In case you're wondering what the KU Jayhawk really is...

The KU Jayhawk, famous in these parts...

Here is a complete description of how it was born, brought to you by the wall of the coffee shop on Mass St and 7th...

And from the wall of the KU Card Center at the Union, if you ever wondered what a "ElsaJay" (from Frozen) might look like...

And from the wondrous inter web, a "SuperJay" (my favorite)...

Lawrence restaurant - Genovese

The Studly Hubby and I are on a mission to find our new favorite restaurants in Lawrence. We've already discovered a few gems (Wheatfields, Little Saigon and Wa Sushi) and a few clunkers (Marisco's). Then there are the old standbys; Chipotle, Famous Dave's and Jimmy John's, that are somehow more exciting in a new city.

Today we got out of the house too late to catch breakfast at Wheatfields and it's never a good time to hit the other famous breakfast place downtown, the Roost (1-hr waits are unbearable with a 4-yr old). So we walked down the street to Genovese, an italian place that just started serving breakfast and wasn't the least bit crowded.

One thing I love about Lawrence is that most of the restaurants downtown have an old-timey feel to them that makes them really charming, because most of the buildings they are in are the original or near-original from the 1800s. The history nerd in me soars to be in places with such rich history.

A table at Genovese, with the 1800s stone wall in the background

We loved the food (mostly) and will go back. Although we've definitely adjusted to midwest prices, as at $10 per meal we considered it expensive.

Happy and full!

Me thinking: hmmmmm.... I should really blog about this place

Lawrence street art

Is street art becoming more hip, or did we just move to a place where it's more hip? Or did we never go out before now?

We were out on the town this weekend and saw TWO incidents of street art. First, a snowman that looked like a sculpture but was actually someone wearing a costume. After an audience had gathered to look closer, the snowman would move suddenly and make everyone scream.

Second, at the library we saw a toy soldier. The guy was standing so still I thought it was really a statue, even after already being tricked by the snowman. Then he moved like a robot and beckoned to us to come closer. Layla shrieked and ran away. I snapped a photo. Then I ran away too. I think he was trying not to laugh (he did a good job!). Then he got a new customer and I watched it all happen again.

Is bad posture neurological?

I have had bad 'slouchy' posture all my life. I spent most of my life feeling bad about it on the assumption that I could actually fix it if I tried harder. But I tried pretty hard, and it never went away.

Then in my 30s I was diagnosed with cervical dystonia. It's a neurological condition that causes, at the very least, bad posture. In addition to the trauma of having a movement disorder and all that comes with it, this really rocked my whole idea of bad posture and where it comes from. In the early days, I thought the bad posture might have caused the dystonia. After reading up on it and finding out about the mutations that lead to dystonia, and that many are in neurotransmitter synthesis pathways (which have nothing to do with posture), I slowly came to realize that if anything, it was the other way around - the dystonia caused the bad posture. Have I always had dystonia, but in a milder form? I guess I'll never know, but the thought really made me look at my life through a different lens.

Dystonia is thought to affect 3-5x as many people as have been diagnosed - this means a LOT of people are walking around with dystonia that don't know it. And if a mild case just causes bad posture (or other problems like scoliosis, headaches, etc), then who knows how many more people might have dystonia-related conditions that don't have any idea what dystonia even is.

This really challenges the prevailing view that bad posture is inherently preventable. If the source is neurological, no amount of exercise or discipline will correct the problem. You can stretch and strengthen and stick a rod down your shirt and everything else but the only thing that is going to help you is Botox because that specifically relaxes those muscles that are misfiring because of faulty wiring in your brain.

Doesn't this change your perspective a little?

So I googled 'bad posture' and found this - anyone know what movie it's from?