Priceless

Free and Clear: My niece Ashley had her surgery this afternoon. It started around 1:30 p.m. and I was surprised when one of my sisters called me at 4:30 and said it would take another hour yet. I just kept praying and I thank those of you who also sent some thoughts upward. Even Carter mentioned on the way home that sometimes they go into the Chapel in the school for a few minutes in the morning. "This morning I prayed for Ashley," he said. "I know He has a lot of prayers to answer but hopefully He'll get to this one." And you know what? He did! The surgery was successful and, most importantly, the gigantic cyst with the 4+ liters of liquid inside of it is non-cancerous! They also were able to save one ovary so she could be a mother some day if she chooses. Thank you, God!
Cost of surgery: Probably astronomical
Number of prayers: Countless
Getting a "free and clear" sign: priceless

The Spirit Within: This morning was Spirit Day at school so Carter and I had to get ready early in order for me to spray his hair blue and white. I wisely had a garbage bag over his clothes and he held paper towels to his face. I also wore rubber gloves. It took a lot of spray and I even had to use the hair dryer to get it to stop dripping. Needless to say, there was no time for pictures by the time we were done. Daddy had to drive him out to the bus stop so he wouldn't miss it. I wasn't necessarily picturing Carter's hair all day but I was thinking about it... Apparently I ingested so much "paint" from the air that every time I blew my nose today I had blue, you know... I know. Snot funny.
Hours it takes to run free and clear: 12
Cost of blue and white hair spray: $3
Having school spirit inside and out: priceless

Dueling partners: This is an usually good year for the baseball fans in the Austin household. Hubby's Reds are in the National League playoffs and my Twins are chasing the American League pennant. For now we are loving and supportive partners because we want both teams to win and keep advancing. Can you imagine this house with both the Reds and the Twins in the World Series?! Whoot. Thank goodness we have 2 TVs. Of course, Carter claims he's a Twins fan but he's also a bandwagon jumper so he'll go with whoever goes further. Jim was lucky Carter and I had a dentist appointment today so he could watch the Reds this afternoon in their first game. (The Twins are on momentarily).
Number of hits the Reds had Game #1: Zero (sorry, honey)
Number of pregame Twinkies Carter and Mommy will eat in the playoffs: Hopefully 3 or 4 dozen
Having a post-season smackdown in the Austin house: Priceless

This one's for the 'girls': We all know you get what you pay for. When you are an athlete (or wannabe), you sometimes pay top dollar for equipment not just because it looks good, but because it functions well and could be safer. I've learned over time to invest in good running shoes. I'm flat-footed and need the proper support to save my ankles, knees, hips and beyond. There are parts of me, though, that aren't so flat. For us "blessed" runners, we sometimes find ourselves wearing 2-3 "layers" of athletic support up there for races. Maybe Winnie the Pooh's Tigger liked "more bounce per ounce," but we don't. I recently was registering online for a race and noticed the company sold athletic gear, including some ultra-compression sports bras. I thought, "They're expensive so they must work." I ordered one and got it today. I took it out for test drive, er run, tonight and give it 2 thumbs up!
Cost of the super-duper concrete compression compartments: $39.99 + shipping and handling
Amount of "turbulence" during tonight's 5K: Zero
Pleasure at finding the Holy Grail of Sports Bras: Priceless