link love

Posted on December 10, 2013 by jplatt27

It’s a snow day–for everyone in DC but me and my colleagues. I can’t believe the university I work for isn’t closed. Seriously, I can’t believe it. On the bright side: I’m glad I have new Hunter boots to wear and I’m taking this as permission to wear leggings to work 🙂

If you’re enjoying the beautiful snow fall from the comfort of your couch–maybe in your robe while drinking coffee with your Christmas mug (like Mike), here are some links to enjoy while you relax. Enjoy!

The salad version of comfort food. We’ve made this twice now. I’m obsessed.

As a book lover, I love this idea for a Secret-Santa.

Should is a warning sign. Yes.

Completely agree with this video about the best workout.

You’ve got to download this wallpaper. I couldn’t agree more.

Stumbled on Elizabeth’s blog this weekend and am fascinated by her 30 Days of Hair Series. I’ve watched beach waves and blowout and can’t wait to watch more. I’ve recently been getting into beauty more and these hair tutorials are perfect. Not only does she have videos, she has a list of exactly the products she’s using right on the post. Brilliant! Don’t you love when exactly what you need/want shows up at exactly the right time? I do.

Pretty sure this is the best Buzzfeed ever. As a huge Home Alone fan, I literally laughed out loud.

This question is radical and will change the way you think about goals. (Click this link and watch the video.) And then, if you’re in the DC area and want to be in a soulful book group that really gets into how you want to answer this question, email me. I’d love to have you.

Any links you’re loving lately? Please share in the comments!

just playing around

Posted on September 19, 2013 by jplatt27

Earlier this week I mentioned that I’ve been trying to play more. While it’s seemed a little scary at first, I’m getting into it! Here are some things I’ve done to play in the last two weeks.

I started doodling when I get home from work for a few minutes. Just sitting down at the kitchen table for 10 minutes or so. It’s been calming. Here’s my first doodle:

It’s a boat on solid ground!

I didn’t set out to draw a boat. I actually started with the paper portrait orientation and drew a hang-man like upside-down L. Then I drew what became the sail and turned the paper sideways. Before I knew it there was a boat. And then there was a boat with grass underneath it.

Who knew there was going to be so much meaning/message to my first doodle.

One night last week, Mike and I played Scrabble.

It’s not lost on me that the word “zen” was my highest scoring word in the game.

I also bought watercolors and some other paints. Here’s my first watercolor:

Isn’t it so fun??

And lastly, Mike and I through the frisbee around at the Cathedral the other night before dinner. It was SO fun. I was running, running, running to get the frisbee, you know “going long.” I was smiling SO much. I kind of felt like a happy dog running to catch a ball in its mouth. It was so great.

Mike can catch the frisbee between his legs so I was trying to pick up that trick. No luck. (as you can imagine). Enjoy that visual, will ya?

I’m telling you, this play thing is no joke. It’s so good for the soul. So I challenge you, how will you play this weekend??

a tip for men: 3 words

Posted on January 23, 2013 by jplatt27

A lot of times when we’re complaining about something, we don’t want a solution. We don’t want to figure it out. Sometimes we do, sure.

But most times, we want to hear a simple phrase. Just three simple words will stop us in our complaining tracks.

Here they are:

Wow, that sucks.

Yep, that’s it.

Wow, that sucks.

Ladies–feel free to send this post to your SO.

Guys–try it and report back.

i can't believe it

Posted on January 16, 2013 by jplatt27

I can’t believe it! My husband can not read my mind.

Things I’ve been thinking about for a while, he doesn’t know.

Things I’ve been thinking about over and over and over again, he’s hearing for the first time. Woah.

It’s like if I don’t say it, he doesn’t know it.

But he’s my husband–shouldn’t he know these things?

I mean we sleep next to each other, we share a bed–how can he not know what I like, what’s got me stressed, what I’m most interested in at the moment? How can he not know when I’m totally at peace, when I’m full of anxiety, or when I’m experiencing pure bliss?

I don’t get it.

But, then again, I can’t read his mind either.

a realization from a sex dream

Posted on October 17, 2012 by jplatt27

The other night I had what seemed like a strange dream but was actually very telling.

I have to share the dream to give full effect.

