These cars are made up of a conglomeration of parts from all different kinds of cars from old to new.  The one I rode in had a horn from the owners, fathers boat from years ago.  The turn signals were on toggle switches.  I had to be buckled in the way you see race car drivers.  The noise was so loud from the exhaust system and maybe engine that carrying on a conversation was almost impossible.  The particular car I rod in was all welded together and had no rubber gaskets to absorb shock.  The ride was rough and bumpy.  Sort of like you would imagine a dune buggy.  The exhaust was close to my head and so I am sure I lost a few brain cells from the fumes.  That all being said it was a blast.

The owner of the purple mean machine is the husband of a dear friend of mine.  We have known each other for over 20 years.  I remember the days when we were all much younger and we would go to watch Chuck race his then modified car (not a rat rod) on a mud track.  As we sat in the stands or in the pit we would say, “Oh how we love Butler mud”.  Those of you that are race fans know what I am talking about.

Now that his racing days are over Chuck likes to add and take away from his Rat Rod.  It is a mixture of parts from his old race car, a hood ornament from an old truck and so much more.  The beauty of it is that the car is almost an art form in itself and a story of recycling and reusing.  Green it is not but fun it is indeed.

Thanks for the ride!

I am sure you have all heard of Laminin.  But, I am a little slower and just read about it for the first time in my life.  Laminin is a cellular protein that we all have in our body.  Laminin is very important in our body because it basically makes sure that our body stays together.  Without it our muscles would not form properly.

The crazy part of all of this and the “get out of here” part is what Laminin looks like if you were to draw it out.  Are you ready?

It looks like a cross.  Can you believe it.  I can’t and yet I totally can.  When I find out stuff like this it just makes my belief in God that much stronger.  This can’t all just be a coincidence.

Inside our body is a protein that  basically holds us together like glue and it is shaped like a cross.  Get out of here!

We also started to take off this cork from one of the walls.  After a while of both Craig and I working on it I suggested we just take the wall down because it would be quicker.  We found a little mold so I am glad we removed the wall so we could clean it up.  We bought a mold detection kit and found that there is no live mold in the house.  A relief because I am allergic to mold.

Demo Day 2- The day ended up being more of an errand running day.  Once we got over to the house Craig and I each had power tools in our hands and were unscrewing everything we could.  The stuff we could salvage for use someplace else we kept and everything else went into the dumpster.  Our good friend Steve came over to advise us on a post.  We wanted to confirm that it was a support post  It is and will not be moved.  The post will end up being worked into our floor plan.  We also met one of our neighbors, Barb.  She is an older lady that has lived in our neighborhood for many years.  She filled us in on the four children that once lived in our house.  All I can say is yikes.  In the process of demoing we have come across photographs of some of the children that lived in the house.  Based on the accounts of other neighbors and now Barb’s I feel that we need to pray for these kids wherever they may be now.  The living conditions in that home were horrible and it sounds like there was very little parental control.

Demo Day 3 - Demolition did not begin until about 7pm on Friday.  Craig had to work all day and I had some important errands to run.  I got to the house before Craig.  It had been raining all day and as I sat there I could hear dripping.  I looked over and there was a wet spot on the floor.  This was not a surprise because we know that we need to repair the flashing around the chimney and this is exactly were the water was coming in at.  But then I heard more drips.  I went to investigate and found that there was water coming in around the window in what will be our office.  I went and got the Wonder Bar and started in on the trim and wall.  The drywall was soaked in a few spots.  After a while Craig and our friends Mark and Abby and their daughter got to the house.  Thanks to Mark and Craig the wall has been demoed and the leak identified.

Demo Day 4 - Saturday started out a little slow.  Our friend Dan was the first to arrive.  I gave him the big tour and then we waited for Craig to get back with some tools that we needed.  Soon after Dan arrived my FIL arrived with Bob.  The two of them were going to trim out the front door.  It had never been done and there was foam hanging out.  Not a great way to go into Winter.  Craig arrived back and took an inventory of what Bob and Jim needed and then headed back out.  Bob and Jim headed out to get a couple of things and to pick my MIL.  Dan started beating the heck out of the kitchen tile and I removed wall paper.  The day ended with the kind of demo nobody ever wants and that was the demolition of my car.  Craig was in an accident caused by a drunk driver (at around 12:30 in the afternoon).  Thankfully Craig was not hurt at all but our car most likely will be totaled.  After spending time with Craig along 96 and the Fuller Street exit and then at the towing company removing all of our belongs we made it back to the house around 2:30pm.  By that time the guys were there to remove and take all the kitchen cabinets, sink, fridge, stove and bathroom sink.  I was happy to give them away instead of throw them in the dumpster/landfill.  Dan had removed all the tile in the kitchen and had gone home.  Bob decided to come back another day.  We fed the guys some of Chris’ yummy sloppy joes and packed up our lunch, called it a day and headed to the in-laws to watch the MSU vs. UofM game.  GO GREEN!

At the end of the day I think we did pretty well.  We had a successful demo at the house and Craig is still alive.  Can’t ask for much more then that.

Here are the results.

So anyway I have come across possibly the prettiest desk I have ever seen.  Janet of jcaroline creative in Houston, TX is the creator of this fine masterpiece.  I especially like that Janet reused something that wasn’t all that attractive and brought it to life with fabric.

You may recall back in March a post about Tricia Lawrenson “getting the call” for a new pair of lungs.  You can read more about the Lawrenson’s and their journey here http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/.

She received her new lungs and left the hospital only to be diagnosed with a form of lung cancer that can come after a transplant.  She has been on Chemo and just found out on Monday that the cancer is not responding to the treatment.

This is a young family with an amazing story.  Seriously, check out their blog and read about the birth of their daughter while Tricia had CF lungs and the journey of it all.  You will be inspired and amazed.

Please pray for the Lawrenson’s.  They have had two miracles; a healthy baby, a set of lungs.  Now, they need a third.

Check out our good buy.  BTW don’t be fooled by the picture.  That is not our new house.

In the last week I have had two eye opening experiences.  Okay, make that three.

The first was an old friend found me on Facebook.  As I looked over what he had been up to for the last, oh 13 years, I realized among many awesome adventures he had gained and then lost 80 pound.  He looks fantastic by the way!

The second one was a picture that my dear friend posted on Facebook of me with a group of people celebrating her birthday.  As I looked at the picture I said to Craig that if I didn’t know that person in the picture (me) I would think she was seriously ill.  Overweight and pale skin that doesn’t even look healthy.  He made a point that I have been under A LOT of stress in the last year and half.  Apparently, it has taken its tole on me.  Of course I see myself in the mirror every day but it took a photo to see something different.

The third was a trip with my mom to U of M to see her doctor.  My mom has Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.  This disease is giving her cirrhosis of the liver and the beginning stages of diabetes.  The doctor told her that this disease is hereditary and that I could very well get it too unless I lose weight.

Plain and simple, I need to lose weight.  Plus, I need to start getting more exercise.  I know what I should be eating and that I need to work-out I just don’t like to do either very well.  I love food and I hate to sweat.  A bad combination for someone unless they have a crazy high metabolism.

Join me here with what I hope is a successful weight loss story.  I will try to post what I eat everyday and do a weigh-in about once a week.

Here is the grand total starting on 10/12/2008.

I don’t have a goal weight in mind.  I just want to be healthy more then anything.  If I lose 50 great if I lose 80 even better but I am not going to let the scale dictate what is right for me.  I am more or less using it as a gauge in the process.