iHate

we get it. you're cute and tiny and oooooo soooo simple to use. well guess what apple? your new lil shuffle sucks!

is it too much to ask you to simply work? without fail, 20 minutes into my workout it starts freaking out. first the volume goes. then you can't skip songs. but worst of all, this robotic voice cuts in during each song OVER AND OVER AND OVER telling me the artist and song title. "juuuuuust da-aaance laaadeeee gaaaga." then it'll start skipping and get even quieter.

before i know it, i'm in the middle of my workout, legitimately angry and completely distracted. obviously, this is not conducive to my gym productivity.

yes, i'm surrrrre i could just take it in to the apple store (and i'm sure i will eventually) butttttt i've had enough and i'm ready to throw this thing in the trash. i really can't remember the last time i hated a gadget so very much.

anyone else have any problems with their stupid shuffle?!

thank you eblasts

i'm really loving boden this season. i even have a page from their catalogue ripped out and hanging on my fridge. major coat lust. the rest of it just looks like pure comfort.

related: can't wait for their swimsuits to debut. yes, i know its january. but year in and year out they never fail me. perfect fit every time. makes me wonder why i even look elsewhere. come onnnnn summer!

bonus: they are doing 10% off and free shipping right now!
happy shopping :)

GPOYW

i've always enjoyed my food edition:
(circa '83)

a beautiful mind

its crazy the things people remember. it can be sparked by a song and instantly you can see what you're wearing, who you were with and how the air felt that day. or maybe its a smell? it reminds you of your grandpa who passed away over a decade ago, but just a little scent of old spice all the memories come racing back.

of course, its not the sensory driven memories that get me, its the random ass facts that we all (some more than others) store away. bar trivia is a great example of this business. it completely blows my mind the types of things you guys pull from the memory banks. seriously, you know the title of this 1970s movie from a 2x2 black and white still?

i can hardly remember to grab my return-able netflixs before leaving the house without putting a post-it on my door.

so imagine how taken aback i was when i was checking out at the grocery store yesterday and as my receipt was printing, the clerk asks if i want to play trivia based on what i studied in school. ummmm okay? graphic design. he then rattles off this question: "the term bit comes from two words put together. the first one being binary. what is the second word?"

ummmmmm whaaaaa? i made a guess. i was wrong. but this dude really just comes up with this stuff on the spot!? "are you a walking encyolpedia?" -"nah, i just have a crazy mind."

indeed.

do you know the answer?
(no cheating friends)

weekend wrap-up

not even sure the last time i was inclined to do one of these wrap-ups. but 2010 has been stellar and there's no reason to keep it to myself.
--
the weekend was a marvelous mash-up of friends, food and fitness. the triple F, if you will. this year is allll about balance and i practiced what i preached for once.

friday night we took the night by storm and hit the ice rink at wrigley. it had been a solid 12+ years since i'd rocked a pair of ice skates. the most i can say for my performance is that i did not fall down. however, mr. joshua put on quite the show. just when we thought talk of leotards and triple axels were a joke, he emerges from the bathroom in a full black ensemble that showcased things not meant for children's eyes. his moves were questionable but entertaining none the less.

saturday began with miss lulu eating through her cone. apparently a week was plenty for that princess. we spent most of the morning being cuddlebutts on the couch before i forced myself to log some treadmill time. next it was off to rogers park for an evening of old friends, babies and bubbles! my glass was never less than half full, there was a constant flow of conversation, snacks and lots of photos + laughs. perfection.

then it was time to bid adieu to mr. harvard. it was a fun month but now i suppose its time for me to go back and visit the east coast. nevertheless, we'll miss ya buck.

sunday morning was an ambitious one. i was out of the house and ready to workout in the 9 o'clock hour. impressive if i do say so myself. but it was time to dance at a lululemon and as an added bonus, shop afterwards. the class was tough. i was a sweaty mess by the end of it and will definitely be trying another class at all about dance in the future.

despite TKTC's warning, much to my surprise and not long into my post-workout shopping - i got stopped by one of the lulu girls.

