Day Five: Remind Me Why I'm Here?

I got up much earlier today, while Mariah slept like a sloth until late morning.  When I finally managed to awaken said sloth I reminded her today was Depoe Bay day. I'd promised her lunch at our favorite place, the Chowder Bowl, and the opportunity to get knick-knacks and/or trinkets for friends. The mention of food and shopping got her moving in good order.

I decided that Mariah was going to be in charge of photographic adventures today. I forgot she prefers to video everything so I've included two of her better videos (the ones that cause the least amount of motion sickness)  I hope you enjoy her narrative.

Lunch was great, and trinket shopping was fun.

Spoterina in her traveling digs

On a side note, Spoterina still lives and is quite healthy-who knew?  She takes better care of that ladybug than her cat.  Spoterina will become legend as the first ladybug in history to take a family vacation if she lives the rest of the trip. My mom told me Spoterina needs a roommate to keep her company.  Mariah wholeheartedly agrees.

My parents are leaving a day early to get a jump on the weekend traffic and I am sorry to see them go.  I really got attached to their dogs in a big way and vice-verse (they were really surprised at how their creatures took to me, but hey, it's ME). It's harder for them to take long trips these days.

The weather was actually pretty chilly this morning  but ended up being one of the nicest days yet.  Took Mariah to the pool again-repeat-and watching Frozen as we speak.

I haven't made the big trek down to the beach here due to all the steps.  (Three sets of multilevel stairs). I'm thinking tomorrow might be the day because I can come back up and sprawl on the living room floor with no shame when I'm done since it will just be us.

I had to take a couple of Depoe Bay

I brought my ocean kite down and really want to teach Mariah how to fly it-the rock hunting looks pretty good too.   I gave my mom the giant agate and she packed it before I could take a pic-you will just have to trust me on this one.   I will take a pic when I get home of the sandstone fossil I found. (sandstone with lots of shell in it).

The artist at work

I've promised Mariah that she can 'camp out' in the living room tomorrow night and she's pretty excited.  I just made it clear that we have to clean it up  before you go. She's ready to plan a picnic and everything.  This might just get interesting!

Ah, Day Five-When the newness has worn off and your child starts acting normal again. Oy.
I've dealt with her attitude on and off today.  She's really been trying to work the Grandma angle; however, Grandma just happens to side with me.  I really appreciate it too, because those of you who know Mariah just know....   (You will be happy to know that I am standing my ground).

Tonight's Sunset view

The sun is sinking into the horizon as I type this and I'm already waxing nostalgic as this part of our journey  is coming to an end. It's been a really nice, albeit shorter than normal, trip. It was nice getting reacquainted with my dad despite the awkwardness.  It's okay to let the past be the past as long as I don't allow it to mess with my present and/or future. The time with my Mom has been epic and awesome as usual.  I will admit again that it's hard to see them getting older.

No major disasters or family drama occurred (not counting Mariah) and for that I am very thankful. I think they have realized that I am always going to be me and that it's not a bad thing.  They see that I'm happy and that is what counts.

 I will try to keep blogging daily but as we switch gears and go to the 'Momma' part of the trip (my photo days) I might get a bit distracted.

I will try to keep you entertained as I do so!

Until next time,
Robyn :)

Day Four: Just Beachy

Today we slept in until near 10 a.m.-it was glorious!

Today was beach day and Mariah wasn't feeling it-she wanted to go to the pool and swim which caused much eye-rolling from me since she gets bored after the first hour.

This really caught my eye for some reason

I also was in great need of caffeine.  Our regular shop has really weird limited hours this week (go figure) so I hit a place I discovered the last time I was down here-Allie's Philosophy Espresso in  Lincoln City.

Starry waves

It was a fledgling  business back then-barely making the day's needs. I was so happy to hear that she's been approached with franchising. I love to support small businesses and in a tourist haven, they come and go so often.  For this one to succeed as it has shows great dedication and determination on her part. (she's just a young gal) I hope they make it to Idaho some day but I digress...

Coffee was in hand and all was well in my world.

We went down to our favorite spot, Fogarty Creek State Park. It's a smaller contained area that includes a beach with plenty of rock hunting, and a creek to actually let the kids play in, keeping them from being swept out to sea.

