Roller skate old school style at a rink/disco

I probably got them for my birthday or Christmas, I can't remember, but I LOVED my white roller skates with pink wheels when I was a kid. I was eight-years-old and even though I had a bike, I never felt more mobile, coordinated, or bad-ass than in my roller skates. It wasn't the sort of activity where I put my skates on for a little roller sesh with friends every so often - I put them on and never took them off. As soon as I got home from school the skates were on until I was either yelled at for having them on inside the house or until I had to go to bed. Any neighborhood game that was being played was done with my skates on. I even glued two plastic cups to a plate one year for Halloween and went as a carhop all so I could keep my skates on.

Think about all the crazy things you did as a kid without a twinge of trepidation or anxiety, but that you would never consider doing now. My kid memory is like, Yeah pop me up higher on that giant trampoline or walk across the top of the monkey bars no problem! My adult self thinks, Oh God, I'm going to fall off this thing and hit my head on the edge or get my leg stuck in the springs and I can't even lift my body weight to go across some monkey bars let alone climb on top of them! Sometimes I wish I could be that kid again, who didn't know the consequences of her actions or realize she should be scared of racing too fast down a hill or ski slope (it's why I don't enjoy skiing either). With roller skating (not roller blading) I remember feeling like so free and fearless - skating backwards, in circles and effortlessly moving on wheels better than on my own two feet. This could all be in my head and maybe I was terrible, but in my memory I was whizzing through the neighborhood and could have been a roller derby girl. I wanted to feel like that again.

LMFAO?

Our friend John celebrated his birthday this weekend with a roller disco party - how perfect for me to feel like an eight-year-old again! A few things had changed, for one, the venue. I spent many birthday parties as a young girl at our local roller rink, Roller King, with its large (well, large to an eight-year-old) rink, old dark carpeting, and brown and orange rental skates (I had my own, of course). Roller Disco in London is an adult rink complete with two small rinks, three bars, smoke machines, disco balls, two D-J's and an 80's dress theme.

Gone are the days of brown and orange leather skates that lace up, now there are roller blade style boots with complimentary wrist bands. As the night progresses and the drinks flow, the wrist guards are a must for some people! Of course I threw together my outfit the best I could, buying some American flag leggings (dual purpose for the Olympics) and a white tutu that was supposed to conceal my big American (flag) ass, but instead may have made it seem even bigger! Oh well, baby got a whole lotta back!

One thing that hasn't changed is the odd three or four people that are absolutely running circles around you, going super fast, weaving in and out of people, circling and skating backwards with ease. Oh look at you, so cool for these few hours in a roller rink where you're so serious about skating you don't even look like you're having fun, but that just tells us you probably spend every weekend and probably weekdays at a roller rink!

And me? Well, I was a little wobbly at first, those boots just didn't feel the same, but I channelled my inner eight-year-old and tried to imagine I was in my white and pink skates again. Miraculously I did not fall once even though there were several drunken pile ups right in front of me! Somehow, I managed to get some speed, stay on my eight wheels, and even do a little spinning (very slow spinning). It was so much fun and at times I felt like that eight-year-old again. I know I felt a lot more coordinated and faster than I actually was, and I have the video to prove it!

I'm so tempted to buy myself some white and pink roller skates, again. I'll run all my errands in them - dry cleaning, shopping, post office, etc. all with a quickness. I'd be so productive! Just as I was looking at available sizes online my better half caught me and told me it was unnecessary, however, I could get some Heelys....hmmmm.

Enjoy the video I made using our iPhone pictures and videos (most of which were blurry or just plain awful). I even included plenty of 80's-style animation....

Read 30 Books - #2 The Dark Monk: A Hangman's Daughter Tale

It's been about four weeks since my birthday and I've finished my second book, The Dark Monk: A Hangman's Daughter Tale. I also just realized I'm behind on my reading schedule. For some reason I kept thinking I had 2.5 weeks per book, but it's actually 1.5 weeks per book. London finally had some great summer weather this week so I have been out enjoying it and subsequently been neglecting my book so it took me 2.5 weeks to read. When I did spend some time with the book, it was a quick read.

