Dog likes Car

This sure as hell beats the Camry "Grounded to the Ground" Commercial. Kudos Vdub... I think Bert would do this on purpose.

Life Won't Let You Down

Suite 709: My latest obsession.

I'd like to introduce you to Suite 709. You can thank me later when this song is stuck in your head. Thank you Austin, Texas for this band and this song.

If you're feeling down this song will for sure, pick you up.

Just read the lyrics:

Well, you can get up,
When you're on the ground
Open for faith to turn it all around,
When things fall apart, the world will still turn
Stars fall, bridges burn, pick pick pick it up
You live. You learn.
Hope Life Wont Let You Down.
Hope Life Wont Let You Down.
No Life Wont Let You Down.
No Life Wont Let You Down.

If you can, you must.

Its been a long time out since my last post. Life has changed, I’ve changed, my daily routine has drastically changed. I am different.

Somehow putting your words out there feels more real than having a conversation. Your words are your reality and when they are typed up in an online forum then it feels more real and more permanent. You put your words out there for history to swallow up and spit back out in a feed, making an indelible mark on your life’s path. You can’t erase your words, you can’t erase the memories that your online words influence or generate. Your words become your history, your story, part of you.

Admittedly I have slacked off on writing and self reflection in general. The past six months have been a mental struggle. By choosing not to share my words in my blog, by taking a hiatus from writing down my thoughts I removed any possibility that my negative emotions and thoughts would become my reality. If you don’t say it, it can’t become real...right? Or by not saying anything I just drowned in my own solidarity and had no outlet to be me.

Unemployment is not fun-employment. Not having a job, not having any means to support my family is NOT for me. I struggled to be myself and be happy. To me happiness is contributing to the greater good of my family and feeling like I’ve made a difference. There was only so much yard work and home maintenance that I could take care of over the past six months to feel like I made a contribution. Happiness is Success. I suppose while my manicured front lawn was earning compliments I was a true success.  But where I’ve truly been for the past six months was in a writer’s block hole (pun intended) no where near my happiness.

I even let someone else steal my yoga from me. If you know me you know who. The block hole I was in also kept me out of the hot room with my eyes closed and barely breathing. The hardest part is admitting to the fact that I let that person take away my happiness without a fight. I avoided the hot room for fear of an awkward moment, for fear of the inevitable discomfort of being locked in the hot room for an hour and a half trying to focus on not thinking. The fear kept me away and I feel sad about that.

Funny enough, the topic of this post; if you can, you must - came out of the hot room during that time I was ridden with inexplicable fear. During wind removing pose I received the best piece of advice for life in general and an escape route out of my block hole. 'If you can reach your elbows, you must reach for your elbows. If you can, YOU MUST!' Since I started doing Bikram a year ago, I am no where near reaching my elbows and my regular teachers know this. Its fairly obvious that when I can barely clasp my hands together I’m a long way off from reaching my elbows, but I could try so I did try. In that sweat filled, stretching moment of internal reflection in the hot room, in that fleeting moment of eye opening positivity I realized that if I can then I must, no matter what. Disregarding time, money and effort - if I can, I must and I will. Whatever the goal, I will try. If I can try, I must try.

This is my new vision statement for my life; I can, I must.

My new found vision for how to be happy and succeed led me down the path of completing long forgotten tasks that I pushed aside thinking that I couldn’t, I didn’t have time so I shouldn’t. I turned my couldn’t, didn’t, shouldn’t into I should, I could and I did.  Painting, framing and picture hanging. It was three years coming but even a new job and a new schedule couldn’t stop me.

As we head towards fall and my anniversary of blogging I invite everyone to hold me accountable to my new vision statement. If I can write, I must write. I’m giving myself a few passes when I really don’t have time to sit down and write but the 5-6 month hiatus is a thing of the past I promise myself that I will reflect more regularly with my eyes open and breathing normal again.

I can, I must.

Bert's Twin Sister

Bert's Sister.

As long as you're moving in A direction...

As COO of Job Searchers Leander...I have lost my regularity with my blog. I have tried to maintain a schedule with my yoga-ing and balance that out with my job searching, applications and yard work. Its amazing how sucky daytime television is. After the first week of funemployment I am no longer intrigued with sitting down and having a lazy afternoon with the tube. It sucks. I'd rather be weeding. THAT is definitely something I never thought I'd say. Me a gardener....HAH! But since my job loss I have mowed the front lawn twice...raked copious amounts of leaves...planted in my newest garden bed and mulched all beds in front of the house. Balanced out with yoga every other day or so and I've been putting some sweat equity into my home. Big props go out to anyone that does manual labor day in - day out to pay the bills. I'm a week and a half out from raking leaves and I still have blisters healing. As with most, being unemployed has its ups and downs. Some mornings I wake up and its a fantastic day to get "that" call back or email and other days I just don't give a damn. I was in Afton's class on Tuesday afternoon and she said something in the middle of the floor series that has stuck with me this week, "as long as you are moving in A direction." It was meant in regards to yoga and postures, bending forward and backward but in the moment she said it, I reflected on my current life status. Most days I feel like I'm moving forward and that my next adventure in work life will be fantastic and I will grow exponentially and other days I feel like 'life sucks, how did I get here?' but in that moment in Yoga I realized that regardless of how I felt from day to day, I am moving in A direction. As long as I am moving in A direction and not just standing still, I'm growing as a person. I might apply for my "dream job" and get a rejection letter automated to me in 11 minutes flat but I didn't do nothing and I'm better for that. Regardless of your current plight or success in life as long as you're moving in A direction you're living. Two steps forward or two steps back, dance your way in A direction and LIVE!

