

Bertie scatters her food everywhere at

mealtime? Seriously, dog.

Bertie, obviously very proud of herself.

the woman of the hour...

Bertie!

Bertie went to the vet today because

she keeps shaking her head uncontrollably.

Her ears make this slapping noise on her

head when she does it. Cute? Yes. Healthy? No.

So she went- and apparently she's been pouring

water down her ear when we are asleep.

How does a dog get water in their eardrum?

Now I must give her Benadryl twice a day.

And teach her not to bark at people

and noises, which is a totally seperate issue.

Yesterday she got out of the

apartment and chased the mailman down

the hall. Quite embarrassing.

She won't bite anyone.

Just look at her.

Terriers like to bark and spike their hair up

to intimidate because they are small.

We've tried everything.

She thinks she's protecting me.

As if.

Bertie balancing a collander on her head

the difference between you and me.

Maybe it's the schizophrenic next door neighbor seeping through our air vents (along with her cigarrette smoke and incessant cursing at nothing) , but lately I've been wondering strange things...
-What if I decided not to wake up tomorrow? I could sleep for 3-4 days and just say my alarm didn't go off.
-What if my brain decides to jerk the steering wheel just as I'm driving around this steep corner? Can my brain decide to do things without my permission?
-What if I forget to put clothes on today? Would I get disowned, fired, arrested? OR would I feel completely free and not want to wear clothes ever again?

I think it's awareness of how fragile that line is between living a normal, well-adjusted life and making a decision that will affect myself and my family for the rest of our lives.

There's a woman that is famous in Willmar for being 'crazy'. Her name is Janice and she wanders the streets everyday talking to anybody who will listen. When people won't listen, then she yells at inanimate objects like flowers, buildings, trees...
I've actually mentioned her before- she used to come visit me at Slumberland. When she bought a mattress, she wanted to walk to Slumberland (several miles) from her house just to ride in the delivery truck with her new mattress.

Janice used to be 'normal'. She was valedictorian of her class. She was married. She has children. But one day she crossed that 'crazy' boundary and was committed. They gave her electroshock therapy that changed her life forever. Now she wanders. I really wouldn't doubt it if she goes into every business in Willmar each day. When I switched jobs, she didn't know that- and she shows up there too (about 2 miles out of town). What an interesting life she leads. I wonder if deep inside her brain she is still the same Janice that she was years ago- she just can't get her body and mouth to cooperate with her brain.

By the way, last night I took allergy meds before bed and had hallucinating dreams. I 'woke up' and saw a huge spider (we're talking 6 inch diameter) dropping from the ceiling in my direction. I jumped out of bed and let out a shrill, blood-curdling scream. Matthew, still working on the computer, came running and found me laying on the floor in the hallway half-asleep, muttering about a huge spider. I think he thought I passed that crazy point, as he tore our bedroom apart looking for my imaginary spider. No more drugs before bed tonight. I'll take my chances with sinus pressure above that anyday!

Our little dog, Bertie, needs a new leash (hers broke) and collar (too small). So I went on ebay and found her new stuff. I'm not really terrific at manuevering around that site, so I was quite proud of myself for figuring out PayPal and finding the things I need.
Here's what I bought:


I'm really excited about the leash especially because it's a retractable TAPE leash. Her previous one was a cord leash (think small rope). It resulted in severe blistering burns across my hand, last year, when I instinctively grabbed it as she was running away. That was intense pain! Not a week later, the same thing happened to my cousin when we were all at the Oregon coast and he was trying to split up a dog fight between two boxers and an unleashed dog.

did you do something different with your hair?

Yesterday I got sick (again). I'm convinced it was the mass consumption of orange juice that caused it. My throat hurts a lot and it feels like my tongue is too big for the back of my throat. Weird. I thought it would pass quickly, but it's gotten worse today.

Last night we went over to a friend's house for our first bbq of the year- thank you, Jesus, for spring! People get so stir crazy around here this time of year. Even when it's only in the 40's or low 50's, it's not uncommon to see people running around without jackets and sporting their flip flops and short sleeves. We are a strange breed.

So after the bbq last night, Matthew, myself, and our neighbor Sally went to a movie. We saw 'Failure to Launch'. Pretty funny movie (I have to say that because I picked it out), but there was (of course) that token scene where you ask yourself, "Did I really need to watch you have sex?" I loved the roomate, played by Zooey Deschanel. She is such a great actress. If you don't know who I'm talking about- she played the love interest in 'Elf'.

After the movie, I crashed on our couch from illness. I was really dizzy- vertigoesque. Meanwhile, Matthew parked himself at the computer (his happy place) and redesigned my blog page for me. Awww... how sweet. His way of taking care of the sick wife? I think so. You should check out his too- the link is to the left at the top of my blog listings. I'm a big fan of the retro look he's got going on.

Okay, I'm out. Kristin is coming over in a little bit. Our mission today: to gather painting supplies and create masterpieces that shall be sold for millions. Of course the worth won't be attached to them till after we die and then achieve the 'genius' status? Why can't they ever figure that out while the artist is still alive?

Must be that stinking supply and demand.