(well we had a bit of fun before the epidemic became a global pandemic)

This pandemic nonsense had us out of touch for a wee bit.

Kells has been diligently updating our IG.

Nals has not been doing a whole heckuva lot creatively-speaking. Nals hasn’t been super inspired and TBH was in a rut. When restrictions loosened up last year, the P-N-dubs was knee-deep in summer and there were some muses about town.

So let’s rewind to Feb 2020: before the pandemic closed the borders and restricted our lifestyles.

Miss Kells, Cutie T & I took a jaunt down to Portland for a girl’s weekend. It was Cutie T’s first time! And in true N&K fashion, we ate and drunk up a storm. Here is a brief review of the pubs we visited.

We had been eating all day so we kept it light.

(Plus we had to be able to jump to our exit in case a ghost popped by.)

We had the tasty Pilsner Lager and Stout. To sop up the alky, we knoshed on the made-to-order Garlic Knots and Ghost Pizza.

Lovely drinks and even better charcuterie. Upon request, they custom made our 2nd board! Pickled onions and artisan cheese were da bomb diggedy.

To quench our thirst, we had the following brews: Head of the Table, Wowza and the Neon Daydream. All were delicious.

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To fill our gobs in between sips, we had the Beer Board (chacoots!) – crisp house brined vegetables, smoky dried stout salami, housemade apple walnut bread & rosemary crackers. To. Die. For.

We discovered this pub-club by looking online. They had drag queen trivia night scheduled online, but when we arrived, we realized their socials were not regularly updated. The night wasn’t as exciting as we had hoped, but we had a couple beers after dinner and enjoyed a bit of music.

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.

Our burly performance classes are back on.  The studio class sizes are small and have requirements to be masked & vaxxed.  Or folks can choose to Zoom in.   

Showcase

Most exciting of all… we’re also going to have a student showcase!  We haven’t performed on stage in a year.  Oh goodness we are looking forward to the hustle & bustle of the time leading up to a performance.  

Androsia

Kells & I are in Androsia Wilde’s Island Gyal Flow.  This is our first progressive with Androsia.  We’re looking forward to flowing and exploring our heritages. 

Cherry on Top

We are also taking Cherry On Top’s Art of Burlesque Starlet Level for intermediate levels.  We’ll be rocking, rolling and perfecting how to give face. 

Stay tuned N&Kers…

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!

Each 2 minute station alternates between 15 seconds of power & 15 seconds of speed. Stations might be Jab-and-Cross or Roundhouse Kicks. You start at level 1 then move up to 3.

Because of global COVID-19 precautions, 30-Minute HIT locations are closed.

However, this gym has an awesome workaround. They’ve created a complimentary 30-Minute HIT at Home for members!

Kells has been intermittently hitting it for over a decade. But over the past few years she’s been really consistent.

I tried hitting it for the 2018 fundraiser Kick the F*ck Of Cancer. It was my first time and I felt like puking after. I hadn’t felt that wretched in ages. I thought “Guess this isn’t your jam, missy.”

New Years promo

Initially…

I thought this would be great for a quick workout. In the days I want longer training, I’d have the option to go through 2x.

But believe me, you work your entire body hard. Both Kells & I are hot sweaty messes afterwards.

I still have not gone through the circuit 2x. But one of these days, I will.

And less than 2 months later

I feel stronger, energized, got some skills, endurance (I had to take multiple breaks per station in the beginning).

My waist is more defined. People have told me my shape is changing. I’m not doing it for looks… but it’s nice to get positive feedback.

If you’re up for a challenge, and this looks remotely interesting, call to get your free trial!

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!

Unfortunately Kells and I couldn’t join the same class this quarter (boo!). Her themes are Mad Scientist (Cleo Victory’s contemporary) and The Circus (Chastity Twist’s chair). They sound like so much fun!

My 2 classes are more classic burlesque styles. My themes are Women*’s Personas: Public & Private Faces (Cherry On Top’s Ingenue level) and Vegas Showgirls (Ariel Helvetica). My classes are a lot of fun, too. We’ve mistreating pink feather boas* and red-and-silver heels.

There are a variety of babes in our classes: some new-to-the-scene and some familiar faces. Very exciting mix!

The show is going to phenomenal folks! So please come to see us and cheer us on. We promise lots of good energy, fun vibes and good times.

Footnotes:

*mistreatment as in humping and other fun things. No feather boas were harmed… Yet.

Dancing puts me in a vulnerable position.

