pictures

Backward and Forward

11 February 2013 / meme, pictures, ronni

Ten years ago, I:
1. Was a new mom.
2. Was freaking out about being a new mom.
3. Also loving being a new mom.

Five years ago, I:
1. Was getting ready to move to Chicago!
2. Was engaged to Adam.
3. Was ready to leave Columbus, Ohio.

One year ago, I:
1. Was preparing for a trip to Disney World.
2. Thinking about yoga teacher training.
3. Starting new/old freelance gigs.

So far this year, I:.
1. Begin my gig as a workshop manager at Moksha.
2. Started Mysore.
3. Became obsessed with a console video game for the first time in many years.

Yesterday, I:
1. Worked and attended a Nicolai Bachman workshop on the Sutras.
2. Watched the Grammys.
3. Ate spaghetti for dinner.

Today, I:
1. Woke up way too early. I went to bed at 11pm, woke up at 130am.
2. Read old blog entries. That’s where I got this meme.
3. May or may not continue my commitment to Mysore.

Tomorrow, I will:
1. See Aidan!!!
2. Hug Aidan.
3. Take a shower or bath.

In one year, I will:
1. Be preparing for another Disney Parks trip.
2. Be preparing to go to South Africa.
3. Be a certified yoga teacher.

In five years, I will:
1. Be a published author.
2. Be five years older.
3. Have a teenager. OMG.

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Currently . . .

9 February 2013 / pictures, ronni

I got this idea from Erin who got it from Katie. I like it, so I’m gonna do it too. 🙂

CURRENTLY, I’M:
Sitting here in my PJs listening to music, blogging, and on my way to staying up too late again.

READING:
(just finished) MOCKINGJAY for the 4th time or so. I have a stack of new (to me) books to start, but I’ll probably try to finish 7 CLUES TO WINNING YOU and the one about that girl with the Hungarian uncles with the towers in their garden.

LOVING:

OMG•YUM.

LISTENING TO:
The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 soundtrack.

BEHIND ON:
Monthly newsletters for Moksha, retreat center stuff for Moksha, teacher training homework

I NEED TO:
Do that stuff.

OBSESSING OVER:
The LEGO Harry Potter Wii games.
(via)
THEY ARE SO FUN. Probably helps that I have the invincibility cheat. I think I’d be way more frustrated with the game if I didn’t have that. I like to focus on solving the puzzles, not staying alive. I’ve completed both games, but I have to play Years 1-4 again because I screwed it up and caused a glitch. I’m actually OK with this.

FEELING GUILTY ABOUT:
1.) Wanting to play video games instead of doing my work.
2.) Not writing at all.
3.) Sleeping all day and staying up all night.

PROUD OF:
The fact that I tried Mysore last week and actually liked it.

DRINKING:
Nothing at the moment, but I will be making myself a big cup of Tang shortly.

EATING:
Nothing, but I am kind of hungry.

WONDERING:
How do I get more readers for my blog without attracting any haters?

EXCITED FOR:
My upcoming Disney World trip! It’s in 16 days!!!!!

ANNOYED THAT:
1.) When the cats poop, it takes no time for the stink to fill up the house. But it takes forever for the air fresheners/incense/sage to cover it up. And the stink still sometimes manages to break through all that.
2.) That my computer is so old that as soon as I turn it on, all four gigs of memory get sucked up. It’s four years old, and it’s a MacBook, and it still runs OK… but when you’re running on 10mbs of memory all the time, things get bumbled up.

CONSIDERING:
Getting a MacBook Pro. The least expensive model, swapping out the hard drives, and upgrading the memory to 8gigs on my own. Tf I get the computer at Microcenter, that will save me hundreds over just getting the next level model. The only thing is that I’d have to get a new Snow White decal because the one on my computer now doesn’t come off. (OR I could get a Mickey Mouse one….)

NERVOUS ABOUT:
Taxes. Thank God I have a few more months before I have to deal with them.

LOOKING FORWARD TO:
Aidan being here in just a few days! 😀

PLANNING:
My June Disney trip. I’m taking my mom (who has never been) and Aidan, who is soooo excited.

GETTING READY TO:
Publish this, have a snack, read, and go to bed.
Or replay LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4. KIDDING. I plan to do that all day Saturday. 😉

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In My Yoga Life

1 February 2013 / life, living in chicago, pictures, ronni, yoga, yoga teacher training

I haven’t posted much about yoga lately. One might think I haven’t been doing much. You’d be sort of right. When it’s very cold outside (like now, it’s a balmy 12F), I have no interest in leaving my bed, let alone my house. But there are some days I have things to do, so I dress in layers and do it.

Have I mentioned that I hate winter?

