Should have snagged a pumpkin pie!

I had about 40 minutes to kill before I did my food pantry pick up this morning. I had my camera, it wasn't raining, so I decided to go to a little park by Makena's school.

There were a couple of women there walking their dogs. One asked if I was scouting out a location for a photo shoot - me?!? - "nope" I told her "just taking pictures of the park". "Oh" she had a surprised look on her face.

It's a very small park, but I found lots of great things to take pictures of.

When I arrived at the food pantry, someone else was making a delivery. I immediately spotted small, individual pumpkin pies - yum! I began unloading my truck, and both men went behind the van, I stared at the pies...

Would anyone notice?

Was I drooling?

Maybe I'll just see how fresh they are?

Then the men came back around the van and asked if I needed help unloading. Damn...missed opportunity!

A full day of Happy, Happy; Joy, Joy

I was up by 7am on Saturday morning to get ready for the 2009-10 Relay Summit. There were more than 450 RELAYERS at our Summit this year - AMAZING!!! Relay is such a powerful event - Summit lets us celebrate our achievements and get ready for another great Relay Season!

the enthusiastic Kathy Cina - Beaverton Event Chair

The American Cancer Society is the 'Official Sponsor of Birthdays',

so Summit had a Birthday theme

We are never...Alone

If we continue to...Remember...

After I returned home from Summit, Jamie and I headed out for a surprise birthday party for Andrea. Andrea & Brian used to live next door to us, but (without even consulting us!?!) they moved to Hermiston. Yah, it's not a short trip for a visit anymore!

Andrea surprised everyone by showing up early for her party! : ) She was getting upset at Brian for 'wasting time' and they showed up to party 45 minutes early - she was surprised to see everyone show up tho (mostly to see us I'm sure).

The party was a Greek theme - lots of Greek wine and food! Thankfully, no Togas! Happy Birthday Andrea!

And, does it get better you ask - why YES it does!! A belly dancer was hired for the party - a male belly dancer, found on Craigslist and needing a ride from the Max! (True story people.) And here is a picture of the male belly dancer with a hoe on his head...and that's just how the party continued to go...

the Birthday girl & the Belly dancer

(That sounds like the beginning of a good story doesn't it?)

Why yes, of course, I have a video for you!

After leaving Andrea's party, we headed over to the bowling alley for Cousin's Birthday party! Happy Birthday Cousin (Steve)!

Leah & Cousin

A full day of CELEBRATING BIRTHDAYS - what a great thing!

Getting closer to completing the front room and my office!

My chair finally came in today - I'm one step closer to being finished with the front room and my office!!

• New paint - 3 coats of metallic creamy copper - CHECK
• New curtains - red spice - CHECK
• New curtain rods - brushed nickel - CHECK
• New chair - black, lunar from Dania - CHECK
• Swap out small bookshelf for small black table - CHECK
• New print - Laugh as much as you breath, Love as much as you Live - CHECK
• New lamp & light fixtures - still looking...
• Update a few photos in frames - still working on that...
• Stain oak bookcase black - still drying...

The chair is black, but more of a charcoal-black color. To get the full black one, it would take another 3 to 4 months and I'm not sure if I want to wait that much longer or not. This one may just work out for me! It's comfy - I can't wait to sit and read a book in it.

As soon as I'm totally done with this room, I'm moving to the living room. I'd like to paint a wall or two and get a new lamp in there too...we'll see what I get done.

Driving around; looking for something to take pictures of.

I went out to visit my sister for a bit this morning. I kindly woke her up from a good-night's sleep.

You're welcome T. : )

On my way home, I decided to take a few side streets to see what I could find to take pictures of. I turned off my radio, drove slowly and enjoyed the hour or so to myself.

Plenty of reasons to make me smile today.

Honoring our American Heros

We honor those today that bravely fought and continue to fight for our country.

Special thoughts for my great-grandfather who served in WWI and my grandfather who served in WWII.

Wishing that all active soldiers have a safe and quick return home.

THANKS TO YOU we continue to live free.

Goodness; made by me, loved by me

A few months ago, I found a new pumpkin muffin recipe to try. Each time I've added different ingredients, and each time I love them even more! Jamie & Makena don't like pumpkin (I know - WHAT?!?) or oats, so these yummy muffins are mine-all-mine. And...I'll eat them all in just a few days so that I can make a new, yummier batch!

Fun is had by all at Ikea

I conned Jamie in to going shopping with me on Saturday by making him breakfast in bed. He'd had a long night of cards, lost money and consumed a lot of alcohol, but I let him sleep late and made everything he likes to eat. He agreed to go. : )

We have been looking for the perfect chair for our front room for years. We had one, but when Moxie was a puppy, she destroyed it. We had left her at home for a while, her ball got stuck under the chair, and she dug and dug and dug until she got to it. Needless to say, we had to throw out the chair. We think we've found one that we both like, but we've done a lot of shopping to find it! And now that I've painted the room, I want the chair!

