About a month ago we decided it was time to get another dog. Our 14 year old poodle, Spike had passed away a few months ago and we were used to having 2 dogs in the house. We adopted our 2nd dog named Riley from a rescue group about 3 years ago and she’s just the best dog ever! So affectionate and docile.

So onward and upward! We go to our local Petsmart who is hosting an adoption event and we meet “Geri” a 4 month old “Labrador/hound” mix puppy. I was originally adamant saying no puppies nope, nope! Yeah…right…  next thing I know I’m filling out the adoption application, agreeing to a home visit, etc, etc…

All goes well and “Geri” comes home with us after a very long in depth discussion of what it’s like to have a puppy in your home with the adoption coordinator. Upon arriving home Geri quickly became “Lola” and her name suits her. In the 5-6 weeks that we’ve had her she answers to her name it’s really cute.

But…She is a puppy. She’s already chewed up one of my favorite sneakers and a pair of Samantha’s sneakers. What is it about sneakers anyway??  Most of my shoes are know in my closet safe from puppy teeth and we keep an almost endless supply of chew things for Lola to keep her puppy mouth busy. Lola also loves to jump all over and “play” with Riley. It’s quite comical to watch. At first Riley tolerates her then she’ll join in like alright already !

I haven’t mentioned Lola’s bark which is quite loud. When one of us comes home she has to bark at us as if she’s announcing us home. It’s not really that cute since she’s so loud but it is nice that she gets so excited to see us when we come home.

So getting a puppy is almost like having another kid. You have to watch them, train them, make sure they don’t get into anything dangerous… good times I tell you. But they are fun times.

I went to work today as I do most Tuesdays. It felt good to get away. To get away to the isle of Manhattan for a little while. The ferry ride over was nice and relaxing. While I was on the ferry the main office called to tell me my client was running a half hour late, was that ok? Of course it was, it gave me time to return a sweater I recently purchased and didn’t like and of course have some retail therapy in the process.  Love Banana Republic! Actually I love all of 34th st. All the stores and the sales oh my! Sometimes I don’t even have to buy anything I can just look at all the “stuff” and be on my way.

There’s this one cosmetic store called “Lush” I’m not sure of what they sell outside of the bath bombs Daniella always buys but oh my gosh does that store smell good. They always keep the door open so you don’t even have to go in to enjoy the aromas that come from there. It’s amazing.

I’ve visited The Gap and Banana Republic more times than I care to admit. Again, I don’t always buy but I Iove, love checking out their clearance sections. I’m feeling good about buying clothes again as I’ve lost a few pounds. Yay me 😀. Nothing major but enough to be encouraging and know I’m going in the right direction.

Im on my way home now on the same ferry I came over on. It’s a beautiful afternoon to be here.

I’ve been working just about every Saturday for the past two years now. I’m off today and it feels good. In anticipation of a new job I’m hoping to secure, I informed my boss I would no longer be working Saturdays. I have to say it feels good to not have to run around getting ready for work  while my girls are lounging around or hanging with a friend after a sleepover.

Today I have the added bonus of being glad to be home as I get to visit my Dad in the hospital. A close friend is helping me out with Samantha (thanks Martha!) and the afternoon is mine to go visit him. He’s still in the  ICU as far as I know. And I appreciate everyone who has been praying for him and our family.

I do miss going to Manhattan on a Saturday. The vibe of the city is different on weekends than during the week. The ferry has a different energy mix of tourists and residents taking advantage of happenings going on in the greatest city in the world. I’m sure I’ll get over missing going to the city on a weekend day. I’ll now be able to go at my leisure when I want to not when I have to.

Its now late Saturday afternoon and I spent most of my day with my Dad and mom at the hospital. My dad looks good considering he’s just had surgery a couple of days ago. The doctors want to move him out of the ICU and into a regular room there just isn’t one available right now.

Im glad I spent my first Saturday off with them.