Teacher training ramped back up in January with my therapeutics apprenticeship with Gabriel Halpern. Gabriel’s an interesting teacher and he has an interesting style that I’m not used to seeing in the yoga world. He’s definitely of the “tough love” school, but the main underlying thing there is the love. There is also chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

We had two days of orientation, where we went through all the different poses we’d be working on with our students.

Yoga Teacher Training: Customized Yoga Apprenticeship Orientation

gabriel uses jaylen to demonstrate a pose to us

graham dances with mr. skeletonAfter the hips and knees orientation, where we practiced on each other, my hips were so open that I was able to comfortably get into Padmasana (Lotus Pose) for the first time since I was a little girl.

On January 17, I met my person and she is wonderful. I get to work with her every Thursday, showing her poses and making sure she feels OK. During the week, I keep in touch with her by sending her information and poses and dharma stuff.

In January, I also started my workshop management position. My first workshop was a doozy! It was a detox. I had to cut up fruit, heat up oil and put it into cups, make tea, tape the floor and set up mats inside each taped rectangle, greet people, and then actually attend the workshop. WHICH WAS AMAZING.

The first time I did a detox was in the fall of 2010. It was fun but hard! There were definitely points where I fell into Child’s Pose. I just couldn’t do everything. But this last time? I told people that I’m either getting stronger or the detoxes are getting easier. I doubt that Amber is making it easier. I think I’ve just gotten stronger.

In the middle of January, I taught my thesis workshop. I called it Your Yoga, and it was about being creative in your own yoga practice. I had five attendees, and I played music, led an asana practice (with a segment for the students to do their own thing–being creative!) and we talked about yoga. Most of the students were beginners, so it was fun to tell them about what yoga IS and how it can relate to their lives and change their lives.

Tonight, I head out to work and attend the Shatki Gong Healing given by The Starnes Sisters. I went to one in the fall and LOVED it. Also, I love their fashion sense. It’s fabulous.

I still have non-contact stuff to do for teacher training. I’ve got to write up my thesis, do my book reviews, teach one more private lesson (free–any takers?), do a write up about the private lessons, and decide on a final exam. I also need to attend more workshops and special events–but being a workshop manager makes that quite easy for me. 🙂

So, that’s my yoga life for now. ‘Til next time!

4 Comments

Sunday Stealing (15)

30 January 2013 / meme, pictures, ronni, sunday stealing

The Meme From Suburbia

I know I’m quite a few days late. I’m catching up on articles in my Google Reader and saw this today and couldn’t resist.

I think I look sorta scary here. :O*evil laugh*1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

I was a new mom. Aidan was just turning one month old. So I was probably rocking him to sleep or something.

2. By this time next year, I …

…will be a certified yoga teacher, a year older, and the mother of an 11 year old! I will have gone to Disney World ten times and will probably be preparing to head out for #11.

3. Do you think the United States will elect a female President in your lifetime? Do you think this would be a good thing?

I sure would like to see it. Truthfully, I thought that would happen before ANYONE of color got into office so….

4. Which fictional, TV show character you would shag anytime?

The Doctor from Doctor Who I think. But only certain incarnations. Or Maybe Captain Jack Harkness. But of course, only if I weren’t already married. 🙂

I mean HELLO!

5. Who is your greatest enemy?

I am. I get in my own way ALL THE TIME.

6. Tell me about your most recent trip of more than 100 miles?

I went to Cleveland, to visit my mommy for Christmas. 🙂

7. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?

Dictionary. I love dictionaries.

8. Do you have a nickname? What is it?

My nickname is Ronni. My real name is Ronica.

9. What are you dreading at the moment?

Eh, nothing really.

10. Do you worry that others will judge you from reading some of your answers?

Nope. If they judge me, it’s their thing, not mine.

11. If you find an outfit you love, but the size on the label is larger than you want, do you buy the outfit? Why or why not?

I’ll buy it if it fits and looks awesome.

12. Even the biggest slackers are anal-retentive about something? What are you anal-retentive about?

My music files! I have to have them properly tagged so they look nice in my iTunes! I’ll spend hours getting them right.

13. Out of all the books you read as a child, which one had the biggest influence on how you are today?

Ohh, great question. I think Nothing’s Fair in Fifth Grade, Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret, Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You (But Only If You Let It), Amy and Laura, Little House in the Big Woods, and By The Shores of Silver Lake all had huge impacts on me. And Ramona and Her Mother as well. Plus tons and tons more. (I read a lot when I was little. HECK what do I mean “when I was little”? I still read a lot!)

14. Which Golden Girl would you want to spend a night on the town with?

Oh my God. This is so hard. See, I can see Blanche ditching me for some guy. Sophia is feisty, but I don’t know if I could handle her level of feistiness. Rose would get on my nerves, as much as I love her. So I think it would have to be Dorothy.

