Tired Girl

Today is July 5th, 2008....

It's been a while since I have written, but basically it has been more of the same. Each week I have gone for a fill, and I actually am going to take a break this week because my pectorial muscle is really really sore. Having a hard time just moving my arm up and down, sleeping...but i'm doing ok.

I honestly can not wait for all of this to be complete, but actually I've heard a saying to cherish every step to your journey because each step is a lesson that you must go through to get to where you want to be.

Denzil Washington tells his kids, "You do what you have to do, so you can do what you want to do." If you ask my kids the question: "What do you do?" They will roll there eyes and say: "You do what you have to do, so you can do what you want to do." So they got it I guess. Simple really.

Well so you wanna hear about my 4th of July???

Independence Day... Well I went to the market and got a 3foot sandwich, and all kinds of other yummy things to make. Ray and I went and the poor dear had to help me schlep the one case of water onto the cart because I still can't lift that much, and she was so cute to help me and loved every step of the grocery shopping. I on the other hand would rather lay down on the hot pavement in the middle of the street than go grocery shopping. Can't stand it! Don't mind making the food, and eating it..just don't like crusing up and down the aisles searching for processed cheese spread and finding it on the chip aisle? Wouldn't you think it would be by the cheese. Bastards! They think it is funny to put cheese on the chip aisle. It was a big block of Velveta, for the bean dip I made. I also made enchalada cassarole with chicken, and two beautiful pies!

The pies were pineapple and creamcheese in a graham cracker crust, with strawberries, bannanas, bluberries and whip cream on the top! Yes to die for! We had a large assortment of fireworks, many that were not "exactly legal" for our county...which I was not aware of until they were flying into the sky and exploding like the fireworks on New Year's eve!

Yes they were pretty, but I was not exactly that happy. One thing I found out last night is that alcohol and fire works don't mix, and some people really don't know when to stop...that is the drinking and the fireworks.

It's around 10 pm and everyone is perched out front in chairs and we even have the two dogs buster and lola out front with us. I thought it best to start to wind down and asked Chris to put Buster away in his bed upstairs. Now Chris (Amanda's B-friend)is still nursing a broken wrist with a brace, and busters bed is a little tricky to say the least to latch. Well I was out front sweeping up some of the mess when all of the sudden I hear a loud pop and lowe and behold, a bush is on fire.

Yes, and it is around 100 degrees outside and the bush is basically just kindling at this point. Now the bush is about one foot from Chris's truck, so I am yelling as I am beating the bush with the broom "chris move your truck it's on fire" he is still upstairs and hears everyone screaming..and flys down the stairs and can't even get his keys fast enough juggling them in his hands as he is running all the while...the flames are getting higher, and lickin the tree about 5feet in the air. The flames are under his truck and any minute now the gas tank will explode, and yes I am still beating the burning bush with the broom, that at this time has no bristles left because they have all melted. So I am basically beating the burning bush with a plastic stick!

What is everyone else doing? I couldn't tell you I was too engrossed in the fire that I can now see is catching the tree on fire, at any second I was going to scream call the fire department. Well.....Randy Berto's friend comes running up with the ice chest minus the beer bottles...(I guess someone took the time to take all of the beer and soda out of it before dumping it on the burning bush) and put out the flames at least to a point that we could stomp out the rest. And you know what I thought was really funny...here comes Berto with a pan full of water and dumps it on the smoldering black carcas of a bush and says "I guess I'm a little late." This is my son who wants to be a fireman....starting the fire, and then late putting it out.

I look at everyone, and basically they were all just spectators...Unbelievable. Seriously I was beating the burning bush with all of my might...standing next to a truck that was going to explode at any second and the only one who moved was Berto who went inside to get a pan full of water, and his friend Randy. Rob sat on the chair with his leg elevated because of the surgery, and I think I actually saw him eating popcorn! There were 3 other men there and they finally came around but after the flames were around 2 inches high. Disaster averted.

No...I couldn't make this up if I tried, and again I am looking for the cameras.

But wait...that is not it...Everyone decided they wanted to play basketball. With beer bottles and the trashcan. Everyone missed. So yes glass in the street, cars driving by..and our neighbors are putting together a petition to name us the HillJacks of Abalone Bay...I was inside with Ray when this was happening cleaning up the burnt embers off my clothes and looking at my singed eyebrows and making sure that the black soot would eventually come off of my white shorts...

I hear the crashing of bottles, and yes the man in the chair was leading the contest, and at this point I got the big broom not the broom which was basically a stick with melted bristles and (no I didn't hit anyone with it, although a flash of using it that way did cross my mind) and started to sweep up the street. Ray helped me, Chris helped me...the others were cleaning up the mess from all of the fireworks... The man in the chair (Rob) kept cracking open beer after beer and playing basketball....well that got very tireing on my part. So I opened another beer and asked him if he wanted it, he said yes....so I prompltly poured it over his head, and asked him if he wanted another, and before he could answer because he was wiping the beer from his face and I think drowning and actually couldn't speak at this point, gave him another beer...yes over his head.

Well he stopped drinking and playing basketball.

That my friends was day 72 of my journey through breast cancer. Sound like fun? But on a lighter note...I feel really good, and I am blessed to be alive and healthy and get to experience all the days of my life.

Stacy