My Lovely Nail

I've had ghetto toes for the last few weeks. My feet have gone through the ringer with white water rafting and camping for a week. All I had left was a smudge of pink on the big toe with a decal of a white flower. Damn...I got my moneys worth on that five dollar decal! Lesson learned..never go to a party in flip flops where all your friends can see your ghetto toes! They will pin you down and give you a good ol fashion pedicure. How many friends does it take to paint 10 toes? Three! One to wipe off the nail polish, one to file and put on the base coat, and one to paint them bright orange. The best part? Pretending we were in a chinese nail salon! Pick you color...you want decal?....I give you one pretty nail! Cindy and Ronda tried to give me a decal of a blue flower, but it ended up looking like a blue blob. Thank goodness, through the wine, they admitted that the fee (free) decal was butt ugly....and they started over again! Gotta love those friends who pretend that they are chinese manicurists! Not only that....they look just as good and I saved myself 30 bucks! Not only do I have one lublee (lovely) nail, I have 10 lublee (lovely) toes with no decal! You know you have good friends when they can touch your gross feet. Thanks for the makeover Pam, Cindy, and Ronda! You be friend fo long time!

Life's A Leech

Okay..back to my rafting stories...Nina's last day of chemo took storytelling priority! So...we rafted on Friday for 6 miles. It was hard to enjoy at first because I was so nervous. When we finally set up camp for the night, we decided to go on a hike. I thought hike meant...trails! But basically we had to fight through mounds of rocks, logs, and uneven terrain. It must have been at least 95 degrees out too! On our way, my feet slipped out in front of me and I hit my head on a large boulder. After the fall, I felt very insecure about trekking the rest, but my pride got the best of me and I continued. I should have called it quits. I fell later down the hike, into some stagnant water. I soon felt something on my back and reached my hand back to swoop up three "small black worms." It grossed me out a little, but I paid no attention, until I found a few more on my arms and felt some on my legs. My friend Melanie had decided to walk with me to make sure I was okay after my first fall. I called her over to give my body a little "check over". She looked straight at me and said way too calm...."Those are leeches babe." I freaked out inside, although Melanie says I was pretty calm. I did not hesitate to strip every ounce of clothing off my body and stand naked in the middle of no where, while my friend brushed leeches off me and washed my clothes in the river. If I was thinking straight..I should have left them on my thighs for a while....cheap liposuction. Needless to say, I was the first to drink Margaritas when we got back to camp! Thanks to Melanie...who I am indebted to...and better never, ever tell anyone about my luscious body.

NINA'S CHEMO FINISH LINE!

It was one of those moments that put you in a fog, but at the same time you could remember where you were, what you were wearing, and what song was playing on the radio. I saw Cindy's name cross the screen of my cell phone and answered it in my normal crazy way. And soon was knocked to the ground when she told me Nina had breast cancer. It was October. And today, it is the end of June. I look back in the middle of it all, and that is where the strength of a woman was born and Nina's boob crew was formed. There were titty pity parties, chemo calls, pink M&M's, bright pink shirts that got many uses, shots of tequila, bottles of wine, tears, prayers, faith that no one knew they had, infamous never ending emails, sisterhood beyond comparison, crazy dances with no rhythm, boob squeezes, dew rags, Relay for Life, Love, and above all Laughter! We rallied around one another, held each other up- for it was better to do it together, then to do it alone! Goodbye Cancer....Hello New Boobies!