The 3rd Monday in January is the day where it all comes to a sad peak of the post-holiday blues, credit card bills, dark nights and perhaps health concerns from all the rich food.

There is definitely something to this, we think. 

Everyone is excited about the summer.

Autumn is about getting ready for school, hunkering down for winter.

Winter can be beautiful with snow here in P-N-dubs. But, in the lower mainland, the snow quickly becomes an unpalatable mess of mud, salt, slushy snow and rain.  Yuck! 

So, we look forward to the Christmas festivities.  Takes our mind off of the gross weather and on to the pleasantries of baking, shopping, wrapping, eating & partying.  Of course, this year, Ommi forced us to retreat to our safe bubbles. No work parties, no Secret Sanat, no extravagant dinners with a bunch of fab friends…

Reality sets in… hence Blue Monday.

What can I do about it if it’s reality?

We’re not saying you should ignore reality. What we’re saying is that this is a good time to get reacquainted with self-care & joy.

• Connect with loved ones virtually
• Engage in self care
• Get back to healthy eatingTry exercising – especially walks on the brighter weather days
• Take your medications as prescribed (when feeling blue, it’s easy to forge
• Talk to your health professional about the SAD lamp or other ways to copeKeep a regular sleeping schedule
• Enjoy what you have. Be mindful.
• Put your worries in a box for a few hours. Worrying all day will not help solve anything.
• Talk about it or journal
• Think about fun stuff to do. When was the last time you painted? Sledded? Collaged? Read a novel? Took your pups or kids out for a fun walk? Played a video game? Made a snowperson? Made a slideshow of photos? Snuggled your pet or loved one?

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Some of these suggestions might not even float your boat. And that’s okay.  But you’ve got some other ideas in that noggin of yours.  So get to steppin, you beautiful beast.

This list might be overwhelming.  Pick 1 or 2 things that seem interesting and go from there.

What are Nals & Kells doing?

I’m getting back into writing this blog.  Kells is still recoveringfrom Christmas cheer. & we are both doing another session of burly classes this month.

The pandemonia has affected us all greatly on a personal level. And if you’ve been working through this time, you know the precautionary measures have been stressful as well. For employees as well as for your customers, clients and gen pop.

For those folks who have lost their jobs or their businesses… it’s more than just losing income. For some, it’s losing part of their identity. Worries and uncertainty have increased. (I’m not a big fan of that B uncertainty.)

Even if you were planning to leave, the pandemic affected your choice. Choice is empowering. But some have chosen to leave out of concern. Not all job sites are following safety protocols. So though it might have been a personal choice to leave, it put a strain on household finances.

Some folks had the opportunity to work from home. This also came with relationship struggles. Kids were out of school with not a whole heck of a lot to do. Students didn’t get the education they were expecting. Graduations didn’t happen or looked radically different.

Pandemonia has challenged those folks who are retired, too. There may not be a loss of income. But there was a huge losses in social lives, activities, recreation, exercising… surgeries and healthcare were put off.

The whole reason for calling COVID-19 a pandemic is that it is highly contagious and deadly. This virus has taken a lot of lives. This virus has changed quality of lives. There is a profound loss for families, friends and communities.

I can remember a day early in the pandemic in March 2020… Trudes had already announced All Canadians must stay at home. I was walking outside on my lunch break, taking advantage of the lovely weather.

I suddenly realized there was no sound around me for those few moments. No cars, no air brakes on trucks, no buses, no people, no pups, no coffee shop lingerers. I don’t even remember chirping birds or puppy barks. That area is typically bustling at lunch. (Well the entire day, really.) The only sound I could hear was paper gently nuzzling the street in the spring wind.

It was amazingly fascinatingly surreal. How could a microscopic thing –and to boot, one that I hadn’t seen myself–impact us on an individual, municipal, federal and global scale? This thing that’s not quite living is changing our health, economy, societal structure, relationships, state of being… It was a particularly a-ha moment for me. I felt like I was viewing a slo-mo video. But nothing visual was really going on.

New virus variants, some Canadian airlines volunteered to remove sunny destinations (temporarily), masking/distancing/vaccine-ing. Living with the new normal.

Kells & I love to be positive. We love to put a smile on people’s faces. We both try to enjoy life and get inspired to write and take fun photos for y’all. This helps both K & I to be mindful of the positives that life has to offer. But it has been a struggle in the past months. So, we wanted to let y’all know that though we’ve been a bit MIA, we still love and appreciate you N&Kers. And we’re going to bring you more content. Stay tuned! xo, N&K

How are you guys managing? Drop a comment below.

