all you need is love.

Happy Valentine’s Day, chickadees!

This is a holiday that I generally have on the back burner, because it interferes with the celebration of my birthday, but it has always been a good excuse to have a heart-shaped or themed birthday cake.

 

I’m not really the Valentine’s Day festivities type. Something about over-priced and underwhelming dinner reservations makes me feel cranky instead of romantic.

Maybe also that I spent the first 20 years of my life Valentine-less might have something to do with it.

If you are the Valentine’s Day type though, no judgement. I’m not in the position to judge anyone for showing a little affection.

All we need is love, chicks.

JW’s got class tonight, so I’ll be spending my Valentine’s Day with my bff JD, working it out at candlelit yoga.

I think it sounds like a pretty nice way to spend the evening.

It’s got to be more relaxing than last night.

Last night, I dragged myself off of my couch to go to bells, where I hadn’t been in several weeks.

Skipping bells for two weeks is never a good idea, and I’m reminded of why again this morning as my shoulders and legs ache like they’ve been holding up the weight of the world.

When I got to class last night, G the Russian embraced me, wished me a happy birthday, and asked if I turned 23.

And then laughed maniacally.

I’m glad I’m at the age where it’s hysterical for someone to call me 23.

I digress.

He then proceeded to work me to the bone while techno music played in the background, stopping only to correct my posture or declare that he was proud of me.

Proud of what, I’m not sure, but I’ll take all the positivity I can get.

I’m cruising into this one with my eye on the weekend, chicks.

Enjoy the sunshine if you’ve got it!

 

 

just because it burns doesn’t mean you’re gonna die.

Morning, chickadees.

You’ll be happy to know that I successfully made it back to work with very few glitches.

Read: I remembered the way to my cubicle.

My coworkers and I spent the day catching up: on work, on holiday stories, on resolutions.

It was a nice way to head back into the routine.

JW and I also somehow remembered how to make dinner not by using Grubhub, and so, on the whole, I’m feeling pretty much like a real human being again.

That was easier than I thought it would be.

Also last night, in an attempt to jumpstart my return to the land of the living, JD and I hit up kettlebells for a weeknight session.

Swinging bells with my Russian pal always makes for an interesting evening.

And an exhausting one.

Last night turned snarky when I demanded he turn off the even crazier than normal music he was playing during a set of squats.

It sounded like monsters were yelling at me through the speakers.

Bells are scary enough on their own.

Shortly after my veto, he caught me attempting to mimic the movements of another classmate, and asked me why it was that after three years, I couldn’t remember how to lunge backwards.

Ouch, KB coach.

Good thing I appreciate his attempts to make me tougher.

But tonight, chickadees, I’m going to candlelit yoga instead.

source

Remember, you guys, tomorrow’s Friday.

How’s that for an upside to this week?

 

in love every day.

That’s what my kettlebell instructor, the ever-energetic Russian, told us we should be this morning, as we swung heavy weights over our heads on repeat and listened to the strangest playlist he’s put together yet.

But it’s hard to feel particularly in love when you’re listening to Metallica, lifting bells over your head for an hour, and staring outside at a cold wintry day.

However, as usual, the ever-positive G is right, so after a morning workout, bagel and coffee date, and quick clean-up of the disheveled-until-now apartment, I am approaching this Saturday afternoon with a good attitude.

And my snow boots.

It’s pretty wet out there.

I’m spending the rest of my day getting organized, finishing a few work projects I’ve been ignoring in favor of lounging, finally opening my library book, and hopefully laying my eyes on a couple of friends before the night is over.

It’s a let’s-get-back-to-it kind of day, I think, around this neighborhood.

After all, it looks like this year is wrapping up pretty quickly (where did the time go?), and it’s time to get 2013 in order.

Enjoy the last weekend of the year, chickens, and stay warm, wherever you are for this one!

 

jingle jangle jingle

Morning chicks!

And Happy Boxing Day!

I hope that everyone had a beautiful, fun Christmas with your families and friends.
Christmas this year brought me clothes, yoga gear, and a brand new camera (courtesy of JW), which my sister has already started giving me lessons on- look for less blurry, more exciting photos in 2013.

