Monday, February 28, 2011

Testing in the kitchen

Last month I had a Demarle At Home Fundraiser for my Relay For Life team. I had 12 wonderful people attend the party and raised over $200!! And, of course, I bought several products from the catalog.

Healthy cooking = perfect. Easy clean-up = even more perfect!

I spent a little time in the kitchen this weekend using a few of my new products.

First up, protein bars.

At $2 each for most of the bars at the store, I decided to try to make my own and save some money. I won the above baking tray for having the highest selling party in January. A free baking tray; things just keep getting better right? (I know.)

The bars tasted much better than most of the ones we have tried recently, so that's a plus. Now I just need to try a few different varieties.

Next up, Pumpkin-Blueberry Muffins. (Somehow I missed the 'before' picture on these.)

I've made these several times in the past. (Mostly because I love them and I'm the only one in the house that will eat them. If I say 'whole-wheat', 'oats' and 'pumpkin' for ingredients, Jamie and Makena leave them alone.) They are a healthy way for me to get a lot of vitamins, fiber and protein all in one little muffin. And, until now, I've always had to use baking cups. I've grown to hate baking cups. The muffins always stick and they always seem to be a wasted item.


Now that I have the Demarle muffin baking tray, I'm in heaven. No mess, no baking cups, no sticking muffins and they are still nice and moist.
Finally, Spring Quiche.
Another great way for me to sneak in a lot of veggies and protein. And if I'm making food for Jamie and Makena to eat, I have to be really sneaky about the veggies.

They did catch me on the red and yellow peppers, so I'll have to leave those out next time. But, because none of us can eat (calcium rich) cottage cheese plain, I can sneak that in there too.

And then everyone is happy and full.

Friday, February 25, 2011

I wanted to share an email that I received from Loaves & Fishes. I posted about the Valentine-A-Grams here. I think this was my 4th year delivering and I hope to do so again next year.

What two hours of time on Valentine's Day morning can do:

On behalf of Loaves & Fishes Centers and the seniors we serve, thank you for participating as a driver on Monday, February 14th. Because of your efforts, people in Multnomah, Washington and Clark counties enjoyed scrumptious treats for Valentine’s Day! More than 320 volunteers went above and beyond to ensure that the Valentine-A-Grams were delivered.

Sales this year were spectacular and we raised more than $110,000 to feed seniors in our community. Our generous sponsors at Cinnabon®, Jamba Juice, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Food Services of America, Sharis and Sun Orchard donated all of the products for this event. Because of their generosity, 100% of the proceeds from Valentine-A-Gram will go to provide hot, nutritious meals for area seniors.

Again, thank you for your support as a volunteer.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Not quite a "snow storm"

It was unusually quiet on Celebration Ct. at 7:30am this morning.

A light sheet of snow had covered the ground. The neighbor kids were still warm in bed.

By 9:30am, the kids were all out making snowmen and playing. Jamie, Moxie and I decided to go for a walk.

"Mommy...Daddy is on the phone again."

"So, let's run!"

Unfortunately, the snow didn't stick around for very long.

But it was a nice to walk around in it for a while.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

An article to share...

I wanted to share an article that I read on the Oregon Environmental Council site today.

The 21st Century War on Cancer Must Take Aim at Toxics

In honor of Presidents Day, ask President Obama to protect us from cancer-causing chemicals.

Last May, the President’s Cancer Panel's annual report provided strong confirmation that exposure to toxic chemicals is an important and woefully under-recognized risk factor for cancer. The Panel highlighted the need for Congress to reform the broken 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), noting not only that it is “the most egregious example of ineffective regulation of chemical contaminants” but also that its weaknesses have constrained the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from being able to properly regulate known and suspected carcinogens.

It's no secret that cancer takes a devastating toll on individuals and families:
  • Every minute, at least one American will die from cancer this year
  • 1 in 2 American men and 1 in 3 American women will get some type of cancer in their lifetime
  • Cancer is the leading cause of death from disease in children younger than 15
    Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer

With statistics like that, it is the rare person who has not been personally affected by cancer—and the emotional roller coaster that comes with it—at some point in their life. Cancer also takes a devastating toll on our state: It's estimated that the cases caused by unnecessary chemical exposures costs Oregon at least $131 million per year in direct and indirect health-care costs.