This is the second in a series by German author Oliver Pötzsch, so if you're interested in thriller/mystery novels with historical context check out The Hangman's Daughter first. I read it sometime last year so when I saw that there was a second (and a third coming) I thought, what the heck? I enjoyed the first one and since this whole book series thing is such a conspiracy I'm obviously suckered in to reading the second, third, and so on.

I don't usually read mystery novels, but I think I may try a couple more. This one takes place in 17th century Bavaria and although the story is fiction it is inspired by the author's actual family genealogy as notorious hangmen. In this book, the hangman, daughter, and crew investigate a murder that leads them chasing a treasure and possible religious conspiracy. There were definitely some times during the book where I was actually scared and screamed a little in excitement. There are some pretty creepy visuals and I guess I have a vivid imagination! The books have been translated to English so at times the language seemed too modern and maybe the affect was lost in translation. Also, some points get repetitive and obvious for a second book in a series - yes we know hangmen are frowned upon, they are the scum of society and no one likes to associate with them, but we don't need to be reminded in every chapter.


Overall, I enjoyed the book even though it's not a stellar read which means....

One Thumb Up!

Read 30 Books Rating System

I just realized I should have a rating system since I am going to read 29 more books. Like my opinion on movies, I tend to like pretty much every book I read on some level. C'mon, you know you like White Chicks, too! There are few books I read that I find awful, but you never know what I may encounter...

Two Thumbs Up
AWESOME book, read it now. Fulfilled my literary, plot, and imagination needs. Often very original and I stay up way past my bedtime, because I can't stop reading it!







One Thumb Up
Good book, worth the read, but wouldn't be high on my recommendation list. May have been lacking a little somethin' somethin', but still enjoyable.

One Thumb Down
Irritating voice, weak plot, a bit painful to get through. Would not recommend. 

Two Thumbs Down
Could not even finish. I hope everyone died at the end and I want my money back!

Read 30 Books - #1 Let's Pretend This Never Happened

I have always loved reading, but I go through phases where I haven't read a book in months, or the exact opposite and I'll read six in just a few months often staying up until 3am unable to put it down. I'd like to consistently be reading a book (during normal hours) instead of watching so much meaningless television. I think it's pretty obvious why getting lost in a book is more productive than literally losing an afternoon to bad daytime television (why is it that I can get sucked into a movie already 25 minutes in even though I've seen it a million times? Damn you, Death Becomes Her!).

I decided to read 30 books this year because, duh, I'm 30 and also it's an aggressive goal for a semi-slow reader like me. I like a variety of books, mostly fiction or classics, but I also love memoirs and an occasional self-help or educational book. 

I had just finished reading Ken Follet's World Without End so I wanted to switch to something modern and funny. My first pick is Let's Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir) from American blogger and journalist Jenny Lawson who has won countless awards for her blog, The Bloggess. I had actually never read her blog until hearing about her book. Most people will describe her writing as funny, brutally honest, irreverent, aggressive, and seemingly loud. If Tina Fey, David Sedaris, and Chelsea Handler had a three-way, Jenny would be their love child (if maybe they were all simultaneously reading Chicken Soup for the Soul and doing crack at the time). 

You will literally laugh out loud (which was tough at times reading in bed at night next to Mike who was asleep already) as she describes her unconventional upbringing with her dad being a taxidermist in a very small town in Texas. Seriously disturbing and hilarious. You quickly realize why today Jenny struggles with OCD, depression, and high anxiety. For someone that deals with a lot of unfortunate mental and physical illnesses, she's very inspiring once you get over some of the things she says that you may find offensive. I didn't think anything was offensive, but I have a high tolerance for things like  a taxidermied mouse dressed as Hamlet, dead baby references, and a non-traditional family environment. Through all the f-bombs, ridiculous stories, and awkward scenarios (I love awkward), deep down you can tell she is a good person. She's not in your face sunshine and rainbows, but you can tell she's a positive person, because despite the crazy childhood, mental illness, and daily physical pain of having rheumatoid arthritis, she's making her life work. She's not just making it work, she's living a great life with a loving husband, daughter, friends and family and helping thousands of people through their own isolating mental illnesses. It's truly something to be admired.


