stay stay stay

Morning, chickadees!

Here we are, again.

After almost three weeks of running around, I’m about to get back to a routine.

This should be interesting.

Yesterday ended up being less about unpacking and more about beach visiting with my mom, which was just fine by me.

Random boxes, I’ll get to you on a day that doesn’t offer me this alternative.

The water was freezing, so I mostly sunbathed (read: burned, because I don’t remember that I’m both blond and blue-eyed), but it was a lovely way to spend a free afternoon.

After a quick treat at DQ, I headed home, used all 26 million of my keys to get into my condo (I’m gonna need to figure this out soon, chickens), and tried to shower all the sand off of me.

I was highly unsuccessful.

Next up was a return to yoga.

Hot yoga, because why ease into anything?

Struggling to find the right key on my chain to lock my door made me miss my bus, which meant a long trek to the studio, since my move has put me off a finicky bus line.

I was maybe tired already from the walk by the time class started.

One hour and fifteen minutes later, I remembered what tired actually felt like.

You guys, my limbs are essentially jelly this morning.

I’m never skipping class for that long again. By the time I hit the mat and closed my eyes, I was a sweaty, slippery, uncoordinated mess.

I’ll try again when the room’s not heated to 100 degrees.

I’m not even sure it will help.

And with that, I’m off to try my new commute and to remember what a day in my cubicle feels like- enjoy the sunshine if you’ve got it, chickens!

 

and that’s a wrap.

Morning, chickadees!

And yes, I’m back.

And still catching up on some sleep after fourteen nights in hotel rooms and fourteen days of running around, meetings, and getting.it.done.

I spent the weekend unpacking, watching JW hang up all our photos on the walls, and running into my new favorite neighbors.

 

After two weeks without my favorite kids, they were a sight for sore, tired eyes.

I’m giving myself one more day to put some books on shelves, try to get into my building with my six thousand new keys, and relaxing before I head back into the office and try to remember what a normal (ish) life feels like around here.

And also maybe catching up on my DVR backlog for the next few hours.

I’m just trying to be honest.

I’m so excited, chickens, to be back to the city for my favorite season of the year. I’m ready for trips to the beach, outdoor concerts (already started yesterday with a trip to Ravinia to see Jewel), and festivals until Labor Day.

Oh man, you guys, there is nothing more beautiful than this spot for the next three months.

And with that, I’m off to shelve books and make a plan to get right back into it.

Enjoy the sunshine, chickadees, the start to this week is a great one.

 

five good things: conference(s) 2013 edition

Ok chickadees.

I’m taking one, big, long breath and saying hi before I get back to it, and more importantly, get closer to getting myself home to my “regular” life.

I’ve been hanging out in Orlando and Dallas, meeting all kinds of new people, hanging with some old friends, and not sleeping.at.all.

It turns out that lots of coffee+a steroid = halfway functioning NP for 14 straight days of being onsite.

I also managed to smash my iPhone at some point last week (after being warned that I would because of my sub par case), but luckily, my first conference was not short on technical people and nice volunteers, so I was fixed up in no time.

I still need a new case.

But chickens, I’m not complaining. I’ve also danced plenty, laughed until I cried, and been told “thank you” enough times for the next couple of months. Here’s a list of five.good.things: conferences 2013 edition.

1. Conference-working is all day, crazy hard work. However, I’ve been lucky enough to hang with some of the best people on earth these past two weeks. Whether it’s cracking up after two hour nights of sleep, trying to fit 300 people into a 150 person room without panicking or crying, or dealing with a bunch of surly conference greeters, there is no one I’d rather be doing it with.

2. Happy hour happens every single night in Conference-land. This is a good thing (but one I’m happy to leave behind)- I’ve had every kind of cocktail there is over the past two weeks. Detox is calling my name.

3.  I had the pleasure of meeting the Goo Goo Dolls while onsite. It was both random and awesome, and I loved the 90s throwback. Although Johnny Reznik looks a little jacked up these days, he still sings just as nicely.

