life

Tis The Season For an Aidan

26 November 2012 / aidan, life, pictures, shopping, thanksgiving

How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was really good. My favorite part, of course, was that Aidan was here. We had a LOT of fun! We hung out, we watched Christmas programs, we braved the crowds on Black Friday and did some shopping, and I got in a lot of laughing and cuddling and good times. I suck them up now because I know they will end sooner than I’m ready.

I didn’t take photos of the spread, but we had turkey that Adam had brined in a solution from the Spice House (the turkey was good on Thanksgiving, but it was AMAZING Friday night). We had stuffing, cornbread dressing (gotta have my dressing; stuffing just doesn’t do it for me), corn, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, cranberry sauce (homemade by Adam and awesome), and apple pie. Jeff and Deborah brought over a tart and some sweet potato fritters–I didn’t even get a chance to try them. Jen bought over a plate full of yummy rolls. We had sparkling blueberry juice and sparkling cranberry apple cider to drink, as well as the cranberry Sierra Mist. Everything was wonderful. We let our food digest while watching Twilight with RiffTrax before tackling the dessert. Good times.

Friday, Aidan and I went back and forth about whether or not we wanted to go out. He finally said “I want to go shopping.” He said he’d never been Black Friday shopping before and he thinks his dad won’t take him. So, we bundled up and headed on out! (And NOT to Walmart. Hell no.)

aidan and me on the way to state street
we’re waiting on the train, which came really quickly for once
so i had to rush and take this photo
that’s why i look crazy. lol.

I told him that we needed to go to shop for other people, not for him. But he talked me into getting him a stuffed Wreck It Ralph anyway. Hmph. Oh well.

We made our way to Macy’s. He didn’t really want to look at the store windows this year (Although he made sure I was OK with that. I was.). He did write his letter to Santa, though. Macy’s has a table set up every year and they donate money for every letter sent. 🙂

thinking hard.

mailed!

We made our way through Holiday Lane, which I like to do every year, but we didn’t go see Santa. I didn’t even try–figured the line would be too long, and besides, Aidan was getting hungry.

aidan and me at holiday lane
he was cranky and hungry
at least, until we made our way to the toy aisle

We also went up to see the Great Tree, which he and I called the “BASST”. Short for Big Ass Tree. But really an excuse for me to cuss. 😉

We actually had a good time shopping. We didn’t head out til around 230pm, so I figured most of the insane deal hunters would be home and sleeping. Most of the stores we went into had really cheerful workers (the ones in Old Navy seemed to be running on pure adrenaline or drugs or something) and also cheerful customers. There was only ONE store with a pissed off cashier–I didn’t take it personally though. Only one of the stores was so crowded I started to freak out, but the others were manageable. One wasn’t crowded at all.

We spent Saturday evening having a Christmas program marathon. We started with Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (where we tried to figure out what was going on with the doll on the Island of Misfit Toys), moved on to Frosty the Snowman and Frosty Returns, then plopped in another DVD and watched Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol. I could have kept going, but Aidan turned the TV off LOL.

I had so much fun with Aidan. This will be his LAST CHRISTMAS in single digit ages; he turns 10 on December 30! Hard to believe that I have a kid who’s about to be 10. Holy cow. But let me tell you why he is so amazing.

Last night, even though he’d had dinner, he decided that he wanted spaghetti. At 10:48pm. (He’s a night owl like me and on vacation time, I let him stay up.) I really didn’t want to cook that late, but I decided I’d show him how to get it started. I told him how to fill up the pot 3/4 of the way with water (he hasn’t learned fractions yet so he was like “WTF Mom”), and then he broke the noodles into the water. I added the butter and salt and oil, and he stirred the noodles. It was a team effort. I made enough for him to have a serving and a half. When I fixed his plate, I asked if he wanted everything in the pot, and he said “No.” And you know why? He told me that he wanted to make sure I got some even though he could have eaten all of it.

He is the kindest, most compassionate kid I’ve ever met, and I’m really truly hoping the teenage years don’t steal that away from him completely.

The next time I see him will be Christmas Day. 29 Days! In the meantime, I get to make Christmas. That will keep me busy and happy until then.

