Mountain Girl Silver - Hand-Stamped Customized Silver Jewelry - Portland, Oregon

Seriously,,, I am one of those Oregonians that say, on cue, when someone says ,,”I wouldn’t be able to deal with all the rain in the Pacific Northwest” … I say, “Ohhhh you would totally get used to it, and at the end of summer, your body CRAVES the rain…”   And they sit there with their head cocked like,, COO COO for cocoa puffs this chick is……    Ummm yah… well here we are, having survived the WORST spring break ever, filled, almost everyday with rain…. and then you take a look at the forecast for this week, and there are raindrops on every single damn day. There’s no sunshine icon on there…. in fact…. the next time you see sunshine in the forecast, it’s half shaded by a damn cloud with a 75% chance of rain.  After having moved from sunny San Diego, Ca to Seattle in whatever year it was… ummm… like 2001 0r 2002 I think, I kept telling myself that I would get “used” to the climate and that my body would “acclimate” to the weather. Which, in all actuality, it really did. And it’s still acclimated, but it’s this time of year that I’m seriously hiding the knives in my kitchen utensil drawer in fear of slitting my ever lovin’ wrists because of lack of sunshine and the ability to go outside.  And I like go outside and look around at all the people running (including my husband) and think to myself.. “YOU ARE JUST WHACKED!!!”  ”GO BACK INSIDE YOU WIERDO”  GOSH!!!!!

History repeats itself every year… right around this time.  Husband starts looking for jobs in warmer climates. He is a very tolerant man, of many things. But when HE says,, “Gosh,, will it ever stop raining?”  I know, at that moment, that my crazy-ness in my head is justified, and it allows me to pinpoint where my crazys are coming from.  LACK OF SUNSHINE..   what is the vitamin?? Vitamin D ?? DEFICIENT indeedy!!   We are the people that go to Mexico , or here I am headed to California next week with the kids, where the sun has been shining, the grass has been growing, the ground is dry, and in every single last family photo, there I am,, with my kids, friggen squinting and totally pale and pastey in every last shot. Everyone around us are semi tan, bright eyed. It’s April for cryin outloud.  I about wanted to punch Stephanie Karlavich last night on fox 12 news when she said,, “And I’ll be back in a moment to tell you if we’ll be seeing any of that bright light in the sky in the near future.”  And I’m like.. yah,, whatever .  We refer to the sunshine as the “bright light in the sky”….. PATHETIC..   

Now granted……  Oregon has theeeeeeee best summers EVER.  It never really gets above 95… and when it does, it makes national news.  90 degree weather constitutes busting out all the window A/C units and Home Depot is flooded with peeps walking in there all dry and shriveled up from the unusual “HEAT-WAVE”…  my gosh.   Please remind me in August when I’m bitching about the heat of THIS VERY DAY where I blogged about the cold wet weather.  I need those reminders from time to time.  

One of my facebook friends just got back from Cabo San Lucas down in Mexico……  and her status read..”It’s really hard getting back to the grind after a week in Cabo”….  and seriously, all I wanted to do (which I ultimately ended up commenting) was … “I don’t even want to hear it!!”…     I would love nothing more, right this very second, than to be lounging in a dilapidated chair, on the beach, in hot white sand, with a bikini on, sucking down some foo foo drink, saying “no gracias” to the, ehem, sterling silver vendors, and staring at the pacific ocean with sweaty pits than to be sitting here right now in my Vermont sweatshirt, long pants, socks and sneakers…..  I mean… where’s my beanie for cryin’ outloud??!!!????   

So I sit here and contemplate the possible move to California (which I’ve VOWED to never live there again ever), which my husband may or may not be applying for a job down there with the U.S. Forest Service.  There are always govt jobs popping up across the map of the U.S.  for him to apply for. This one job in particular happens to be in a foothill town just outside of Yosemite National Park.   In fact, I’ve even put the town in my Iphone weather application, so that when I’m staring out at the lovely gray horizon off my deck here, I can flip pages to the page where it says that it’s going to be 71 degrees tomorrow, 69 the day after and 73 the day after that………….   Maybe that’s why so many people live in California… the weather.  

