photo booth

me and the nieces... emi & ella.

shep becomes a blogger.

shep has now entered the blogosphere..... click here to check it out.

rock lobster.

sheppie and layla are best friends, so naturally they should have matching halloween costumes.



(thanks for letting me borrow the pic from your blog ana...)

la la

i'm back from my trip to arizona. this is la la or ella. she loves to pick her older sister emi up from kindergarten mostly because she wants to snatch emi's lunch box out of her hands and make it her own. this day ella had a really good outfit (note the matching orange tiger spotted pants) and was very pleased with her capture of the lunch box, the breeze blowing through her hair.

personal space

i'm currently sitting in the las vegas airport, waiting for a relatively empty flight which is 45 minutes late... and some dude has to sit right behind me in the chairs. it's almost worse than someone sitting directly in front of you at the movies when every other seat in theater is available... no it's worse, definately worse. do i move in an obvious attempt to get away from him or stay and suffer so i don't draw attention to my...irritation?

september 11, 2001

i remember waking on september 11, 2001 to the news of an explosion at the world trade center in new york city. as i stared in disbelief at the screen, trying to make sense of it all, a plane slammed into the second tower. i sat glued to the television for the next hours and weeks hoping for tiny miracles. hoping that they would find people alive, that we could figure out what the hell had happened.

as reports continued to add detail to the events of that day, i had sickest of feelings in the pit of my stomach. but now, seven years later, watching the scenes replay minute by minute i am overwhelmed with horror and grief.

one of my sisters was living in boston at that time and with the chaos that ensued we weren't able to communicate with her and she could not contact her husband for most of that day.

the in the days following, unable to concentrate on the simplest of tasks and debating what to do with myself as the events continued to unfold, i purchased a large american flag to hang from the front eave of my business. what else could i do living in a small town thousands of miles away?

today watching the collected scenes of that september morning, the impact is much greater. seeing the faces of the firemen and police officers putting one foot in front of the other, looking up at those towers, not knowing that they were are heading towards their death, i can only hope that i continue to remember the things that are the most important to me.

life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is possible for me because of the ability of common people to show uncommon valor in times of tragedy and hardship. the people who fight back and have the courage to defend these ideals and care more for others than themselves.

the greatest generation, which included my grandparents, sacrificed everything they had in order to stand tall and fight back. they grew victory gardens, donated time, money... down to the nylons off their feet and the pots and pans from their kitchens. the people of this generation supported the cause of freedom with undying faith and fortitude. they cared more about the rights of many over the wants and whims of the few. they are those who fought against evil no matter the cost.

the war against terrorism will not be won by idealistic talk of change and those who "damn america". we will find victory through those individuals who truly sacrifice to make this world a better place, without the pretense of perfection or political rhetoric, the common people of this generation who try to do their best for this country and the people who put their trust in them.

talk is cheap, fame is fleeting and i have faith that the good in us will prevail.

it's a dog's life.

shave ice mmmmm...

today was a tropsicals day at grün. it was freakin' hot, i'd say at least 105 or more, the perfect day for the world's best shave ice. my good friend brie's, bro & his wife stopped by first thing to partake. i challenged brett to the big kahuna, the shave ice to end all shave ices.... only a real man can take on the kahuna. here is he is tackling a big kahuna, kukalaka berry hawaiian style with aloha cream and his cute wife:



p.s. he had already been working on it for awhile... it was much bigger to start.

.... mmmmmm shave ice.

can o' cheese

i was at my bestest friend page's house this weekend and someone had given her a can of this:



food storage? i'll go without or find my own goat to milk or something....

favorite time of the day

shep loves going to work and coming home from work...and any trips in between.

i am an olympian!

i've been feeling a bit less than what i should lately. like i'm getting old and not getting anywhere. argh. i'm obsessed with the olympics and as i've watched them unfold this year from my bed, laptop...on my...lap (thus it's name) popping ibuprofen in order to calm my adult onset aches and pains, i've realized that i will never be in an olympic games and that sucks. why have i wasted my life away!!!! i'll never do anything cool.... but then i realized....