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Time to Rest….

21 November 2012 / happy, life, pictures, thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! It’s a day early, but I am not sure how much time I’ll have tomorrow to write. We’re hosting an early dinner this year and we’re going to have four guests. Plus, Aidan is here! I’m so happy!

It’s been a busy few days for me! (I’m sure Mommy Bags is thinking “what else is new?”) but the next few days, I will get to RELAX and enjoy the holiday with my friends and family!

It’s Aidan! No more curls!

Here’s the lowdown on what I’ve been up to since the last time I made a real update!

– I got asked to be a workshop manager at Moksha! This is a big deal, you guys. It’s a lot of responsibility, and they don’t ask just anyone. It’s a big commitment, but I accepted because I knew I had to. Five sessions a month, I’ll get to make sure the workshops are running smoothly. In return, I get great experience, more time with the master teachers, and free workshops. Plus, I get to wear a BLUE Moksha tee-shirt. I wore a purple one for my video review, I have a white one for work study, and a pink one that I just bought for fun a long time ago. I’ve already done my workshop training, next I have to do my front desk training. Then I’ll be ready to rock and roll. Rock on! 🙂

– I finished the Tias Little Anatomy of the Chakras intensive workshop. I got a LOT of information. Right now, it’s all residing in my notebook which is now in my bedroom. I’m just taking it easy, letting my mind take in what it wants and moving from there. It was really amazing, and one day I’d love to go study with him at his center in Santa Fe. I don’t know… he has a really golden soul.

– I went downtown to do some Christmas shopping and I went up to visit the big tree at Macy’s. 🙂

– I worked one day (today, actually) at Tris3ct, one of my favorite freelance clients to work for. They are so awesome. Such a nice atmosphere and I got to leave early today because of the holiday. 🙂 I always enjoy helping them out when I can. They make me feel welcome and valuable. Really wouldn’t mind working for them part-time or full-time (but only after I’ve gotten my teacher training certification). Yeah…. I would really be OK with that.

– I finally got a KitchenAid stand mixer! I got the red one, the Classic Plus. I haven’t sent in my rebate form yet, but once I get that $30 check back, the total cost (not counting tax) will be $179.99. Considering that the mixer’s retail value is $379.99, I’d say I DID PRETTY DARN WELL. I’ve wanted one for years. It arrived today and I used it for the first time tonight–OH MAN it is awesome.

– I finally got a The North Face jacket. I actually got two. Not the big, fancy winter coat, though. Not yet. I got a yellow venture jacket and a magenta salathe fleece jacket from Nordstrom Rack (so the prices in the links are NOT the prices I paid). I’m very happy with both of them. 🙂

– I got a makeover! Well, sort of. The day that I was downtown shopping, a girl from the Benefit counter asked me if I wanted to try some stuff on and I told her sure, as long as the look was natural. This was me in the morning, waiting on the train:

I usually don’t wear any makeup except face powder and moisturizer. She used moisturizer, a pore minimizer, some foundation, some eye shadow, light blush, light lip gloss, a bit of eyeliner, and some crazy mascara that made my lashes look a million miles long.

This was the result:

What do you think? I kinda dig it. I got the pore minimizer and the mascara (they had a little bottle on sale) because I liked looking/feeling more polished and smoothed out. I also got a sample of the foundation, but I didn’t buy any of the colors because I very rarely wear that kind of makeup.

I don’t have to go anywhere tomorrow! It’ll be the first day since sometime last week that I get to stay home. It won’t be a pajama day, but I don’t have to leave the house if I don’t want to. Considering the high is supposed to be 63F, though, I might want to leave the house.

So many stores are opening tomorrow night… I’m not sure how I feel about that. It just seems like there should be one day where we’re not thinking of going out and buying more stuff… but you know, that’s me. Other people don’t feel that way obviously. Hell, I barely feel that way. I’ve shopped on Thanksgiving before–I’ve gone to Garden Ridge on Thanksgiving before. And it IS tempting to go and REALLY immerse myself in the Christmas shopping experience, get all the deals, stuff like that… but I’ll probably get most stuff on amazon.com like I always do. We have prime again this year, which is truly a godsend. I’ve never been one for the door busters (like I’m going to get up), so I doubt anything changes this year. Although Adam’s gone to some of the *ahem* less popular stores and not had a problem with crowds… and Aidan is asking to go to Toys R Us (GOD HELP US ALL). So I guess we’ll see!