Eyes Open
Breathing Normal
Dancing my way in My direction.

Two weeks notice...

Well...

Life is definitely different now. Two weeks post job-loss I have come to terms with my current situation and am ready to proudly state in an online forum that I am in fact unemployed. Its pretty much a shock to anyone's system to change your routine so drastically after 4 plus years at the same company. I understand the reason's behind my layoff and I know that its not due to my own competence as an employee. It probably took the past two weeks to get over that fact. Layoffs happen and life goes on. So to all my friends and family. More importantly in the Austin, TX area I have a new job title now...job hunter. Actively looking for a marketing position and hopefully I will find the perfect job for me. I'm looking forward to new beginnings and moving on. Luckily my blog, my yoga practice and my new motto in life to always move forward with my eyes open and breathing normal is what has gotten me through this major life event unfazed and with a positive attitude and purpose. I love my family and with their support I can be successful and find my dream job and what I'm meant to do. One of my last posts before "job-loss" was about being introverted. I refuse to be anything but myself and find the exact right position for me to do next. I will continue my current venture of finding my dream job by following a new guideline (see Ted talk below): My happiness will lead to my success, not vice versa as is engrained in our society mindset.




Eyes Open. Breathing Normal.  Happiness brings Success.

I don't care about your politics...

Invisible Children has started a movement to bring to light a situation in the world that many people didn't know about or care about a week ago. Within my generation and the younger set we are "considered the ADD generation, [and we are] enamored with a half-hour-long video." To make us sit and watch and learn about a cause we never had any intention of feeling something about is inspiring. I'm not sure where it will go or what will actually happen with making Joseph Kony famous in 2012 but we are powerful. There's something to be said with strength in numbers. Put your politics aside. Watch the video and FEEL something...

KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Introvert, Extrovert - Seek Your Solitude

So my husband knows me. Better than I know my own self. He hit the nail on the head with this one. I'm just like Susan Cain.




If you know me, you'll understand how I operate and how I function the best. I am the introvert much like she describes herself and after watching the video I am proud to function the way I do. Dustin is an extrovert and together in our crazy imbalanced personalities and hobbies we balance each other out perfectly. Neither of us are perfect and neither of us are on the edge of the spectrum of introvert vs extrovert. Neither of us is a true ambivert but together we balance. We communicate, we laugh, we cry, we work hard, we comfort, we plan...we find solitude. We also...thanks to Dustin's hobby...collect suitcases. Suitcases to repurpose, suitcases to use for their intended purpose and suitcases to decorate our house...my perfect place for seeking introspection and solitude, my comfort zone for deep and passionate thought. Other than the hot room where I can be introverted in a room full of people, my cuddler end of the couch and my 4 legged company is my place to be me, my happy and proudly introverted self. So , whats in your suitcase?

Leap Day, Celebrating Number 1

Happy 1st Anniversary Dustin!

Milestone Monday

Lots of happenings.
Monday marked class 50 out of 60 in the 60 day challenge.
Monday I took the 6am class with Jackie.
Monday was my niece Scout's fourth birthday.
Monday was the day after Sunday when I took my mom and Kendall to yoga with me.
Monday was the beginning of the week that my parents are in Austin visiting.
Monday was the day before my birthday, TODAY.
TODAY I took the 6am yoga class with Jackie and the class sang Happy Birthday to me during tree pose.
Just found this article: Belly Flop, Amazing Underwater Dog Photography
Which led me to this Photographer: Seth Casteel
Which in turn led me to this new cause: Second Chance Photos
Which makes me smile...THIS BIG.

My Toes are Numb...

I guess that means I need to get into the hot room for some Bikram love.

The most important thing in your life...

"The Most Important Thing In Your Life Is Your Life." - Bikram Choudhury
Take care of yourself. In whatever physical activity gets and keeps your heart pumping. Be kind to yourself. The most important thing in your life is your life.
I had a great Valentine's day with Dustin on Tuesday. It was probably our first real date night on a Valentine's since we met. Best part of the show was probably hearing Bob Schneider and the Orchestra and Tosca string quartet play Unforgettable. It was truly unforgettable, loved it!
Last night in yoga I was inspired by Kathy. She is amazing. She's the current Texas Asana Champion and is moving on to Nationals in March. She shared her experience with us and it was totally inspirational. Bikram Yoga brought her back from depression and anxiety. She mentioned the Bikram quote I mentioned earlier and it was a great reminder that doing the 60 challenge is the exact right thing to do for myself for the time being and participating in Bikram Yoga for the rest of my life is a definite reality. I signed up for the Advanced class for next weekend and it was a reality check. Joining USA Yoga as an "athlete" is surreal. It means I can participate in Advanced class but it brings the idea of competing in the future to the forefront of my mind. Maybe I could do it in the future. I know my number one cheerleader would be Kendall. She was uber excited by the idea of "competing" with yoga, especially when she saw Kathy demonstrate her rock star moves. We'll see what happens.



