Good Things

Here are a couple of "good" things I've seen the past few days.

1. FEED - help feed the children of the world. Sponsored by Whole Foods Market
2. Peaceful Valley - Earth friendly gifts. Find over 30 gifts for under $30.
3. Cocoa Daisy - "Making a Difference" Food Drive
4. OEC - BPA (plastics) take another hit
5. Adopt a Turkey - why not!? End the misery of commercial raised turkeys.

Something to Ponder: Why is it when you are waiting for the bus, someone asks "Has the bus come yet?" Would you still be standing there if it had??

Catchin' up

Boy, I get a little sinus infection and totally become a permanent fixture on the couch for several days in a row. I started taking Sudafed and drinking Gojo Berry tea on Sunday, hoping to get better. Jamie told me to 'kill it' with meds (he'd buy everything in the store that said sinus infection on it) and Rick told me to 'drown it' with tons of water and a hot bath. After having a fever for almost 12 full hours on Monday, all I wanted to do was sleep. After several cans of chicken noodle soup, I am feeling better but still sitting here on the couch. Why ruin a good thing right?

Makena and I both enjoyed soup for dinner on Monday night. And, when Jamie is gone she always sleeps with me - we stayed up reading for a while. On Tuesday, we ordered dinner from one of our favorite Chinese food restaurants - Happy Panda - and then went to bed to read some more. I picked up Jamie from the airport after 5pm on Wednesday...about 30 minutes late due to traffic. Then our friend Jaime ('the other Jaime') arrived and took us to dinner at PF Changs. I was not happy to find out they they took my favorite duck dish off of the menu. So...I tried a new Ahi-tuna dish and totally recommend it. They also have yummy organic green tea!

I must have gotten caught up my sleep this week, because I didn't fall asleep until 3am this morning. (I must have been thinking of you Kathy!) Then...I was up by 8am...

Couple of other things over the last few days:

1. My Grandma Neena is feeling much better now and is doing great! Thanks for all the good thoughts everyone! (We love you Grandma!)
2. I'm now an Etsy addict! If you haven't gone to Etsy.com, you should! I spent 4 hours on there yesterday. I've been shopping for homemade/recycled gifts like crazy.
3. I recently purchased a small laminating machine to make a few Christmas gifts and some Relay fundraising items (hopefully). Can't wait to use it!
4. Makena will be learning to crochet so that she can make amigurumi items as a fundraiser for her Relay team. She's already told her friends that they all have to buy one. : )
5. Makena, Jamie and I are going to see the Twilight movie tomorrow after Makena gets out of school. She decided that she wanted to see it - Jamie is going along so he doesn't miss out.
6. I am organizing a couple of dinner nights with local restaurants to do Relay fundraisers - Extreme Pizza and Chevy's and maybe others. More info in 2009.
7. Another fundraiser that I organized for Relay (and am very excited about) is for www.Greenraising.com You can choose 25% of your purchases (GREEN purchases) to go towards Relay For Life of Hillsboro! I'll have more info out to everyone soon.
8. There were new stores added to iGive.com this week. This has been a great team fundraiser for my Relay team...please sign up and shop to support our cause!
9. And yet...another FUNdraiser that my Relay team (Tami's Full-House of Champions) is doing is a RAZ Transportation bus to Spirit Mountain Casino on January 31st! I'll have flyers out soon...been working on that today too.
10. Okay...ONE more FUNdraiser! My Relay team will be doing a 'track you laps' fundraiser at the Relay Event (June 20 & 21, 2009) You buy the necklace for $2 and then earn a (free) bead at every lap to track your laps. More info. in 2009.

I'll leave you with a picture of Makena eating one of her favorite things...pickles. Papa brought this gimanous jar for her birthday...she's loving it!

Something to Ponder: When people say "Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too." Umm...Isn't that the point of a cake??

Great American Smokeout Day!