I’m thinking of putting the tree up this weekend while Aidan is here. It’ll be fun to have him help decorate. 🙂

I am so grateful for so many things! 🙂 But most of all, I am grateful for the opportunity to relax tonight, sleep in a bit tomorrow, and spend Thanksgiving with my family and friends.

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Ten Days In….

10 November 2012 / life, pictures, ronni, yoga teacher training

Like my new bag? I got it from Jump From Paper. I love it.

I thought that October was going to be my crazy month, but it’s November that’s nuts! I haven’t had a full pajama day all month. OK, it’s only just ten days in, so not that big of a deal, but still. Wild.

Things are sort of calming down. I have a workshop all weekend (had one session tonight, have two sessions tomorrow, one session Sunday morning), and I have my last yoga teacher training class and potluck Sunday night. That should be fun. I went to my last video review Monday, also attended a business course, and Thursday night, I had my last anatomy class.

I will miss Ole Skelly.

Only ONE more intensive left. Anatomy of the Chakras with Tias Little. The intensives are hard for me. The days are very long (10am-530pm, with the exception of the last day, which is 10am-230pm), and the sheer amount of information pouring in is overwhelming and exhausting. But I like learning about the chakras, so it should be interesting. I’m thinking I’ll need to purchase a new notebook just for this intensive. OH DARN. What a sacrifice, having to buy a new notebook. 😉

I’m in the middle of my apprenticeship with Mia and with teaching my karma/community classes. I’m excited because Graham (a fellow trainee) is going to co-teach a few with me and THAT IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN. I get so nervous before I teach and even while I am teaching. A lot of is ego–I’m scared they won’t like me or that they’ll think I’m a hack. Some of it is that I am genuinely worried I’ll hurt someone or cause them to get hurt and that scares me. But there is risk anytime there is physical activity and the students have signed a release. Doesn’t make it less scary, though. I have a couple of regular students, though, so that’s neat. I think teaching with Graham will help my nerves and also make the class light and happy.

We held an election party Tuesday night. It was a lot of fun, especially because Aidan was in town for the event! Adam made this delicious stew and the cornbread complemented it perfectly. Yummy. Adam’s trick is that he uses a tomato-based broth. I think that goes so well with the sweetness of the cornbread and it’s just darn tasty! The link to the recipe is here. Aidan chopped most of the veggies, which he LOVED. He also helped make the cornbread.

Just got paid, so I will deposit that money, and once things calm down, I will really jump into holiday shopping. I’ve already started shopping for my mom, and I got ideas for Aidan that I put into an Amazon wish list here. My wish list is here. 🙂 Eee, I love buying presents! My favorite holiday season is almost here!!

But first, there will be Thanksgiving. I’m looking forward to it this year. We’re hosting Jeff and Deborah and hopefully our friend Jen as well. It’s going to be gooood. Turkey with all the trimmings, apple pie (there WILL be apple pie, the decision’s been made), good company, good times. So excited. Not only that, but teacher training stuff will have calmed down and all I’ll have is teaching and apprenticing for a while. It’ll be nice to be able to focus on the non-contact stuff for a while, like my thesis, book reviews, write-ups, etc.

But for now, I’m busy. But I’m blessed. And therefore, I’m happy.

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Fire and Grace

4 November 2012 / !, happy, life, pictures, ronni, yoga

As you know, I was blessed with another opportunity to study with Suzanne Sterling. I had the chance to study with her last year, and honestly, that workshop changed my life. This year, it was even BETTER!

There was singing, clapping, yoga, ecstatic dance, hugs, tears, and an amazing sense of community and bonding. Just letting go and being free was amazing. So much was moved in me this weekend. I came out buzzing, feeling remarkably lighter and freer. And my dreams were super vivid last night. Certain things I needed to let go of–I let go of them in my dreams. That’s not to say that something won’t trigger me again, but for now, I’m liberated of those bad feelings and I’m going to bask in it while it lasts!

