Culture Fair

Culture Fair = stress for 8th Graders and their parents.

Culture Fair is the first major project that the 8th Grade students at Highland Park had to do. It was a project that they had a couple of months to research and complete; most all of it being done at home. And, most all of it being done in the last couple of days of course. Which was a bit more of a stresser for parents than the students I think! But, whewww, Culture Fair is now complete. Well...there a speeches in class next week, but that's the easy part right?

The students' project boards were shown to the public last night. There were a lot of students proud of their work and boards. And, of course, some that weren't. But most of them looked great!

Here is Makena and her board - her project was life in the 1930's. She did the history of the 1930's and then her personal aspect was of her great-grandmother (my Gram) who was born in 1931. Oh, and Hailee is here showing her Czechoslovakian Potato Ball that goes with her project.

And me...showing my relief that all went well.

Makena did a lot of work and we are proud of what she did. She also learned a lot about how things have change in the past 80 years of life.

Organizing - Part 2

Organize kitchen - check.

Organized bedroom and the spare room/junk room/guest room/craft room - work in progress.

Because both of these room have so much stuff in them, it's more like a re-decorating project.

It purged the bedroom closet last weekend. I filled up an entire xl garbage bag full of clothes and shoes for our garage sale this summer! (I'm thinking that means I get to buy new clothes now.) But there is so much more work to be done.

About 8 years ago, Jamie told me that we could get a new bedroom set. We still have yet to agree on what we want, and most of the time it's not a priority. But, I've been on the "search" again. I think that I'll just have to order the bed that I want, have it delivered and work forward from there. It's kind of like the artwork in our house. We haven't really agreed on that either, so I've just been slowly replacing them with what I want. (And I'm really liking how it's working so far!)

So, the first thing changed in the bedroom is the artwork hanging above our bed.

I had canvases made and I love them! They are going to look FAN-tastic with a new bed too.

The spare room/junk room/guest room/craft room, now that's a never-ending project. It used to be Jamie's office too. There is a futon for guests. There is a long dresser from the bedroom set, which holds misc clothing, scrapbooking paper & items and misc photos. There is a bookshelf which also holds scrapbooking items and albums. There is a little craft cart which holds everything needed for my Simpixty notecards. And the closet is full of office supplies, Relay items, suitcases, and large filing cabinet and I don't know what else.

Pretty much...it's a junk room, a catch-all, and it's driving me crazy. What is also driving me crazy is Jamie working from the living room. So, I've decided to put back in a small desk and shelving unit. This will get rid of the furniture that is in there now, other than the futon, and also give Jamie a desk to use until he decides to either rent or buy an office. This will also give me a space to work on my craft stuff. And, when we have guests, everything can be put away.

As I said, it's a work in progress. I'm hoping to have things done in the next couple of months though, so I'd better get to shopping!

Online shopping

One of my very favorite things to do is shop online. I don't have to deal with people AND I can do it from the comfort of my own home! Recently, I've been on Amazon.com a lot.

I don't usually buy books; I like to borrow them from the library. I do tho like to highlight or underline things in some books, therefore I have to buy them. My most recent purchase is the Digital Photography box set from Scott Kelby. I borrowed it from the library, but they wouldn't let me renew it (or write in it), so I broke down and bought it for myself. It was worth it tho.


The other little goodie in the above picture is my new memory card holder. It safely holds 8 memory cards. It's waterproof and shatterproof. It perfectly fits my old memory cards just as well as the two new ones that I also ordered from Amazon.com.

The best part - they all shipped together and I didn't have to pay for shipping!

All about Amber

Yeah - an entire post about ME! I know...how exciting right?!?

Just wanted to share a couple of things that you may or may not know about ME.