Today is the 33rd Great American Smokeout, and the American Cancer Society continues its legacy of providing free resources to help smokers quit. The Great American Smokeout was inaugurated in 1976 to inspire and encourage smokers to quit for one day. Now, 44.2 percent of the 45.3 million Americans who smoke have attempted to quit for at least one day in the past year, and the Great American Smokeout remains a great opportunity to encourage people to commit to making a long-term plan to quit for good.

Smoking is by far the leading risk factor for lung cancer. Tobacco smoke causes nearly 9 out of 10 cases of lung cancer. Stopping smoking at any age lowers the risk of lung cancer. People who don’t smoke but who breathe the smoke of others may also be at a higher risk for lung cancer. Non-smoking spouses who live with a smoker, for example, have about a 20% to 30% greater risk of developing lung cancer than do spouses of non-smokers. (Again, that's why I can't wait for January 2009 here in Oregon!)

Go to Great American Smokeout Challenge for more options. And...more information can be found on the Relay For Life of Hillsboro website too! (For some reason the link won't work... www.relayforlife.org/hillsboroor )

Goodies

Jamie woke me up this morning in time to take him to the airport. Unfortunately, my headache had not gone away and my chest and throat were still hurting too. I'm not sure if I was getting sick before hanging out in a smoky bar, or if the smoke just really, really hit me hard.

After taking Jamie to the airport, I headed back to the Red Lion for a Holiday Bazaar that was being held by American Cancer Society for Relay teams to fundraise. I found some great little goodies! A couple of Christmas gifts and something for me of course. This was the first year, and it looks like things went well. I'm hoping to get a table for my team there next year.

the cute bag that caught my eye from across the room

After I got back home, I decided to clean out my truck. Jamie has been driving it for over a week - with Moxie - and it was filthy. It was another nice day, so I wanted to get it done. We had the bed of the truck carpeted so Moxie would be comfortable, but Jamie always puts her bed in the back seat. He says she likes it better in there with him. He won't be back home until Wednesday afternoon (in Cali & Vegas for conferences & meetings) so at least it will be clean for a few days. : )

I took a little nap (about 20 minutes) and then flipped on the tv. Here I still sit, on the couch, with Makena's laptop. Guess I'd better make myself some dinner and then go to bed. Hopefully I'll get some sleep tonight (more than the 2 hours at a time I've gotten the last two nights) and feel better tomorrow. I hope everyone was able to enjoy the sunshine too!

Relay University

WOW...another great day at Relay University. The conference was held at Red Lion - Jantzen Beach this year. There were wonderful speakers and training sessions with tons of information. And, of course, many (many) wonderful Relayers!!

I wish I would have been feeling better - I woke up with a horrible headache and my body hurt from the night before. I didn't get much sleep, and I know the smoky lounge didn't help. A long, hot shower wasn't the 'cure all' this time. I tried to retain all of the information that I could tho.

Hillsboro (which we all know is awesome!) was given 4 awards this year. We were awarded Pacesetter Event for the 2nd year in a row, 1st Place for Online Fundraising, 2nd Place for Survivors in attendance and 3rd Place for Top Fundraising Event. These were for our Relay Region - Portland Metro & Clark County WA. We work very hard as a committee all year long, and were very excited about our achievements. Don't forget to visit our website - www.relayforlife.org/hillsboroor.

a colon polyp poster that I brought home

HOPE –verb
1. to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence.
2.to believe, desire, or trust.

Bowling night

So we went bowling on Friday night for Cousin's (Steve) birthday. For some reason, I wasn't in the mood to bowl and mingle much...and by the end of the night was pretty grouchy. Everyone in the lounge was smoking (I can't wait for January!) and my head was throbbing by the time we left. (Which, was very early in the morning.)

Get it T!