Close up

I didn't take my camera at the request of Mariah-she simply wanted to spend time and play with me.  We found some neat rocks, tons of shells, and I found an agate the size of a golf ball. (SCORE!)

She decided that jasper was her focus for rock hunting as the adults were kind of hogging the agate prone areas.

After playing in the creek for an hour or so I decided to head back so Mariah could swim. I also managed to get sunburned on my head and shoulders in the process. Mariah already had a base tan so she escaped that particular event.

She spent a couple hours splashing around.  I was ready for a break so we headed back to the unit.  I took some time to harass the dogs-they succumbed to my awesomeness.

Dinner is waiting...

Late afternoon rolled around and I felt a bit guilty for neglecting my camera and took a few shots of this 'n'that.  I was treated to a really nice dinner again-this time giant prawns in a lime horseradish sauce.  It's almost enough to make me want to move home again.....almost.... I have convinced my dad to share his recipes with me.

Gorgeous afternoon

I am taking the night off and making this an early post because I'm actually a bit tired and have a big day planned in Depoe Bay tomorrow.  I will definitely be taking the camera and will try to catch something interesting-with my brain, you never know what will catch my eye.

And that's a short but sweet wrap for the day!

Until next time,
Robyn

Another close up

Day Three: Facing The Dragon

Kelp in the surf 

Today was a day of schizophrenic weather.  We had all the Oregon Coast had to offer in one day several times over. 

I've been fighting a raging headache all day. It probably didn't help that I didn't sleep well-there was something wrong with my bed.  I had my dad check it out and we ended up calling maintenance to fix it-turns out that 1/2 the slats on the bed had fallen-I'm lucky I didn't break the thing. Or my neck. I did however suffer the aforementioned headache and associated afflictions.

It's a dog's life

I originally planned to take Mariah down to our favorite beach for the day but the rain and mist diverted us to the swimming pool instead.  I was ready to spend hours watching her splash around but she uttered the three words that strike fear in any parent on vacation.

"Mom, I'm bored."

This ended up leading to a pretty emotional day for her-she misses her friends, her cat, and a pretty endless stream of things that she misses.   The tears flowed freely on and off today. After a  trip to Wal-Mart, lunch at Subway (thanks, Mom), and watching Frozen twice,  all ended up well-as well as it could be in this situation.

Mariah was appeased with an offering of cherries

I ended up admitting defeat over the headache and took some medicine for it-this in itself is grounds for goofiness for me to begin with.  Enter my dad who hands me a Jack and Coke.  I was a pretty happy camper shortly thereafter. 

I took a few assorted photos today-the beach, some water droplets on the railing, the dogs, etc., but nothing has really struck me yet, subject-wise.

A bit of rain

I have to admit I was really looking forward to dinner-my dad made the most amazing food.  He's sure learned to cook up a storm. I rarely eat seafood, but I indulged with great  enthusiasm tonight.  Take the best halibut, bread it and fry it up in a ton of butter, and set it on a pan and smother it with shredded Parmesan and Asiago.  Add some shrimp and top it with more Asiago and Parmesan. Put it in the oven until the cheese melts.  

OMG Seafood Heaven.  And wine.  He poured me a glass of some pretty nifty wine.  I was all kinds of happy.

Mariah ate three pieces sans shrimp.  She told Grandpa that he could cook fish forever for her and she would eat it all-especially if he made her more of his homemade tarter sauce.

After dinner I even had a real almost-conversation with my dad. You never would have guessed it's been so long since we talked.  It's not a rosy rainbow-filled relationship, but being able to have a basic conversation was nice. 

Then I  brought up tattoos. I even told him I was considering getting a small one.

*face palm*

 I actually got a mini lecture. I'm an adult and can do as I please but I swear, it was like I was  five years old for a couple of minutes. Some things never change, lol. We ended up having a laugh over it, but it was a reminder that some things don't change. It's not such a bad thing now that I'm secure in who I am. He went on to tell me that there was nothing on this earth that I could do that would ever surprise him. 

I faced the dragon and came out unscathed.