She talked a lot about shatki: the yoga of sound. About how we, as humans, are self-wired for expression. In just about every non-westernized country, people are greeted with song and dance. Doesn’t matter if you speak the same language or not. People are united through music.

We’re always trying to regulate our nervous systems because we want to feel good. It’s why people eat chocolate cake, or smoke marijuana. And we’re hard wired to move trauma through our systems through expression. If you DON’T move that trauma, disease takes hold. In this country, we’re not really allowed to feel our traumas. We’re expected to do the “spiritual bypass” thing–locking the trauma away and being “fine.”

NO BUENO, FOLKS.

As Suzanne said, you need to do the “fuck you” before you can say “I forgive you.” You gotta go to those uncomfortable places and move it out. Dance with it–you’re always working. But you have to move it so it won’t become stagnant and more harmful.

Sound is a PHYSICAL thing. You can SHIFT a situation with sound! Sound affects respiration, heart rate, brain waves, and consciousness. We’re affected by sounds we can’t even hear. Shabda, yoga of the word, is immensely powerful. Mantras are powerful and can stay true or become true. They invoke a certain consciousness. So… let your mantras bring you abundance and light and love! Don’t say things to yourself like “You’re an idiot” or “You suck, you’ll never amount to anything.” Those are mantras and they’re very real, and they will manifest. Everything we say is out there. And once you admit to the universe that you’re ready for something, it will come. I have experienced this myself. Back in April of 2002, I said out loud “I wouldn’t mind becoming pregnant.” I kid you not, two weeks later, I found out I was pregnant with Aidan. The universe heard that and RAN WITH IT. So universe? I’d love my writing discipline back please and thank you. Still dreaming of hitting that NYT Bestseller list someday…..

One of my favorite quotes comes from the movie Imitation of Life, the second one. The maid, Annie, says “There’s no shame in looking prosperous. It just shows the good Lord you’re ready when He is.”

Doing yoga has made me WAY more sensitive to sound and the things that affect my environment. I do NOT like bars anymore. Too assaulting for me. Adam loves the show Breaking Bad, but I can’t watch it. Too much screaming. ANYthing with terrified or tortured screaming in it really affects me and I don’t like being exposed to it. I just unfollowed someone on tumblr for posting too many pictures of violence and blood. She can post whatever she likes. I don’t need to see it. Hammering, banging, pounding. All those sounds are so jarring to me and I just can’t stand them anymore. I don’t like any violent sound. But I also hate the sound of people chewing and people walking in shoes on hard floors. I don’t know what that says about me, but there you go.

The yoga practices were way more vigorous than I remembered, but that’s OK. I was able to keep up. I must have done well over 100 chantarungas this weekend. I know for an Ashtanga yogi, that’s nothing (they do hundreds in a single practice probably), but for me, that’s a lot! I feel much stronger now. And I welcomed the challenge. I want arms like Gabby Douglas. Those muscles aren’t going to get defined by themselves. 😉

Pushing myself to my edge–that place where there is sensation but not pain–is how I’m going to grow. And doing loads of chatarungas (safely, of course) and getting defined arms is just a physical manifestation of this practice. It works in life transformation as well. My authentic truth is finding it a bit easier to breathe tonight, which is wonderful because I’ve been tamping it down for many, many years. I feel the seeds of Suzanne’s teaching already working in me. My life is already being transformed. It feels great to surrender to it.

Go into the places that are uncomfortable.
Breathe there.
See what happens.

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A Glimpse Into Yoga Teacher Training

3 November 2012 / life, pictures, yoga, yoga teacher training

Yoga teacher training is still proving to be an incredible journey. I’m making really great friends, I’m getting to study with loads of fantastic teachers, and I’m learning SO MUCH. The following collage shows a little snippet… just a LITTLE snippet, of what I’ve been lucky enough to experience. And you guys, I still have five months to go!

I’m spending this weekend with Suzanne Sterling. I’ll write more about that soon. 🙂

Happy weekend. Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour! YAY extra hour of sleep!

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