When all the water isn't falling

Jamie, Moxie and I visited Multnomah Falls last week to take a few pictures. The temps were just below freezing - and that's exactly what it felt like! Moxie was none too happy that we brought her up to the bridge, closer to the falls.

The falls were beautiful though!

Hello, my name is Amber and I'm an addict

You know those days when stupid shit just keeps happening and all you really want to do is just climb back in to bed and pretend the day didn't start?!?

Well, I've had two of those in a row now.

And there just isn't enough Zoloft in my pill bottle to OD on them. Damn.

So I've decided to eat bags of peanut butter M&M's and drink an extra (or two) bottle of Mirror Pond before bed.

I believe I've become addicted to the M&M's. I. just. can't. stop!

Either my teeth will fall out from the sugar or I will soon begin throwing up from the amount of chocolate and peanut butter in my stomach.

Neither one of them really sounds fun.

One Family's Difference - Day #14

Millions of people lost all of their belongings in the tsunami.

Count the number of shirts blouses your family owns, and gratefully give .01 for each one.

Thankfully, I have a day job.

We had our annual Christmas party at the Flahery's yesterday. I decided to bake and frost some sugar cookies and a Lemon Glazed Spice Cake. I also decided to make some Rice Krispie Treats and Gingerbread shaped mini-muffins.

I've never claimed to be a baker. I often pretend that I can cook, but it's all a show. Baking, well, that's an even bigger show for me.

I couldn't get the Santa shaped cookies to bake resembling anything that looked like Santa. So, Jamie and I ate those before frosting the cookies...

I couldn't get the red food coloring to get to a shade of red - only brighter pink. Or get the green to get to a deep shade of green. Bright pink and light green it is...

The good part was that the kids didn't care what color the cookies or the Rice Krispie Treats were - only that they were there! Wheeewww - they thought I was the best!

The Lemon Spice Cake was a bit too lemony. Plus, my cake didn't look exactly like the picture of the real baker's cake either. Hmmmm....

The Gingerbread mini-muffins, well they were the worst. They looked more like a giant blob with a few blueberry speckles in them. I ate all of those as not to scare the kids. Yes, I know, how thoughtful of me.

I walked around the house to find things for me to enjoy other than baking.

Christmas presents under the tree.

Christmas cards arriving from friends and family.

Yummy beer given to me by my Aunt Tami. (Notice it's an Amber Ale)

My wonderful treasures from a recent shopping trip with my mom & sister:

My new baby dolls look perfect at their new home.

Which just so happens to be in the highchair that my sister gave me for my birthday last year.

An old stocking. Jamie, Makena & Kylah told me that it just looks like a dirty old sock. (They just don't see the beauty.)

A cute little postcard that fits perfectly in my laundry room.

Another postcard perfect for our master bathroom; in my newly painted boxes from Good Will. I also found the small mirror during our shopping trip - it says An Abundant Life. There are still a few special items missing in the boxes - I'll know them when I see them.

One Family's Difference - Day #13

In Uganda, 1 out of 5 children die before they reach their 5th birthday.

Gratefully give .50 for each family member who has lived beyond age 5.

One Family's Difference - Day #12

In garbage dumps around the world, poor people scrounge for their food.

Gratefully give .05 for each meal your family had last week.

One Family's Difference - Day #11

Every day 2000 babies are newly infected with HIV.

For every healthy child in your family, gratefully give .25.

One Family's Difference - Day #10

In Oregon and Washington, more than 1 million people have no money for dental care.

Gratefully give .15 for each dental visit your family members had in the past year.

Happy Birthday Jamie!

Kylah and Kallie spent the day with me yesterday. Kylah wanted to make a birthday card for Jamie's birthday - she did such a great job!! She had helped me wrap one of his presents and then wanted to tape the card to the box. When Uncle Jamie got home, we let him open the present because Kylah's card was on it and she was there.

So cute.

So proud.

Happy 37th Birthday Honey - love you!!

One Family's Difference - Day #9

In 21 countries around the world, children are forced to be soldiers.

In gratitude, give .15 for each of your children who has not been forced to be a soldier.

One Family's Difference - Day #8

Many parents in our world do not have enough food to feed their children.

Count the cans, bottles and boxes of food in your cupboards and gratefully give .01 for each one.

I think it's only fair that I should pick out the tree.

Sometimes it seems like it takes a while for us to all agree on a tree. I like Grand Nobles and funky, untrimmed trees. Makena likes tiny trees or very large bottomed trees; any type. Jamie likes nicely trimmed Douglas Fir trees. They won this year...