"are you the blogger from zumba!?" why yes i am. "we loved your post. it got emailed around to our whole district!" awwww.

i love the internet.
then, of course, we had to get a picture for their FB page.
related: they make me want to work there. you girls hiring? ;)

an armload of clothes later it was time for brunch. An obligatory champagne cocktail paired with having your workout checked off your list before noon - does not make for a bad morning. i will be doing this again next week.

how was YOUR weekend?

you should celebrate...

its happy national pie day!


and its saturday. not being at the office is reason enough to be celebrating something.

tonight i'll be celebrating old friendships and new beginnings with wine and cheese. its not pie, but its definitely a tasty treat.

happy weekend-ing.

living with a cone head

seven days ago princess lu went in to get her womanhood surgically removed. this momma wanted no part of 'girl put in heat' cleanup or her continued, excessive humping. plus, i wanted to make bob barker proud.

i dropped her off early in the morning and didn't get my baby girl back till around seven. not sure what i was expecting as the doc read me all the instructions, went over the antibiotics and explained her predicted temperament - but for whatever reason, i did not realize little lu would be banned to a cone head existence for the next TEN days.

"even when she sleeps?"
"ESPECIALLY when she sleeps."
oy. she is not going to like this...
"oh, also. no playing - no jumping - no running."
riiiiiiight.

the first couple of days were hard. i felt bad for her pathetic little self. she was all dopey, clearly uncomfortable and could NOT understand what in the hell was one her head. then princess started to show signs she was back to herself and operation 'get this thing of efffff off my face' begun.

she's clever. she goes places she knows the cone won't fit and just pulls. or spins it so the tie is in the front and if she jumps juuust right she can loosen the bow. see, clever.

she's been successful a few times. but then there's this weird separation anxiety paired with leaps of freedom. "its off! i win! wait mom, that's mine!"

after a week of living with my little conehead - i think she's finally getting used to her accessory. she's learned to use it to scoop up balls or stop them in mid flight and position her head just right so she can still cuddle and watch tv with mommy. but her scar is healing nicely. i'll be glad to see the cone go in a few days. its probably safe to say lu will be too, but only time will tell. i predict furious puppy laps around the apartment and hours spent under the bed just because she can fit again.

alt ctrl delete

i can't believe there is a design summit blogging conference happening RIGHT NOW in salt lake city and i'm JUST hearing about it!

how fun. perhaps this needs to go on my wish list for next year...
not sure its quite as high on the list as type camp, but its certainly more affordable.

its the little things

tuesdays. its no news i love tuesdays. but i think this week i needed it more than i even realized.

last week was a bit rough. my bruised face and awful facial experience showed that, but i powered through and i'm back to feeling like myself. perhaps even that adult version i was referring to just a few weeks ago. thank goodness.

i think this change of spirit began last night. i dragged myself off my couch at 8pm and went to a dance fusion class. its hard to argue with the little instructor's energy. before you know it the hour is gone, your abs hurt from more than just laughing and you are soaked. its an awesome feeling.

fast forward through household chores and enter wonderful tuesday morning. body blast and my love, zumba. sure the class was fantastic, but my favorite part is what inspired this post. after class, we're putting away our mats and i see a group of lululemon girls run up to one of the regulars in the class and hand her a lulu bag. they ask her if she's heard of their brand and tell her they got her a gift simply because she rocks.

a little background, this is an older-ish woman who most certainly dresses the zumba part and damnnnnn can she shake her shit. she's itty bitty and is often dolled up in leg warmers, leotards and totally owns it. the girls got her a new pair of lululemon leggings and it was just breathtaking how grateful and surprised she was.

those girls made her day - if not entire week - and made her feel so welcome. and all of that made me smile.

its the little things people.

it was going to go one way or the other

its a simple fact of my life that things never go "ooooh so so." they are either ridiculously amazing or a effing disaster. so, as expected, my first experience getting a facial was not going to be an exception. there were two possible outcomes. OMG THIS WAS AMAZING I CANT WAIT TO GO BACK - or - CAN YOU BELIVE THIS IS MY LIFE LISTEN TO THIS FREAKIN STORY.

well, it was the later - and here is my story.

after a nice friday afternoon brunch with two of my favorites at one of my favorite places in the city, lis and i headed south to the aveda school to get our very first facials. i'll admit, i was a bit skeptical. not at the idea of a facial cause come on how can that not be amazing, but the idea of not having a 'professional' play with your face. but at less than half the price and no full-time jobs to speak of, we decided to suck it up and give it a chance.

sure, i had heard my full share of horror stories from the aveda school. but they mostly involved a bad trim or a cut resembling a mullet. people who had gone the spa route weren't as cynical. translation: stay away from the cheap haircuts, but i'm sure a massage or something is totally harmless at their nice discounted rate.

