cherry blossoms!

Every spring something truly marvelous happens in DC... hundreds of Japanese Cherry Blossom trees bloom in all their glory and create a canvas of beautiful white and pink flowers around the Tidal Basin.  Everyone flocks to the Tidal Basin from near and far to admire their beauty and welcome their arrival.  Yesterday, we biked downtown to see them for ourselves and were just as awed as ever.

The Cherry Blossoms have their own 2 week festival in DC marked with a parade, a Cherry Blossom royalty coronation, concerts, a 10K run, walking tours, kite festivals, a street fair, and more.   "The Cherry Blossom Festival annually commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 Cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, honoring the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and celebrating the continued close relationship between our two cultures (NCBF website, 2009).  

If you've ever needed an extra reason to visit DC, maybe this will convince you.  Hint, hint, friends and family! :-)

Jefferson Memorial

the Japanese lantern lighting ceremony

the queen royalty

kennedy center

We went to the Kennedy Center on St. Patrick's Day last week to see an Irish dancing performance.  The dancers were members of an Irish dancing school here in the DC area and ranged from little bitty kidlets to young adults.  They were awesome and the music was great! Apparently they're so good that they're competing in the World Irish dancing competition.  Sorry, no pictures of the dancers- my pictures turned out looking like colorful dancing blurs.

I've been to the Kennedy Center a handful of times but each time I'm always struck by how beautiful it is.  I'm a big fan of John F. Kennedy and am thankful for his appreciation of the arts.  He was a lifelong supporter and advocate of the arts and took the lead to raise the funds to build the Kennedy Center.  It was originally called the National Cultural Center but renamed after JFK's assassination and dedicated as a living memorial in his honor.

crystal chandeliers in the lobby

the outside patio overlooking the Potomac River and looking into Virginia

the Georgetown crew team rowing at sunset

spring has sprung

Friday was the first day of spring (and also my mom's birthday!).  It's still a bit chilly here but the flowers are popping up and the trees are beginning to bud.  

I love Spring and it's refreshing reminder that the grass will become green again, the flowers and trees will bloom, and the days will grow sunnier and longer.  My grandmother recently said, "I always look forward to March because it signalizes the closing of winter and the welcoming of spring... it means we made it through another winter and even if it's still cold, we know the warmer, sunnier days are just around the corner".  She's a smart lady.    

I took a walk around the Georgetown University campus on my lunch break on Friday and snapped some photos of the signs of spring. There are so many beautiful flowers that bloom in Spring.  Someday I hope to have a yard and look forward to planting a lot of flowers...tulips, daffodils, peonies, pansies, roses...I love them all! And then when you visit me I'll greet you with a bouquet of flowers, hand-picked from my flower garden. :-)   Until then, here are my flowers for you!

"If we had no winter, spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome" ~Anne Bradstreet

prostate cancer news!

Cancer. It's an ugly thing that affects us all- yes, all of us. Whether it be through a friend, family member, co-worker, acquaintance, or a personal experience, we've all been affected by cancer. As many of you already know, I work in clinical cancer research and today something really BIG, in regards to a project I work on, was announced to the public! But before I get to that I want to go back to this word, "cancer".

What is cancer exactly?? Cancer occurs when the normal, healthy cells in your body begin to multiply and grow out of control. These rowdy cells become like big bullies and push out the healthy cells. Not all cancers are equal and they progress in different ways depending on the cells, the tumors that form, and the location of the original site of the cancer. Cancers can spread to other organs and cause problems in seemingly unrelated parts of the body without explanation.

What most people don't realize is that cells naturally go awry everyday in our body without us knowing it. Cells have life cycles just like everything else in nature. When a cell's life is up, either because it was damaged or just at the end of its' life, it is magically programmed by nature to die on its' own. This is called apoptosis, also known as "cell suicide". Regular cells in our body do this everyday. Cancer cells, however, are selfish and ignore their built-in instructions to undergo apoptosis. Instead, they grow and grow and grow (sometimes rapidly, sometimes slow) until we stop them. This is where cancer treatment (i.e. radiation, chemotherapy) come into play.

Preventing cancer is obviously better than getting or treating cancer, which is why there is such a big emphasis in health care on regular cancer screenings. One of the research studies I work on is called the Prostate, Lung, Colon and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. Today some very important results of this trial were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and are popping up in headlines around the globe on the news because of their importance.

The BIG news...

More than 75,000 men were in enrolled in the PLCO Trial where 1/2 were assigned to 10 years of annual prostate screenings and 1/2 were assigned to follow their usual health care routine, without any recommendation for or against undergoing prostate screenings. The results showed that after 7-10 years of following the participants there wasn't a significant difference in the rate of death of prostate cancer between the two groups. Put more simply, the men who did get the annual prostate screenings didn't fare better than the men who didn't have the screenings.

