Thinking of you, Boston.

Hi friends. I know it's been awhile. I've been consumed with the build out for the studio, amongst other things.

But this will always be a place I can come to when I need to write. I silence the writer in me that is nagging at my brain each passing week. But it's days like today when I am needing the one thing that helps, writer's therapy.

 

Today was a bad day. What has always been known as an incredible accomplishment and event, The Boston Marathon, will be remembered by many as the day alot of people got hurt, some people were killed, and a whole lot of people lost faith in humanity.

I am seeing alot of things on Facebook and Twitter about how we should be focusing on the "light" - the people who were rushing to help (incredible by the way), how one sick + twisted person shouldn't shape our opinions on the billions of amazing people that fill this earth. This is all very true. I think it's great to encourage this. We must not lose faith when sometimes it's all we really have. And I am usually one to always weigh on the side of optimism.

But I'm mad.

We shouldn't be glued to our TV's yet again, unable to peel our eyes away from the horrific scene. I felt the same way today as I did when 9/11 happened. When Sandy Hook happened. Unable to stop watching. So I didn't stop.

We shouldn't be having to jump on social media, frantically checking to see if friends we have at the marathon are okay - have they posted to let everyone know they are safe? But I did check. My dear friend's Mom was running today. As were 3 other wonderful people that I know. We have friends that live in Boston. We have friends whose families and friends live there. I was sick to my stomach all day, thinking of them. I can't imagine what their parents, siblings, wives, husbands, and kids were going through upon first hearing about the explosions.

We shouldn't have to question if it's going to be safe to attend a major sporting event, or visit a major city. But now we do.

I'm mad that such simple things in life are no longer safe. It honestly makes me question if I really do want to bring kids into this world. I am paranoid enough over my friends and family. It's a scary place out there, and it seems to just be getting worse. To think of all those people, at the race - the runners, the people there cheering them on. What a major accomplishment to run on Marathon Monday. What an inspirational moment. What a tragedy.

My heart goes out to everyone effected by today.

If you are someone like me who instantly wants to help and heal, but aren't really sure what you can do, I encourage you to start being an active blood donor. Obviously we never know when someone's life may need saving.

Hugs,

xoNik

Sculptin'

Hi strangers.

I've been a busy bee. But it's all starting to come together!

I've been in the process of opening my own studio!

Have you heard of barre work-outs? I am obsessed. I started doing them 5 years ago. There are so many great studios all over the USA. I was fortunate enough because of my husband's career to live in a variety of cities that all offered different studios. I encourage you to try a class if there is a studio near you.

I was warned that barre is addicting. I didn't believe them. Boy was I wrong! I literally feel it in my bones when I've gone for too long without a barre class. That elongating, lengthening, stretching, toning, tightening... amongst other wonderful qualities the class brings!

I've always been super active. Spin, zumba, volleyball, step-class, running, yoga, pilates, I can go on and on about all the fitness activities I love. But barre has given me the quickest results and has been the most rewarding. It actually has completely changed my body.

So every summer after the hockey season was over we would come home and I would say all summer, "I wish they had barre here!" Finally my husband said to me, "Well what are you waiting for?!"

The hamster in my head started spinning on that wheel and it hasn't stopped for the past 2 years. When we moved home from NY in April of 2012 the ball started rolling...

Alas, here we are now. A short time away from the studio launch.

I am very excited. Very terrified {owning your own business-What?! How did that happen?}. And very certain this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing. 

Check out Sculpt Barre on 

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

If you are not from around the area, check it out anyways- I will be posting fitness tricks + tips, recipes, etc. for everyone to share.

I encourage everyone to try a barre class in your area. There are so many great studios out there. I can recommend some of my favorites in the USA and Canada if you have any questions.

A big THANK YOU to everyone for their support this past year, everyone who has came out to my trial classes, and to everyone I hope to see at the barre soon!

Pitch perfect.

Glee. Pitch Perfect. A capella. The new cool kids in school. And for good reason.

xoNS

. Mindy .

"My relationship with my mom is really the single most profound relationship that I’ve ever had in my life,” she tells me. “By the way, it seems like I’m … I’m just blowing my nose. It’s not because I’m sad.” She has allergies and a cold, she promises. But her voice breaks when she starts talking about how she sat down with a pen and paper and asked her mother to give her all the advice she could possibly give her before she died, and Kaling realized she’d never be able to ask her mother for advice again. “I said to her, ‘Mom, I’m going to be so lonely without you.’” She’s crying now but keeps going. “And she just said, ‘You have to be your own best friend. If you always remember that, you will always have someone there with you.’”

-Mindy Kaling, article here.

Hi.

Come say Hi!

twitter | @saysNik780

email | nik.smith@live.com

pinterest | Follow me here

facebook | A thought in 

the mind of

xoNS

Randos

Since it feels like months since I have blogged here {But if you were following along you were totally catching me over at M.A.D.'s blog the past 10 months, right?} I figured one of my favorite kinds of posts may be in order. 

Total randomness.

...I really enjoy people who can make me laugh. Special place in my heart for them, reserved in the Favorite section.

...I can still walk around my parents house in the complete dark without running into anything. Like a champ. Love that some things never change.

...I only go to a movie about once a year.

...I dressed up as Taylor Swift for Halloween this year. Shocking? No. Slightly embarrassing as to how depressed I was the next day when it was all over? Just a little.

 {I know what you are thinking - and the answer is NO, I do not secretly curl my hair and wear the dress around my house when no one is home...}

...I always set my alarm and put any sort of timer on by an odd number. Getting up in the morning? 6:01am. Microwaving something? 0:27seconds.

...How I wasn't the first one to come up with wine to-go cups truly baffles me.

