Go w/ The Flow

I’m. Exhausted. For me, wedding season is DONE. I finished up the last of my bridesmaidly (that’s a word now) duties this weekend and it took everything out of me. Two days of GO GO GO just wore me out. And it wasn’t even MY wedding! Although after all the weddings I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of or invited to, it’s giving me a clearer vision of what I want for my OWN wedding. Which isn’t any time soon – but at least I have a vision.

And now I can move on and clear my head of wedding things – and open my mind to what’s upcoming. Just over ONE WEEK and I will be in beautiful Colorado – wandering. And dudes – I cannot WAIT. I’m so ready to be yanked from my comfort zone, forced to try something new, and spend my time with complete strangers. Although this trip starts out with a long ass drive, the destination is worth it. I just checked the weather, and when we arrive next Wednesday, it will be 85 and sunny. I assume their 85 and sunny will be slightly different than Iowa’s 85 and sunny… but even if it’s not – IT’S GOING TO BE SO AWESOME. 

After receiving an email a couple weeks ago with a list of things to pack, I immediately wanted to start packing. I wanted to leave work, pack my suitcase full of spandex, and get on the road. Yet here I am… not in Colorado yet. Mostly because in the email it also talked about the theme nights… which I need to figure out what to bring for those. One night we wear white – because white signifies newness, which is how we’ll be feeling after that first day of practice. The second night is some sort of “galactic” night – and if I had an old dance costume with fireworks on it then I would be set… however that was from high school and that just won’t work these days. The last night is 70s night. And the email specifically said “take off your yoga pants and skinnies and find something wide legged.” So I’ll be traveling all over the place this week in search of something for all these themes. And I’ve also got a red, white and blue headband for the 4^th – so there’s that. Because you can never have too much patriotism yeah? They’re busing us out on the 4^th to watch the fireworks – it’s going to be glorious. As much soul opening that will be happening throughout these few days, I won’t be surprised if a few tears seep out.

Speaking of tears and soul opening, last night there was a community wide yoga event at Jasper Winery which brought in Go w/ the Flow masters Ben and Tori. If you get a minute you should hop on over to www.gowtheflow.org and watch their videos. You will be AMAZED. The way it works is this: Tori leads you in a practice of her own making while Ben plays some music during this time. The catch: they don’t know what our flow will be until we start. They  go with the flow to find what the group is liking, doing, etc. GO W/ THE FLOW is an immersive collision of music and movement that is designed to get you out of your head and into your breath. And they were KILLING IT last night. I’m sore today, but I felt so relaxed when I was done. The roomie and I were talking about how great we felt when we were done – and how in just a little over a week, we would feel like this. ALL. DAY. LONG. I could have done this flow for HOURS and never gotten tired of it. I connected with other yogis while we were there, I held un-awkward, constant eye contact with an acquaintance for a few minutes and was nearly kicked in the face by the person in front of me. And I wasn’t annoyed by any of it. I loved ALL of it.

Prior to starting our practice, I was just sitting on my mat looking around at everyone there. I got the lecture of “you can’t judge people at yoga, that’s bad juju” as I was surveying the other attendees – but it wasn’t what I was doing at all (contrary to popular belief.) I was just looking at how yoga doesn’t CARE about who’s there. Anyone and everyone can do yoga. It doesn’t matter what you wear, what size you are, who you came with, or your level. Yoga does not judge. I have a competitive streak in me – so I always want to be “better” than someone next to me in their postures. But that’s not what yoga is about. Yoga is about being you. Because wherever you are in your practice, in life, is where you’re supposed to be. 

I keep toying with the idea of teacher training – I just don’t know if it’s for me. I don’t know if I would be an instructor, or if I would just use that time to grow my own practice. I know that I’ve bettered my practice just by my attendance to up level classes and the up level postures. Sometimes my balance is amazing and I can stay in half-moon pose or airplane without any issues. Other days I can barely get my crow flying. But I’m growing. Falling is growing. (I stole that from my most favorite yogi.)

As far as our 20/30 challenge we’ve been partaking in with ourselves, I’m currently at 12 classes for the month… 8 to go in the next week. Eek! I’m going to do my best to not miss it by ONE like I did the last time. How disappointing. But my plan is for a double duty of om-iness on Saturday, starting with Yoga in the Park and then another class with my favorite yogi instructor. Join me for one of those… or both! They’re both free and you just can’t push past FREE.

I’m out for the day kids – have a good one. And remember – falling is growing. Don’t be afraid to fall or fail… it will only make you grow stronger.

Xoxo.

