Stoke Your Soul

Good morning!

I've calmed down since my last post...eeek.

I went on a mini-vacation Fri/Sat to visit one of my closest friends an hour and a half away. We met (at my current office) 6 years ago (or so). She recently took a job elsewhere and moved farther up the line/away from me :(

Friday night we ate at a yummy pizza place filled with hippies and families. The lively atmosphere, giant stone-oven, natural/organic ingredients and beers draws the crowd. We had a good talk over a sausage/mushroom/kalamata olive flatbread. My friend enjoyed an IPA and Magic Hat #9 (she'd never had MH before! I recommended that one from my drinking days that happened to take place mostly in VT). Saturday we hit some shops and a nail salon to get (much needed, in my case) pedicures. My current color? Boathouse: a bright, orangey/pink color sure to add some energy to these rainy days of late.

And now it's Sunday and I'm waking up with my coffee, boyfriend, and cat. What to do today? Organize? Cook? Library? I've done my share of shopping these past couple weekends. Though I need new clothes, especially as a new season falls upon us, I have started to feel a little loose when it comes to budgeting. Is it a stress outlet? Is it a by product of changing my environment and so wanting to really go head first into change?

Whatever it is, so be it...but how do I get back to center?

Meditation! This morning, as my bf goes off to church I will sit down, get quiet, and go inside! It's a bit gloomy outside, which may limit any sort of walking meditation I'd want to engage in today, so the eyes closed, legs crossed (or in my case, sitting on a yoga block) version will do!

Many blessings for your Sunday!

Vacation Hater (Pity Post)

If one more person posts about their vacation plans, I'm going to scream!

Beware: this post is a serious whine fest:

I've never needed a vacation like I need one now, and it totally (in a jealous, bratty kind of way) pains me to hear about everyone else's plans to go tropical/mountain bound/cruising, wish them a fabulous time, and see the tans when they get back.
You know how it is. I know everyone needs a vacation as bad as I do, and we all work our butts off. It's a question of how long I can hang on for while they all let go...

Mind you, I do have Bhakti Fest coming up this Fall. I didn't forget. I know I need to be patient and wait my turn. I'm quite sick of 'waiting my turn', however. This insignificant example of waiting for my vacation is just representative, I suppose, of 'waiting' for other things in my life. It's like playing duck, duck, goose, and never getting to be the goose.

And, through my complaints, I do realize that I'm pretty damn lucky to be able to go on vacation at all. Even a day OFF is a vacation enough; I don't mean that like, I need a trip or a beach or a tan, I just need OUT of the daily grind for a few days.

Ugh. I'm so cranky. Grad school is k-i-l-l-i-n-g me.

See you at BhaktiFest!

Bought our tickets to BhaktiFest 2011 last night!! Let the pre-vacation excitement begin! I love the time leading up to a vacation...full of planning and anticipating and wondering and imagining.

This will be our first time at the festival, after wanting to be part of it last year but having other responsibilities to focus on at the time. We have had more time too, to save up a little bit of money to help us fund it along the way, instead of plopping down a nice chunk all at once.

I'm so excited to spend four days in the desert of California with my honey and 1,000 other devoted yogis! LOL. Good music, good yoga, good sun, good food, and good people!

All the kirtan artists we love will be there, including Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, Wah!, Dave Stringer, David Newman, Govindas and Radha, etc, etc. See you at BhaktiFest!

Jai Ma!

Hi, it's been like, 8 years since I've posted.

The holidays are over!! I like the holidays, but once they're behind me and a new year is upon me, I am often glad that we're through for a while, and routine returns.

School starts this week (omg) and my client hours slug along. What a dip I've experienced! Between the holidays and the massive snowfalls we've had (love!), client hours have come to somewhat of a standstill. Ruh roh. Hopefully they'll pick up again as the new year rolls in and I'll be more-on-my-way to graduation. THIS YEAR I will be a graduate school graduate, assuming all goes well. I can't believe I started this journey two years ago and am already in my final year.

My latest 'thing' is Yogaglo. Man, am I into it right now! It's a website that posts classes recorded in a California studio - and for a low price per month ($18!) I can do all the yoga I want! I've been wanting to create a home practice while really loving the class atmosphere; this seems like a really nice meet-you-in-the-middle practice. Lots of classes to choose from, with varying levels, styles, uses, lengths, and teachers.

I'm a Happy Baby!

On the calendar for 2011-BhaktiFest, Joshua Tree, California, September!!

Into the bhakti, into the bhav!

December

Good morning!

It's Sunday morning and I'm waking up slowly. We had a great time at a holiday party with all my Groovy UV's last night, our partners, and all the tinies! Between 5 of us college friends and our partners, there are 7 little ones, and they could all win for cutest kid on the planet. The newest addition to the group is Marion, who is 3 months old and doing great :)

My sister made stromboli (that was gone in seconds), other additions to the table were roasted chicken and potatoes, pulled pork, chicken wings and wasabi sauce, salad, mashed sweet potatoes (we brought those. Mix them with a bunch of sharp cheddar...so good), oh and some really tasty cornbread muffins. The host's 'signature cocktail' was a pomegranate martini, complete with seeds garnishing the bottom of the glass. Even my virgin one was awesome :)

We...didn't go hungry.

The plan is to do this every year. Can't believe it's taken us ten years to get this going!

Spent yesterday morning working on a paper for my class next weekend. Still have a few pages/ideas to go. That should happen today, along with some errands/Christmas prep.

I really love this time of year.

Next year, I will REALLY love this time of year, because I will be DONE, yes DONE, with school.

Come, they told me, ba rum pum pum pum....

Or new born kind to see, ba rum pum pum pum!

Mid November Check In

Again, it's been a while.

We're coming up on the end of another year! Come January, I'll be in my last year of grad school :)
6 months into my clinical sequence, I think I may be adjusting to the...hecticity (! Wow. See what's happened to my brain?) I feel the tiniest bit refreshed, surprisingly...since nothing has changed regarding my schedule. Perhaps it's the new, crisp season ahead, and the holidays upon us.

I watched an old, good friend get married this past weekend, which may have revived me, in a way. Nothing like the celebration of love to restart the heart! My own honey has been wonderful as I've crashed my way through grad school. Always a supportive presence, always watching out for me. He's taught me lots of things, but right now, one of the most important things he's taught me is...about the importance of sleep! Totally valuable lesson for me these days.

Speaking of sleep....it's alread 9:30 and I still have a few things to get to before climbing in.
Goodnight!

I PASSED!