keeping it serious

Morning, chickadees.

So far, no more rain.

And a forecast that includes weather in the 60s this weekend.

I.will.take.it.

Last night, I headed to kettlebells, hoping to drum up some positive energy.

“I have so much energy for you tonight!” G yelled in my face.

This seems to be a common theme with him.

I spent the hour swinging and hoisting, and listening to G tell me of the improved state of my triceps.

Comforting news, since generally, every time I manage a tricep move, my elbows crack like a whip.

It’s unpleasant sometimes, in this weird, unpredictable body.

But it’s nice to be recognized for my triceps.

Later on during class, I found myself working into an oblique twist when G started tickling me.

You guys, I think I’ve made it known that bells is serious.

It is not a time for joking around.

However, G apparently thinks I need to lighten up, and let the class know that he thought it was funny that he could tickle me while I continued to work out.

He’s lucky I still have work to do on my triceps before summer.

Enjoy this dry one, chickens. The weekend’s about to hit us.

 

getting right into it.

Morning chickens!

And welcome to a brand new week.

Yesterday was a lovely respite in this otherwise still.pretty.bleak spring season that we’re having.

Friday is threatening snow flurries, and I’m really having a hard time wrapping my head around that one.

All this rain better make for one beautiful, green summer.

That is all I can say about that.

However, in the spirit of keeping it positive, and also, you guys, at least it’s not 25 degrees out, I give you the following:

 

It’s good advice, chickadees. And what I have is one lovely weekend complete with condo hunting, sunshine, soccer, bells, celebrations, and dinner with my mom and dad and baby brother.

Also one long, lazy afternoon in which I finished the entire first season of Girls (and yes, it’s my favorite thing), and rifled through old papers and pictures under my bed. Here’s one of the gems I found:

 

Yes, the sweatshirt is awesome.

I know it.

Also found: rules for a happy bedroom written by Jennie and I circa 1995, a letter I wrote my roommates’ when we graduated from college, and original artwork by Aus when he was eight.

Also, a note he wrote me from his second grade class. Of course, original anything by tiny Aus made me burst into tears, because when did he get so old?

In any case, chickens, I have a whole host of beautiful, amazing things that are propelling me into this week with a good attitude.

Despite the rain.

I’ve got an umbrella, after all.

Enjoy this one chicks.

there is no giggling in kettlebells.

Sorry, chickens, about my absence yesterday.

I was running even later than usual, the kind of late that puts together a strange outfit and shoves a KIND bar in her mouth while tripping up the el stairs.

I did manage to scramble to my 8:30 call only one minute late.

Please explain to me why anyone needs to talk business before 9:00 in the morning.

Those are my thoughts on that subject.

******

I spent Wednesday night swinging bells with the Russian, which as we all know, is one of my most/least favorite activities.

Kettlebells is serious, chickens, and that’s why I like it.

However, at this particular class there happened to be one new-ish girl who insisted on whining through the whole thing.

I can’t do itttttt…it’s too hardddd.

She basically flopped around on the floor moaning while the rest of us listened to the sometimes insane rantings of our instructor.

I considered letting my bell fly back into her aisle during one of my mid rows, but then thought it might just cause her to shriek even more.

At one point, to his credit, G gave me a little shout out, looking at said whiny girl and noting:

Look at Nikki. She just does her work. She doesn’t complain. That’s why I like her.

This is perhaps the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me.

However, my ego was quickly put on the back burner, as she started not only whining, but also giggling as she didn’t even attempt to do anything correctly.

Everyone else was sweating profusely in silence.

There is no giggling in kettlebells, you guys.

Please also note: her shirt had rhinestones on it.

Yes, I’m getting a little judge-y here, but I can barely help it.

This continued for another 30 minutes, while JD and I exchanged several stern looks.

G himself seemed to give into this not-fit-for-classmate, giggling with her, and telling her how cute her socks were.

I tried to shoot him a stern look of his own, but it didn’t seem to work.

Post-class, G tried to convince her to show up on Saturday morning too, singing the praises of two kettlebell workouts in a week.