Peace at the end of the day

I'm hoping to call it a semi early night so I can get some sleep.  Tomorrow I am taking Mariah and my camera to the beach. It should prove to be another interesting day!

Until next time,

Robyn 

Day Two-Easy Does It

Day two was rather uneventful but deserves a mention  of sorts, even if it pales in comparison to yesterday's  more obvious adventures.

We woke up and began our day in a bit more leisurely fashion; Mariah insisted that we skip all the waterfalls and head straight to see Grandma. This actually ended up being a great idea as unexpected rain was in our midst...well we were in its midst. One minute we were in a downpour, the next nothing. There was no drizzle in between. It was rather odd.

Last peek at the sun

On a positive note, the heavy rain did help me discover that one of my  wiper blades has a small defect . Right in the middle of the blade.  At eye level. On the driver's side.  It leaves the tiniest line and it about drove me crazy as my eyes were automatically drawn to it.  Tomorrow will involve me trying to do something about it, since the nearest Jiffy Lube is a hundred miles away, give or take.

Mariah and I had a few lengthy conversations that ranged from creating a new universe for  Spoterina (who still lives, much to my surprise) to wanting to teach Grandpa and Grandma how to surf this weekend.

We arrived in the early afternoon and I swear the drivers are crazier than I've ever seen them here.  Like omg where are the cops crazy.  If there is one thing I've learned from my several vacations and short stint of living here...the cops will be on an out-of-stater like nobody's business so I stay right on the speed limits  (Years of my mom's reminders are going through my head even now).  So although I was almost taken out twice, I was a good girl and listened to my mama.

Snapped from the back deck this evening

Pulled up to the place with butterflies in my stomach because my dad is here and I haven't seen him for 12 years. (long story for another blog).  I walked in the door with all the fear of a five year old child and it fell away the second we laid eyes on each other.  I'm not saying the heavens opened and the birds sang but I am relieved that it was mostly the pre-trip anxiety. 

Mariah was so happy to meet her grandpa.  It was weird for me, however, as they are really showing their age. More than I'd expected.  I have accepted that their aging is a normal and appropriate thing in life, but man..that much, this soon?

Lots of hugs helped both of us I think, and we can now get on with the  business of serious vacay.

                                                                                                                                                           

Took Mariah down to the pool and there were a few other parents and kids there and wouldn't you know it....the three year old started belting out 'Let it go 'and within three seconds we parents, shaking our heads, were treated to an impromptu concert by every. single. offspring. present. It could be worse. I think.  I admit the acoustics are kind of echo-ish in there and it sounded kind of neat.

I did get to meet the Chihuahuas they brought with them-Astro and Tootsie.  I call them psycho and teeth.  Pics will follow in the next blog or so. They are pretty sweet dogs, and they make me giggle.

I finally cracked the camera out of the bag and grabbed a few shots off the back deck as the sun was setting, after all, what's a blog post without a few pics?

Not camera shy-flew right by me

I know this is all over the place tonight but there is always something to say and I'm conscious of my word limit.

Tomorrow is a new day for adventure and I look forward to sharing it with you!

The cold never bothered me anyway.

-Robyn

And So It Begins

 

Water Wall at the entrance to the Discovery Center Museum

I woke up at around 5 a.m.-this in itself is award-winning since I've never managed to leave on any trip on time for the last couple of years. I went to wake The Midget-sure she was raring to go...and couldn't get her door open. (Did I mention she's going through an  "I'm sleeping on my floor" stage?).  Seeing my vision of leaving on time dissolving before my very eyes I creatively managed to get her door open and got her up.  

Live raptor at the Discovery Center Museum

Checked my list (ended up forgetting her toothpaste and toothbrush) and we were off.  The rain was so bad that the freeway slowed to about 20 mph for ten minutes or so, then it finally cleared up.  Was a nice and uneventful drive from Spokane to the Tri-Cities.

Saber-tooth Tiger Skeleton

I pulled in to my usual stop in Kennewick to gas up and get a drink. There were two van loads of soldiers in line for the loo and of course The Midget made a beeline right for them.  (this is nothing usual in the scheme of things)  She made her introductions and proceeded to chat away whilst we waited for said loo.  She wanted them to let us follow them to their base so she could see could visit everyone.

