Five Friday Favorites 04/06/18

Hey there! Happy Friday! For the sake of honesty, I feel I must tell you that I just wrote the title of this post with a “15” in the year spot and had to think pretty hard about why that wasn’t right. That is the kind of week I’m having. Moving right along.

So, I was supposed to be in Chicago until tomorrow afternoon, but then a mysterious ankle injury occurred and the notion of walking everywhere in the city seemed very stupid. So, I tearily canceled my flight (thank goodness for Southwest travel funds – I get to keep all my money and use it on another flight), hotel (thank goodness for nice Hyatt people who gave my mom back all her hotel points because it was an unavoidable cancellation), and all the workout classes I scheduled while I was there, texted Susie to apologize, and proceeded to be kinda sad and crabby for most of the next day. Just being honest.

As usual, I have no idea when said injury occurred or what I did. I noticed some pain in my ankle last week, but it wasn’t bad and it didn’t prevent any movement, so I just figured it would go away. I’ve run a few times since that initial pain, and I even ran fine at Girls on the Run on Tuesday, but then I could barely walk after I drove home. The only update I have is I can mostly walk just fine now. It’s hard to get moving if I’ve been sitting for a while, and it’s hard to go down stairs or do anything that involves flexing my toes toward my face. I’m 99% sure I could run without pain, but I’m also 99% sure it would be a stupid thing to do.

My favorite advice any medical professional has given me about injuries is, “Don’t do things that hurt.” So, yeah, I take some Aleve occasionally and ice and elevate it sometimes, but mostly I just try to do my normal things in whatever manner doesn’t cause pain so that when whatever it is hurt heals, it heals surrounded by strong and flexible muscles, not stiff and shrunken ones. End rant.

Okay. What you’re actually here for is the good end to the week, right? The favorites. Let’s get to those.

The P!NK Concert

Since I fell off the face of the planet last week, I never told you that my mom and I went to the P!NK concert in Cleveland, and it was all kinds of awesome. So awesome. The truly insane acrobatics and costume-y-ness (sorry, but you understand) didn’t overshadow her strong voice and really added to the fun.

I have to say, that I’m still going to put Ed Sheeran on the top of my all-time concert list, but this was a very close second. In my concert experience, most men just walk on stage in jeans and t-shirts, chat with the audience, and sing beautifully. It’s lovely and fairly simple and really impressive, in part because of how understated it is. Most women, on the other hand, go crazy with ridiculous outfits, shoes, and props, and also sing – and many times, their voices just don’t stand up to the theatrics. P!NK’s voice could totally stand up to the show, though, and that’s why I still thought it was excellent.

Hockey

Guys! The playoffs start next week! Prior to the game last night, I wrote that the Blue Jackets beat Pittsburgh to almost-guarantee that we have home ice for the first round. They actually lost during overtime, so they probably won’t have home ice. But still. I just can’t wait. I love all hockey, but playoff hockey is the best.

OPI Infinite Shine

I should have taken a picture while my nails were still nice, but alas, I did not. But if you’re anything like me and truly can’t maintain a regular polish manicure for a single day (and often a single hour), then this is a sort-of solution. Allow me to explain.

I am all for my gel manicures, and you better believe they have been worked into my professional-adult-person budget. However, they wreck your nails if you get them back to back to back – or at least they do for me. I need a week or so to breathe between them, and when I don’t give them that, apparently my tough-as-nails nails split.

OPI Infinite Shine is as easy to remove as regular nail polish, but longer-lasting. Mine lasted for about four days before it cracked at all, and that was just because I was trying to remove an Invisalign tray (and that’s really hard to do). About five days out, they’re looking pretty rough, but I’m hard on my hands and my nails grow really fast. Anyway, it’s the perfect intermediate step between regular polish (which doesn’t last) and gel polish (which rips up your nails).

My watch

 

A post shared by Ellen (@myuncommoneveryday) on Apr 5, 2018 at 3:41pm PDT

Had to tell you about my JORD watch one more time because I feel so fancy and adult-like wearing a watch. Also, I can’t stop looking at it when I’m outside because the rose face glows in the sun. I’m obsessed.

Want to win a JORD gift card so you, too, can have a fancy wooden watch? Click over here to read more about it and over here to enter the giveaway!

The Wife Between Us

I’ve been immersed in the world of podcasts – so many good ones, so little time – but last week while we were driving to Cleveland, my mom introduced me to this audiobook, and I flew through the rest of it throughout the weekend. I thought it was really well done, and also I’ve been slacking on my reading lately, so this felt like a reading win.

The reader is incredible, and I was highly impressed with her rather convincing deep male voice. Second, the story has enough predictable elements to make you dismiss it as, well, a relatively predictable story, and then there are twists that change the way you see everything. I did guess probably two of the three main twists, but I’m weirdly good at that kind of thing, and I wasn’t sure that I was right; it was just a hunch. Anyway, it was very enjoyable and different than some of the denser texts I’ve been making my way through.

And that’s all from me for the week! Remember that the JORD giveaway ends on Sunday, and remember to have a fabulous weekend. Mine will be low-key, restful (hey hurt ankle), and include watching hockey. Talk to you next week!

Your turn:

What’s the best concert you’ve been to?

Can you make nail polish last or are you a chipped mess like me?