Support Breast Cancer Research, Enter a Contest

It's late in the month of October, and it is still pink everywhere.  I'm a survivor myself, but every year during this month I sort of put my head down and wait for it to be over.  I'm grateful for the funding that I know enabled my own survival and that of so many other women and men, I truly am!  I've participated in fundraisers even.  It's the advertising onslaught that gets to me, I guess.  For 5 years now (hooray!  Five year survivor!) I've just not wanted to be reminded.

I've become more comfortable with being reminded as time has gone on.  I think part of  'not wanting to be reminded' is sadness over the many family members I've lost to reproductive cancers;  Mom, Dad, Grandmother, Aunts...the list goes on.  None of them saw age 60, and now I'm 61.  Sobering, it is. 

This year, because I enter contests, I've noticed many items being given away in contests that benefit various reproductive cancer non-profit organizations.  Special kudos go to Shape Magazine, who collected up many of these contests, and put links on their website.  There are some great contests, and links to the parent companies that are donating 10% or more of the profits they make selling their products to research.  Have fun!

Enter Daily:

1. http://www.prevention.com/promise-me-sweepstakes/index.shtml Prize is a book: Promise Me: How a Sister's Love Launched the Global Movement to End Breast Cancer; the story of how Nancy G. Brinker founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
2. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-stylish-ice-watch Prize: An ICE watch with a pink dial, to remind yourself to do a breast self-exam and to head in for your mammogram. 20% of proceeds from all Ice-Watches purchased in October benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure Miami.
3. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-reese-witherspoons-avon-denim-jacket Prize: pink denim Crusade jacket. 100% of proceeds benefit the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade.
4. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-dozen-butter-lane-cupcakes Prize: win a dozen Butter Lane Cupcakes (special edition B-cup cakes). $1 of every cupcake sold goes to Look Good...Feel Better, a cancer support charity that helps women manage the side effects of cancer treatment.
5. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-opi-pink-shatter-nail-polish Prize: OPI Pink Shatter Nail Polish. For the fifth year OPI will be donating $25,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
6. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-special-edition-spibelt Prize: SRI Belt that will hold your keys, ID, phone, etc., while you are running. Special edition Breast Cancer Awareness Belt. Www.SPIbelt.com
7. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-ron-white-gift-card Prize: $350.00 gift card for shoemaker Ron White. $100 of each Ron White Signature Robin Peep Toe Pump will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Www.ronwhite.com
8. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-cute-and-coordinating-pampered-chef-kitchen-set Prize: Trio of bowls, small plates, dessert plates, rubber gloves with matching scrubber, towels, pink cutting board and knife. $1.00 of every Help Whip Cancer Pampered Chef Product will be donated to the American Cancer Society. Www.pamperedchef.com
9. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-shop-design-spark-cocktail-ring Prize: Shop Design Spark Cocktail Ring. Shop Design Spark is donating 15% of procees during the month of October to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Www.shopdesignspark.com
10. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-top-secret-pink-ribbon-bra-tops Prize: Top Secrets Prop Top with Pink Ribbon Bra. !00% of proceeds go to the American Breast Cancer Society. Www.topsecretsociety.com
11. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-shop-design-spark-multi-layered-necklace Prize: 14” necklace that is layered with Crystals, silver beads and pink stones. Shop Design Spark is donating 15% of sales during the month of October to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Www.shopdesignspark.com
12. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-shop-design-spark-earrings Prize: diamond shaped pink and gold earrings. 15% of proceeds from these Shop Design Spark earrings go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure during the month of October. www.shopdesignspark.com/
13. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-henri-lou-fuchsia-suede-bag Prize: Henri Lou fuchsia split suede bag with hand braided leather straps. Henri Lou is donating 15% of the proceeds to Susan G. Komen for the Cure in October. Www.3lab.com
14. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-3lab-bb-cream Prize: 3LAB's Perfect BB SPF 40 Moisturizor Cream from Barneys New York. 3LAB will donate 10% to CEW's Cancer and Careers. Www.cosabella.com
15. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-cosabella-prettie-pink-lingerie Prize: Lingerie set from Cosabella's Prettie in Pink. 10% of sales will to go Bra-Ha which helps local breast cancer centers provide mammograms and early detection awareness.
16. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-dawn-baker-copper-necklaces Prize: Pink copper beaded necklaces hand strung in Africa. Dawn Baker will donate 15% of proceeds to City of Hope, a pioneer in research for breast cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Www.dawnbaker.com
17. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-harry-and-david-pink-pears Prize: Harry and David pears dipped in dark chocolate and pink-colored white chocolate. 25% of sales from this treat are being donated to The Noreen Fraser Foundation for Cancer Research. Www.harryanddavid.com
18. http://www.shape.com/sweepsproducts/products/win-henri-lou-bracelet Prize: Metal and Leather Bracelet from Henri Lou. 15% of each bracelet will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure during the month of October. Www.henrilou.com