in the 5th grade i got to skip math class and read to the kindergartners because i was so damned good at math. i had a friend, matthew, who was super ultra damned smart... he was widely known as the smartest kid in our grade. he was soooo good at math. i loved to go to his house because he had all kinds of wires, switches, solar cells... we would build little electronic gadgets and talked about becoming astronauts or scientists. in the 6th grade there was a math olympiad (see.... it's coming full circle) to see who would get to represent our school in seattle at the statewide competition. i competed in this "olympics of math" and was elated when the winners were announced... i had won first place (see the metal plaque.... of course i still have it... i keep everything.) and my friend matthew, the super genius got second!



and so with this realization, i can rest easy and mark that off my list of things to do in my life. i am an olympic champion! maybe i'll spray paint my plaque gold and attach it to a ribbon so i can wear my olympic bling around town.

nascar glory

so i have this client that i've been working with as their graphic designer for the past couple of years. they've created an all natural energy drink named FUBAR. i've helped them with their logo, packaging, sales materials and am currently developing art for several other products. they've had a lot of swell stuff happening lately and i have been super busy.

last week i got a call at the end of the day for an urgent design project. FUBAR needed a design for a possible spot as a NASCAR sponsor. i spent that night working with the our marketing guy and sent a couple of ideas off around midnight for the new paint job. NASCAR designer? really, me?

well, the #08 FUBAR sprint cup car made it's debut today at the north carolina speedway. something i designed made it on national television? check it out.

the driver is tony raines and there is all kinds o' drama about his new sponsor on his message board. apparently there is one fan that would rather have him be in the "patron tequila" car (hum.....) because the term FUBAR is so controversial. (if you don't know what it means... ask any former WWII vet if you dare).

but, i guess i did alright because somebody else said that the "car has a nice color scheme, hope they can back it up."

FUBAR, NASCAR...headpin. racher? i....kick....ass.

auntie rachie

i have two nephews and two nieces. the nephews are at the age that i am just an old, uncool aunt who might give them birthday money so they have to laugh at my jokes. this causes me to have an overwhelming desire to embarrass them any chance i get.

my nieces on the other hand think i'm way cool. emi gets chocolately milk for breakfast (and gets to put her own chocolate in... it is very chocolately) and ella climbs all over me to get whatever i might have in my hands. i laugh when they do naughty stuff and give in to their every whim. i am auntie rachie. i am emi's "best friend" and we do "wicked cool" stuff together.




photo booth..... ella loves the computer, the chat, seeing herself... here's a rare moment when ella has a smile on camera.









she always needs to get a closer look.











then of course emi loves anything photo related....









try making sure everyone gets a chance....










now this is dedication. for not everyone can be auntie rachie, nor do they get to be.

tragic.

i came upon a sad and tragic scene this morning. i think the photo explains it all. according to wikipedia, the boy birdie flys around and finds different places to make a nest. he then shows the mama birdie all of the potential options and she chooses the final place to make their home. bad choice i guess. it was a bit windy yesterday and apparently an umlaut isn't the best choice.

carrot the dove

spring has sprung.. or can it when it didn't ever really feel that cold in st. george to begin with? that's neither here nor there... .the fact is grün has a new some new friends...


















it's a mourning dove... family ....well, this is the daddie he sits on the nest during the day. this little family decided to take up residence in the umlaut of grün's sign. i think it's pretty damn swell. my niece, emi saw the picture over the video chat and named him "carrot". i said, "carrot"? emi just shrugged her shoulders and wandered away, while baby sister ella shook her head no rather definantly.... too bad ella can't talk yet. "carrot" it is.

brown paper packages tied up with string

when i was a kid all sorts of delusions about life... i thought if i bounced a basketball everywhere i went i could eventually play in the olympic summer games or if i could only save up enough pennies to attend space camp i could become an astronaut or that somehow i would be discovered as a child genius and be the best at everything... or.... that i could actually be maria from the sound of music. (i even had the hair cut, that's dedication).

(yes, that is a dukes of hazzard tshirt! yeahhh!!!)



oh...the sound of music. my favorite musical (annie being a close second). i loved singing and re-enacting every scene.... the love, the laughter.... birds chirping, the hills are alive!... good triumphs over evil. down with the evil nazis, true love always wins. maria had a lot of heady things to deal with in her life.. to be a nun or not a nun. all the other nuns thought she was such a problem. how do you solve a problem like maria? new play clothes, how to make friends with liesl and teach the children to sing. that captain von trapp, sooooo stern, soooo hot. but, despite had all, maria was able to make herself feel better during those times of distress and anxiety...all she had to do was think about her favorite things... raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...



