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A Baby Music School Turns 1!

A Baby Music School Turns 1

I love this photo so much.

It's the visual embodiment of what it's like to be a part of a recital with the Coda School of Music. Teachers laughing, kids trying to look super cool, big smiles, and so much love. 

For those of you that don't know, my friend Lacey Brown and I started a community music school with another friend Ivar Hillesland. Earlier this month, we completed our first year of official nonprofit-ness and also therefore (successfully) submitted our first round of nonprofit taxes. …

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I'm Giving a Sermon on Sunday. (!?!)

I'm Giving a Sermon on Sunday

This might shock you as much as it does me.

Allow me to explain...

Nathan Hollifield is a friend from way-back. His story and mine intersected about 7 years ago but just for a little bit and from a distance. In between that time he moved to the East Coast, got married, had a kid and became a Methodist pastor.

I, on the other hand, left the church. I was told I asked too many "toxic" questions. I got hurt one too many times. So when it comes to church, I'm more than jaded.

When it comes to Go…

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You guys. This Book is Actually Going To Happen.

You guys-This Book is Actually Going To Happen

(piece by piece this book will be finished!)

Well, the month of March certainly just flew by, didn't it? I spent it doing the following...

  1. Moving into my new little house in Tacoma, WA.
  2. Going on a short little tour of house concerts in Spokane, Leavenworth, Whidbey and Orcas Island.
  3. Celebrating my 30th birthday!
  4. Hosting my mom visiting the Pacific NW from Wyoming.
  5. Telling her how high I wanted the pink velvet curtains hung in my living room.
  6. Collapsing from exhaustion while she nailed s…

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10 Terrific Tips for Moving Day (Helpful & Questionable)

I've moved around a lot. The other night I counted.

Since high school I've moved, get this, SIXTEEN TIMES.

I've moved SIXTEEN times since 2004. 

*headdesk*

So many boxes. So many trips. So many apartments. So many houses. So many cities. So many boxes of pizza. So many hours filled with the ear-piercing sound of tape getting yanked off its roll.

So what does one do with all that expertise? Duh. Write a blog post! ;)

Here's my list of ten somewhat helpful yet questionable tips for your next…

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If I Were in High School, I'd Want to Go to Tacoma's School of the Arts...

If I Were in High School, I'd Want to Go to Tacoma's School of the Arts...

Full Disclaimer: I Was Homeschooled.

It was pretty okay.

I got to take the classes I wanted to take in the places I wanted to take them from the teachers I liked best. I spent all but one class of my senior year in college classrooms, which allowed me to graduate high school with about 15 college credits. (Possibly the only reason why I have a minor in French.)

Homeschooling through high school afforded me the aforementioned discovery of my LEAST FAVORITE PIECE OF LITERATURE. EVER. and of cou…

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I Have a Case of The Hermit Crabs.

I Have a Case of The Hermit Crabs

photo by Fimb 

Allow me to explain...

I spent 10 years (2004-2014) moving a lot.

Sometimes as frequently as every 6 months. College life, new roommates, living abroad, moving to a new corner of the US, new roommates, new neighborhoods, new jobs...

I got really good at picking up everything and moving around based on who I wanted to be near. My artistic and personal spaces have been defined by the people I intentionally surrounded myself with. 

But as I get older, I'm discovering a change (b…

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Midwinter Midnights, Vol. 1 is Here!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Merry Christmas!

It's out! It's here! And I couldn't be more proud of this little collection of Christmas gems.

Available Online! 

 

Some really wonderful people deserve my unending thanks...  

This group of people generously stand behind me by pledging a small amount ($1, $3, $5, or $10) for every original song, cover song, or video I release. This small but mighty group actually pay me to ke…

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Prompt: Puns have become illegal.

This week's (song)writing prompt...

Puns have become illegal.

  Prompt-Puns have become illegal.png  

Further Prompt Challenge: Puns (my favorite thing in linguistics) have become illegal. Are you a rule follower? Can you withstand the temptation to use one in conversation? Do you use them at home, when no one's looking? If so, who is in your inner-circle of pun-sharing trust? What puns are worth breaking the rules for? What story led to the banning of these?

Check out what the Reddit community came up with!

(& If you just c…

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2014 in Review: Summer & Fall

2014 in Review-Summer & Fall

Summer

Continuing with the Annual Review, Summer was one of the best. But again, one of the hardest. 

I was coming out of my artistic retreat, returning to "life-as-normal."

It was a jolt to be sure. Financially, I was looking for a day job. Rent had to get paid.

While at The Guild, I noticed that all my strength and energy had previously been spent on keeping myself afloat via teaching a full-time studio of students, etc. I was able to set aside my ego in order to get the sometimes dreaded …

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