team spirit

I'm not a huge football fan.  I grew up watching the Anchorage Aces, our only professional sports team, play hockey in the Sullivan Area.  I've have always been more of a hockey girl myself.  Since I never had any loyalty to a specific football team, when the Seahawks went to the Superbowl back in 2006 I decided I'd root for the Steelers.  Since I was at college in Washington everyone else was rooting for the Hawks and I figured I'd root for someone else, just for kicks.  What I didn't know was how passionate everyone was about the Seahawks, and how mad they'd be at me when they lost.  Even though I really had no skin in the game and honestly couldn't have cared who won people were still pretty pissed at me, and I didn't get it.  Now I get it.  Even though I'm a transplant Washingtonian, the excitement for the Seahawks this past season has been palpable all year, and last night it reached a fever pitch.  
I took Dusty for a walk during half time and all around the neighborhood I heard kids yelling and cheering with excitement.  When we stepped out our front door after the Seahawks won, you could hear cheering, fireworks, cars honking for miles and miles.  We drove down 6th ave in my (Seahawks blue!) El Camino and revved her 350 small block at all the fans celebrating with a post-game smoke outside every bar.  Even though I wasn't an avid fan for the whole season, being in the epicenter of the excitement that engulfed the entire Puget Sound, was something I'll never forget.  I've never seen anything like it.  I can't even imagine being a lifelong Seattle Seahawks fan finally getting to see your team get the big win.

 
dress/courtesy of modcloth :: jacket/courtesy of lulu's :: necklace/handmade hat/the north face :: shoes (similar)/courtesy of blowfish
I don't think I'll become a rabid football fan anytime soon, though.  I enjoy watching the game, but I don't have a TV, and I'm not part of a group of friends who are really into sports either.  I have heard whispers of an NHL team being created in Seattle, though, which is exciting.  Tacoma used to have a hockey team that was in the same league as the Anchorage Aces, but they disappeared years ago and have never been replaced.  I'll be in Anchorage for a week in March and there are a few Aces games while I'm in town, so it'll be fun to see a game or two!  I've only gotten to go to maybe one game per year since moving away for college in 2005, but it's always fun to go back and cheer for my home team.  They've played in the same arena for decades, and it's barely changed much over the years, which makes it even more nostalgic to go back.  
I started going when I was around 10 years old and I remember there was this super cute family that had season tickets right near us.  When I first started going they had a little baby girl and I watched her grow up every season.  It's crazy to think that that little girl is now probably a college student somewhere, all grown up!  The whole family always had their Aces jerseys on, even the little girl.  I still have my Aces jersey, with tons of signatures on it from getting the players to sign it during "Skate with the Aces" nights.  I think I'd still be a little star struck if I met Keith Street or Dean Larson on the street, my favorite players.  I can't help but smile thinking about yelling "ACES!" in response to the far side of the arena yelling "GO!" and the feeling I get when that fog horn blows after every goal.  

 

on shareability

Today I read this advice someone had tweeted from a blogging conference: "Keep your writing concise & tweetable. It makes you shareable." It didn't rest well with me. I'm sure it's true that creating concise, tweetable content makes you shareable, but what didn't rest well was the idea that everything we do and write on a blog should aim to be shareable. That the highest goal was shareability and we should sacrifice eloquence or longwindedness on the altar of shareability. Humans aren't designed to communicate in 140 characters. Hell, they're not even designed to communicate in characters alone. They're designed to communicate with their entire beings. Their tone of voice, their body language, and their words. They're suppose to communicate in context, and the internet is often a huge contextless void, endlessly filling with words unattached to their appropriate contexts.
I guess what I'm saying is that, no, I won't be neatly packaging myself into twitter friendly soundbytes. I can't do the endless rat race for viral shares. I've spent my fair share of time at blogging conferences learning from "the best" about how to make my blog into an empire, and while there was tons of useful information learned at those conferences, I just can't get on board with the plea to encourage our slow devolvement into newspeak. Words are powerful. Sometimes a few words are powerful, but often it's far more than 140 characters which touch our hearts and souls, tantalize our minds, and change the world.
If you're looking for shareability, then I suppose creating concise and tweetable content is good advice. At the end of the day, though, I'd rather write from my heart, as long or short as necessary to share what is trying to leap from inside me onto that blank screen.