well i have a few favorite things too:

• reading all night long. (thanks ruthie)
• sheppie's grin when i return.
• the color green (i made a store dedicated to it)
• chips n' salsa, hot salsa
• sarcasm (stating the opposite of an intended meaning especially in order to jest or mock a person, situation or thing. it is strongly associated with irony, with some definitions classifying it as a type of verbal irony.)
• the smell of new books.
• mini coopers
• apple computers









• good shoes (just got me some green converse yesterday!)
• better socks
• bowling (a sport where the better you are, the more you get to sit and drink soda)
• honest, genuine people
• dr. pepper
• mommie melt-downs (even though it sometimes happens to me)
• heroines...smart & tough chicks
• dada
• lisa loeb
• hootenannies (really loud and obnoxious guitar play singalongs)
• mr. toad's wild ride
• girls' state
• cops the tv show
• salt
• art museums - the louvre - mfa - met - moma - guggenheim
• big cities














• buttercup (middle sister, bad-ass and she's green.)
• bart the dog says do the ska











• when emi makes ella cackle
• the go-to sweater











• gold dollars (want to feel rich? how about a pocket of gold dollars.)
• figuring hard stuff out
• swell people
• the moment just after i force myself to try something new.
• really loud music.
• freedom




• radiohead's "creep"
• sleeping
• a perfectly timed swear
• history










• van gogh's "night cafe"
• pablo picaso, c.s. anderson
• french paper company















• river pheonix
• girls just want to have fun ("i LOVE to dance.")
• 80's hair bands
• skateboarders
• strongbad
• "catcher in the rye" - by jd salinger (bef0re it was cool to like it)
• knowing the right answer
• playing the devil's advocate















• vespas (real vespas...)
• selma
• riding bikes with sheppie
• bingo
• driving through puddles
• art with substance

now there is a lot of stuff in my life that really bugs, only a few things i actually hate. but, i'm hoping the more i think of my favorite things, i'll get to forget about all that other crap.

the bill collector

shep has a new title at racher, inc.

i hear a goat.

well.........i guess i'm going to have to find that stinky little goat and take it out. destroy the village (which wasn't all i though it was), burn the bridge (not much use there) and kill the goat. i'm open to ideas about how it must be done.

the secret to life

it was 1986 and i was just at the point where i began to notice music, fashion and coolness, all three of which i had absolutely none.

bon jovi had released the single "livin' on a prayer" from their slippery when wet album. i specifically remember believing that i would be a failure as a human if i didn't get a copy on tape and memorize every line of that song... after all.... it was soooo deep... i really "connected" to the story of tommy and gina.... working the docks and at the diner. me as a middle class white kid from an average mormon family living in a small town in washington state totally could understand the struggles of tommy and gina. so, my best friend and i learned every word, every nuance, every whaooo ooo oo whaooo. yes i could sing every damn word at the top of my lungs. i was going to be somebody... i'm there for you tommy and gina!

now to the secret....

i've realized recently that everything in life that needs to be said or solved is addressed in an eighties hair band song. i'm mean really... "whaooo we're half way there... whaooo oooo livin' on a prayer"? so true.... so true....


or another bon jovi classic... "shot through the heart and you're to blame, (darlin') you give love a bad name, bad name." who hasn't been shot through the heart.?.. and if you ain't got someone to blame you ain't lived. straight up.

then there's guns n' roses and their grand observation that has been tattoo worthy ever since the phrase first left axl's painted lips...... "every rose has it's thooorrrrnnn." i think i'm tearing up a bit. if i ever got a tattoo it would be roses, and thorns and life.

and then the song that says what i could never, ever utter in a real life conversation, but can sing at the top of my lungs.... "i want action... tonight! satisfaction...alright!" i kind of think that the band poison is the reason i don't wear make up... i was so confused as a preteen by all the "pretty"... men. hum.. sounds good to me. that cat really dragged something in.

to van halen...and their heroic advice:

"might as well jump. jump! might as well jump.
go ahead, jump. jump! go ahead, jump."

oh wait, maybe that's not the best advice for everyone...make sure you
consider how you might apply that to your specific situation.

last but not least, "my, my, my, once bitten twice shy babe". i know that i don't like to get
bitten twice. thank you great white.

anyways, if you have a question that needs answering or are a bit down in the dumps,
think back to the masters. they have the best of advice for all that life has to offer and
their hair was... well AMAZING.... what more proof do you need?