Thankfully, she declined the offer, whining again that she would never be able to do it again by then.

Rhinestones and cute socks seem to belong in a different place, chickadees.

Let’s hope we agree on that one.

Enjoy the sunshine if you’ve got it!

 

 

I only knew how to hold on tight.

Good morning, chickens!

And welcome to the very middle of the week.

Which isn’t really a bad place to be, all things considered.

I’m hoping to be a bit more productive during this one, since last night consisted of one giant headache and three solid hours of catching up on my DVR.

Sometimes I think you just need to give into the need to couch it.

Also, sometimes you need to get your husband to show you as many funny television shows as possible following the series finale of the Walking Dead so that you can fall asleep without having dreams about zombies and one-eyed governors.

I recommend the Mindy Project for scenarios like that one.

Up today: the Second City inches towards 50 degrees, I maybe one day get my wallet back (I left it at my mom’s a week ago, and have somehow managed to live off of one twenty dollar bill JW gave me since- this either makes me resourceful or cheap- I can’t decide which), and I hit up kettlebells after one week off.

Which essentially means that I’ll be panting for an hour while G blasts Metallica and insists that I am a person of the sun.

It’s all in the name of being a healthy, well-balanced individual, chickens.

Although sometimes I think the elliptical might be a quieter place to live.

Enjoy this one, everyone!

or you’re sinking like a stone/carry on

You guys have no idea how relieved I am to be on the other side of Wednesday.

With only two days in front of me before we hit the weekend, I’m feeling like things in general are much more manageable.

In the last 12 hours, I have successfully completed both kettlebells with G (try harder, right Nikki? he said, gesturing at someone who didn’t quite get the hang of it- I nodded) and a sunrise yoga class led by J (doing sun salutations while the sun is actually rising is definitely a treat, even if it means you have to get up super early).

I’m feeling accomplished, chickens.

Also during class today: tons of strap work, which essentially means that I flail on my mat like a fish out of water- I usually just throw it back at my feet and pray that the strap catches some part of my body.

Unsurprisingly, this is not a very successful method.

And I look less like this:

source

And more like the aforementioned flopping fish.

I’m a work in progress.

Plus, if I was perfect, I would never be able to laugh at myself.

In other yoga news: Lululemon’s newest pants turn out to be sheer (luckily, I’ve been on Lululemon lockdown lately), and Jimmy Kimmel took the opportunity to make this hilarious video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=guYcnGKg9Z8

Namaste, chickadees, and enjoy the sunshine if you’ve got it.

try for me just a little longer.

Ok, chickens, it’s the end of this week.

And oh man am I ready for it to be Friday.

Plans this weekend include: more yoga, more bells, one baby shower, and making sure JW doesn’t leave the couch.

He’s about as good at sitting still as I am.

Which means that I have to keep ordering him to the couch.

Last night I left my cubicle far later than I wanted to, hit the mat for as many deep breaths as I could take, and then grabbed some dinner with my pals to take to the patient, who admitted he’d been eating string cheese and goldfish all day.

It’s amazing what sitting around eating burritos with your best friends can do for your perspective.

Sometimes I think at the end of the day, it’s all about things like do you have people who you can eat burritos on the floor with and also do they make you laugh even when you don’t feel like it?

I think that, based on my observations, if the answer to both is yes, then you’re probably in really good shape, overall.

Sometimes it’s just about focusing on the things that are really important, chickens.

I’m keeping that one in mind as I cruise through this last day of the week.

Enjoy the sunshine if you’ve got it (and it looks like we’ve got it).

 

no one else is gonna love me when I get mad mad mad

Morning, chicks!

And welcome to a beautiful, sunny day.

I mean, yes, it’s freezing.

But the sun’s out, and I’ll take it.

Yesterday, directly after writing my sort-of-lackluster post about my January blues, I walked to the el contemplating how to pull it together.

I was on the verge of thinking positively.

And then I heard the train coming.

So I started to scamper up the stairs.

People who have arthritis shouldn’t scamper too early in the morning, chickens.