But then I sit here and think about the dynamics of Oregon.  It is utterly and totally gorgeous here. Every tree is green. Every tree is green all year long. It’s a coniferous state. Yah, the rain never stops, but everywhere you look it’s green. And not only is the landscape green, but the people are green. We are very, VERY, savvy of our environment, and my kids attend a “premier green school” .. in that,  environmental studies and practices are part of the day to day class stuff.  NOOOOOOO I don’t have dredlocks, and NOOO I don’t hit the bong everyday…and NOOOO we don’t consider granola a dessert… OR a food group… ehem…   But we are raising our kids, and hoping that they learn that taking care of our earth is as important as learning multiplication…   In the big picture…  If it wasn’t for our earth,, we would have nowhere to LEARN our arithmetic..   get it??

Blah blah blah…   I’m just bored…  pardon this blog.  Point being is that I’m sick n’ tired of the flippen rain.. and I’m sick of it every year this time of year….  It’s so mundane and monotonous…  just neverending.  Go outside…. you get wet…..  come inside,,, my entryway is a muckin’ muddy mess….  jackets stink, our dog, Loosha,, just constant stank….  I’ve HAD IT!!  I’m serious… the first day that the temperature reaches above 60 damn degrees… you’ll see me running naked down my street………    no joke….   and all that see me will be saying… “Hey look….(chuckle chuckle) ,, there’s that wierdo that lives on Riverview.. look at her.. she’s naked…”…..    not exaggerating….

Ohhhhh my gosh,,, I mean seriously, I don’t want to blog about the fact that I’ve been wiping up vomit for the last (almost) 36 hours, so I won’t… OR.. the fact that our Spring Break beach trip was cut two days short due to massive amounts of vomit coming from the mouths of my children.  We get to the beach on Monday, having a grand old time, and then BAMMMMM in the middle of the night both of em…. just barfin’ steadily.  NASTY…  I still haven’t come down with it yet, and yes, I’m rebuking it in the name of the Lord!!  So we got home whenever it was, and commenced the steady flow of laundry, which, I should be downstairs doing the dryer trick, but I’m not… I’m sitting here in front of my computer, totally bitter that I wasn’t able to go to pilates this morning due to the lack of childcare at my expense, and so I’ll just sit here and continue to be bitter.  The silver lining was that I was able to stamp like a mad-woman yesterday, and just about got caught up on all pending orders…. again.. almost caught up.  Then I headed to Michaels with a pretty hefty list my husband sent me with to get “craft supplies” so that our kids would have something to do on this lovely RAINY spring break we’ve got going on, while they are mending from the vomit plague…. and then I went to the Farm store to get our dog a new dog brush, because we’ve needed one of those forever now… and then I went to the Aquarium store over in Oregon City and got myself a new Aruba Butterfly Fish… (the yellow and black one there to the right)..  He’s pretty cool… pretty mellow, and everyone seems to be leaving him alone.  It’s always nailbiting putting a new fish into the community… you never know who’s going to feel intimidated, and who’s going to fin-nip. But he’s groovin.  

So last night, watch LOST, go to bed, and Anders starts puking again at 4am…  at this point, I mean, all I can do is just lay there and try to analyze why in theeeee world or HOW in the world he could still be puking.  What is left to puke. His little body can only hold so much stuff ya know??   Anyways, so I made my way down to the couch, left the hubby upstairs with the vomit-ridden kids (afterall,, he brought this nasty virus home from Vegas with him)…  and I tried to get some shuteye on our couch… with the dog, and two cats mind you… comfy …  yah…. right..

