Pink Saturday:) Breast Cancer Awareness Edition!

OK, So ya'll must know how special this one is to me:) That's why this one is so late in the day going up...I knew it had to be special and I had to be in the right frame of mine...

Read: rested...

I have tried to do a lot of that this week, rest I mean...if you know me at all, or have stopped by at all recently, than you know that the last few weeks have been a little intense to say the least...AND it all culminated last weekend in our local Race for the Cure!!!

Of which I just happen to be the Survivor Tent/Activity Chair:)

SO...Here Goes...

Our theme this year was:

"The Cures...Our Road to the Sweet Life"

Cures is plural on purpose because breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and so more than one cure needs to be found!

First of all I do not do it alone...I am sure that this does not surprise you...I have a great committee of dedicated women! 
Here are a few shots of set up...We have a large race  with over 2000 survivors and so a large tent...

The largest in the race village:)

I really love the fenced in area:)

Here is an example of the cards that we had made for our survivors to write on...the cards have our theme on them and then in the cupcake they say I race for___________and in the corner say

A smaller version of course...it is part of my email signature:)

We have them hang them all over the front of the fence out in front of the tent!

Hanging the banner:) It's a gingerbread house:)

A shot of the inside as the morning begins...in the forefront you see the portrait makers on the one side and survivors on the other...Students from MICA in Baltimore, volunteer their time to do this for us:)

We also have photo key chains, and coffee and food, we had a make it take it in the form of scarves! That was fun too.

We had a DJ that also donated his time...He kept the place rockin' 

We even had three reigning beauty queens! One of them is a committee member:)

One of our committee members brought an empty poster in to the elementary school and the students signed it and sent their best wishes!

From the outside on set up day...

More setting up:)

Getting there!

It begins...In this one you can see the CUPCAKE truck parked inside the fence:)) yes, Icedgems donated 2000 of their pink ribbon mini cupcakes to our survivors and, as it turns out, to many others! You can also see the word IMPACT on a canvas in the front of the photograph...the fence has a bump out in the front of it that houses four canvasses each with a different word on them. The survivors are invited to sign them and throughout the year they are displayed at different functions. In fact, the ones from previous years are displayed inside our tent...

At the two entrances we are set up to hand out sticky Komen running ribbons to each survivor, one for each year of survival, pink mardi gras beads, and a Pink Rose to each Survivors also...This year we also included a book mark with our theme written on it.

The Parade of Pink culminated in the HUGE Survivor Photo as the Sun came up!

and so I will leave you with this...

linking 

howsweetthesound

     

A Pink Pumpkin Pink Saturday:)

 I am stopping by while I have a chance...you see, I just got home from a very successful trip for a CDMRP grant review. And because I was NOT going to work on two sets of grants at one time...I now must start another one...But, It is Pink Saturday! and they have asked for Pumpkins...

So...

Pretty cool Huh!?!

And

I love this one:)

So...Back to work for me! Sorry I cannot take more time...but this is truly my busiest time of year...

Perhaps I may be able to fill you all in when it is all over!

Visit Beverly and the others over at howsweetthesound

Please,

MIA...

That's what I have been and I am so sorry...

I really can only tell you that my time has not been my own and won't be for a while!

I really shouldn't be here now, but it was the only thing I could think of to do to get out of what I should really be doing!

HA!

Just kidding...

It is just that there are so many things that I need to do!

Last week and through the weekend I was in San Francisco at the ASCO Breast Cancer Symposium. I was there as part of a class on a scholarship from RAN...which means I have a paper to write now that I am back that is due next week. 

I work next weekend...I had a long conference call this evening that covered the upcoming peer review training for the advocate reviewers for Komen. We are about to start that and I am to organize the mentors...

Oh, I am a mentor to a new reviewer for the CDMRP (DoD) grant review program. I have 8 grants in my possession that I need to write up my reviews for...and 4 more that I am a reader on!

Our local RFTC is a month away and as you all know I am the survivor chair for that! 

OK I am not even done here, but I need to stop already, because I am causing a panic!!!

Yikes!!

The Nationals just clinched a playoff spot!!!

Just now!!

And man, the Orioles are amazing this year!!! We are a half a game out of first!!! Go Os!!!

The Ravens are just getting started...

Well, I have officially gotten nothing that I needed to get done, done today...I am so proud:)

Have I mentioned that I do my best work under pressure!?!

I have read several great books lately....fodder for another post!

Sunday Sampler!

The Week in Reflection...and boy was it a busy one...and Kind of crazy too...

First of all, my siblings and I had an email chain going around between the three of us titled "crazy parents". My brother started it and my sister and I just kept it going as the updates came in.

You see my parents, ages 76 and 77 took off on a cross country vacation from WV to Yellowstone NP...not bad, you say? Well they did this on their bike, their Honda Goldwing...which they did have triked last year, but still...

There it is! Pretty, isn't it!?!

So anyway, periodically they would call and update one of us with their escapades and that one would send an email to the others...lol...