I particularly love the dynamic of her marriage. Her husband and her are complete opposites and at times you wonder how they deal with each other, but it works in a messed up kind of way. At times it reminded me of my own marriage, though not as extreme, and I even had Mike read a chapter about them discussing "the deal" that was made when she chose to leave her job in HR (like me!) to take a year off. In a nutshell, we both promised doing some things that didn't end up getting done. We'll just leave it at that. Seriously, these are the types of examples I need in my life to show Mike I'm semi-normal and not as crazy as other people! Thank you, Jenny! Holy crap and we have the same name. That is weird.


Anyhow, take a look at her blog and if you like it, you will probably like the book. She rambles a lot and gets off topic telling side stories before coming back around to her point, which you would think would be annoying, but it works and I never felt lost. It was a good read and I look forward to her future projects and reading more of her blog. 


If you have any good book suggestions let me know in the comments! One down, 29 to go!

Try Reformer Pilates

Just eight days after my 30th birthday and I've completed a challenge from The List - I just tried reformer Pilates! Woo hoo!

I just got home from a beginner reformer Pilates class about an hour ago. It was incredible. Let's start from the beginning.

I added this challenge to my list because I need to get in (less-round) shape and I've been wanting to try reformer Pilates for a couple years now (I'll do anything to avoid cardio!). I even looked into different studios in London, but I could just never pull the trigger on it. Over the past eight or so years I've gained a lot of weight, then lost a lot of weight, and since moving to London two years ago, gained a lot of weight, again. When you get to that heaviest-weight-in-your-life stage it's so hard to find the motivation to exercise. Actually, it's paralyzing and I was finding any excuse to avoid it. Having lost the weight before, I knew how hard it was and how long it took and mentally I was just not up for the challenge. There were times where I just said, f*ck it, I'm in the chub club I'm fine with that, let's move on with life. However, when you turn 30 and you're considering starting a family (which physically relies on me), you have to get your ass in gear, tell your brain to shut the hell up, and optimistically say good-bye to the gut. And so it goes.....

I'd heard so many wonderful things about what reformer Pilates does for your core, muscle tone, body shape, strength, and flexibility. I'm terrible at cardio and when a trainer or instructor makes me jump around I give them the death glare, but even when I'm out of shape I have pretty good conditioning strength. I'm generally strong, controlled and I have good technique with these types of exercises. I think it's because I was a dancer growing up. Despite my current oompa loompa size, I can work my core well so I figured me and the reformer could make a good pair.

My daily deal obsession came in handy when I stumbled across a LivingSocial deal for a place called Frame (pictures courtesy of their website. Oh, God, I hope you didn't think those were pictures of me, haha! I wish!) who just opened their second studio near me in Queens Park (first studio is in Shoreditch). Considering their reformer Pilates classes cost £18 ($29)/hour, the £38 ($61) for nine classes was a super deal!

For those unfamiliar with this type of Pilates it uses an apparatus called a reformer which creates resistance using multiple springs, gears, pulleys, and other crazy stuff. The reformer looks more like a some sort of bondage sex bed and at first looks intimidating, but it's actually comfortable, stable, and allows for fluid, controlled movement. Here's a video that shows some of the types of exercises I did today (this woman makes it look so easy!):

During the class I was calm, relaxed, and concentrating on breathing deeply. I enjoyed the self-competition and felt strong and flexible, although reminded of how much more flexible I used to be! Then everything started BURNING and the face sweat was unstoppable. After the one hour class I had to sit for a few minutes before walking the 20 minutes home because my muscles were in shock. I'm only one class in, but my initial thought is that I really like reformer Pilates and I'm looking forward to using my remaining eight classes (and then maybe buying some more?). It's exactly the type of exercise my body can endure while also being challenged given I haven't been to a gym in over six months. I'm going to see how I feel tomorrow, because I'm guessing I will be cursing Narayan (the tall, lean, and easy-on-the-eyes instructor) when I can barely get out of bed in the morning!

Maybe someday I will be like this crazy betch...