Enter Once only:

1. http://ebm.cheetahmail.com/r/regf2?a=0&aid=2088157130&n=1 Prize: In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awarenes Mont, CHEFS is giving away six Raspberry Ice 'Cook for the Cure” edition Artisan Stand Mixers from KitchenAid.
2. http://www.pillsburystore.com/checkout/contests/KitchenAidStandMixer.aspx Prize: Win a Pink KitchenAid Stand Mixer. In honor of THINK PINK National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
3. http://store.bettycrocker.com/checkout/contests/KitchenAidStandMixer.aspx Prize: Win a Pink KitchenAid Stand Mixer. In honor of THINK PINK National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
4. http://www.mylifetime.com/sweepstakes/focus-on-five Prize: 2012 Warriors in Pink Ford Focus. Ford is a major contributor to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Random photos~

     While going through the pile by the computer that seemingly expands when I'm not looking:  

1.  Spare camera disk.  I decided to see if anything was on it and was surprised to find these~

Both daffodil photos were taken during the 2009 (I think) season in Mt. Vernon, WA.  It was quite difficult weather for photography, being very hazy.  My friend, Karen and I spent the day in the area, exploring.  These were the only daffodils we found, because for the most part I remember it being a tulip kind of day.  Or maybe it was the other way around, and we wanted tulips and only found daffodils.  Must ask Karen...

This guy was having a lesson in how to control your paraglider.  While we had lunch and beach combed on the shore of Padilla Bay, we enjoyed watching the strong winds challenge him.  We were at Bay View State Park, which is east of Mount Vernon.

In keeping with the random theme of this blog, this was taken outside Issaquah, probably also in 2009.  I love the way the foggy clouds seem to grow right out of the mountainsides.  And in the Puget Sound area, you simply cannot beat Issaquah for fall color.  Right at the doorstep of the Cascade Mountains, it's an amazing place to play and live.  Why don't I live there, you ask?  It's proximity to Microsoft and other software companies make it very expensive, even during an economic downturn.  I live in fairly close proximity to the Sound, and you really can't beat that, either.

I am Honored and lucky to be one year older :)

 I think I AM very honored to share a birthday with some of the folks below...me, Trump, Che and Boy George, now that is a motley crew, lol!
    Favorite birthday memory:  When I was three my mom happened to drive down University Avenue in Palo Alto, and it was lined with flags.  I beheld this with amazement, and asked her "how did they know it was my birthday?".  She replied, "Well, I don't know how they knew".  The annual birthday drive up University became a tradition, until, that inevitable time that it joined the ranks of Santa and the Easter Bunny.

June 14: 

