Sunday...Thoughts...

Oh, it is so sad...the end of my Staycation is approaching...and I shall have to return to work tomorrow...and NO, I am absolutely not looking forward to it...I guess that means that I have enjoyed myself here at home...even though we didn't go away...You may recall that we were supposed to go to the beach...then I consoled myself with the fact that I would be able to decorate for Christmas...but we couldn't do that either because Hubby went and scheduled a hernia repair...thoughtless of him wasn't it?...so I decorated my little pink blog instead...I like it, I hope you do too!

Yesterday was my birthday! I am now 53! I think I like being 53 and a few sizes smaller than I was last year...even if no one noticed...see a theme here...lol...We actually celebrated by joining my family at the wedding of my third eldest nephew. He married a lovely girl...it was a lovely wedding...I don't know why, but her family chose not to attend...and it made that part pretty sad...but over all she did very well...and she has quite a catch if I do say so myself:)

It was great to see my sister and her family...Her children were a lot of fun to be with at the wedding, they even danced. I got to dance with my father, even if the bride didn't get to dance with hers...

We had a very nice Thanksgiving. The Ravens won the Har-bowl...so what more can you ask for?

I was able to spend it with my family...all of them...I was a little sad that none of them thought to ask of us on Friday but...that's life...I know that they were helping to prepare for the wedding...

I suppose I could have offered, but...I felt the need to be asked...as if it wasn't my place...

Anyway, enough of that...I have heard from a few authors that sent out a few requests for people to read their books and post reviews...So I am happy to say that I will be able to accommodate them! I've been wanting to get into that on a more regular basis...

So this week it is back to the races...Wish me luck!

Oh, her wedding color was Navy Blue...but I like her anyway...lol...it was actually very pretty..and my little niece and nephew caught the bouquet and garter!

It"s Pink Saturday!! Only on Sunday!!

Hi there, I know I'm a day late...But it's not my fault...I was away on very important business...not my work, but my life's work...I was in Dallas attending the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC) annual face to face meeting of the Patient Advocate Working Group (PAWG). The PAWG met the day before the TBCRC meeting as a whole began, and then we mixed in and attended the other working groups as patient advocates among the research scientists. I attended as the patient advocate representative of The Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Breast Center to the TBCRC.

More on that later in the post...But first, Don't you just love the picture? It takes me away...I also have another one for you...But I will further explain the above endeavor first...The TBCRC is a collaborative effort of Breast cancer centers of excellence from around the country that are working together within this organization to conduct research across organizations in order to come closer to a cure for breast cancer. This cooperative effort with regard to clinical trials and research, enables the centers to enroll the patients needed for participation in trials more quickly and to actually reach the number of people needed to make the research meaningful. These trials are only the research projects that are undertaken by the TBCRC. The TBRC collaborative effort  allows the researchers from these institutions to work together and to bounce ideas off of each other and to come together through two meetings a year and monthly conference calls. Through all of this there are Patient advocate representatives, ideally from each institution involved, that also have an equal voice, that speak for the layman, the patient, if you will...

What I have explained here is a very simplified and hopefully, mostly correct, version of a very complicated organization.

It is a beautiful thing, this organization to which I now belong. I am fortunate to have been selected this past summer to represent Johns Hopkins within the TBCRC.
I consider this to be an honor. I used this meeting to chose

the working groups to which I will belong and those are the calls that I will join each month in addition to the PAWG calls.

So that Ladies is why my contribution to Pink Saturday comes on Sunday! Please forgive me? Oh, the picture at the right? I think our organization is sort of like this...when all is said and done...all of our separate pink efforts will come together to form a beautiful PINK whole! My work on this is done with a group of wonderful, inspiring, intelligent women, and I sometimes look around the table and wonder how I ended up among them...
Don't even get me started on the fact the we walk among the scientists with great respect shown toward us. It is good , it is Pink!

Happy Pink Saturday! Sunday!

PS...Sorry no green...
Won't you join us?http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com  just click that link and find the rest of the lovely offerings of Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound...