First Snowfall and No Socks

I’d hoped today that by wearing flats without socks and a ¾ sleeve blazer that Mother Nature would think it was still gorgeous fall weather and we would miss out on the pre-winter blues. Sadly though – it didn’t work. I ended up being cold all day while I looked out the windows watching the snow fall. It would have been much more enjoyable had I been at home snuggled up under a blanket with sweats on and a hot cup of coffee in my hand, but we can’t always have everything we want. Sad day.

Once again I’ve been a terrible blogger. No posts since before Halloween?? For shame. And so much has happened since then! Yuck. I need to write more. Since starting my new job two and a half months ago, I’ve learned a lot and gotten to do a lot of fun things. I’ve set travel arrangements for managers, become a master at setting up Friday lunch menus, and to add to my list of awesome things I get to do at work – I get to play with puppies at work. A few weeks ago, we had Dog Day at work. Anyone who had a dog could bring them in for the day and then we went to Three Dog Bakery to get them some treats. That was one of the best days ever. I got ZERO things done that day. It was awesome. We had around 20 dogs there that day – anywhere from a Lassie dog to a Great Dane puppy AND full grown monster. There was a fat bulldog that had the face only a mother could love – and the softest little Australian Sheepdog with the biggest feet ever. I love dogs. So much. That day was fantastic and I cannot WAIT for next year.

And to follow up with the cuteness of dogs, was the awkwardness of an office Halloween party. Our theme at the office was Saturday Night Live. There was plenty of creativity – mostly the Ambiguously Gay Duo (so inappropriate and so awesome all at once) and some not so creative – like myself. I decided on being Tina Fey during Weekend Update – which basically involved me putting a black blazer on and wearing my glasses. I didn’t win any prizes for that one. Oh well – it was fun seeing everyone take the stuff so seriously. Definitely a fun environment.

One more fun thing at work – was a volunteering day. Each year we get 8 hours of volunteer time where we can go with some of our coworkers and volunteer somewhere. I hadn’t had any accrued yet so I went over to Animal Lifeline to play with kittens for the afternoon. It put me in such a good mood. Playing with 6 week old kittens is one of the best things EVER. They’re so cute and cuddly and playful and their claws don’t hurt yet. And then I got to see some of the older cats who were special need animals. Those made me SO SAD and I wanted to take each one home with me. However I don’t think Toby would have appreciated that so much. He was already mad at me when I came home smelling like dogs, I’m sure he would have just FLIPPED if I brought home a baby kitten for him to play with.

Other fun things since November started… let’s see. More yoga – and lots of it. More lunchtime sculpt classes where I can die in 45 minutes – but such a good workout I just can’t stop going. Such a great way to detoxify your body – I love the way I feel when I’m done, even if during the class I feel like crying and throwing up (not necessarily in that order.) Since I’m taking a hiatus from Kosama for a few months (save some money and utilize my free gym and yoga memberships) I’m taking some time to explore some fitness classes and do lots of yoga. I really want to better my practice so going multiple times a week is really helpful. Plus I have an undercover yogi giving me tips whenever he can. And for that – I thank you J

October’s book club was a little different than normal. Rather than having a Wednesday night meeting (per usual) we decided to have it on a Friday night. That way we wouldn’t have to worry about getting home at a decent time for work in the morning – even though the small group of us that went out all had to be up early the next day. We started out with dinner and drinks at Zimm’s and discussed the book – a little bit, mostly it was just chatter – and then headed to Vaudeville Mews for a show. Which was AWESOME. I love live bands – especially bands of friends. These shows were FANTASTIC and I’ll totally go back and see them again. November/December’s book club will be back to normal – with a little something extra. First off – we’ll be reading Orange is the New Black, which I’m SUPER excited about. It’s a true story made into a series on Netflix and I love EVERYTHING about it. The characters, the premise – everything. So if you haven’t watched it yet, DO IT. You won’t regret it. But then on top of the awesome book choice, we’ll also be doing a White Elephant book exchange type thing. It will be fun to see what everyone’s favorite book is – and why they decided to share it with everyone. Hooray for book club fun! And actually – I think this will be the one year anniversary of book club. SO FUN! I love it.

I got to help celebrate some love this weekend – my cousin married his awesome wife on Saturday. Everything about it was perfect – especially the 11 minute ceremony. People were gorgous, the food was wonderful, and the scenery was fantastic. I hadn’t seen a true “first look” before, but seeing my cousin lock eyes with his soon-to-be-wife for the first time as she walked down the aisle made me nearly burst into tears. I LOVE love like that. It’s gorgeous. It was a family filled weekend too – it’s nice to see family more often than just at holidays. A surprisingly fun, exhausting weekend with family was something I needed.

While strengthening my practice, I’ve learned a lot during all this yoga. I feel setting an intention is important and I’m glad we do that at the beginning of each practice. It helps clear your mind of all the miniscule, unimportant details and gets you out of your own head. Sometimes I’ll have a bad day or I won’t be feeling well, but then once I get into class and get concentrating and bettering myself – I feel a million times better. Per my undercover yogi, he says “the things that don’t serve you should not capture your attention.” Basically – don’t waste your moments worrying about those things, instead focus your attention to those that do.

“Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions.”

As I grow my practice, this is my mantra. Not only in yoga, but I life as well. Don’t worry about what other people are doing, just worry about yourself. If you’re not happy – change something. Don’t dwell, don’t meddle. Be happy. Do what you need to do to ensure you are happy.

In other happiness notes – I found a list of nice sounds. And to go along with these nice sounds, I made my own list of nice smells.

Nice Sounds: turning book pages, keys of a type writer, skate blades on ice, sleepy voices, crackling fire, train whistles, when you hear a smile in someone’s voice.

Nice Smells: new book smell, a freshly blown out candle, fall, winter, sleep, someone’s scent mixed with a shower, freshly washed laundry.

There’s some happy thoughts for your senses – enjoy the rest of your Monday night!

Love love,

Me.