Not quite a "snow storm"

It was unusually quiet on Celebration Ct. at 7:30am this morning.

A light sheet of snow had covered the ground. The neighbor kids were still warm in bed.

By 9:30am, the kids were all out making snowmen and playing. Jamie, Moxie and I decided to go for a walk.

"Mommy...Daddy is on the phone again."

"So, let's run!"

Unfortunately, the snow didn't stick around for very long.

But it was a nice to walk around in it for a while.

An article to share...

I wanted to share an article that I read on the Oregon Environmental Council site today.

The 21st Century War on Cancer Must Take Aim at Toxics

In honor of Presidents Day, ask President Obama to protect us from cancer-causing chemicals.

Last May, the President’s Cancer Panel's annual report provided strong confirmation that exposure to toxic chemicals is an important and woefully under-recognized risk factor for cancer. The Panel highlighted the need for Congress to reform the broken 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), noting not only that it is “the most egregious example of ineffective regulation of chemical contaminants” but also that its weaknesses have constrained the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from being able to properly regulate known and suspected carcinogens.

It's no secret that cancer takes a devastating toll on individuals and families:

• Every minute, at least one American will die from cancer this year
• 1 in 2 American men and 1 in 3 American women will get some type of cancer in their lifetime
• Cancer is the leading cause of death from disease in children younger than 15
  Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer

With statistics like that, it is the rare person who has not been personally affected by cancer—and the emotional roller coaster that comes with it—at some point in their life. Cancer also takes a devastating toll on our state: It's estimated that the cases caused by unnecessary chemical exposures costs Oregon at least $131 million per year in direct and indirect health-care costs.

Exposure to actual and potential cancer-causing chemicals is widespread. Toxic chemicals that cause cancer are in products like clothing, furniture, cleaning products, and plastics used by children, women, and men on a daily basis. Pregnant women have been found to carry toxic chemicals in their bodies, which leads to babies being born with a burden of chemicals over which they had no control. Yet the majority of Americans are unaware of the dangers of chemical exposure in their daily lives and if they are aware, they do not have adequate information to protect themselves.

So how did we get to a point where only a few hundred of the over 80,000 chemicals on the market today have actually been tested for safety? We have a broken system that favors the big chemical lobby over consumer safety. So we need to make our voices even stronger. We need to get serious about a national cancer prevention program that will eliminate the use of cancer-causing chemicals, such as formaldehyde, vinyl chloride, and lead. We need to change the laws of this country so that it is no longer legal to add chemicals known to cause cancer to products we use every day in our homes, schools, and workplaces. Help us do that in honor of Presidents day by signing this petition to President Obama, asking him to protect us from cancer-causing chemicals. Then ask your family and friends to sign, too.

Girl Scout Cookies!

Girl Scout Cookie Sales are in full swing! We spent two weeks asking for pre-orders from our friends and family.

Now the store sales have begun...

The first two nights were extremely cold, but we managed to sell almost 150 boxes. Then another 85 boxes at Fred Meyer on Sunday; where they allowed us to sell inside. (We're all so much happier when we're warm!) We had people graciously donate $44 directly to our troop, and 5 boxes of cookies to the Sunshine Pantry. A great first weekend to cookie sales I think.

Only 206 cookies left to sell in order to reach our troop goal!

Spa Day

To celebrate Valentine's Day, Jamie and I decided that we needed a little pampering. We found a local spa that was able to fit all three of us in for the day.

We didn't tell Makena what we were doing, only that we had plans. When we pulled in to the parking lot of the spa, she was a little leery about spending the day there. But...she ended up loving it just as much as Jamie and I did.

Jamie arrived 20 minutes earlier because he had a slightly different day planned. He started out with a facial while Makena and I received a foot soak/toxin treatment. Then we all had pedicures.

I'm getting better with letting people touch my feet...and not freaking out. Still won't allow it during a massage, but a pedicure is do-able.

Then we all had manicures.

Makena asked for anchors on her thumbs.


I just asked for a normal paint on my toes and a French manicure. (Can you tell that my skin needs sunlight?)

Jamie wasn't going to have a manicure, but they gave him one anyways.Then Makena and I headed off for our facials while Jamie had a water treatment massage. A wonderful way to end our day at the spa!

We had originally planned to go out to dinner afterwards, but we were all so relaxed that we just wanted to head home. So instead, Jamie drove over to PF Changs to pick up dinner. We all met back at the house, ate dinner on the couch and watched movies until late that night.

A wonderful and relaxing day with those I love. I can't think of a better way to spend the day.