In my dream…

Mike and I were making out pretty passionately in bed when all of a sudden Mike said “wait, I have something to show you.” He stood at the end of the bed and started doing tai chi moves. “I learned these for you,” he said. Immediately, my body went from hot to cold. I was completely turned off. “Ok, you can stop now,” I said awkwardly.

When I woke up…

Weird, huh? I woke up thinking how bizarre the dream was.

And then I realized its meaning: I love my husband and am attracted to him exactly the way he is.

I’m always asking Mike to come to yoga with me, to read this personal development book or watch that inspirational spiritual or business video with me. I’ll push him think about his next career move and where he wants to be in 10 years. And I get a little frustrated when he’s not interested.

But these things aren’t Mike. Like not at all.

Frankly, if Mike was throwing a yoga mat over his shoulder on Saturday mornings or brewing coffee in anticipation of Super Soul Sunday that would just be weird. If Mike was throwing out ideas left and right about potential dream jobs or career moves I would wonder what was going on. Because it’s not him.

I fell in love with Mike and continue to love him just the way he is. We are very different in many ways–he yells at the TV during Philadelphia sports games and agonizes over political debates while I yell about people not fulfilling their dreams and agonize over relationships. But I think that’s why we work.

Bottom line is if he changed in the ways I sometimes want him to, I probably wouldn’t be turned on by it in the way I think I would. In fact, I know I wouldn’t, it would just be weird.

Do you have things you wish your significant other would do or was interested in?

Have you gotten messages from your dreams lately?

promise me we'll be weird

Posted on July 25, 2012 by jplatt27

While I was preparing for my vision board party, Mike was helping me make some cookies. I don’t remember what possessed this, maybe I needed a laugh, but I said “I have an idea. Why don’t I make a rule where for the next 10 minutes, you can only speak in rhyme?”

Mike was quiet for a little while but then after about 45 seconds, he said a line in rhyme. And I giggled. And we kept going.

And now it’s kind of our thing. We just rhyme randomly. And laugh.

Then, earlier this week we were in the kitchen doing dishes after dinner and I was packing up the leftovers for lunch when in a loud random voice I said “the lunch.”

Mike started laughing and when I asked what he was laughing about he said “I was just going to start singing and it would’ve been really embarrassing.”

Because I want to protect my husband from more public shame, I told him I wouldn’t share the song he then broke into. But, it was hilarious. So funny and silly. I was giggling up a storm.

We kept making up more lyrics to this song that had to do with lunch and leftovers and dishes. And we kept cracking up.

I’m still struck as we laugh and laugh and laugh by how good it feels to do so.

And as we laughed and laughed, made up more lyrics, and laughed and cheered at each other’s good rhymes, I said to Mike

promise me we’ll always be weird.

I never want to stop laughing like this. How many adults did you see being silly or weird when you were a kid? I didn’t see many.

When we’re “grown up” and have kids, I don’t want to stop giggling and joking around with my husband. As we take on more responsibility in years to come, I still want to have good clean fun like this. I want to laugh. I want us to still be weird.

opposite frustrations

Posted on July 24, 2012 by jplatt27

What makes you angry? Who makes you angry?

This is one question I have to answer in preparation for the first module of my life coach training this weekend. I have to be honest there aren’t a lot of things that come to mind off the top of my head so I’ve had to think about this a little bit.

But when we got from New York on Sunday night Mike reminded me of something that drives. me. crazy.

We walk in the door around 8:45 after picking up Chipotle before getting a cab home from the bus. First thing Mike does when we get home: empty our bags and put everything into trash bags with moth balls (a preventative measure in case we picked up any hitchhikers from the hotel–a little paranoid? probably but I do understand his concern, we don’t want to go through that again).

First thing I do when we get home: drop my bags, turn on the TV, and settle onto the couch with my burrito bowl.

After Mike finishes his burrito, he starts looking around in the kitchen. (I found some random bugs a couple weeks ago in one of our kitchen cabinets.) “I found some more of those bugs. They were dead, but still.”

More bugs? Ok, they’re dead? No action necessary, I think.

Next thing I know he’s emptying everything out of the cabinet again and asking that I help him pull the cabinet out from the wall.

Do we have to do this now? I think. We just got home from a super busy weekend and it’s late. Can’t you see I’m busy watching the latest episode of the Kardashians?

