There's nothing like finding gold within the rocks hard and cold.

Given my previous foray into music I love intensely, I've decided to bring back an old feature I used to do here - Smiling Like I Mean It. The last entry under that tag was a full two years ago!

Smiling Like I Mean It

[songs that make me smile no matter what]

07 Kick Drum Heart - The Avett Brothers

This week I've been listening to one of my favourite albums from last year, I and Love and You by the Avett Brothers. (Most of my post titles this week are Avett Brothers lyrics!) And whenever it gets to "Kick Drum Heart" I can't help but smile and shimmy. Or, wanting to shimmy. It has the similar kind of silly charm as "Wishbone" by Architecture in Helsinki, but "Kick Drum Heart" wins in a matchup. If you know me, drums are usually my fave part of a song. I air drum, I don't air guitar at shows. And this song likens a heart beat like a kick drum!

Mah-mah-my heart like a kick drum!
Mah-mah-my heart like a kick drum!
Mah-mah-my love like a voice!

Other lines I tend to say (or at the very least mouth) out loud when walking down the street:

Always surprised to find more!

&

It's me following YOU!

You can buy the song's mp3 at the title link above, but I say you buy the entire lovely album by those brothers, also linked above. I just happened to post the song on my tumblr today if you need some convincing to buy the song/album - if it doesn't make you smile at any point, I don't even KNOW what. I mean, if it doesn't charm you into a smile, it has to make you laugh because it's so silly, right?

I LOVE IT. What do you think?

The rest is out in the cold, holdin' the last of the season.

            

Oh hey! Yesterday when I got home from work I tore open the J.Crew package I got to find three pairs of shorts I ordered. Summer is nearly here! I've never been a big fan of shorts because when shopping I can never find a suitable pair - for a while there I could only find super short shorts and I'm really not a fan of that look for myself. Last summer I found a great pair of chino five-inchers on jcrew.com in gray, and fell in love with the fit and style. PERFECT SHORTS.

Then they went on sale a couple of weeks ago in fun colors like a dusty brick red, peachy pink, and the light bright green you see me wearing above. Sold. So I climbed on my chair and mattress and tried to show you how much I love them. Making a fool of myself for photographic evidence. Classic me.

The point: I got really happy trying on the shorts and knowing that summer is ever so close! Now I just have to find the perfect sandals...

What have you been buying for summer?! Comment with some links if you want!

In other news, my power vinyasa yoga class went swimmingly last night! I told the instructor that this was my first ever yoga experience, and she was happy to know that I was trying it out. I loved the relaxing and the breathing and de-stressing. The main reason I wanted to take yoga is to help out with my pinched nerve issues and back problems. And during the class I felt so much tension released from my back, I was amazed! After the class I spoke with the instructor about how much I liked it and that I would be back next week. She said that I had good form and a good base to work from and that it should be easy for me to gradually become accustomed to yoga. YES! I felt like a got a gold star or something. I definitely left the gym feeling lighter on my feet and just relaxed. And even at dinner I felt myself actively correcting my posture. Feeling good, feeling good!

This morning on the elliptical guess what happened?! I FINISHED WAR & PEACE! Tomorrow is our final book club meeting. It's going to be hilarious. Report forthcoming.

I am a breathing time machine.

I went back to the gym today!

After trying to kick the Japan jetlag, then my pinched nerve making it impossible to move in any way, and then getting a cold: I haven't been to the gym in a while!

So this morning I got up, fed the cats, got dressed and headed on over! Per usual at 6am, it was completely empty and I pored over the epilogue for War and Peace on the elliptical. It was nearly meditative.

Speaking of - tonight I'm trying something I've never done before: yoga! Stay tuned. I will probably embarass myself and that makes for good blog fodder, right?

Seems like it's time to make another workout playlist...

So I cut the ties and jumped the track.

I did a lot of recuperating and movie-watching this weekend!

• I finally finished The Wire. I'd agree with all those critics who say it's one of the best television shows of all time. It's not dribble that numbs the mind; you have to pay attention, you have to keep up. It has some of the greatest characters and heartbreakingly real storylines. All seasons were mesmerizing, but personally I loved the last season. Probably because they explored the newspaper business (ethics, dwindling industry, crime coverage, etc.) by taking you into the Baltimore Sun's newsroom.
• Amber and I tried doing the "Bad Romance" dance for Jaime and Erica. It didn't go too well and we kept wishing Kelly was there to "bring it," as they say. One thing from the video we've got down? No pants.
• I made burgers. Erica made fries. Jaime made a salad. And Amber concocted drinks. Heavenly Saturday night meal. The four of us sat down at the dinner table and ate, laughed, and had some real interesting discussions regarding our past and how we each grew up. Then we stuffed our faces with some lovely treats Amber provided from Magnolia: banana cupcakes, key lime pie, red velvet mousse pie. I am salivating again just remembering how scrumptious.
• We watched the 1983 film House on Sorority Row. It was hilarious as we had hoped, but we were all taken aback by the crap ending where the killer isn't even revealed after we spent an hour and a half guessing!
• Shenannigans:
• Amber: Oh, that girl is so going to be the first to die!
• Me: No way, she was using a gun at target practice - there's a reason they showed her doing that!
• Amber: But she's not a virgin. I bet you she dies first.
• Me: Deal. What are we betting on?
• Jaime: Whoever loses takes three shots of vodka!
• Erica: Um, how about one shot?
• Amber takes one shot of vodka.
• I watched two Paul Schneider movies: All the Real Girls (with a young Zooey Deschanel! Like, really young. And with a bad accent.) and How to Lose Your Lover. Can I just say that he is a super underrated actor? You may remember him from Lars and the Real Girl or The Assasination of Jesse James or Bright Star or Parks & Recreation. He's good in everything, if not great. I hope he one day blows every one away in a major role - he was so close to it with Bright Star!

