Summer

Summer of 2016 is going well.

There have been a lot of meals outside. There was Lobster Fest 2016 in Maine with the family. We've been enjoying campfires and just hanging out. I joined a new gym and I've been really soaking up the pool, new yoga classes, barre classes, and Zumba.

Summer really used to be my least favorite season. Then in 2002 we got Central Air. :) Since then I don't hate summer but rather I embrace it.

I don't hike as much but there have been some memorable trips to the woods. This coming weekend we'll be in Maine and I hope to hike each morning. We're taking Friday off so that should be nice and relaxing. I'm looking forward to peace and quiet for a few days. Tyler's Birthday is Friday and on Thursday night we're doing dinner with friends (gotta love a BYOB restaurant).

What are your plans for the rest of the summer? Now I know that Halloween candy is out in stores but it's just too far off to think about. Corn just came into season in MA and we went blueberry picking earlier this month (6 pounds of berries!!).

Did you used to dislike summer too or were you always a summer person?

Long but not forgotten!

Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this space. As it turns out I'm heading back to Asheville, NC this weekend for a girl's weekend with a friend. :)

I made it back to Kripalu in February (also with a friend) and that was amazing as usual. I now try to go there once per year. It has become such a part of me, my yoga practice, and my winter.

Our winter here in New England was mild so I only skied two weekends (in NH and also my B'day weekend in Dixmont, ME). I did not ice skate at all and hardly snowshoed. I snowmobiled one weekend only.

This May we made it down to Orlando FL to see a Space X launch! We went to Universal Studios (Harry Potter wooo!!) and EPCOT (drink around the World, yo). We spent several days in Cocoa Beach and also visited a friend in Vero Beach that drove up to meet us. That was heaven...the beach was amazing and we rented an umbrella and two comfortable chairs right from our hotel in Cocoa Beach. I would totally do that again. There was a path to the beach right from our hotel.

We've been still going to Maine every other weekend and we're now co-residents with Maine and MA. Work travel has been minimal this year which is fine (I hope to do more next year). We're planning on going to Banff Canada in 2017 (September).

We are still renting out our lake house in Maine (if you are ever interested drop me a line!). We'll be there with the family in July 4.

I'm still LOVING Stitch Fix. :) Getting a ton of compliments on my SF clothes and shoes. It's so easy and I really love my stylist so much.

Off to see Dolly Parton with a friend tomorrow! Whoo hoo!

Dreaming of other places...

It happens every January. I look at my calendar on my office wall with all of my work trips and I daydream. I daydream about relaxing in a wine bar or walking on the beach. I think about how nice it is to work with my students in person (and how much easier). I think about discovering new yoga studios and I think (and stress) about conferences.

I always tack on some extra time and this time, I'm tacking on some time staying on the beach here. February is going to be better than January (although my Birthday weekend always rocks). January has been "clogged" with being sick, applying for a PhD program (whatttt?) and just drama.

It has not been filled with yoga although I did get to ski and snowshoe (a blast!). I did get to hike when the snow melted.

I just want to wake up tomorrow and feel well. I want to schedule a bunch of yoga classes, my cooking class (gift card from Mom & Dad for Sur La Table's cooking classes). I just want to put on my "soft pants" (as we call them in my house) and show up at my February yoga retreat (scheduled) and yell (softly) "I'm here, I'm finally here." I want to get off that plane in California and say, "I'm back, I've missed you, I'm back."

I want to sit on my yoga mat and just cry because I've missed the studio this past week. I've missed the quiet. I've missed the sweating, the good workout and I've missed...all of it. I've missed cardio time with a good podcast playing. I've missed waking up in the morning feeling refreshed.

I'm ready to have a great B'day weekend, feel better but most of all I'm looking forward to February. I want to get off that plane in CA and at that yoga retreat and have someone say: "Welcome, we've been waiting for you."

Seeing Through the Darkness

When you are recovering from an illness it's hard to see the other side. Shout out to my husband who has a nasty cold and fever today. :(

I was thinking this the other day when I was skiing by a neighbor's house (before the plow came) and he was out there doing his normal snow removal tasks. He had broken his leg really badly this past fall (surgery, hospital stay) and there he is out in the snow with his snow goggles on!

