I read this today on the OEC Blog - Oregon Environmental Council
Last week, the Breast Cancer Fund released a report that tested six different kid-friendly canned products, with every food sample registering levels of the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA). Most metal food cans have epoxy-resin linings that contain BPA, which has been linked to disruptions of the hormonal system, heart disease, diabetes and other severe health problems.
There are so many studies, on so many different things, its often hard to know what to really believe. I though, am one who believes in cancer research. All of it. I have been trying to rid my house of BPA for quite a while now. The Breast Cancer Fund report is something I think we should all read. Take from it what you will, I'm just sharing the information.
P.S. I still haven't posted photos of Makena's 15th Birthday party. I actually just found the pictures on a memory card last night and hope to get to them soon. Along with some pictures of Maddie and Moxie, and pictures from the Walden Island Tea in August. {gads}
P.P.S. Thank you all for the concern. My wisdom teeth apparently came out without a fight. I, however, have been fighting with my dentist about keeping them for the past 10 years. I obviously lost.
AMBER-JAMIE-MAKENA The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. -e.e. cummings
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Ray & Sam
Sorry, cell phone photos only for this post. Good times though!
Ray LaMontagne was playing at McMenamin's Edgefield on Labor Day weekend. Both my sister and I bought tickets to the show. We decided to bring Chad & Jamie too (mostly for fetching beer though).
After walking and walking and walking, I finally found the end of the entrance line. I found our place while everyone else went for drinks. Perfect plan I'd say.
Iron & Wine/Samuel Beam played last Friday at Pioneer Courthouse Square during Music Fest NW. After picking up Makena from school, we headed downtown on the Max. (Note To Self: bring ear muffs for Makena & I on our next Max ride downtown. Mouthy f'ing kids...)
Sam was, of course, fab-U-lous.
Thank you both for coming to see him with me. Even though I enjoyed it for all of us, it was still fun to spend time with you.
Ray LaMontagne was playing at McMenamin's Edgefield on Labor Day weekend. Both my sister and I bought tickets to the show. We decided to bring Chad & Jamie too (mostly for fetching beer though).
After walking and walking and walking, I finally found the end of the entrance line. I found our place while everyone else went for drinks. Perfect plan I'd say.
Once inside, more drinks and food were needed. See those blue chairs we're sitting on - they're fabulous! And since I only give credit where credit is due, thank you for finding them Jamie. They have a pillow, arm rests with drink holders (very important), they recline, they have a pouch for items AND they have straps to carry them on your back. Good score Honey!
Ray was, of course FAB-u-lous! Jamie wasn't impressed that he came on late and then only played for 30 minutes. But I was happy! (That is until there was a little incident in the Honey-Bucket that caused an immediate shut down of my body. Sorry, but I can't relive the experience here. I can say that after changing into the 'swooshy' golf pants Jamie had in the car, I was a little better.)
After the show, we headed to Standford's for some Happy Hour food.
Love you baby sister - I had a great time!! Can't wait for another!
Iron & Wine/Samuel Beam played last Friday at Pioneer Courthouse Square during Music Fest NW. After picking up Makena from school, we headed downtown on the Max. (Note To Self: bring ear muffs for Makena & I on our next Max ride downtown. Mouthy f'ing kids...)Although the venue was not as comfortable (you can't bring chairs), the show was just as good. Makena was very tired from her first week back to school and Jamie only had football on his mind (he was leaving early the next morning for a Ravens game). And sadly, Heineken was the sponsor so they were the only beer sold. (Heineken = sober night for me.)
Sam was, of course, fab-U-lous.
Thank you both for coming to see him with me. Even though I enjoyed it for all of us, it was still fun to spend time with you.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Maddie Girl
A few years ago, I started "hinting" to Jamie that I would like to get another dog. A friend for Moxie. A new baby. He said no every time. I would constantly comment on how much Moxie would like a friend; especially if it was a Boston Terrier because they are so cute and energetic. He said no every time.
