"Let's see what you're made of."

The exhibit starts in a bright red antechamber. In the background is a faint throbbing noise, an incessant heartbeat. I see two dozen large red barrels bathed in red light, which represent the amount of blood my heart is going to pump today -- 1800 gallons at a pace of about 3 ounces per beat. It takes me a moment to comprehend this.

I do not marvel at my body nearly as much as I should.

It is the aim of Dr Angelina Whalley that we all do so more.

Dr Whalley, a licensed physician, is both the technical director and creative visionary behind Body Worlds: The Story of the Heart. She has been the Director of the Institute for Plastination in Heidelberg, Germany since 1997, and married to its founder, Dr Gunther von Hagens, since 1992. She reports that 29 million people around the world have seen a Body Worlds Exhibit, which is open now through July 18 at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. (Click for dates in Philadelphia and Calgary.)

For the first time,

Show & Tell: Hallooo, Red Roques!

Whenever we have out of town guests, we take them to nearby Red Rocks amphitheater, climb down to the stage and pretend we are British rock stars.

We took visitors there recently and I took a couple of non-amphitheater photos of these breathtakingly beautiful geologic formations:



And for some context for the title of this post, here ya go:



See the cool stuff my classmates are showing and telling over at Mel's Show & Tell.





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Things to do in Denver when you're a mom

Because of my desire to take over the ENTIRE INTERNET (watch out, Aunt Becky), and because who needs those 5 hours of sleep a night anyway, I have joined Trekaroo in order to tell people about spending time in my wonderful city, Denver, Colorado.

Here are recommendations from Trekaroo Families and local Colorado bloggers who jumped aboard the Trekaroo KidsMobile for its current stop in Denver.

• How to spend a day or two with kids in Denver by WeeblesWobblog (that would be me)
  
• Top 5 Places to eat with your Kids in Denver by Crunchy Green Mom
• Five Favorite Indoor Water Parks In the Denver Area. by Bantering Blonde & Mom Active
• Top Activities for Kids in Denver, CO – voted by Trekaroo parents
• Top 5 Museums for Kids in Denver by The Vacation Gals.
  
• Our Family's Staycation Experiences in Colorado by Is dis normal or dysfunctional

The next stop for the KidsMobile is Charlotte, North Carolina. Yoohoo, JJ, Kristin and NC Bloggers -- you have anything to say about Charlotte?

Trekaroo has also stopped in CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NY | PA | TX | VA | WA. So if you're slacking by sleeping at night and want to add your 2 cents about your hometown exploits with your children, head over to Trekaroo. Or if you're bringing your kids to one of these places, get the scoop from other parents.

Happy weekend! Hope you have a perfect moment and come back here Monday to tell about it.





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Show & Tell: Better off red

The kids were both in school but Roger and I had Veteran's Day off. So we had a date in our city.

After lunch (which included acai sangria), we strolled over three of Denver's bridges toward downtown. On the way, we found this:

Photo by Jeffrey Beall (his is better than mine).

National Velvet is by artist John McEnroe (not the tennis player, I presume). The sculpture was dedicated a year ago today.

Denver does like its primary colors, doesn't it?

I have sudden urge to prepare kidney beans for dinner.

See what my classmates are showing and telling over at Mel's Show & Tell.






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Show & Tell: Denver's Big Blue Streak

It's that time of the week where we Show & Tell!

I'm showing two big blue Denver icons.

This guy peeks into the Denver Convention Center. Looking for big blue munchies, maybe?
The sculpture, created by Lawrence Argent, is called I See What You Mean.
Note the little red truck to the right of his foot so you get an idea of the scale.

Image from Westword. More here.

Mustang, installed at Denver International Airport last year, is quite controversial in these parts -- people either love it or hate it (I love it.).

It killed its creator, Luis Jiminez before he had a chance to finish it, and some say the blazing red eyes display its bloodlust. It's big, it's blue, and it's one of the first impressions that air travelers to Denver see. Perspective in this photo is deceptive. Despite its impressive size, Mustang is not bigger than the airport terminal.

**Edited**
by request, I'm adding a photo of the bear from the inside. I took this recently when Tessa and I went to the Colorado Women's Expo. The light isn't terrific, but it gives you an idea of the whimsy.

See what the other kiddies are showing and telling at Mel's Show & Tell.

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Another day, another chance to vote for Weebles Wobblog. Please click on the blue button, scroll down to the Most Inspiring category, and vote for this blog, currently in 3rd place. (You can also vote for Luna in the same category, for Eden as Most Provocative Blog and for Lollipop as the Blog I've Learned the Most From.) Rock the ALI vote!

Here's a button if you'd like to help me make a good showing against some fabulous blogs. Not that I'm competitive or anything. OK, maybe inspiringly competitive.

(To those of you with the button: I really won't hurt the cute puppy.)
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Perfect Moment Monday: Path of Hearts

(Perfect Moment Monday now posts on Sunday evening with links accepted through Tuesday.)

Perfect Moment Monday is more about noticing a perfect moment than about creating one. Perfect moments can be momentous or ordinary or somewhere in between.

We gather here once a week to engage in mindfulness about something that is right with our world. Everyone is welcome to join. Details on how to participate are at the bottom of this post, complete with bloggy bling.

Please visit the links of the participants at the bottom.

Here's a perfect moment from my week. I hope you'll share yours, too.

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Come join me on my perfect moment adventure.

My children and I had an outing to Mother Cabrini Shrine this week along with my sister's family and a friend and her children.

In 1912, The shrine:

"was established by Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini for the purpose of spreading the gospel and providing a peaceful summer atmosphere for orphan children.

On this site, Mother Cabrini arranged large white stones in the shape of a heart, surrounded by a smaller stone cross and crown of thorns. The 373 steps that lead to a 22-foot statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are adorned by the Stations of the Cross, the mysteries of the rosary and the Ten Commandments. A cool spring of miraculous water still flows today after Mother Cabrini found it on the barren hilltop."

I enjoy coming up here for clarity. I came once years ago with a group of spiritually seeking women on gloriously perfect late-summer Sunday and I reflected on myself as a once barren place, then flowing with new motherhood. The sky was so blue that day, the clearest blue imaginable. I could look out over my beautiful city in one direction, and into higher mountains in the other. Crisp colors of a perfect world.

I had a moment of being anchored in something firm and everlasting. It was September 9, 2001. Right before everything changed.

Visits continue to bring perfect moments to my body and my spirit. My children now enjoy the rambling about, the occasional elk herd, the fresh air and exercise. This time, Tessa meditated as she circumambulated a rosary of flagstones that enclosed one of the ubiquitous sacred heart symbols on the property. She says she was thinking of the people she loves.

Come along with me.

If the slide show doesn't appear for you, click here.

See? Perfect!

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Once you make a Perfect Moment post, you can place this button on your blog.

I Capture
Perfect Moments.

Now. What Perfect Moment have you recently been aware of? Be sure to visit these moments and share the bloggy love.

***

Another day, another chance to vote for Weebles Wobblog. Please click on the blue button, scroll down to the Most Inspiring category, look for and and vote for this blog, currently in 4th place. (You can also vote for Luna in the same category, and for Eden in the Most Provocative Blog category.) Rock the ALI vote!

Here's a button if you'd like to help me make a good showing against some fabulous blogs. Not that I'm competitive or anything. OK, maybe inspiringly competitive.

(To those of you with the button: I really won't hurt the cute puppy.)

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