Beating the Heat

I have lived in Oregon long enough (my whole life save 2 years) to know that it gets hot here sometimes. Really hot. While the rest of the nation thinks we're the rainy/cloudy/overcast state, they don't understand the heatwave oppressing us this week! I know, a week of this should be bearable. After all I've been to Texas and could never live in the 100+ weather day after day for an entire season. But the nerd that I am decided to check Weather.com to see what the rest of America is dealing with this week, and I feel satisfied to claim the right as victim. Today, Dallas, TX only has a high of 84 and is overcast, Los Angeles is in the mid-80s as is Miami and they are experiencing some light showers, and New York is experiencing the type of fog that we haven't seen since February I'm sure. The only other places around the country dealing with the same degree of heat as Oregon is Arizona (go figure) and Las Vegas (sin city I suppose). So first of all, I want a new reputation: I don't want people saying that Oregon is rainy and gross because we now have ourselves a spot on the map. The weather map at least.

Anyway, I find myself in somewhat of a panic when the news comes on every other hour, warning us about the warming temperatures. They have at least some advice to keep Oregonians (especially in the metro area) safe and cool. Well, I have some, too! Maybe not as serious as a cooling center for seniors or the top 10 waterworks in the city. But this is what has worked for me.

Only 7 months ago I was trapped in my house due to snow and ice. Now, I'm trapped because it's too hot to move. And I'm unemployed. Our house doesn't have AC, but we do have a daylight basement that keeps fairly cool. Still, this is what I've done to keep from constantly sweating, and thus whining:

**Position myself laying flat on my back, on a couch, with two fans on either side of me, blowing towards each other. Goosebumps/chills actually make you cooler!
**Drink lots of water obviously, with FROZEN LEMONS!
**Eat several pieces of FROZEN key lime pie
**Find something to watch on TV, like a movie. Especially something you can get totally lost in so you don't focus on the heat. For example, I wouldn't normally recommend Lifetime TV but the stories are so dramatic that I watched a whole 2 hour movie about a stalker and barely noticed the sweat dripping off my forehead.
**Jump in the shower once every hour.

And some things that I've learned make you even warmer, so you should avoid:
**Don't do laundry
**Don't dance, even if Ellen is and it looks like fun
**Don't blow-dry your hair
**Don't watch the news because it freaks you out, into a hot flash even
**Don't cuddle with your animals; they wear wool coats.

And otherwise, let's pray this doesn't last much longer. My idea of summer isn't so unbearable.

The Wedding Dress

***It's an honor to share something very near and dear to my heart; a piece I wrote for school, but that connects deeply with my family. It's very un-creatively entitled "The Wedding Dress" and is a short piece about a dress that stands the test of time, connecting between three generations of women at the start of the adventure of married life! True story :D *** (Maybe I'll find some pictures later to give you all a visual!)

The Wedding Dress

Martha, 1952: After modeling the designer gown in a 1952 Rhodes Department Store fashion show, I place the $500 wedding gown on lay-away, making monthly payments until I am paid in full; I refuse for this fashion show to be the last time I wear the dress. Made of ivory Skinner satin, the weighty gown shines from every angle down the aisle. A sheer lace starts at the high simple neck, then ruches over the satin sweetheart bodice, creating delicate horizontal folds; French Chantilly lace creates a peplum around the V-shaped waist before cascading around the sides and down the back, along the cathedral length train. Fit for a February wedding, the dress has long lacy sleeves that point to a V over my delicate hands.

Throughout life, my hands are always busy. Busy with my five children and fourteen grandchildren. Busy working inside and outside my home. Busy at other tasks I love, and some done out of necessity. At least I have had a partner in my husband for over fifty years. We find hope through hardship with parents, siblings, our own children; striving and thriving in variation. Life brings aches and pains, but always moves onward.

Rebecca, 1981: My mother pulls the gown out of its garment bag in the closet for another February wedding—my own. The dress fits but needs minor updating for a 1980s wedding, nearly thirty years after its first trip down the aisle. We trim off the point on the sleeves and hem them into a simple long sleeve. I envision some beadwork to accent the flowers on the neck and bodice. The rest of the dress remains the same; the lace is a delicate sheath with roses shaped by the ultra-fine netting. I am proud to wear my mother’s dress, but do so also because it’s available and it fits. I imagine this will be the gown’s final wear, as styles continue to change. After my wedding, the dress is stowed safely back in the closet, to continue being a remnant of two histories.

My life resembles my parents, but not a direct reflection by any means. For me, life unfolds with joy and struggle as well. How else would it be complete? I navigate alongside my best friends: my hard-working and supportive husband for nearly thirty years, and my two daughters, a mixture of both their parents’ ambition, character and heart. We work hard and play hard. Adventure and trial intermingle, but we always look toward a triumphant love.