If not, at least know that I’m trying to learn the difference between aperture and well, something else I should know about, according to my sister.

We also ate 7 different fishes, per tradition (check it out on my baby sister’s blog), did karaoke with our fun Christmas eve guests, and went to see Les Miserables last night, which was both excellent and depressing, in equal measure.

In any case, I’m spending another day hanging with my family, eating more than I should, and overall relaxing before even thinking of getting into the daily grind again.

Or hitting a yoga mat, although that should be something I get back to sooner rather than later, due to the amount of carbohydrates I have consumed.

I hope everyone is still relaxing, watching good movies, and not making too many moves off the couch today.
‘Tis the season, chickens. Enjoy every second of it!

 

 

she got both feet on the ground/and she’s burning it down

Hey chickens- and welcome back to another week!

After a delayed, shaky flight last night, I’m finally back in Chicago, prepared to complete two very full days in the office before taking off for the rest of 2012.

The next 48 hours should be intense ones.

Speaking of intense, JD and I ended up having a whirlwind trip to NYC in which we tried our best to see All the Things, and spent our time catching up, having cocktails, and seeing the sights of the city during Christmas.

 

Yesterday it rained pretty much all day, but being the adventurers we are, we trekked about 60 blocks or so around the city sightseeing while getting soaked to our bones.

Sometimes you have to commit to the adventure, chickens, despite the weather conditions.

One of our favorite sightings of the weekend was actually that New York was having an event in which hundreds and hundreds of people dressed in Santa suits roamed the city, drinking out of paper bags.

Thing TBOX, and then multiply it by Manhattan.

Yeah, it was pretty crazy.

The Santas seemed fairly jovial until about 5:00 pm, which JD and I have decided is New York’s witching hour.

Tourists get tired.

Kids get whiny.

Santas get violent.

We walked around for what felt like hours Saturday night, trying to find one bar that wasn’t populated by Santas screaming at elves while chain smoking, and when we finally did, we holed up and stayed there until after 1 am.

The next morning, we wondered if the Santas would have been doing their various walks of shame Sunday if we’d gotten up in time to see it.

And then, we laid our eyes on this.

 

Somewhere, a Santa is freezing.

Enjoy the sunshine if you’ve got it.

keep that face forward.

Welcome to my last day of the work week, chickadees.

NYC, here I come.

Almost.

I’m really looking forward to this weekend away, chiefly because my friends, it has been a long couple of weeks.

When I was in CO, I found myself  super itchy when we were out having a few drinks post-flight. I climbed up on the sink in a tiny, tiny bar bathroom to get a better look at the mirror, and realized I was covered in some kind of allergic reaction.

And after two weeks of medication, doctors’ visits, stitches (yeah, who knew they biopsied allergic reactions?) and speculation, it turns out I’m allergic to my arthritis meds.

Which means that I’m currently not taking anything for my misbehaving joints.

In a panic over achy shoulders and cracking wrists, I hit up the office on Tuesday morning to get another steroid shot (read: magical injection), so I should be in a good place for the next couple of months.

We’ll see what the contingency plan to allergic-to-the-mild-medication ends up being.

In the meantime, I’ve been doing as much yoga as I can (damage control, maybe?) and hit the treadmill this morning for my first run since Thanksgiving.

My latest specialist, a dermatologist, advised me that a run could possibly pull out my stitches, but chickens, I say: run while you can.

And keep your eyes on what’s in front of you.

 

short week to a good time.

Morning, chickadees.

Waking up this morning, it seemed crazy that it could already be Monday morning again, but then, here we are.

I spent most of the weekend finally kicking a cold that I’ve been hanging onto since Thanksgiving, and then also, celebrating birthdays and watching football and cooking things and leading a semi-normal, less crowded life.

And now I’m ready for another over-scheduled, slightly-hectic week in which I have several exciting lunch dates, too many meetings, and one day less than usual.

Because when I hit Friday this week, my pal JD and I are taking off to New York City for the weekend, with no particular plan in place.

Which is, I think, the best way to arrive in the big city during the holiday season.

My family and I used to head there every Christmas to watch the Rockettes, see the tree, and just generally walk around enjoying the lights, but it’s been years now, as my cousin Lillian reminded me this summer.