Pure Challenge Inspiration from Today's Newsletter:
The posture you dread the most is the one you need the most! Give your least favorite posture some more love and you'll dread it less! I guess here's to me in Camel today in Lisa's class! Maybe today will be a triple camel day, it always seems to work out that way...no cheesecake class for me...

Color Run, Corneal Edema & Life in Fast Forward

So its been a while. I got caught up in life, day to day, work, you know how it goes. You look up and its been almost three weeks since you stopped to think about writing down your life in your words.

Since my last entry I’ve completed 19 Bikram yoga classes, 90 minutes a day for 19 days. I’ve surpassed the midway point of the 60 day challenge and I’m over two thirds of my way to the end. Friday afternoon I celebrated my 40th day in a row with a Party Time at the Cedar Park studio with all my fellow yogis. It was amazing to actually meet and speak with some of the yoga students that I often recognize in classes with me but never get a chance to talk to. I met Kaylene who’s a high school art teacher that works in Killeen but lives in Round Rock and still makes it to as many classes as she can and pulls doubles on most weekends to keep up with the Challenge pace. There truly are some incredible stories and inspirations at Pure Bikram, especially Pure Bikram Cedar Park. The Smiling Happy Faces at the Cedar Park studio are as much an inspiration for all the teachers at Pure as they are to us students. After we snacked on Chuy’s nachos we gathered in the studio and listened to different students and teachers speak about their inspirations and why they do Bikram yoga. At the end of the talk we saw a demonstration by Kathy, Jeff and Sarah who are all Texas Yoga Champions from this season and are soon to be heading to New York to compete in the National Championships. The people I practice yoga with are truly amazing and all the inspiration I need to continue walking through the door each and every day throughout the challenge and beyond that. Why stop what your doing when its providing amazing benefits; mind, body and soul. A long time ago Dustin mentioned to me that yoga is like my religion, its my church when I walk into Pure Bikram. The whole mind body connection, 90 minute open eyed meditation, sweating my ass off - it puts me at ease, calms my mind and brings fresh oxygen back into each and every cell in my body.

I dragged Kendall with me to the party at the studio on Friday night and it was neat to see her experience the studio and actually listen to everyone speaking about yoga. She really wanted me to speak about my experience and share why I came in to Pure but I was enjoying finding the inspiration from others. She also recognized a fellow yogi as a classmate’s mother. We were sitting listening to people talk about yoga and she kept saying ‘I think that’s Parker’s mom.’ Turns out it was and she was just as confused since she had met Kendall’s mom before and here was this little girl that looked like Kendall hanging out with Amanda. Its a small world for sure.

In other events over the past few weeks, last Saturday we did the Color Run and it was a muddy and colorful mess. We had a great time. Actually did the mud trudge with Dustin, Kendall, myself and Mandy. It was an adventure that none of us especially Kendall will ever forget and if the Color Run returns to Austin we will for sure participate again, Mud and all.

Don’t ever mess with your eyesight. On Tuesday morning I woke up with severe pain, swelling and discomfort in my right eye. Upon a Dustin review of what my eye looked like after prying it open, ‘your eye is 3 times the size it should be’ we headed to the emergency room. According to the ER doctor I had a Corneal abrasion. A large enough scratch that both Dustin and the doctor could see it with out any special lights. I got some medicine and a pirate patch, set up a follow up appointment with my eye doctor and rested that afternoon. On Friday afternoon I had my appointment with Dr West and was extremely surprised to find out that I actually had a Corneal Edema aka Ulcer. Before Friday I never knew you could have an ulcer on your eyeball but now I’m living proof. My contacts are the culprit in this ulcer of the eyeball and apparently if the ulcer doesn’t heal completely a dry eye and eyelid can exacerbate it again. Its glasses for me until at least Tuesday but I’m definitely more aware of my eye health now then ever. If I hadn’t taken my contacts out on Monday night it could have been ten times worse than it actually was on Tuesday morning. And yes I did do yoga on Tuesday evening, eye patch and all. It was a little difficult to balance during the balancing series of postures but I successfully completed a pirate-like Bikram yoga practice.  Nothing like an added challenge to my 60 day challenge.

Why is it Important?