Then, a few months ago, Jamie had this great idea to get another dog! A friend for Moxie. A new baby. What a great idea right? But he decided that we should get another Boxer, and never get a tiny Boston Terrier. (They aren't THAT small.)
Fine then, I'll have requirements too. We'd have to have a female, she'd have to be rescued and she'd have to be a brindle color. A couple of visits to PetFinder.com later, I found Madison. She was a 8 month old, brindle Boxer looking for a forever home. The first 6 months of her life were not good. She wasn't allowed to run and play. She wasn't trained. She wasn't loved.
We arranged for a visit so that we could see how well she and Moxie got along. Moxie liking a new puppy and a new puppy liking her were our biggest concern obviously. The second she got out of the car, Moxie ran to her shaking her little tail/butt in excitement. I would have been shaking my little butt too, but I was sitting down hoping she'd come to me. She was very scared and it took her quite a while to warm up to me.
Our week trial, turned in to two and then I finally convinced Jamie to sign the adoption papers. You see, Maddie was abused by a man for the first 6 months of her life and is VERY scared of them. Women, she's scared of but eventually warms up to. Kids, they still freak her out a bit, but she loves them too. So, a month later, she is still scared of Jamie. She just doesn't know that she can trust him yet.
So, Maddie is my dog. And she's Moxie & Makena's little sister. And she's Jamie's...well, that's still a work in progress... She's hard not to love though.
She lays under my desk all day. (Well...she lays there when I'm there, then she follows me everywhere I go. And I mean everywhere. If she can't see me, she gets very anxious and paces. That's a work in progress too.)
She like it under the hammock at the lake too. (She LOVES the lake as much as Moxie does!)
She loves to play with Moxie and Moxie loves to play with her. She's quite the cheater though. If Moxie doesn't give her the toy, she will bite Moxie's legs to get it from her. Moxie usually gets the toy back. That is until Maddie hides it. (We found out she's a 'toy hider' and a 'chewer'. Two things Moxie is not.)
Yah, she lays like this sometimes too.
And sometimes like this. It's apparently better to share a bed than have your own.
She had her second visit to the vet last week and did okay. They try to butter her up with treats. Moxie shows her how it's done and eats all of the treats as fast as she can. Maddie is 51 lbs now - quite an improvement from the 20+ she was at 6 months old. And, the best part, the vet thinks she'll stay small. (Happy me!!)
Maddie Girl will be 9 months old on Thursday. I'm glad she rescued us, because she's a sweetheart.
Then, a few months ago, Jamie had this great idea to get another dog! A friend for Moxie. A new baby. What a great idea right? But he decided that we should get another Boxer, and never get a tiny Boston Terrier. (They aren't THAT small.)
Fine then, I'll have requirements too. We'd have to have a female, she'd have to be rescued and she'd have to be a brindle color. A couple of visits to PetFinder.com later, I found Madison. She was a 8 month old, brindle Boxer looking for a forever home. The first 6 months of her life were not good. She wasn't allowed to run and play. She wasn't trained. She wasn't loved.
We arranged for a visit so that we could see how well she and Moxie got along. Moxie liking a new puppy and a new puppy liking her were our biggest concern obviously. The second she got out of the car, Moxie ran to her shaking her little tail/butt in excitement. I would have been shaking my little butt too, but I was sitting down hoping she'd come to me. She was very scared and it took her quite a while to warm up to me.
Our week trial, turned in to two and then I finally convinced Jamie to sign the adoption papers. You see, Maddie was abused by a man for the first 6 months of her life and is VERY scared of them. Women, she's scared of but eventually warms up to. Kids, they still freak her out a bit, but she loves them too. So, a month later, she is still scared of Jamie. She just doesn't know that she can trust him yet.
So, Maddie is my dog. And she's Moxie & Makena's little sister. And she's Jamie's...well, that's still a work in progress... She's hard not to love though.
She lays under my desk all day. (Well...she lays there when I'm there, then she follows me everywhere I go. And I mean everywhere. If she can't see me, she gets very anxious and paces. That's a work in progress too.)