Jamie


Chad

Tamara & Leah

Leah & Cousin (Happy Birthday Steve)

Couple 'a things

1. I didn't win any of the gift baskets at the conference yesterday.
2. I climbed the stairs so many times at the Convention Center yesterday that my thighs are still burning.
3. We didn't get very many captains at the Relay Rally last night, but we did have someone volunteer to be the Ceremonies Chair!
4. I have an all day conference for Relay tomorrow...a lot of 'learning' for me in two days!
5. Jamie & Rick are going to Garibaldi tomorrow to pick up our trailer of wood and Rudy's smaller boat. (The boat that we borrow to go back/forth from the island.)
6. We're going to a bowling alley tonight for a friends birthday, and it wasn't until this morning that it even crossed my mind I may have to actually bowl.
7. People watching is especially fun on the Max train! (Oh the stories you can hear...)
8. The sun is out for the second day in a row, so I'm going to attempt to mow the yard.
9. Tami's Full-House of Champions is currently the #1 fundraising team (woo-who!!) and we have 11 people registered already. Thanks guys!!
10. Here is the cute bracelet that I bought at yesterday's conference - cute little kids on the beads and one says CASA. I'm not much into jewelry, but I really liked it.

TOODLES...

From the Convention Center

I'm sitting at a window at the Convention Center - I'm at an all day conference. I had to get up early - 6am (that's early for me) to get ready and to be at the Max station by 7am.

The conference is for DHS, family service departments, foster parents, adoptive parents, attorneys and CASA volunteers that work with children and families here in Oregon. There are over 700 amazing people here - all wanting to learn how we can better service and help children and families in our state.

The first speaker (Rita Cameron Wedding) spoke to us regarding bias and stereo-typing. She was excellent! Hopefully I can find more about her to post when I'm home. The first thing she did was turn on Shakira's song 'Hips Dont Lie' and had everyone up on their feet clapping and dancing. Mind you...it's still not 9am yet! : ) (The older lady sitting next to me didn't have any idea who Shakira was and didn't want to be dancing.)

Oh...lunch is over now so I guess I'd better be moving along to my next session; Engaging Families with Addictions. Then I'm on to Creating Family Connections. I should be done here by 5pm...back on the Max and then off to a Relay Team Captain meeting by 6:30pm

I did bring some snacks today, but after I put a few almonds in my mouth I realized how loud they were to eat. I bought a cute little CASA charm bracelet as well as more CASA cards (I'll put a link for that here later) and put my name in for some gift baskets. Hopefully they'll pull my name! : )

Off for more learning...I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful blue sky!

Couple 'a things

Makena and went to see 'Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa' yesterday. It was cute...like the first one. I need to remind myself before going in to the theater to watch an animated movie, that there will be "kids" there. Kids that run around, kids that talk throughout the movie, kids that suck on their bottles right behind you, kids that kick the seats, kids that laugh hysterically at the credits (okay, that part is funny)...and then there are the "other kids" that are texting on their phone throughout the movie so you can see their phone light up every few minutes. At least the popcorn is good right?!? (I guess it better be for $5!)

We were going to go to the Japanese Rose Garden - they had free admission yesterday. But, the rain and wind picked up so Makena said "Um...no." Off to the movie theater then!

I weighed myself the other day for the first time in over 6 months (pre-foot injury). I was so disappointed in myself! I like to eat healthy and be active, but hurting my foot gave me the excuse to do nothing. Sooo...I'm back to journaling my food & drinks, weighing and measuring out my food and counting (sniff-sniff) beers. Most importantly, I'm back to walking/running on the treadmill 4+ times a week for 2.5 - 3 miles at a time, using the exercise ball and the dumb-bells. I haven't tried the jumprope yet again...still a little worried about what that will do to my foot. Sadly, I spent years of my life learning how to eat properly to gain weight... I have to admit though, I'm much happier with myself now and am enjoying life more. So, that's what's most important.

Because I was pretty much lazy yesterday, I have to catch up on the piles growing on my desk. I have an all day conference tomorrow for CASA at the Convention Center downtown, and then a Relay meeting in the evening. Then I have an all day conference for Relay on Saturday. We were thinking about going to Garibaldi on Sunday, but that may just be a football day at home for Jamie.

Tip for a better life: Try to make at least 3 people smile each day.

"Why I smiled today" - I made Makena crepes this morning and she was very happy.

Baby Girl

Isn't Moxie cute...all snuggled up with her 'baby' in her bed.