really.

so, there's this store that i have called, grün. it's chock full of clever gifts, stationery and stuff. i had this really crazy dream of finding cool products and putting it all into one place for people to discover them in all their swellness, but owning a retail store is really freakin' expensive. a business owner has to pay for rent, lights, heat, water, internet, phones, paper, ink, employees, taxes, licenses, fees, products, shipping and ..... you get to eat the cost when someone breaks or damages something... it's endless.

i really do get a lot of satisfaction from the people who truly appreciate the products i've chosen. when they really "get" it. but then there are the days like today when i wonder "what the hell am i really doing this for?" some lady marched into my shop today, acting like we were the best of friends. after she began to speak, i vaguely remembered her from before christmas, buying some stuff and i don't think i was really impressed at the time. i wasn't sure exactly what she wanted today.... something about some products i could order for her "blah blah. convention...i love your store... i feel like i've found a new best friend. i'm here blah..blah...order stuff for me."

she stops short and says.. "i also have a few things to return that i feel a bit weird about." hum.... why was she feeling weird about it? she went on to explain that she had purchased a stick of blue q "get real" lemon lip balm the day before.... "i love lemon but this doesn't taste like lemon." really? are you kidding me?... she continued, "it was only $3 so i thought i would take the chance but you know." reeaaallllly? yeah it was only $3 and this ain't whim-mart.

then she plopped a tin of diablo ignited citrus sour candies onto the counter... "i tried one and was really disappointed... i feel a bit weird (in my head i think: "you should feel weird and really stupid!") but you understand, right?" i was so taken aback by what she wanted to return and what she was actually saying that i just stuttered and stammered and did the return. "take your damned $5.32 and get the hell out of my store and really you don't deserve to have chapstick that cool!"....at least that's what i was screaming in my head.

what store will really take a return on chapstick and candy that's been opened?.. starts with "w" and ends with "t" probably does... and since when is it okay to buy something, try it (like stick it in your mouth) and return it just because you don't happen to think it's what you expected? this unreasonable bending to the will of the customer cultivates a really weird retail culture that only benefits the big box stores. consumers expect bigger quantities, more selection and unquestioning compliance (screw originality or quality) ... then they want you to pay them for taking it off your hands. yeah! we got this really cheap! who cares if some kid in southeast asia get five grains of rice a day for gluing beads onto it.

add to the equation the big guys beating prices down by buying 1 million doodads in twelve different colors, that are cheap knock-offs... when you can only afford to carry 6 in green, but the doodads you have carefully selected are the original, quality stuff, that happens to not suck.

the buying power of the big boxes and the cheap cost of production (because it's crap) confuses and misleads the average consumer into expecting prices to be the same at the big box stores and stores like grün...and then expecting that they can wipe their lips on a stick of chapstick and return it a day later. really. (i won't resell it, maybe frame it to remember the horrific details of the event, but can you really trust that someone making $5.15 an hour in the back room of a big box store wouldn't just throw it back on the shelf?) how can the little guy really afford to compete?

then the clincher.... when these same customers find out that their kids are sucking on lead-laced toys from china, they're all up in your face with a lawsuit... it makes me want to be done as a retailer... and who really ends up sucking on it in the long run? it's not the big guys (they have lawyers and big, fat checkbooks), not china (they are in... well, china). it's me, grün, the attempt at coolness. who just lost another $5.32. what is the point, really.

B10

some friends and i made the 35 minute drive to mesquite last night to play a little BINGO. you

may think that BINGO is for the geriatric but in reality it is very exciting. you've got your double hardways, the double action, the powerball and of course the dauber cozys. (see picture at right)

the only place i've played BINGO is at the virgin river hotel and casino in mesquite, nevada ... and i can only refer to it by it's entire name... because i don't want people thinking i just went to the "virgin river". i'm comfortable at the virgin river hotel and casino. i know where the BINGO room is located, the same lady hands out the free sodas (by the way her hair is amazing... i have no idea how she makes it so poofy), i know it will reak of stale cigarette smoke, everything is familiar.

last night was a bit different. my friends found out that just across the street was a smoke free BINGO parlor. at the eureka hotel and casino and of course there's the giant hamsteak and eggs meal for like $3.99. so we changed plans. i had anxiety, someplace new... how will it work? will i embarrass myself? will i look stupid? we find the BINGO parlor with relative ease and get in line to buy our cards.