For me personally I'm still not up for Zumba but I've been able to x-country ski, snowshoe, and do yoga. I've done some cardio too and I know I can run 3 miles on the elliptical. It's just frustrating to get home at 5pm and be too exhausted to hit the gym. That's not "normal" for me. Normally I get home at 5pm, hit the gym at 6:30 and get home at 7:45 and eat dinner at 8:30. That's no longer my life or at least it's not right now. I'm trying hard to stick to my doctor's advice of getting up a 1/2 hour earlier to ease into the day (and going to bed 1/2 hour earlier). It worked for about 2 weeks.

The human body is a funny thing. You just take for granted the routine for years and years and years. I recently watched a documentary that discussed alternatives for cancer care (that actually work). It was pretty neat. The sad thing was it showed doctor's that stood behind these treatments were fired and had their lives destroyed. When I'm feeling sick I load up on raw honey, ginger, garlic, and green tea. When I got out of the hospital and 10 days on antibiotics wrecked my immune system I loaded up on probiotic foods and fermented foods. Even now, I can't get enough raw ginger fermented carrots, kraut, and kimchi.

I've also lost all patience for family members, friends, and colleagues that just seem to forget that it was not that long ago where I was out of work for 2 weeks. Out sick. Fighting a nasty infection. I mean, I got cards and letters and notes and an edible arrangement and flowers. Right before Christmas I had to deal with work drama, and it continues (in a more mild format). Just yesterday I felt like family members 100% forgot. I don't want to have to jump up and down and say "look at me, I'm trying so hard, I'm back to work, I'm back to yoga, I'm back to eating healthy and sleeping well."

Days like yesterday I wanted to bonk a few people over the head and say, "well, it's clear you forgot that I just went through a REALLY rough time." Humans quickly forget. Humans are cruel to each other. I've learned a lot through my yoga practice and lately I'm trying to incorporate more of that into my life. I need to distance myself from people that are cruel, shallow, and frankly not worth any of my time. I never forget when a friend has surgery, breaks a leg, misses work for a time. I don't hop all over them a few months later and act like an idiot.

I've learned a lot about humankind these past few months. Time to live and recover fully and strive to do better in 2014.

Ye Old Bucket List

I decided it was time to start keeping track of some sort of Bucket List. It's a short list at this point. This is separate from a travel wish list (that's ever changing and evolving).

Here's list item #1: Go on a National Geographic Expedition to the Galapagos Islands.

#2: Go to a spa/yoga retreat. No, not one where you drink your own pee (as horrifyingly described in Yoga Bitch). Here's some yoga retreats that are in Europe and as far as I can tell...no weird stuff going on.

#3 Learn how to paddle board. This would not work at our lakehouse in Maine except in the wee hours of the morning. There are places in Maine to learn this sport though. Since this is a bucket list item I should say it also includes perfecting the art of paddle boarding and buying my own equipment.

#4 take a week-long cooking class in Tuscany.

The travel wish list, in no particular order is:

-Peru
-Cruise of the Roman Empire (Holland America). 10-day cruise.
-Germany
-New Zealand/ Australia
-Hawaii
-Brazil (Sao Paulo in particular intrigues me).
-France (countryside)
-Ireland & England (we've done Scotland and loved it)
-Scandinavia (all of it, Iceland of course has been amazing but I'd like to see the rest of the countries).

What's your bucket list or travel wish list? Do you already know how to paddle board? You have to admit, my #1 item is pretty darn unique.

Reverb12: Day 20: Coping

Day 20: How are you coping with this time of year? Pressures at work regarding year-end deadlines, review season for those of you that are managers, holidays, parties, sad news on the news...

Well first I'll say that I'm coping well but not super well. I've skipped a lot of nights at the gym or at the yoga studio when I need it the most. I've been using any and all excuses to get together with friends and drink wine or beer. I've been looking longingly at a brown landscape wishing for snow. Mostly I've been pretty damn grumpy since Friday the 14th which is why I took nearly a week off from Reverb12.