Beaver

I was at the register handing over the cash and heard "I'll be just outside the door, mom" and she vanished before I could holler "stop." The cashier gives me the 'pity' look (anyone who has dealt with kids will know what I am talking about) and I head to the door.  I step outside-NO MIDGET.  I called our her name and hear "I'm over here Mom!"

Pioneer Family exhibit-Crossing the Columbia River

Yep, she was with the soldiers.  They offered to keep her-I was tempted.  I let her finish up-she shook one of the gal's hands (I heard Mariah tell her that she was  really pretty in her uniform) and walked on over to me like she hadn't a care in the world. I reminded her of the imminent death that awaited her if she took off like that again. Appropriately chastised, we got in the car and continued our journey.

The Midget learning something cool.

The following conversation took place.

Midget: Mom I really want to go to their base and watch them train."

Me: Honey, you wouldn't have clearance. Not just anyone can go in.

Midget: I bet they would if I asked them very nicely.

Me: Sorry kiddo, I don't think so.

Midget: Well I'm just a kid and I can smile really nice and I'm sure they will let me in.

Me: Sigh...

Midget:  Mom, I know if I can do that really cool hand thing (demonstrates epic salute) they will let me in. Especially if I tell them how proud I am of them.

Me:  You just might get in after all.

After a VERY windy but basically uneventful drive we arrived at our hotel 3 hours ahead of schedule and there was no way to check in early.  Mariah was in rare form.  We get to the desk and before I can even say hi, she asked if the lady is from India.  She answered yes and Mariah let her know how much she loves people from other countries.  The lady was really sweet.  Then Mariah said that she would like to go visit the lady's family in India sometime. *FACEPALM* (omg I am so entertained by this).

 We killed the extra time by visiting the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, where she proceeded to try and talk the attendants into letter her take their pictures.  I had to remind her that she couldn't not take pics of people without their permission. One gal agreed but I interjected 'this one won't go on the blog' and the lady did a double take. I assured her she would remain anonymous. She did get a pic of a small live raptor, and several exhibits, which appear in this post.

We had lunch at our usual place, grabbed a mini blizzard at DQ, hit the store really quick, and we got checked in.  She spent the afternoon swimming and we are now chilling in the room. I think the day is catching up with both of us. I think an early bed time is in order..along with an early wake up-I want to take the scenic route from here to Portland so that I can catch several of the waterfalls on the way. 

Thus ends day one of our adventure...

Have I mentioned just how much I love my life?

Until next time,

Robyn

Yours truly, road weary and ready to chill.

What I'm Listening To

Disclaimer: According to the blogverse stats shared by one of my besties, a good blog post is optimally around 500 words long.  In an effort to make it easier on all of you I will aim to keep my posts around this so you don’t get bogged down in the abyss that is my mind.

Many of you know I've moved in different music circles most of my life.  I've had the privilege and uncanny knack to have met many artists over my life time. From local gigs, arena shows, personal projects, and artists I've met during my carnival days I've always loved to immerse myself in music and observe how each person has expressed their creativity.

As a result of the inevitable inertia that has worked its way in and built up as my life progressed, I ended up getting distracted by other things. Over the last year or so I realized how much I missed it. Thanks to various social media, I've discovered some new (to me) artists and have found that I’m again chatting with and getting to know musicians across the musical spectrum. I often wonder what they think of me and my enthusiasm. (We all know I can get a bit chatty) but end up shrugging it off and just be me in all my awesomeness.

Living up here in North Idaho, we don’t get a lot of musical traffic. Don’t get me wrong-I can go over to Spokane for a show here and there, but most of the people I chat with are not in a position to tour up here or have any dates outside their local area set. Ever the optimist I still hope to meet them someday.

I really love how music has evolved socially; there is a double-edged sword with the social media aspect and lines can get blurred between fan, artist, and obsession but overall I think it’s made music a more intimate and satisfying animal.

