For those of you who haven't keeled over with shock...read on!

Yes, I have returned after a long hiatus. My life here in Portland has been very hectic. Juggling two jobs and motherhood, plus the day to day stresses of living in these uncertain times has left me creatively dry and in a kind of emotionally frozen space where I couldn't seem to put the thoughts and feelings in my head down on paper. However, there have been many forces at work that are helping me get back on track.

So, what have I been doing? Well...My wonderful husband Ray and I are still running Aquea Design
and there have been some challenges with moving the business to Portland. Ray is a very talented designer and we've got some great work that has been done in the last year. I am also a booking agent at WilhelminaMTG.

How cool is that? It is cool on the surface, but the job is not easy! I love the models and the clients are very  nice to work with for the most part. I am now head of the children's division, which means I handle models and actors from infants to teenagers. Believe me folks, that is A LOT OF WORK.

On the mommy front, Jenai is about to go to FIDM in LA, and we are very proud of her. There are so many amazing things about her that I admire. (I continue to be shocked that I produced such a stunningly beautiful and intelligent young woman who respects herself and is so ambitious. I mean, I can't say I will ever win mother of the year- but I feel the results are damn remarkable! And thanks for those of you who helped and have been there for all three of my girls, you know who you are...) Chloe is attending Mt. Tabor Middle School and has become quite metropolitan chic. I wasn't aware 5th graders met at coffee shops before going to school!?? She has made some great friends and is doing well in her studies. Skye is modeling and her new passion is being online (yes, already...) She is 4 now and addicted to PBSKIDS.ORG.

OK, so with the economy and work and kids, etc., etc., the joy of writing had abandoned me. All I have been doing is work related pieces (PR and newsletters, new business inquiries...) But these things inspired me to start again:

My co-worker and friend Marjorie Tatum gave me a beautiful notebook that I have been using. Also, watching Marjorie perform recently in Eurydice and seeing her in her element (she's amazing in this play!) made me hunger to do what I love.

Jenai spending a few weeks with us and seeing her so excited about college and starting her career in the fashion industry. I remember when I was that age, and I wasn't nearly as focused!

My wonderful friend Nancy has started her business Quynnessentials.
This is such a huge accomplishment for Nan and I feel so honored to have her in my life, she is a truly powerful woman. Another example for me...someone working towards their dream!

Collecting dust inside that liquor store 'till you bought it for me
A decanter full of whiskey in the image of the King
The more I drank from it the less I saw of you
That bottle's empty now and you and I are through...
"Elvis Decanter"- The Vandals

I am so very happy, because two of my best friends in the world Environgirl and Myclette came to Portland to visit. We had such a fabulous time! Crazy person that I am, I have no pix to post from our weekend, since I don't own a camera. Some day I will buy my own digital camera...

Alas, I have some sad news to share. My two youngest daughters, whom I love dearly, have killed Elvis.
I had this Elvis decanter for the last five years, given to me by my husband, previously owned by his father. This thing is a real collector's item...Unfortunately, Elvis met an untimely end when my girls knocked him over, crushing his skull and sending some sort of mysterious black ichor that was once alcohol dribbling down his porcelain face. Boo hoo!

If you remember, I wrote about my precious Elvis in a previous blog. Not only was it a whiskey decanter, it was a music box!

In memoriam, I will put on Elvis Decanter by The Vandals and wave my lighter high in the air...
I LOVE YOU ELVIS!

Usually when you think of arcades, there a few things that come to mind...the assholes who would stay for hours on the one game you wanted to play...the group of cool kids in their Sergio Valente and Calvin Klein and Izod and Polo and all manner of trendiness crawling across their chests or plastered to their butts crowding around to watch one of their own excel in yet another activity that you don't...and those creepy older guys trolling for that certain misunderstood Joust fan that they can lure into a black van parked just around the corner...

