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| A little reminder I had inked on my left forearm (Atomic Tattoos, Palm Harbor Fl) I came across this saying in a wonderful little book titled, "Living Wabi Sabi", by Taro Gold. The three ribbons represent Triple Negative Breast Cancer |
May 15, 2013
My big tattoo is done (for now)
This "tree of my new life" grew out of the cancer experience.
Its base is dark while the canopy is bright and light.
The roots are 3 cancer ribbons (for tnbc) and my Reaper is reaching for me thinking,
'Shit! Where ya going? How the fuck did this one get away'...
as I keep climbing upward.
I wanted to be flipping him the bird, but was told that since the hands were so small
it wouldn't look right, detail wise. {sigh}
My big tattoo is done (for now)
This "tree of my new life" grew out of the cancer experience.
Its base is dark while the canopy is bright and light.
The roots are 3 cancer ribbons (for tnbc) and my Reaper is reaching for me thinking,
'Shit! Where ya going? How the fuck did this one get away'...
as I keep climbing upward.
I wanted to be flipping him the bird, but was told that since the hands were so small
it wouldn't look right, detail wise. {sigh}
Mitch had held onto my comic book from our session last summer.
I gave it to him as a reference for drawing "my" face.
When I went back in for color, he asked if "Halle"
When I went back in for color, he asked if "Halle"
wouldn't mind taking a picture and signing the comic for his shop!
(LOL! I was totally blushing)
http://legendarytattoostudio.com/home.html
(UPDATE: July '19)
Well Hell...Somebody finally got tired of seeing her cartoon leg dangle beneath her shirt sleeves.
(UGH...entirely my bad with the artistic vision and placement, btw)
So I decided to go back to Mitch for him to cover "Me" up.
We added more color and detail to create a "past" and "present" view of the oak, and "I" was successfully blended into the tree...which is a perfectly fitting evolution, I'd say...
since The Oak represents patience, durability, strength and bravery.
http://legendarytattoostudio.com/home.html
(UPDATE: July '19)
Well Hell...Somebody finally got tired of seeing her cartoon leg dangle beneath her shirt sleeves.
(UGH...entirely my bad with the artistic vision and placement, btw)
So I decided to go back to Mitch for him to cover "Me" up.
We added more color and detail to create a "past" and "present" view of the oak, and "I" was successfully blended into the tree...which is a perfectly fitting evolution, I'd say...
since The Oak represents patience, durability, strength and bravery.
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So. He reaches across the dinner table to grab the salt .
When his sleeve pulls back… SURPRISE!!!!!!
The Hubs got a tattoo!!!!
And not just any tattoo...it reads, "Live J9 Strong"...
just like the hundreds of bracelets (and tee shirts)
he had made when I was diagnosed.
He told me back then,
when I survive to the crucial 3-year milestone,
that he would get a tattoo.
I told him not to, because he really doesn't like them.
|
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| Another tattooed reminder (Atomic Tattoos, Countryside Mall, Clearwater Fl) Custom bracelet... www.soulscapejewelry.etsy.com ...Be "UNAFRAID"... This is what we told ourselves and This will always be our word. I was in the mall the day I got the text that a dear friend, who had been battling pancreatic cancer for 17 months, had suddenly fallen into a coma, and would soon be passing... so naturally (duh) I turned immediately on my heels and marched straight into a tattoo studio to vent. I wanted our word to look like I angrily carved it into my skin myself... I NEEDED it to feel angry...because that's what I was. Mrs. Judy Hall... or Mizz Thang and Miss Sassy Pants, as I had nicknamed her, was a very wealthy, philanthropic Hooters Franchisee. Petite, strong and feisty, this Texas powerhouse was a Bad Ass. She could move mountains with a glance and crush the opposition with a quick flash of sass...only those closest to her were allowed to see the gentle, empathetic underbelly of the retired Kentucky school teacher. If anyone could beat the Beast, it would be this lady. But she didn't, and I was pissed. |
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| Showing off my "factory reject stamp"... MUTANT It's true, btw... "What doesn't kill you gives you lots of unhealthy coping mechanisms and a really dark sense of humor" http://legendarytattoostudio.com/home.html my hair wrapped in this badass bandana www.fuckcancerfoundation.org |
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| Look who I keep seeing at the Surgical Oncologists' office! Four years after, and they still have my poster from the ACS "Making Strides" Campaign in the waiting lounge. Awwwwww |
"A Letter to Friends"
February 23, 2011...
It was one year ago today,when the asshole cancer fairy came my way...and sprinkled my whole world with shit.
And looking back now,
I can't imagine how...I would have gotten through any of it.
Without all my friends,
I'd have been at the ends...unable to cope with the news.
Your support gave me strength,
your hugs gave me hope...and your words took away all my "blues".
There was more laughter than tears,
more "happies" than fears...my "courage", I owe that to you.
So wonderful you are,
some next door and some far...I don't know what I'd have done without you :)
"Drowning in the Reign of Pink"
OCTOBER 14, 2011. My take on the month of October...
Gusts from the sad winds direct hovering, covering black clouds to float close above...following, as I'm wallowing...drowning in the reign of pink.
Thirty one days to endure the war cries for a cure...reality resurrected with a knife to my gut.
Those who have fought, those who have lost, those who will one day beg for their lives…their only wish will be to scream THEY SURVIVED!
Assaulting my forced sense of "happy"...which is fading..."Doom and Gloom" sit in waiting...as October drags my mood in to the gutter.Emotions made raw in the tracks of the pink ribbons' flutter.
The candy colored ocean lapping away at my steel...exposing the jagged, bitter rust that my saline fears carved out not too long ago.
This month peels me away from my happy place...exposing the blatant lie that "I'm okay".
"Dear Cancer"
December 11, 2011...
You feast on your victims...eating us alive. Your ravenous appetite seemingly stops at nothing. You will never be full...you will never stop feeding your gluttonous, faceless hole. We are forced to pay trillions of dollars to our white coat "saviors" so that they can butcher and mutilate our bodies...injecting toxic sludge in to our veins and torching our flesh in the attempts to slow you down. Some of us have squashed you like a fat, blood thirsty tick. Others have kicked you hard in the gut, but you're squirming to regain your strength...hoping that you can make another attempt at taking them out at the knees. Not a single one of us deserves your torture. FUCK YOU! ROT IN HELL.
"Another Letter to Friends"
February 23, 2012
The calendar can't lie...two years have flown by,
I'm starting to forget all the fear...
Living each day...feeling great I must say,
those dark days seem far, far from here...
And to all who have asked...through these years that have passed,
I'm doing quite well, I can assure...
Much laughter and cheer... great friends, (lots of beer ;),
All helped pull me through life's scary detour.
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