Dearest Blog & Followers

I am alive. I am thinking of you and have stuff to post.

I've just been...off still. But I am working on it!

My schedule has been a bit crazy. And I'm working on that too!

Working on myself takes more time than I was willing to give at first. It's all a slow process. I'm still learning even after 35 years.

Just wanted you to know that I'll be back here soon...

PS: We had a little 'snow flurry' the other day, so I'm leaving you with a photo of it. It wasn't much, but it put a little smile on my face.

A post of pictures

The past week and a half has been...sad, happy, busy, slow, loud and quiet. And, it feels as if it has been those things all at one time. Like I'm not sure how I'm supposed to be feeling, where I need to be, who I need to be talking to or where my head should be.

Things have been happening personally. Things have been happening in my family's lives. Things have been happening in my best friend's life. We're all dealing and trying to cope with loss, love and hope.

On Thursday, I decided to go for a drive. I was supposed to finish business taxes and mow my yard, but I just wanted to go for a drive.

A long, quiet drive by myself.

I loaded up my camera gear in the Smartcar (Lil' Doug) and was off. I didn't have a plan. I didn't know where I was going. I just headed North.

And, if you live around here, I'm sure you can figure out where I went. I did get lost at one point. It's easy to do when you turn left, right, right, left, and then right again without really paying attention to where you're going. When your eyes are busy looking for something to take pictures of.


The two pictures below are me playing with my new lens. The first one is the lens all the way in, and the second is fully out, looking at the red house/carport you can barely see in the first picture.


I tried to have a conversation with this guy, but I think he was mostly interested in Lil' Doug.


And, about three hours later, I finally figured out where I was and headed home.

The Plastic Challenge

One of the blogs that I follow, The Green Parent, is doing a different monthly eco-challenge for 2011. This sounded like something fun to me, but I've kinda kept it on the back-burner.

Then, this morning, I saw her post for the Plastic-Free February. I also saw the same thing going on at Rodale.com where the magazine I love, Prevention, is created. Then I saw that other bloggers were doing it too, and thought maybe I'd put a little effort in to this challenge this month. I mean, I think I'm pretty conscious as far as plastic is concerned.

That is...until I opened the refrigerator and really looked at what was in there. That's when I realized that I could never do this challenge. I'm a plastic junkie, a plastic lover out of convenience, and I'm not proud.

First Shelf:

• Yogurt in plastic containers. I love (love) the small 4oz Yoplait YoPlus portions and eat one of these every day. Makena & Jamie eat Yoplait in the normal 6oz.. There is often a larger plastic container of plain Greek yogurt for shakes also on this shelf. Sadly, I don't like making my own yogurt and don't want to buy the larger containers. They are just packaged in plastic anyways.
• Cottage cheese, Feta cheese, sour cream, creamer and butter spray. All in plastic containers.
• GOOD - all of these containers can be recycled. Everything but the lids that is.

Second Shelf:

• Even though I buy our milk in box containers, I've learned that there is plastic lining on the inside. Same goes for the orange juice and egg beaters (from the top shelf).
• Apple juice and sweet tea in large plastic containers. I usually buy apple juice in glass bottles, but picked these jugs up at Costco one time. I also don't usually buy tea, but did so for a gathering.
• Makena often drinks vanilla milk (which also comes in a plastic container) and I pour it in to a larger, plastic, container to add plain milk to.
• GOOD - all of these containers can be recycled and the container for Makena's milk is reused.

Third Shelf:

• Hummus. I eat this almost every day as well and it always comes in a plastic container. I really should think about making my own!
• Melons, in a plastic container. Again, I bought this for a gathering and usually just buy this fresh and cut it myself.
• GOOD - ditto on the recycling on this shelf. Our recycling collector doesn't actually accept the type of container that the melon comes in, but I save up all of this type of plastic to take to a local recycler that does.

Fourth Shelf & Veggie Drawers:

• Mashed potatoes. Out of convenience, I bought Makena a container of pre-made mashed potatoes. They are, of course, packed in a plastic container. (With getting her braces on, I thought this would be easier for her.)
• Pudding and Jello I also bought for Makena as they are soft. Again, out of convenience, I bought the small portioned packages instead of making my own.
• Individual cheese sticks in plastic packaging. Deli meat, wrapped in plastic at the store. Bricks of cheese, in plastic. Jamie's (nasty) processed cheese individually wrapped in plastic.
• Salad either in plastic bags or large plastic containers.
• Plastic containers to hold our cut up veggies. These do get reused, and only for items we don't heat up. Otherwise, all of the other containers in there are glass. Except (gads!) a styrofoam container with Makena's left overs from Applebees. I've been trying to remember to bring our own, reusable containers for left overs at restaurants.
• GOOD - I try to recycle or reuse what I can!

