Life can surprise you. And this last weekend with my in-laws was no exception.

We went down to my husband’s folks’ house in Indiana last weekend. They had given us their car so that my parents could get around while they were in town for the wedding. And, months later, we were finally able to drive it down and return it. My husband’s mother had offered a few options for activities while we were there and we ended up going zip lining. We were both a little skeptical about what sort of zip lining is available in Indiana. Especially with some epic adventures coming up in Costa Rica. It turned out to be a lot of fun!




It was run by a company called Go Ape, which has locations in Missouri, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland in addition to the one we went to in the Eagle Creek State Park in Indianapolis. And it was more than just zip lining. We climbed up ladders and cargo nets, crossed from tree to tree on ropes and swinging platforms. It was a solid three hours of good fun and far more exercise than we had expected.

It was a perfect day and lovely state park. You should definitely check out Go Ape if there’s one nearby!

I cut my hair! I’ve been thinking about it for years. Ever since there was talk of going to Brazil for the World Cup. Well, the trip to Brazil didn’t happen, but my wedding did. And here I am. Hair cut. This is the third iteration of my four year cycle after the first big chop in 2006.

Before:
!

After:
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And I love it. This cuts my getting ready time in half. I no longer have to dread taking a shower! So much less product! So many wins!

Day 6
50 Supermans

I thought it was going to be easy. Fewer reps! No crunches! No intense cardio! I was wrong. Had to take a break in the middle of both the Supermans set and the Squats set. And my quads are really feeling it.

Day 7
3×60 second Plank | 200 Jumping Jacks

I knew the planks would be rough, but I thought I could handle the jumping jacks. Turns out 200 is a lot. Alternating helped, one plank, 100 jumping jacks, another plank, 100 more jumping jacks, the last plank. But I still felt it. In my calves, especially…but I don’t know how much of that is from the running and calf exercises I did the day before.

Day 8
50 Donkey Kicks | 100 Bicycle Crunches

It was kind of awful. Those crunches, man…those crunches. And to make things worse, I don’t know what it means to do 100 bicycle crunches. Is that total crunches? To err on the side of caution, I did 100 “sets”, i.e. 100 on each side. Which is maybe too many? I don’t know. But I felt it. And my ass felt those donkey kicks. Which again…50 on each side? I hope so, because that’s what I did.

Day 9
25 Squats | 100 Skater Slides

I don’t know if I was doing the exercises wrong or if it was a light day, but I barely felt the squats and skater slides. Considering what I’ve gotten used to, I almost want to do another set…

Day 10
50 Squat Jumps | 200 Crunches

I split the crunches up into sets of fifty because I knew there was no way is get through them otherwise. But I didn’t think about the squat jumps. Even breaking them down into sets of 25 didn’t cut it. I ended up splitting those down into 15 and then 10 reps.

But here I am, a third of the way through!

I first entered the world of comedy a little over a year ago when my husband (then not-even-fiance) got me stand up comedy classes as a Christmas gift. It was completely unlike anything I’d done before, and I’m not as active about it as I should be. But it’s introduced me to a world that I’ve come to love. It’s warm and welcoming, supportive and fun. And the point is laughter. What’s not to love about that? When I heard that a lot of my friends were going to be on stage at the Chicago Women’s Funny Festival, my husband and I got ourselves day passes for Friday and prepared ourselves for laughs.

First up was Beth Stelling. I was first introduced to her through my standup class. She was in the list of comics who’d gotten their start in Chicago before moving on to bigger things. The show wasn’t entirely stand-up, but the first half with the Putterbaugh Sisterz was good fun nonetheless.

It was really exciting to see one of my fellow stand-up classmates hosting a show! Elizabeth O’Neill always stood out to me for her bold and biting style. It’s great to see her doing so well!

One of the highlights of the night was seeing Kelsie Huff perform. Always a hoot, she holds a special place in my heart as the woman who showed me the ropes of standup comedy. In addition to making people cry their eyes out with laughter, she teaches both levels of Feminine Comique, the very standup classes I took! It was a really great experience, and I highly recommend it. And how could I leave out that she (along with Amy Sumpter) hosts The Kates? It’s a great all female comedy show that I’ve had the honor of doing twice already and will be doing again this October!


Last but not least was Cynthia Shur-Petts. This was a little bit of a surprise, as Cynthia was stepping in for another comic who couldn’t make the show. Cynthia was, as always, very funny. And I can’t resist giving her a shout out for the brilliant Where Are You, Carmen Sanbliego?, a fucking hilarious musical parody of Carmen Sandiego, currently playing at the Chemically Imbalanced Theater.

It was a great night and really good reminder that I should make the effort of seeing more comedy and supporting my fellow comics.

First proper date night in a while. First musical show in far, far longer. And a perfect one at that. I’ve been amazed by this young Swedish duo since this beautiful thing. So I spent the day listening to old tracks I hadn’t heard in years, some new ones, and a few I’d missed along the way. It was a lovely afternoon.