S

Let the Roadtrip Countdown Begin

It’s happening you guys. I’m going to a yoga retreat for four days and I may come back a hippie. I’m going to be relaxed and happy and I cannot WAIT. I will be spending almost a week in beautiful Colorado – a place I’ve been numerous times, but never in the summer. I know how gorgeous it can be at the top of a mountain with pure, white snow everywhere – but I’ve never been there when the sun is shining, the snow has melted, and the scenery has been cut wide open. I’m so giddy at the thought of doing a sunrise hike through the mountains, a meditation and practice that I can hardly stand it. Ever since we purchased our tickets and set up our itineraries, it’s been on my mind constantly. Then we got the hotel booked. I was originally thinking how AWESOME it would be to camp while we were there and really be WITH nature, but then the oh-so wise roomie politely suggested that a hotel would probably be the better deal – since we’ll be doing upwards of 3 yoga practices per day for four days. We’re going to want beds. Fair enough – I like your logic. I’d rather sleep in a bed than the ground after almost 5 hours of yoga. Ouch. And then it got for real REAL last night when we booked the rental car. The drive will be a test for sure – 13+ hours in the car together… the most we’ve done is about 3-4 hours to Okoboji, Kansas City and Minnesota. So this will definitely be a true test. And if we make it the 4.5 hours through Nebraska – the rest will be CAKE. Hopefully.

Remember that 20/30 challenge we started on June 1^st? We have been doing a pretty poor job of making that happen. So far I’m 6/20… not good. Those 6 am classes need to start happening more. I know how awesome early morning workouts are… but getting there is the hard part. I’ll make it there consistently one of these days. The classes that I HAVE been making it to though – whoa. I feel cleansed, happy, calm – exactly how I would love to feel every single DAY. Sure I’ve sweat out everything I’ve ingested that day – but it’s so worth it. I’m growing and strengthening my practice – both with the basic poses I’ve been doing for a long time, as well as moving into more advanced poses that really push the limits of my balance and flexibility. And it’s amazing. My muscles are beginning to stretch and lengthen and I’m waiting for my core to strengthen – that’s taking a little bit of extra work. But the best part is that I come out of class with a huge smile on my face. My pupils are dilated and I feel a little nauseous, but I’m happy. Worth it.

I had a really rough week last week as far as body image goes. And I hate when that happens. Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and think “damn girl you look GOOD” and other times I take a look and think “what the f.” I was breaking out, bloated, and just blah looking. I thought that once I was an adult this wasn’t going to happen? Lame. After complaining to my running/book club buddy, I got a pretty good pick-me-up/pep talk. I needed it. What an awful feeling to have – thinking that you look like garbage. Yuck. After throwing a mini temper tantrum last Friday prior to Winefest (nothing I had in my closet looked good on me) I laid down for a little 10 minute nap and woke up grouchy. And of course – I snap at someone I love. I was just being a brat – I knew it, he knew it – but it happened. Then he made me smile. I told him that nothing looked good on me and I felt blah. He told me I looked beautiful. Okay fine – I’ll take it. And then I had some wine and was much better off. 

I’ve seen a lot of negativity lately – but I’ve also seen and heard some amazing positivity. A book club buddy and newlywed told me about a book she just finished up called 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works by Dan Harris. I ran across this book after reading The Happiness Project for book club – and of course I was then on a journey of self-help. I followed that up with Start Something That Matters and got about halfway through Delivering Happiness before I needed to return it to the library. There’s nothing wrong with a little self-help every once in a while. Especially when it makes you grow. A little extra gray matter never hurt anyway – especially when you get laugh lines in the process. Which btw – I LOVE laugh lines. They’re probably one of my favorite things about the human face. It shows that you’re not a tight ass and want to have fun. And that you’re HAPPY – because being happy is probably the BEST part of being alive. 

In other news, I am now a proud adoptive mother of FOUR plants. For those of you who know me at all, know that I have a very prominent black thumb. So we’ll see how this plays out. I rescued a sad plant from the office a couple weeks ago, and then yesterday we received a housewarming gift from our landlord. Said housewarming gift included three baby plants and some other swag from surrounding businesses. I’m totally pumped to keep these babies alive – however with my track record, I’m a little nervous. I don’t even know what these plants are! So I’m going to google “green house plants” and take a look at the pictures. Then I’m going to google “how do I keep this thing alive” and go from there. After work today a trip to Earl May/Menards/Home Depot/Lowe’s to find some little pots and things should be fun – maybe some dirt? I don’t know how these things work. It’s a miracle Toby has lasted as long as he has. Which btw – he will be having a birthday soon! Big guy will be 7 this summer! How adorable.

Welp – it’s time to finish this morning off. It’s Friday y’all – enjoy it and enjoy your weekend.

I plan on having a celebratory beer (or four) at Exile tomorrow after my race – because the medal we receive doubles as a bottle opener – WHAT. Guess I’ll take it.

Peace out homies.

S

Books = Happiness. Fact.

