How Could I Forget-Komen Race for the Cure

I recently accepted the challenge to raise funds to support the Komen St Louis Race for the Cure® on June 21, 2008 in the fight against breast cancer. One in eight women will be stricken with breast cancer in her lifetime and the more we raise, the more the St. Louis of Susan G. Komen for the Cure can give back to fund vital breast cancer education, screening and treatment programs in our own community and support the national search for a cure.

Please join me in the fight by pledging in support of my participation in the Race or contributing generously to Komen St Louis. Your tax-deductible contribution will fund innovative outreach and awareness programs for medically underserved communities in St. Louis and national breast cancer research.

It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause - you can make a donation online by simply clicking on the link at the bottom of this message. If you would prefer, you can also send your tax-deductible contribution to the address listed below. Whatever you can give will help! I truly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress.

Susan G. Komen for the CureSt. Louis Affiliate
P.O. Box 790129, Dept SK
St. Louis, MO 63179-0129

Thank you so much for your time and support in the fight against breast cancer! Every step counts!

Click here to visit my personal page.If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:http://www.komenstlouis.org/site/TR/Race/General?px=1127261&pg=personal&fr_id=1000&et=kz6Zjn7iOJhW47z2vmU67w..&s_tafId=1002

Click here to view the team page for 08571 - Team SwankIf the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:http://www.komenstlouis.org/site/TR/Race/General?team_id=6151&pg=team&fr_id=1000&et=GTervOKGbCS1iT0QDCax7g..&s_tafId=1002

I've already had 3 people donate and I greatly appreciate it. I have walked in this a couple of times and it's amazing how huge it's gotten. Unfortunately, I will be out of town this year for work but I'm glad I can still participate in this way!

Sheila, me & Chrissy at the Komen Walk in 2005!
Please donate - any little bit helps!

Love,
Dawn

Summer's Here!

O.K. I know it's not officially summer but in my book, Memorial Day signifies the start of summer. Although with the crappy (rainy) weather we had over the weekend, you'd never know it was the end of May! Anyhow, I figured I should update since it's been a while. I wanted to wait until I had time to add pictures but the way things are going this week, who knows when that will be. So check back later for the pictures .

I'm so relieved because I'm almost finished with my 16 page research paper. I took off of work on Friday to work on it. I still have some editing to do and I have to do my outline and my PowerPoint presentation but the hard part is finished! Even though my last class isn't until June 18th, I feel like it's all downhill from here. Nathan was a sweetie pie and took Graham to see IronMan on Friday night so I'd have more time to work on the paper in peace.

Saturday, we went to Home Depot to get some flowers, mulch and a ladder (BTW-ladders are overpriced in my opinion!!!). Nathan, with help from Graham and Mike, trimmed a bunch of branches from the trees in the backyard. It looked like a tornado ripped through back there. He also trimmed the greenery around the fence and put new mulch in the flowerbed out front. He did a great job. That night we went to Jim and Chrissy's to watch the UFC fight (well, I went to socialize!) but since the cable was acting up, we played poker instead. That was fun because we have not been to their house in a while.

Our pretty new hanging flower baskets

Sunday the 3 of us went to the Renaissance Faire with Mike, Erica, Miles, Monica, Deeter, Ava, Aubrey and Bryan. It was a good time. There are some weird people there so it's good people-watching. If your are unfamiliar, there are games (like throwing axes, archery, etc.), shows (pirates, belly dancers, birds, etc.), food, beer and shopping (stonework, jewelry, woodwork, etc.). It runs through June 8th. Here's the website if you want to check it out:
http://www.stlrenfaire.com/

Ava with her pretty painted face


Nathan and me at the Ren. Faire


Nathan on stage at the Moonie show


Bryan and Graham playing Battleship

Monday, we hosted a last minute BBQ at our house. The girls mostly stayed inside and the boys played wiffleball (spelling??). I finally kicked the AC on when I noticed everyone glistening and fanning themselves! It was a good time and thanks to all who made it.

Tomorrow, Nathan and I will be getting our pictures taken at Tower Grove Park after work for our engagement session. I don't think Nathan is too thrilled about it but it comes with the photography package we purchased for the wedding so I am not letting it go to waste. I am looking forward to it. I kind of wish we didn't have to squeeze it in on a Thursday night but I wanted to get it done before it gets too hot and we are pretty booked for the next 5 weekends or so. It's supposed to be a nice day tomorrow so let's hope that's true. Hoepfully, I can provide a link to the pictures soon.

