Egg Hunting

Nope, it's not Easter! But there seem to be some extra eggs around the Greenbaum house!

As I've mentioned in the past, my family is full of animal lovers (especially my mom). My mom and I had the great idea to have turtle doves at my wedding. We have 2 beautiful antique bird cages which we thought would be beautiful on either side of the entrance into the ballroom. Here is a picture of my mom with her doves :)

You can't tell but there are 2 doves in that cage (which made a total of 4 doves at our wedding). Guess what happened to them after the wedding??? My mom took 2 and gave Noah and me 2.

I grew up having doves as pets. Noah, however, HATES birds. They totally freak him out. On our honeymoon, peacocks roamed our hotel. Noah wouldn't get near them (even the little baby ones). He doesn't go anywhere near our doves either. When I open the cage door to give them food or water, Noah leaves the room!

I discovered something very interesting today when I gave our birds (who have no names because we can't tell them a part) fresh water...one of them laid an egg! Of course I have no idea which one the egg came from! I don't even know if one of them is male! I told my friend, Sally, about my egg discovery and she quickly googled for some fast facts on egg hatching.

What did we discover?? (allexperts.com)

- Doves can have babies have 46 days!

- You should leave the egg in the cage even if it is infertile (if the mom lays too many eggs she could deplete her calcium levels)

- Male doves usually sit on the eggs during the day and the females at night

- Don't tell Noah...doves in captivity can live 12-15 YEARS!!!!!

Very interesting.... My mom's doves have laid many eggs and 8 hatched! Now my step-sister has 2 doves and my mom has 5! With the number of eggs her dove is producing, I'm pretty sure I have 2 female doves. After closer inspection of the egg, I realized it is cracked. I think I will put a nest in the cage for any future eggs.

Moral of my post...if you want doves at your wedding, get the release doves. That way you won't come back from your honeymoon with 2 new pets :)

Key to the Cure

Do you know that 1 in 3 men and 1 in 2 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime?

I didn't until yesterday. I had no idea the numbers were so staggering. My friend and I went to Saks Fifth Avenue's "Key to the Cure," which benefits the VCU Massey Cancer Center. This was my first time attending the event and I can't wait to go next year! Not only does it benefit and promote a wonderful cause (women's cancer research), it is lots of fun. There were tons of area restaurants with great food and good drinks. During the evening, there was a fashion show featuring fall looks from Saks.

2 side notes from the event:

1. We wore name tags: I love name tags because I forget names. It is one of my many faults. Anyways, my name tag looked funny. Why? It had a strange name on it... I searched the table with rows of organized name tags for mine with no success. The woman behind the table working the event found my name tag and handed it to me. It read, "Muffy Greenbaum." Oh yea, that's me! I have gotten used to the sound of my last name and even writing it. However, it still surprises me when I see it. Clearly, this was my first post-marriage experience with a name tag. After the initial shock of it, I was proud to be wearing my awesome new name on my dress! I love name tags :)

2. Cakes by Graham: Graham Haddock is an ex-chef in the British military who owns this fabulous cakery in Richmond, VA. He made this delicious and beautiful cake for the event last night. I also love Graham because he made our beautiful wedding cake! Most wedding cakes look beautiful but taste like cardboard. Not Graham's cake, they're as wonderful to eat as they are to look at! I would recommend him to anyone in need of good cake! Just look at our beautiful cake!

I cried watching ESPN's College Game Day

That's right....this past Saturday College Game Day brought me to tears. Why?

Because of this truly inspirational player:

Mark Herzlich: "Boston College's linebacker finished his junior year a star." He finished as the ACC definisive player of the year. He was projected to be a top 5 draft pick for 2010. In the spring of 2009, Mark went to the doctor with a pain in his leg. Mark's life was turned upside down on May 12, 2009 when he was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare, malignant bone cancer (ESPN.com). But I didn't cry because of his disease, I cried because of his fight. Through all the chemotherapy and radiation, he never stopped working out or supporting his team. He is on the sideline at every game, he attends every meeting, and he keeps praying to be on the team again.

"When I picture beating cancer...the end result is me running out of the tunnel with the team behind me...with the crowd being as loud as I've ever heard it..." -Mark

On Saturday, Mark announced that the doctor is 99% sure he is cancer free. After surgery to repair his left leg, Mark hopes to rejoin his team. This story is truly inspirational and if you missed the interview, you should definitely take the time to watch it on ESPN.

Absolutely amazing..... I wish I could be more like him.

Genetic Freaks

Proving life really is unfair:

Heidi Klum: Here she is almost 9 months pregnant and she's had 3 other children! I wouldn't look this good on my best day.

Kelly Rippa: You're probably thinking, "Yea but she has all those talented make-up artists to make her look that pretty!"

Well you were wrong....even without make-up, still adorable!

And the woman I really love to hate....

Marisa Miller: Should anyone be allowed to be this beautiful?

Clearly Noah and I both have a thing for blonds...

Well now that I've depressed myself, I think I'll go eat a brownie :)