Veteran's Day

Veteran’s Day, the day America honors the men and woman who serve in the military, is today. This holiday is not about your position on war or peace or military spending. It’s about the women and men who voluntarily serve our country to make it a better place. Let's honor them.

Walden Island - Day 43, 44 & 45

We had a nice weekend on Walden Island. It did rain quite a bit, but we got some sun breaks both Saturday and Sunday. My rain barrels are already full!

We left Beaverton around 4pm on Friday - after picking Makena up from school - hoping to make it to Silver Lake before it got dark or started raining. We were sure we were going to hit a lot of traffic, but were lucky not to. Makena was, of course, hungry so we stopped for food...setting us back a bit. Then, just before Longview, I mentioned that someone (me) forgot the battery charger for our tools. Jamie stopped at Home Depot to buy a new charger (one that we left in the shed). By this time, it was dark...but still dry. Just before getting to Castle Rock, it started to rain. BUT...we got to the lake, loaded things up quickly and got over to the island without too much trouble. (Apparently I don't melt in the rain like I thought.)

I was helping Jamie unload the flooring (that he purchased from a store going out of business) from the boat to the wheelbarrow. Someone (me) couldn't keep the wheelbarrow from tipping and one of the boxes of flooring fell into the lake. Jamie quickly pulled it out and we got it up to the shed to dry out. Whew!

Jamie and I tried to finish installing the insulation upstairs so that we could get everything cleaned up and the beds made. But halfway through the ceiling work, someone (Jamie) ran out of staples in his staple gun. We'll have to finish the ceiling another time, oh well. It's so much warmer upstairs now though, and it's nice to know that the pieces flying around (and getting into our bodies) are only recycled denim or cotton - not fiberglass, itchy, crappy stuff. It was totally worth the extra money!

And, no, we never planned on insulating the shed or laying any flooring. But, Jamie doesn't like being cold so it had to be done! : ) There was a lot of cold air coming in through the floor and any heat that we had was just creeping out through the ceiling. It was worth the effort - even though it's "The Shed".

When the sun came out on Saturday, I walked around the island to get some pictures. You can find the rest of the photos at Amber's Pix.

All of the leaves have fallen off of the trees behind us.

a couple of lonely dandy-lions

Jamie and I installed the flooring on Saturday. Our motto is: "Do it wrong the first time so that you know when it's done right!" There weren't any sort of directions, but we got finally got it figured out.

We played games on Saturday night and had some good laughs...at each other.

We also watched a few more movies this weekend, and Makena and I did some reading. Makena spent most of her time in bed with her laptop though - not too unusual for her.

It was pretty cold when we left on Sunday, but luckily it wasn't raining too hard. We left around 3:30pm to make sure we could load/unload in the daylight.

You can see our shed there...might click on the photo to enlarge it

One-Minute Writer

One of the blogs that I like to follow is One-Minute Writer. I can spend at least one minute a day writing something in my journal - and get some great topics to write about here. Sometimes one minute is far too short...other times I just need to write a quick sentence and I'm happy.

The 'writing prompt' on Monday was: Coin - Coin a word to describe your present life. I thought this was interesting, but it took me forever to coin a word for my life. I mean, there are many words, but I wanted a cool one! As my minute was counting down, I finally came up with: Eco-Happyfast (Yah...not as cool as I was thinking.) "Eco" - trying to be eco friendly in my life for my daughter's future, "Happy" - damn I'm happy! and "Fast" - time is flying by really fast and I'm trying to keep up with it. (Okay...it sounds cool now!)

What would your word be??

Things I know

1. Taye Diggs is a gorgeous
2. Organic fruits & veggies taste better
3. New/sharp knives cut tomatoes really well - and fingers too
4. I want to be Chef Emeril Lagasse for a day
5. It's much easier to put yourself down than it is to compliment yourself
6. Santa Paws is at the Oregon Humane Society this Sunday (Nov. 9)
7. I'm very ready for pumpkin pie and turkey (and more pumpkin pie)
8. Some of our neighbors already have their Christmas lights up and it's too early
9. The mushrooms growing in my backyard are not edible
10. Sometimes it's hard to come up with 10 different 'things I know' : )

We are going up to the lake tomorrow after we pick up Makena from school. I've already told her to be prepared to get wet on the way over to the island! We have several movies ready to watch over the weekend, and we'll enjoy them while laying under our new electric blankets.