So here it is, morning (almost afternoon at this point),, I’m still sitting here NIGHTMARE ALICE style, drinking cold green tea, listening to the kids fighting… Maggie is screaming because apparently Anders just wiped a booger in her hair…. and the sun is trying to come out, but is losing the fight… my house is a total trainwreck, I’ve got about a dozen phone calls to make, supply orders to be made, and I’m just totally and utterly not even motivated to do squat…   All the while fretting what I’m going to make for dinner tonight that the kids will inevitably turn their noses up at, and fretting what I’m going to do with them tomorrow, and the next day and the next day and the next day……….

I’m feeling the need for a real vacation.  Good thing we’re going down to California for Easter.  Me and the kids anyway….  Until then, I’ll just dream of the sun, dream of warmth, dream of good health and good company…..   I’m going to go take a shower now….   if I feel like it….   blah….

Spring is totally in the air today. That’s not to say it won’t get back down to 40 degrees w/ sideways rain tomorrow……… but us Oregonians take each day .. one at a time.  Kooky weather indeed.  

Hubby has been in Vegas since Wed, he returns tonight. He’s been there with his buddies from college, gambling on the basketball March Madness whatever..  I hope he comes home with A) a lot of winnings and B) an In N’ Out burger for me.  Yes yes,, I’d risk the food poisoning from sitting in a backpack for three hours, and I’d eat it totally soggy and nasty..   He’ll be home this evening.  Being with the kids all by myself is interesting. Finally this morning, Maggie asked,, “So mommy,,, when is daddy going to be home again?”   and I say to myself.. ‘not soon enough’  Don’t get me wrong, I love spending one on one with the kids. We break all the rules. Eating breakfast for dinner, ordering in expensive, gourmet pizza, watching movies, and basically going against the set schedule.  It’s a nice break, for all of us…   But, we are all anxious for him to get home. 

Spring break is underway!!  We leave on Monday for the beach for three days. Can’t wait. Hopefully the rain will hang off the coast and we’ll be able to put our feet in warm sand. We go to a great place over in Netarts, Or called HAPPY CAMP HIDEAWAY  www.happycamphideaway.com . It used to be some sort of old vacation spot for all the loggers way back in the day. Most of the structures still stand. But basically it’s a string of cabins right on the beach.  Yah, sure, the floors are all crooked, and the doors all creak, and the windows are all single pane, but you are literally right on the sand with the gorgeous Netarts Bay right at your footstep.  We try to make it to Happy Camp at least 4 or 5 times a year. The owners of the place, Bruce and Theresa Lovelin are the best hosts, and it’s always good to see their smilin’ faces.  I’ve got to start packing!!!

Thinking of stamping today. It’s really hard to motivate myself to stamp with the sun shining. I’d much rather be outside getting my fingernails dirty. I’ve got some ornamental grasses to plant, and I’d like to get some freesia and gladiolus bulbs in the ground sometime this weekend.  That, and I really really need to clean out the pond in our front yard. I’m certain that the raccoons ran off with most of, if not all, of my pond comets. Those animals are BANDITS!! Just like they look!!!  That and I also need to do a water change and a good cleaning to my fish tank here in the office. The gravel is lookin’ pretty hairy and nasty.    

The list is long, of chores to do..  Not to mention I need to return about a dozen phone calls from yesterday. Orders are definitely picking up for Mother’s Day. I’ll be sending out a free shipping coupon here pretty soon. So if you would like one, just let me know via email  mountaingirlsilver@mac.com   and I’ll send one to you!!  

Off to take a shower for now……..  or maybe not.. I’m sure I’ll get side-tracked between here and the shower…. which is usually the case.  Laters..

