Good times at the Pumpkin Patch

Due to busy weekends, we weren't able to get together at the pumpkin patch until this Saturday. Nikki & TeaLee ended up not feeling well and couldn't join us this year - we missed you two! We decided to head back to Lakeview Farms in North Plains again this year. We braved the drizzly Oregon weather in search for the perfect pumpkins, and to ride the train, boat and ponies.

Dylona is afraid (deathly) of snakes, so Kylah surprised her!

Ivie was loving the camera again today - crazy girl.

Kallie thought this tree was funny - it was.

on the boat ride over to the pumpkin patch

Kylah found a baby pumpkin

and Kallie just had to have it!

Makena was helping the girls push the wheelbarrow

Uncle Jamie gave the girls our gloves.

They were a little big, but the girls didn't mind.

Jamie found his pumpkin

Kallie found another one

Kallie was hiding in the hay maze

waiting to ride the ponies

our pumpkins

on the train ride back

Kallie-bug was talking to the piggies

Kylah wanted to join us in the corn maze.

Our first marker!

It took us a while, but we found all 5 of them.

Makena & Kylah were hiding from Jamie

Lunch at Rogue Distillery in North Plains

We got home, dried off and lounged around the house the rest of the day. I think Jamie even took a nap sometime between football games. Thanks again everyone - we had a great day!

Costumes!

We spent Saturday afternoon with Dylona, Kylah, Kallie & Ivie Rose. The YMCA was having a Fall party, so we took the kids there to play. The best part - they were able to wear their costumes!

Miss Ivie was loving the camera

Kylah behind the scary spider

It was nice out, so we walked to the Y

and played in the leaves.

All kinds of fun!

When Tracie got off of work, we decided to go to dinner. Makena wanted Chinese, so we headed to the one (and only) Chinese restaurant in Sherwood. After good food and full bellies, Makena and I headed home. Jamie had more Chinese food waiting for us there! : )

SIGG

Have an old SIGG bottle?

BY Carrie Sturrock - October 22, 2009

I recently wrote about SIGG's announcement that its water bottles manufactured before August 2008 contain a liner with Bisphenol A, a synthetic estrogen that has been proved to cause health problems in animals and that studies have linked to cancer, miscarriage and reproductive problems. The company is allowing customers with the old bottles to mail them in for new ones. But an even faster and cheaper (because you don't pay the postage) option is to take them to New Seasons. The local grocery chain will exchange them for new SIGG bottles or give credit toward another brand, such as Klean Kanteen or CamelBak. The SIGG exchange ends Oct. 31.

"We're happy to take old SIGG bottles back," said Marketing Director Helen Neville. I so wish I had known that before mailing my old bottles to SIGG nearly two weeks ago. I still haven't heard anything from them. In the meantime, I bought a Klean Kanteen bottle at New Seasons to keep me from purchasing anymore plastic throwaways. Wondering if your SIGG bottles have the old liner or the new one? If the interior has a coppery finish, it's old. A dull pale yellow interior means it's new.

15 Seconds

Just a friendly reminder...

You can try to stop the flu in its tracks by donning a flu mask and hazmat suit everywhere you go. Or you learn to do a proper hand washing in just 15 seconds, and wash your hands as frequently as possible. Disease-control specialists have said time and again that proper hand washing is the only way to fully protect yourself against disease, and a new study out of France shows that good hand-washing hygiene can protect us even more than we'd expect.

THE DETAILS: The French study, published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used computer models to examine healthcare worker and patient interactions. The researchers found the a single healthcare worker (a doctor, nurse, or technician who moves about a hospital frequently, visiting patients in different wards) who didn't wash hands could spread almost as much infection as the entire rest of the hospital staff put together.

WHAT IT MEANS: If a single healthcare worker can spread infection that rapidly around a hospital, just imagine how easily infections are spread in public among people who have frequent contact with others but don't exercise precautions. Hand washing is where it all starts, both to protect you and those around you. "Especially now with everything that's circulating, one of the most basic things you can do is practice good hand hygiene," says Lynn Cromer, RN

Whether in the hospital, at work, or puttering around the house, proper hand washing can save stop germs cold:

• Ask for it. When you're at the doctor's office, ask the doctors and nurses to wash their hands if you don't see them do it when they enter the room. Infection-control specialists recommend doing so as a way to protect yourself and others. You'll not only stay protected from the flu, but you'll also ward off potentially deadly MRSA bacteria and other germs.