Just to start off, took Bikram last night with Afton and it was a fantastic class again. Set my mat up near Stacy and we ended up laughing our asses off about the teenage kid we both wanted to punch in the middle of class on Sunday. See previous post for the story. We also both remembered, apparently we had a mental block on it for good reason, dude spit on his towel during one of the postures. Next time we see him in class which will probably be on Sunday again we're moving our setup as far away from him as possible, he was a total distraction and took away from our practice that day.
It's been an interesting few days in life just simply reading the news. A lot happening around the world, around MY world. Perceptions, distractions, media taking abstract stories and making them mean something to me. Let me first say that I'm not a Penn Stater. however I did grow up in State College so in fact Joe Paterno's life meant something to me and the community I was raised. He was not my grandfather, a family member, a professor of mine, a family friend, anyone that I associated with throughout my life in State College but the man he was and what he did for my small hometown MEANT something to me. I was posed the question "Who cares? Why is it important? Its this today and something else tomorrow..." Yes you are right, its a blip on the radar of the media. Tomorrow something else will happen and it will be perceived as important to care about that too. My grandfather recently passed away and he was important - to me. Not to a throng of people waiting to view his casket for hours but I would have stood for hours to say goodbye to any great man that influenced my life in some way. Paying our respects I believe its called. You do so with disregard to time and money, its important to you its important to them. If they were important and did great things that influenced your life in some way, it is important.
Unintentionally, yesterday I wore a Penn State sweatshirt and I saw lots of images online from the public viewing held for JoePa. He was important to a lot of people. You may not give two blinks to who he was as a man or what he did for a community but I felt something. A month ago I lost my last living grandfather, I felt something much different. I attended the funeral, I grieved with my family over a life of a great man who did great things who influenced our lives for the better, he was important and paying my respects to my grandfather was important. At that time I realized the lessons I learned from him, what he taught me throughout my life that I never really understood until he was gone, I am a better person and a stepmother with unconditional love to give because he taught me what that meant.
Joe wasn't my grandfather but he influenced the place and the people I grew up around. He was a great man who didn't have the ego he of all people deserved. He gave back, he was a role model in more than one way, he was an inspiration of what one person can build in a lifetime of working hard. He of all people had some fantastic stories to tell of his life, his achievements, failures and regrets - regardless of the end result the story would have been fantastic to hear from his perspective. Why is his life and his passing important to my life- my here and now? In some way I want to emulate his achievements and his life. We all do. I want to build something up, better a community and stay the same person I was when I started. I want to tell those stories to my grandkids and be one ounce of the amazing and humble person that he was to sooo many people. You never realize how important or influential someone or something is to you until its no longer there. Joe Paterno meant something to many.
Of all the people that I thought about yesterday when I saw the pictures of the people standing in line to pay their respects to Joe - my Penn State friends, my parents, my family, my town there was one person I knew if given the chance would have stood in line for hours - Lowell. Penn State meant the world to him and Joe Paterno was part of that world, I may have broken just the slightest piece of Grandpa's heart when I defected to Virginia Tech instead of staying home as a Nittany Lion. He would buy Peachy Paterno ice cream just because even though Butter Pecan was his real favorite. If Lowell was alive today he would have been in those pictures at the public viewing. He would have paid his respects to a Penn State colleague, Joe Paterno meant something to him. I laughed yesterday when I thought about this because Lowell passed away five years ago. He may not have been able to stand in line on the Penn State campus yesterday to honor JoePa's life but he sure was standing in line waiting to shake Joe's hand at the pearly gates.
Why is Joe important to me? Deep down WE ARE...all a little bit or at least hope to be a fraction of the great person he was....JOEPA.

I want to be a Yogi...

Sunday Funday in the hot room and the lessons learned are always inspiring.
#1 - Not everyone is cut out for the hot room - mentally.
#2 - Everyone is cut out for the hot room - mentally.
#3 - Its all mental.
First thing is first, it was hot, it was humid and it was crowded. Perhaps due to the humidity outside, the humidity in the hot room seemed ten fold the norm. Before class I was chatting with Stacy another 60-in-60 Challenger and I was sweating sitting on my mat and towel before any of the postures began. It was sticky hot.
To address number one; lots of newbies in the hotroom with lots of challengers - I know this because Edy did a poll before class started. During the standing series one gentleman (a newbie) stood up and walked to the door. Before Edy could stop him he was out the door - he said that he couldn't breath. Not everyone is cut out for the hot room - mentally. As Edy explained to us later and as I've heard many times before in the hot room, the difficulty breathing part is actually worse if you go out of the hot room into the cold. Its better to stay in the room and lay down if necessary just don't leave. Our newbie could have made it through the class but he mentally was out the door.
Another factor in my own practice was the annoying teenage boy in the row just behind me, right next to Stacy. I hope he didnt bother her too much but he was irritating the hell out of me during every single posture in the standing series. If you want to be a yogi then act like it. I know you might be new(er) to this yoga, you are trying this out with your buddy next to you who is brand new today but you are acting like a jackass baby boy that needs his momma to cut the crust off his bread and has been handed everything he's ever wanted in life on a silver platter. Not in the hot room my friend, you do it for yourself so get over yourself and check out of your ego. Bikram is all mental and you are ruining my practice today! Ok...now that I'm done ranting - he was obnoxious and I had wished he walked out of the room, I wouldnt have to focus quite so hard on my own two eyes in the mirror. My new friend didn't commit to the do each posture to the best of his ability and instead of bowing out and sitting down or standing still in between postures he provided extra movements to showcase his "I can't believe i'm doing this again" feelings to his friend.  As you can tell I was not impressed.
We moved to the floor series of postures so I no longer had to fume over my ego-tantrum yogi poser neighbor and I could bask in the deliciousness of all my favorite postures. :) Enter person #2 to stand up and try to escape the hot room. Edy coaxed the woman to sit back down on the towel and rest. She couldn't breath and wanted out.  Insert earlier story about the hot room vs. cooler lobby area and breathing. Edy asked the woman her name, Sheila. Next obvious question, "Is today your first day?" - "No, it's my 21st day." Turns out Sheila started Bikram and started right in on the 60 day challenge with the rest of us crazies. During the next savasana we all heard Edy, "Sheila, what are you doing I thought you were resting and you are already over there doing the postures again?" The best line I have heard in the hot room ever which is my new inspiration for when I feel like I can't catch my breathe and I just want to flee the room came rapid fire from Sheila, "But, I want to be a Yogi!" Enter lots of applause and laughter in the middle of savasana.
You are Sheila, you are a Yogi. You are proof of #2, everyone is cut out for the hot room - mentally.
In the end, #3 its all mental. You can work yourself up or you can work yourself out of anything. You can mentally assault a not-even-trying in the hot room-er or you can put all your mental energy into your own two eyes in the mirror and get deeper into your own practice. You can be a yogi and keep trying or you can be a human and fall out. The second Sheila turned around and took a moment on her mat instead of leaving the room she became a Yogi. In Bikram and in life - when you fall out, get right back in!

