Coffee..Comfy Clothes and Cars

I've been layed off this past week and I will say, I've enjoyed every minute of it. I worked around the house, worked on the hearse and basically did squat. Every morning I got up at 6am, made coffee and perhaps around 9-ish, started thinking about what I wanted to do. What a great life this would be every day.

The part I'm going to miss now is my morning coffee and bumming around in my Pj's. I now can make a great cup of coffee, in the past that was something I couldn't do. Maybe I can't and my taste buds have just adjusted to my crap coffee, who knows.

I've been getting the hearse ready for our next show at Fifth Third Ball Park this Saturday. This is a great show and it's the show where I fell in love with Ken. You see Ken invited me to see his car at this show about 4 years ago. Gosh I can't believe it's been that long. Anyway, he told me about his Nova and how cool it was so I thought I'd get him off my back and go see the stupid thing and maybe if I did he's leave me alone..lol

He even went so far as to draw me a map cause I'm not very good with directions if it's not in Holland. The fact is, driving to other places by myself scares me. So, after debating over if I should or not, I headed out the door, map in hand determined to get his guy off my back and see his car.

Ok, I drove to Grand Rapids and followed the map and about 60 miles out of town I realized, after asking someone at a rest stop, that I was almost to Saranac. I wasn't even close to the ball park and that stupid map was wrong. I was so pissed that NOW I was going to find that ball park and give my thoughts to Ken for getting me lost.

I found my way and found the ball park but now I had to find that red Nova in a sea of cars. I walked down every isle and then I found him! I kept thinking what a godly car and you sent me 60 miles out of my way. And when I said hi, his eyes lit up, he offered me a chair that he had brought for me. He offered me a pop and not just any pop but ones he brought for me after asking the guys I work with what kind I drank at night. He did all of this not even knowing if I was going to show up that day.

At that point, those simple jesters melted my anger and he won over my heart. We often laugh at this story and how I could drive 60 miles out of my way but that's just me. I even have the map he drew and the home phone number he wrote at the bottom, he was a sly dog. I still believe he draws wrong maps but he'll tell you he didn't...men what ya going to do with them?

It's Alive

Yes..it is alive, the flames that is... Here's the motley crew who did the deed. Ann and Bob, Thank you from the bottom of my heart and "Yes".. Ann, you are a great taper. Phil, you are a super friend and I love the fur coat..Thank YOU. Don..what can I say..Best flame man there is...

My First..

I can't believe I just won my first trophy for my hearse. It was such a cold and rainy day but we went out and figured..what the heck. Most of our club members cars are either being repaired or are still getting ready so it was just the hearse. Ken's car hasn't even been started yet. He's been spending his time getting mine ready but he's almost done. This is super and I'm so excited. It's been a long day and I'm off to put up my feet and watch a little TV...

Doctor Death..again

Well I had another appointment with Doc Death and you know things don't change much. My appointment was at 11am so they tell you to get there 15mins early so you can have your lab work done. I arrived at 10:40 and my labs where at 10:50 and then I waited till..wait for it..wait..11:40 for my name to be called into a room! That's a one hour wait and by the time I was called the lobby was so full people where standing cause all the chairs and wheel chairs had been filled.

A one hour wait there was so depressing. It brought back all the memories of that time for me. So many sick people with cancer so many who couldn't even walk in on their own. So many with no hope in their eyes and it was terrible.

After my name had been called , I then waited another 10 mins in the room for him to come in. He spent less then 5 mins with me. Asking how I felt and such and the asked me to change and he would be back. It took him another 10 mins to come back after that to do my exam and answer a few questions I had.

After the exam, he told me to dress and he'd be back. He came back after another 10 mins to tell me things where great and he wouldn't have to see me now for another 4 months! So that's another 35 mins just to be told things where great and see ya in 4 months. Ok, that is super news cause I had been seeing him every 3 months.

