10 Perks of Breast Cansah

1.  Newly found muscles thanks to FREE workout sessions with Joy.

2.  Docs now tend to pay attention when you say you aren't feeling well.

3.  FREE chardonnay

Given at the SIUE Women's Basketball Breast Cancer Awareness Game

4.  Learning artistic skills through the complimentary classes offered at COCA for breast cancer survivors.

5.  Perky Boobs

6.  FREE pink t-shirts
 

Shared Story at the SIUE Breast Cancer Walk and Received this Cute T

7.  Walking more miles than you'd ever dreamed of walking during the course of one weekend.

39.3 Mile Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

8.  Connecting with some amazing women blessings through Young Women's Breast Cancer Program (YWBCP).

9.  An unforgettable tale to tell . . .

10.  Living a more intentional, savor-the-moment life.

A Day with DaVinci

Reading through the newspaper, I discovered the DaVinci Machines II:  The Australian Exhibit, described as an "Interactive Exhibit for the Whole Family."  Sold!  
In preparation for our visit, I perused the Teacher's Guide online and found a Scavenger Hunt for the squirts to fill out while at the exhibit.  This increased their anticipation resulting in fussing over who was going to be able to hold the clipboard and who was going to hold the pen.  

 
After it was agreed we'd all take turns, the squirts and I loaded into the van and headed to Downtown St. Louis to explore.  Purchasing our tickets, I realized students and teachers were granted discounts.  Nice!  
We headed for the interactive exhibits located in a subdued candlelit background and began recording our findings.

We then headed for the children's area where we found Mona Lisas galore and were able to create our own unique version.

Breast Cancer Awareness Lisa

Muscles Lisa

Princess Lisa

Besides the Mona Lisa activity, visitors were also able to create a DaVinci parachute and attempt to assemble one of DaVinci's inventions, the Portable Bridge (the bain of my existence).

After many close, but failed attempts at building success, we rolled on the floor laughing deciding it was time to move on and allow someone else to experience our frustration.
Don't miss out on your chance to explore, too.  This exhibit has a limited engagement.

Need Tunes for Cleaning the House?

Keeping calm and mellow?
Enjoying the morning?
Taking a sunny stroll?

Then, download the FREE app at Songza

Without any help from the hub or my thirteen-year-old neighbor (I only needed her help increasing the volume on my kindle), I was able to download this FREE app to not only my phone, but also my kindle.  Oh yeah!  Who's the techy now?  
As I'm sitting here typing this post, I'm listening to a mix of music designed specifically for cleaning house.  I may not clean house, but I can listen to music saying I do.

Luanne Rice's Secrets of Paris Book Club

I'm always curious as to how someone discovers a new read.  Was it due to an intriguing review?  A friend's suggestion?  A gift?  In this case, I stumbled across Rice's Secrets of Paris while perusing the bookshelves at the condo where we were staying in Florida.  I was hoping for a light read, and this is exactly what I found in the pages.
This novel is a story of a married couple who recently transferred to Paris after a tragic death in the family.  What ensues is betrayal, discovery, and a new lease on life.
As stated above, Rice's novel in question is light and perfect for reading while on the beach or resting between outings, but I found when it was over, the novel, overall, lacked development in both characterization and plot.  The familial tragedy mentioned above was never fully explained, the betrayal occurring in Paris had a nice neat conclusion after a brief discussion, and a full-blown besties friendship bloomed after a brief passing of the sugar in a cafe.  Although a quick, entertaining read, I wanted more from the pages when it was all said and done and wished for a main female protagonist with more backbone.
For the purposes of book club, a Paris backdrop complete with French delicacies would certainly set the mood:  crusty bread, assorted cheeses, macaroons, and profiteroles.  Oooh la la!

Luanne Rice

A Father Is . . .

When I was in my twenties I was oh so young and immature resulting in an off-kilter picker.  Luckily with some age, heartache, and experience under my belt, my picker was finally ripe for the picking in my 30s.  Thus, enter the man of my dreams who ended up being the consistent ever-present father for my girls I had always yearned for . . .

So, with this, a warm father's day to all the men blessings out there who . . .
"loves [their] . . . wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her"  Ephesians 5:25

care and nurture their children from birth into adulthood

Not Missing a Feeding in the Special Care Unit

 

love other children (including animals) as their own

 

A Cat Inherited through Marriage

London Bridge with a Daughter and Her Friend

Volunteering

spend quality time with their children

Building a Snowwoman

Father/Daughter Dance

"Mother"/Daughter Tea Party at the Library

So, here's to all of the fathers out there who have earned the familiar name of dad.  A prayer of thanksgiving to you . . .

I Dined Out for the Cure and Then Some

Today was the 5th Annual Dine Out for the Cure in St. Louis sponsored by Susan G. Komen St. Louis.  Being a one-year survivor of breast cancer and a lover of food, this was a no brainer for me.  The difficult part of the day was deciding just where to eat.  Alas, the belly chose Pickles in the Central West End not only for its delectable sandwich options, but because it donated 50% of its proceeds to the fight against breast cancer.

Moist, Mile-High Brownies

The Pickles Club

As we approached the deli, a line was formed outside the door.  Yes!  Thank you to ALL who joined forces in the fight today.  The menu was posted on chalkboards behind the counter, so the squirts and I salivated in anticipation of our ordering.  The wait was well worth it with sandwiches piled high with various meats and cheeses.  After taking our last bites of mile-high, moist brownies, we headed to the World Chess Hall of Fame right around the corner.

Since my squirts and I are chess addicts, we looked forward to this outing.  On the main level, an art exhibit by Bill Smith entitled Beyond the Humanities was our first stop.  The docent was kind enough to turn off the lights for us so that we could experience the full effect of his spherodendron.  From there, we had two more floors in which to explore antique chess sets.

Victorian 4-Player Chess Setl

Upon our return to the first floor with free posters of the art exhibit and chess museum in hand (or rather in MY hand), we perused the Q Boutique, voted Best Gift Shop 2012 by the Riverfront Times.  Here we found some goodies for Dad (okay, for me too) for Father's Day including Amanda E. Doyle's Finally, a Locally Produced Guidebook to St. Louis by and for St. Louisans Neighborhood by Neighborhood.  Looking forward to reading through her book and planning a new adventure. . .