• Brunched, twice. The truffle fries at Five Leaves in Williamsburg are delicious - as is everything there!
• Adam came over and we watched Chances Are, a great 80s movie starring Robert Downey Jr., Mary Stuart Masterson, Cybill Shepard and Ryan O'Neal. Total classic.
• Husband swoonage sprinkled throughout the weekend. I miss that dude. A lot. What's new?!

And this week, besides work and trying to make sure my nose stops leaking, I shall finish WAR & PEACE!

How was your weekend?

Master man, I'm never better than your latest plan.

So here is how my week went down:

After leaving work on Monday evening, I got my hair trimmed up with my fabulous stylist, and on the way home my throat felt a little scratchy. I thought nothing of it.

Upon arriving at the apartment and feeding the cats, I made myself dinner, sat down to watch Treme (David Simon's mesmerizing new show for HBO) and then...I started coughing.

I ran into the bathroom and started doing salt water gargles in the midst of yelling "NOOOO! NOOOOO!!!!"

I went to bed with my throat hurting like hell, and did not sleep very well. (Rhyming is the first sign of insanity, by the way.)

On Tuesday morning, I felt awful. But I had to go to work since it's one of our busiest weeks of the year (fiscally and all). I perservered through the day in pain, went home, and promptly napped with the cats. I e-mailed Kelly, whom I had remembered was coughing this past weekend: "How are you?" Kelly: "I stayed home from work..." CULPRIT: FOUND.

I had to let Gaby know I couldn't go to her birthday party (happy birthday today, Gaby!), and warn Jim that if he came over for LOST he may find himself at the epicenter of a globally affecting disease: the common cold.

On Wednesday, I again awoke in dismay at the state my body was in: weak, snotty, scratchy, gross. And also depressed that I had a not-to-be-missed meeting scheduled at work. I trudged in. I sneezed through the meeting. I completed my work, and by one o'clock I bid adieu to my coworkers, for I was no longer prepared to carry on my day - I had to go home.

And at home, I slept. A lot. Most of the afternoon. I woke up to watch Into the Wild, which was fantastic - bravo, Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Kristen Stewart, Hal Holbrook, Catherine Keener, etc. - and then fell asleep again. I awoke on Thursday feeling rested, and better prepared for the fact that I could not miss any more work.

After a better work day on Thursday, I came home to prepare for our weekly games night. This includes cleaning the litter box, taking out the trash, cleaning off the games table, and making the place smell just right (thanks, candles). Then filtered in Erica, Jim, Tyler, Amber, Sean, Adam, and Kelly and we began!

Our new favourite game is BANDTHOLOGY, which sounds hokey, but is actually perhaps the perfect trivia game because it cannot be dated. It was gifted to Jesse and I by our wonderful friend Erin ("Tobes") at our wedding, and we just got around to playing it last month and now we're fully in love with it. In the game, you move up guitar strings to get "band members" in order to form your team's band. The main component of the trivia is a card with a word under six different colors. These colors correspond to the board's frets, and whatever color you land on, you have to use that word on the card to whichever the dice lands on: artist, album, song, lyric.

For example, last night, ultimate winners Tyler & Sean had to say the title of a song with the word "ghost" in it. They couldn't think of anything in the time allotted, which happens a lot because the pressure sometimes really makes your mind go blank. Afterwards, we all started yelling out songs: "Walking with a Ghost" Tegan and Sara! "Ghost of a Good Thing" Dashboard Confessional! "Who You Gonna Call? (Ghostbusters)"! And then I was like, plus there's a White Stripes one! But I couldn't think of it and I was so mad at myself. This morning on the way into work I remembered it and immediately texted Kelly: "LITTLE GHOST BY WHITE STRIPES! I finally remembered."

The game totally sticks with you, and you start remembering key words in songs ("oh, that song doesn't use the word 'charmed' it uses 'cavelier'"). So, thank you, Tobes, for setting our games night on fire and one day I hope you can join us!

Then we played Perv Artistry, which is...well, I simply can't go into how hilarious and awesome this game is because it wouldn't be appropriate. It is a game we only share with those who join our games nights.

Here are our game winners (totally won on luck of a chance card, by the way - one of these guys read the word "message" and thought it said "massage" and couldn't come up with lyrics with "massage" in it, just...saying.) Tyler decided to tickle Sean's eyes.

Literally, anyone can play. Anyone can win.

In conclusion, my week was a challenge, but I worked it all out, and ended up having a great night with friends. And board games. Two things that rule.

I haven't even started thinking of the weekend! What's your weekend looking like?