I went to look for my chemo nurse after that cause I like to cause her some grief since I'm there anyway.. It was so depressing to see all the chemo chairs full. I thought to myself how lucky I was to have an extra 1 hour and 35 mins of my life to be there and that I wasn't one of those in the chair... Different perspective I think.

Down the Road..

There's a song that states..You can never look back..you can never look back but I did spend some time doing that today. I let my mind walk down the road that I had closed off for awhile. I opened the box that someone once told me if I put all my memories in, they would just stay there and not in my head.

I was thinking about morning coffee and about the fact that I couldn't make a good cup of coffee to save my life. About early mornings and the smell of pines wet with dew. Picking up pine cones to make a Christmas wreath. Sitting around the fireplace warming my butt and sipping wickiy (Whiskey)..

There's more but I don't want to go to far into this box, I think I'll just shut it and put it back on the shelf. I could have went down this road and at time I wish I had but I didn't. I took a different path, my own path, one which I made for myself.

I'm not sure where I'm going for now but I know I'm going to go there in style cause it wouldn't be me if I didn't...

Billy Boy

As you can see Bill is working hard on my car. This was the first outing for Bill but I am sure there will be many more. Bill started out as a skeleton called a budget bucky. They are 4th quality medical skeletons that are sold as not quite right. Ok, I know I'm not quite right.

Now, getting him to stand on his own wasn't that easy. He has metal rods c-clapped to his knees to keep them straight. I guess you can say he had knee surgery and now has rods in place. Bill wouldn't be Bill without his work coveralls and shoes. He's also sporting one of my skull caps that I worm during my chemo last year.

Both my buddies wear my skull caps just to remind me that there is fun and life after cancer...

Getting Ready

Wow, when the weather breaks there's so much to do. I've been working on getting the hearse ready for the show season. She has a name now..Rosebud.which is really my kick name I like to use but it fit her too.

1..My friends at Speed Cult are making me two side window markers with skulls and the name Rosebud in the middle, powder coated in you guessed it..blood red.

2..I've just finished the back curtain in that Alex Henry fabric that I love so much.

3..I've had the center rims on the wheels powered coated in red and the skull from the fabric I used is now in the center cap. I had a graphic design artist copy the fabric and make vinyl centers for me.

4..The back door has been repaired with the truck bed liner that I used on the roof. And, now has a chrome skull and cross bone emblem on it.

5..The new skeleton has arrived but now I have to figure out how to make him stand by himself under the hood. A uniform place helped me with his outfit complete with his name tag "Bill". This is going to be a fun prop.

6..Holland Supply Inc which is a funeral supply place helped me with new flags and a sign for Rosebud.

7..Express Muffler put on a brand spanking new exhaust for me. Two glass packed shorties on the back which now have the two skull exhaust tips on it...SWEET!!

I'm sure I am leaving out more but hey..I'm a busy gal here...

It's That Time Of Year

Well, it's here again..SPRING. Do you know how I knew??? I got the hearse out! Drove it around the block a few times and then headed to the muffler place. I have decided to put a glass pack muffler on it with duel exhaust. I found a place on the net which I bought these skull chrome exhaust tips.



These are going to look oh so cool with smoke coming out of the eyes and mouth. Next, I spent a good part of the day sanding the back door which was really bad. You see, the hearse sat out side before I bought it for two years and the back door was scratched and very badly rusted from that.

I decided to use the same truck bed liner which I put on the vinyl roof on that. It looks great and covered the deep scratches perfectly. Next I applied a crome skull and cross bones on it. It looks great!

I brought Semore in out of the cold. He was really stiff and cold from being out in the hearse all winter long..hahaha. Here he is enjoying a warm cup of coffee.



Next on my list will be a flame paint job and a new prop which will be a mechanic called Bill Sunoco. Ok, I know I'm a little weird here but what fun I am having compared to last year at this time.