Exposure to actual and potential cancer-causing chemicals is widespread. Toxic chemicals that cause cancer are in products like clothing, furniture, cleaning products, and plastics used by children, women, and men on a daily basis. Pregnant women have been found to carry toxic chemicals in their bodies, which leads to babies being born with a burden of chemicals over which they had no control. Yet the majority of Americans are unaware of the dangers of chemical exposure in their daily lives and if they are aware, they do not have adequate information to protect themselves.

So how did we get to a point where only a few hundred of the over 80,000 chemicals on the market today have actually been tested for safety? We have a broken system that favors the big chemical lobby over consumer safety. So we need to make our voices even stronger. We need to get serious about a national cancer prevention program that will eliminate the use of cancer-causing chemicals, such as formaldehyde, vinyl chloride, and lead. We need to change the laws of this country so that it is no longer legal to add chemicals known to cause cancer to products we use every day in our homes, schools, and workplaces. Help us do that in honor of Presidents day by signing this petition to President Obama, asking him to protect us from cancer-causing chemicals. Then ask your family and friends to sign, too.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Girl Scout Cookies!

Girl Scout Cookie Sales are in full swing! We spent two weeks asking for pre-orders from our friends and family.

Now the store sales have begun...

The first two nights were extremely cold, but we managed to sell almost 150 boxes. Then another 85 boxes at Fred Meyer on Sunday; where they allowed us to sell inside. (We're all so much happier when we're warm!) We had people graciously donate $44 directly to our troop, and 5 boxes of cookies to the Sunshine Pantry. A great first weekend to cookie sales I think.

Only 206 cookies left to sell in order to reach our troop goal!

Spa Day

To celebrate Valentine's Day, Jamie and I decided that we needed a little pampering. We found a local spa that was able to fit all three of us in for the day.

We didn't tell Makena what we were doing, only that we had plans. When we pulled in to the parking lot of the spa, she was a little leery about spending the day there. But...she ended up loving it just as much as Jamie and I did.

Jamie arrived 20 minutes earlier because he had a slightly different day planned. He started out with a facial while Makena and I received a foot soak/toxin treatment. Then we all had pedicures.

I'm getting better with letting people touch my feet...and not freaking out. Still won't allow it during a massage, but a pedicure is do-able.

Then we all had manicures.

Makena asked for anchors on her thumbs.


I just asked for a normal paint on my toes and a French manicure. (Can you tell that my skin needs sunlight?)

Jamie wasn't going to have a manicure, but they gave him one anyways.Then Makena and I headed off for our facials while Jamie had a water treatment massage. A wonderful way to end our day at the spa!

We had originally planned to go out to dinner afterwards, but we were all so relaxed that we just wanted to head home. So instead, Jamie drove over to PF Changs to pick up dinner. We all met back at the house, ate dinner on the couch and watched movies until late that night.

A wonderful and relaxing day with those I love. I can't think of a better way to spend the day.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Dearest Blog & Followers

I am alive. I am thinking of you and have stuff to post.

I've just been...off still. But I am working on it!

My schedule has been a bit crazy. And I'm working on that too!

Working on myself takes more time than I was willing to give at first. It's all a slow process. I'm still learning even after 35 years.

Just wanted you to know that I'll be back here soon...

PS: We had a little 'snow flurry' the other day, so I'm leaving you with a photo of it. It wasn't much, but it put a little smile on my face.

Friday, February 4, 2011

A post of pictures

The past week and a half has been...sad, happy, busy, slow, loud and quiet. And, it feels as if it has been those things all at one time. Like I'm not sure how I'm supposed to be feeling, where I need to be, who I need to be talking to or where my head should be.

Things have been happening personally. Things have been happening in my family's lives. Things have been happening in my best friend's life. We're all dealing and trying to cope with loss, love and hope.

On Thursday, I decided to go for a drive. I was supposed to finish business taxes and mow my yard, but I just wanted to go for a drive.

A long, quiet drive by myself.

I loaded up my camera gear in the Smartcar (Lil' Doug) and was off. I didn't have a plan. I didn't know where I was going. I just headed North.

And, if you live around here, I'm sure you can figure out where I went. I did get lost at one point. It's easy to do when you turn left, right, right, left, and then right again without really paying attention to where you're going. When your eyes are busy looking for something to take pictures of.


The two pictures below are me playing with my new lens. The first one is the lens all the way in, and the second is fully out, looking at the red house/carport you can barely see in the first picture.


I tried to have a conversation with this guy, but I think he was mostly interested in Lil' Doug.