Door: by the time I got to the door, I was about in tears over the amount of plastic in here!

• Condiments...wow! Unfortunately, almost everything comes in a plastic container.
• Water bottles. Jamie likes plastic water bottles, and his are always reused. Makena and I use the stainless steel ones. *I do drink several Sobe Zero Waters a week though and those are in plastic bottles.
• Even my flax seed and wheat germ come in plastic bags.
• GOOD - I buy glass packaged items when I can and recycle the plastic.

I do recycle almost everything we use, so that does make me feel a lot better. We use reusable, cloth shopping bags; groceries, clothing, home improvement, etc. I have my own vegetable bags so we don't use those plastic ones at the grocery store. We try to always get coffee in our reusable mugs.

But...it's sad to think of all of that plastic just in my fridge! And, I know there is a ton more of it around my house.

Needless to say, I won't be doing the Plastic-Free Challenge. I give HUGE kudos to Beth Terry for her commitment to stop buying new plastics every day of her life. Crazy as it sounds, she's been very successful at living a Plastic-free Life for more than 3 years! And, I'm sure that Jenn Savedge, The Green Parent, will do well in her Plastic-free February. Maybe someday I'll be there...

An early morning.

If I haven't mentioned it here before, Makena is not really what you may call "a morning person". Sometimes, she's just plain scary in the mornings.

But, I still love her and try to reason with her...and sometimes that works.

Other times, not so much.

If there is one thing Makena likes even less that getting up at 6am, it's getting braces on her teeth at 7:30am.

But...isn't she cute!?!

PS: Makena will have to get up at 6am every morning next year as high school starts at 8am. Oh boy...

Valentine-A-Grams are back!

Each Valentine-A-Gram includes:

• Two Fresh Cinnabon Classic Cinnamon Rolls
• A Jamba Juice Cold Drink Tumbler
• Sun Orchards Orange Juice
• Ready to Brew Seattle's Best Coffee
• Gift Certificate for a Slice of Pie from Shari's Restaurant
• Gift Certificate for a Jamba Juice
• Special Message from You!

Each Valentine-A-Gram is just $29.95 and includes delivery throughout the Portland-Vancouver area on February 14.Orders must be placed by February 10.100% of the purchase price goes toward feeding seniors. The purchase of one Valentine-A-Gram provides eight meals for a senior. NEW!! For an additional $10 you can send a special Valentine's treat to a homebound senior. Simply add the amount when you checkout at http://www.valentine-a-gram.org/

I've already ordered a Valentine-A-Gram for a secret someone(s) and Jamie and I will be delivering that morning as well. Still contimplating on ordering one for myself...it, for some reason, doesn't fit in to the P09X Nutrition Plan. hmmm...???

Persevere Update

I'm still having fun organizing my kitchen. So many new and fun gadgets out there to help!

One thing I did, was get some new lunch stuff for Makena. I cleaned out a drawer in the kitchen* and put all of her lunch items in there so that it would all be in one place from now on.

We don't really use plastic tupperware type things anymore, especially for things we microwave, so I've slowing been replacing that with glass items for the house or reusable items for her lunch. She's had this lunch bag since entering 6th grade, and it's been great! It's a bit small now though. She doesn't really eat more than she did before, it's just that the reusable items are a bit bigger than plastic bags and such.

And I didn't have enough containers for everything I wanted to pack sometimes and often ended up with this.

Which often leads to some broken Goldfish or squished grapes.

But now she has new goodies to carry her lunch in! The bag is like a small messenger type bag that can fold up into a little carrying pouch. And, it's insulated with a pocket and adjustable strap. The containers are stainless steel - safer for her and the Goldfish. She had the Kleen Kanteen water bottle, but now it fits nicely in a little pouch on the side.

I think she's going to like the thermos best. Makena loves (loves) soup and will now be able to enjoy that at school. I know, I know, I should have thought of a thermos before...but, she only really started wanting to take a lunch more often since becoming a vegetarian.

And now she has a variety of things to use for her lunch every day. Better for her and the environment too!

*The drawer that I cleaned out usually holds small, baby/toddler items. Things like toddler cups with lids, small bowls for baby food, small non-breakable plates, bibs, tiny wash clothes, etc. These are things I used when I did daycare (yes, over 3 years ago) but when the kids come over now they still know where to go for these things. And, to be honest, it was difficult to get rid of most of this stuff. (I'll never get rid of the 'I love my Aunt' bib tho!)

