Bubbye April

Wow...it's already the last day of April?!?

Seems like the fool was me just the other day.

Lots of good things going on today tho!

* It's Friday!!! This also means it's my last work-out day of the week!! Last day of week 14.

* My sister and I are having a little spa day together. I am getting an express mani and an express pedi - not sure if I'll live through the 30 minute "express" pedicure but I'm gonna try it. My sister is getting an express mani and then the Margarita Pedicure. Sounds just lovely, but they said it was an hour. An hour of someone else touching my feet??? Ummm...no.

* My sister and I plan to have lunch after our pretty nails are done.

* It's Nikki's birthday today! A bunch of us are headed out for dinner and drinks this evening.

* I need finalize the limo for my upcoming birthday night. Dylona, my sister and I will be celebrating all of our birthdays on Friday, May 21 at Harvey's Comedy Club. The limo will then take us a few other places downtown. Can't wait to turn 30!

* I also need to pack things up for the lake as we head up bright and early tomorrow morning. I plan to relax and read all weekend while Jamie designs the boat house with the neighbor.

I wanted to share a picture that my sister sent to me from her last visit to Garibaldi. My Aunt Tami was visiting for a week. Momma hadn't been feeling well - I think a visit from Tami and my sister was just what she needed. Love them so much...

PS: Okay...okay...I'm turning 35, but who's counting??

Best idea ever

What do you do if you're at the store and realize that you have forgotten your reusable shopping bag?

You use your Shopping Bag Bra of course!

Watch this short video about a new product from a Japanese lingerie company.

PS - I'm ordering mine today! : )

Babysitter Official

My Girl Scout Troop took a Babysitter's Training Course from the American Red Cross.

Makena is now officially "Babysitter Trained"!

They weren't very thrilled about taking a 6 hour class on a Sunday, but I knew it would be a beneficial class for them. I did get a couple of texts during the class tho.

...........................
Text: It's soooo boring. We're just reading out of a book. : (

Text: Lunch! : )

Text from me: Did any boys show up?

Text: nope...lucky!

Text: I got the ugly baby

Text: he's really ugly
.............................

I do know that they should all be able to save me if I start choking during a meeting.

Whew!

What every teenager wants to do early on a Saturday morning

We were up early on Saturday morning to volunteer our time at the Earth Day Recycling Event that supported Relay For Life of Hillsboro.

**We weren't really up that early, 7am-ish...but Makena & Hailee thought it was too early for a Saturday!**

It was a bit windy and rainy, but the event recycled hundreds (and hundreds) of electronics, light bulbs, batteries, tires, etc and raised money for our cause.

Makena and Hailee held the Thank You sign outside of the event for a while and then switched to directing traffic.

Could they possibly look happier at 9am on a Saturday morning?

AP Tour and Owl City:)

Ok, so me and Madison went to some concerts earlier this month. I probably would've put up some of the pictures a looonnnnggg time ago, but Madee hasn't actually sent them to me. So, I kidnapped her camera and did it myself(:

at the very front for Owl City:))>

ilovehimsosomuch:)

Do something green this Earth Day

Taken from The Environmental Magazine:

This year, to honor Earth Day (April 22), consider taking more definitive action. Whether it's setting aside more time for hikes and outdoor explorations, joining a local pollution-fighting group or composting kitchen scraps, use this day dedicated to all things green to take a meaningful step or two.

Here are 5 ideas from E.

1. Join the movement: If you're fed up with dirty (and dangerous) coal mining, with chemicals in consumer products or destruction of beautiful lands-get active! There are tons of causes around the country worth discovering and lending support to. A few of our favorites include 350.org (http://www.350.org), an international campaign dedicated to building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis; Heartwood (http://www.heartwood.org/) a regional network that protects forests and supports community activism in the eastern United States through education, advocacy, and citizen empowerment; and the Waterkeeper Alliance (http://www.waterkeeper.org/), an advocacy organization dedicated to preserving and protecting water from polluters with local groups throughout the United States and Canada.

