website!

The website is up and running! So exciting!!

www.beccaskinner.com

It was a great deal of investment (such as time and money), but it will be worth it. I'm sure. Now that school is out, I am focusing most of my time on researching indigenous tribes in Chile. I am learning more about South American geography, culture and history than I ever thought possible.

Even if this project does not go through, the amount of networking I have done and friendships that I have established throughout the process would be worth it. There is a huge 'thank-you' owed to those people who have spent endless hours talking with individuals from our team; anyone who was willing to give us the time to talk about the project proposal and just listen to our ideas has been more of a help than anything we could have imagined.

Since I have arrived at home in Denver, there has been lots of music in the house. My mom went back to school for a Music Education degree (I am grinning ear to ear, I am so proud of her) and she brings home lots of interesting instruments. My sister has been singing a lot, and I brought home my guitar. There is something about sitting down and spending time harmonizing, writing, creating, and loving every minute that makes my soul fill up. It makes me think back to summer and spending late nights on the porch in Lander, teaching myself to play guitar and creating music while the porch lights are hung up like it's Christmas; the wind picking up, and carrying late night concerts at the bar and scents like rain.

Bub takin in the sun rays

finalmente!

So happy to be done with finals.

finally.

in one sense, it is sad because it is over, it seems like only when something like this is done, does it seem like it went quickly. I can remember the first day moving into my house, the first time I cooked an entire meal for myself in the house, and many memories in between. Isn't it funny that something that once seemed so new and different is now so comfortable?

Now I can fully concentrate on the Patagonia adventure that will hopefully take place sooner than later. *fingers crossed*

Aside from anything relevant, here are some old photos. They were taken by Mike Mills this past year in Bishop; Mike really has some brilliant photos and I feel like he doesn't share them with the world enough. I did some editing (sorry Mike) and thought that there were some cool ones to share of me climbing...and now that I typed that, it sounds vain. To make up for it, I will post plenty of other photos of people climbing in my upcoming trip to Hueco Tanks, TX after christmas. It should be wonderful :)

de-stress.

So stressed out.

Between trying to plan this patagonia trip and finals, I think I've started growing grey hair and probably gaining some age wrinkles around my eyes. No jokes here.

So to de-stress myself out, I danced around the room as best i could to this:

I loved deeper.

I kissed my pup, and we played fetch for 20 minutes.

I made myself wheat pancakes, with strawberries, and whipped cream for breakfast/lunch.

that made things better.

I still had the same amount of work to do, but i did some important things to make sure I was in the right mindset.

I encourage you to dance around the room

to eat pancakes for lunch

and dinner

and breakfast

but mostly, i encourage you to take time out of your schedule to do more important things.

sending you all big hugs,

b.

the attic, finally a post about rock climbing.

The best climbing gym in Laramie is about the size of a dorm room. There are no specific problems, just a whole bunch of holds on 3 walls of different angles. I wish I could describe to you, how the brick walls freeze in the winter time and its about 20 degrees in this little place until you turn on the heater, which makes it about 35 degrees. and I wish I could describe to you how the floor is all crash pads, and foam so when you fall, you bounce. And I wish I could accurately describe the holds on the wall, its like being in a candy shop; all the colors and shapes, just ready to throw you off the wall and rub it in your face; taunting you that you aren't strong enough to hold on. Yet.Every week there is a group of us that goes in to The Source,

turns up the reggae or the rap all the way, and huck ourselves at plastic shapes in hopes of catching them to build our muscles.

This gym is a coop and survives solely on members paying for their keys each month. I love this community.

nori working out the moves of a problem

t'was a project

nori being strong

working on a problem

nori picking out the tunage. Probably State Radio or Atmosphere

This picture is by Alli Rainey, she came through Laramie this summer. Quality person. Quality session.

*NOTE that these pictures were taken during the summer time...it looks like this during the winter time but everyone is wearing down jackets and showing as little skin as possible.