All Kinds of Good Stuff!

After a difficult week, I feel like I have a lot of good stuff to write about. First of all, I got a new camera, and so all of the following pictures were taken with my itty-bitty fancy-schmancy camera. I thought it was about time for a new one after 6 years. Woohoo Costco for having good deals! Anyway, that's just the start of the good stuff, and really, it's just a camera...in general, I'm doing well, taking care of myself and doing what I need to do to be healthy and have joy. Best of all, I'm letting God take control of my life and it feels good to let Him have it all.

On to the really good stuff - I had a really amazing weekend! I spent Saturday with two wonderful girlfriends, Heather and Kim. Heather and I met because she was my little sister, Erin's little sister, Michelle's Big Sister (got all that?). Anyway, she is a wonderful, amazing Sister in Christ and I hope to continue to get to know her and grow our friendship for a long time to come. Kim and I used to go to the same church and we've been growing our friendship for a while now. The 3 of us went to a Daughters of the King Conference. Sheri Rose Shepherd was the speaker, with a concert from Lisa Houston. What a blessing to experience what these women do best. Sheri Rose wowed us all with her story and her inspiration and her ability to help us let go of the lies about ourselves that we hang onto. Lisa wowed us with her voice and her ability to make the house party down! It was such a great day!

Heather, me, and Kim

Sunday, I got to teach the kids at church, which is always a blessing. Then I spent some time with my sister, helping her weed her rose garden and plant some plants in her flower beds. After we were sore and tired, we went to my friend Nikki's for some chicken enchiladas and Rock Band! It was only my second time playing, but what a hoot! Nikki showed us her singing skills, while her daughter, Chloe, rocked on the drums. Our friend Sheryl brought her game as well, singing and playing. Her little one, Amira, is such a sweet baby too and it was fun to see her new do!

Amira with her new do!

Molly has been on some new arthritis medicine and also some new natural pills. She has been feeling so good lately, that she's been getting into trouble (see several posts ago for her first bit of trouble). She has an automatic feeder, that gives her 3 meals a day. Well, apparently, she decided to make it a manual feeder and she helped herself to a lot, and I mean A LOT of food on Wednesday. She didn't feel very good after that. So Thursday, I taped her feeder shut. She was ok that day, but when I left that evening, she got into the dish again! And ate the rest of the food! So again, the next day, more tape destroyed, but she didn't get to the food because I caught her in time. Tape stuck in her feet, all over the floor...I thought she learned her lesson, but no. Then today, I did a trial run with the dish with just one meal in it for her lunch. I came home to an overturned dish, the batteries out of the dish, and a pretty chewed up dish. So much for that. She just won't get lunch anymore...oh well. I have to laugh at this whole thing, and actually, I'm just happy that she is feeling so good lately. It's nice to have a dog who feels good, even if she's like having a two year old around.

Molly's chewed up dish.

My parents are experiencing what it's like to have a puppy around lately too. Barnaby has lots of energy and he likes to chew everything, including them. Ha!

Anyway, time to go watch Big Bang Theory - one of the funniest shows ever! Oh and speaking of funny dog stories, Marley and Me comes out on DVD tomorrow!

Playing with the new camera, taking dog pictures! I love this one of Molly! Mulder and Scully are looking cute too!

All in all, good stuff!

Visit with Aunt Joyce and Grandpa

This weekend, my Aunt Joyce and Grandpa came to stay with me in my new house. They thought it was nice and really enjoyed themselves. They were able to each have a room, with Joyce staying in the office and Grandpa in the guest room. The train didn't even bother them. We went to the farmer's market in Camarillo, drove through Ojai, ate good food, went to church and were able to relax. We also kept checking in with my parents on their new addition to the family, Barnaby. We had a lovely visit! They left this morning and are back home in Vegas!

Barnaby News

No, I didn't spell that wrong...Barnaby with an "a" is the right spelling for this blog post. Here's the story.

Last Thursday, my parents lost their beloved dog, Elwood. He was about 14 years old and for those that knew him, knew he was one of a kind. He was such a fun puppy and quite the charmer. He also had my parents trained to do just about anything for him. He was a bit of a loner, but loved to be loved on when you would give him some attention. He liked to play and do his best pirate impression, "arrrr" -ing as you played with him. He chased the cat (who weighed more than him) and liked to go for rides into town with my parents. He was such a sweet dog.

When he died, it left a huge hole in the family. My parents said long ago that they wouldn't get another dog when Elwood died, but they just couldn't stand to not have a dog around. Their whole routine was messed up by not having a dog. My parents have had a dog with them since just after they got married back in 1972!

By Friday evening, they were looking at rescue dogs online and searching for someone to fill the void. They came across a rescue website out of Idaho called www.therightcarefordogs.com. There was Barnaby staring at them. He was a 6 month old English Sheepdog/Border Collie mix who had been treated poorly, but had thankfully been rescued. My parents thought the name was more than a coincidence and they decided to drive 2 hours on Saturday to Boise to look at him. They brought him home that day. Barnaby Barneby has instantly become part of my parents' lives. They say he is very mellow with one blue eye, one black eye, one white ear, one black ear and a very pink speckled nose. He already weighs 30 lbs and will most likely be a pretty big dog. He likes squeaky toys, rawhide chews, going for walks and they say he is very good boy so far...he is a 6 month old puppy you know....

Welcome Barnaby!

Looking very regal!
Already found the basket of toys!

Goodbye Woody (Elwood, Mr. Wood)! We miss you!

Who me?

This is what I came home to today. While I am glad Molly is feeling so well, I hope this doesn't become a habit! She is my own personal shredder, tearing up the stuff in the recycle bag! Of course, I'd rather a dog that is feeling well, than a dog who limps around, but still!

She just looks up and says, "Who me???? I'm too cute for that!"