Fuck Cancer!

Not my photo, but the guy in the middle is my son...the one with the "shit eating" grin...the one between the two ladies...that's my son. He's the one with fucking cancer...fucking colon cancer!

I'm sorry if any one's offended by the photo or by the word "fuck" but there's really no other way to describe all the emotions that are involved. No other, or more perfect way to vent the anger that this horrible disease causes.

My son, he's only 25, yet he has colon cancer....something someone more than twice his age should fear...not a 25 year old..not my baby.

He has surgery tomorrow. He's suffering through the fasting and meds today in preparation. I wish he didn't have to go through this...I wish I could do it for him, protect him...that's what parents do.

But all I can do is be there for him, pray for him...and oh yeah, I can say, "Fuck you, Cancer!"

Because I Love Her - Party Recipes

My daughter had a "Housewarming / Purse" Party a couple of weeks ago.

She and I both had been looking forward to her purse party. I had put off buying a new purse or even going to any other parties waiting for her to have hers…even though my purse was falling apart…I waited patiently.

I knew that she was excited about showing off her new house and the prospect of earning enough through her party to get herself a new purse.

So, I decided to surprise her by “catering” the party. I bought a Taste of Home Appetizer magazine in the market and got inspired. I went through and found several recipes that looked simple enough for me to make and I thought would taste good together.

I had told her a few days before her party that I was making food, but I didn’t elaborate on exactly what or how much I was making. All I told her was to make sure she had some room in her refrigerator.

I could tell she was blown away when I pulled up and we started unloading the car. It was a lot of food.

I had picked up some colorful serving trays from the Dollar Store to put the food out on and I am embarrassed to “toot my own horn” but it did look great. (She said she heard back from people after the party that they thought she had hired a professional caterer.)

And if you knew me, and how badly I normally cooked, you’d know how really funny that is :)

So, I’ll list the appetizers I made and provide a link to them from the Taste of Home web site. http://www.tasteofhome.com/ . (If they should remove them from their web site, I have PDF files of them I can email to you…just ask.)

BLT Bites
www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/BLT-Bites

Cheese Crisps
www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Cheese-Crisps

Crunchy Cucumber Rounds
www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Crunchy-Cucumber-Rounds

Cucumber Pita Wedges
www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Cucumber-Pita-Wedges

Olive Pepper Pinwheels
www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Olive-Pepper-Pinwheels

Spinach Cheese Mushroom Caps
www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Spinach-Cheese-Mushroom-Caps

Taco Dip Platter
www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Taco-Dip-Platter

White Bean Bruschetta
www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/White-Bean-Bruschetta

She LOVES Her Stuffed Animals

You want to look away...but you can't.

She's been doing this for years...how she figured this out, we don't know...and it's only to these kinds of stuffed animals...that particular character.

People probably think I'm some kind of perv...but it is hilarious.

She does this on her own....I couldn't have posed her like that. And she only does it when she thinks no one's in the room with her...so you walk in and catch her like "that".

I've been trying to catch her on film every since we brought her to live with us in December. As soon as she hears that someone's around she stops.

What makes this even more hilarious is that she was my Mom's dog and used to do this all the time to her!

She actually has two Miss PIggys.

One time my husband and I were sleeping on an air mattress in my Mom's living room. When the lights went out, we heard....Thump, Thump, Thump...heavy breathing, heavy breathing....pitter patter of little feet....Thump, Thump, Thump...heavy breathing, heavy breathing...pitter patter...and so on.

She was "taking care of" both Miss Piggys.

A Sign...

This photo is part of my 365 Project I did last year and posted on Flickr. You can see the entire project here.

Day 9 of 365 (January 9, 2007)

Feathers mean a lot to Native Americans. Although, I and my children are not full blooded Cherokees, we are very in tune to our heritage and its spirituality.

To us a feather isn’t just something that falls out of a bird, it means much more. To us the feather symbolizes honor, strength, wisdom, power, freedom, trust and more.

In Native American cultures, eagle feathers are given as an honor. The person chosen is selected because they have done a brave deed, such as fighting off a bear or going up against the enemy.

Although this feather is not an eagle feather, I am taking it as a sign, a profound sign...

I found it laying in my front yard, right there, obvious, almost as though someone put it there on purpose. I saw it as soon as I step out of my car...and I was stunned.

My husband and I had just returned from seeing our son off on his second deployment to Iraq. My son is very proud of his Native American heritage and very proud to serve his country, so this is a gift, it is a sign, it is a symbol...and I am displaying it on my wall proudly.

© 2007 BarGal Photography
all rights reserved
All photographs may not to be used without my written permission.
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(Update: Our son returned home safe and sound on March 5, 2007. You can see the 365 Project photo on that day in the link for the complete project set at the top of this posting.)