FALSE.

so we get there, fill out some paper work and everything seems very professional. thanks to a platter of breakfast-y foods, a bloody mary and some great company - i'm in terrific spirits. we take a seat and wait for our facialists(?) to greet us and start our treatment. lis gets called back first by a darling tall gay and i think awwww that will be perfect. then i sit. cute girl about my age comes out and as i just about stand, she calls someone else's name. oh.

then, seemingly from a cave where only trolls can fester, a overweight trashy redhead says: "angie?" oooooh yes, that's me. and this is my fate.

all goes well for the first five minutes. she's awkward but perfectly professional. maybe i was being too harsh? i joke around and pretend THIS IS FINE and then i tell her about my black eye and head gash situation. "ooooh that's no problem." so we proceed.

everything a facial is supposed to be, this was not. relaxing, calming, positive - all no. not when she's basically yelling like a truck driver, saying inappropriate things and constantly telling you how much better it is to go to salons. then she tells you how NICE YOUR SKIN IS about a million times and ridicules you for thinking its "a little on the oily side."

later on as one of the masks sits you don't know where she is cause she's being oddly quiet for waaaay too long of a time period, you are CERTAIN she's standing above you just staring, perhaps with a knife? then your mind starts racing and wait, you're supposed to be RELAXING but now you just know you are going to die with this peppermint infused mask on your face wrapped like a burrito in this bunk ass curtained off corner of a spa. THEN, she starts massaging my legs. i about vomit. not to mention, she was terrible. there was slightly more pressure than a soft rub, but barely.

then she starts talking about my eyelashes. whaaaat mascara do you use? oooooooh cover girl doesn't do that too MY lashes.

get. me. out. of. here.

there was more awkward rubbing, loud comments about things HER TEACHER JUST SAID (what?) and me just wishing away the minutes.

then when it was all over, i sat up and she was like "OH MY! you only have purple shadow on one of your eyelids!" "ummmmm NO, that's my BLACK EYE, remember!?" you've only been staring at it for the last hour!

i get dressed, fill out my comment card while she WATCHES ME and then proceeds to read it. so i give her average scores and just want this all to be over. she assures me lisa is already outside and waiting for me. oh really? then why is her coat still hanging on this rack? oy. finally, i pay, give a shit tip and wait for lis.

oooh and what do ya know, she has a big grin on her face and the first thing she say's to me is " i want to do this every week!" i bet you do. look at your wonderful gay.

we share stories and laugh at my ridiculous experience in strict contrast with her amazing one.

oh life.
(not even sure i did this story justice)

what font are you?

i'm cooper black italic, according to pentagram. stupid answer, but kinda fun. (the password is character)

GPOYW

san diego style - just about a year ago:


oy. can we go back?!
i'm over winter already...

buhbye chub

so there's this show. you might have heard of it? it's called the biggest loser. i do believe season 9 starts tomorrow. timely with the new year and all. hmmm could that have been planned?

wanna know what else is timely? me rounding up some of my girls and us playing along ourselves. sure, we may not be going away to the ranch and working out 10 hours a day with bob and jillian - but damnit, we are going to make some changes - in our diets, in our routines, in our laying on the couch instead of working out business. it's down with the chub for once and for all!

there are set goals, before pics and some motivated ladies. we are "playing" for 6 months. june 4th, the biggest loser (percentage wise, just like the show) wins some serious bragging rights and the cash prize! sure it may be a whopping $120 but hell, that's not bad for taking care of yourself and beating your friends in a little friendly competition. the money is just a bonus, i think our tight jeans and numbers on the scale are more than enough encouragement to take control of this situation, finally.

today was day one. i kept my calories in check, made it to the gym for an awesome class and didn't even binge on the fancy chocolate my coworker brought in from rome. granted, its day ONE. of course my will power is strong now. let's just see how these next several months go. i'll of course slip up from time to time, perhaps on purpose with a few too many calorie-packed beverages, but its gotta be a lifestyle. that's the only way things like this work with any sort of permanence.

balance. its all about balance. its time to find it in all the layers of my life. this is certainly a great place to start. healthy angie is definitely a happier one.

good luck ladies!

anyone else jumping on the healthy train this year? it's the first week of january, so i can imagine its a pretty packed car. some years i get off early, but this time i definitely intend to stay on this ride to skinny land. i've never been there, but i heard it's nice...

word.

being that it's monday - the first week of the new year - the first day of my biggest loser challenge with my gf's (more on this later) and after last year, this couldn't be more timely of a find.

"They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."
- Andy Warhol