• Don't sweat the heat. Proper hand washing has nothing to do with temperature, says Cromer. "Hot water will dry out your hands and make them more prone to dermatitis." And she has science to back her up: A 2005 study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found no difference in the presence of bacteria on hands washed in 120-degree F water compared with hands washed in 40-degree F water. "It's not the temperature of the water that matters," says Cromer. "It's the friction of washing hands and the running water washing off what you want to remove that kills bacteria." So you don't have to wait for the water to get as hot as you can stand it. Stick with warm water that's comfortable, so you'll be more prone to wash for the recommended 15 seconds, or just go with cold if you're in a rush.

• Wash properly. For optimal germ fighting, follow our hand-washing advice:
1. Wet your hands with warm running water. Cold will work in a pinch, but warm is more comfortable and you'll be less likely to stop too soon.
2. Add soap and rub hands vigorously for 15 to 20 seconds. The rubbing is critical, so don't skimp on it. Rub and lather all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, between your fingers, your fingertips, and under your fingernails.
3. Rinse, keeping your fingers pointed down. Rinsing is what washes the germs away, so be thorough.
4. Dry your hands vigorously with paper or a clean cloth towel to remove any straggling microbes. If someone in your house already has a flu infection, it’s best to use paper towels and toss the used paper in the trash (look for a brand made from recycled paper).
5. To avoid picking up stray germs, use a towel to turn off the faucet and to open the door afterward.

Routine

I am a person that likes a routine. I don't do well with change - and usually fight it every step of the way. (I'm pretty sure that I've blogged about this before in fact.)

• Blogger came out with some new editing tools. I was hesitant to try it, but hoped it would be 'better'. Well, all it did was piss me off. So, back to the old ways! I just wish the old ways would work like they are supposed to...
• I enjoy my blog, so I guess I've just got to deal with it as I don't want to change.
• I have used MSN for as long as I can remember. Jamie hates it and says it just comes with too many issues. Lately that is true. I now have emails that have returned to my inbox and won't delete -no matter what I do. As well as a person who likes routine, I am also an organized person. I don't like to have too many emails in my inbox at one time. Now that these emails have returned, I don't have a choice. They just won't go away...
• I did try to contact MSN for help - they suggested that I uninstall the program and then reinstall it. I can't tell you how many times I've done this - with no solutions. Now I can't even uninstall the program...
• I am comfortable with MSN, so I guess I've just got to deal with is as I don't want to change.
• I usually get up around 7am (this may be where I like change as longer would be better). I wake up Makena, make my coffee and sit down at my desk. I then like to read the blogs that I follow, the news, catch up on Facebook and a website with celebrity drama (my guilty pleasure). I don't usually get all of these things read before taking Makena to school, so I try to catch up with them throughout the day...
• Now that I'm trying to walk a minimum of 90 minutes a day on my treadmill, I've placed my laptop on it so that I can read blogs from there. That way I stay busy and am doing something other than just sitting on my butt reading blogs. But, this disrupts my morning routine and I'm having a hard time not automatically reading blogs. (Must be another guilty pleasure then.)
• Walking is a good thing so I guess I'm going to just have to make a change with this one...
  

Walden Island Days 80, 81 & 82

We were able to get up to the lake again last weekend. And, as usual, I was ready to go hours before Jamie was. (People always seem to need him from 2 - 5pm on Fridays.) We didn't make it up there before dark, but it wasn't raining so we weren't complaining!

After getting everything unpacked and organized, we sat and relaxed. Moxie was waiting for Lily to come play with her, but she must have already been in bed. Sadest thing to see...Moxie just sat in the yard waiting for Lily. When we finally made her come back in the house, she just cried.

We were lucky enough to get some sun breaks between downpours on Saturday. Jamie checked on the boats and then we went for a short walk around the island. We spent the rest of the day watching tv and relaxing. I even found time to read and take a nap!

Sunday was a bit more of the same thing. Jamie was ready for the Ravens game...great comback, but a loss. Then we cleaned up a bit outside - there were still a few things that needed to be put away for the season. I cleaned out the freezer and fridge as well as put final things away inside. Luckily for Moxie, Lily had finally come out to play! They ran and ran (and ran) for hours - Moxie was exhausted!