The next morning I’m making my usual chocolate chip pancakes and moving some baking sheets out of the way so I can get a measuring cup. A second later Mike is standing in the kitchen saying “you’re not putting all of that stuff back already, are you?”

No, I’m not. I’m just moving them out of my way so I can get a measuring cup. (I actually might’ve said this with a little ‘tude. Ok, I’m sure I did.)

Last night I pick Mike up from the metro, he stopped to get groceries and the bus he was taking broke down on the way home. I unload the groceries and tell him to relax while I make dinner. He changes his clothes and next thing I know he’s in the kitchen opening the cabinet again to check for more bugs.

Do we have to do this now? You just got home. And I’m trying to make dinner. Why do we need to freak out?

“You know what makes me angry?” I ask Mike. “When you are paranoid about things and start stressing out over something so small like bugs.”

“You know what makes me angry?” Mike says to me. “Your apathy to things like this.”

I just started laughing.

wouldn't it be nice?

Posted on June 15, 2012 by jplatt27

Today’s post is inspired by a post Jo wrote last week about annoying things her husband does and things she does that irritate her husband. I agree with Jo that this is a totally normal experience. There are things that Mike does that bother me and things that I do that drive him crazy.

Wouldn’t it be nice if my husband…

didn’t chew ice | didn’t let sports dictate his life | wasn’t a wimp around bugs*?

Wouldn’t it be nice if his wife…

didn’t snore | could watch a movie for more than 20 minutes at a time

didn’t drop everything for a text | didn’t space out so often?

*this actually isn’t annoying, just causes me to seriously roll my eyes

Join in the fun!

What are some things that your significant other does that annoy you?

What Kristen Bell and I have in common

Posted on February 29, 2012 by jplatt27

This video of Kristen Bell discussing a sloth on Ellen kept appearing in my news feed on Facebook so I finally decided to take a look.

In this interview, Kristen said something and I thought “OMG that’s me!”

That is me. That statement describes my emotional being to. a. T.

Mike comments “3 to 7 might be a big window for you.” Ha, ha, ha.

This is something you should know about me, and if you’ve been reading Things After the Rings for more than a week you ~~may~~ probably already know this: I’m a very emotional person.

Remember the little girl in the elevator?

Or when I missed my mom?

How about when I cried tears of joy on Valentine’s Day?

When my girlfriends left after a weekend visit?

When I found Mike’s wedding suit in the laundry basket?

Oh, and then there was the time that I cried the entire day after my wedding.

Tears are nothing new to me. My friends/family/co-workers know I’m a crier. And I’m OK with that. I own it. And I love that I now have this gem of a statement to describe my emotional self. (It also doesn’t hurt to know that there are other people out there like me.) Thank you, Kristen Bell.

I’d love to know:

If you could describe your emotional state in one sentence, what would it be?

Rain cloud and hair spray

Posted on January 28, 2012 by jplatt27

Here’s a funny story for your Saturday. I couldn’t wait to share this story with Mike on our date a few weeks ago.

I was rushing to an appointment that I thought was canceled but wasn’t (I hate being late), left the deal for our date on my desk, had some anxiety about the appointment, and was just fuming while riding the metro. I was so mad and grumpy and couldn’t think about anything except my grumpiness.

I’m standing in the doorway on the metro totally in my own head when this man comes and stands in front of me facing the door. He’s between 40 and 50 with a big belly. He’s wearing a thick royal blue and white patterned knit sweater from the late 80’s/early 90’s, faded black pants sitting kind of low and baggy and he was far from attractive. Though I have to admit his hair was kind of nice. It was completely gray and though he had a full head of hair it was kind of thin but it was styled like someone my age. Like standing up and nicely combed.

We’re just riding along when all of a sudden he takes out a can of hair spray and starts spraying his hair while looking at his reflection in the train door. “Just need some hair spray,” he says to me as I look at him in disbelief, speechless. “This can cost me $7,” he continues nodding at the pocket size spray in his hand, “but luckily the guy that owns the shop gave me a discount.” He mutters a few more things as I look around to see who else has witnessed this, trying not to burst out laughing. He gets off at the next stop and I exchange glances/laughs/head shaking with some on-lookers.

I couldn’t stop laughing to myself for the rest of the ride (I probably became the spectacle after that). And that was it. The cloud I was carrying over my head was completely gone. I think God or the universe sent this strange man to me so that I’d stop stewing and lighten up.