I would highly encourage you to click on the links below and read more about this for a better explanation and more details. It's also important to remember that this isn't the final word on this topic and it doesn't mean that men shouldn't have prostate screens. What it does mean is that it's complicated and men (and women) need to be informed of the issues and discuss it with their doctors. To my Ladies out there... we might not have prostates but we surely know a fella that does and that we care enough about to inform them of what's going on in the world. Can I get an AMEN?! :-)

I'm proud to be working on and contributing to such important research and hope you'll take the time to read the links below or watch the news tonight and in the next coming days to learn more.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Links to the published research and news articles:

http://content.nejm.org/

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/16/prostate.cancer.screening/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/18/prostate.screening.debate.brawley/index.html

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cancer/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100234871

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29745004/

tomato basil chicken pasta

This is a simple dish and one of our favorites. It's a regular in our dinner repertoire and we don't seem to ever get tired of it. It's quick to make (about 20 minutes), healthy, tasty, and only takes a few ingredients. What more can you ask for? My recipe is an estimate of the amounts I think I use, so adjust as needed, it's fool-proof.

Tomato Basil Chicken Pasta

3 cups multi-grain/whole wheat penne
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh basil

1/2 pound cubed chicken tenders or breasts

olive oil

salt and pepper

grated Parmesan cheese

Makes about 4 servings

Dice tomatoes into halves and set aside. Loosely chop a generous amount of basil (about a 1/2 cup or so) and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to boil, add a dash of salt to flavor the pasta water and cook the pasta until it's al dente. While waiting for the pasta to cook cut the chicken into cubes. Spray a skillet with fat-free cooking spray, add the chicken, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and cook until done. Set the chicken aside. When the pasta is done, drain the water and reserve about a cup of the pasta water. Dump the pasta back into your pot and add the chicken, tomatoes, and basil. Add 2 T of the reserved pasta water (or more as needed for a little moisture). Drizzle the mixture with olive oil, add a pinch of salt and pepper and stir together. Dish your pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bon appetit!

welcome isabella!

I have a new little niece!!  Isabella Louise was born February 20 and to welcome her to the world I whipped up a snugly blanket and matching burp cloth.  I used Alexander Henry fabric for the print and minky dot for the reverse.  The burp clothes were made using pre-folded cloth diapers and a zig-zag stitch.  This blanket is so soft that I caught myself snuggling with it while taking a t.v. break during its' making (sorry Isabella).  

california dreamin'

This week I traveled to Marina del Rey, CA, for a work meeting. I very rarely travel for work but when I do I'm lucky that it's usually somewhere nice. I've been to California several times but had never been in the LA area. Marina del Rey is just West of LA and attaches to Venice Beach. I flew into LAX and thought for sure I'd see a celebrity but alas, I saw none. :-( It was so nice to step out of the airport and see green grass, palm trees, flowers and to feel a warm breeze...ahhh! I was a bit bummed though because just as I was leaving for Cali, DC was receiving the largest snowfall we've had in years. Don't get me wrong, I was happy to welcome the warmth, but wished the snow could have held out long enough for me to get home to enjoy it since it doesn't often accumulate to much here.

After checking into my hotel I ventured down to Venice Beach. I grabbed a sandwich and enjoyed a mini picnic in the sand. It was a perfect beach day- 80 degrees with a breeze. The mountains could be seen in the distance and there were many sailboats on the water. I enjoyed just sitting in the sand and reading. I even took a short nap. Sounds pretty rough, right?

I had heard from some Californians that the current craze in Cali is a frozen yogurt place called "Pinkberry". Of course I had to find this place and try it for myself. It was so delicious!!! and tasted very different than the normal frozen yogurt.

My favorite adventure from this trip was driving the Pacific Coast Highway, aka Highway 1. I rented a car (let's pretend it was a convertible), grabbed a map, cranked the radio and drove the PCH with the windows down, hair flying in the breeze...it was perfect! It really is as beautiful as it looks in pictures and the movies.

I stopped frequently to admire the view and found a great

little beach to climb around on the rocks. While I was there a woman found a starfish and let me touch it-they're such beautiful creatures.

I love the ocean...its' sound, smell, feel. I can't ever get enough and so I tried to really soak it in while I was there. There's something so calming and soothing about the water, feeling the sand between your toes and the sun on your skin. It was a short trip but I really made the most of it and appreciated the break from winter. Oh, and the meeting went well too. :-)