For the last couple of weeks I've also had the following artists on repeat-to the point where The Midget (my 9 yr old) rolls her eyes saying “Again?”  Another friend jokingly asked me if I've abandoned my other music and cautiously asks if she can change the CD when she’s off to run errands in my car. She jokes that she puts the CD back in and cues it right back to where it was before she gets out of the car.

Am I really that bad? Nah, I’m just in a space where the music is inspiring to me and is helping me to work some things out in my brain. I’m sure you can relate. I've set a goal to try and do regular music posts to help support the bands and simply share what I feel is some pretty epic music.

Something about playing these guys back to back has kindled some pretty serious creativity in my brain and I want to get it all out before it runs dry. (Yes, novel that we hope to publish in July I’m looking at you). On  a side note, a few bands I like have just released their tour dates and I'm pretty excited that they are heading my way next fall! 

Here is who I’m listening to at the moment-I've provided links to my current favorites of who I’m listening to this week.  They are some pretty nice guys as well and the music is definitely worth a listen. I will let you know beforehand that this compilation is all over the spectrum so enter with caution.

Dead End Sky

Always 

Poynte

Destined to Fall  

Redeem/Revive

The Overture  

I wanted to share my discovery of the week:

Like a Storm

I love the way you hate me  

Note: All logos are the property of the bands;they are used with permission. 

Until next time,
-Robyn  ( this pic is from year ago when my hair was really purple and my scalp was too!)

Why I Love YA/NA Books And Other Musings

Yet another 'two blog posts in a day' anomaly. I was encouraged to make my blog posts a bit shorter and make them more frequently-let's face it, I can get wordy.

I get a lot of eyebrow raising and ribbing because I prefer to read YA/NA (Young Adult/New Adult) books. Don’t get me wrong-I love reading almost everything but I prefer this niche.

 I know people don’t get why I do but despite what you might think, most YA is well-written. Yes there are the epic fails, but those occur within any genre. Blaming YA/NA books for ruining literature as we know it? I say BS, baby.

With the influx of books to read in the genre, it’s actually upped readership overall. People who haven’t read in years have found a gateway through YA/NA. Some stay tethered to it while others branch out to other areas of literature. I stay centered in YA but I read everything except extensive self-help books.  Those just don’t do anything for me.

Some of the best books I’ve ever read in my life were YA/NA.  (Anne McCaffrey and John Green I’m looking at you). I’ve read a few YA/NA series’ several times over and they never get old or lose their appeal for me.

Someone asked me how I could read kid’s books at my age. First off, I make no bones about being an old lady with a young heart.  And secondly I don’t read kids books. I do write them, however. Some of you pre-read “Mommy are you Broken” for me about The Midget’s issues when I had my surgeries).

It’s completed and edited, but on hold for now while I decide  whether or not to write a couple more and release them as a series. The kid book market is one of the hardest to break into in the business, so I want to make sure the quality and marketability for it is top notch before I toss it out and shop it.

Another thing I get is “How can you write that stuff?” when dealing with sensitive or gritty subject matter, or even language. It can be difficult to separate the writer from the character.  It can be difficult for me to write, but it’s a process and character development is its own beast. 

Some things I’m working on are very gritty and raw and show sides of human nature that is at its basest level. Again, that’s the character, not me. I’m not writing anything too over the top, rest assured. Sometimes I draw from my own experiences to add depth to a character, sometimes it writes itself and I can only hang on and go for the ride.

I’m a very emotional person and I can relate to the intense and gut wrenching all over the place emotion that is written into these books. Of course my memories of my teens were old school-before the age of tech. The internet didn’t even exist then. Books were my main escape and I read nearly anything I could get my hands on. I just related to YA/NA more.

I love it all-paranormal, dystopian post-apocalyptic, fantasy, and so on. 

I just like what I like. You shouldn't feel like you are cornered just because you read it. We have a finite number of days in this life and it’s too short not to do what you love, unless you are a serial killer but that’s a discussion for another day.

I've decided to take part in a read along for one of my favorite series and I’m kind of excited about it. I’ve never taken part in one and while I’m much older that most of them, I still feel the same enthusiasm that they do. One thing I found interesting is that a large majority of YA/NA readers are older-not always as old as me, but you get the idea. 