That's it for now. Remember to check back for pictures from the past weekend.

Dawn

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been a busy last week. My cousin, Kim, came in on Tuesday from Jacksonville, FL. She came with her boyfriend, Brian, and his family to work a car race at Gateway International. We got to see each other on Tuesday at the Cardinal game. I already had tickets with my work and Kim, Brian and Brian's brother, Chris, bought tickets to the game. It was so great to hang out. I got to see her again on Friday night. Nathan, Graham and I went to the game and then met up with Kim and her crew at Hooters.

Nathan and Graham at the Cardinal game

Me and Nathan at the Cardinal game

Me and Kim at Hooters

Saturday, Graham had a game at noon (they won 15-0; Graham got a walk and got hit by two pitches) and then the 3 of us and my mom went out to Gateway to hang out with Kim some more. It was pretty cool to see the racing.

Mom and Kim at Gateway


Me and Kim at Gateway

Sunday, I did homework and then me and my mom went to David's Bridal to look for her dress for the wedding. She found one. It's in the Apple Red color. It's very pretty. That night, me, Nathan and Graham went to a bday party at Great Skate for Rachel (Nathan's sister). It was so much fun. I was a little uneasy on the skates at first but I got better as I went along. Nathan was a pro from the get-go (he used to play hockey at Great Skate) and Graham held on to the wall for one lap and then moved on to video games. :) It was a good workout and I seriously can't wait to go back. Let me know if any of you are interested!

Me rollerskating

Nathan Rollerskating

Gail, holding her skates, and Ray holding on to her rollerskating

Rachel, the birthday girl

Next up on the wedding agenda: Nathan and I are going to shop for our wedding rings and meet with a travel agent about honeymoon ideas. . .

Love,
Dawn

Duh!

So, I may have a blog but I'm no technology wizard! I was wondering why I wasn't getting a lot of comments and my friend, Shelia, finally told me she isn't able to leave comments like she can on everyone else's blog. I realized I had it set that only people with an account could leave a comment. I fixed it so anyone can leave one. You just have to click on the comments link at the end of the post and then you can leave it under the Anonoymous (spelling ??) link. Just be sure to type your name in your post so I know who you are! Thanks, Sheila!

Love,
Dawn

P.S. I expect a lot of comments now, people! :)

Registery Update!

Forget Bed, Bath & Beyond and Target, this is where we are now registered! :)

New York, New York

I finally got a few spare minutes to update about my trip to New York City. It was a blast. We got there on Tuesday, May 6th. After getting a bite to eat for lunch, me and my co-workers headed to Times Square. We went in the MTV store, the M&M store and the Hershey store to name a few. There was some Asian girl live at MTV that day and the crowd was crazy. I must be getting old because I had never heard of the girl but those tweens must really love her! Here are a few Times Square pics:

I had to take this picture of NKOTB. They are playing a concert in NY on the Today Show this Friday. I feel like it's 1989! But you know I have to record that!

Tuesday night, my boss took us to dinner at PJ Clarks. (Ironically, if any of you watch Gossip Girl like I do - yes, I am a 16 year old girl trapped in a 31 year old body - you would have heard a reference on tonight's show to PJ Clarks. I would have no idea what that was had I not just been there!) Anyhoo, we saw Timothy Busfield there. He was in Thirtysomething and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. If you don't know who he is (and there's a good chance you don't) go here for a picture: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0124079/

After dinner my boss took us to the Rainbow Room at the top of Rockafeller Center. It has an awesome view of the city. FYI, if you're ever there, the view is worth it but the vodka tonic is not! It was the worst ever!

Wednesday morning, we met at 5:30 am to go get in line for The Today Show. It was way too early but it was one of my favorite parts. It was cool to see the plaza and the studios. We saw inside as Ann Curry was doing her thing. It was weird to see Matt Lauer picking his nails on the monitor they had set up outside while he was waiting to go live. Meredith wasn't there but we did see Tim Russert. And of course, we got to meet Al Roker. He came out and shook my hand. He's a lot shorter in person but very nice. Here's a picture of my buddy, Al, and a couple of other shots from the show:

waiting for the show to start

the outside set for the day

Big Al

Later that day we went to Chinatown and Little Italy for some shopping. It's like Mexico where you bargain for a better price. The key is being able to walk away. My best one was a belt buckle I got for Nathan for half price. We ate lunch at this cute little Italian place and had a great time and got some good deals.

