We took a midafternoon dip in the sound last week! This heat wave in Tacoma has been hotter than hades and we needed to do something, ANYTHING to cool off! Jumping into the freezing cold salt water among the jellyfish did the trick.
We got our hands on a pair of tickets to a Rainiers game last week, too. Not just tickets - these were v.i.p. tickets. read: free beer, peanuts, ac cool box seats. We were pretty dang lucky. I swear I've never attended as many sports games as I'm going to attend this summer alone. Seattle is some sort of athetics hub. I'm not complainin.
On saturday, erin and I went out in search of some body of water to swim in. We weren't all that successful, since "beaches" in seattle tends to mean "rocky shore with waters filled with mud, green stuff that wraps around your legs and scary crab things". So, we waded in, took some photos, and played with the wildlife. Wasn't the day we were expecting, but it was a wonderful adventure all on it's own.
WHALE mural. That's really all.
Our plans that night got put on hold once we realized that the place we were going to go didn't open for another hour. So began our walk around downtown as the sun set. It was magical and stunning and perfect. And we saw the bridge lift for a sailboat and then go back down, so that was neat.
MOST AMAZING DUELING PIANO BAR I'VE EVER BEEN TO! Pianos, Drums, Guitar, Singing, dancing on tables - what a high energy place. I'm serious about having dueling pianos at my wedding. or at least reception. or at least that's date option numero uno for date night for ever and ever with the lucky guy. Because I could laugh and sing along and eye flirt with the piano guys all night long.
ANOTHER sporting event on Sunday. This time a sounders game, which means soccer. Being that I don't know how soccer works, it was basically just enjoy the view and drink some beer time for me. But the energy in the stadium was insane. 10/10 would do again (if i got another free ticket...)
More adventuring around because, ya know, it's just too dang hot to sit in the manor or offices all day. Also, who knew Tacoma was so pretty?!
Finally signed up for the half marathon in October! I set a pretty steady pace in my race back in June, so I'm just looking to either match it or improve a little. But mostly have fun! Yay, healthy! Also this is during octoberfest so... party on.
Like usual, I'm playing catch up with my blog. So here are some photos that wrap up the last 6 days of my life with some words to go along with 'em. Maybe I'll get better at this blogging thing one day. Maybe.
We spent the 4th of July as guests at Jeff Bethke's lake house. Although cloudy, I did manage to jump in the water and swim around for a bit. The night included jet skis, pulled pork sandwiches, DELICIOUS mud pie, and a firework show right across the lake. We had lovely front row seats to the whole thing. (Also, in the picture, mt rainier is just to the right behind Jeff and the trees.)
Before the big show across the lake, some kids were lighting fireworks on the dock we were sitting on. It was a great show, until one firework fell over and started shooting at all of us sitting on the dock 20 feet away. Luckily no one was hit, but it did make everyone a bit twitchy all night that another close encounter was soon to follow.
Made it to the ice cream social downtown for a couple scoops of their local ice cream in freshly pressed waffle cones. The interns and I met with a girl from Mars hill who was adorably sweet and passed on plenty of recommendations of places/things/food to eat before our summer runs out.
Inside the Parkway Tavern! A friend of mine in the area recommended it and it quickly became one of my favorite bars in the area. Super friendly bar staff and kind, talkative customers - it's the community back home I miss. Love love love it.
After the tavern, we walked down to the Harmon tap room. GREAT beer - all brewed right there. I enjoyed a glass of the Point Defiance and scrolled through twitter and Instagram while the other two interns talked about their time working at some place called mckalisters and some passion conference they've both been too. Just remember - the third wheel is necessary for a tricycle, right?
BEST CRAIGSLIST WIN EVER!! I claimed 4 free tickets to the comedy show Sunday night featuring Geoff Keith, comedian extraordinaire. Erin and I met up with a friend of mine and we enjoyed the show from the VIP front row table. So much fun!!
Of course, our weekly bachelorette viewing party at the boss-mans home. Nick sucks.
$0.56 pancake day at IHOP!! Of course that means all work is put on hold and we hit up the closest location.
