Today was amazing.

Lunch with the Hubby.

Hiking Eagle Creek.

Dinner with EtsyMetal pals.

and...

Blueberry Loot.

Often times, when I reflect back on my years, I remember them based on events rather than simply the year. There was the year we went to Alaska as kids, the year I stayed in Australia for the whole summer, the year that our vacation was ruined by a bounced paycheck, the year we got married. 

This summer is the Summer of Serious Growth. 

Realistically, this process began about 6 months ago, with the demise of one of my longest friendships, which caused a great deal of self-reflection and inventory. Then, there was the car theft, which threw all our travel plans into oblivion and prompted me to make a list of all the dreams and goals I had ever had, whether I had given up on them or not. 

That list.

That list opened my eyes wider than I could have imagined.

It showed me themes that were important--travel, adventure, being outdoors, and art.

It also showed me why I had given up on things or held myself back--fear.

Little fears, irrational fears, big fears. 

At the cusp of my 30th birthday, with all that reflection behind me and within me, I looked at myself in the mirror. Rather, I looked at the me that I've always wanted to be. I saw her, and I grabbed her and held her close. I am becoming her with reckless abandon. I am throwing caution to the wind and pursuing all of those things that I have held back on. 

This is the Summer of Serious Growth.

It has been scary, exciting, hearbreaking and painful. It has been exhilerating and heartening. It has been full of ups and downs. It has been full of sleepless nights, lost dreams, tears, anxiety, and finding that strength that is in the depth of all of us just when you don't think you have any left.

 I feel as if I have ascended to the height of the bad stuff and have a fantastic road ahead of me. One full of joy and adventure, risk and laughter.

Most of all, it is full of Love.

My heart has been heavy this summer. Not every day, but enough. I am so used to a life of calm, free from drama and turmoil. This summer has been absolutely full of emotional turmoil.

It has started affecting my sleep. My precious, precious sleep--the space in which I find peace, in which I enter another world of dreams, of freedom.

I no longer have that. I average 4 hours a night now, and when I wake up, my mind's wheel starts turning full speed. All of the things I need to do, all of the unresolved issues, all of the emotions scroll through and there is no getting back to sleep after that.

The other day, when Dave and I were biking the Mosier Twin Tunnels trail, I stopped to take photos of these tree shadows. I absolutely love shadows. Their luminosity, and contrast of light and dark speak to my soul in a way that little else does. Sometimes I find them more beautiful than the tree itself. Each pattern is a dancing creation unto itself...I could watch them for hours, much like watching clouds.

I have been craving the bare, open sky at night lately. Growing up, I spent a lot of time on my mom's ranch, gazing up at the stars during the summers. We would sleep out on the deck and count them, naming the few constellations we knew. There is something so compelling about being in an environment so vast and empty, where it's just you and the stars.

There, I could just wish my worries away.

Nothing New is a challenge I set for myself to buy nothing new (with some exceptions) between May 19, 2012 and May 19, 2013.

The sun is blistering hot, glaring down from above and soaking the Portland area in 90 degree heat. DW and I have hunkered down in our apartment, except for one outing--to buy shorts. In this heat, the fewer the clothes you have to wear, the better. 

First, we went down to the Goodwill superstore and had a quick look around, but their selection was pretty low. Then we stopped by Buffalo Exchange, where I found two great pairs of shorts--the first shorts I've bought and worn in about 3 years! 

I'm getting better at learning what second hand stores have for selection, and where it's best to go. I suppose it's a little like knowing what your favorite store carries...this just takes a little extra time.

 I don't use the term God very often--not in the spiritual context, anyway. I wasn't raised in a religious household, and grew up skeptical of religion in general. I have always believed that there was something bigger than me out there, though...I could feel it, even as a child.

After reading Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat, Pray, Love a couple of years ago, I realized that it is okay to use the word God for what I felt. What I felt today was that God spirit...that feeling of overwhelming love and serenity. Appropriate, because we were biking in one of the most beautiful places I've known, which is often referred to as "God's Country"--the Columbia River Gorge. 

As we sped down curves surrounded by trees and greenery, pumped up hills accented by golden grasses, I could feel it. I breathed it in, held it tight, and let all my worries go. That place will forever hold my heart and be called home. I needed some restoration to my spirit, and returning to the Gorge always does it. The vastness of the beauty there always catches my heart and sings to my soul.

100 Things is a challenge I set for myself to create 100 things between the end of May and August, 2012.

I'd like to introduce the Waves and Stones Ring. It is 5/100 in my 100 Things project, and it represents a turning point in my work. This is a very special ring!

It features a really beautiful blue stone, and two gorgeous freshwater pearls. The combination reminds me of waves lapping at the stones on a beach.

The contrast of the patina on the Sterling Silver, against the colors of the stones, is stunning. 

She is a large ring, one to be worn boldly.

Now available in the Etsy Shop!