I know about all of the coping tactics. The meditation. The breathing. The reading and staying off the Internet. The shopping online and avoiding the mall, crowds, and traffic. To tell you the truth I pretty much ran out of patience this past weekend. I got so sick of just everything...traffic, people, being nice on the phone. I had a bit of a protest and spent the entire weekend not even turning on the news.

Tonight I'm heading back to the yoga mat and tomorrow instead of attending an End of the World Party I'm going to Zumba. I'm hoping this sets the mood for a weekend of baking, family, friends, Christmas, etc. in a better way. Baking gingerbread did perk me up this week as well as a beer & pizza event last night with Massachusetts Girls Pint Out in Kenmore Square (found a meter right there...can you imagine?). I'll be baking some orange coconut cookies this weekend and meyer lemon cake on Monday. As usual I expect to be eating pork roast and roasted veggies on Christmas Eve.

Hopefully my few days of not coping well are coming to an end.


How are you coping? I'd love to hear from you.

What I'm Thankful For

I've really been enjoying the posts from friend's about what they are thankful for. Some are daily posts. Others are blog posts.

After a wonderful family Thanksgiving I figured I'd post what I'm thankful for during this time of year. No matter how big or small the things on your own list are, each are important in their own way.

• Snowdays. I just read a post from a friend that took around 2 hours to drive to work in the snow this morning. Not only was that dangerous but she had no choice (she's the only one at work who does her job). My work closes when the weather is bad (the recent hurricane is one example). They put employee safety first.
  
• I'm done with my holiday shopping. I did it online and supported small businesses with my purchases. I also got a handful of stuff made right here in the USA. I also did not step foot in a mall to complete my shopping (could not find a parking spot if you want to know the truth there). So this list item now equals more time to bake, spend with friends, and go to holiday parties.  

• I'm grateful to live in a place where I have a backyard and free parking. After spending time this fall in Philly, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, NYC, and Chicago I will say this is a pretty big list item. I learned a lot about urban living this fall too. For example, in places like Detroit there is a whole urban farm movement to create jobs and provide fresh food for areas that are declared food deserts. In Chicago it is super clean and there's a culture where ideas are put in motion and EVERYONE works. Even kids graduate college and go to work (not move back to their parent's house to 'find themselves'). I also observed that my own downtown (a pretty shabby often criticized downtown Framingham) is cleaner than New York City. Wayyyyy cleaner.

• My health. This is a huge one since I had several friends be diagnosed with cancer this year. I learned to try new things (ballet barre, joined a new yoga studio) and also had to keep reminding myself that good health is not to be taken for granted. 

What about you? Do you have a little bullet point list of your own? I'd love to hear it.

New Book: 'My Life in 23 Yoga Poses'

Today's Downtown Women's Club blog post led me to check out this new book by Claire Dederer.

I investigated further on Amazon and liked the first review:

"The thing I liked best about "Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses" is that Claire Dederer explains a lot about yoga without making it sound like some type of mysterious cult type pursuit. I was drawn to the book because I've been thinking for years about attending some yoga classes but somehow never seem to get around to it. Is it exercise? Is it a religion? A little bit of both? The author discusses these very questions throughout the book. Her sense of humor and sometimes irreverent remarks had me laughing, but at the same time understanding just what draws so many people into the yoga experience. Her book is as much a book about life as it is about yoga."

Although I do not take a straight yoga class (I take this wonderful class that kicks my butt called Centergy) I appreciate yoga. Centergy is made up of yoga and pilates rolled into one and set to an amazing soundtrack. I had one yoga class that I loved. It was taught by this lovely woman named Rose. It was taught in 2002 at Mass Bay Community College. Rose was the only yoga teacher I've ever had. She was well into her 60s at the time and looked amazing. To this day I tell myself "that's what you'll look like in your 60s if you keep taking Centergy or if you pick up Tai Chi again!"

Do you do yoga or some variation of yoga? Do you do Tai Chi (lovelovelove, but my new gym does not teach it). My Centergy instructor put it best the other night at the end of class (which ends with a round of applause each night) "I feel 1000% better." I agree. 1000%.