4. I’ve been wearing essentially the same outfit for the past two weeks, which is on the good things list because it means that I can get up three seconds before heading downstairs to our early meetings.

Can I even remember how to dress myself?

Probably not, chicks.
5. In less than 24 hours, I’ll be heading back to my favorite place in the world, complete with my favorite people and a brand new home (which I have only technically seen once). That, my friends, is quite possibly the best thing of all.

Can’t wait to catch back up, chickadees. Enjoy this day!

because no one ever asked them.

Hey everyone, Jennie here, still, writing while Nikki is traveling. Today, I want to talk to you about something near and dear to me: blood donation.

I have been giving blood since I was sixteen, on a semi-regular basis, sometimes because I forget to go, and sometimes because I am anemic and don’t always have enough iron to donate. Yesterday, for my birthday, I went to donate blood, and made sure to take iron a few days beforehand so that I would have enough to give blood.

Now, I give because I know how important it can be – people literally die because they don’t get the blood they need. There are constantly shortages in the United States, and not just when a natural disaster hits – all the time. One of the number one reasons people don’t give blood is because no one ever asks them to. Unless you know someone or live somewhere that’d been ravaged by a disaster, you might not think in your everyday life to give blood. So here I am. Asking you to give blood if you can.

It’s easy to give blood. The whole process takes about an hour, with the actual needle-time about 8 to 10 minutes. You usually get a treat and sometimes even a reward like a movie ticket or a free Coldstone Creamery coupon. Your donation can help up to three people. It’s easy, and if you bring a friend, you can have a race to see who can give faster (I know this also from experience.) Give through a local drive, through the red cross, or another local organization. Give every 56 days. You’ll be helping others, paying it forward, and someday, if someone you love needs blood, you will ask strangers to give their blood, like I am doing now, and you will see firsthand what a difference in the world one question can make.

Will you give blood?

Five Photos to Get Excited for Summer

 

5gts: Thursday Edition

Hey y’all, Jennie again. Here are Five Good Things for your Thursday:

1. This recipe for healthier parm truffle French fries.

2.Living so close to your friends you can walk to their house (this is novel for LA.)

3. Tonight is First Thursday, which means a party down on Melrose full of food trucks, including ice cream sandwiches. Do you have anything like this? You should look for cool community events like this, they are SO fun for summer!

4. It’s almost Friday. Enjoy this picture of a latte.

5. This quote: “What keeps you going isn’t some fine destination but just the road you’re on, and the fact that you know how to drive. You keep your eyes open, you see this damned-to-hell world you got born into, and you ask yourself, ‘What life can I live that will let me breathe in & out and love somebody or something and not run off screaming into the woods?”(Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams)

Enjoy these lovely, lovely clouds. Unless you’re not in June Gloom. Then enjoy the sunshine, chicks!

Why Roombas are the Best

Today’s post brought to you by Kylah!

Since Nikki is off working more hours in 2 weeks than I would ever even think about attempting, she has asked me to guest post on her blog. I decided that I wanted to tell you guys about something that I love and Nikki hates, specifically, the Roomba I recently purchased.

You guys, this thing is the best. I will say that I got a wicked good deal on it; otherwise I never would have bought it. I will also say that I live in a large studio apartment, so honestly it would not kill me to vacuum my own floor, but maybe it would, who knows. My house is basically cleaning itself while I’m at the bar busy doing other super important things. Why vacuum when I have an awesome little robot that can do it for me?

I decided that my Roomba needed a name and that it would be Rosario, like the character from one of the best shows, Will and Grace.

I will admit that the first time I let it loose and it was trying to work itself out of a corner, I had to resist the urge to call out to it, like it was a pet, in another room getting into something it shouldn’t. I quickly realized that it’s not going to knock anything over and can free itself from basically any situation (it even successfully untangled itself from my phone charger). It’s totally my fave.

Plus when you have friends over, they can crumble up tortilla chips and “feed” them to your Roomba. Obviously the Roomba is something to love, not hate, sorry Nik