• I am right handed.
• I remember Mount St. Helens blowing up. It was just a couple of days before my 5th birthday. I remember collecting ash with the neighbor kids. I remember people wearing face masks because they were worried about getting sick. I remember that I was not one of them; apparently my mom wasn't either.
• It's very difficult for me to sit still for long periods of time. I usually can't sit through an entire movie.
• In 5th grade, I was dared to put my arm in the center part of the fold-up lunch table. My arm got stuck, the lunchroom was evacuated 911 was called. The fire department had to use a chainsaw to cut the table in half so that my arm would not have to be broken. I, of course, thought they were going to cut my arm and screamed/cried like crazy. I still remember that the green sweatshirt made a funny noise when I moved. I also still remember all of the other kids faces peering at me through the lunchroom windows.
• My parents are divorced; which gave me two other wonderful parents and additional family.
• I got a job when I was 14; a dishwasher at a Chinese restaurant. I worked there for four years and ate enough Chinese food to last me the rest of my life.
• I've had my heart broken.
• I used to drive an orange Yugo.
• I like to clean with bleach and a toothbrush.
• I have a younger sister. And, I'll admit, I was the better behaved child. (My mom told me so.)
• There are so many things going on in my head that my mouth usually can't keep up.
• I was in three car accidents from 16 to 18 years old. Two of them were in my High School parking lot. One of them was very embarrassing and ended up with me being taken away in an ambulance.
• I like to vacuum my house every day. If it's been more than two days, I start to feel like I can't breathe.
• I often say 'finner' instead of 'finger' and I pronounce 'knife' how it is spelled - 'k-nife'. I also like to say 'fragile' how it sounds - either 'frag-Ile' or 'fragil-ee'.
• I tend to exaggerate...a little. Actually, I do it so often that I have to point out when I'm not exaggerating.
• I don't like feet; they gross me out. I can't stand to be touched by someone else's feet and I don't enjoy my feet being touched. BUT, I can kiss babies feet all day.
• I still have nightmares about forgetting my locker combination in High School.
• I like beer. Good beer that is. (Okay, you might know that about me.)
• I get pissed off almost every time I drive. I think other drivers drive slow on purpose. I think most pedestrians are thoughtless people. And I can't figure out how our society got so lazy that we can't turn on blinkers.
• I met my very best friend, Dylona, in 7th grade band class. She liked me even though I had poofy hair, a retainer and wore yellow shoes. (Who wouldn't right?)
• I'd much rather read a book than sit and watch tv. I'd much rather poke my eyes out than watch reality tv.
• I have three tattoos and want two more. I got my first one when I was 18; my very best friend was with me.
• I used to want to be an author. I have written (long) short-stories but have never shared them and don't plan to. I had to share one for my Senior Project and still hate that to this day.
• I don't usually care what other people think of me, but I am very hard on myself. I'm still working on that though.
• I never wanted to have children, but Makena was the best gift I have ever been given.
• I can't eat a banana without gagging. A good reason why I don't eat them very often.
• I judge people. I know it's not a good thing to do, but I still do it. I most often do it at the grocery store.
• I played the clarinet for six years and the oboe for two. I hated every day of it.
• I became a cheerleader to get out of being in the band. I hated every day of it.
• I have a phobia of public bathrooms. But, it could be a phobia of any other bathroom than my own.
• I am a germ-a-phobe. (See above) Some days are worse than others and I have no explanation for that.
• I like pigs. I have a lot of them. The first pig I ever bought is a little caricature called 'Al Ca-pig' - he has a little tie, hat and gun so that he looks like Al Capone.
• My middle name is Lee.
• I like things done a certain way (my way) so I tend to do things myself. I've learned that this is not a good thing as far as cleaning the house is concerned.
• I am happiest when I'm with my family.

I didn't realize that there was so much to tell. Apparently, I like to talk about ME more than I thought!

Testing in the kitchen

Last month I had a Demarle At Home Fundraiser for my Relay For Life team. I had 12 wonderful people attend the party and raised over $200!! And, of course, I bought several products from the catalog.

Healthy cooking = perfect. Easy clean-up = even more perfect!

I spent a little time in the kitchen this weekend using a few of my new products.

First up, protein bars.

At $2 each for most of the bars at the store, I decided to try to make my own and save some money. I won the above baking tray for having the highest selling party in January. A free baking tray; things just keep getting better right? (I know.)

The bars tasted much better than most of the ones we have tried recently, so that's a plus. Now I just need to try a few different varieties.

Next up, Pumpkin-Blueberry Muffins. (Somehow I missed the 'before' picture on these.)

I've made these several times in the past. (Mostly because I love them and I'm the only one in the house that will eat them. If I say 'whole-wheat', 'oats' and 'pumpkin' for ingredients, Jamie and Makena leave them alone.) They are a healthy way for me to get a lot of vitamins, fiber and protein all in one little muffin. And, until now, I've always had to use baking cups. I've grown to hate baking cups. The muffins always stick and they always seem to be a wasted item.

Now that I have the Demarle muffin baking tray, I'm in heaven. No mess, no baking cups, no sticking muffins and they are still nice and moist.

Finally, Spring Quiche.

Another great way for me to sneak in a lot of veggies and protein. And if I'm making food for Jamie and Makena to eat, I have to be really sneaky about the veggies.

They did catch me on the red and yellow peppers, so I'll have to leave those out next time. But, because none of us can eat (calcium rich) cottage cheese plain, I can sneak that in there too.

And then everyone is happy and full.

I wanted to share an email that I received from Loaves & Fishes. I posted about the Valentine-A-Grams here. I think this was my 4th year delivering and I hope to do so again next year.

What two hours of time on Valentine's Day morning can do:

On behalf of Loaves & Fishes Centers and the seniors we serve, thank you for participating as a driver on Monday, February 14th. Because of your efforts, people in Multnomah, Washington and Clark counties enjoyed scrumptious treats for Valentine’s Day! More than 320 volunteers went above and beyond to ensure that the Valentine-A-Grams were delivered.

Sales this year were spectacular and we raised more than $110,000 to feed seniors in our community. Our generous sponsors at Cinnabon®, Jamba Juice, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Food Services of America, Sharis and Sun Orchard donated all of the products for this event. Because of their generosity, 100% of the proceeds from Valentine-A-Gram will go to provide hot, nutritious meals for area seniors.

Again, thank you for your support as a volunteer.

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...