Thoughts to Live By

"My thing was play as hard as you can, don't be stupid, pay attention to details and have enough guts in the clutch." ~Joe Paterno
"This is who we are. And no one can take us from us." ~ Sue Paterno

Inspirations through Bikram - Change

Jeanne Heaton, a Teacher with Experience, Mirror

Pure Bikram on K Eye

Valentine's Date

First in 5 years that Dustin and I have planned ahead for Valentine's day.
Looking forward to a hot date with my honeypot.

"Well you’re the color of a burning brook, You’re the color of a sideways look from an undercover cop in a comic book You’re the color of a storm in June, You're the color of the moon. You’re the color of the night, that’s right, Color of a fight - you move me. You’re the color of the colored part of The Wizard of Oz movie."


"Come out tonight, come out with me, baby. We'll throw the careful into the crazy, Turn the sky black into a sky blue, Turn the close shave into a hoo-hoo. What I say is true, make a fire, gotta burn a few, Make a fire, gotta burn a few, We can do what we want to do."

Burning Ankles and Arthritis Prevention Grip

Those were the themes for my class last night with Nora. I only felt the Burning Ankles during my new favorite posture and I did not get my upper back to pop. My last challenge I completed I had pain and stiffness and soreness rotate through my body throughout the 60 days and this time around the movement /rotation is moving more rapidly than before. It took the first 30 days to feel sore the first time. This time around I've completed day 15 and I've been sore the whole time, first and most prominently in my hamstrings, up until last night it was my entire back and this morning my arthritis prevention grip is really yelling at me. My fingers in my left hand are crying today. But we practice Bikram's postures today to prevent diseases later. I'll take a mini-heart attack every day for 60 days than a big one later on in life. Same with the Arthritis. Bring on the stiff fingers and soreness from my kick ass Arthritis Prevention Grip so Arthritis doesn't attack my joints later on in life. Its also the little things, the small pains that make us aware of our body and what it can accomplish. If we are feeling pain, stiffness, soreness than we are alive  - remember the goal is no flatlines just consistent and everlasting change.
eyes open, breathing normal - change

"This is who we are. And no one can take us from us."

Bikram Yoga Pose. Bikram Yoga Seacliff

Sitting and relaxing after yoga this morning in Edy's class. I was extra tired this morning after staying up way later than the norm due to a venti Starbucks at 10pm and a new found obsession with Pinterest. Can I just say that Pinterest is the smartest website idea I've seen in a while. Best ever maybe...Now I can track all those random thoughts and ideas that run through my head, clean my countertop of paper clutter (printoffs of ideas and recipes), remove the library and clutter in my brain from all my 'oh yeah i was going to dos' and keep myself accountable to what I've promised myself. I invited my mother and husband to join Pinterest last night and it was made clear to me after Dustin joined that "hey its all women on here". Until he said that it hadn't occurred to me that it was so female friendly. Why not Pinterest, all you men scoping the internet out there? What a great place to bookmark all the projects you want to accomplish and the foods you want your wife to cook for you...ehhem apple cheddar hand pies? Its a great visual bookmark tool. Foods i want to eat, places i want to visit, projects i want to attempt. Even Lowe's has a my home tracker these days for you to see what you use at your house, its the same idea. What makes Pinterest so oriented to women out there, men have project ideas too? Step away from the artsy craftsy and its an idea board, online to share with friends and to keep your head on straight. I think more guys should get in on it. Ladies, let the gentlemen in so they can make their own honey-do lists for themselves. Maybe 2012 and men on pinterest will lead to a higher succession rate of honey do completion. OOooooo I've got a new board idea - Honey-do. The best part about it is I can find websites with tutorials for everything I want my honey to do and I'll more than likely be the honey doing it!
Back to the yogification...Class was packed this morning. More so than yesterday. Front row - second from the left was my place today and I rocked it and sweated it all the way until standing separate leg stretching posture. Edy told some funny stories about this all new favorite posture of mine. Note to self do not Bikram in New Orleans or I may be way too friendly with my yoga neighbor. Anyway...back to the upper back popping in this posture - again AWESOME feeling. After the pop I did the posture and was kinda hanging out in a neutral position, pulling is the object of stretching and I was admittedly half assing it. With all the gagillion people in the room I knew of course that there would be no way I'd be called out on my halfassedness in my new favorite posture. WRONG. Edy totally caught me and asked me what I was doing, just hanging out? He said "Amanda pull on your heels." so I pulled harder on my heels because I wasn't really pulling before. As soon as I pulled my forehead hit the ground (the whole goal of the posture) he repeated, "Amanda, what were you doing before? You weren't pulling like that. Now get your legs closer and pull again." Again my forehead hit the ground all while my Smiling Happy Face was laughing through the posture for being called out. Of course all Edy's chatter and me not pulling my forehead to the floor to begin with made the posture last longer for the entire class! My new goal for tomorrow is to pop the upper back and get the forehead to the floor as quickly as possible - Avoid Halfassedness will be my new motto.
This new goal from yoga lessons learned thing has happened before, the day that Lisa made us do 3 sets of Triangle. Yes 3 sets...I will never forget that class in my life and I will always always always go as low as possible within the posture to make sure that Lisa knows I'm busting it and so that I never ever ever have to do 3 sets again, brutal! The great part about the 3 sets was that I totally improved my posture and I bust it out every class to the best of my ability. My neighbor in class today even commented on how impressed she was with my Triangle today. I told her the 3 sets story as my inspiration for getting so low in the hips.
Amongst all the new projects and my 60 in 60 goal I have to remind myself daily that I am just me and can only do me. I am not a successful fixed firm poser yet...someday maybe..but until then I do what I do and I get through. Back to the whole ups and downs in life otherwise a flat line means we're dead idea. We are who we are. A little kick in the ass during a posture in yoga will help energize us but we can never apologize for doing what we do to the best of our ability. Halfassedness is not acceptable for me in 2012 but being me is. I may be shifting. realigning, destressing, decompressing, stretching, lengthening and striving my mindset, body, brain, life, outlook and love for myself and others, but I am still me and no one can take that away from me. I was inspired by Sue Paterno's words from the Washington Post article about Joe and the scandal that I read moments ago. Her words were the last few in the article and had little to do with its entirety but were the most important for me to absorb. No matter what anyone says, no matter how things change from one day to the other, no matter how up and down our life line ebbs and flows, "This is who we are. And no one can take us from us."
Eyes Open, Breathing Normal - Pulling is the Object of Stretching!

