Do what ya gotta do when ya gotta do it cuz life is worth living! A public service announcement...

Well, today, here it is, the dreaded one day of the year when I voluntarily eat no food. To add insult to injury, I have to take laxatives in the afternoon so I can spend the next 10-12 hours blowing out my colon so my doctor can have a little peek-a-boo in the darkest of my dark places tomorrow morning.

I hate this, I honestly and truly hate this procedure. Well, not the procedure but the prep the night before. I just hate it. How much do I hate it? About three months before my yearly lookie-see I begin to dread that little letter that will come in the mail from Dr. Rechner. I keep hoping that her staff will forget me or the mailman will be sick that day or my mailbox will blow away (fat chance that will happen, it's built into my door). They don't and it doesn't and the letter arrives. I open it with one eye closed thinking that maybe it was meant for someone else...but it's not. It has my name on it...sigh.

OK, I still have some time, I tell myself and do the best I can to not think about what is gonna happen...colon blow to the max! No food (other than delightful liquids and things that used to be liquids), drinking icky-poopie tasting laxative-laden Gatorade, no sleep cuz I'm sitting on the toilet until five in the morning and then, no water the following day until after that little camera makes it all the way up to my tonsils snapping pictures a mile a minute and taking samples of my dark interior - a little like mining for precious minerals at the center of the earth - or, possibly coal mining, I can't decide☺

About a week before my happy day, I get really crabby. Crabby about each and every thing that crosses my path. There is nothing that can make me smile because in the back of my mind I know what is looming in my future and I HATE IT. I HONESTLY AND TRULY AND 100% HATE IT. I don't like depriving myself of food. I don't like drinking what should be flushed down the toilet so I can produce what is flushed down the toilet. I don't like not having anything to drink in the morning after I brush my teeth. I don't like being thirsty! I HATE EACH AND EVERY LITTLE NUANCE ABOUT THIS PROCEDURE!

This morning the big prep day is here and I can't avoid it. I'll drink that crap (sorry about the pun) and I'll spend all evening and night and part of tomorrow morning blowing out each and every little teeny, tiny speck of anything that went into my system since I was cuddled in my mother's womb. Tomorrow morning I'll brush my teeth (don't swallow any water or the goblins will get me) and I'll march into the hospital for my annual poopie-roto-rooter.

After it's all over, I'll wake up in my room and will ask for applesauce and a diet Coke - the same request every year. And then, well, and then I'll settle back and smile. I'll know that I did one of the most important things a person can do for their health and their life and for their family.

I get my yearly mammogram like clockwork and now I am of the age where the "lookie see" is on my agenda, too. Do I like both of these procedures? Heck NO. Do I have them done? Heck YES! I do them so I will live long enough to watch my grandchildren graduate from high school, so I can dance at their weddings, so I don't have to lay in a hospital bed with my children watching me die a miserable death...all because I was too chicken or too lazy to do what was necessary to avoid two of the most treatable cancers - if caught early - and that's the key, folks - IF CAUGHT EARLY.

So, if you've been putting off your yearly boobie squash or don't want to blow out your colon so a camera can take a photo where the sun doesn't shine, GET UP FROM YOUR COMPUTER AND CALL YOUR DOCTOR. The life you save WILL be your own!

Happy 4th of July ~ Happy Pink Saturday ~ God Bless America!

Please join us in celebrating the precious freedom we, as a country, enjoy and hold dear. Freedom that our young men and women are fighting for overseas in so many countries - in too many countries. Freedom that the young people of Iran, wearing their green ribbons in recognition of their fight for freedom from oppression, marched in the streets and died for after a sham presidential election - their blood falling onto the hard, cold pavement. Freedom that we, as Americans, were born with - the same freedom that others fight for and pray for and die for each and every day, quietly and without notice.

Please turn off the music at the right for full appreciate of video

Today as we celebrate our remarkable freedom with picnics and family and friends and fireworks and sparklers, please stop for a moment to remember all those who came before us who died for this day and all those who are not home with their loved ones because they are deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan fighting to preserve this day.

Happy 4th of July, everyone and Happy Pink Saturday! Please visit Beverly at HOW SWEET THE SOUND. Some of the prettiest and most imaginative blogs are participating in Pink Saturday this week.

Spinach and Cherry Salad with Maple Dressing & Walnuts or Cashews

Maple Dressing

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Whisk first five ingredients in small bowl to blend.

Salad Fixin's

• 1 large bag/bunch of spinach,washed & torn into bite-size pieces (about 6 cups)
• 1 medium Granny Smith apple, cored, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts or whole cashews
• generous 1/2 cup dried Michigan cherries

Toss spinach, cherries and apple slices in large bowl. Add maple dressing and toss to coat. Divide among 4 plates; sprinkle with nuts and freshly ground black pepper and serve.

For several years this salad was served at Freighter's Restaurant overlooking the Saint Mary's River in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan. A change in their head chef brought about a rearrangement in the menu so this little gem was dropped. Their loss was my gain because I bumped into the cook months later and told him how I missed this salad when friends and I would go there for lunch after he left. He told me to grab a pen and paper and gave me the recipe! I've been making this ever since and it is delicious!

S'Mores All Grown Up with an Elegant Twist

Some of us won't be spending the upcoming holiday with children in the mix. For those of you who will be celebrating a 'grown-up' weekend, these little guys are just perfect for an after BBQ dessert.

Quick and easy to make, they take childhood memories of the past and polish them up a bit for an adult palate. I found this recipe a while back on the back of a box of mini-puff pastry shells. I've added a pinch of cinnamon to the tops of the marshmallows (before baking). To me, cinnamon and chocolate bring out the best in each other!

Ingredients

1 package (9.5 ounces) mini puff pastry shells
2 bars (1.55 ounces each) Hershey milk chocolate candy
12 large marshmallows cut in half
pinch of cinnamon

Directions

Bake, cool and remove the "top" of the shells according to the package directions. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.

Break each chocolate bar into individual squares (24 total). Break each square in half. Layer 21 marshmallow half in each shell. If you wish, top with just a tiny pinch of cinnamon for added spark. Place the filled shells on a baking sheet.

Bake for 2 minutes or until the marshmallows are lightly toasted. Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before serving. chocolate pieces and