Ain’t That Some Shit: January 2017

It’s time for another edition of Ain’t That Some Shit?! Ain’t That Some Shit?! A noun and an exclamation! Let’s get down to it!


Do you know what is worse than being sick? Being sick while traveling. I’ve spent a lot of my 2017 having and recovering from strep throat. Ain’t THAT some shit. I just finished a round of antibiotics, which cause their own special kind of collateral damage. It all put me in a weird head space for the holidays, everything felt very raw; whether it was or not.

Case in point: During all the year-end review stuff, a self-help listicle (10 Ways You’re Making Your Life Harder Than It Has To Be) floated through my news feed. Oftentimes self-help articles can be pretty fluffy, but after a third friend linked to this article (all with similar captions of, “actually relevant information”), I checked it out. Sure enough, there is some good stuff to unpack. The one reason which resonated with me the most was: ascribing intent to unintentional actions. I took a couple of unintentional actions very personally this holiday season, and being as woke as I am, I confronted the perceived offender. In the end it was I who apologized. And I did so, gladly. Because I was wrong. Do not ascribe intent. Do not ascribe intent. It’s just given me a lot about which to think. Between that, and proactively coming to terms with my “gift” for really nuanced, devastating passive-aggressive barbs, I’m over-filtering EVERYTHING I THINK AND SAY. Ain’t that some shit?

“Holiday logic” is also some shit. My watchword lately, and for the year 2017 is, “better”. Trying better. Doing better. Working better. Being better. Eating better. And its been working. You may remember our “better” series of recipes this past November. And part of being better is being nicer to yourself. I’d basically given up on eating better during my trip home for the holidays. But I had also decided to be nice to myself about that decision. But I was really struck this year by the psychological power food has over me/us. There were just some painfully clear moments over the holidays of this in action. This has really been the first time in my life where I could feel the correlation between consuming quality nutrients vs. barely-food and what it does to my body. The moments where I chose the poisoned option because of a psychological pull were stark for me. Ain’t that some shit?! All I can do is better.

Speaking of barely-food, while in my hometown grocery store, I came upon what I thought (for sure) to be a game changer. There, on the shelves, was an officially-licensed, Pat O’Brien’s Hurricane Mix. New Orleans is one of our favorite cities, and Josh has a pretty epic story about his experience with Pat O’Brien’s and their hurricanes, so I was excited to pick this up. In fact, I mailed three bags of it back to California so that I could try it with Josh upon my return to Burbank. Josh had a long weekend for MLK day and we decided that long weekends are perfect for large batch cocktails. Because they are. While mixing the first bag (which looked like red Kool-Aid powder) we already had plans for its brothers; day dreaming about how quickly these would be consumed and how we would be making multiple batches. We followed the directions, and dipped a spoon in to test the results. Y’all, it was full-on toxic sludge. Unpalatable cough syrup. And this is coming from me (a self-proclaimed sugar junkie) and Josh (who thinks gummy should be a food group). Which is to say, we’re not afraid of making epically poor food choices. To salvage such a waste of resources, we posited that perhaps it needed dilution.  It took six (SIX!) cans of Lime La Croix before we could even deem it drinkable. And it was at that moment that I got back on my better eating plan. I told Josh that I wanted none of it. In the name of “not wasting resources,” Josh choked down two glasses over the course of the weekend. On Monday, I was working in the living room at our coffee table and kept smelling nail polish remover. You may remember that I have quite the history of sniffing nail polish remover and wanted to find the offending agent to stop the spill. After searching for any finger nail polish anything, I saw a glass hidden behind some coffee table books. Sure enough, it was a glass of the hurricane drink. Blech. Ain’t that some shit?! That being said, this is nothing like the hurricanes at Pat O’Brien’s. Because there is really nothing like going to New Orleans. Consider this my first Fun Things UN-Recommendation. Pat O’Brien’s Hurricane Cocktail Mix you’ve been put on blast.

Politics. Ain’t… that… some… shit. On so many fronts. Support your neighborhood. Support your neighbors. Support your country. Be better. We all want the best for us. Now make it happen.

Writing a bleak post. Ain’t that some shit?! #youshouldhaveseenwhatideleted

 

Happy New Year2017.  Now, ain’t that some shit! Is this how our parents felt when the calendar rolled over on 1990? I mean, after they got finished getting on their pleated front khakis and teasing their bangs up a mile off their heads? All jokes aside, it is a crazy thought that we have turned the page on 2017. I know I say this same shit every year in January but every year I am blown away. And. reminded that time marches on.

Let me tell you what else is some shit: it being 75 degrees in January! Don’t get me wrong- it’s great but, I like it to be cold when it’s supposed to be cold so that it gets warm when it’s supposed to be warm. However, going to the beach in January… that’s some great shit! It is really cool getting some free Vitamin D in January. It makes me feel so good.

Going to a concert and not really knowing any of the songs  but connecting to the musicians on an incredibly basic, soul vibration level. So much so that it reminded me to reach out to all my old friends and beg them to come see me. It’s amazing what some good music and a little bourbon will do for you- I mean, ain’t that some shit?!? Bub and I have seen a couple great shows in the last couple months and I am reminded that we do not see enough live music.

I have big plans for the year- this is the year I want to take Baby Bub to Disney World- he’ll turn 5 this year. AIN’T THAT SOME SHIT?! I have said since he was born, I wanted to take him to Disney for his 5th birthday. It is hard to believe this is our year. So, I want to go ahead and start getting those plans together- because from what I can gather from Pinterest, it is a major production going to Disney! So, I want to def be on top of my game and if you have any suggestions, please share.

Ain’t THAT some shit?! Going to the beach in January?! Deep navel gazing?! Aye yi yi. What’s are those girls gonna get up to next. As always, let us know what YOU think!

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2 Comments

  1. Y’all are both hilarious and such good writers! I enjoyed that whole post! CA I am the Disney queen and will give you lots of advice! Biggest and most important thing IMO is not to overplan. We get there and just wander around and do what feels fun in the moment rather than chasing a schedule all day! xoxo Its SO MUCH FUN

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