Rachel, 2009: Standing in front of the mirror at the bridal boutique, with the dress clipped tightly behind my back to fit, my mother and I admire the cascading lace around my petite figure. Unfortunately this dress, my favorite so far, is $1000 over budget. But there is a dress in the back of my mind: an ivory gown made of satin and lace of much better quality, and in the same flattering style. We leave and stop at my grandmother’s house to try on the dress that my mother and grandmother both wore. It fits almost perfectly, only an inch or so big in places. Fifty years old and much of the dress is back in style; with a little restructuring it will look brand new, but vintage. The satin and lace are still in perfect condition, safe from discoloration. The plans are made and the two of them (much more skilled at sewing) carefully take apart and re-piece parts of the bodice and the waist, removing the sleeves and shortening the train, for my own wedding in May.

I try on my grandmother and mother’s dress again; though altered, the dress is still the same. I stand in front of the former models of this gown and await their response.

“I think it looks better now than when I wore it,” says my grandmother. I beam, my mother tears up, and my grandmother looks proud of all that has passed, all that has changed, and all that is yet to look forward to. Thirty, then fifty, then more years of marriage; hard work, struggle, and success; children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. A wedding dress endures the test of age and change.

The Natural Side of Oregon

I'm not too much of a nature junkie, but every now and then my surroundings are just too beautiful to not take notice. Especially living in a place like the Pacific Northwest, I may take for granted the beauty of all four of our seasons. And I have to say that even though I struggle sometimes with the "hot time" in July and August, that is our burst of 90+ degree days, I would rather live here than many other places. I think that all corners of the United States probably have some appeal, but Oregon truly wins for the most natural beauty that truly entertains in a way you wouldn't expect.

We have so many parks and lakes and rivers that offer a serene escape and splashing-good-time from the hot pavement of the city. Of course, the Oregon Coast, all the way from Astoria to Florence is the most beautiful shoreline. I find the beach to be perfect when it's about 75 degrees and I can lay out on a blanket and take a nap with the sun even just slightly peaking through the overcast skies. Just watch out for all those seagulls. Even though I'm not much of a hiker, Multnomah Falls is quite an awesome visual, even from the bridge. I've never been to Crater Lake but I can imagine it's devastatingly amazing. Oh and the mountain! On clear days just atop my neighborhood, Mt. Hood is majestic in the distance. Though I don't love driving over the mountain to make it to the other side, the landscape is still quite beautiful. And it's the only place where I believe the snow belongs :-)

What else am I missing? I'd say I have a healthy appreciation for nature, as long as I stop and think about how lucky I am to live in a state where life moves along as usual, but is set to the most beautiful backdrop. There are few other places I could probablysay this same thing about.

And in addition to the obvious natural spots, there is beauty in other places. Like the Oregon Gardens which I visited with my parents this past weekend. The garden flowers were in full bloom and beautiful. I was slightly disappointed by some of their gardening habits (considering my mom walked around dead-heading petunias), but all in all, the blooming colors were striking.

Identity Crisis

We all have an identity that is our very own. We share our identity with people via conversation, Facebook, twitter, blogs even; it’s the way we choose to describe ourselves. Of course this includes our physical appearance but we also identify ourselves by our age, our inhabitance, our employment status, and our likes and dislikes. Sometimes we identify ourselves with certain people (family or friends or fan-cies). There’s a problem with this, though: if even the slightest thing changes, we have on our hands an IDENTITY CRISIS!

For example, this is how I used to describe myself: Brunette, green eyes, 21 years old, student at George Fox, daughter and sister, 4 wonderful roommates, a writer, poodle-owner, lover of fashion, big patterns and color, music, dogs and stories. In a matter of a day, though, a large portion of this changed! I graduated from college in May and so I’m no longer a student and I lost my lovely roommates. I also became a sister-in-law, and oh yeah, I dyed my hair even darker! I still have the same interests but many times my tastes change: I’m starting to wear more black and white and cut down on the pattern and color in my wardrobe. My identity feels like it’s constantly changing as I’m trying to find a new way to describe myself. This could be from a new job I find or new friends I make now that I’m in a transition period of my life. And I think that more often than not, this is a feeling of recent graduates and individuals in their 20s.

When we find ourselves shaken by a change in circumstances and searching for what seems normal, there’s only one place we can go to find our constant identity. The one part of my identity that never changes is the fact that I am a child of my Creator, my Savior. And this is the most important piece of information that I could list in my bio. I need to remember that God will always be with me and that I can always turn to Him. Life is going to change and we’re going to change. We turn a year older every 12 months! But knowing who I belong to sure helps me not worry as much about how I’m going to fit into my new skin.