Pinterest, Food & Yogification

So new obsession/list maker/reminder/bulletin board  - Pinterest. I've had it for a while but never done anything with it. Until this week when researching recipes on FoodGawker. Easiest way to save the recipes I like instead of printing them off and eventually tossing them in the trash is to pin them. Awesome, brilliant, easy. Oh how technology helps improve our daily lives, simplifying an entire mountain of paperwork onto a bulletin board online. There goes any type of scrapbooking I ever planned on doing.
So food this week. We are back on the every other week plan for our Farmhouse Delivery. We took a week off during the New Year's holiday since we weren't around to cook. This week was bountiful to say the least. The box pretty much exploded with greens when I opened it up at the office. Beets - check! Yes, I can make my roasted beet, feta and quinoa salad again. Kale - check! Some type of braised greens dish. Lettuce, Cabbage, Sweet Potato - triple check! Lemons, Oranges, Avocados, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cilantro  - awesome! All of the aforementioned fruits/veggies were just the tip of the iceberg compared to the GINORMOUS and I am talking biggest ever seen in my life gigantic Turnips. FIrst time we've had turnips in our delivery and honestly these rather large beasts slightly frightened me. Again another veggie that I dont think I've been privy to eating before in my life and their 'bigger than my face' persona were daunting. No worries, a little pinning and a little gawking brought me to a delicious recipe for Beef Stew with Turnips and Turnip Greens.
Kendall and I just finished our later than lunch snack and the Stew was awesome. The entire bottle of red wine I used to deglaze the meat probably helped the flavor profile of the stew but I cannot wait to eat leftovers for dinner. And the turnips...I made myself taste some of it before I cooked it. I read about them before and saw comparisons to everything from potatoes to apples to radishes. One person mentioned loving to eat them raw like an apple and I can honestly understand why. It was fresh and crisp and sweet and tangy, like a combination of an apple and a radish. To me it almost tasted like an underripe pear without the granule sandy texture that you get with a pear. After it was stewed it was soft and took on the flavor of the stew beautifully - I'm sure this is where the potato comparisons come from. I added my turnip greens, kale and beet greens in with the stew as well to give the stew some extra green and add to the nutrition value. Fantastic recipe.
In other news - on the yoga front I've done two days of yoga since I last posted. Yesterday at 4:30pm and this mornings class at 9:30am, both were taught by Jeff. I repeated my upper back popping both times its almost like my spine adjusts when I drop my head in the standing separate leg stretching pose. Whatever I'm doing I will continue - its awesome. What did I ever do without Bikram? I talked through the yoga thing with Kendall and we planned for her to join me in class this morning. I had a spot for her all set up and Dustin brought her to the studio after her Gymnastics class this morning. She totally wussed out and did not come into the studio. I definitely wasn't expecting that. I was more afraid that she would be talking during the class and disrupt everyone's practice but instead she refused to come in at all. Maybe some day she'll want to try it again. After the class was over I took her in the room with me so she could see it wasn't THAT hot - for her benefit I compared it to an indoor swimming pool that needs to be warm so that you aren't cold when you get out of the pool and you're all wet. Ah well...someday I will further yogify my household. Perhaps Dustin is the next one to join me in the hot room.

Pop goes the upper back again...

YAY! Same posture, same stretch, same pop, same relief. It was awesome. Looking forward to day 12 and see what I can realign today.
In other news Kendall has shown interest in coming to yoga with me, I asked Lisa about it last night and I'm going to plan to take her to class next thursday where she can participate in the second half of class when the "real Hatha yoga begins" and we are mainly on the floor. Stay tuned to see what my 8 year old thinks of the hot room.
To get in on the Tim Tebow jokes I can't not post this video - I pretty much love Jimmy Fallon.