I’ve been failing so hard at this blog lately. I could give you all my usual excuses – “I’m busy, I don’t have time, I work too much.” But in reality – although I have been crazy busy – I just haven’t felt creative. Plus I’ve been watching a lot of Netflix (Scandal, OITNB, Arrested Development) and other garbage TV shows (Party Down South, Real World: Free Agents, WWE Divas). I’ve been (trying) to read more – I’ve been terrible at that lately too – but I’ve made my way through a couple book club books and some free reading books as well. (That makes it sound like I’m in 4^th grade and we have “silent reading time” to read our free reading book. And let’s be real – wasn’t that the BEST time of the day? Maybe just for me? Yeah? Well all right then.) As my mama told me time and time again, a poor excuse is better than no excuse – and so that’s my excuse. A lack of creativity, “busy schedule,” and just the fact that I didn’t WANT to sit down and write.

I just started reading The Paris Wife by Paula McClain and it’s pretty amazing. It’s one I’d seen at Target EVERY single time I went and just kept thinking that I should read it. This is a story about Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley. I’ll be honest with you – although I’ve read some Hemingway, I knew ZERO things about the man other than “Romantic? Hemingway? He was an abusive, alcoholic misogynist who squandered half of his life hanging around Picasso trying to nail his leftovers.” Thanks Kat Stratford for opening up my eyes to literature I only wish I knew about sooner. (That was a quote from 10 Things I Hate About You… btw.) As I continue to read, I can tell that to be very true. It’s a really intriguing book – seeing the POV from both Hadley and Ernest… and damn if I don’t love me some 1920s history. When I saw this book at the Half Price Bookstore, I knew it was fate. It was only $5.99 so I pretty much HAD to get it. Plus I had a gift card… so it was essentially free. Logic. And who doesn’t love a free book?!

Side note – have you seen the abundance of Little Free Libraries popping up all over? This is probably one of the best things EVER… when I have a house (someday) there will be one in my front yard – write that down, roomie. If you don’t know what these are, go for a walk/run along Grand Avenue in Des Moines… between 42^nd Street and Polk Blvd. There’s one on the south side of the street and every time my running buddy and I go by it, I just want to stop and take a look inside, or bring a book of my own back to drop off. (Visit their website for more information… and find one near you! http://littlefreelibrary.org/)  It’s such a great idea – and such a different way to get your friends, neighbors and also complete strangers to read. I love borrowing books, sharing books, library books, new books, old books, e-books, ALL books. In all reality, I’m pretty much Belle from Beauty and the Beast (sans the Beast… although at times the roomie can be pretty beast-like… KIDDING!!) with her love of books. You can escape to so many different places, be so many different people, and learn so many things that you’d never know if you’d never opened up a book.

“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.”

I just took a quick trip through the “Happiness” board on my Pinterest page (you can never have too MUCH happiness) and there seems to be an abundance of bookish things on this page. Quotes, pictures, lists – because all things “book” make me happy. Walking into a book store, a library, alphabetizing my own book shelf, looking at friends’ book shelves – it’s just an amazing thing. I am so fortunate that I was a reader at a young age – and never STOPPED reading. Although I was told once that I should “get a new hobby” when I said that reading was one of my hobbies, I’ve never lost that. I love getting lost in a book – in the relationships with the characters, the scenery, the emotions – I’ve read many books in a day, mostly because I cannot put them down and want to see just what happens NEXT. Sometimes books make me cry, even if they aren’t sad. Sometimes I get angry – but I keep reading because I want to see that person “get theirs.” I could talk books ALL. DAMN. DAY. And that doesn’t embarrass me at all. I love that I’ve found a great group of girls who love books and reading as much as I do. This book club was one of the best things I’ve done and I am SO GLAD that I finally did it. Book clubs aren’t dorky you guys – they’re awesome. 

That being said – book club happens the week after I get back from my hippie vacation in Colorado. Which also excites me SO MUCH. Four days of yoga, outdoor activities and sun – what could HONESTLY be better? I’ll get to see the fireworks on the 4^th over the Rocky Mountains, go for a sunrise hike/meditation/yoga practice on my last morning there, I will get to spend four days with people I don’t know – and that scares me and excites me all at once. As of right now, I will know my road trip buddy/roomie, and one of the instructors. That’s it. Very out of my comfort zone – and it’s going to be GREAT. I hope to come back from Colorado as a new woman. One who has grown, learned, and bettered herself while “wandering” to find herself. 

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”

Tonight I’ll be a little more in my comfort zone – Sips and the City at the Historical Building tonight. Wine and friends and snacks and wine and friends. Just a few of my favorite things. Plus – the last time I was in the Historical Building was for a prom my junior year of high school. Slow dancing near the wooly mammoth was about as far from “romantic” as you could get. Maybe the me from 10 years post-prom (barf) will appreciate it a little more. 

Well kids – I think that’s all for me today. It’s Friday, it’s hot out, and I’m in a good mood. I’ve been listening to Sam Smith on Pandora today and this crooner is getting into my SOUL. I had Kona coffee with my fruitful breakfast and am ready to enjoy the day. You should do the same.

Love and hugs from me to you,

S