My First By-Line!

From February to May 2009 I interned as an editorial assistant for Oregon Bride magazine. I researched possible editorial stories, interviewed, wrote, fact-checked, and made endless phone calls for 4 long months. Dresses, flowers, cakes, favors, invitations, photographers, venues, music...everything under the sun. Finally, the magazine is out for the world to see!

Go to http://www.blogger.com/www.oregonbridemagazine.com or check newsstands at Fred Meyer or Barnes and Noble for the Fall/Winter 2009 issue. I wrote a story for Bride Ideas, Commitments, and collaborated on the Best of Bride 2009 story. Even if you're not getting married (anytime soon), it's kinda fun to look through.
I've never written such chatty verbage in my life. But I suppose it's great practice to learn to write for all types of audiences. Really, I'm just excited to have my very first real-world byline. (Even though they spelled my last name wrong on one of the credits; I can forgive, because the other three times they got it right!) Let's hope this is just the first of many times I see it in print.
P.S. If you need any bridal advice or tips on vendors, I am pretty confident in my new-found knowledge!

This is...American Idol

I'm a crazy fan of American Idol, and most other reality shows to be honest. But Idol is definitely at the top of my list. I love the stories of the contestants, I love to hear them sing, I'm enamored by their choices, I like to read their interviews, I'm so intrigued by who America chooses and why. I actually think Idol is a sociological study at the core. When it all comes down to it, though, it's also just about the music and picking my favorite.

For the past two or three years I've had two great friends who I have enjoyed the show with: Katie and Jherika. This year the three of us were lucky enough to have floor seats at the kick-off show at the Rose Garden (Portland, OR) and then meet the Idols twice: a pre-show meet and greet with a signing, and an after-party mingling. Somewhat of a dream come true and we had a fabulous time. (Almost) all of the Idols were seriously down-to-earth young people, very appreciative of everyone who came out, and acted amazed that so many people loved them. They were kind and didn't mind taking the time for a picture and autographs and a little bit of small talk.

Danny Gokey was so sweet and was actually witnessing to some people; what a guy!

And there's no way we could have gone without a picture with Adam Lambert. He was not even close to my favorite and I actually found him kind of creepy and didn't really enjoy his musical set. But what the heck, when you're that close...you just have to take a picture! And ignore the black fingernails on your bare skin :-)

Katie and her fave, Anoop Desai...He did a very sultry rendition of Always on My Mind. We were stunned...very pleasantly surprised.

And here is me and my boyfriend for about 2 minutes. He called me his #1 fan and kissed the top of my head. But when we asked him to "repetez s'il-vous-plait" for the sake of another picture, he was afraid we'd sell it to TMZ. Like I'd even know how to go about it. Oh well, I'm happy enough with this picture.

I know many of you didn't think Matt was that great during the season; but I love the "crooners" and especially when he sang "Let's Get It On." Is that wrong? Maybe, maybe not. Either way he actually had one of the best personalities, joking around with his fans, and making them feel the love. I miss my Idol friends; but I'm glad I at least have pictures to remember those good old times, and real friends (Katie and Jher) to play a couple rounds of "remember when..." with :-) And if you're not a fan of the show...you should watch the new season next year.

What to Say, What to Say?

Deciding to start a blog the same day I have my wisdom teeth pulled, may or may not have been a bad idea. After all, the Ibprofen and Percocet building up in my system has made some parts of life seem a little foggy. Yet I was able to think clearly enough to pick out a layout and a title and write a little about myself, without too much embarrassment or too many errors. And then it stops there. All week I’ve come back to the blog, trying to figure out what to write, and finally, four days later I’m actually going to post!

This is the blog, By Martha Grace, because hopefully someday that’s exactly what I’ll see when I open up a magazine or scroll down an online news site, or scan over titles at Barnes and Noble. Hey, why not get the name out there now so that others can grow accustomed to seeing it as well?

By Martha Grace may be as scattered, quirky, and multi-faceted as its namesake. I try not to ramble and I can face the fact that not everyone cares how many times I cried due to the wisdom-teeth painkillers, or the play-by-play of my outing to the shopping mall. But I may post pictures of the exciting places I went or people I spent time with. I may also post “pretty things” because I like to find those, too. And as a writer I’ve learned that everyone has a story, even if life seems mundane and unexciting. So that’s my goal: to find the purpose and excitement in some of the smaller aspects of life. When I present those to you, I hope you’ll enjoy, relate, and share with me about yourself as well.