One of our stops yesterday was Ikea. I can spend hours there...Jamie can not. (Actually, I can only spend hours there during the week when not everyone else in Oregon is there with thier kids.) But, we were out, and I had some things to take back. After Jamie told me he didn't like most of the shelving that I had picked out, we left - only to find two beautiful rainbows! And look, one of them leads directly to Ikea! : )

I sent this picture to my friend Kathy

- she spends way more hours at Ikea than I do!

We did find a new DVD shelf thing that we both liked. We don't have a ton of DVD's, but the Wii games are the same size and had taken over. I took a picture of the instruction book - look how much fun it is to put together items from Ikea! (By the way - Jamie and I decided to stay dressed - you're welcome.)

Finally...my coffee is cozy. Thanks Kathy!

I received this fabulous gift (picked just for me can you tell?) in the mail the other day. Thanks for thinking of my Kathy!! And, thanks for putting an end to that secret - it was killing me! : )

Kathy made these Coffee Cozies for a Cure for a FUNdraiser. Not only will your coffee be cozy, 100% of the sales goes to the Relay For Life of Beaverton. She is selling them for $3.00 each or two for $5.00. Kathy will also be at HOPE for the Holidays Expo - a Relay Holiday Bazaar on Nov. 15th Red Lion @Jantzen Beach hotel. (I'll be there for a bit too, only I'll just be shopping!) Contact Kathy at kathycina@gmail.com to order your very own.

It smells like drive-thru in here

So, I got into a little trouble last night. Not trouble like I'm going to have to sleep on the couch all week, but trouble. Well...I may have been in the 'couch' kind of trouble, but Makena was home to save me.

"Hey, did I tell you guys that I volunteered to deliver food to a local food pantry?" I nonchalantly say as I'm getting dinner ready

"Mom!?!" - "Sweetie!?!" Jamie & Makena respond at the same time

"I thought we talked about this?" Jamie says as Makena says "I thought we talked about you not volunteering to do so many things."

hmmm...I don't remember having THAT conversation. I remember Jamie telling me that I couldn't volunteer for The Forgotten Network/DoeNetwork (from the new tv series The Forgotten) to help with unidentified, missing persons. And, I remember Makena telling me that I volunteer for too many things. But, I don't recall any other conversations. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

"Well, it's a volunteer schedule that I can sign up to do as often as I want. It's called Fork it Over and I just pick up extra food from school cafeterias and deliver them to a local food pantry." I continue to tell them...waiting to see if they were as excited as I was about it.

"Yuk" Makena says "Who wants our cafeteria food?" Apparentlly she wasn't excited about it.

"People who don't have food." I remind her "I drop Makena off at school and then drive to the schools on my route. I'm out there anyways. It's not supposed to take more than an hour. I can do it once a week, once a month or whatever."

"Sweetie - this can't cut in to your work. From 9 - 5 you are supposed to be working." Jamie "the boss" says

"I'll have to work late on Wednesday then, cuz I won't be in at 9." I smile (with no return smile from him) Maybe I need to find an assistant?? "Let me just see how this month goes."

So, I did my first pick up/delivery this morning! After getting back in the car from my 3rd stop, I realized that the car smelled like drive-thru. I don't really like fast food, so that's not a good smell to me. Good thing I was in Jamie's car huh? (He didn't find that funny when I told him about the smell tho.)

I found the food pantry; mostly because there were several people with small children just standing around a building. Some had boxes, others had carts or baskets. I rolled up in the Benz, ready to full-fill my volunteer duties. (Actually, I was ready to just give all of those hungry people the food I had as well as the coat I was wearing.) A nice man came out with a push-cart to unload what I had brought.

"I can get it." I say as I reach in to grab a box.

"Oh, it's okay." he says "You don't have to touch it."

Here is where I will refer again to 'the Benz'. It seems that I always end up driving Jamie's car when I need to deliver food, blankets, clothes, etc to shelters - which just makes me feel bad. He constantly reminds me that I shouldn't feel bad for things that we have - things that we've worked for. I don't...but I do. The car is 10 years old and well loved, but it's still a Mercedes. For some reason I don't always feel that way when I drive my truck (a Toyota Tundra - new and more loved by me). I'm just assuming that I'm being judged for driving the Benz and I'm not sure why that bothers me. I know I am judged for things, but those things I don't care about. Okay...off topic now...back to Fork it Over...

"I can help." I tell the nice man and grab a box.

"Thank you so much for your help." he says as he begins to return to the food pantry "We really appreciate it."

That's all that I needed to hear - I'm now over the Benz thing! Wheww...glad he brought me back down to Earth.

If you are interested in volunteering with Fork it Over, or know someone who would be, let me know. You get to do a good thing and have your car smell like drive-thru!