Spring Is The Thing

The calendar said the first day of spring and even the outside matched. It wasn't warm but the sun was shinning and it looked like spring. It looked like we had gotten over that snow hump and wouldn't return till next winter. But thing are not all what they look like.

It snowed about 6 to 12 inches yesterday and last night. The crappy white stuff covered and sign of spring out there including..taking the hearse out!. I put the hearse back on the insurance the first day of spring cause there's so much I want to do to her before the shows start. She is getting new exhaust tips, signs and perhaps a little paint if time and money allows.

But now, she's back under her blanket. I really hate winter.

One Year Ago..

It's been one year today that I started this blog. It was mostly to keep friends update on my progress. What a year huh? Back then I didn't know what was going to happen to me and today I still don't!

Since all of the treatment is done, life began but it's so hard not to keep thinking about it coming back. Some of the ladies that I started with back then have had their cancer return and it's just scary to think one day it might.

Also, last year my company announced that it was sold to a company called Plastech. Now, Plastech announced it's bankrupt. Oh yeah, we still have jobs for the most part but every day you wonder if it will be announced that you are going to be out.

So, if you think about it..my cancer is a lot like my job..it just keeps you wondering..hahahahaha

Will You Be My Valentine

That day has rolled around again, the day which normal people are forced to be sappy in love goons. I'm not much on this day, in fact, it was drilled into my head for 12 lovely years that, it's a Hallmark Holiday and nothing more. Every heart felt feeling that I had was to be washed down with the bitter fact that I would not be shown anything extra that day.

I fondly remember the days when I was young and we would make mail boxes out of cereal boxes and decorate them with hearts and hang them at the front of our desks in grade school. I wasn't very good at making those hearts but it didn't take away from the excitement of that day. We would go to the store and get small paper notes with "Will you be mine Valentine?" on them. They would have puppies or kitties or just big hearts. I would neatly address them and wait for the day. The day of love and perhaps a sweet heart shaped candy sucker. Gosh, I loved that!

Those days of youth have gone and so has the Hallmark Holidays guy. I was not prepared for what happen this Valentine day, this time it was different. We were in the car and a ad came on the radio about giving a loved one something special. I looked at Ken asked him in a kinda cool voice if he wanted a card for the love fest day. He looked at me and said in a sad voice...I at least deserve a card don't I?

I realized then that I was about to make him turn that day into something that I was forced to do so long ago...nothing more, nothing extra..just another day. So, in a middle of a snow storm I went out , hell bent on doing the love thing. I wanted to make this day special for him and that was that.

I bought not just one but two cards. I found the biggest heart shaped box of candy I could afford and a mug to show him just how much I cared. Then I realized something, it's not the stuff you buy but it's the act itself that shows someone on that day you care a little extra. You cared to go out and do something, so it doesn't matter how small or large of gift it is.

I wrapped and hid it all but the thing that made this day so very special was that Ken had bought me the exact same heart shaped box of candy. We had a good laugh over that. He also gave me a card and some lovely flowers. He didn't have to do any of that since he had already given me something, something very special and something I will always cherish. He gave me Valentine's Day back.

Winter Blues

How's the weather? Colder then a ditch digger's.... Gosh there's so many of those saying that I just could go on but at the risk of offending, I'll stop..>LOL Weather has always been weird in Michigan but I just have one question...Where the heck is the global warming when we need it? Below zero, negative numbers and blizzards are all I have been hearing on the weather reports.

Where did the hole in the o-zone go? Did it repair it self? I want the unseasonal warm weather that the hole made. Maybe it's so bad now cause my car is not housed nice inside the garage. The hearse and the nova sit nice and cozy inside the car hole, while our daily drivers are now outside in the elements.

I have to face fact that this winter thing is starting to suck and I'm getting older and need warmth. We did talk about a warmer place like Arizona or Florida but we all know that's just a warm pipe dream for now.

I guess right now I'm going to go buy a can of aerosol hair spray and point it to the sky and maybe I'll make that hole come back and warm me up..hahahaha

One Year And Counting...