She like it under the hammock at the lake too. (She LOVES the lake as much as Moxie does!)She loves to play with Moxie and Moxie loves to play with her. She's quite the cheater though. If Moxie doesn't give her the toy, she will bite Moxie's legs to get it from her. Moxie usually gets the toy back. That is until Maddie hides it. (We found out she's a 'toy hider' and a 'chewer'. Two things Moxie is not.)
Yah, she lays like this sometimes too.
And sometimes like this. It's apparently better to share a bed than have your own.
She had her second visit to the vet last week and did okay. They try to butter her up with treats. Moxie shows her how it's done and eats all of the treats as fast as she can. Maddie is 51 lbs now - quite an improvement from the 20+ she was at 6 months old. And, the best part, the vet thinks she'll stay small. (Happy me!!)
Maddie Girl will be 9 months old on Thursday. I'm glad she rescued us, because she's a sweetheart.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Dear Blogger...
You often piss me off.
Burst my bubble.
Ruin my day.
It took me almost two days to get the last post finished. I thought that maybe my computer was still having issues, but then I tried my laptop and was having the same luck.
Okay, so my day wasn't ruined, but you get the point.
Stop being a pain in my ass and just work with me damn it!
-Me
Burst my bubble.
Ruin my day.
It took me almost two days to get the last post finished. I thought that maybe my computer was still having issues, but then I tried my laptop and was having the same luck.
Okay, so my day wasn't ruined, but you get the point.
Stop being a pain in my ass and just work with me damn it!
-Me
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Our last GS outing
In First grade, Makena asked if she could join Girl Scouts. I thought it would be fun for her, so we signed her up.
The first meeting came and I mentioned that I could help out, 'when needed'. The meetings were being held out in Beaverton, so I wasn't going to have enough time to drive home. I had brought a book, but 20+ 6 & 7 years old made it difficult to read.
The second meeting came and the large group broke out in to two smaller groups. Ten girls was much easier for the Leader to handle. Books were purchased, cute little uniforms were picked out, they were now a Troop.
The third meeting came and the Leader decided that she could no longer lead the Troop; she just wasn't going to have time. She thought it would be great if I became the leader since I was already going to be at all the meetings. (Yah, great...) I looked around at 10 little girls waiting to see if I'd say yes so that they could continue in Girl Scouts.
Fast forward 8 years later. My Troop, Cadette Troop 41054, would be enjoying their last outing together. In the previous years, girls had left the Troop and others had joined. We'd spent hundreds of hours selling cookies; often in the cold rain and snow. We'd been to Girl Scout camp, twice. We'd been to Girl Fest, Caroling, Build-a-Bear and had backyard camp-outs . We'd stayed overnight at the zoo, twice. We'd volunteered in our community and completed our Silver Star Award. We'd spent a lot of time together. We'd grown.
As I look back, I'm glad that I said "Ok!" to becoming the Troop Leader. I've made some wonderful memories. I was secretly happy that the girls didn't want to quit when they entered Middle School. Our Troop was complete: McKenzie, Jessica, Makena, Hayley & Hailee. (In alphabetical order by last name, of course.)
I planned our last trip for 3 fun-filled days in Ocean Shores, WA. Unfortunately, Jessica was in Hawaii with her family, so she had to miss the trip.
After a 3.5 hour drive, plus another .5 hours for driving breaks, we arrived in Ocean Shores. We unpacked and headed to the beach.
Makena drew in the sand 'I {heart} MH' which stands for Makena, McKenzie, Hayley & Hailee. (Not in alphabetical order obviously.)
The next day, we walked down to the Family Fun Center for some mini golf, arcade games and bumper boats.
Then we did a little shopping at Sharkys.
After a quick stop for buckets & shovels, we headed back down to the beach.
Then we went back to the room so the girls could play some board games and then we hit the pool for a bit.
Then a movie - Soul Surfer - which may not have been the best choice considering we were playing in the ocean.
The next day was horseback riding on the beach.