This probably applied to me pre-RA anyway.

In any case, you can probably guess what happened next, which is that somehow, I managed to trip, hit the ground, and ended up heading to work with dirty hands and dirty knees.

Like an eight-year-old boy.

This, as you can imagine, did not improve my mood.

However, last night after work I spent a few hours with my pals drinking wine, eating snacks, and laughing so hard that at one point I actually slid onto the floor.

I might have been pushed.

I’m not sure it matters.

I am sure that laughing on the floor is way better than wiping off your dirty paws down there.

It’s good that we can make 180s so fast in this life, you guys.

This morning I’ve already had my ass kicked by my Russian friend Gene, who gave me so many high fives that I can’t possibly be in a bad mood (despite the fact that well, he kicked my ass), and I’m headed to the movies to keep the streak of this-is-certainly-a-beautiful-day going.

I’ll steer clear of chasing the public transportation.

 

lifting up from the ground

Morning, chickadees!

This is one of those weeks that seems to be moving rapidly and dragging on at the same time.

Which I know doesn’t even make sense.

Bear with me, guys.

*****

Here’s a thought for the day.

My plan, initially, was to try and incite a little inspiration on Monday mornings, but on Monday I was in a hotel with spotty wireless.

It’s really the thought that counts.

Anyway, here’s another one to think about as we head into this weekend:

“If you don’t like where you are, move. You are not a tree.”

Point well taken. I’m one of those terribly annoying people who thinks that 99% of the time, your happiness is completely dependent on you making yourself a more positively minded and content person.

It doesn’t mean I don’t find myself in the position of unwavering tree from time to time.

It’s a nice reminder that I can get up any time I like, really.

*****

Last night, I went to kettlebells after a few days of traveling, eating too much, and sleeping sitting up on airplanes.

In this edition of swinging around a bell and listening to Rage Against the Machine, Gene laughed and tousled my hair when I asked if we were finished.

The joke’s on him though: sweaty, unwashed hair is a pretty gross thing to come in contact with, especially on purpose.

*****

Up today: get a little work done, count down the minutes until the weekend, and hit the yoga mat.

Enjoy what you’ve got out there, chickadees.

five good things: cruising right in edition

Hey there chickens! We’re cruising smoothly into the weekend, which for me means finally taking down my Christmas tree, (just unplug the lights and leave it there, JW said. I think that makes our living room an alley, I noted.) seeing some friends, and heading out to CA for about 48 hours. In the interim, let’s talk about what’s good.

Here it goes.

1. Last night JW and I received cards from Austin and KD thanking us for their Christmas gifts. In addition to being adorable, funny, smart, and athletically inclined, they’re also polite. That’s totally objective.

In Aus’ card, he thanked us for each item we gave him individually, and when we landed on his sentence about his new necklace, even a long day couldn’t keep me from grinning.

Thank you for the necklace. I promise not to give this one to any Brazilian girls at the beach.As long as I know these guys, I’ll never stop laughing.

2. My little brother’s birthday is on Saturday. At some point, he decided it would be okay to turn 22, which I’m pretty sure I never authorized. There’s no one who’s more like me than my silly, wacky, thoughtful baby bro.
3. While I’ve been running around like crazy this week and JW’s been headed back to school, we’ve also been trying to eat a little healthier. Which means when I finally got home on Tuesday night, it was to a big pot of this.

I believe he found it over here, and this combination of white beans, kale, and quinoa in a soup was pretty much amazing.

4. Last weekend JW’s mom gave me the Smitten Kitchen cookbook for Christmas, which I already know to be awesome. Which is why I also gave it to her. This, combined with Ky’s gift of The Sprouted Kitchen, means we’ve got one million recipes to work with all winter long.

5. JD and I have, in this second week of January, become regulars at our Yoga/Kettlebell studio. This means friendly ribbing, lots of encouragement, and veto power over Gene’s strange choices in music.

I predict a flexible, strong new year.

If I can keep myself from toppling over. Enjoy this one, chickens!

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?