• 1. I’m not a small girl. So I feel like its obvious, me, this giant chick on the stage
• 2. Being giant, you are gunna see that a) I’m bigger than others, height and weight and b) you will see I’m not a good dancer (especially since I was dancing with former dancers).
• 3. Others in my dance classes are good dancers. They have danced before and they know what position 1 means.
• 4. I was told when I was younger, and wanted to join ballet, that I cant be a dancer because I’m to tall (Stupid that the things we are told when we are young sticks with us). 

So yah, I’m feeling vulnerable but determined to do it. But this experience got me thinking about my thoughts vs others. What I see is me as an elephant in the room, dancing with cute ballerinas. BUT what others see is me doing well. I got good feedback from my friends. But these crappy feelings of me looking stupid flood other parts of my life too.

For example, at my gym, for the longest time, I always thought I could see my tummy reflecting off the heater that is located on the roof right above me. It literally took me over a year to realize it wasn’t my belly at all, but the big ball I was using making the reflection!

Like what the heck!?

Why? Why do I assume, this big ball is my stomach reflecting? Why do I go to a negative place? Why didn’t see a ball? Why didn’t I see me accomplishing this one work station that I’ve struggled with for so long?

Whhhhhyyyyyyyyy???? 

I’m so annoyed with myself when I realized I’ve been doing this. Nals and I have talked about this (a lot). We always remind each other that we are pointing out negative things and will say “that’s not what I see”. As much as I have focused on trying to be body positive, and not negative on myself, I still find I have moments (like mentioned above) where I still beat myself up. I still see negative things. 

But here’s what I can do:

 1. Listen to the positive feedback

2. Recognize when Im being negative 

3. Continue to challenge myself

4. Remember to love myself 

5. Celebrate my accomplishments 

I know I’m not the only one that goes through this. Please share the ways you challenge your negative self talk and ways you love yourself!! 

Back ground: I was not one of the “cool” kids. I had many friends and floated from group to group but I never had that crew. I didn’t sit in one spot, or hide out in the back field. I simply survived high school by roaming, moving and saying hi to those that would say hi back. I viewed myself as a band/theater geek. But no one asked me to the prom (however I was more than happy to go with my bestie), I tried to avoid the school bullies and I learned to just laugh at myself (especially before others could laugh at me). 

So 20 years has come and gone. (I did go to my 10 year reunion, it was still weird). People still had their clicks but what was neat was at the 10 year reunion, one of the dudes that was always mean to me came up to me and apologized. It was really shocking but very nice of him to do. I totally respect him for that. 

I didn’t know who I would see, or what to expect. I went to the reunion (even the 10 year) without the hubs. I tried to say hi to everyone I could, though some did not recognize me and some still snubbed me. 

But I wanted to share the things I didn’t expect.

• 1. A few people told me they had a crush on me. Surprised me as I always had a low view on my looks in high school, so never thought anyone would like me. Plus I was generally a foot taller than most people, which made me stick out, or above the crowd. Also made me self conscious.
• 2. I heard other people (even those I deemed as cool) talk about trying to survive. One person mentioned staying in  their clump, because to them, survival was in numbers.
•  3. Most people agreed who the school jerk was. He was there too. I didn’t get to talk to him, but if I did, I was gunna tell him he wasn’t nice. Why not? I would want someone to tell me if I were mean to them in high school cuz I would like to apologize. (Not that I expected him to apologize).
•  4. A couple people thanked me for always being so nice to them. I didn’t realize I had that impact. They even remembered things about me I didn’t! It was so touching. 
• 5. I got this at both my 10 and 20 year: “you’re so pretty now”. Dont say that. It’s mean. This time I responded with, thanks, I think you are trying to be nice, so I will take that as a nice compliment.
• 6. People said they didn’t remember me until I started talking and laughing and this is what they remember me for. Sad cuz I laugh like a donkey but atleast I was remembered for laughing!!! I will definitely take that.
• 7. I had fun. Who knew? I laughed so hard, that my abs hurt, even 2 days later. I stayed up way to late and I went to sleep feeling happy.

  So why was I so happy? Well I suppose a few reasons... 

• 1. I realized that jerk in high school is still a jerk and that it wasn’t me, it was him.
  • 2. I went in to the reunion hoping to just have fun and not hide. Mission accomplished!
• 3. I’m happy with my life. I have everything I could ask for. I laugh. I live. I love.
  • 4. It was nice to hear feedback about my high school self that was completely different than what I though I was. Where I saw fluttering from group to group to try to hide/blend, others saw as social. People saw me as kind, laughing and fun. And guess what, I am those things!  

I have so many friends that don’t want to do their reunion because high school sucked. But I heard from many of my classmates that it sucked for them too!! Thank goodness high school isn’t the best years of our lives! I want to live my best life now, and feel that I am. I want to encourage you to attend your reunion! Talk to people. Ignore those who still suck and learn that our negative self high school image is not what others have seen!