My favorite room

My favorite room in our house has to be our master bathroom. When we decided to build a house, we were involved with every major and minor decision of the house - even choosing the actual design. We liked the layout of the house, but weren't totally happy with the way the master bathroom was. We knew a couple of things: we didn't want the closet inside the bathroom, we didn't want the toilet in a separate room inside the bathroom and Jamie didn't want a tub/shower but a tub separate from the shower. I didn't see any reason for a separate tub, but Jamie was getting his tub no matter what.

So, while we were enjoying a wonderful vacation in Hawaii (and Lindsey & Brandon's wedding) we received a phone call that the toilet 'doesn't fit in the bathroom anymore'. (Yes, that's what they told us.) I'm still not sure how they just got rid of the toilet in a design, but we got everything fixed when we got home. Jamie found the tub he wanted, which included jets and a heater to keep the water warm. We installed a tv w/satellite and still enjoy it every chance we can get almost 6 years later. After 2+ hours in the heated tub, a good book and a lot of candles, I have to thank him for wanting that tub. And that is just what I did last night...enjoyed the tub.

Makena Jade

Makena loves the Twilight series so much, she's reading it again for the 3rd time! She bought some cute Twilight earrings and a necklace and she designed this shirt; which arrived yesterday. She couldn't wait to wear it to school today.

(click on the picture to enlarge)

Makena drew this of herself (before haircut) - she has the shirt and skirt.

"Why I smiled today" - I try to brush and style Makena's hair, but as soon as I leave the room she grabs the brush and brushes it straight back onto her face...where she likes it.

So Proud

I am so proud of the decision made by our country in the Presidential Election last night! I truly believe that this is only going to bring better things to the United States. YES WE CAN!


AND...this was the highest voter turn out in over 40 years. The highest numbers in women and youth voters as well. Sadly it was also the longest and most expensive election in History.

RFL of Hillsboro 2009

Tami's Full-House of Champions teams are registered and ready for participants! Relay For Life of Hillsboro 2009 is Saturday, June 20 & Sunday, June 21 2009 at the Hillsboro Stadium. Go to Relay For Life of Hillsboro for more information or to register for the event.

We are also looking for people to help out on the committee. Let me know if you would like to volunteer, or if you have any questions.

BUNCO!

Well...I actually didn't get a Bunco, but I had fun playing! Kathy & I were new to Bunco and found that it was easy to learn. We even won and lost the same amount of games...which was not the most losses by the way. It was a fun drive up to Camas - thanks again for the invite Kathy and for driving!

As far as we know, Oregon lost their gambling license again so no poker or Bunco for us. But...we are in the process of finding some new FUNdraising activities. Let me know if you have any ideas!

Rosemary, Rhonda, Mary, Me & Kathy

"Why I smiled today" - Kathy did get a Bunco, and if you know Kathy, she was very excited! : )

Trick-or-Treat

We had fun going trick-or-treating with the kids last night. It turned out to be a great night for them! They got lots of yummy candy - that they even shared with us!

Kylah (Princess Fairy)

Kallie (Ladybug)

Ivie (Purple Witch)

TeaLee (Hannah Montana) & Nikki (Sorceress)

The rest of the photos are at www.picasaweb.google.com/amberzpix

When we got home, all of the Capri-Suns were gone and there were even two returned to be recycled! (I had left a note on the door to let everyone know we would recycle empty pouches.)

We decided not to go up to the lake today...instead we're just gonna lay around and watch movies. Tomorrow I'll clean up the house (it's VERY much needed) and then I'm off to Camas, WA for a Bunco fundraiser for one of their Relay teams. Wish me luck - I've never played!

DON'T FORGET TO SET BACK YOUR CLOCKS 1 HR!