About a month ago, I was called on by a guy I met at the Coldplay concert in Phoenix, Az in November. My friend Heather and I were at Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville to grab a bite to eat before the show started. The place was just jam packed with fans… and I mean JAM PACKED. So packed in fact that we ended up sitting at a big table with about three other couples. 2 girls from Seattle and a couple from Encinitas, Cal.  We got to chatting with all of them, and being the business woman that I am, I handed out my business card to the guy, now Kevin Moore, next to me and told him to call me if he ever needed any hand stamped jewelry……   better than handing someone a card and saying,, “call me if you need any auto insurance”… ;c)   

So a couple months go by, and out of the blue he calls me needing me to make his daughter a bracelet and a necklace for her 13th birthday. Got them sent off in time for her birthday and told him to call me if he ever needed anything else. So he calls me about a month or so ago after he left the memorial service for Jeremy Lusk of the Metal Mulisha. Jeremy was one of those motocross guys you see on ESPN2 .. or like X-games. I’m not a motocross watcher or anything, but very quickly learned of his history, his devout belief in God and the brotherhood he shared with his fellow Metal Mulisha brethren. Basically it’s a club/organization of dare-devils and extremely talented bikers, skaters, surfers etc…. that put their life on the line doing what they love, all the while, having a deep, deep sense of religion and belief in God. Quite awesome if you ask me.  Anyways, so Kevin attended the service, and said that it pretty much changed his life, therefore leaving him feeling so totally moved and spiritually fulfilled that he felt the need to create something for a few of the Metal Mulisha brothers. Kevin, himself, used to be sponsored by the INDEPENDENT (skateboard trucks) company. He has been photographed and was a large part of the beginning era of early skaters in the 80’s. So he really felt a connection with the “live on the edge” sort of mentality of these dudes.

Long story short, he had such great ideas in creating the perfect men’s “eternity bracelet” to honor the life of Jeremy Lusk, who died in Costa Rica at a motorcycle show in early February. It was a totally tragic accident where, he most likely would’ve survived had he been back here in the states.  So I made the bracelets, but Kevin was concerned that if he just popped them in the mail to the organization’s address, they would’ve got into the wrong hands, and ultimately he wanted to present them to the guys face to face. He put a lot, and I mean a lot of thought into these things before I even started to tackle them. Made several alterations and changes to the wording and stamping until he came up with the perfect statement.  

He attended the Jeremy Lusk Hall of fame ribbon cutting today in San Diego, Ca. There he was, face to face with the recipients of the bracelets. It was the perfect opportunity to present. And that’s what he did. And the guys were blown away with this perfect gesture, of thoughtfulness and kindness on Kevin’s part. 

I feel really good that it was something that I had made with my own two hands, and from his heart, and together we created a really kick ass bracelet.  The outside of the cuff was stamped with “IN GOD’S HANDS”  …..  a short time before Jeremy died, he had tattooed across his back IN GODS HANDS…….   pretty ironic….   Rest in Peace Jeremy… there are many here that will continue to honor you forever….  Jeremy is the guy in the picture, all the way to the right…

Okay,, so pardon his goofy hat….  but this is my dad, Gary. He’s doing what he loves, and what he does best, fishing of course.. Today is his 65th birthday, and I’m not down in California to help him celebrate. ;c(  But what I wouldn’t do to actually be down there…….  (sigh)

I’m a lot like my dad. People say I look just like him. Inherited most of his mannerisms, and I’d like to think I inherited some of his talents. He’s one of the most entertaining, friendly, outgoing, talented, crafty, funny, witty people you’ll ever meet. He knows no strangers. So many times, growing up, we’d be shopping or something, out in public, and me and my lil sister and my mom (or whoever we happened to be with) would be out in the car for at least 10 mins waiting on him at every stop. As he’d be in there talking to someone about something, and my mom would say,, “Here we go, Mr. Jabberjaws!”… as she rolled her eyes. And we would sit out there and wait, and wait, AND wait, and then he’d come get in the car and proceed to tell us who that was and what they were talking about and how so and so is such a nice person and blah blah blah….   ha ha…  He’s definitely a people person, but in his older age, has become more subdued and, I wouldn’t say “less-friendly”, but certainly has put up a wall. A wall that can be busted down some, but it still stands, waist high or so….  not high enough to obscure the sight of his lure……..

