Ashes

Today is Ash Wednesday for those of you non-Catholics out there or recovering Catholics or Catholics who like to forget all about Lent in general.

For the past few years I have been meeting my parents at church for Ash Wednesday services.  Two years ago, we knew there was something wrong with my dad, he had had all his tests and scans but the final report had not come down the pipe line yet.

Two years ago, I remember sitting in church watching an old grade school classmate and her family on Ash Wednesday.  Her father had esophageal cancer.  He was not doing well.  His three girls and his wife where there with him.  After mass they went to the back of church, lit candles, prayed and cried.  I remember those girls so clearly being so distraught at what was happening to their dad, their family, their lives.

I strongly remember the feeling of dread that came over me that day.  Knowing there was something wrong.  Wondering how bad the news was going to be and wondering how many more Ash Wednesday services we would have left together or how many more Ash Wednesdays it would be until I found myself in the back of church lighting candles, praying and crying.

My classmates father died last year.

My father will die too.

Just as yours has or will.

So on this Ash Wednesday, I not only see the start of Lent but I feel all over again the fear and the dread of how my dad’s battle with cancer will continue.

Thank goodness on most every other day, I can set that aside and realize that we still have time, hopefully a lot of time.

Looking down the drain

You know those moments where you just know you have gone one step too far?

Yeah, that was me yesterday.

With the furnace on the fritz and a clogged kid’s bathroom sink, that I had been trying for days to fix with no avail…I poured in the earth killing, skin eating, most caustic liquid solid over the counter to random woman who try to fix their own problems could possibly purchase, down the sink.

And ohhhhhh did it fix it, it ate right through the pipe.

Thanks to our friend Troy, who has now rebuild the 20 some-year-old plumbing in that bathroom and has now come to find the clog to be in the WALL behind all the tile, I got to see what it looks like looking through a sink drain.

I knew there was a reason this was happening.

New perspective.

I hope I don’t get to see through the wall next.

The Dangler

This…this type of dangling tooth, whenever I see it makes me want to throw up in my mouth.

Hopefully she’ll get kicked in the face again.   Like on Friday in Kung Fu when she got tagged by a foot in the mouth and lost that bottom dangler.

It must go.

Jump

The kids are gone.

Adam is at work.

I’m still in my Saturday morning running clothes and catching up on blogs.

I find this month’s Superhero Photo Challenge and can’t stop myself.

Seriously, I had way too much fun putting my camera up on pots and pans and hitting the 10 second timer.

Try it.

You gotta try it.

Freaky little thing

Tiny little dog

I found this little dog in my dirty laundry bin.

I have no idea where it came from or whose it is.

My pinkie finger is there to show you just how small it is.

It is velvety soft.

It looks kinda mad, kinda mean, kinda nasty and certainly not the COME PLAY WITH ME kinda happy you’re going for as a kid.

This small thing is very disturbing to me.

I don’t like it one bit.

Who the hell would play with that?

The dog won’t even chew it to death.

I think it’s the eyes.

Back to my hot Podiatrist

Marathon training has officially started for good, today.  And what I mean by that is, today, although not necessarily the first day, kicked my butt.  Moderate (which is a swift) pace for 7 miles with sprints at the end.  Needless to say, I realized today just how out of shape I am AND that I need to head right on back to the Podiatrist.

I can’t even think about my Podiatrist anymore without thinking of a conversation I had with Jen the first time I went to see him.  I got out of the office, picked up my phone and called Jen to give her the low down on the bunion and then I added that not only is he brilliant, he is HOT!

She said, well he’s your type.  I’m all like…WHAT…I have a type?  What do you mean?  I’ve been with the same guy for half my life. I don’t have a type anymore.

She continued on, yeah he doesn’t really do it for me.  You know, he looks just like Adam will in 10 years.

And damn if she isn’t right…my husband is sooo HOT!

Dog Blog

T-odd and his family just adopted a three-legged Pit Bull named Tri-pod…oh excuse me, I mean Apollo.

He insists on not calling it a Pit Bull, you can find his anger here, which makes me giggle inside just a touch.

He also insists that this dog is so smart that it should have its own blog, you can find Apollo’s antics here.

Next thing we know, he’ll be running with it and then we’ll be running with it.  T-odd, maybe you’ll need to switch over to Mrs. Bickerson’s running group…they allow and even encourage dogs over there.

For the love of Dogs!

Chemo can be fun!

All good news today.

Ok, a touch anemic…but who cares.

Today we take what we can get.

Links

Here are my links of the day.

There is a connection somewhere but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Speaking of Birthdays…

A little birthday wish to Mrs. Bickerson today, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

And a little birthday story for you.

PJ was at a puppy birthday party for her friend Megan this past weekend.  When I came to pick her up, Ellen (her mom), told me that PJ did not want to have any of the delicious chocolate birthday cake that she had made.

Ellen already knew from past experience that PJ is not a big fan of desserts or chocolate for that matter.  So she asked her, when at birthday parties what would you like to have for a treat?

PJ’s response, “avacodos!”