That night was the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian premier. While we didn't get to walk the red carpet, it was cool to experience a premiere. Most of the celebrities we saw were in the movie and we didn't know who they were until we saw them on screen. John and I did come face to face with Tilda Swinton. She won an Oscar this year for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Michael Clayton. Most of the people at the premiere worked on the movie and we sat next to the visual effects guy and his family and the costume designer and his family. Afterwards, we went to the after-party at the New York Public Library. That was very cool too! See below:

The red carpet





Tilda

On the steps of the NY Public Library



Inside the NY Public Library

Thursday we walked around Fifth Ave., saw Central Park and did some more shopping before heading home. It was such a nice trip and the weather was awesome. Hope you enjoyed the pics!

Love, Dawn

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all my family and friends who are mothers. I hope everyone had a nice day. Too bad we had some crappy weather. I could not believe how loud the wind, rain and hail was throughout the night. It would have been pretty scary had I not been so tired that I barely cared. Today, we celebrated the holiday by going over to my brother and sister-in-law's house. It was me, Nathan, Josh, Kelly, my mom and Joy (Kelly's mom). We also got to meet Josh and Kelly's new addition, Argyle. She is the cutest thing. I think my mom and Joy enjoyed Mother's Day even more than usual because they got to play with their grandpuppy. I get to puppysit her in two weeks while Josh and Kelly celebrate their anniversary. I've posted some pictures below from the day. I will update soon about my NY trip. It was very fun and I got to see some cool things. I need more time to devote to that post so it will come later this week. I will let you know that I saw a few celebs and enjoyed the world premier of Prince Caspian. More to come though. .

Weekend Recap

I have another blogger to add. My friend, Toni, has jumped on the bandwagon too and she's off to a great start. In fact, she makes me think I have to step up my game because she is hilarious and adds all kinds of pictures and graphics. Check out her blog at: http://princessgonczy.blogspot.com/ You'll be glad you did! It had me laughing out loud! P.S. It's not G-rated! :)

Where did the weekend go? Friday, Nathan, Graham and I played the boardgame LIFE (the SpongeBob version!) and watched The WaterHorse: Legend of the Deep. Don't be jelly! I know you wish your Friday night could be as exciting as ours!

Saturaday, the boys helped Michael get his new mattress and then went to Graham's baseball game. I stayed home and did homework. Unfortunately, I missed Graham's homerun! I was also very moody. I really think that I get a little grumpy when the sun isn't out! It came out later in the day and I finally emerged from the house to run a few errands and my mood improved greatly. Let's hope the sun is out on our wedding day! My mom came over for dinner and then watched Graham for us while we went out to Side Pocktes with Miles, Tony, Michael and Erica. Miles is starting a new career as a truck driver and left on Sunday for his 3 week training. After that, he will most likely be gone for 28 days and then back for 4 days. So we all hung out in case we don't see him for a while. Of course my first question to him was, "Will you still be able to be at the wedding?" (he's a groomsmen). He assured me that wouldn't be a problem.

Sunday was baby shower bonanza. I went to Emily's shower for about an hour in O'Fallon and then to Jessica's shower for a couple of hours at Nathan's parent's house. I think Jessica broke the record on the amount of time spent opening gifts at a baby shower. It was insane! She got a lot of nice stuff and should be set for a looong time. And that baby will be stylin'! While I was in babyland, Nathan and Graham helped Michael move into his new house near Tower Grove Park. I got to see it later in the day and it is very nice! Can't wait for the housewarming party! :)

Tomorrow I leave for New York City! My work had a sales contest and I was one of the lucky winners. We won an all expense paid trip to NY for the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian red-carpet premier! I can't say I have any desire to see this movie but I'm looking forward to the experience of going to a premier. We also get to go to an afterparty. The rest of the time, we'll just sightsee. I am excited but also stressed because I have so much going on this month. And of course, I will miss Nathan. I hate being away from him that long. (Go ahead and gag but it's true!) If I get any cool pictures at the premier or on the trip, I will be sure to post them! Oh and if anyone can give me a brief synopis of the first Chronicles of Narnia movie, please post it in the comments section so I'm not clueless about what I'm watching! Thanks!

Have a good week!

Love,
Dawn