Laundry . . . continued

So we purchased a washer and dryer, and they deliver next day with no additional charge.  My husband suggested that we wash tennis shoes.  Our poor, faithful little machine's final hours at our home was nothing but load after load of abuse.  We did two loads of tennis shoes.  A load of bath mats.  A load of throw rugs.  And yes . . . the dreaded dog bed.

That poor machine should have had a biohazard sticker slapped on it by the time it left our house.

Two Year Warning . . . Three Years Ago

Three years ago I gave my husband a two year warning that we would need a new washer.  The one we had was a refurbished machine we acquired in 1998 with our first home.  The lid of the machine often had to be pushed in the middle to get it to start.  I noticed some minor leaking.  And though it stated "large capacity" washer . . . it was not.

Well, our newer dryer (7-10 years old) started taking about an hour per load to dry in addition to the loud metal-on-metal squeal it did most of the cycle.  It was time to replace both.  My only goal for the machines was something larger and quieter.

When we get to the store, my husband started punching buttons, lifting lids, inspecting the insides, etc.  Really?!?!?  In the fifteen years we've had children, I became the sole Laundry Chief.  So I asked him, "Exactly what features are YOU looking for in laundry machines?"  I got a dirty look--as if I didn't anticipate (and deserve) that response.  It probably didn't help that my daughter and I started laughing, too.   Of course, "The Look" only made us laugh harder.

Mature Runner

My 40th birthday gift to myself was deteriorating eyes and arthritis in my hand. For my 41st birthday, I gifted five pounds of posterior "giggle" when I run. I was thanking my lucky starts that I had donned a t-shirt long enough to cover this movement when the song "Forever Young" came on my ipod. (I share an account with the girls). I thought it was quite humorous. Of course, when you are oxygen deprived, many normal things are funny.

Is my increasing posterior another reason to consider running a marathon?