2. Get outside: Every time I see the statistic that we spend, on average, 90% of our time indoors, I can hardly believe we've reached such extremes. But between car commutes, office jobs, classrooms, and time spent at home, we've reduced going outdoors to a special treat we allow ourselves only in short bursts. Why not commit yourself to getting outdoors more, especially now that Spring has sprung, whether it's an hour a day or a two-hour hike each weekend-and start exploring the trails, nature preserves and natural wonders close by? It's a great way to "get back to nature," and to improve your health-pollutant concentration in indoor air is two to five times higher than outdoor, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. See the EPA's Guide to Indoor Air Quality here: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/insidest.html.

3. Unplug: It's sacrilegious, I know, but all our electronic gadgets-from cell phones to laptops to video games to televisions-are keeping us increasingly disconnected from the outside world and one another. A study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation in January 2010 found that kids ages 8 to 18 today spend seven hours and 38 minutes using electronic media in a typical day-or 53 hours per week! When's the last time you had dinner with the family outdoors-whether on the patio or a picnic blanket? Or how about bringing some supplies to a local park or campground and enjoying the fresh air while you cook over a grill with a group of friends? It's hard to imagine where we could find the time for such leisurely family activities until we actually unplug and allow ourselves to get away from the immediate, persistent beeps, rings and alerts that suck away our free moments.

4. Compost: Food waste is a major environmental concern, since organic matter releases methane in oxygen-starved landfills-a greenhouse gas that's 21 times as potent as carbon dioxide-and it's a literally a resource waiting to be enjoyed. If you start composting your kitchen scraps instead of dumping them in the trash, you'll be rewarded with the most nutrient-rich soil your garden could hope for. How bad is our food waste problem? According to researcher Timothy Jones of the University of Arizona, U.S. households throw away 14% of their edible purchases, or $590 per year. There are lots of ways to get composting, from kitchen bins to outdoor tumblers to worm bins. The site Composting101 (http://www.composting101.com) is a good place to get you started.

5. Ditch the packaging: Despite our noblest efforts, forgoing packaging is tricky business for most of us. We buy in bulk, but pack in plastic baggies; we use a reusable water bottle, but buy a disposable cup of coffee each day; we purchase organic snacks, but in snack-size packages. Packaging is ubiquitous in our culture, even among the "green" products we prefer. But the more we become aware of just how over-wrapped our lives have become, the easier it is to steadily avoid. Bring your own shopping bags and travel mugs, keep dishes at the office to avoid disposables, refuse to have lunch items or solo items put in plastic at the deli or store, buy in bulk whenever possible, use reusable containers instead of baggies...you get the idea.

Happy Earth Day!

The many faces of NevaeH

We also celebrated NevaeH's 8th birthday on Saturday.

Some of the best faces come from this (dramatic) little girl! She is quite the character...

love this

We hope you had a great Birthday too NevaeH!

Kallie Bug's 3rd Birthday

We spent Saturday at the Flaherty's celebrating Kallie's 3rd Birthday.

Lots of kids. Cake, ice cream and presents. A pinata. Food. Laughs. Fun.

The Birthday Girl

Hailee, Kallie & Makena

Kylah - "The Party Helper"

Kallie first

NevaeH's turn

Logan

Ivie

Kylah

Mariah

The "kids" threw balls at each other most of the day.

Luckily no one got seriously hurt.

One more present...close your eyes

a new bike!

we got her a Tinkerbell costume

Kallie & her friend Hudson

Logan blew bubbles for Makena

We hope you had a great Birthday Bug - we love you!

Counting down to Earth Day

I'm sure you have all heard that Earth Day is Thursday, April 22. (If not, crawl out from under your rock yo.) This year is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day!

Earth Day started in 1970 in the United States as a way to bring awareness to environmental issues and has turned into a massive holiday in which you can rejoice and celebrate the planet any which way you please. Today over a billion people take part in more than 175 countries.

Around our house, we try to celebrate Earth Day every day, but some days are more successful than others.

Want to join the celebration but not sure where to start?

1. Here are Green is Sexy's 40 of the best deals for Earth Day.

**I recently purchased clothing from a site that planted trees for every item purchased.**

2. Check out Soles4Souls - Throughout April, over 70 shopping malls will offer places to drop shoes off. (There are over 4,000 other drop off locations across the US.) Your shoes will be distributed to someone who needs them. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away 7 million pairs of shoes.