...I am a bit OCD about my meals. I have had the same breakfast for the past 3 months {no joke} and that isn't anything new: sprouted grain toast with homemade jam, bowl of berries + cup of green tea.

...I make bracelets and paint canvas' secretly. And I lie about where I got them when people ask. "Ohhhh, just some little shop where I lived in Ohio...". Lacking interest and confidence in putting myself out there I suppose.

{Not my painting. But same idea.}

...I am not sure if the amount of empty salt water taffy wrappers that surround me right now would impress you or disgust you.

...I truly believe in this with every inch of fibre that makes me whole.



Have a happy day friends.

xoNS

H.O.M.E.

It's the beginning of December and we are home. Like, for real home. Not a quick Christmas visit. But a whole new world for us Smittys. This hockey season may have ended up with us being home regardless because of the lock-out. For us, we are still in the process of settling in to, "life after hockey". The first week of October was when it first really hit me. I was a bit out of sorts. Usually by that week I am gone for the winter. I never expected to feel it because I am so happy to be home, but I felt a bit out of place, like I shouldn't be here.

It's no secret that I have been not so patiently waiting for our hockey journey to end. Don't get me wrong- I loved every minute of it and am so glad that I got to experience it the past 10 years. But 10 years was a bit too long for this girl. And after year 7 I was ready to call it quits. But I wanted the husband to make that decision himself. No regrets. A pretty bad concussion last season in NY sealed the deal.

And so we started out life at HOME this past spring. To be honest, all summer it didn't feel any different- we are home every summer anyways. And without (fully) being able to get in to our new house and make it ours, the summer came and went as it always did. I knew the fall would be different. And so far going into the winter it has been.

But for all of you who know me and know I have been counting down the days to retirement, I do want to let you in on a little secret. As much as I am LOVING being home (like, alot.) I do miss some aspects of the hockey life.

I miss the girls. I miss spending crazy amounts of time with people. In real life you may see your friends once or twice a week (some weeks not at all). In hockey world there are days upon days you spend with the girls. I think back to our time living in Texas and how I literally saw my friend Syd every day. Unless one of us flew home for a week or two, we were together. In Pennsylvania not only did I live with another hockey wife, but another friend and I rarely went 2 days without getting together. I think of all the amazing girls I adore that I won't see again. And if I do it will be every couple years. How rude of life to give you these people only to have them taken away from you! Ontario, Chicago, NY, New Jersey, Vancouver, San Diego... I could go on. Places that are not just a quick trip over.

The other thing that I miss that I honestly didn't even think of, is the amount of time I'd miss spending with my husband and the pups. I admit to have fully taken for granted the long days we had. Besides when he was on a road trip, we spent all day together. I could take Nahla for 3 long walks every day. I cuddled up on the couch with the little one for hours. The husband and I went out for dinner weekly, ran errands together, watched our shows together every night. Life back home is busier than I expected. Both working full time, other activities we're involved in, add in handfuls of friends and family that you share your time with, and you've got some pretty busy days. The days of trashy american television marathons are over. The many nights out every week enjoying drinks with friends or being out watching football each week have come to an end. Reality as we know it has settled in.

In the end I've learned 2 things thus far in this transition phase.

One is that I've surprised myself with these feelings of actually missing some parts of the hockey lifestyle. I guess that just means it really was such a special time in our lives.

And the other is that I can honestly now say that no matter where we were one thing always remained the same - Home was always where ever my family was. The husband, the fur children. And my shoes. And that's something pretty neat to have confidence in.

Bully.

News broke this morning about a teenage girl, Amanda Todd who committed suicide yesterday because she was cyber-bullied and bullied at school so much. My heart truly broke. The thought that any one can come to the conclusion that taking their own life is the easiest way to escape the pain is just heartbreaking. 

No matter what she did or didn't do, no one deserves to be treated like this. I have touched on bullying a bit with this post a couple years ago.

My message today is on the flip side of things. Everyone wants to believe that their child is a good kid. Your child may not be the one being bullied. But he or she may be in the group of kids that are doing the bullying. Though they may not be the ones directly saying the words or physically causing pain to another child, by being associated with the bully, they are giving him or her ammo. Confidence to continue it. 

Talk to your kids about surrounding themselves with good people. About how their friends are a direct reflection as to what kind of person they are. About standing up for someone who doesn't deserve what they are getting. About not just being a passive bystander.

We've seen dozens of stories just like this one. Boys and girls just like Amanda Todd. We are all so focused on what the victim should be doing- seeking help, talking to parents/teachers, etc. I think we should be looking into the situation from all angles. The bystanders who are guilty by association. The kids who don't agree to what is going on but aren't using their voice to stop it. When using their voice could be the one thing this young girl needed... because she didn't have her own.

So to the kids in school: On Monday, I ask you to sit next to the kid who sits alone at lunch. Both your lives will change for the better.

Oh, and also watch the documentary, Bully when you can. Here's a clip. 

xoNS

Create.

xoNS

A fav.

Fashion week in NY has come and gone and though I've barley said a word about it here, I did post a couple things over at the other designer blog I am the voice behind, Melanie Auld Designs.  

I guess I was pouting a bit about not being able to attend. It was a huge deal to me to be invited by a designer to a show and the fact that I was unable to attend made me throw a small tantrum more than bummed me out. Butttt, the shows were amazing. The lines seen for SS'13 were fantastic. And I am so very excited about what is up ahead in the industry. See, there's some happy in any crappy situation :)

I must say though, there was one line that surprised me. In a good way. Don't get me wrong, I was expecting greatness from Ms.Rachel Zoe as per usual. But this line..... this line, well... it was everything I ever wanted out of spring wear. I loved every piece.

RZ SS'13

{via}