And, about three hours later, I finally figured out where I was and headed home.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Plastic Challenge

One of the blogs that I follow, The Green Parent, is doing a different monthly eco-challenge for 2011. This sounded like something fun to me, but I've kinda kept it on the back-burner.

Then, this morning, I saw her post for the Plastic-Free February. I also saw the same thing going on at Rodale.com where the magazine I love, Prevention, is created. Then I saw that other bloggers were doing it too, and thought maybe I'd put a little effort in to this challenge this month. I mean, I think I'm pretty conscious as far as plastic is concerned.

That is...until I opened the refrigerator and really looked at what was in there. That's when I realized that I could never do this challenge. I'm a plastic junkie, a plastic lover out of convenience, and I'm not proud.

First Shelf:
  • Yogurt in plastic containers. I love (love) the small 4oz Yoplait YoPlus portions and eat one of these every day. Makena & Jamie eat Yoplait in the normal 6oz.. There is often a larger plastic container of plain Greek yogurt for shakes also on this shelf. Sadly, I don't like making my own yogurt and don't want to buy the larger containers. They are just packaged in plastic anyways.
  • Cottage cheese, Feta cheese, sour cream, creamer and butter spray. All in plastic containers.
  • GOOD - all of these containers can be recycled. Everything but the lids that is.

Second Shelf:

  • Even though I buy our milk in box containers, I've learned that there is plastic lining on the inside. Same goes for the orange juice and egg beaters (from the top shelf).
  • Apple juice and sweet tea in large plastic containers. I usually buy apple juice in glass bottles, but picked these jugs up at Costco one time. I also don't usually buy tea, but did so for a gathering.
  • Makena often drinks vanilla milk (which also comes in a plastic container) and I pour it in to a larger, plastic, container to add plain milk to.
  • GOOD - all of these containers can be recycled and the container for Makena's milk is reused.

Third Shelf:

  • Hummus. I eat this almost every day as well and it always comes in a plastic container. I really should think about making my own!
  • Melons, in a plastic container. Again, I bought this for a gathering and usually just buy this fresh and cut it myself.
  • GOOD - ditto on the recycling on this shelf. Our recycling collector doesn't actually accept the type of container that the melon comes in, but I save up all of this type of plastic to take to a local recycler that does.

Fourth Shelf & Veggie Drawers:

  • Mashed potatoes. Out of convenience, I bought Makena a container of pre-made mashed potatoes. They are, of course, packed in a plastic container. (With getting her braces on, I thought this would be easier for her.)
  • Pudding and Jello I also bought for Makena as they are soft. Again, out of convenience, I bought the small portioned packages instead of making my own.
  • Individual cheese sticks in plastic packaging. Deli meat, wrapped in plastic at the store. Bricks of cheese, in plastic. Jamie's (nasty) processed cheese individually wrapped in plastic.
  • Salad either in plastic bags or large plastic containers.
  • Plastic containers to hold our cut up veggies. These do get reused, and only for items we don't heat up. Otherwise, all of the other containers in there are glass. Except (gads!) a styrofoam container with Makena's left overs from Applebees. I've been trying to remember to bring our own, reusable containers for left overs at restaurants.
  • GOOD - I try to recycle or reuse what I can!

Door: by the time I got to the door, I was about in tears over the amount of plastic in here!

  • Condiments...wow! Unfortunately, almost everything comes in a plastic container.
  • Water bottles. Jamie likes plastic water bottles, and his are always reused. Makena and I use the stainless steel ones. *I do drink several Sobe Zero Waters a week though and those are in plastic bottles.
  • Even my flax seed and wheat germ come in plastic bags.
  • GOOD - I buy glass packaged items when I can and recycle the plastic.

I do recycle almost everything we use, so that does make me feel a lot better. We use reusable, cloth shopping bags; groceries, clothing, home improvement, etc. I have my own vegetable bags so we don't use those plastic ones at the grocery store. We try to always get coffee in our reusable mugs.

But...it's sad to think of all of that plastic just in my fridge! And, I know there is a ton more of it around my house.

Needless to say, I won't be doing the Plastic-Free Challenge. I give HUGE kudos to Beth Terry for her commitment to stop buying new plastics every day of her life. Crazy as it sounds, she's been very successful at living a Plastic-free Life for more than 3 years! And, I'm sure that Jenn Savedge, The Green Parent, will do well in her Plastic-free February. Maybe someday I'll be there...