Jamie asked me why I was cleaning it out and when I told him he says "Well what are Kylah and Kallie going to eat with then?" I showed him that I did save a few items for them, but that I didn't really need all of it. The kids can use our dishes now, and all of the stuff just didn't fit in with my organizing of the kitchen anymore.

It's all in the definition.

I've settled on my "word" for 2011. It's taken me 17 days, but I really think it's a good one!

......................

per·se·vere  [pur-suh-veer] verb, -vered, -ver·ing.

–verb (used without object)
1. to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.

2. to persist in speech, interrogation, argument, etc.; insist.


-verb (used with object)
3. to bolster, sustain, or uphold: unflagging faith that had persevered him.

.........................

1. My word of 2010 was Transformation. Another good word and one I enjoyed working on. So this year, I'm going to persevere in my transformation. And, oh boy, are there some difficulties and obstacles with persevering. I'm pretty good with the discouragement part of that definition too, but hopefully Jamie will help me to persevere. (See what I'm doing here?)

1.2 I'd also like to continue steadfastly in my organizational skills. I am an organized person. I like being an organized person. I only function well as an organized person. I will persevere where more organization in my life is needed though!

-I recently spent quite a bit of time at Bed, Bath & Beyond looking for things to help me organize around the house. Lots of new goodies have found their way into the house.

-I also need to organize my recipe folders/books/binders and focus on making healthy meals again for my family on a regular basis. I have also enlisted in the help of a chef to help with dinner a few nights a month. Can't wait to see how that's going to work out! And, I love using Evernote on my iPad to pull up recipes and keep things handy while in the kitchen.

2. I think I've got the part down about persevering during an argument. Or at least I do in my mind...

3. Do you bolster someone or ?? hmmm...I'll have to look in to that one a bit more.

..........................

I think things will go well in 2011 as long as I keep the word persevere in my daily thoughts.

Visiting Sunshine Pantry

My Girl Scout troop decided to donate food to a local pantry. I took Makena and Hailee to Winco with me one day in December to do some shopping. They enjoyed grocery shopping at Winco about as much as I do. (Let me just say that I went to Winco ONE time in 2010.)


The girls bagged all of the food in two bags. After realizing how heavy a bag of cans and food boxes can be, that turned in to four bags.

Yesterday, we brought the food donations to the Sunshine Pantry in Beaverton. I began delivering food to this pantry in 2009 through the Beaverton School District, and thought this would be a great place for the girls to donate to in their community. Sharon Straus, the director/owner, is an amazing woman! She started this pantry in her garage almost 30 years ago and moved into a warehouse about 4 years ago.

The girls each had a bag or two of food to bring in to the warehouse.

Then Sharon showed them around. Our first stop was the cooler. Sunshine Pantry asks for perishable foods as well; Sharon believes that families should also receive fruits, veggies, condiments, etc to enjoy healthy meals.

There is also a freezer for additional items, but the girls didn't want to go in there. (I should also mention that it was about 30 degrees outside and in the warehouse.)

Then Sharon took us in to the other side of the warehouse, where additional food is stored. There are about 15 refrigerator/freezers in here; for more wonderful foods. Sharon also has a supply of vegetarian options, gluten free foods, ethnic and Kosher foods in addition to meets, birthday cakes and other goodies. (TWO freezers hold birthday cakes for families that can't afford them.)

There are also boxes of bread and pastries available for families. Along with canned foods, boxed foods, infant/toddler foods, toiletries and hygiene items.

McKenzie's little brothers, Connor & Alex, came along with us to the pantry. (So sweet.)

Sharon also hands out "Sniffle Bags". She has gathered items for sick children; tissues, soup, water, coloring books, crayons, etc. The kids love to leave with their little bag of goodies to help them get better. (I'm thinking this is going to be something GS Troop 41054 wants to do in 2011!)

I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful Sharon is for the Beaverton Community. I'm happy that my girls were able to help and hope that we can do more in the future.

Why I Smiled

Two reasons today!

#1 - our 2011 Relay Committee shirts have arrived!! I asked to have the CPS3 info added to our shirts this year and was happy to see the final outcome.

#2 - I'm not a Simpsons fan, but this envelope came in the mail today with A LOT of Simpsons and I couldn't help but smile! There are 40 Simpsons stamps on this envelope...someone was very busy yesterday. : )

Walden Island on New Years Day

Our neighbor, Stephen, sent these pictures to us that he took around the island on New Year's Day.

Beautiful sunrise. Ice on the water. Snow on the ground.