Apparently earlier I embedded a Geico commercial. Hopefully this works.

Realigning the Body

Day 10 down in the books and on the report card. I'll get my first "earned" free class pass today when I take my report card for the challenge with me to class tonight.
Almost every teacher in the Bikram studio talks about how this yoga can help realign your spine just by practicing the postures consistently and of course in the exact order that Bikram came up with.  It could take weeks, months or years to see a shift but eventually it will. Since I began my own Bikram journey I never felt anything realign or shift I always just felt sore...until last night during the Standing Separate Leg Stretching posture in Amanda's class. First set, stretched down and pop. My upper back popped into place, a place much different than it resided before. Immediate relief from something. It was totally weird but it felt awesome. I'm surprised I didn't say something out loud during class because it caught me so off guard. I have always had a very stiff upper back and shoulders and I hold all my stress up there. When it shifted last night I loved it and it gave me a great reason to push through the second set to see if I could repeat the effect.  Unfortunately I was not meant to get any more pops last night but it definitely gave me inspiration for the next realignment whenever it decides to show itself.
So here's to the first sixth of the challenge completed and to all the realigning of mind, body and soul to come in the next 50 days...
Eyes Open, Breathing Normal

Celebration Cheeseburger

I had a great yoga class last night. I was very excited to finally have class with a Bikram Badass, Afton Carraway. Watch the video and tell me she's not badass...

I mean really THIS is amazing. She is absolutely incredible in this video of the Championships. So crazy good. Inspires me to use more determination to stick through to the end in my Standing Head to Knee - Dandayamana-Janushirasana. If I can't maybe I'll follow Lisa's advice/request from last week and do a true dismount Gymnastics style if I fall out and I know that I wont get back into the posture.
In celebration of completing class last night Dustin and I had Sonic Cheeseburgers. What a way to celebrate...

Yoga Inspiration

Got my goodie bag last night for my 60 day challenge. After looking through all its innards this morning I'm excited. It came with a Purist tshirt from Pure Bikram Austin which I love love love along with lots of freebie classes and discounts to 60 challenge sponsors and vendors. The goodie bag itself is from lululemon athletica and has the lululemon manifesto printed on the bag. Also came with a poster of the manifesto which after reading most of the quotes on it, I am in love with it. Also in the bag was a free class to Pure Barre which intrigued me so I had to learn more. They do a ballet type workout for women which actually seems like it could be beneficial in conjunction with my new "Pure" attitude. Perhaps after my 60 day challenge I can use that free class card and hit up a Ballet type workout class near my office. Doing yoga every day and possibly joining other fitness studios on top of Bikram. Who am I? I hardly recognize myself.
Had class last night with Nora and it was packed as is usual these days. Still rocking the front row. I'm looking forward to class with Afton this evening. I'm feeling inspired and ready to sweat.
To sneak a quote (or two) from the lululemon manifesto:
"Breathe deeply & appreciate the moment. Living in the moment could be the meaning of life."
"Nature wants us to be mediocre because we have a greater chance to survive and reproduce. Mediocrity is as close to the bottom as it is to the top, and will give you a lousy life."
Eyes Open, Breathing Normal

Because a flat line means your dead...

So I caught a snipit of an interview on Dateline NBC last night with Cee Lo Green and they were asking him about the ups and downs in his career and life in general. I thought it was applicable to everyone. In response to the question posed to him about his career he responded that thats how life should be, ups and downs - 'because a flat line means your dead...' I never considered life in that context because we all have our good and bad times and the ebb and flows of life. I guess I'll take a rocky road any time if it means I'm still kicking. Here's to the ups and downs and living in 2012!

Adulthood

"Adulthood is defined by the willingness to accept full responsibility for where you are at in life; no longer blaming others or circumstances." -Joe Westbrook
Not sure who Joe is but he's a smart man. Love this quote.

Team Smiling Happy Faces

At Pure Bikram Austin I only take classes at the Cedar Park Studio. My reasoning is more because its conveniently located near my house than anything else. If it was deemed necessary I would travel to the downtown studio or other locations to take class but I'm a Pure Bikram CP at heart. Since I signed up for the 60 day challenge this round I will get a report card to track my progress, a goodie bag plus a tshirt for completing the challenge plus free class cards and all sorts of "your special" freebies, goodies and promotions. I heart Pure Bikram! As a resident yogi at the Cedar Park studio I was put on the Cedar Park team - Smiling Happy Faces with our coaches/instructors/gurus/inspiration leaders - Edy, Jackie, Brent and Nora. CPs greatest will rock this 60 day challenge with our smiling happy faces, our CP pride and our awesome team leaders. I'm really excited to fill out my report card daily to keep track of my challenge and to have a team and leaders to keep me in check and keep me inspired to walk in that door every day. So far so good. 7 days down in my challenge and I'm still feeling great.
I was a little sore yesterday but my allergy/cold symptoms are finally depleting and I'm feeling like my regular self in and out of the hot room. I would still like to live in that room. As much as they say its torture during class and its the feeling after class that keeps us coming back, for me on most days its about 90% of the classtime that I love being in there and the other 10% of Camel and Rabbit that I want to run. I know I know, its the poses you dislike the most that you need the most. I remind myself of that every moment that I'm contorted into those poses and I am convinced that someday I will like them. I used to dislike Triangle until the day Lisa made us do three sets. I've learned to love it ever since.
Both of my morning weekend classes were packed with challengers, regular weekenders and newbies. When there are a lot of people in the room, I find myself eagerly wanting to rock the front row just to insure that I can see my own two eyes in the mirror and I won't be distracted by all the other bodies. It's definitely hotter up there in row one and I love it!  I started my challenge last Monday when we got back in town after New Years. Part of me is trying to convince myself to do a double so that I can finish in 59 days and be done exactly on February 29th. That would make it a 60 classes in 59 days challenge but would bring me even more to celebrate on Leap Year! 7 classes down - 53 to go.

