thanks {squared} November 15

I am thankful for Facebook.

{I've been able to reconnect with friends and family and stay in touch.}

thanks {squared} November 14

Another of my most thankful for is my momma.

{She is such a beautiful and important woman. She's always supported and loved me unconditionally.}

She hates to have her picture taken, but my begging still gets to her.

thanks {squared} November 13

I am also most thankful for Jamie.
{All of the things that he does for and with me and Makena make him a wonderful part of our lives.}

He also spent 5 hours walking around Seattle with me yesterday so I could take pictures and shop at local antique stores.

thanks {squared} November 12

I am thankful for my morning coffee.

{Especially good morning coffee, in personal cups, in our hotel room.}

thanks {squared} November 11

I am thankful for and to our Veterans who protect us and our freedom.

{I hope those still away will return home to their families safely.}

thanks {squared} November 10

I'm thankful that the worst thing I've done to myself this month is a blood blister.

{Not that I'm enjoying it by any means, but we all know it could be worse.}

thanks {squared} November 9

I am thankful that my daughter forms her own opinions and thoughts, no matter what others say.

{Even when it comes to finding a sweater at Good Will that even I wouldn't wear.}

thanks {squared} November 8

I am thankful for my job.

{The best part of my job is being able to work from home.}

thanks {squared} November 7

I am thankful for warm oatmeal on cold mornings.

{Extra cinnamon and cranraisins makes it even better.}

thanks {squared} November 6

I am thankful for the extra hour of sleep I got this morning.

{I'm hoping to nap again later this afternoon though.}

thanks {squared} November 5

I am thankful for our puppies; Moxie & Maddie.
{Our pets are our family ~ they give us unconditional love.}

Good Things

A little something to share from Seventh Generation today:

Learn more here.

Wow! While I don't always use Seventh Generation laundry soap, I do always use an eco-friendly/plant-derived product.

thanks {squared} November 4

I am thankful for the beautiful state I live in.

{Oregon is colorful and full of so many different people, places and things.}

Frosty Morning

When Makena moved to Terra Nova High School this year, I got a new morning drive. And, for the first time in 7 years, I somewhat enjoy it. Although the distance is a few more miles away, the scenery is much better. And some mornings are just beautiful. It's often dark when we leave, but the sun is coming up as I head back home. The leaves have been changing to their beautiful reds, oranges and yellows. And sometimes there is a wonderful layer of fog.

I try to remind myself to bring my camera, but often forget as we head out at by 7:15am. Or it's too dark or dangerous for me to get out in spots. Or, it's raining. But I finally managed to get a few shots this week. I, of course, didn't grab my entire camera bag, so I didn't have the lens I wanted but still enjoyed the shots.

This is a golf course along the way.

Then a field.


Then I went a bit out of the way to a little place I like and have taken shots of before. You can see those here and here.

Trick-or-Treat 2011

We headed over to the Flaherty neighborhood to go trick-or-treating again this year. Makena was home and able to join us this year! Although, she didn't bring home any candy for me...

Kylah was a Southern Bell.

Makena was Link and Hailee was Sheik - Zelda game characters. (They were smart and brought thermoses of hot chocolate.)

And Miss Ivie was Cinderella. Here, she is checking to see when the owner was coming with candy.
And if you've never spent time with Ivie; she's a character. She has to be first while walking down the street or crossing it. She has to be the first one up to the door. We attempted to 'take turns' knocking on the door, but it was difficult for Ivie. She'd also announce "Hello...Cinderella is here!" or "Hello ladies, Cinderella has arrived!".

There is one neighbor that has a haunted garage every year. Ivie walked in with the group (well...minus us adults and teenagers cuz we know better) and walked right back out. She went through last year, but this year must have been too much for her. Hailee suggested she go in with her and that made Ivie feel safe. But she didn't look too happy when she finally made it back out. Until she got her candy that is...

We always go back to check candy, count the loot, and trade before heading back home.

By 9pm, my teenagers were ready for bed and almost falling asleep in the car. Maybe if Makena had brought some candy home, we would have been happier. Or I would have anyways.

thanks {squared} November 3

I am thankful for our home.

{We stay warm and dry and are a family in our home.}

thanks {squared} November 2

I am thankful for my health.

{I should be more "healthy", but that's always a work in progress.}

thanks {squared} November 1

One of the things I'm most thankful for; my beautiful, healthy daughter.

{Who is not thankful to get up at 6am for school.}

thanks {squared}

I read about this over at Give Me Some Oven and thought I would try it.

Guidelines for Thanks² (via Beth)

1. Take a picture on your phone with Instagram (iphone) or Retrocamera (android, etc). Both are free apps, so as long as you have a smart phone – you’re good to go! The point is, that both of these take square pictures – thus, thanks², aka thanks squared. But even if you don’t have a smart phone, if your phone can take photos – use that. No need for anything fancy. It’s all about the simplicity.

2. Write one line (poetry, prose) that pairs with your image as a caption.

3. When you post your image, please @thanks² (if you can–you may not be able to from your phone) and tag it with “thanksq” + the 2-digit day of the month – e.g. #thanksq01

*Note: If you can do it every day – great; if you can’t – no worries. :)
*Follow along on Facebook on the thanks² page.

And because I'm not always a rule follower, I'm going to tweak this a bit. I'm just going to post the photos on my blog, not on the thanks {squared} page.

I read a couple of other November/Thankful things and thought I would like to try to post every day in November. Then I found thanks {squared} and thought it would be fun.

So...we'll see how it goes!

FTC News

A little something to share from Seventh Generation today:

We're thrilled to report on the new guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The agency is now regulating the use of certain key terms on product labels, in order to rein in suspect environmental claims. Here's the rundown:

General environmental benefit claims (i.e. "eco-safe," "environmentally-friendly," etc.) now have to be substantiated with concrete reasons that address likely consumer interpretations of the claim. For example, an "ecologically-sensitive" cleaner would have to explain that this means it creates no toxic fumes, won't harm living things when used, or won't pollute water supplies when rinsed down the drain.

Biodegradable now means that a product is backed with solid scientific evidence it will completely break down into elements found in nature within a reasonably short time frame following customary disposal methods. If, for example, the product is typically going to end up in a landfill, it must quickly and completely decompose into natural substances under those specific conditions.

Compostable can refer to only those products or materials that break down rapidly in a typical home compost pile into soil-conditioning materials you can safely use in your garden. If the product will compost only in a commercial facility maintaining strict conditions, that qualifier should be mentioned. If it won't do either of these things, you can't call it compostable.

Recyclable finally means what it should: that the entire product or package can be processed through an established recycling program. If the item isn't one that recyclers will actually accept, it can't be declared recyclable. If your product or package contains a mix of recyclable and non-recyclable components, you have to say so.

Recycled content can only refer to materials that would have otherwise been thrown away but instead have been rescued for reuse either during manufacturing (pre-consumer) or after consumer use (post-consumer). Companies must be able to substantiate the implied contention that any pre-consumer materials would not have been recycled anyway. And unless the entire product or package is made from recycled content, an explanation must be provided.

Source reduction claims must be explained. You can't say your product creates "10% less waste" or is "10% less toxic" without specifying what it's being compared with.
Refillable means that there is an official system in place to collect and reuse the container or that the manufacturer sells a bulk size of the same product, which can be used to fill the refillable container.

Ozone-friendly claims or suggestions can only be made for products that are a) 100% free of any and all substances recognized by the Clean Air Act or the EPA as ozone-killers and b) contain no substances (like VOCs) that create ozone at ground level. This means you can't say your product "contains no CFCs" if it uses HCFCs instead because HCFCs can also harm ozone.