My Dad has been in the hospital. First with pneumonia that started with a rediculously high fever of 104 degrees F. While he was in hospital he received IV antibiotics and was feeling better. Then the other night he had intense pain which resulted in him calling my mom at home to tell her and yelling at the nurse how much pain he was in. Another test was done and showed an intestinal blockage. So my dad spent most of yesterday drinking CT Scan contrast and then waiting to actually have the CT Scan. In the meantime the intestinal blockage perforated (went through the intestine) and Dad was taken immediately to surgery. The surgeon told my mother she wanted to check out my Dad’s liver while she was in there.

I just heard from my mom.  My Dad is in ICU and has metastatic cancer in his liver and colon. I’m speechless and fighting back tears as I’m on the ferry and riding the subway on the way to work. I’m thankful I have this time to process this information. The train isnt even crowded thank God.

I don’t know what to think. His doctor wants to start chemo straight away. That sounds like a really good plan. I’m worried. Worried for my Dad for what he has to go through and worried for my mom for what she has to go through with him . Does it seem “fair”? No of course not but what in life is fair? I know God isn’t punishing my father or us by giving my dad cancer. So that argument or blame game is out. I guess most of all I’m scared. Scared of the unknown future for my parents together.

I think we all take it for granted that our parents are going to always be there. Always. I know I do anyway.  Like that my father will always be there to answer the phone with some smart retort when I ask if my mom is there, “yeah she’s here…you wanna talk to her or are you taking attendance?” So now I’m getting a full on in your face lesson on the mortality of my parents. Something that a few of my close friends have already had to sadly deal with.

So I’ll continue to pray and emailing and calling my prayer warriors to pray with me. It’s one of the most powerful weapons we have right now.

After going back to being blonde for about 2 years I’ve returned to red hair for the fall and unforseeable future. Those who know me know it doesn’t take much for me to change my hair color. My husband often jokes that he’ll go to the corner deli for a gallon of milk  and return home to me with a different hair color. He’s right though. It has happened where Tommy would go off to work in the evening and return home later to me with a change in hair color. I’m actually surprised that I’ve kept the blonde as long as I did. After this last hair cut/trim  I was itching for a change. I already had a box of red in the cabinet and just purchased a box of blonde. After a couple of phone calls for opinions and polling of family members I decided on the red. And I’m glad I went for it.

My next challenge would be to grow out this super short hair but… every time I even think about it I go and get it cut. No I’m not ready for that kind of angst in my life.

I remember the first time I colored my hair, I was 17 years old. My hair was this dark blonde very light brown color and I did not like it at all. I was so happy when my mom said yes I could dye it. My mom has her beautician’s license so we went off to the beauty supply place to buy the supplies and I got to pick out my new hair color. Exciting!  I remember it came out strawberry blonde because my mom didn’t add a “drabber” to tame the natural red in my hair. I don’t remember being upset I was happy to get rid of my original color. I know the next time we colored it mom used the drabber and poof! The beloved blonde color I coveted was there. Yay! We had good times coloring and perming my hair and perming my best friend’s hair back in the day. Good times.

So I have this job opportunity presented to me. It happened just this past week. I had sent in my resume never expecting to hear back anything. But I did! I go in for orientation this Tuesday to see if I can learn their system and see if it’s indeed a job for me. It’s more money than I’m making now, no weekends and located on the borough where I live so I wouldn’t have to travel to Manhattan anymore. That part makes me pause believe it or not. I enjoy being in the city. I don’t always enjoy the time it takes me to get there and back but once I’m there I like being there. There’s no place like Manhattan; no place.

There ends my rant of my love affair with the city of New York. Once again I’m writing from my phone while on the ferry after work. Another beautiful day. I’m excited for Tuesday to get here and I can glean more information about this new job. Will I like it?  Will they like me? What will I wear? How many days per week? Is is as great as it seems? I won’t go into more detail about this opportunity at the moment, not until I’m sure it’s a great fit all around. I will appreciate prayers !