Birthday Presents

For all you shopping for my birthday, I'll take a pair of these in size 7... and if you really want to splurge on my behalf...these Tieks
Dreaming of some cute and comfy ballet flats on my feet...
Thanks!

Day 4: Fixed Firm Pose

BIG movement in Day 4 in the Fixed Firm Pose. I have never before been able to get my hips on the floor between my feet AKA get my butt on the floor AND lay back on my elbows. It was entirely strange that it happened last night during class. In other news it was my first class with Lisa as the instructor in what seemed like forever. I sure did miss her. She kicked my butt. It was awesome.
Some other things that are awesome:
Cuisinart Compact Portable Blending/Chopping System
Manduka PROlite Yoga Mat
Manduka eQua Hot Towel

The Hunt for the Rabied Leanderthal

So I have a story for you...
I was running late this morning to take Kendall to school. If I do not leave our house by 7:00am on the nose I hit a total mess of traffic and I am an unhappy camper as I start my day dodging angry housewives of Avery Ranch in their mini vans and large SUVs. In my last seconds running around the house getting Kendall together I let two dogs Humphrey and Izzy out back to finish their business. In my last seconds of panic to leave on time of course both dogs were not cooperating and were simply sniffing around the backyard not listening and definitely having no intention to come back inside. I frantically ran upstairs and woke Dustin up saying "Honey, I don't mean to wake you up and get you out of bed but I'm running late with Kendall and I need you to get the dogs inside. They won't listen to me." As I took my final few steps out of the house I see Dustin in his underwear yelling out the back door to get the dogs back in the house.
Fast forward an hour...I have dropped off Kendall in perfect timing...I am sitting at my desk and I receive the following Text Message from my neighbor, Melissa:
"what in the world is going on at ur casa? sorry but I saw cops and animal control and i just had to ask...hope everything is ok..."
This gave me visions of Humphrey running through our neighborhood and Dustin chasing after him in his underwear....running through my head. I mean why else would there be cops and animal control at our house. Naked man running the streets and a dog on the loose.
I immediately called Dustin and he answered, "I guess you're calling to find out whats going on, who called you?" Unlike my original vision as to the cause of all the commotion it seemed a very different story. Dustin had actually succesfully coerced the dogs back inside and was running early for work when he was leaving the house initially. As he was leaving he heard two gunshots or what he thought sounded like gunshots but could have been a vehicle backfiring. (Note: All our animals are safe.) He pulled the car out of the driveway and saw a lot of people standing around the daycare near our house and a police officer. Worried that he heard a gunshot and there's a nearby daycare he asked the cop what was going on. It turns out a rabid fox was shot in our neighbors yard. When Dustin mentioned that our dogs were out sniffing around our yard Dustin new he'd have to wait on Animal Control and take our dogs for precautionary Rabies Boosters. A female rabid fox that may have baby rabid foxes in our backyard was not how we imagined the morning ending up. What was an early to work morning for Dustin turned into a long chat with the cops and animal control setting up traps in our backyard and a visit to the vet with Humphrey and Izz.
Best part of the story is that my vision of what might have happened when I received the initial text had a unique connection to a funnier and true "husband in his underwear" story. If you remember that story then you'll appreciate the fact that the cop that Dustin chatted with all morning was the same cop that pulled him over that night. He recognized Dustin and let him know that the story provided much fodder for the force but was not the weirdest thing to ever happen to them!
Oh the life of a Leanderthal...

Yoga is Medicine

Observations after Day 3:
Yoga is medically necessary for my health and wellbeing. Mind and body. Allergies be damned when I'm in the hot room. Only place I feel any relief. Can I live there?

Reflection and Change

Its always the end of the year when we all reflect on our lives. Where we were a year ago compared to the current moment. Where we hoped we'd be. Our successes. Our failures. Our make do with what we got. Ringing in the new year is always about resolutions to make modifications in our lives to better ourselves in some way. This year I'm going all in on change. Not that I don't like my life where I'm at or the modifications I made in 2011. I'm looking forward to 2012 as the year of change - body, mind, heart and soul -- they're all in on this. I started another 60 in 60 challenge as of Monday and I'm looking forward to another round of Bikram, this time with teams, goals, report cards and a whole lot of support. My last challenge I did on a whim by myself to prove that I could. This time its about change. Change in my body, Change in my habits, Change in my outlook, Change in my attitude, Change in my aptitude to forgive myself and others, Change in loving myself for all that I am able to accomplish. It's going to be a real soul searcher for the next 60 days and I am looking forward with eyes open, breathing normal. The countdown is on! 2 classes down...58 to go...
"Give me 60 Days and I'll change your life" - Bikram Choudhury