What do you do on an anniversary like this? It's been one year since I heard those words..breast cancer. Do you get a cake and balloons, or perhaps there's a hallmark card, they make cards for every occasions. Maybe going out to dinner and toasting to the one year, the one year that you lived hoping you weren't going to die.

I promised myself there was no looking back, no reminiscing fondly like you would of happy days gone past and old lovers. But, here I am doing just what I said I wouldn't, remembering the crap.

I'm not going to write some long recap of the year cause you all can read last years posting if you want to know how I felt or what happened. But, right now, I am going to celebrate my one year anniversary. It's not going to be with a cake or some sappy hallmark card.

So, here's to you cancer..you beat me down but I'm back up again. Care giver Kenny, who kepted me going through this all, always told me we'd look back and laugh at all of this. He was right, he's always right..NOT. He kept me going when I wanted to stop and he say..one year from now..you'll still be here.

Now I have my morning coffee and there's a fresh blanket of snow outside. The sun is coming up and it's another day. Another day to be thankful and to breath it all in...that's a celebration in my eyes.

Computer Age

Boy, what happened to the good old days?? Pictures where taken on a camera then the film was taken to get developed and you had pictures. There was also the cool Instamatic's where you took the picture, it popped out and you waved it in the air till the photo magically appeared..( those where oh so cool) I miss those days.

I have a camera that I thought was up to date cause it took pics on a thing called a floppy disk that I just inserted into my computer and "poof" there was the pic. No film, no processing and oh so with it. I used this thing for 10 years now and just recently I found out I was behind the times. Me, behind the times..hahahaha.

The camera failed on me, the floppy disk some how wouldn't load into the computer and I decided to "look" for another camera. So, off I go to Circuit City to "look" and "look" I did. Wow, my camera was in the stone age compared to the little (and I mean little) stuff they have now. I ended up going home with another Sony but it has 12.1 mega pixels and a shit load of other stuff I'll never use. The card, which holds the pictures, can hold up to 500 of them and is no bigger then my thumb nail. Not to mention it will do everything but take out the trash for me..hahah

Now.. the day before, I was burning some DVDs (don't ask me how I did that), which was for our car club. The DVD had 268 pictures and music from the entire year (2007) of our car club car shows. It was amazing how many pictures that old camera took but the quality wasn't so great. Anyway, after doing that for days, I decided to make those cool labels and jewel case covers with our car club logo on them. This should have been an easy project, easy for someone who knows what they are doing..lol

I went through twenty-one bucks of paper products just to find out that I didn't know what I was doing. Needless to say, that afternoon a new printer came into my life. Apparently, I had a stone age printer as well and I have one that will do everything but take out the trash.

It seems now that I am with it again but I still don't know what I am doing. I'm just going to hide under the covers for awhile and dream of the old days...wave me in the air till I develop

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!! I can't believe another tax year is starting. You know, I never payed much attention to the new year. It's not Halloween or Christmas, it's just a start of another year. New start? or is it just a continuation of the past year?..Questions..questions..

I started taking down the Christmas stuff today which is always so depressing for me. And to top that off, tonight at 11pm..I'm off to work. I don't really want to go but I guess I have to pay the bills some how. It's been a good Christmas vacation for sure. I cooked, cleaned, cooked some more, shopped, cleaned again, cooked and ????, oh yeah...cooked. Wait a minute..going back to work will be easy compared to the work I did at home..hahahahaha

I'm not going to look back at last year much cause it is time to look forward. I want to spend less time on this cancer stuff but I some how know that won't happen. I'm really going to try to be more involved in the race for the cure this year. Perhaps even do a little running but I've got to lose this chemo weight of mine first. Ok, chemo and holiday weight..everything taste so good now that I got my taste buds back. I know I'll feel better if I take some of this off.

Well, Happy New Year everyone. No looking back cause didn't a song say.."You can never look back, never look back"?