So it's been radio silence over here in blogland lately, but I promise I have a good excuse! My friends, I had the flu. And it's been a hell of a past few days here. Just a quick catchup on my survival (or lack thereof), starting with the lows to get them out of the way.
Well, for starters, my lovely immune system picked the best weekend ever to kick the bucket. Pause...not. Hannah, her roommates, our friend Caroline and I bought tickets to Sam Smith at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium months ago, and the concert was Saturday. I was 99% sure I wasn't going to make it, and 100% in denial about that fact until it just plain became inevitable. Talk about a total bummer! Fortunately, Hannah's friend Tara was able to take my ticket, and I've assuaged my sadness by listening to him on loop on Spotify and watching Hannah's many videos from the concert. How cute are these ladies?! Look at the signs!
Funny story: one of the admins at my office saw Sam Smith in person right after the concert grabbing some Cossetta's. He obviously knows what's what in Saint Paul, is all.
This weekend was also Crashed Ice in Saint Paul, and it happened to be a stunningly gorgeous mid-forties weekend weather-wise. Of course, I missed this as well, as I didn't leave my bed for approximately 22 hours straight unless under bodily-enforced duress. Fortunately, I'm a glass-half-full person, and I managed to find a few high points in all the sickness. Namely:
-On Thursday, before I totally fell apart, I went to my beloved stylists at Cole's for a cut and color. My hair had the January blues in a big way--I called my mom spazzing from the car threatening a drastic cut and dye job. Instead, I came in with this photo for inspiration:
She's perfect. Teresa and Jen talked me off the ledge and I left with light, face-framing layers and beautiful highlights:
Next time you think you spot the Duchess of Cambridge walking around the Twin Cities, your double-take shall be forgiven. It's just me rocking my utterly lovely new hair.
Other weird but looking-on-the-bright side pluses to a weekend of illness:
-the flu is an excellent way to jump-start weight loss. I lost six pounds in three days. (Yes, medically-intelligent friends, I know it's all dehydration and I will gain it all back as soon as I can stomach more than Saltines and dry English muffins.)
-Diet ginger ale. I powered through an entire two-liter over the weekend. No shame in my game.
-The flu is also a great excuse to power through all of Season 4 (and half of Season 5) of "Gilmore Girls" in bed. You just can't watch Netflix for 12 hours straight on a 50-degree day in January unless you have a viable excuse. Like you can't move because your body hurts so much.
See? Little Miss Sunshine over here. I did my best to feel better with hot baths and cozy socks and lots and lots of sleep. And as soon as I could hold my head up without the room spinning around in circles, I dragged my less-sick ass to Bachman's for emergency doses of green, healthy, growing things.
Doesn't that just LOOK like spring? Yellow is my favorite color, flowers are a natural mood-lifter, and just seeing things grow makes me feel like spring is around the corner.
Finally, just to make sure this up-and-down post ends on a high note, this was my view after an early morning wake up on Saturday. I may have felt sick as a dog, but could you imagine a more perfect affirmation that life is beautiful all the time? You just have to know where to look.