I originally thought that we may go up to Century High School to pick out a pre-cut tree and help support the band. Jamie very much liked the idea because he wouldn't have to cut down the tree himself. In the end though, I wanted to go to a local tree farm. We hadn't been there in a couple of years and it was a beautiful day. And, Makena didn't want to have any part of picking out a pre-cut tree!

ta-da...here is the perfect tree!

Guess what happened to Jamie's hand right after this picture.

Yep...I stepped on it! Sorry Honey!!

a good day for funny faces

We, of course, never pick out a tree with a straight base. After a few adjustments, it was finally straight. (Well, straight enough for us anyways!)

and more funny faces

Makena got out of doing the star again.

You can see our tree from last year HERE. It must have been a year that I got to decide on the tree, as it should be.

One Family's Difference - Day #7

Half of the world lives on less than $2 a day.

Gratefully give .20 for each year someone in your family has been employed.

One Family's Difference - Day #6

Many children in our world die because their parents cannot afford simple medicines.

Count the bottles of medicine - prescription and nonprescription - in your home and gratefully give .05 for each one.

One Family's Difference - Day #5

Thousands of people lost everything after Hurricane Katrina.

Count the rooms in your home and gratefully give .10 for each one.

One Family's Difference - Day #4

1 out of 4 people in our world have no access to medical care.

Count how many doctors your family members see in a year, and gratefully give .20 for each one.

One Family's Difference - Day #3

Every 3.6 seconds a child dies from a preventable illness.

Gratefully give .10 for each family member who has been immunized.

It gets cold in the woods when the sun isn't shining.

On our way home from Garibaldi, I asked (begged) Jamie to stop by a waterfall so that I could take some pictures. We hadn't stopped there in a while, and it had been sunny out, so a great opportunity for pictures I say! We were on a bit of a time limit because we had to be home before the Ravens football game started (very important ya know).

That is, it was nice and sunny before we got to the waterfall. The minute we started up the path, the sun snuck behind some trees and a little brisk wind came out. That could have been why I rushed. Well, that and football of course...

It was still a beautiful, short walk.

He's always reminding me to be careful and not slip.

Does he think I'm clumsy or something?

One Family's Difference - Day #2

All over the world refugees flee from their homes to find safety in crowded camps.

Calculate the number of square feet in your home, and gratefully give .01 for each square foot.

What do you do after you've eaten yourself full-bloat for 5 days?

We had a great 5 days in Garibaldi with my family for Thanksgiving. Jamie and I arrived early Wednesday, unpacked and we were off. Rudy needed Jamie to help with some errands and Mom and I went to visit Tami & Kent in their new house. It's a gorgeous home and I know they are going to enjoy their time there! I can't wait to get back after all of the decorating is done.

T & Chad came later that evening. I remembered that I had forgotten the pumpkin pie (the very yummy one) in my garage fridge at home - along with all the salad fixings and dips. T & Chad were able to stop and pick up pie and salad before arriving in Garibaldi. (I'm still kicking myself for that! Although - now I have an entire pumpkin pie to myself!!)

We were up early on Thursday to start cooking, snacking and watching football. And that's about all we did - we ate, watched tv, ate more, took naps, ate more, ate dessert and then did some drinking and laughing. (Maybe not all in that order.)

No rush to get to the stores on Black Friday (hallelujah!) My mom, sister and I headed out around noon to do some local antique and goodie shopping. My sister was able to get most of her Christmas shopping done, my mom found a few goodies, but I just wasn't having much luck.

We went back home, ate more food and desserts, watched more tv and went to bed.

Then we headed back out to shop again on Saturday! I found a few goodies (that I'll have to post later) and my sister continued on her spree. : )

Then (you guessed it) more eating, drinking and laughing. My sister and I also did some (a lot) of shopping on Etsy. We were both pretty much done Christmas shopping after that!

It was a beautiful day on Sunday, so after some football my sister and I took the dogs for a walk. Poor Packer has torn a ligament in her leg, so she had to stay home.

sometimes graffiti is good

I love family time in Garibaldi - always good memories!

One Family's Difference - Day #1

Many people in our world die because they have no access to safe drinking water.

In fact, close to 4,000 people die each day.

Count the faucets inside and outside your home and gratefully give .10 for every place you have access to safe water.

NOTE: If you don't know that this daily list is for, refer to my post What Can One Family Do?
We will make one total donation at the end of the 14 days.