**I recently purchased 2 pair of shoes - made with biodegradable soles, without chemical glues and made of recycled products. I plan to drop off 2 old pair of shoes at Soles4Souls.**

3. Bring your recyclables to an Earth Day Recycling Event that will be held Saturday, April 24 from 9:00 a.m. to noon, at the Synopsys Technology Park; 2025 NW Cornelius Pass Road, Hillsboro 97124. This event supports Relay For Life of Hillsboro!! Help save the planet and fight back against cancer.

Electronics, bicycles or parts thereof, fluorescent lamps (limit 20), tires off the rims (fee of $2 each), plus used clothing and household goods will be accepted for recycling and reuse. In lieu of the usual disposal fees, except as noted above, patrons are encouraged to make on-site donations to the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Hillsboro.

**I have been saving up items for this event all year! And, my family will be volunteering at the event all day.**

4. Go to: http://www.greenraising.com/index.aspx?AFID=1012 and Relay For Life of Hillsboro will receive a 45% donation on all purchases between April 12th & April 26th. Greenraising.com offers a wide variety of interesting and unusual eco-friendly items that will help you to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

**This is a FUNdraiser for my Relay team - shop, shop, shop! Items can be delivered to my house for FREE.**

To Write Love On Her Arms

Mom is always doing posts about causes she supports (recycling, being green, ect.) so I figure I would do one, too.

TWLOHA is a non-profit movement to find help for those suffering from depression. Which is a shockingly high amount of people; in fact, about 121 million people suffer from depression, 18 million of them in America and about 66% of them never seek help, resulting in suicide. "... suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers."

"To Write Love on Her Arms began in Orlando, FL in February 2006 as a (written) story, the true story of five days spent with a friend who was denied entry into a drug treatment center. The story was a look at those five days, and the t-shirts were printed and sold initially as a way to pay for our friend's treatment. "

To Write Love On Her Arms Home

-Makena

A day with Miss Ivie

Ivie Rose came to spend the afternoon with me on Wednesday.

It was a beautiful day, so we spent a lot of time outside. We took Moxie for a walk and then drew with sidewalk chalk.

I made a Hop-Scotch game for Ivie and I to play with.

She liked jumping!

We found Brandi rolling around in our chalk pictures.

Just talkin' away...

Great Wolf Lodge

With their cookie sales earnings, Cadette Troop 41054 wanted to spend the night at Great Wolf Lodge. That's what they chose to do last year too, so they must have really enjoyed it. The cost uses more than half of their troop funds, so they must have really - really - enjoyed it.

I booked our stay and then found out that we were planning to go the same time a Council wide Girl Scout event was going. I called back to see if we could get a discount - we did - even better!

I then found out that there were more than 200 Girl Scouts going.

Trust me, the thought crossed my mind (several times) to change the date of our trip. There are always a lot of people at Great Wolf Lodge though so I figured we'd be (mentally) okay.

I borrowed a van (thanks Renee & Martin!) so that we could all ride up together. The girls snacked all the way up, and then were ready for lunch as soon as we got settled in the room. They were in the water park for about an hour and then wanted to go back to the room to eat again. About an hour later, they were ready for dinner.

"What?!? It's only 5pm and you're hungry again?" I ask

"We're growing girls!" I'm told


After dinner, we went back to the water park for a couple of hours. Then we headed back to the room to get ready for the Girl Scout PJ Party that had been planned by another troop.

My girls (I) volunteered to help the planning troop. Most of the troops were 5th grade and younger, so my girls were going to help where needed.

But first, they made bracelets.

They also helped at the coloring station, the friendship bracelet station and the game station. I think they had the most fun organizing the Freeze Dancing game.

Then they helped at the PJ Fashion Show.

The party didn't get over until around 11pm. We then headed back to the room to get ready for bed. I think we were all asleep by 1am.

I woke up by 7am (as usual) but waited until 8am to wake them up. They were so happy to see me that early in the morning!

We had breakfast and then headed back to the water park. After swimming, we checked out of our room and then the girls played in the Arcade.

Makena almost had this Care Bear 3 times. It just kept picking it up and then dropping it. She was not happy.

Thanks again for all your support with Cookie Sales this year! The girls had a great time at Great Wolf Lodge.

Their next adventure is a Babysitter Training/First Aid course at the American Red Cross.