He’s 1/2 Swedish, and 1/2 German. But looks more like a Swede, and is hard-headed like a Swede. What’s that one saying?  ”You can always tell a Swede, but you can’t tell him much”  Totally my dad…     I get a lot of my personality from my dad.  I’m ALWAYS right….  NEVER wrong….   ha ha  And never try to tell me what to do. NO ONE is my boss!!! I’m my own boss!!  

I love my dad so much, and when he and my mom come to visit me up here in Oregon, and then when they have to leave… My whole body just aches. I miss them so much. I miss all of my family so much down in California. And even tho’ it’s just a state away, a mere hour and 20 min flight, they are still far away in my mind.  I can’t just hop in my car and head over there for dinner. I can’t just come on over for dinner on any given night for that matter.  I miss out on a lot of family time because I live here and they live there. It’s sort of become just an accepted fact that I’ll always be the one that lives far away. If it weren’t for the nasty California HEAT, we’d probably consider living there someday. Or maybe it’s the fact that 90 billion people live in the confines of California…     I wish they would move up here!!   In this picture, Dad is fishing the Coquille River down in Bandon, Oregon. It’s a trip he takes every year, and stays there in his camper for a month or two (depending on the salmon run).. He loves it down there.  And even when he’s down there (about 4 hours from me here), I don’t go see him too often, but just knowing that he and my mom are that much closer to me makes me feel a little better.  

Kids and I are headed to California for Easter this year. I haven’t missed an Easter yet. Even when I was in the Coast Guard, I’d STILL find a way to take leave and head home for Easter. The foothills of California in April are breath-taking, unless of course you have severe allergies.. ;c)  The flowers are all blooming, the rolling hills are green, the oaks are starting to grow, the bull pines are busting with pollen, the sun is shining, the smell of grass is intoxicating….    I look forward to my trip down there this time of year immensely!!   And so do the kids. They love playing with all of their cousins. Just typing this is getting me all pumped for the trip………      I just called my mom n’ dads a bit ago, and my dad was out driving his 1970 Opel GT.  He’s a speed demon, a dare devil, has no fear………..     yah,,,  I’m definitely his daughter ;c)   Happy Birthday Daddy.. I love and miss you so much!!!

I think everyone has thought to themselves at one time or another, “Man, I wish I was a bird.”…”I wish I could fly.” …”I wish I could be a fish and swim all around the sea.”  Well… my wish would be to have the life of a cat…… no doubt about it.  I’ve always been a cat person. I am a Leo… how could I not?  In fact, when I got married, I told my husband that if he hated cats and wouldn’t let us have cats, then the wedding was off. My sister made the statement one time…”Every room in a house should have a cat in it.”… I live by that mantra.   The cat you see here to the right is of Mobee. He’s like half maine coon cat, half tabby, and I call him my COG. He’s half cat half dog. You have never in your life met a cooler cat. Most cats scramble when strangers come into the house, not to be seen again until the next morning, under some bed or hiding in the basement. But not Mobee. He’s the first to meet and greet each new face right in the entry-way. If a customer comes by to pick up their order vice having me ship it, they typically will come in, sit at the kitchen table to write their check amongst the puddles of syrup from yesterday’s breakfast, and there will be Mobee, weaving in and out of all the table deco, just to get some attention. And like,, I don’t even scold him… I don’t say,, “mobee,, get down”…   that is his spot. Everywhere is his spot. The kitchen counters, the kitchen table, the bathroom counter, he sits between the vinyl shower curtain and the cloth curtain on the side of the tub as I take my shower. He’s just not your typical cat. In fact, we named him Mobee after Moby Dick, because as a kitten, he would just jump into the tub, full of water. Just WIERD!!   He’s the cat, that when we have a bunch of people over with kids, and we put a tent up in the living room for all the toddlers and kids to play in,, there’s Mobee, running in and out of the tent playing along with the rest of them.  