1. This is the date when Congress adopted “The American Continental Army”.   Birthday of the US Army.http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/faq/birth.htm, http://www.army.mil/birthday/228/eventsAccessions.htm
2. Flag Day.  Adopted in 1891. http://www.usflag.org/flag.day.html
3. 1811, Harriet Beecher Stowe, birth of an Abolitionist. http://www.gospelcom.net/chi/DAILYF/2001/06/daily-06-14-2001.shtm
4. Feast Day:  St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea, confessor, 379; Saints Rufinus and Valerius, martyrs. St. Docmael, or Toel, confessor, 6th century; St. Nennus, or Nehemias, abbot, 7th century. St. Psalmodius, hermit, 7th century; St. Methodius, confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople, 846.http://www.thebookofdays.com/months/june/14.htm
5. 1866, Gurdjieff.  http://en.thinkexist.com/birthday/June_14/
6. 1895, Rabbi Louis Finkelstein, http://en.thinkexist.com/birthday/June_14/
7. Gene Barry, actor http://www.clevelandseniors.com/people/junebd.htm
8. 1919, Dorothy McGuire, actress http://www.clevelandseniors.com/people/junebd.htm
9. 1928, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, Argentinian ‘guerrillero’ and communist figure in the Cuban Revolution, 1928-1967. http://en.thinkexist.com/birthday/June_14/
10.  1925Pierre Salinger, journalist http://www.clevelandseniors.com/people/junebd.htm
11. 1931 Marla Gibbs, actress, http://www.clevelandseniors.com/people/junebd.htm
12. 1946, Donald Trump, entrepreneur.  “The point is that you can’t be too greedy”.http://en.thinkexist.com/birthday/June_14/  
13. 1961 Boy George, singer http://www.fun4birthdays.com/birthday/june_14.html
14. 1968 Yasmine Bleeth, actress http://en.thinkexist.com/birthday/June_14/2_1.html
15. 1969 Steffi Graf, tennis player http://en.thinkexist.com/birthday/June_14/2_1.html
16. Alan White, from Yes and the Plastic Ono Band http://classicrock.about.com/library/misc/blbirth_june.htm
17. Rod Argent, from the Zombies and Argent http://classicrock.about.com/library/misc/blbirth_june.htm
18. Barry “The Fish” Melton, country Joe and the Fish, http://classicrock.about.com/library/misc/blbirth_june.htm
19. Harry Turtledove, Science fiction author http://www.skyseastone.net/jvstin/unjvst/003154.html
20. Burl Ives, singer/actor, http://www.holidays.net/dailys/2004/dailys06202004.htm

Other June 14 events:

1. Pop Goes The Weasel Day http://www.laughinglynx.com/coolstuff/birthday/birthday.html
2. Family History Day, http://www.holidays.net/dailys/2004/dailys06202004.htm
3. USArmy Anniversary, http://www.holidays.net/dailys/2004/dailys06202004.htm
4. World Juggling Day, http://www.holidays.net/dailys/2004/dailys06202004.htm
5. Rice Planting Festival (Japan), http://www.holidays.net/dailys/2004/dailys06202004.htm

June Birthdays

• Modern Birthstone: Pearl or Moonstone
• Ancient Hebrew Birthstone: Emerald
• Ancient Roman Birthstone: Emerald
• Ancient Arabic Birthstone: Agate
• Ancient Hindu Birthstone: Pearl
• Flower: Rose
• Fruit or Vegetable:m Corn and Lemon
• Herb: Tarragon
• Color: Cream or light blue
• Motiviation for the Month: "I'd rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are; because a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star, I'd rather be a has-been than a might-have-been, by far; for a might-have-been has never been, but a has was once an are." - Milton Berle

It's a Temblor

Not a tremblor.  

 Arizona roadcut reveals fault lines, taken on the fly (we're not stopping).

More drive-by photography.  I find fault lines to be deeply interesting...imagine the force of movement the earth must have made when creating these shifts.

Temblor is from the Spanish word 'Temblar', to shake.  It means exactly what we think it means, and it comes from the Latin:  tremulus, to shake.  Since California is a hotbed of shaking, and California once belonged to the Spanish, it makes some sense to me that we call earthquakes by what is essentially an Spanish word.  I do wonder, however, how temblor came to be in common usage.

I've been addicted to the Pacific Northwest Earthquake Tracker for quite a while now.  It records any earthquake larger than a 1.0 on the Richter scale.  Today, there have already been three; 1.1, 1.3 and 1.7 in various parts of the Puget sound area.  Yesterday there were 9 of them, three of which were at (surprise!) Mt. St. Helens.  St. Helens has not gone quiet, and there are several small quakes beneath Mt. Rainier on any given week, as well.

The only time that I have noticed a long period of earth quiet was for three days after the recent 9.0 quake in Japan.  We're all connected...sobering, isn't it?  I consider those daily mini quakes a comfort, a little 'steam' being let off, so to speak.  