15. What is the one product you would never buy in its generic form even if the generic is half the price?

Granola bars. The generic ones always macaroons in them and I don’t like that.

16. How old were you when you stopped believing in Santa?

Who said I ever stopped? 🙂

17. What is the one smell that turns your stomach without fail?

Spoiled anything.

18. If someone holds out a carton of milk to you and asks you to sniff it to see if its spoiled, do you?

Yes. I’m the only one who can tell in my house.

19. You have a completely free day and $2000.00, What are you doing?

Probably transferring the $2000 to my savings account and playing on the computer or reading all day. Or booking a Disney trip. Ha.

20. What is the most used item in your home?

The computers. Hands down. Followed closely by the couch.

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So Much For That

29 January 2013 / adam, books, life, pictures, shopping

I thought I would try to get my body back on to a normal sleep schedule. Because for the past several weeks, I’ve been staying up all night and sleeping well into the afternoon. Even though what I’m doing in the middle of the night is no different than what I’d do during the day (and sometimes I am even more productive!), I still feel guilty about it. I know I’m a night owl at heart, but I still feel weird about it.

I know this is the way I am built and I shouldn’t be ashamed of it… but the world just doesn’t really WORK this way. It doesn’t really cater to night owls. There are some 24 hour stores around, and it is much nicer to drive in the middle of the night (unless the panhandlers are still out and begging me to roll down my window and give them money…AS IF), but I can’t go to a yoga class in the middle of the night. I can’t answer urgent emails from Moksha or VSA in the middle of the night. But now that I think about it… maybe it’s OK for me to be the way I am. The nature of the work I do–most of it is from home and I have enough time that I can work on it overnight. Even if I have a meeting at Moksha, they know my sleep schedule, so they try to accommodate it. My latest apprenticeship is in the evenings and most of my workshop manager shifts are afternoon or evening.

Sunday night, I took a Tylenol PM (well, the CVS version anyway) at 10:30pm. I slathered on some Arbonne unwind lotion; dabbed lavender essential oils on my heart, my temples, my neck, and behind my ears; checked my email; played LEGO Harry Potter until just before midnight (I gave myself a midnight cut off); and climbed into bed. Had a snack and read The Hunger Games until I fell asleep. And I woke up at 10:25am. Which is an improvement over 3:15pm.

It’s a good thing I was up because ALA was announcing their awards and Adam got a Stonewall Honor for his book Sparks (written under a pen name SJ Adams). How exciting is that? VERY exciting is the answer we’re looking for here, just so you know.

I did not mention that by 1pm I was super, super tired. I was frustrated because I can be wide awake in the middle of the night but during the day (especially during the winter) I just want to sleep. I want to burrow under an electric blanket and live in dreamland. So I took a nap. I set my alarm for 2pm, but I was pleasantly surprised to find myself waking up at 1:39pm! I guess I just needed a power nap. 🙂 Went to a short meeting at 3pm, ran a couple of errands, then we headed out to the burbs.

We celebrated Adam’s Stonewall Honor the best way we know how: By hitting some bookstores. We went to Anderson’s, where I picked up 7 CLUES TO WINNING YOU by Kristin Walker and BITTERSWEET by Sarah Ockler. Then we went to Half-Price Books, where I got 10 books, 9 CDs, and a computer game. I am so happy. I have a lot of new stuff to read and a lot of music to listen to. I bought Zoo Tycoon, but that’s mostly for Aidan to play when he’s here. Oh and my LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7 arrived in the mail. I’m nearly 80% done with Years 1-4 (I’ve completed the levels, just need to get the collectibles), so I’ll probably start 5-7 sometime this week. Wheeee!

But now I am back to my old habits already. It’s 2:40am and I am wide awake. I just dabbed on the lavender (forgot to do the Tylenol PM tonight) and I’m hoping it will work its magic sooner rather than later. In the meantime, I will skip out on starting one of my new books right now–I’ll NEVER go to sleep if I start a new book. I’ll read The Hunger Games, and old favorite, and HOPEFULLY I’ll go to sleep and end up not sleeping past noon. I want to go to yoga. Which is at noon. And I need to shower before.

So I’m thinking that for now, it’s OK for me to be this way? It’s not like I have a 9am-5pm job (although in Chicago it seems more like 8am-9pm in a lot of jobs), and most of the things I have to do are in the afternoons and evenings. So I guess there is no point in trying to fight how my body naturally works, especially because it’s not hurting anyone.

When I’m at Disney World, I’ll have to take care. Don’t want to be sleeping the whole day away there! But I have time to fix that.

Ha. This pointless entry brought to you by slight heartburn, an afternoon dose of Lexapro, and the letters B-A-N-A-N-A.

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