Is your light bulb (upstairs) on?

Energy Trust of Oregon wants people to know many new specialty CFL bulbs are just right for those odd fixtures. And until Dec. 31, the bulbs are being discounted at retailers throughout Oregon.

"Most homeowners are surprised to learn that many homes today are wasting more than half of the energy they use, Kendall Youngblood, residential sector manager for Energy Trust, said in a statement. "With lighting accounting for 20 percent of a home's electric costs, switching to CFLs can make a significant and immediate difference." For every 60-watt incandescent bulb you replace with a CFL, you can save $30 in electric costs over the life of the bulb. And no coupon is needed for the new bulbs.

Energy Trust worked with participating retailers statewide, and the savings are reflected in the shelf price. Those retailers include Albertsons; Bed, Bath & Beyond; C&K Market; Fred Meyer; Grover Electric and Plumbing Supply; Haggen; Harvest Foods; Lowe's; Perry's Electric & Plumbing Supply; Platt Electric Supply; Roth's Fresh Markets; Searing Electric & Plumbing; Home Depot; and Walmart.

To learn more about CFLs, including information on recycling and proper disposal, visit www.energytrust.org.

Save me a Twix!

Jamie wanted us to dress up for Halloween this year. I was thinking "no", but it worked out that I was dressing up a bit for the Relay Kick-off anyways. Jamie tends to wait til the last minute to do most things, and finding a costume was no different. He decided to rent a costume on Saturday afternoon. And because I was dressed as the Earthy/Sprite, he chose a Robin Hood costume.

The costume came with green tights (actual tights) to wear under the jacket - ummm, not a good look when going out in public! I told Jamie that he couldn't wear it to go trick-or-treating with the girls. He put shorts on over them and it was much more appropriate. Then, as he was finishing getting dressed, he put a big hole in the tights. (Funniest part of my week right then!)

"Crap! Can you fix this?" he asks and shows me the fist size hole
"No." I answered
"What? Why not?"
"What would I fix it with? It's tights."
"Well is it going to keep getting bigger?"
"Yep."
"Then I can't wear them. We need new ones."
"Honey - I don't think we're going to find huge, green tights right now."
We ran up to Fred Meyers and I found black leggings for him in the woman's athletic department.
"These are so much better!" and Robin Hood was ready to go

this is a pre-leggings pix We started our evening at the Flaherty's so we could go trick-or-treating with the kids. Tracie and Ivie weren't feeling well, and needed to recoup at home. Makena was at her dad's for the weekend, and at a Halloween party that night. We missed you guys!!

TeaLee was finishing up her makeup

a red-neck pumpkin

heading back home to eat our treats! The Flahertys

TeaLee's goodies

always fun times after lots of candy!

We hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Hitting the streets of Hillsboro

After trick-or-treating, Jamie and I headed to Hillsboro to meet up with some friends. The first place we went to had a costume contest that Jamie and Mark entered. Mark took 2nd place dressed as a toaster.

Some of the costumes were good, some were not so good and others, well...I'm not sure if they were costumes or not. Downtown Hillsboro isn't known for it's 'upper class' bars, and these included the two places we went. (Places that I don't plan to visit again any time soon!) I told Jamie that I could see the H1N1 virus floating around and that I was wishing for a bathtub of Purell to dive in to. Neither of us had a fever today, so far so good!

One place that I do want to mention in downtown Hillsboro is the Venetian. (It, of course, closed early on Halloween night.) The Venetian used to be a theater and was beautifully remodeled to add a restaurant and lounge, while keeping the auditorium for live theater and movies. The food is wonderful and reasonably priced. And the atmosphere makes you want to sit and enjoy a glass (or two) of wine or beer even after dinner. I don't think the H1N1 likes it there as it does a few other places downtown, so don't be afraid to visit.

Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo

The 2010 Relay For Life of Hillsboro kick-off was on Saturday afternoon. I was busy helping people register their teams, and ended up missing the entire presentation. I know a lot of great information was given out, as well as yummy Halloween treats.

We were hoping for a better turn out, but were able to register 40+ teams for the 2010 Relay. Are you interested in joining my team (Tami's CUREageous Sprites) or starting one of your own?? If so, let me know! Go to Relay For Life of Hillsboro for more information. The theme for this year's Event is 'A Fairytale Fairwell to Cancer'. We'd love to have you join us in the fight against cancer!

To go along with the fairytale theme, all of the Relay Committee wore wings. And, because our kick-off was also on Halloween, a few of us dressed up too. I'm an Earthy, sprite...something or other...

Social-izing

I spent Friday afternoon chaperoning the 7th/8th grade Fall Social. WAY too many kids in the gym at one time - add sugar and music...wow! : ) Makena spent the first 15 minutes trying to hide from me & my camera. I followed her around until she gave in.

Makena, Hailee & Brittany