Looks like it’s time for the annual Nals and Kells getaway!

The global pandemic has limited life options this year. But since it’s our birthday, we decided to take off to Whistler, BC. (Coincidentally, Dr. Bonnie Henry has rolled out BC’s Restart Plan: Phase 3. )

Stay tuned for reviews and other fun stuff!

Gosh Trudes, awesome timing¹.

And the show did go on…

Audience was a bit sparser but the energy was just as awesome.

Knee-deep in Pandemic

Both Kells & I registered for classes before the pandemic precautions. We were waiting with bated breath… will the classes continue or not?

Yes the classes were still on but would be virtual.

Not sure what the final product is going to be like, or even what the format of our final show will be. But it’ll sure be interesting.

Let’s play footsie
¹We’re not making fun or light of the pandemic precautions or our provincial emergency status. The post’s title is merely to point out that our show happened day after the announcement. And it caused a bit of a fuss.
²I kept calling it Corvid because it flows better. (It totally does: covid vs corvid.) The husband corrected me. Covid-19 stands for COrona-VIrus Disease 2019. Technically, corvid isn’t incorrect… and can I point out that #corvid is used more that #covid?

Our next burleque show is March 12 at The Rio.

That’s tomorrow so get tickets toute de suite and come watch us burly across the stage with our fellow babes!

2020 is a year of changes. And here is the evidence…

Two VBC instructors are on preggo leave³. So, the interim instructors² are bringing in new hot exciting classes.

Nals is taking a tap class. Hmm how does tap tie into contemporary burlesque? Excellent question. Guess you guys will have to come out to watch how Cleo Victory whips us into shape.

Kells is taking chair level 2. Yes you heard that right. Level bloody 2 with Chastity Twist! Kells is learning how to contort in new slithers. The performance promises to be sizzling.

We are both taking a second class which is with newbie Ginger Avenue¹. We’ll be bumping and grinding down under¹, to classic burlesque moves.

So come check us out at The Rio Theatre on Thursday, March 12, 2020.  

Footnotes: ¹Ginger is a new instructor but has been performing for years. She’s an Aussie! ²The second instructor is Portia de Favro. N&K were itching to try one of her classes but she’s only doing intermediate and advanced. After a year of burlesquing, we feel that we’re past beginner stage but not quite intermediate.³Congratulations to Cherry on Top and Ariel Helvetica on bringing 2 new tinies to the GVA!

Some career opportunities have come up and so a rehaul was due.

A few years ago, I made a huge change. I left the comfort of my full-time job in mental health, to go to a part-time job in the medical field. I needed to switch gears. And the leftover time would allow me to pursue my business idea and some extras.

This was a brilliant move!

Then things started to feel a little stale. Burlesque, getaways and fitness made things a bit exciting and now we’re back to a feeling a bit stagnant.

So, I took a leap of faith on some opportunities that happened to come my way. And, it’s official: I’m back full-time in mental health!

Overall, this is a good move for me and my future. Then why do I feel this anxiety, which is overwhelming at times?

Did you know that stress is multidimensional?

It affects our cognitive, physical, behavioural and social dimensions.

Stress can*:

• have a positive (eustress) and/or negative (distress) nature,
• have a time frame: acute or chronic (or even acute on chronic),
• be planned or unexpected.

There are pros and cons to everything. And that’s okay. It’s in how you process it and to find appropriate supports.

For me, the CBT approach works best. I know that I ruminate in my feelings like a dog rolls around in a rotting carcass**. My previous negative experiences roll into it. And all these feelings become overwhelming. They overwhelm my logic and I sink farther into the well. I also have a tendency to bottle it all up°.

What works for me

1. I recognize there’s a problem°°,
2. I label my feelings and thought distortions,
3. I use logic to break my thought cycles,
4. I talk it out with a trusted support person.

If you are new to CBT or its tenets don’t quite resonate, N&K encourage you to research different techniques. And then to get appropriate support.