getting out

Yesterday Dusty went in to get spayed, which meant that I had the whole day to myself.  I used to spent tons of time alone, working at coffee shops, going wherever I wanted, but since getting Dusty I've spent most of my time at home.  When we first got her I didn't leave her for more than a couple hours alone, and now I usually try to not leave her for more than five or six hours.  Not wanting to leave Dusty for too long, plus my laptop being slow as molasses, meant that my days of working at coffee shops pretty much disappeared completely.  I do miss getting out of the house to do my work, and I wonder if my lack of inspiration these days is linked to a sort of cabin fever.  One of the biggest challenges when it comes to working from home is keeping motivated and inspired.
This graffiti garage is one of those inspirational Tacoma places, but it's been slated to be removed someday soon.  It used to be a legal place to do graffiti art, but they announced last year that it would no longer be a place where graffiti artists could freely paint.  I keep expecting to drive by and see it white washed, but so far that hasn't been the case.  I'm not sure if the property owner decided not to go through with it or what, but the walls are still saturated with tags and creations from graffiti artists.  Any Tacoma people know what the deal is with the Garages?  I was so sad to hear they weren't going to allow graffiti art any longer as it's one of my favorite places for photos!
Anyway, getting out of the house and into the crisp fresh air felt good.  The sun came out briefly and even though it was pretty chilly and windy, it wasn't too bad inside the garages hidden from the windchill.

 


top/the great pnw :: jacket/modcloth :: boots/target :: skirt/courtesy of modcloth necklaces/courtesy of adorn by sarah lewis
I think I've worn this jacket in every outfit post this month, just about.  I'd had it on my wish list for months, and I finally caved when it went on sale, and holy cow was it a good investment.  It's one of the most worn things I own these days!  Plus, every single time I wear it someone compliments it or comments on how much they want one.  I'm so glad I finally gave in and snagged it!   It's one of those things that instantly makes me feel ten times more bad ass when I put it on, which is a win in my book.  So if you're tired of seeing it, too bad. 

remix archives // b + w print dress

It's been a while since I did a remix archive!  I haven't been doing quite as many outfit posts the last few months, so there haven't been as many remixes, consequently.  I've gotten a few new items in my closet recently which I've been wearing to death, and this dress has been on rotation quite a bit lately.  I love black and white prints because they can be pretty crazy but because they are colorless, it's easy to mix them with other colors and patterns.  I got this dress from the clothing swap I hosted at my house last year.  It's always exciting to get a super wearable item at a thrift store or swap, it feels like such a gold mine!  Sometimes remixes are relatively similar to one another, but I'm actually pretty proud of how diverse the styles are in these outfits, especially considering the dress has a rather bold print.  

life lately

Sunday is one of my favorite days.  Dan has work off and we get to hang out all day and relax.  Sometimes we go out for brunch, sometimes he makes breakfast.  Multiple cups of coffee are always involved.  Life seems to move slower on Sundays.  Even on these shorter winter days, the sun seems to move through the sky slowly, lingering.
Life has felt a little disjointed lately.  Even our home is a bit unsettled.  We got rid of our dining table so our kitchen feels odd with just some chairs, a side table, and Dusty's kennel.  I've got plans for making the space homey and cozy again, but finding the right furniture (and saving money for said furniture) takes time, so for now it's a bit of a mess.  A messy, unkempt home really does have an effect on feeling stressed or uninspired.  When the house is clean and put together it feels like a happy space full of life.  When there are piles everywhere and things are laying around in odd places it feels unsettling.  Hopefully we can get things feeling more like home soon.

Watching:  The Biggest Loser ... and Dexter.  I have to say, I loathe most reality television and the fabricated drama and incessant negativity, but The Biggest Loser is just so damn positive and encouraging.  I think I tear up at least once during every show.  It's a competition show, but there is none of the competitive cattiness or backstabbing drama that I see in other shows.  Everyone is supporting one another, everyone is rooting for each other, and we get to see people transform their lives.  Also, it's a great motivator to watch before doing my own workout.  I think my favorite contestant this season has been Rachel.  It's been incredible to watch her bloom out of the shell she was trapped in.  She's so vibrant and happy and you can tell she feels so empowered. 