Wednesday Benj came in to shoot some more product shots in preparation for our nordstroms launch this fall. Brett asked if I would be interested in helping him out, to which I responded "hell ya!" I originally was going to just help him stage the product and he'd shoot, but it quickly turned into me staging the product for 30 seconds, at which point Benj would just click the shutter button. After finishing one product shot, Benj rightly assumed I could click the button on my own and left me to the task. So, I GOT TO SHOOT WITH BENJ'S CAMERA!! Seriously, this summer is the best.
After work, the interns and I hit up Red Hot, a local hot dog and beer location. I got a Belgium pale ale and a hot dog with spicy mustard, BBQ sauce, hot sauce, and coleslaw. It was delicious, but if I'm being completely honest, somewhat underwhelming. Probably won't be going back.
Thanks a lot to the conversations I've been having with my brother down at the cru summer project in Lake Tahoe, I've been much more diligent this summer with my disciplines. Reading the book on the Mormon religion is interesting and leads me to search out passages in the bible. I've been finding so many hidden gems this way and gaining so much confidence in what I believe.
And, well, that's been the past few days. Looking forward, this Friday is free slurpie day at 7-11, so that's exciting. This weekend is the sounders game the vandals will be reppin at, so I'm stoked to go and see some of my Moscow family. I was originally going to try and make a trip down to Lake Tahoe this weekend, but I just really don't think it's in the cards. It's for the best - Steven's doing amazing down there and I'd hate to break his focus. Maybe I'll get a phone call in with him at some point.
Till next post!
Yesterday, the church that we live right next to had a free family freedom festival thing, complete with inflatable bouncy houses, a dunk tank, and potato sack relays. The interns and I only participated in the free food part, but had fun watching the rest of the families enjoy the games. We then went inside for a "freedom concert". This church has got some VERY talented musicians in it and the concert was fantastic. songs that celebrated our country and the freedom we are granted through the country and though Christ's death - both were included.
This morning, we were treated to brunch out at The original pancake house. nothing screams 'Merica more than banana chocolate chip pancakes, right?
Hope your day is full of hot dogs, potato salad, and sky explosions.
This week is flying by! I've successfully created a pretty great access database for Claro that will help them manage their inventory and raw materials. Just waiting to hear back from a friend who will pump it up with a macro here and there. It's fun working at a company and being able to see what I do impact the company.
I've also been spending some time on Craigslist browsing the free page. Seriously, everyone should start their day browsing the free page on Craigslist. I found 4 huge, basically brand new windows on Craigslist that Claro will be able to use as whiteboards and an erasable to do list and calendar. I'm stoked to clean them up, maybe add fabric or paper to the back, and get them hung.
Monday night after the bachelor, my roommate flew back from her weekend at home. A flight originally planned to fly in at 10:40 got pushed back to 11:30, then pushed back to 1:15am. I spent about three hours at the local Shari's, downing 6 cups of coffee and finishing off a plate of fries. I also spent the whole time reading "One Nation Under Gods". Fascinating book for all those interested in the history of the Mormon religion, no matter what you believe.
World Cup happened at work. We came, we saw, we believed, and then we lost.
The elevator at work is an interesting beast. There's nothing like climbing onto the tower of terror every morning to get to work.
The three interns went out to dinner at Masa. Seriously delicious. No surprise, I got fish tacos.
And lastly, my roommate and I started off today at Metronome coffee. Lovely atmosphere with great (and cheap) drip coffee. We'll be going back.
Our plans for now are to hit up the 4th of July celebration at the church next to the manor this afternoon for free food and then spend tomorrow afternoon at the Tacoma freedom festival. Live music, the waterfront, and food - what else could we possibly need?
I'm back in Tacoma! It was bizarre, but for the whole weekend I really just missed being back here with my Claro crew and out on adventures. The wedding was amazing, it was great hitting the town with my ladies, and the graduation party with my family was awesome. But it is truly a joy to be back.
Photo vomit begin in 3... 2... 1...
Borrowed Beamer, wedding, ladies night, grad party, real bed, flight home.
Another summer weekend over. ✌️