the lady takes one look at my friends and i and says "i sure hope you guys have your id's with you." we all chuckled and she smiled briefly and said... "now get 'em out". (side story: i lost my wallet a month ago and i don't have a driver's license so i've been using my passport as my id.) so i pulled out my passport and she makes a big deal about it (too much attention argh) then she finds my birthday and i sheepishly mumble "i'm flattered you think i'm not old enough" or something lame like that... and the lady bellows.. "oh you're old!." hardeee har har.. ugh.

we try and find a seat together, purchase our dauber from the vending machine... table hop, fight with some native american ladies over chairs they supposedly had reserved and get settled. now you have to understand, BINGO is serious business. people spend entire days and weekends dedicated to BINGO sessions. they stake their claim, settle in with their cozys and know every nuance of the game. you don't mess around in the BINGO session, EVER. our group had a bunch of newbies and was talking loud and marking their cards wrong... again too much attention, but i was hoping it would get better.




i've only won money once before playing BINGO, a total of $17.50 (i paid $11 to play) and that was big time. normally you pay your money, some lady in the corner that is chain smoking wins and you grumble about your bad luck. this night was a bit different. during one of the games i only needed one number to get win. then another number and another.... six numbers... and then from across the room BINGO! damnit i was so close! pay that lucky winner, $50!

as the intensity of the session mounted.. i was marking my numbers as fast as possible trying to remember the rules that are a bit different at the eureka... one you have to call BINGO when you get it and can't wait until the next number is called. two you must yell BINGO loud and hold your card in the air above your head. also, they show the ball on the video screen before it's actually called and you have to wait to call BINGO until the lady actually says the number. so much to remember.

i dubiously mark the numbers as they're called with my bright green dauber. again i get close... two more before i had BINGO, then B15. holy freakin' crap one number left! i begin to sweat. i hope a i win i hope i don't i don't know maybe i marked the card wrong what if i'm lame oh no oh no. then another number is called....nope, not mine... i begin to chant B10, B10, B10 (it never works but i do it anyway). i focused my attention on the video screen to see the next number up.... the caller slowly turned the ball around... and it's.....B10.. B10? that's it! i yell (as much as i do... so it' was probably talking loudly to most people) BINGO! i even do a bit of fist pumping and celebrating...

all of a sudden the crowd is mumbling... like an angry mob "do you need B10? she didn't call it yet... you can't win she didn't call it grrrrr grumble" i begin to panic.... oh no they stopped the BINGO session because of me.. what if i messed up? the checker lady comes over to look at my card and says "honey, you have to wait until the number is actually called." i was mortified.... i thought i was going to get beat up by the crowd of senior citizens for messing things up... so the caller resumed her composure and called out "B10"... i sheepishly say "BINGO" and held my card up, not like everyone in the room wasn't waiting for it. the checker lady laughs loudly and chastises me for not calling it louder...rahhh. then, there was a few seconds where they were checking my card and it looked like it wasn't right and i had messed up... oh freakin no! i felt dumb... dumb... dumb.

a few moments later someone plunked four $20's, one $10, one $5 and five $1 gold chips down in front of me and i felt a bit better.. pay that lucky winner $100! worth the social anxiety and sweat rings?... maybe so.

the alarmdoggie

i work. a lot. too much in fact. i just don't know when to quit.

a couple of months ago i adopted a doggie from my good friend, brie. his name is shep, sheppie, shepdog, shepcat, shepherd, shepititus. yes, he is worthy of all those names and many more.

when i was only responsible for me, my life was work... work... work. apparently, shepititus hasn't the tolerance for 10 or 12 hours at the grindstone. towards the end of long work days he begins to attack me or my employees, bark incesently, run crazed throughout the shop tearing anything he can into tiny pieces. most days that's enough for me to realize it's quitting time.. sheppie is a needy little bugger and tends to always get his way. ... we head home.

then...
there are the days when i have too much to do and i am able to withstand shepherd's diligent attacks. after all his aforementioned tactics fail, shepcat brings out the big guns...



shep cleverly seems to weasel his way onto my desk and lets out a big sigh.




enter stage left...

the look.




it's a look i can't refuse. the alarmdoggie wins... we head for home. am i better for it? i do believe.


thanks for the helping me work less brie.