Zion National Park #1

And the (heart) beat goes on!

Youngest daughter had her cardiology check up today. They really want her to have a further open heart surgery to allow her heart to pump more blood, but since she's not any worse off this year than she was last year, we stay in a holding pattern for another year. She's made it 27 years on her three chambered heart, which got rearranged into 3 1/2 when she was two years old.  She was the first with her defect (double outlet right ventricle) to have a successful repair, and that is really saying something.  

Time to exhale :)

Don't you want to come and play?

I've been taking care of Charlie for a week now.  I thought it would be fun to teach her to 'shake' when she gets a treat.  After all, she's great at sit and stay, so why not?  It really, really isn't happening!  She jerks her paw away and looks at me like I'm a crazy person.  I haven't given up, but...

A couple of nights ago she was on the edge of the bed (as above) and dropped her toy over the edge.  I got up and retrieved it.  As soon as I sat back down at the keyboard she dropped it again.  As I retrieved it she did a teeny doggie dance of joy and I realized...she had trained me to retrieve the toy in only two tries!  

Well today is a better day, even if I'm off to the cardiologist with daughter #3.  It is fascinating to watch her get a cardiac ultrasound, even if the reason for it is borderline terrifying.  

Woof.

Charlie and the Giant Tomato

Posing in handmade Rwandan baskets.  Sold by the Rwanda Basket Co., whose motto is "Changing lives one basket at a time.", these baskets are beautiful, well made, and very reasonable priced.  Once thing that I truly loved when I received mine is the card attached to each one that tells the story of the person who made that basket.  Normally I keep other things in the larger one, not a doggie!

I didn't notice the cigarette butt on the curb until I put the photos on the computer, but it does illustrate how teeny tiny Charlie is!  Our little elf-dog.

Tomato Gets a Little Bit Nervous

All that salt.

Photo taken on the Badlands at Death Valley National Park.  

3-29-11

Blog Rambling

Blogs I want to go back to:

http://homeeducatingfamily.blogspot.com

http://moipasvous.blogspot.com

http://www.jennysimmons.com

http://sapturn.blogspot.com 

http://sherrypg.blogspot.com 

http://aestheticscafe.blogspot.com

http://top-100-luiso.blogspot.com

http://italythenandnow.blogspot.com

http://photo-of-the-day-blog.blogspot.com

http://juliemartinphotography.blogspot.com

http://sassandsweet.blogspot.com

http://thescritchynib.blogspot.com

What I have learned as I've wandered randomly through blogland: I think I'd really like living in Ireland. A great many people are so into scrapbooking (which should not even be a verb) that they devote entire blogs to it. I still don't get that. There are so many talented photographers and artists out there! Resisting hitting the 'translate' button would be a great way for me to brush up on my Spanish and French, and sometimes I even do it.

Portuguese still looks like funny Spanish to me. When I saw Four Days In September (with Alan Arkin, who should have been nominated for an Oscar for his performance), the movie was subtitled...it took me at least a third of the movie to realize why that Spanish sounded so 'different'. In my own defense however, I saw the movie right after an emergency root canal. And then I went to see The Spanish Prisoner (with an amazing performance by Steve Martin) at a different theater directly after that. David Mamet definitely messed with my mind that day. Well it was a rare weekend off from the kids and I wasn't letting a mere root canal mess it up...

You can learn a lot about a person by observing the amount of whipped cream they pile onto their pumpkin pie. There sure are a lot of Christian mothers who blog, but very few men who identify themselves as Christian fathers. When you share your birthday with a nephew, it's fun to have a garbage truck on your cake (what a great aunt this lady is!).

I've been cruising blogs to use up time until an Ebay auction I've been watching is done. While I really really really want the lot of Morgan Hill Poppy Jasper (only another rockhound would understand), it's going for over $40.00 now! I may put another bid in just for kicks, but I think there are rockhounds more insane than me that would immediately overbid me. Wait, it's up to 45.44 now! Craziness! Three minutes to go...can I restrain myself? I once had a boyfriend who lived in Morgan Hill (I am not making this up)...but the Scottish in me will keep my dollars in my pocket. One more minute...I'm not even tempted. 45 seconds...shucks I really wanted it...and it ends at $45.44. My brother lives a few miles from Morgan Hill...I'll go find my own darned poppy jasper! Guess I'll go obsess over the Crazy Lace Agate Slab instead....

