Beginning the Lenten Season

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. That means the beginning of a 40-day period (Lent) in which Christians traditionally refrain from eating meat (not including fish) on Fridays and some people decide to deny themselves of something as a form of penance to God. Many of us can remember the difficult time I went through when I gave up chocolate for Lent in high school. Although that did serve as an act of reverence to God (it is extremely difficult to do when you normally eat chocolate multiple times a day), I wanted to give up something this year that would be an even more surefire way for me to grow as a person and develop my faith.

So, I decided to give up watching T.V.

Yes, I know. 40 whole days without television. 46 including Sundays. Although I won't be watching any shows or movies at home, I will allow myself the opportunity to go see a movie at the theater if it so happens. Thinking back on my lifetime at all of the time I have spent watching T.V., it is really appalling to think about all the ways I could have used that time instead. I saw a commercial a while ago that mentioned the amount of time that Americans spend commuting to and from work in their lifetimes, and I was horrified. But really, I can do a lot more about my lifestyle choices at home than I can about my commute (in the short term). We'll just have to see how successful (or unsuccessful) I am!

These are some of the exciting things I hope to do instead of watching T.V. over the next two months:

• Spend time with my dog, family, and friends
• Clean the house
• Read my current book: Ethics for the New Millennium by the Dalai Lama
• Exercise more
• Brush up on Spanish and Japanese

• Read the New Testament of the Bible
• Pick up a new hobby
• Bake new kinds of desserts
• Do a better job of keeping in touch with old friends
•  Make lunches at night for work

And here is some interesting information from Wikipedia about Lent:

• Ash Wednesday gets it name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. Ashes were used in ancient times to express mourning.
• In the Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday is observed by fasting, abstinence from meat, and repentance—a day of contemplating one's transgressions.
• The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus (Easter).
• "Lent" initially simply meant spring (as in the German Lenz and Dutch lente) and derives from the Germanic root for long because in the spring the days visibly lengthen.

Photo of Pope Benedict: roblisameehan

Adopting a Greyhound

I recently posted a (5 Star!) yelp review on Greyhound Welfare, the greyhound rescue and placement group I went through to adopt my dog. They have a very stringent process for adopting a dog from them, which includes both a phone interview and an at-home visit with one of the volunteers. All of their dogs are kept with a foster "parent" before they are adopted, which helps them adjust to home life after they come off of the track. Looking back and realizing that Michael and I adopted Sonja about a year and a half ago, I can't image what my life would be like without her!

We knew right away when we met her at a greyhound meet-up event that she was the dog for us. Even though there are plenty of dogs to adopt, we actually had to compete with two other families to adopt her!  She is so pretty (we preferred the fawn color) and has a very loving personality. She was only two years old when we adopted her, so we should have her for quite a long time with their typical lifespan of 12-15 years.

Fun Facts about Sonja:

• Her track name was "She's Got Rhythm". She was known as "She She" by the foster family before we adopted her.
• She doesn't play with dog toys. She doesn't really see the point of those weird stuffed animals. I guess that's also why she has never tried to destroy anything around the house either!
• She is very calm and loves laying around the house, especially if she has a fluffy bed to lay on. She is definitely not a hyperactive dog.
• When we take her to the dog park, she is never interested in running unless it's snowing! She prefers to just sniff around... and act like she doesn't know you when you call her name.
• She knows the following commands: sit, lay down, stay, up, no, kennel up, eat.
• We don't allow her on the couch or to eat human food -- especially when we first got her, she had a very sensitive stomach (I'll spare you the details...)!
• She has her track information tattooed on the inside of her ears from her racing days. Knowing that she was meant to be a pet, she only raced a few times and came in last or second to last in all of them.
• I am very proud of how patient she is with children and other dogs when they annoy her. Having three toddlers petting you all at once is a lot of commotion!

Here are some interesting facts and quirks about greyhounds:

• They are already crate trained when you adopt them, so there is no frustration with the housebreaking part of adopting a new pet!
• They can never be let off leash unless they are in an enclosed area; as sighthounds, they can't be redirected once they get their eyes on something they want to chase.
• Many of them (including Sonja) love to lean against you while they are being petted.
• It's not common for greyhounds to bark. Literally, I've heard Sonja bark 4 times since we've had her.
• They have pretty thin skin and bleed easily, so it's very important to be careful with their tails. It's not uncommon for a vet to have to amputate a greyhound's tail if it is caught in a screen door and starts bleeding.
• You can't house your greyhound outside in a doghouse - their skin and fur are too thin, plus they don't have much body fat.
• Because they have slender necks and heads, greyhounds have to wear a specific type of collar when on a leash (martingale collar).
• They don't have the issues with inbreeding and genetic physical problems that some breeds have.
• In comparison to most breeds, greyhounds have a very different blood chemistry, so it is important to find a vet who is at least somewhat familiar with the breed.
• Greyhounds can run up to 45 miles per hour (if they want to!)

Can you guess which one is Sonja?!