I TOTALLY needed this today.

Such a beautiful piece that truly inspires.

Take a minute (or seven) to be inspired. Make a difference to somebody today - even to yourself!

Nap time is the BEST time!

The girls like to lay on top of each other and snuggle during nap time. They are just so darn cute, it's hard to not stop and snap a few quick pics. Of course, this usually wakes one of them up and defeats the purpose of sleepy time.

Miracles on the side of the road

I have two little miracles living in my house today. This is just a temporary stop for them, because these miracles will eventually find a home of their own. These little miracles are puppies.

Early last week, my rescue group got a call about ten Great Pyrenees puppies found on the side of the road. Now last week was cold - we had bitter cold winds and freezing temperatures and even some rain. It was a bad time to be an outdoors puppy. It was an even worse time to be a puppy dumped in a muddy ditch on the side of the road in rural Texas.

Someone was watching over these pups though, and a call was placed to animal control. They came out to get the soggy, soaking, cold and hungry pups. Not one of them weighed more than 4-5 pounds. There were five boys and five girls, between the age of 4-5 weeks. Probably shouldn't even have been away from their mama. It would only taken a day or two for all of them to die, exposed to the elements and other predatory creatures.

When we picked them up, the shelter manager, a young man who couldn't even be 25 years old, was angry. Angry because these pups deserved a chance, angry because of the idiot who dumped them. You could see the stress on his young face. His day consists of finding animals in his out-of-the-way area, then deciding who could possibly be adopted, then euthanizing the rest. The shelter is very small, I counted only 8 kennels, and one killing room. But the cool thing was how his countenance changed when we came to get these pups. There would be no killing today, at least of these tiny white bundles.

In his gratefulness, he and his staffer bathed them and treated them for fleas. He remarked to us that it was a rare occasion indeed when such a large number of dogs leave his small shelter in just one day. I know he wanted to say "alive" but he was gracious and held it back.

As a Christian, I believe we find miracles when we look for them. There isn't always a flash of bright white light. It isn't often that scales fall from eyes, or people get up from their mats and walk. But there are miracles every day - in the sound of the wind and the rustle of the leaves on the trees, in the flowers - and even the weeds - pushing up from nothingness. There are miracles in the sweetness of puppy breath and the innocent delight of watching babies play, so oblivious to what their fate might have been even last week. There was a miracle in that shelter manager's life last week when he realized that FINDING these ten puppies meant SAVING them, and not having to subject them (and himself) to the sad surrender of the pink liquid, that had been placed in neat rows on the shelves of the killing room cupboard. In my years of doing rescue, I know how you have to harden yourself against the realities of this work. But I've also honestly never seen a shelter manager more softened and grateful.

These ten little miracles are the lucky ones. They were found and they were saved. But hundreds of thousands of miracles are lost every day to ignorance and cruelty. Please. It doesn't matter whether you prefer dogs or cats, please - spay or neuter your pet. DON'T buy a pet from a breeder or a pet shop. Every single one of my pyrs is a pure bred that someone else didn't want.

There are rescue groups all over the United States that have animals available for adoption. Here is the one I work with - Saving Pyrs In Need (SPIN).

Now here is a photo of my two little miracles: Carlee and Caylee, both just 4 pounds of wide-eyed, heart-stealing sweetness.

Random things are fun!

