Various Sundries

Meg went to the doggie cardiologist today. She does indeed have a little heart murmur, however it's what they classify as what can normally occur in dogs her age and essentially said not to worry about it unless we notice changes in her ability/behavior. (So not caused by the meds most likely and all is well.) Thanks for your prayers.

Now, I would like to posit that what we ought to be lobbying for is the ability to claim pets as dependents if no human dependents are present. Cause doggie cardiologists? Not cheap.

I am also feeling better, despite not sleeping last night (guess I got too rested while I was sick!) And was actually glad to get up at 5:30 this morning when the alarm sounded. (Not sure what that says about my mental state, but I am glad to be feeling better!)

Almost lastly, I finished up the Notes from a Spinning Planet books for the blogtour in August. These were much better. Not sure if it's because I had a better feel for what YA was going to be or if it's because the main character is much more human and not an uberChristian, racing to see who can get to their knees to pray first at the sign of rain. (Seriously, the other series...if they're not praying, they're talking about how they've been praying. And while I would love to have a richer, deeper prayer life - and I recognize that it's an area where I struggle - I would like to hope that I could have that prayer life without sounding like this girl.)

Lastly, if you need a way to waste some time, this is a fun little puzzle game. And the programming language (aimed at the 8+ age group) is an interesting idea to make programming accessible to kids by relating it to building blocks (and/or Legos).

Oh! Also - I caught Kevin Kline (and Angela Lansbury and Linda Rondstat) in the Pirates of Penzance (on TMC's Action Channel, if you believe it) yesterday afternoon. What a great production! If you're hankering for some G&S, I recommend this heartily.