Often times when I’m making new online friends I start with “your favorite old lady from Idaho.” (Because I AM old).  Some find me odd, others get where I’m coming from. Once you get over your initial head scratching and trying to figure me out, you’ll find I’m just as complex and nutty as everyone else on this planet-but most of all I am sincere.  I just happen to have the mindset of a twenty-something. It’s led to some interesting adventures.

 A big home project is to sort through my bookcases and donate the books I don’t want or read anymore. With my Nook and the 4-5 shelves full of books stacked double thick, I won’t ever run short of reading material.

Even after I thin down what I have and go through the 8 boxes (yes, 8) of books in my garage I will have a full house, book wise. As much as I love my Nook, there is nothing like the smell or weight of a book in your hand. *cue the schmooze*

Some of my current favorites are:

 Jennifer Armantrout’s Covenant, Lux, and Dark Elements series.

John Green’s The Fault in our Stars and Looking for Arizona.

VeronicaRoth’s Divergent series.

 Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Life as we knew it series.

Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series.

Just about everything written by Anne McCaffrey.

.If you have any good book recommendations or would like me to review one for you, comment or shoot me an email and I will see what I can do.

If you are an author, I would be happy to ARC and review. (Wend Peltzer, I am looking at you.)

Happy reading!

Until next time,

-Robyn 

What I’m Up To & Where I’m Going

Hi everyone-I hope this finds you well. We are nearing the end of another school year and The Midget has it figured out down to the hours until she’s done! She’s grown pretty restless over the last month and we are both looking forward to being able to stay up a bit later and sleep in a bit more.

I'm taking part in a read along for one of my favorite book series and I'm kind of excited tbh, because it's something I've not done before. My inner child really wants to win one of  the prizes but that's a blog post for another day..

We had a really cool thunderstorm yesterday-one of the things I love about late spring here in the Northwest. Granted it's nothing like the larger and more dangerous storms that take place around the country but for our area it was a pretty intense one.

Coming down in buckets

Hail in one of my planters

What I'm Up To

Back in 2009 I co-wrote a book with a good friend with plans to publish but I started dragging my feet and it ended up being shelved for several years. The other day we had a long conversation and she called me out for the epic stall.

 I decided it was time to pull my feet out of the mud and have taken the plunge into editing. We are in the process of making it nice and shiny and we hope to publish this coming July. I will keep you all updated on its progress.

I’ve got several books in the works I just need to get busy and finish them. Our first release will fall under the New Adult section and the next few of my solo efforts will fall into the Young Adult slot. I’m the most comfortable with writing in this genre as well as the fact that I just simply relate well to it. The current working title is “Of Squalor and Ashes.” Some of you may be familiar with it. 

Where I'm Going

I set my camera down for awhile to regroup and figure out what my projects will be for the coming summer.  I’m getting ready to take my Nikon body down to a camera shop and get the main body cleaned (I won’t touch it) and stock up on good quality lens cleaning supplies.

 My first adventure on deck is a trip down to the Oregon Coast.  I will be off on a three week adventure to visit various family members. I plan to shoot wherever the wind takes me. 

Gleneden Beach sunset

I will be visiting the Corvallis, OR area as well and plan to check out a pioneer cemetery I remember seeing years ago, along with going to check out Alsea Falls. There is a lot of history in the area and I look forward to sharing it with The Midget. We will be grabbing some much-needed mom & daughter time. 

She’s caught the photo bug and will be taking one of my digital point and shoots.  She’s quite the vlogger and if she records anything that won’t cause motion sickness I might post a couple. Her insights can be both profound and amusing.

I plan to return to Montana now that the snow has melted and revisit a place I really want to shoot more extensively. I’m always up for location recommendations in the Oregon/Idaho/Montana areas.

I’m planning to do some camping again and I’m sure I will have camera in hand for the spontaneous stuff.  I never really have a ‘set’ plan-I lay out a general idea and location but am prepared to follow spontaneous leaps of photographic faith.

I’m working on a couple of covers for a friend’s book, and that is going to keep me busy as well. I’ve finally broken down and decided to get some decent editing software.

Summer is finally upon us!

See you next time,

-Robyn :)