The Blue Pete

We were trying to find the Harley Davidson dealership in Las Vegas, and feeling pretty scattered and confused. We wound up turning around in the back parking area of the Rio hotel. That is where we ran across The Blue Pete. Fully on board now with my drive by photography, Pete said, take a photo, take a photo! I also wish I had taken a photo of the guy who was pushing a baby in a stroller back and forth across an otherwise deserted part of the lot. Strange...

Imagine how much more cool this photo would have been if I had taken the time to place the tomato in the picture!  Fact is, I was so whacked out by the very state of being that Las Vegas brings upon you that I never even thought of it.

The front side of the Rio, in true drive by fashion.  I'm saying it again...Las Vegas fried my brain.

Bay Area Brain Tumor Walk

Every year, a group of friends get together as Team Jolly Rogers and raise money for brain tumor research. It's that time of year!

http://www.braintumorcommunity.org/site/TR/Events/BTW-SF?team_id=44940&pg=team&fr_id=1663

I'm happy to be able to donate again this year, in the memory of my mother, Jeanne. After fighting ovarian cancer, she eventually succumbed to brain cancer. We love you, Mom!

Mom was a big fan of sliced, salted tomatoes, and sliced tomato sandwiches. I wonder if this has something to do with the theme of this blog? Now that is something I hadn't previously considered :)) (I can hear her now...oh SANDRA...)

Rrrroarrrrr!

This sculpture and Santa Fe caboose are at the Grand Canyon Harley-Davidson dealership in Bellemont, Arizona. I am thinking that the sculpture is a memorial to someone (wait, I shall call them and find out!)(this is what a telephone is for!).

After calling three Arizona dealerships, I finally located the one I needed. I thought we had stopped at the Prescott dealership, but no. They directed me to the Mayer dealership...and yet another no. The Bellemont dealership is it. I'm glad I asked...the guy who made it just loves creating things.

I stop at Harley dealerships anytime I go to a new part of the country. Christy (I love you, Christy!) takes care of my daughter (who has down syndrome) while I am gone. She has three kids (ok they are young adults now) with DS, rides a Harley, and collects dealer pins. Theresa at this dealership helped me find four different pins to take to Christy. Theresa, btw, was a truly kindred soul, to whom I wish the best of luck in her new job!

While I check out the pins and poker chips, Pete caresses and croons to the Harley's in the shops. I will not be surprised at ALL if he buys a Harley one of these days...he surely does want one.

I am sad to report that our tomato did not make it this far into the trip...can we all say, buy a plastic tomato?

Now for an entirely different sort...

Tomato.

Drive By Photography

And the home of the...

Tomato.

I think this may have been the moment when I realized that we were in for something really special in Death Valley. Grand Canyon? An anticlimax...

Heading into Death Valley National Park, sunset nearing. We were hoping to get to Stovepipe Wells before dark, and we almost did. The shadow makes it look as though we were in a sedan instead of a Ford Explorer...just blame it on a drape of the mountainside.

Page, Arizona

Glen Canyon Dam and Page, Arizona at night. Not bad without a tripod :)

Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Page, AZ.

Page/Wahweap Marina on Lake Powell near Page, AZ

The tomato was back at the motel, chilling out...nothing but gorgeous sunsets this time :)

Super-Mater

Not THAT kind of tripping!

Although I do have fond memories of THAT kind of tripping, the Tomatoes trip in the more traditional manner. Riding along in a car, preferably in the cooler, they are mainly along for the ride...

Commenting on the events of the day, hanging in there and trying to preserve their freshiosity, or posing on the odd sign, they always have a saucy point of view.

In a nod to what was reportedly Jerry Garcia's favorite movie of the 60's, I made it out to Zabriskie Point while visiting Death Valley National Park. Having slipped and fallen on my *** while visiting the salt flats earlier in the day, the slog up the hill to the viewing area was not fun...ouch my knee, and ouch the hip I landed on.

When I saw, really SAW this place, I got it. That's all. I got it.

Taking this Tomato on the Road