UGH!

today... needs to be over with. Our store has inventory on the 17th of January. We are prepping the store for it. Which means lots of organizing and counting and monotonous tasks that are killing me. I need creativity! Next week I'll have my chance. I get to burn things! It's going to be amazing. So... what's getting me through? MUSIC! Bjork especially. So here's my favorite song... enjoy!

the pilgrimage

The holiday's were fantastic. We spent Christmas at home with our housemates JD and Callie, our friend Ryan and Callie's parents Kim and Duncan. It was a lovely few days of lounging around the house and enjoying each others company.
Then mid week a freak ice/snow storm hit Portland HARD and although I left work early, it still took me four hours to reach my home, when it usually takes me one. However, to my surprise I was very patient and not at all stressed during the drive. My car is quite reliable in the snow/ice, I was just more concerned about other slipping and sliding into my car. But I made it home safe, and was able to enjoy the time I had to myself. My thoughts wandered to my spiritual journey I'm currently on. We have been trying different churches in our area, nothing has really peaked our interest as of yet, but we have a few more on our list we are eager to try. We both want a grounded theological based teacher, who keeps our interest. Seeker churches are necessary, however, they just aren't for us.
Anyway, my thoughts wandered to a favorite author of mine, J.D. Salinger and his book Franny and Zooey. In this book he writes of another book The Way of a Pilgrim,
"The Way of a Pilgrim is the English title of a 19th century anonymous Russian work, detailing the narrator's journey across the country while discovering practicing the Jesus Prayer devoutly, with the help of a prayer rope, and studying the Philokalia. " taken from Wikipedia

I've wanted to read it for years but would always forget to actually pick it up at the bookstore. So I made a point to run to this amazing book store near my work called Powell's http://www.powells.com/ They of course had 4 different editions to choose from, and I couldn't wait to start reading it.

The topic of prayer has been brought up quite a few times in my life the last few weeks. The podcast I listen to every week from Mars Hill Bible Church has been going through the sermon on the mount since the beginning of September, and the last two weeks they've talked about the Lord's Prayer. I encourage you to go take a listen!
http://www.marshill.org/teaching/index.php

I will let you know how this journey goes.... I'm rather excited. Already it has allowed me to free myself of burdens I thought I'd never let go of and find unbelievable forgiveness. I don't by any means think it's the book, I think it's my openness to the journey. That's what it's all about. Being open.

Reveling in Rainy Rants

I love alliteration. :)

It's a cloudy Friday morning here in Rhododendron Oregon. It's quite beautiful, and the perfect music to listen to while enjoying the rain is dirty gritty blues. Hence my current obsession with Tom Waits.
I've always been a fan, but lately the combination of long rainy hours spent in the car and his raspy voice are just heaven to me. In some way it makes the rain feel diabolically mischievous.

My inspirations come from the little things. I have to find the joy in the small idiosyncrasies of life otherwise I'd probably lose my mind.
I'm being pushed at work, and am trying to push back in the most positive way I can. So far, the result is rather satisfying.
One of the many things I've learned after our move is you have two choices in life, you can choose to focus on the negatives or the positives. If you focus on the negatives, you drown, at least that's how I was feeling. Like I'd never be able to come up for air. But I've been making an concerted effort to find the blessings in my life, and keep them close to me. Even if it's a little song that makes me feel conected to something bigger, or a joke with a new friend that makes me gigle. Through all of this learning my work has been at it's peak. I've felt inspired to not only be creative but to go above and beyond the expectations of my job description.
So for a little inspiration for you all, here is my current favorite song by Mr. Waits

blessings

the last week has been stressful, to say the least. Moving is a difficult thing to do. Leaving your job, your home, your friends, all the familiar things you've grown accustom to. I had this idea that we'd be moving into a place of pure joy and happiness and no problems. well, that's not true. problems follow you, and when you have a marriage that's happening part-time because your spouse has to work 1000 miles away half of the time, things get a bit more stressful. but one thing I've learned, is my family knows what God's love really is. My husband loves me more than I can understand and my friends are relentless with their encouragement.
I am blessed.

why i love my iphone

Here are some photos of the new surroundings, the autumn season up here is just beautiful.This is from the backyard of the new house we just moved into a few weeks back. We aren't as close to the river as before, but the puppies still love it!

This is the river we used to live right next to that we'd take the pups to all the time. Now that we are at the new place and it's much colder we dont' really go over there anymore, but I'm sure it'll be a regular occurance in the summer months.
This quaint little building is in Sandy which is about 20 minutes north of us on highway 26. I drive through Sandy every morning on my way to work.








This I did take while driving... I know, I know, dangerous, but I was going REALLY slow and nobody was around... I HAD to... it was too pretty.


I took these over the last few months during my explorations of the area. Pretty gorgeous huh?



There is a great free app that I have on my iPhone called SnapBox. It lets you put different filters on your pictures. For example... I can make this little town look like a scene from Carnival!! :) If you haven't seen Carnival it's a show that has been canceled, so it's only available on DVD, but it's a dark story of Good vs. Evil set in the dustbowl during the depression. Intense stuff. I highly recommend it. But that's just because I like things that are a little dark when it comes to watching Drama.

stop traffic

Lately what's been on my mind when I'm not consumed with my own little problems is Human Trafficking. I'm sure some of you have heard me talk about it. But it's a terrifying problem that affects millions of people around the world, most of whom are women and children. Experts are saying that modern-day slavery is a bigger issue now than it was in the 19th century. How scary is THAT?! So I've been looking around online, trying to find a good organization to get involved with, and I discovered this one. http://intlprincess.org/What they do is this: "International Princess Project advocates for women enslaved in prostitution, helping them restore their lives and empowering them to live free. Through various initiatives, International Princess Project both helps partner organizations increase capacity and provides direct support for women in need.--International Princess™ Project currently implements two initiatives working towards the vision of restoring hope and dignity to women formerly enslaved in prostitution. The PUNJAMMIES™ initiative creates a self-sustaining enterprise which provides needed jobs for women and the resources for their healing and restoration. The Advocacy initiative raises awareness in the United States of the problem of prostitution and human trafficking around the world and helps mobilize people to take action."So basically these women are rescued from forced prostitution and given jobs making these Punjammies. They are finally given a choice in how to survive. I don't have much money, so I'm just trying to spread the word. The pajama pants are actually quite cute and only $30 a pop. Which is a great price point for a Christmas gifts!

monster goddess from mars

To be quite honest, the only reason I've started this new blog is because for the life of me I cannot remember how to login into my other blog. But I think it's time to start fresh anyway. It's the season for new beginnings in my life, why not start fresh here. I will be blogging ideas that inspire me in my personal life and work. I work in the fashion world, and I find odd things beautiful, and I'd like to share those things with others.
First off... Alexander McQueen's Spring 2010 show I LOVE! I suggest you go to Elle.com and take a peak
http://www.elle.com/Runway/Ready-to-Wear/Spring-2010-RTW/ALEXANDER-MCQUEEN/ALEXANDER-MCQUEEN/(imageIndex)/12#
Would I wear any of that? Nope.. but that's not what it's about for me, it's such an art form. First of all the prints are so detailed and they draw your eye all over the place, in a good way. Secondly, look at the shoes! You've got to give those models credit for being able to walk in those bad-boys! This collection is like a hybrid insect/alien/monster goddess from another planet that you don't want to mess with.
Not only do I love this runway show, I love that Lady Gaga worked with McQueen on her new video Bad Romance. Say what you will about Gaga, but she is an artist at best, and pays so much attention to detail that it's outstanding. Every time I watch this video, I notice something new. It's brilliant.