Makena asked for a horse that didn't run. (Actually, I think that was unanimous.) My horse, 31, liked to bite Makena's horse; making her's run. She tried to stay as far away from me as she could.
I didn't realize how difficult it was to take pictures on a horse. Especially one that is trying hard to stay in front of the pack and I'm wanting him to fall behind.
Then someone got the fabulous idea to rent a multi-person bike. It.was.a.lot.of.work.
So we stopped off at the park to play for bit.
Even Lori had some fun!
Then back on the road.
We turned in our bike early, did a little shopping and then went bowling.
Where we rocked lane 2. Much more fun!
We tried to catch the sun setting on the beach, but the clouds weren't coperating with us. But we still had fun!
We did a little more shopping before heading home the next day. We were lucky to have three gorgeous days in Ocean Shores.
I'm going to miss those girls.
The first meeting came and I mentioned that I could help out, 'when needed'. The meetings were being held out in Beaverton, so I wasn't going to have enough time to drive home. I had brought a book, but 20+ 6 & 7 years old made it difficult to read.
The second meeting came and the large group broke out in to two smaller groups. Ten girls was much easier for the Leader to handle. Books were purchased, cute little uniforms were picked out, they were now a Troop.
The third meeting came and the Leader decided that she could no longer lead the Troop; she just wasn't going to have time. She thought it would be great if I became the leader since I was already going to be at all the meetings. (Yah, great...) I looked around at 10 little girls waiting to see if I'd say yes so that they could continue in Girl Scouts.
Fast forward 8 years later. My Troop, Cadette Troop 41054, would be enjoying their last outing together. In the previous years, girls had left the Troop and others had joined. We'd spent hundreds of hours selling cookies; often in the cold rain and snow. We'd been to Girl Scout camp, twice. We'd been to Girl Fest, Caroling, Build-a-Bear and had backyard camp-outs . We'd stayed overnight at the zoo, twice. We'd volunteered in our community and completed our Silver Star Award. We'd spent a lot of time together. We'd grown.
As I look back, I'm glad that I said "Ok!" to becoming the Troop Leader. I've made some wonderful memories. I was secretly happy that the girls didn't want to quit when they entered Middle School. Our Troop was complete: McKenzie, Jessica, Makena, Hayley & Hailee. (In alphabetical order by last name, of course.)
I planned our last trip for 3 fun-filled days in Ocean Shores, WA. Unfortunately, Jessica was in Hawaii with her family, so she had to miss the trip.
After a 3.5 hour drive, plus another .5 hours for driving breaks, we arrived in Ocean Shores. We unpacked and headed to the beach.
Makena drew in the sand 'I {heart} MH' which stands for Makena, McKenzie, Hayley & Hailee. (Not in alphabetical order obviously.)
The next day, we walked down to the Family Fun Center for some mini golf, arcade games and bumper boats.
Then we did a little shopping at Sharkys.
After a quick stop for buckets & shovels, we headed back down to the beach.
Then we went back to the room so the girls could play some board games and then we hit the pool for a bit.
Then a movie - Soul Surfer - which may not have been the best choice considering we were playing in the ocean.
The next day was horseback riding on the beach.
Makena asked for a horse that didn't run. (Actually, I think that was unanimous.) My horse, 31, liked to bite Makena's horse; making her's run. She tried to stay as far away from me as she could.
I didn't realize how difficult it was to take pictures on a horse. Especially one that is trying hard to stay in front of the pack and I'm wanting him to fall behind.
Then someone got the fabulous idea to rent a multi-person bike. It.was.a.lot.of.work.
So we stopped off at the park to play for bit.
Even Lori had some fun!
Then back on the road.
We turned in our bike early, did a little shopping and then went bowling. 
Where we rocked lane 2. Much more fun!
We tried to catch the sun setting on the beach, but the clouds weren't coperating with us. But we still had fun! 
We did a little more shopping before heading home the next day. We were lucky to have three gorgeous days in Ocean Shores.
I'm going to miss those girls.
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