IRL

I love meeting my favorite twitter friends in real life. Last week I had the opportunity to have dinner with Joey, @PassionMD, and his lovely girlfriend Carol Ann. He's just as wonderful in real life as he is on twitter.

Father's Day

Father's Day can be a very emotional day when you no longer have a father. I was quite close to my Daddy. We butted heads at times, but who doesn't with their parents. He was a quiet man. If he didn't have something to say, he didn't. The ultimate in praise for something you cooked was "not bad." When we were little my sister, the neighbor boys and I had a rotten vegetable fight in the garden. He joined in, nailing my sister in the back with a rotten tomato. She started yelling as he stood there snickering. God, I love that memory. He loved his dogs, his music, his vegetable garden, his family. And he left us much too soon.

W.A.N. 1935-2001

My wedding day in 1995. He cleaned up well!

Christmas morning, 1996. This was much more typical of how he looked.

The Aussie and my Dad on an unseasonably cold June day in 2000 in Cape Cod.

Family portrait Christmas 2000. This was the last Christmas we had with Daddy.

Damn, I miss him. I'm crying as I type this. The years will pass, and I have complete faith that I will see you again. Give the dogs pats and give a kiss to Byrde Byrde for me and tell her I miss her too.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I've been going through my boxes of pictures trying to find ones from my Australia trips. I don't have many pictures of The Aussie's Dad. I've only been to Australia twice, so I didn't spend much time with him. A barrister for many years, he loved a good argument and he loved his little chihuahua Kyrie. Somewhere I have a picture of the two of them. I have to keep digging.

This was taken December 26, 1997.
D.S. 1923 - 2006

If you're blessed enough to still have your father in your life you are very fortunate. Happy Father's Day, Daddy and Doug.

Stick a fork in me...

... I'm done. Not really, but this morning at 8:30 am it felt like it. Or, as people from the South would say to me "Bless your heart." Which is translated as "why on Earth is that crazy woman doing that, has she lost her mind?" What I did was complete week 5 of C25K this morning. 5 minute brisk walk and 20 minutes of running. It was slow running, but it was running, and I DID IT ALL!! 28 minutes and 15 seconds, 2.21 miles with an average pace of 12:42. I'm not ready to sign up for a half, but I'm going to start training like I am.

I'd also like to thank Shannon at SuperwomanSpirit for the Beautiful Blogger Award!

For this award I'm supposed to tell you 7 things about myself that you don't know about me. Here goes.

1. I am shy to the point of social anxiety and panic attacks when I have to go to parties or outings.

2. I spend way too much money on books, quilting supplies and beading stuff. (Shush up Karyn, you do too.)

3. The Aussie and I were engaged 4 months after we met. (We've been married 15 years)

4. When I was little I ran away. No idea why, but I did. I made it as far as the mailbox (about 25 feet). I was prepared though: I brought with me a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, a butter knife and a roll of toilet paper.

5. I like dogs more than I like many people.

6. I loathe eggplant.

7. Occasionally when I was little I'd get up early on Saturday mornings, swipe the open container of sour cream or the open can of tomato paste out of the refrigerator, grab a small spoon and sit behind the living room sofa and eat the sour cream or tomato paste. I'd then hide the empty container and spoon under the sofa.

I'd like to pass along this lovely award to some wonderful and inspiring bloggers. Tag, you're it:

Julia at JuliaGoulia

Jan at HealthyLoserGal

Jess at HalfOfJess

Go give someone a hug

This week we had a collective scare. One of our own, Shannon, had a crisis in her family that caused us all to stop, pray and send healing thoughts to her and her family. When I read that the test results were good and her darling son Reagan didn't have leukemia tears came to my eyes. I'm tearing up as I write this. I stopped my husband as he was headed to work yesterday morning to tell him the good news and he teared up too.

You never know when something bad can befall you, a loved one, a friend... Be good to one another. Tell your family that you love them. Give a friend in need a hug. You might not be able to be a blessing to the world, but you can start by being a blessing to a single person.

Wordless Wednesday

(Humorous, yet disturbing, birthday cake made for The Aussie by friend I made the Hello Kitty birthday cake for.)

I am a child of the 80s

Me, circa 1983

Not that I was born in the 80s. Nooooo. Far from it. My taste in music, ridiculously diverse as it is, leads me back to the 80s again and again. So, in honor of all things neon, pants with rolled cuffs (how is it they're back in style??) and scrunchy socks, I have compiled my 80s running playlist. Enjoy.

Our Lips Are Sealed - The Go Gos
History Never Repeats - Split Enz
Space Age Love Song - A Flock Of Seagulls
Don't Change - INXS
Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
Love Plus One - Haircut 100
Steppin' Out - Joe Jackson
You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) - Dead Or Alive
Everybody Have Fun Tonight - Wang Chung
Fantastic Day - Haircut 100
Gloria - U2
Relax - Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Litany (Life Goes On) - Guadalcanal Diary