We had dinner at Bricks. Feasted on “Slutty ravioli” and meatball pizza. And a barley wine style beer that may have been a bit much for me…

The show was a lot of fun. I didn’t really know what to expect as most of the concerts I’ve been to before have been either more rocking or in very small venues. Park West was great. I didn’t see a seat in the house that didn’t have a solid view of the stage. We had pretty good seats and when I couldn’t see over the shoulders of the people in front me (being on the short side), I snuck views/pictures in the mirror on the wall above the bar we were sitting at.


Willy Mason was the opening act. I had never heard of him but definitely enjoyed his performance. Good melodies, very good lyrics, excellent sport.

   
First Aid Kit was a delight. Their voices were incredible, and it was fun to identify which one of the sisters sings each part. They sang a lot of tracks from their new album and seemed to be having a genuinely good time on stage. I found myself admiring their work ethic and picturing myself as a rock star. It was great fun to belt along with “King of the World” and “Wolf” and “Ghost Town” and, finally, “Emmylou”. They covered Bob Dylan’s “One More Cup of Coffee” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “America.” Great choices and really distinctive renditions.

It was a really good show, and I’m looking forward to immersing myself in their new album.

Day 1
50 Crunches | 2×60 second Plank

That wasn’t so bad. I alternated planks with crunches, doing one 60-second plank, all the crunches, and then closing with the other 60-second plank. I hope that was ok. It was still tough. But I’m proud to say I didn’t have to take any breaks during the crunches (and have no neck pain!). The second plank was definitely more difficult, though. I found myself watching the seconds tick down on the timer in a way that I didn’t for the first one.

Day 2
100 Bicycle Crunches | 2×30 second Plank

Definitely tougher. Even though the planks were shorter, they felt like an eternity. And I had to take a couple breaks during the bicycle crunches. Whether or not there ends up being any physical change, I am feeling it.

Day 3
50 Burpees | 50 Kick Down Crunches

In case you didn’t already know, burpees are the worst. For the first time, (yes, I know it’s only been three days), I had to take lots of breaks to get through the 50. The crunches turned out to be some kind of relief!

Day 4
200 Crunches | 100 Skater Slides

This was brutal. I’m incredibly sore. Everywhere. Except my legs, I guess. So I guess that’s what the skater slides were for. I definitely felt them in my thighs. The crunches, though… Man, talk about a sudden ramp up. Made it through, though. By breaking it up into chunks of 50. And I felt every. single. one.

Day 5
100 High Knees | 75 Russian Twists

This was almost like a break. The Russian Twists were not super easy, but there were only 75! What a relief! And the High Knees were not at all bad. I had to take a break halfway through. But that was more to do with getting winded than any muscle fatigue.

Woo hoo! One sixth of the way through. And here’s the progress I’ve made.

Not too bad! I mean, it’s tough to say how much of that is just my normal weight fluctuation, but it’s change in the right direction, so I’ll take it!

We’re going to Costa Rica! And what better reason to get my ass in gear, so to speak. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not especially interested in having a “bikini-ready bod”. I’m not sure any amount of working out will affect my comfort level in covering so little of my body in public. But it would be nice not to feel extra squishy and self conscious. Especially when seated (a super flattering angle for my belly) for hours on a plane. Plus, with the weather (finally) warming up, it’d be nice to fit comfortably into my summer dresses and shorts and not have to buy a whole new wardrobe.



So this is what we have to work with. Not too terrible, but not great. And it’s definitely been better. My wedding and the weeks after have not been the best for my waistline. I’m usually pretty decent about exercise: I go to yoga a few times a week, take weekly ballet classes, and run when I can make myself. Letting that lapse and eating entirely comfort food have taken their toll. And, to clarify, I’m not down on myself or my body for the current state of this. I’m definitely in agreement with this definition of a bikini body. I just like the clothes I already have and want to fit into/feel good in them again.

So this is what I’m going to do about it:

Wish me luck!

When the weather’s great…and your friends are great…you almost have no choice but spend time outside with them. So we did. We packed a picnic and headed to Waveland Park off Lake Shore Drive and had friends join us for drinking, eating, chatting, frisbeeing, and kite flying. It was a perfect Memorial Day Weekend afternoon.

I need to write more. And, of course, the mean little voice in my head chimes in immediately, “But you have nothing to say.” So…fuck it. I’ll ramble on about any which thing. The important thing is that I write. So this is practice, I suppose. And you get to watch. It’ll be painful at times, I’m sure. But the goal is that it’s rewarding for the both of us. Heads up: it’s going to be as scattered as I am. Sometimes it’ll be about traveling. Sometimes about food. Sometimes about my various neuroses. Basically, whatever pops into my head. Things I do…the things I love…things I need to get off my chest…

All this is to say, Welcome! I’m glad to have you and hope you enjoy the ride.