And Dexter, well, whoa.  I just finished the Season 4 finale and... okay.  
Perplexed about: what's happening in the blogosphere.  For a long time I felt like my experience was singular, just my own personal experience due to changes in my life.  But I've been reading post after post from fellow bloggers echoing the thoughts that have been bouncing around my brain for months.  What is this sense of unrest?  Where is it coming from?  What is the cure?  I'm not sure, but the message I'm getting is that we all want connection.  This isn't surprising because this is what we all were drawn to the blogosphere for in the first place, right?  But now in lieu of connection, contrived content abounds, because that's what gets traffic.  Tips for this and that, tutorials we probably don't need, content created for the sake of creating something... anything to bring in traffic.  I'm not immune to this impulse either, but it's sucked the joy dry.  Only a few blogs pique my interest these days, and on some days not even my own blog makes that list.  In the last few months I've spent more hours than I can count staring at that blinking cursor at the cusp of a blank page.  I want to share things that matter, share my genuine story, make those connections with beautiful human beings.  My favorite part of blogging over the last five years have been those posts where I wrote my honest story and was flooded with comments and emails from people who shared part of my experience, people who thought they were alone, but found through my story that there were others who felt the same way and had been through something similar.  My blogging has slowed considerably from the 5-7 days/week posting schedule I used to adhere to, mostly because I want to create content that isn't just there to keep the numbers up.  I'd rather lose some traffic, but keep the authenticity, and for now I just can't seem to do that and post on a daily basis like I used to.  
Becoming: Woowee.  Or Hippie Dippie.  Or Crunchy.  Whatever you call it.  I'm pretty sure I've stepped off the platform and onto the Woowee train and am headed straight to hippie-ville.  And I kind of love it.  I've realized this recently, after going off of the pill and giving FAM a try, and then having conversations with Dan about Un-schooling our future kids, downloading a meditation app, and practicing yoga, renewing our CSA for 2014, and 100% seriously considering diving into the essential oils thing.  I'm still not into the chakra/crystals level of Woowee-ness, but I do think crystals are pretty and own a few, though I'm not yet on board with their energy auras effecting me.  Coming from a decidedly un-woowee background, I sort of feel like I'm "coming out" of the crunchy closet.  It smells like cedar incense in my closet.
Reading: Aleut Art.  If it sounds like a boring book, it's because it is.  Well, I should say that it's a boring read (very very textbook, archeological mumbo jumbo, science-y), but the content is extremely interesting, at least for me.  I've been really wanting to research more about my Unangan ancestors, and as an artist learning about the artistic traditions and history was something that definitely piqued my interest.  I'm having flashbacks to my Ancient Art History class from my freshman year of college.  Unfortunately, unlike many other ancient cultures, Unangan art history is hard to piece together due to lack of currently available artifacts.  When I bought the book online I initially expected it to be more pictures than words and was pleasantly surprised with the goldmine of knowledge I'd acquired.  Though the reading is dry, I'm enjoying getting to know better the art and culture of my Unangan ancestors.  The next time I'm in Anchorage I'd like to go back to the Alaska Native Heritage center and see if they have any more resources.
Looking forward to: Going on hikes.  I ordered a pair of hiking boots from REI the other night and I can't wait to get them and see if they fit.  I tried on a pair at REI in town but they didn't have a size smaller and I really wanted to make sure I got a good fit, so I ordered a half size smaller pair online.  My new favorite thing to look for at thrift stores is outdoor gear and athletic clothes.  Maybe it's just a PNW thing, but I've found quite a bit of awesome fitness and outdoor gear at thrift stores.  REI pants and coats, Columbia and North Face jackets, Patagonia gear, Prana stuff... it's always super exciting to find something good because that stuff can be super spendy brand new at the store!
Tired of: gender divides in toys for girls and boys.  Not that it's part of my daily life since I don't have kids, but I read a lot about that kind of issue and as I was wandering about the thrift store the other day I came across an aisle set up with toys for girls on one side and boys on the other.  Pink dolls and cooking toys, and then cars and trucks and stuffed dinosaurs.  It took me back to being a kid and constantly being drawn to the toys for boys.  I loved legos and hot wheels and hated dolls and anything pink.  I wanted to be a boy because I felt like being a girl was so lame.  I wanted to wrestle and run around on the playground, not play house and braid hair.  I don't have a lot of hope for the gender divide in toys to be much better by the time I have kids, but I suppose I can give them what I played with most when I was younger: the great outdoors.  Gender neutral as you can get.  (I sound like an old person now don't I... "We didn't have TOYS, we played outside! Jiminy Cricket!")
Proud of: my progress in yoga!  I try to practice at least 3 days/week, which isn't as good as practicing every day (I'm still awful at practicing at home), but I can tell that I'm moving further into certain poses.  I started doing Insanity again at the beginning of January, so it's been a bit harder to maintain flexibility while building muscle with daily workouts, but I'm glad to be balancing out strength building with yoga.  Yesterday I made big progress on my Pincha Mayurasana, which was one of my big goals when I started practicing more frequently.  Now I have to work towards getting more solid in the pose and being able to move away from the security blanket of the wall behind me!