does one of your new year's resolutions involve getting into shape? well LET ME HELP! 

did you know that there are COUPLES workouts?? 

for example, you can tone your arms and your bum with the Passion Pass:

or you can do the Palm Pat. you know, for balance and whatnot:

or (how *adorable*) the Give & Take: (it's a metaphor, SEE?)

you could even do my absolute favorite, the Love Seat: (because that's not awkward AT ALL... or a euphemism. nope. not at all.)

aren't you guys glad I'm around to help with these things??

via

This weekend:

1. 10 teensy fingers + 10 teensy toes = 1 new member of the family. Welcome, Baby M!

2. Downtown church reaching for that big blue Texas sky. 

3. Decaying corrugated roof in downtown Bryan.

4. Summer grasses overgrowing the sidewalks. 

5. Collectible vs. Collectable. I vote the former.

6. A most perfect reflection of the clear sky in downtown Groesbeck. 

7. Urban ruins.

8. Killer signage. 

So I've see a few of these posts going around, and I really dig the idea. It's pretty intriguing seeing what kind of jewelry everyone wears on a daily basis, so I thought I'd kind of join in and share what I wear. I'm not a matchy-matchy person as far as accessories go and I'm a big fan of mixing metals and textures.

1. Rings

 I have an engagement ring and a wedding band. My engagement ring is one of the most treasured items I've ever possessed. However, being the prize-winning bonehead that I am, I smashed it while helping a friend move some furniture, which is why it looks all warped and weird. I lost 4 stones out of it (but thankfully found ALL of them in the bed of the U-Haul pickup. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES??). It currently lives in a ziplock baggie in my jewelry box, waiting to be repaired at the shop from which it was purchased in San Antonio, but I thought I should show it anyway, because theoretically, I would be wearing it every day. The band is from Overstock.com. Yeah, we classy. 

2. Bracelet + Earrings

I honestly cannot recall how I came to own this bracelet. Maybe I bought it as a kid during my New Mexico phase? Either way, it fits my wrist perfectly and doesn't bang around when I use the computer (which is why I usually avoid bracelets like the plague. ANNOYING.). I wear it daily, unless I forget to put it on after my shower. 

Although I used to be a fan of huge earrings, I nowadays typically wear some kind of studs. These are currently in heavy rotation. I bought them in the teenager section of Nordstrom, and they started getting all funky within a week of my wearing them, but I still wear them most of the time. I feel like they go with almost everything. If they don't, don't tell me. Skullz 4 life, yo. 

3. Necklace

I bought this necklace in Cape Town at a craft market. It was (and still is) kind of a splurge at $50, but it turned out to be a great investment, as it is my second favorite piece of jewelry. No lie, I wear this at least 5 times a week. Sometimes alone, sometimes layered with other necklaces. It's sturdy, funky, and the perfect length. 

And that's it. I'm pretty simple. I have a few other pieces that I phase in and out, but these are the standards. 

What about you? What kind of stuff is your everyday, go-to jewelry?

an update.
So things over here have been cooking away. We're finally settled in to our temporary digs, have schedules, new habits. As such, my brain has been able to proceed with brewing a new business venture that involves creativity in ways I've never used. For the most part, it's been badass. To be able to use my hands again, push my brain to explore long-neglected chasms, and generate (what I would consider original) content is rewarding in the extreme.
But at the same time, I'm pushing myself in ways that are completely foreign to me. This whole venture is an exercise in self-education. And it's effing arduous: I spent the majority of today on one item and prepping for more. It was the most frustrating day I've had in a long time. I'm so slow and so green that I have to stop myself from giving up an hour in. But if there's anything that I've learned about myself in my 28 years on this planet it's that if I care about something enough, I'll learn it and do my best to kick ass at it. Frustration can (AND WILL BE) be channeled into productivity (DAMMIT). So I'll be doing this again tomorrow. And the next day.
So that's where I am: in my cave, toiling away. Just wanted to pop in and say hello to all you chums and chumettes. Hope all is swell in your corners of the world.
Pip pip!
xo

I'm writing this post at 1 am on a Sunday night. Not because I'm super productive and my days are so crammed that I have no time to blog, but because I drank way too much Coke Zero at N's birthday dinner. (I know. I'm disgusting for drinking diet sodas. I'm working on it.)
My brain thinks I'm currently on extended vacation. Moving up here has me in a "let's fuck around all day!" mentality, which can't be altogether healthy, seeing as that apparently means that I fill my days with as many episodes of "My Boys" as possible. (Again, I know I'm gross. But we can't all be responsible for what we watch on Netflix.) To top it off, the Verizon guy came by the house and worked some crazy voodoo magic and BOOM: we have a cable-type situation through our X-Box. We haven't had cable in YEARS. I never realized how much I missed marathons of "House Hunters" until today, when I discovered that I woke up at 11 am and my ass didn't leave a couch or a bed until 2:00, when we went to get burgers, and 7:30, when we went out to N's favorite local restaurant to get wings for his birthday. (Reason #3 on the "Kathleen is disgusting" list.)
Oh yeah - but I *am* technically working. That is, I'm watching an insanely cute (and I'm not going to lie, very easygoing) 4-month old. I know I will one day eat my words, because that's what kids do, but I really do have it so, so sweet right now. She's a wonderful kid. But I may be a little biased. (You know that thing where someone really close to you has a baby and you pretty much become super enamored and protective because hey, it's pretty much your baby, too, but not really? Yeah. That. Except add in that you're also the nanny which means you spend a good 9 hours per day with her just hanging out and making her laugh. It's crazy.)
So yeah. Life is pretty great right now.



(Pardon the lack of photo to accompany this post. I'm absolute shit at finding good ones that aren't incredibly obvious. Case in point: I just found myself searching "tunnel" photos on Flickr. You know, for "light at the end of the tunnel". I mean, seriously.)