We were looking at a picture of us all at Rockefeller Center, and I pointed out all the 10+ years ago photos to Lily.

“Where am I?” she asked, deadly serious.

I chuckled, and explained to her that she wasn’t born yet.

“Well I wish I had been there. Someone should have invited me,” she scolded me.

I admit, it would have been more fun if she was there.

In any case, I’m looking forward to the East Coast during Christmas, and so with that in mind, I’ll be keeping my eye on the prize this week.

Enjoy the sunshine if you’ve got it, chickens (because we certainly do not here).

 

trimming that tree.

Hey there chickadees.

And welcome, it’s the middle of the week already.

How did that happen?

This week so far, I’ve hit the yoga mat, had a drink at my (likely) new happy hour spot, and JW and I put up our tree.

Well, JW put the tree up.

And watered it.

And brought up the ornaments.

And strung the lights.

But I helped with the ornaments, chickens.

I’m a contributor.

 

As you can tell, there’s an animal motif going on here. I’m pretty much a sucker for a chubby animal to hang on my tree.

Bonus points if the animal happens to be covered in glitter.

It’s just my kind of Christmas, chicks.

After hanging all the ornaments, including my 8000 glittery stars (glitter, you guys, I’m serious about it at the holidays), we had a finished product in no time (mostly because, again, JW did all the hard parts).

 

Photography is not my strong suit, pals. But rest assured, I promise you, I’ve got one good looking, lovely smelling tree hanging out in my living room.

In my defense, you couldn’t smell it no matter how beautiful a picture I managed to snap.

It’s not even December, and I’m turning up the holiday spirit here.

Enjoy the sunshine if you’ve got it, everyone.

and we land softly back into it.

Hey there, chickens!

And welcome back to the reality of Monday morning.

It was a lovely break though, wasn’t it?

I enjoyed the long weekend immensely, and post-Thanksgiving, took the next few days to visit with my family, see Skyfallen, which was awesome and you should see it right now, did some holiday shopping, and helped my parents trim their tree.

My parents headed to Costco (of course) on Saturday morning, and snagged three trees, for $29 each.

My parking lot purchases usually run me closer to $75, so I felt good about the move.

Check that to-do off my list.

My own tree is currently falling out a little bit in my living room, but I expect by sometime tonight it might be ready for my assortment of animal ornaments.

I don’t know how it happened, but it turns out that I only let fat birds and strangely colored whales live on my Christmas tree.

I generally like it anyway.

My mom’s tree, on the other hand, is all about colored lights and painstakingly threaded popcorn string.

 

Christmas season is upon us, chickadees.

And I’m not going to lie: I’m ready and waiting.

In other news, today I make my way to my new building at my old job, armed with new framed photos, a giant rock symbolizing the end of my leadership class, and the beginnings of a cold.

New perspective, chicks.

It’s never been a bad thing.

as much has been given us, much will be expected from us

Happy Thanksgiving, chickadees!

I’m thankful for all kinds of things this year, including my family, friends, health, beautiful city, lovely weather, and the day of football and food I’m about to receive.

I’m a lucky girl, chicks.

Also, I’m thankful that I had the chance to run a 5k with my family this morning to start off our day in the sunshine, and especially that I got to run with my dad for his first race.

Which we rocked in 33:50, 2 minutes and 10 seconds faster than our anticipated goal time.

I see big races in our future.

I know I’m wearing bright green. I thought it might be nice to look my brightest out there.

I’m excited for a day of literally hanging around, since we prepped almost all of our dishes last night.

And we have a lot of dishes, including soup, a million vegetable sides, and a lasagna.

We’re Italian. We eat lasagnas on every holiday. Or some other sauce-pasta-cheese combination.

We can’t help it, and honestly, we don’t really want to help it.

Sitting around the dinner table last night, we wondered if maybe we should put up a sign somewhere encouraging those with no family in town to come eat our (sort of) embarrassing amount of food.

No one should eat at a restaurant when what’s going on in our refrigerator exists.

And with that, I’m off to to do some breakfast eating, coffee drinking, and parade watching.

Happy Thanksgiving, chickens. I hope you have a wonderful, laughing-filled day with the people you love.