We do hope to get back up to the lake a few more times before it starts to freeze.

PINK overload?

A very important reminder from a fellow Relayer - thanks Pat!

Pink overload: Are companies taking advantage of Breast Cancer Awareness Month?

The reds and oranges of changing foliage may be the traditional colors of October, but pink is gaining on them fast as this month marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month. NFL players are wearing pink cleats and sweatbands, pink food is everywhere, and store aisles are awash in a sea of pink products, many bearing the familiar pink ribbon that signals breast cancer awareness and fundraising. But here’s the thing: Buying pink does not always mean your green will go to cancer research.

If you buy a cleaning product adorned with pink packaging and the ubiquitous breast cancer pink ribbon, for example, that pink ribbon is unlicensed and unregulated, so any company can use it, leaving the real work to consumers to figure out if the products they buy will really help the cause. Take Procter & Gamble’s pink ribbon-bedecked Swiffer mop. Daily Finance’s Aimee Picchi reports that although the words “early detection saves” accompany the Swiffer’s pink ribbon, simply purchasing the mop will not help fundraising efforts. Procter & Gamble told Picchi that the company will make a two-cent donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation only if a consumer uses a coupon from its brand saver coupon book, which could only be found in newspapers on Sept. 27.

"If the label says, 'Money will go to support breast cancer,' well, what does that mean?" Barbara Brenner, the executive director of advocacy group Breast Cancer Action, tells Daily Finance. "If it says it will support breast cancer awareness without being specific, it's not going anywhere."

Meanwhile, many companies that do give generously to breast-cancer fundraising efforts cap their donations, the Boston Globe notes in this extensive piece, "Sick of Pink," even if sales of pink-adorned products are strong and bring in more than expected. Partners of the Texas-based Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which raised nearly $50 million last year from more than 250 corporations that gave Komen some proceeds from product sales, are required to tell consumers on their product packaging how purchasing their products will help Komen, and whether the company has a minimum or maximum donation.

Pair heightened consumer awareness with growing outrage among women breast cancer survivors over the overly pink, overly sweet, over-commercialization of breast cancer, and you could have the makings of an anti-pink backlash. Author Barbara Ehrenreich was one of the first to give voice to outrage over the infantilization and commercialization of women’s breast cancer experiences in her 2001 Harper’s Magazine essay, “Welcome to Cancerland.” She wrote of the cornucopia, starting with teddy bears, of “pink-ribbon-themed breast-cancer products.""You can dress in pink-beribboned sweatshirts, denim shirts, pajamas, lingerie, aprons, loungewear, shoelaces, and socks; accessorize with pink rhinestone brooches, angel pins, scarves, caps, earrings, and bracelets; brighten up your home with breast-cancer candles, stained-glass pink-ribbon candleholders, coffee mugs, pendants, wind chimes, and night-lights; pay your bills with special BreastChecks or a separate line of Checks for the Cure. 'Awareness' beats secrecy and stigma of course, but I can't help noticing that the existential space in which a friend has earnestly advised me to "confront [my] mortality" bears a striking resemblance to the mall.”

On her blog, The Assertive Cancer Patient, Jeanne Sather also decries the pink-themed commercialization. She leads a “Boycott October” movement to put an end to the often misleading merchandising of the disease. “I keep hoping that each year will be the year that the tide turns, and women say ENOUGH to pink-ribbon Tic Tacs, pink-ribbon laundry soap, pink-ribbon panties, and all the other pink merchandise that appears every fall,” she writes on her blog.

So what’s a caring consumer to do? Breast Cancer Action’s “Think Before You Pink” campaign suggests five questions you can ask before laying down cash for a pink-tinged product. Number one: “How much money from your purchases actually goes toward breast cancer, and is the amount clearly stated on the package?”

You can also bypass products altogether and donate directly to organizations that give directly to cancer research and help women with cancer and their families. Here are a few:
Gilda's Club
Breast Cancer Action
Susan G. Komen for the Cure
National Breast Cancer Foundation
The American Cancer Society

I would also like to add to the list Relay For Life of Hillsboro. We Relay for a Cure!