 Mobee’s “spot” is atop a 5 foot tall cat condo that stands against a window with a view, next to the aquarium, in the living room.  You will most likely find him there unless there is a knock at the door, then he goes and greets. But he has this very very very annoying habit of chewing. So.. if there is a dead ballon hovering about the house a week after whatever occasion, you can bet that the string from the balloon will get shorter and shorter every day till it’s down to just an inch of string or ribbon. Well, the other day he chewed thru the string that pulls up the blind next to his condo. He just sat there and chewed thru three strings, right at the same spot, and it’s probably going to cost us 75 bucks to get the damn blind “re-strung”…   but we just can’t bring ourselves to getting mad at him for it. If he was a dirtbag cat that pissed everywhere , then yes, we would most likely beat him…. but it’s Mobee.. he’s off the hook.  In fact, a few years back when everyone was talking about that new procedure where you can CLONE your pet, I seriously thought about it for a minute. And honestly, I think about it every day…   And always, always make the comment,,, “When Mobee dies, I’m not going to be the same person.”   

Mobee gives the term “Cool Cat” a whole new meaning…..  I mean that!!!

When you are a parent, the only thing you want in life, is for your kids to “get it”…. to be smart, to be witty, to excel, to succeed, and most importantly, to be happy…….   

This last month we have been through a couple little rough patches with Anders. Not because he’s a bad kid, or a rebellious kid (like I was), or that he’s a total dirtbag kid, but because he is Anders….. he is one of his own kind.  He is the youngest in a class of like 20, but yet he is the glue….  He is the kid in class that everyone notices when he is gone or sick and absent. He never means harm, he always strives to please, but yet, he beats to his own drum.  He is so smart, street smart, witty smart, humor smart… he , to me,  ”gets it”……    He has that one little element, from what I have witnessed, some of his little buddies do not have.  He will be somebody great………   but today, and from the day he was born, he has always been great to me…. he is my baby, he is the one that turned this young, selfish woman into a mommy, and a mommy to him I will always be….. why o’ why must our kids grow up so quickly….???

So today was his second parent teacher conference, except today’s conference was a little different.  In that, he LED the conference. It was a “celebration of learning” if you will.  I know it sounds all Oregon/Granoli,, but in my opinion, it was highly effective and really gave Anders and opportunity to shine and show off who he is, what he is working towards as a student, and what his progress has been thus far.  He has come SO far this year. Making progress in leaps and bounds in all areas of school. Along with his teacher at the table, and hubby and I, Anders explained several areas of school, the projects that he and his class are working on, science projects, reading stuff, math stuff, task direction stuff, a well rounded conversation.  His teacher, Noelle (whom I’ve grown to adore) fluttered between tables, as we shared the slot with one other student and his mother. It was really awesome and enlightening. At first, I thought,, wow.. this is going to be tough on her because she’s going to have to share the conference period with two different families, and won’t get as much “one on one” time with each parent(s)…. but it was great. 

It was obvious that Anders was so totally nervous in the beginning. In fact, this morning before he left for school, as we were telling him that we’d see him up at the school at 3:30 pm,, he wanted to clarify that while writing his “agenda” to his conference that he had written some of the things during a time when he had just got in trouble…….    Trouble…….. trouble.. what constitutes trouble?? Especially when you’re a 2nd grader.  ???   Well,,, it’s been a few things here and there that have led him to be in trouble. Somehow, he navigated his way onto the internet during library/computer time, which, he doesn’t have access to the internet here at home…….    a week or so ago, he hid underneath a table or around a corner and jumped out and said “BOOOOOO” to a teacher,, scaring the ever-lovin-wits out of her (which is totally inappropriate yes,, I agree)… and then a few days before that, he got in trouble for not going to sit on the gym stage after being “tagged” several times in a game of tag. He hates being the loser…….        So while all these things constitute further instruction and counseling,,, I mean,, at least he’s not running around the school saying obscenities and kicking people in the ass..      He’s a boy. He’s a good boy,,  He’s MY good boy.  I will forever be proud of him, no matter who he is, who he grows up to be, or what anyone ever thinks of him!! I’m proud of you Anders, for all that you do, and for the person that you are growing up to be!!!   I love you!!!