life lately + some updates

Missing: Anchorage summers.  There's something about the feel of an Anchorage summer that I can't find anywhere else.  Of course the reality is probably not quite as lovely.  My mom says they're having a record-breaking mosquito summer, which means being outside is awful so they can't even enjoy the nice weather.  Still, I miss summers up there.  
Watching: I've been watching the new So You Think You Can Dance season and can we just talk for a sec about how amazing that show is?  I swear I cry or tear up every episode.  Dance is such a beautiful artform to begin with and the inspiring stories of people overcoming injuries and rough life situations, or escaping a life involved with gangs or drug culture are so moving.  Besides the fact that the dancers are just incredible dancers.  I love dance, though I've never done it "officially."  I took ballet when I was a super tiny human, but I'm sure something weird happened and then my stubborn self refused to return (this also happened with figure skating, and piano lessons).  I took ballet again in college a couple decades later and joined the hip hop dance club on campus and did some performances.  I also danced in the Hawaii Club's annual luau, which is apparently the largest luau in the Northwest!  It was a ton of practice, and we spent hours making our own grass skirts, but it was a blast.  I'd love to get involved with a dance organization here in Tacoma.  I'm no 'trained dancer' but I do love it!
Thinking about: Adventures.  Every once in a while Dan will mention something like taking a brewery tour around the US, and I'm back to scheming how to get back in the Winne and on the road.  Last week we were at an event for the American Alpine Club and now we want to travel around the country rock climbing and visiting breweries.  It's not totally crazy.  Our house is very rent-friendly, so I'm sure we'd be able to find renters for 6 months or a year and head out on the road for adventure times.  

Excited for:

Dan's new job to open!  He's been training for about a month and the restaurant is set to open in the next (hopefully) week or so.  Not only is the place gonna be awesome, but I'm really looking forward to having a more set schedule.  Both Dan & I work better when we have a reliable schedule, and the past month or two have been kind of weird with him training and working jobs that are more on-call than scheduled.  Plus, it'll just be great to have another amazing bar/restaurant in Tacoma to patronize!

Proud of:

Dan!  Not only is he learning so many cool cooking techniques, but he got into college!   Haha, it feels weird saying that because he's been to college for quite a few years now.  He's been going to community college for a few years banging out some standard classes while trying to figure out what he wants to do.  We met at the college I graduated from, but he left after freshman year.  So this is the first "real" college (read: real expensive, haha) that he's applied to since then!  Not only did he get in, but he got an academic scholarship!  It's an expensive school (aren't they all?  ugh) so it probably won't make a huge dent, but anything helps and I'm so proud of him for getting it.  The school has the Marriage and Family Counseling masters program he wants to go into, so it'll be a nice launch pad to get into that program once he finishes his bachelor's.  He's going in to see an advisor on Tuesday to figure out what classes to take in the fall.  Exciting!

 
 
   
a new tacoma rag! // bikes at the velofemmes event // giant bun is back bounty from the earth // swap party! // bebe corgz, ugh an outfit for graduation + eating at boundary bay brewery  running times // got a new (white!) iPhone. so fresh and so clean, clean
A couple blog related updates: 
Google Reader is going away!  If you haven't switched to a new blog reader yet, make sure to do it soon so you don't lose all your favorite blogs and have to reconstruct your blog reader from memory.  Kam has shared 6 RSS blog reader alternatives, and I'm a huge fan of Bloglovin'.  Back in the day I would just click all the blogs in my "favorite blogs" list in my sidebar in order to check in on them, but Bloglovin' makes it so much easier.  I don't like blog readers that extract the post from the blog because a lot of my pleasure in reading blogs is going to people's actual sites with their layout and design.  It's like going to someone's house and seeing how they've decorated.  It's familiar and nice.  I like that Bloglovin' takes you to the actual blog, rather than grabbing the post itself.  Does that make sense?  If not, check out Bloglovin', I'm sure they explain it better.  Plus, you can import your Google Reader list straight to Bloglovin!  
Summer Solstice happened!  Which means it's officially summer, right?  Right.  Well, in celebration, I'm discounting ads and all my e-courses!  All e-courses are 25% off and Small and Medium ads are 50% off.  You can purchase e-courses here, and if you're interested in an ad you can learn more about those here!  To get the ad discount, just use the code "SUMMER" at checkout.
Now for some favorite things around the web: 
 Kickstarter funded a book focused on teaching men how to take advantage of women.  And they apologized.  Enjoyed this read on marriage equality as it relates to the "biblical definition of marriage."  Moorea shared this with me and then I died.  BEBE CORGZ  If you want to donate to my Warrior Dash fundraiser for St. Jude, you can do so here!  The damaging effects of shame based sex-education.  Good stuff.  Apparently I read a lot about sex this week.  Here's another good read about sex/purity/faith.  In which Captain Picard solidifies his place as favorite Star Trek captain.  More Star Trek related stuff.  This time lolz.  Sci Fi nerd train continues:  The best Doctor Who themed wedding!!!  If I had a $500 Free People gift card (and was allowed to cheat on my shopping criteria) I would snatch this dress up immediately.  Warrior Princess chic.