Couple 'a things #10

• Found a new site www.goodfoodnearyou.com - it shows the best things to eat (and not so great things too) at restaurants near you. I haven't been to a restaurant in a while, but it's got some good info.
• I looked in to buying a desk for my treadmill so that I could work while walking - those things aren't cheap! I mentioned to Jamie that he could build me one...that's really far down on his To Do list tho. For now, I have a board laying across the handles and it holds my laptop. I'm not getting much work done, but I am watching some older tv shows on hulu.com. : )
• We are TiVo addicts! We have 3 of them recording up to two things at a time. I can't keep up with all of the shows! I've told Jamie that I just can't watch any new ones - I have to catch up on the ones that I already watch. He's chosen a few to add and is saving them for me. (Maybe I'll just find them on hulu.com.)
• One new show that Makena and I started watching is Amazing Race - craziness but we love it!
• If you haven't yet been to www.hulu.com - it's wonderful! Free tv on the computer (for when you have a break at work!)
• Still trying to get my 10,000 steps a day in and write down everything that I eat. I've always known that I don't crave sweets if I am drinking beer...making the 'beer at dinner' an even better excuse. Now that I'm not having the beer at dinner (or while making dinner, or just during the evening) the chocolate cravings are doubled! I think I inhaled an entire sheet of brownies this week and about 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies. I have no will power...it's just sad.
• I've noticed that a lot of other blogs have a Wordless Wednesday where they just share a photo. Maybe I'll try that too...I dunno.
• Still trying to figure out Facebook. I know there is (or should be) a place for me to change some additional settings.
• It seems like everyone is getting sick lately. (knock on wood) Makena and I have been lucky. I've only gotten the flu shot once, and don't even remember when, but don't plan to ever do so again. Makena begged me to not have to get the flu shot - I'm just not sure about it or the H1N1 either.
• I'm hoping to twist Jamie's arm and get up to the lake this weekend. Even if we can't play in the water, I miss it...

400+ Posts!

Wow...I didn't even realize that we have already posted more than 400 times on our blog! Thanks for visiting!!

In the Garden

Makena and I made it to the Leach Botanical Garden today. I was hoping to see some Fall colors, but instead found a composting demonstration center. I know not everyone would be excited about this, but I was! (I still would have liked to see some Fall colors tho.)

I gave Makena the map, and we were off! The sun was out, but at 55 degrees it was a bit chilly. That is until we started walking up and down the paths.

well of course that's what it is!

Makena found a new caterpillar friend

good thing they warned us

the Entrance to the Composting Center,

can you tell?

Other than a cat, some birds and the little green martians in a planter, Makena and I had the garden all to ourselves. We stayed on the paths as directed, but found a few unlocked gates of interest. We never did spot the banana slug...

Thanks again for going with me today Makena!

Playing in Fall

We didn't make it up to the lake like I had hoped, so I decided to go to a local botanical garden today. I know how lucky we have been with this beautiful Fall weather and didn't want to waste another day sitting in the house. But, by the time Makena & I were ready to go, I realized that we weren't going to have time. I knew that I would want to spend more than 30 minutes taking pictures. Makena seemed a little happier than I was about this. (I can't believe that she doesn't want to go walk around and take pictures with me all day!)

We decided to go to Good Will to look for items for Makena's Halloween costume and then to the library. I grabbed my camera as we were walking out the door...just in case. After some begging (a lot of begging) and pleading, Makena agreed to walk around the library with me and take some pictures.

playing with my lens

taking a break

she was hiding from the geese

then she wanted to get closer to them

but was a bit worried they would chase her

so she decided to flap her 'wings' to fit in

I think they caught on...

Hopefully we'll make it to the botanical garden tomorrow. Thanks for walking around with me Pook - love you!

CASA

Dining for a cause with Typhoon!

Starting in October, the first Tuesday of every month, order off of the special CASA menu and a portion of the proceeds will go directly to CASA! Lunch, dinner and carry out! Tell your friends! (Click here for the location nearest you.)

CASA for children thanks Typhoon! for giving us a unique opportunity to spread awareness of what we do to help children in foster care.

*****************************************************

Special Concert for the Sparkle Fund!

