Barre-to-Bar

Have you ever said a prayer in the middle of a workout?  Me neither.  Until I did. I am a pretty avid workouter(?).  Five or six days a week I’m either running, doing some crazy HIIT class, Insanity, hot yoga (not often enough), etc.  But there is this one class.

This barre class.  I know what you are thinking…barre. Some girly ballet stuff that you do with your eyes closed and your pinky in the air.💁🏼 No.  Oh no.  This is Cardio Barre.  The bane of my existence.  It takes me way out of my comfort zone.  It makes my whole body shake.  Things jiggle that I didn’t even know existed.  It’s actually quite disturbing.  The other day I was at the bottom of a pulsing squat.  My legs were shaking so bad that the floor underneath me started to slightly vibrate. I swear it did.  Our hands were in a prayer position in front of our chests. Heaven forbid we use them to aid and abet us.    I closed my eyes to bear through the pain…and then it came over me.  Dear God…please don’t let me die.  If you can get me through the rest of this class, I promise that I will do good and not eat any sweets for the rest of the day. Wait. Scratch that.  You know me better.😐  (Dang it.)  I’m just not ready yeeeeeeeet…………………………Amen. 

Why do I do it you ask?  Very good question.  I ask myself the same thing. Every. Single. Time.  I figure if it’s that bad…It will eventually be that good??  I keep telling myself that anyways.  In a perfect world…my fitness regimen would consist of lounging on the couch lifting a cup of coffee in one hand…and curling M&Ms in the other.😂  Oh…And maybe some Netflix binge-watching.  If M&Ms helped me burn calories….One can only dream…

Workout–Whine–Wine…and Dine.  Taking the good with the bad?  I’m in a wine club.  Imagine welcome pours, fancy flights, wine pairings with cheeses aged to perfection, 5-course dinners, and Sommeliers to thoroughly explain the origin of each wine and the detailed notes of every sip.  I’m in lust right now.  Yeeaaaah…ours is nothing like that.  We meet once a month.  We sometimes go out.  We sometimes stay in. We always have fun.  We always have wine.  This = Wine Club.  It’s fantastic. One awesome aspect of Little Rock is the great local restaurants that are scattered throughout the town.  This month “The Club” tried one of Little Rock’s newer establishments, Petit and Keet.  On a scale of 1-10…I would give it a solid 9.

I actually went two nights in a row.  Not on purpose…it just happened.  In those 2 nights…I only had 2 entrees, but because I like to try a bite of what everyone else is having as well…I pretty much tasted the whole menu.  Yeah…Don’t sit next to me if you don’t want me to stick my fork in your plate.  First night:  Salmon.  Tasty.  Not boring.  2nd night:  Chef’s Signature Burger. Winner.  Bacon.  Caramelized Onions.  Yeeessss.  And with the all the of the “sampling”, I managed to try the Paneed Chicken (good, classic),

Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich (totally getting that next time), Crawfish and Shrimp Pasta (delicious and not too heavy), Shrimp and Grits (good spin on the classic), Fried Avocado (good if you don’t have a mushy texture issue), Calamari (ok…no home run), and the Fried Cauliflower. Yeah….I thought the same thing. It was surprisingly good.  But that Chocolate Spoon Cake.  Slap yo mama. With a salted carmel drizzle.  Yeeessssss.  I had 2 bites.  Ok…3. Open seating area, nice bar area, sweet patio, overall…great atmosphere.  I will be making a 3rd appearance. I realize, I now sound like a glutton. #Illrunlater

Side Notes:

• Nadal left his mark on the French Open for the 10th time.  Wawrinka didn’t stand much of a chance.  It was like when Serena played Venus in the Australian Open (while being pregnant)…but worse.  Wait…is that technically 2 against 1?
• I have been to one NHL game in my life.  I’m not even sure I knew the lingo “NHL” until I met The Swede.  I grew up in Arkansas…where pro sports don’t exist…and the only ice rink around brings back memories of the time I tried to be Nancy Kerrigan and ended up in a knee brace.  Around here, if the sport is not in the SEC, it doesn’t exist.  Cheerleading is more popular. I’m a Predators fan. 1) That was the 1 game that I have been to.  2) One of my besties lived in Nashville for years, and she is a huge fan.  Yes…piss poor…but it’s all I got. The Stanley Cup Final was last night.  I actually watched.  The Preds lost against the Penguins 0-2..and those 2 points were both scored in the last min and 20 seconds of the game.  WHHHAAAATTT?!?  How does that even happen?!  That’s crap. 
• NBA Finals…The Cavaliers had me watching with one eye closed in that 3rd game.  #Fail  Fourth game…Golden.  Did you see the series of handshakes that Lebron had going on with his teammates after they won?!  It was a different “handshake” for each person.  It looked like a reenactment of  Kid ‘n Play.  That’s when you know you have made it big. #bucketlist.  Fifth game. Tonight.  If they lose, they are out.  Come on LeBron.  You are good.  You are actually really good.  Like great.  But right now…you are living in Jordan’s shadow.  Bring it! 🏀🏀🏀

Big Hugs.  Lots of Love.

P.M.T.