• It's flipping cold outside. And I was wondering why my fingers were about to fall off, so I wandered downstairs to see that the thermostat was only set on 62. No wonder.
• Four dogs snoring sounds almost the same as seven dogs snoring.
• Sometimes my brain doesn't want to think about sales promotions and post cards. So I have to force it to.
• Brain doesn't really care too much for it.
• I would like a pair of electric socks. Do they even make electric socks? If they don't, the really should. I'd buy a pair.
• I've been doodling boxes today. This has to mean something. Anyone got an interpretation?
• Some days I feel undefeatable. And then some days I feel like a fraud.
• The trash guys are really late today.
• I really hate murdering mice, but it's one of those things that a girl's just gotta do sometimes.
• Deli turkey, Rondele Garlic and Herb cheese and romaine on a flat bread tastes delicious. And I think it's good for me too.
• Current food obsessions: Clementines, bananas and pomegranates.
• Charmin Super Strength toilet paper might as well be called "cardboard." I'm just sayin'.
• I've lost about 7 pounds and I'm feeling pretty good about it.
• Fountains of Wayne totally rocks, but then again you probably knew that.
• Trent Pawley apparently makes the world's best guacamole... and don't even play (whatever that means). But then again, I don't LIKE guacamole. So it could be the best stuff on the planet and I wouldn't give a Mexican avocado for it.
• Whenever I see guacamole, I think of "The Exorcist."
• So now you know.
• But then I think of it when I see split pea soup as well, so I don't care much for that either.
• I prefer things in groups of three or five, but a lot of people prefer twos and fours. That just seems odd to me.
  
  

Sights Seen at the Surgical Center

I had to bring Carl in to the Surgery Center of Arlington for a little hand surgery today. He has something called "trigger finger" – the layman's term – on his left hand. This causes two of his middle fingers to bend inward, creating something of a claw. Or as he likes to say, his hand is permanently bent into the "hook 'em horns" symbol. I prefer to say it's the sign for "I love you" but of course I am overruled. He's a tea-sipper all the way.

This surgical center is tucked back in an unobtrusive area off of Matlock Road and Orthopedic Way. I've driven by it many times and never even knew it was here. It's a nice building. The waiting area has lots of space, lots of nooks and corners. The carpet is a charming taupe and beige plaid and the chairs are maroon and metallic taupe – an interesting fashion choice. A flat screen television blasts the Today Show to the room, and the scent of the free coffee is tempting.

When you are sitting in a waiting room, you get to see all different segments of society. There is the dude against the wall reading an instruction manual for a computer application. It totally fits him too. He looks like a geek, so I am assuming that this is what geeks do in a waiting room. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

There is the couple from the low-rent side of town. He wears a three-day growth of beard and is dressed in camouflage and a gimme cap. She is in stretch pants and a wind-breaker. They are hard-working, salt-of-the-earth people, the kind that cities are built on and farms are run with. They smell like cigarette smoke.

The well-dressed couple in the corner are dressed in high-dollar track suits (this is an orthopedic surgery center, and you are asked to come in for your surgery in light, comfortable clothes). He has nicely trimmed salt and pepper hair and sports sandals that have probably never been used for any sort of sport. She is well-coiffed – not a hair out of place – as she gently places her French-manicured hand on his thigh and tells him everything will be all right.

In another corner of this oddly shaped room, we have a group of Mexican women – looks like two sisters and the daughter of one of them. They are quietly speaking Spanish and drinking coffee. There is worry etched on their faces, like this surgery may be a life or death situation. But since it's an orthopedic center, I doubt that's the issue.

There is the single, older woman sitting alone. She is wearing a Dallas Cowboys track suit and holds her cell phone tightly in her hand. She looks a little nervous about her procedure. Or is she waiting for someone already in surgery? I'm not really sure. Her eyes are darting around the room like she's looking for someone to tell her it's going to be okay.

There is a young black man, waiting to have his surgery. I don't know what it is, but he is also alone and he looks nervous.

I just got to go back to see Carl before they take him into surgery. He is wearing a cute little pink and blue gown and his hair is up in one of those little shower cap thingies. He's nervous too, because he was talking a lot and loudly. He makes sure the anesthesiologist knows that he can't take a lot of pain and he better ensure that his arm is completely asleep before they even consider cutting on him. Bless his heart, he's scared. They don't let me stay, I just get a quick kiss, a laugh with the surgeon and am booted out to the waiting area with the rest of the families.

I haven't seen Channel 5 morning news in some time. Looks like Tammy Dombeck let her hair grow. It looks pretty good!

I shoulda brought a book.