Here is a list of clickable resources to get you N&Kers started:

The Anxiety & Worry Workbook

Bounceback: Reclaim Your Health (depression)

Women’s Anger Management Workbook

Men’s Anger Management Workbook

Boundaries

Brene Brown podcasts and books

Anxiety Canada

Footnotes:
*Winning a competition can be positive. But, there can be negatives too such as feeling more pressure to win the next comp and feeling like the need to train harder. But maybe you don’t have the resources or social support for this.
*An example of acute on chronic is: having a large distressing debt and then all of a sudden, my car breaks down. I don’t have the money to fix it but I need my car to get to work to help pay down the debt.
**Except I don’t want to roll around in it.
°Not sure why I bottled shit up. It’s probably rooted in not being able to trust. But I’ve learned that I have lots of supportive people around, and I can trust them.
°°It took me a long time to realize that feelings are not fact. Feelings can be overwhelming. There are a lot of tools to help me manage. And I know I can manage when I recognize there’s an issue.

ESSENTIALLY, IT’S FANCY WHITE BYOE* PICNIC IN A SECRET LOCATION. 

Long drawn out explanation here. 

L e R o o t s

Well it started off in the 80s in France with a french dude who wanted to host an elegant outdoor dinner.  He asked his buddies to meet at the park but dressed in white, to be easily identifiable. 

Then… His son started the tradition in Montreal 30 years later.  It trickled into Le Grand Pomme… And now it’s in like 80 cities, worldwide.

The Registration Process.

1. You put your name down for Vancouver’s DeB waiting list.  (We did this in Winter 2018),
2. You’ll be emailed 3 more times with VIP RSVP dates (different invitation levels May-July),
3. Once you get to level 3, you choose your Table/Team Leads, meeting location and if you’d like: booze and nibbles.

We ordered our wine and food.

The Day-Of Travel

When we registered, I didn’t know if Kells was working so I figured the best thing to do was to choose Skytrain option.  (We both live near-ish to stops.)  But it was evening rush hour and we got some snarkerton looks**.  Some peeps smiled and asked if we were going to “that white party”. 

Not gonna lie, N&K’ers: travel was onerous.  But, we’ve got some workarounds for next year.

L e E v e n t

We brought our own tables. But, since they were all the same shape/size with the white dressings, the whole thing looked like one seemless En Blanc party.  And if there’s one thing Nals enjoys, it’s symmetry.¶

Once all folks were set up, we started off with the napkin wave.  Then we tucked in. 

When I was in Home Economics in highschool, I loved the din at the end of the class when we’d sit, eat and talk.  It was warm, enveloping and cozy.  The low conversational murmur, infectious laughter occasionally breaking through, soft clinks of cutlery and glass…  That’s exactly what DeB reminded me of.

Because the N&K Team & Table Leaders were organized, we were set up in great time.  We chatted with our lovely teammates.

We had a special guest that evening: DeB royalty Francois and his wife.  It was her birthday and Francois serenaded her.  He was probably a bit tipsy, and the singing was a bit off-key but it was the ballsy thought that counts.

When it was dark enough, we ended off with a magical moment: the signature group sparklers.

When it was dark enough, we ended off with a magical moment: the signature group sparklers.

Final

Thoughts

DeB criticisms include pretentious, classist, overpriced, not family friendly and lost the original intent. Kids are not allowed on-site due to alcohol. But other than that, we found that there were a variety of folks there. Some were dressed in simple whites and other tables had lavish lights and overhead deco.

N&K can tell you is that it was a fun, friendly, magical evening. We will definitely be doing it again next year.

Footnotes
*Bring Your Own Everything like food, real cutlery, tables, chairs, table linens and centrepieces. Note that alcohol can only be purchased through DeB.
**Not because we had so much stuff but because we looked so cultishly regal in our blanc ensembles.
¶ This could be because I like to organize things or maybe it’s a facet of biology.

Labour Day is today in Canada and the US, N&Kers.

After Netflixing the Alcasser Murders (#ElCasoAlcasser) and monitoring the #hkprotest, I reflected on our freedoms.

As females in North America, Kells & I are:

• lucky to have a (safe) say in living our own lives.
• privileged to have post-secondary education.
• lucky to be able to work in our chosen fields. (These are fields that we actually enjoy working in!)

People who want a higher education or a better-paying job are not able to get what they want due to lack of resources or system biases.

People are hungry, exhausted, hopeless, depressed…

And imagine other countries where freedoms are less-than, especially for us ladies*.

Sure, there’s room for improvement. But let’s take a moment, this Labour Day, to acknowledge and celebrate how far we’ve come:

1. how bad working conditions were;
2. what freedoms our predecessors fought for;
3. that workers efforts’ deserve respect and appreciation.

It took only one person’s courage to speak out and gather the masses to discuss how to make change.

What should our next steps be?

Equal pay?

Addressing Positive and Negative Discrimination?

Equality vs Equity

Happy Labour Day everyone!