Mark on your calendars for a special concert to help support a very worthy cause. On Sunday, October 11th, from 6 – 9 pm, Henry Cooper, Dave Kahl, Dover Weinberg and Leonard Maxon will be performing at Kell’s Irish Pub to raise money to help benefit the Sparkle Foster Fund. The Sparkle Fund Inc. was created to provide for additional needs of children in the DHS Foster Care system, by filling the cracks and providing opportunities, not otherwise funded by the State. Having children in the foster care system has become a generational pattern. Many former foster children now have their own children experiencing the same type of care. The Sparkle Foster Fund hopes to break the cycle, by raising the self-esteem of these children, and exposing them to healthier life options.

Some examples of activities covered by this foundation are: summer camp, art classes, Boy/Girl Scouts including uniforms and badges, music classes, orthodontics, tutoring, and prom attire. The specific objectives and purposes of the Sparkle Foster Fund are: to provide educational and enrichment activities for children in the DHS foster care system in the State of Oregon; to engage in other activities related to educating the public concerning issues and concerns of children in the DHS foster care system; to assist children in the DHS foster care system with self-esteem building, life and self-efficiency skills, to eliminate their future need for public assistance.

Admission is $20. A bargain for certain when considering the good it is aimed for and you’ll also enjoy a terrific night of blues music, too!

****************************************************

I had my monthly visit with my CASA kids and their foster family the other day. I showed up with my camera bag, and they knew exactly what I had! I think someone may be getting a Fisher-Price childrens digital camera for Christmas...

I can't share pictures of the girls, but one of them had fun taking pictures around the house. I was told (several times) that my camera was 'just too heavy for little arms', so I told them that I would bring my smaller camera to the next visit. I was then reminded about my smaller camera (several times) before I left. : )

CASA For Children - Advocating for children who have been abused or neglected and are under the protection of the Courts in Oregon's Multnomah and Washington Counties.

Things turn out differently when you volunteer.

For more information on how to become a CASA or other volunteer opportunities please visit http://www.casahelpskids.org/

Quote for Today

Money can't buy happiness --

but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than in a Yugo.

Trust me on this one, I've owned both!

Couple 'a things #9

1. I found Makena's iPod in the bottom of my purse. She says that I, of course, put it there.
2. One of Makena's best friends is Madison - why Makena now wears a Madison necklace every day.
3. Finally caught up on the dishes - now I need to mow the yard. It's always something...
4. We're hoping to get up to the lake this weekend.
5. Cancer sucks!
6. Makena is quite the smartass - which is funny most of the time.
7. While running errands yesterday, Makena asked if we could stop by Burgerville - she knows I can't resist a Burgerville shake!
8. I decided to treat myself with a small pumpkin Burgerville shake (yum!!) - just when I opened my mouth to tell the lady not to put on whipped cream she says that she accidentally made a regular size instead of a small. "It's on the house." she smiles, so I HAD to accept it - whipped cream and all.
9. My scale noticed every sip of that pumpkin shake. See #8.
10. I just noticed that when I publish the post, the numbers don't show up on the Blog - only a flower type thing. So when I say "See #8" - there really isn't one!?! Sorry bout that...I do type it up as numbered sentences.

Couple 'a things #8

1. My house is colder inside than it is outside.
2. The dishes in my sink are still mysteriously multiplying.
3. Makena has lost her iPod & wallet.
4. Sometimes it sucks to own your own business - like payroll & tax time.
5. I've seen the same guy jogging down TV Hwy for days - tanning bed tan, hair neatly done with frosted tips, matching outfit and huge white sunglasses - hope he's getting a workout.
6. Taking 10,000 steps a day is more work than I thought.
7. Christmas is 80 days away.
8. The Relay For Life of Hillsboro 2010 Kick-off Event is on October 31 - I have part of my costume done, but haven't decided on a team name yet.
9. Makena's school pictures are back - she's visibly wearing a Madison necklace and doesn't see anything wrong with it.
10. I'm so done with Sookie Stackhouse and wish the 'show could go on without her'.
11. Jamie is feeling better now - 3 full days in bed must have done the trick.
12. I wish I could get a raise - see #4 and #7.
13. Why, why, WHY do we have to keep hearing about Jon & Kate? I hope the "8" turn out better.
14. I don't think I'll ever understand payroll taxes, payroll documents or payroll fees - payroll just sucks.
15. Sadly, the USA has been in Afghanistan for 8 years now and it seems that's where we'll stay - keeping positive thoughts of a safe return for all!!