They had their 56th anniversary while they were away! At one point they bought a tarp to cover the seat for $5.00 from a homeless man and so I wondered if that was maybe the anniversary gift...lol.

And then there was the time that the engine just stopped dead in the middle of the highway with nothing but a couple of bushes around...and Mom had to go to the bathroom...and so...I think I'll stop there...

Oh, the engine?...dad had hit the kill switch by accident...

And of course there was the time that they saw smoke coming out from  under Mom's seat and it turned out to be a short in Mom's heated suit...It's cold out there on the road...

So it turns out that they made it home safe and sound! 

There are a lot more where those stories came from, believe me...lol

The work week was crazy busy. It seems that even in this economy people will find a way to pay for an IVF attempt...or two...

I was exhausted every night.

I do work for /in a very successful and busy center.

photo courtesy of C. Abbamonte

oocyte/embryo/blastocyst

Just a sample of the little darlings that I work with...

I have also been very busy with my Breast cancer advocacy...It seems that it all heats up this time of year and I have had stuff to work on every evening and calls to be part of also.

I called a last minute meeting for Tuesday and to my delight most of my Survivor activity committee members were able to make it:)

We have a "Sweet" theme this year and we are about to have a blast with it!

Dinner with the ladies was a great time too:)

Later in the week ...

My DH brought this home for me!

I just LOVE that! It is so true...

Looks to be a great theme to me:)

I am so sure there is more to tell but I think I will wind on down now...Oh, someone said to me this week that I had better start retiring my uniform pants...they are way too big! So DH brought me home some smaller scrubs today:)

I also managed to squeeze in a hair and nails appointment:)

A whole new me!

Anyway...enough said...

Linking up with the Pink Saturday ladies at 

howsweetthesound

and

Saturday Snapshot at

athomewithbooks

Conjure Cover Reveal! and Giveaway!

Be careful what you search for...

Emma Guthrie expects this summer to be like any other in South Carolina Low Country-hot and steamy with plenty of beach time alongside her best friend and secret crush Cooper Beaumont, and Emma's ever present twin brother, Jack. But then a mysterious eighteenth-century message in a bottle surfaces, revealing a hidden pirate bounty. Lured by the adventure, the trio discovers the treasure and unwittingly unleashes an ancient Gullah curse that attacks Jack with wicked flesh eating Creep and promises to steal Cooper's soul on his approaching sixteenth birthday.

When a strange girl appears bent on revenge; demon dogs become a threat; and Jack turns into a walking skeleton; Emma has no choice but to learn hoodoo magic and undo the hex, all before summer-and her friends-are all lost-forever.

Sound great doesn't it!?!

Enter to win your own ARC!

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Good luck 

and 

Monday Musings...

"Life can either be accepted or changed. If it is not accepted, it must be changed. If it cannot be changed, than it must accepted."-unknown



I can't remember when or where I first saw this quote, but they are words to live by aren't they? If only we could all remember them...sigh...

I seem to be a little overwhelmed lately...so I have been neglecting my little pink place here! I really shouldn't. I like it here. It is pretty. It is pink:) I like pink:) It makes me happy:)

So here I am:) Happy:)

There's Bailey...He's is happily sleeping on his Daddy's lap:)
What a life, huh? I should be so lucky...

Maybe I need a hammock?
or Yoga!

Or how about one of those? Yes, a no wake zone might just do it!

Bailey woke me up today... It was my day off after a busy work weekend...The squirrels were playing on the roof and Bailey thought he could catch them by running around on the bed. My bed. Over me...sigh...lol...

And so...my daughter joined me after the Mr. headed off to work...

I got up...grrr...

I got one of these:) No it did not look like that...lol...But I can pretend:)

I had work to do...Instead, I caught up on emails and Facebook...

Then I caught up on work:)

The day off passed too quickly! They always do...No baseball game to watch! Boo!

But I got a snuggle...both with my Human daughter and with my Eskie son:)

The results of my weekend labor turned out not too shabbily...

So...

If not perfect...

So stay pink my friends!

A Simple Pleasure...Since 1995

They began manufacturing these in 1995! That year was a big one for me...Many of you out there may know that that is the year of my diagnosis...Breast Cancer became a member of our little family that day...

A few years later I was introduced to my first Horizon of Hope Basket, made by Longaberger(c) I didn't realize it at the time, but they began making these little treasures the year that I became a Breast cancer survivor...I have them all...

That is the 2012 version:)

I love it...of course, I love them all...

There it is with the lid on it:)

Along the way they began making other products too.

That one is a beautiful water bottle:)

You all may notice that it is full! Yes, I am being good and drinking my water! 

I passed 3 kidney stones since last weekend! Not fun, let me tell you...I think though, that I will save that one for another post...I have a picture...

Tell me do you all collect anything???

Linking up:

howsweetthesound

and

athomewithbooks/saturday-snapshot

Oh yeah! These little beauties help to raise money for the American Cancer Society, to be used for Breast Cancer Research:)