Forget all that! Portland has this place called Ground Kontrol and it is the most fun I've had in a long time. Imagine an arcade that is also a nightclub and bar. It has all the goods- TMNT (if you don't know what this is, just stop reading now), Streetfighter, Ms. Pac Man, Centipede, Frogger, etc. The bar has displays of all the old gaming systems behind plexiglass. The variety of pinball games is awesome. And they had a dj the night I went, spinning old skool rap. Big Daddy Kane, NWA, The DOC, Fu Schnickens (FU-effing Schnickens people!!)

I can't wait to go back. I am taking a pocket full of quarters and my entourage.

It has been a long while since I have had the time to sit and write...so here I am sitting and writing! But soon I will be engaging in my newest obsession, posting on Shelfari!

My friend Laura introduced me to it earlier this week and I simply cannot stay off this site. I enjoy it on so many levels. I am nosy, so I like looking at what other people are reading. I like writing reviews, as you all know. And my favorite part is posting the books that I have read. I've already decided to post my entire library, an activity that should last me the rest of my life.

This isn't so much a blogging entry as a cry for help. Somebody stop me!!

I have been sucked into the full reality of adulthood as of late, dealing with selling my house in Las Vegas and buying a property in Portland. Then we returned from Portland and it was time to do the taxes!  And  I brought back a bug from Portland that went throught the house like a plague, everyone puking and pooping for two weeks straight. Plus, we had an open house and sold our house in 2 weeks, which is unheard of in the Las Vegas market. Great, it sold, but now we have to move out by the end of this month, so then we had to look for an apartment!!!  This has been one huge rollercoaster ride, and it's not over yet. Any wonder why I haven't had time to blog??? Between meeting with Lenders, Real Estate Agents, Apartment Management, etc. and filling out beaucoup paperwork, working on credit scores, writing letters to BFE about fuckall, packing all our shit, working on renovations for the new house, trying to do my job and take care of my family, who has time to do this? Not me. In fact, this will be my last post until June, when we're set up in Oregon. My computer goes into storage on Friday and I won't see it again until then. So, I am cramming lots of pix and and ramblings to make up for lost time.

New Orleans Spring Break, 2007
FINALLY, I am going to get the chance to post the pictures from my trip with Environgirl and Myclette, my two awesome girlfriends. I had a great time with them, even though the stress of driving made me a little loopy. The point was to spend quality time with two of the people who mean a lot to me, so mission was accomplished. So, we stayed in the Bates Motel- so what, we were in the French Quarter!


This is the Voodoo Spirtual Temple, my favorite place we visited during our trip. Forget Madame Leveaux's, that place was WHACK, there is some bad mojo workin' in there, stick to this one instead.


This is the display window at the Voodoo Spiritual Temple.


Here's me, smirking with a Mimosa. I am so hardcore!


Me in the Gumbo Shop, paying homage to all that is unholy.


Environgirl at Cafe Remoulade, looking sassy!


 I believe this is in the Gumbo Shop. Look at the dude in the background, checking us out...

Here's Myclette at Cafe Remoulade. Isn't she lovely??


Myclette at the Gumbo Shop.


The New Orleans Rollergirls. Are they HOT or what??? Damn, don't do it like that baby!! (A cookie for anyone who remembers that saying...)

Portland Spring Break 2007


Ray, Skye & Me on our new front lawn! So this is the property (brick on the left) we bought in Portland to use as a live/work space. It was a nursing home! We adore it. It's located in the Hawthorne District, which is exactly where we wanted to live. Everything is walking distance.


Skye & me walking around in the backyard. That's a huge walnut tree. As you can see from the back, the new place is huge, 4,000 square feet. From the front it's deceptively small. Gotta love that outside fireplace!


Skye makes a wish. Shouldn't she be holding Wishbear instead of Funshine??

Las Vegas House 2007


Okay, here's our house in Vegas. I wanted to document all of the hard work we put into making it a showplace. Our house sold in 2 weeks in a market where the average selling time is 9 months to a year, and here's why...


Here is the Master Bathroom.


Master Bedroom with Balcony


Here's the kitchen.


Chloe & Skye's Room.


The Living Room (and Serena, our cat!)