yoga teacher training

Tired Girl

3 April 2012 / aidan, life, pictures, yoga teacher training

Wow. I’m really, really tired. By the time yoga teacher training would down today, I was like “Guh guh guh.” I don’t know if it’s the weather, my hormones (probably my hormones), or just a general feeling of “blah” creeping over the city of Chicago. All I know is that it’s icky.

I’m totally tempted to just go to bed now, but I have a long day tomorrow and I don’t want to nap now and end up wide awake in the middle of the night, then fall asleep at 545am only to be awakened too early because some IDIOT is hammering outside.

(There should be a law. No one should ever be allowed to hammer before 10am. It’s just rude!)

OK, now it’s many hours later. Aidan’s dad got an iPod touch, and Aidan’s figured out how to use Facetime to call me. He’s been calling me every night to Facetime and it’s been neat. He can show me things he’s talking about and vice versa. It’s also nice to see his face. Tonight, he called while I was writing this entry, therefore giving me something to do instead of going to bed way too early.

Here’s something really cool. Aidan is on Honor Roll, and he just got his best report card EVER. He’s getting awards left and right. He said he loves school and apparently he is thriving there. I’m excited for him and I hope he continues to love school and learning as much as he does now. Unfortunately, I peaked in third grade and things went downhill from there. I hope that’s not the case with Aidan. At any rate, now I have a bonafied excuse to give him surprises and to do something special for him! 🙂

Teacher training was hard for me today. I was already moody (although getting an entire train car from Chicago to Division was pretty neat). I got to the stuido later than usual and ended up way in the back when I usually sit in the front. I don’t like sitting in the back. It makes me tired and I feel less connected. I feel like I’m lost in the shuffle. I had different teaching partners which was nice, but I did miss Christine. I was fatigued and I just could NOT get on track with the teaching practice! I know I’m new and I can’t expect to be perfect (heck, even teachers with many years of experience mess up sometimes!), but today I felt like it was especially awkward.

I know what was weird for me. Today, I actually taught a small group (OK, two people) instead of just one. I got all discombobulated because:

1.) I was teaching some poses I’d never taught before. (Although that never tripped me up quite as much as it did today.)
2.) It was WEIRD telling people to do moves and having them silently do them. I got all insecure like “Oh my God, I hope they don’t think I’m dumb. Oh God, what comes next? I can’t remember! Where are my notes? AH HELP! Oh boy, I am doing terribly at this!”

How in the world do I get over that feeling? I guess I have 12 months to figure it out.

And then there is the food. We talk a LOT about food every week, and part of the curriculum is to watch Supersize Me and Food, Inc. You know who’s thrilled about that? Adam. (Not really.) He already knows I have food issues, he already knows how hard it is to keep me fed. I’m pretty sure this journey is going to be a challenge when it comes to eating. It already is in some aspects. So the thought of dealing with *that* is making me tired.

And all the racism stuff. My head aches from everything that’s been going on. Like the Hunger Games. The number of people upset that some of the characters in the movie AND book were black is sad and disturbing (because hello, can’t they read?), but not necessarily shocking for me. Yeah, it bothers me, but honestly, I’m used to being part of a world where some people think I am less than and will do everything in their power to make sure I stay that way. The attitudes of some people, and their vehement denial about life in this country for minorities don’t surprise me, but their absolute unwillingness to open their minds just the tiniest amount so they can listen and learn instead of trying to point the finger and place blame on others really bugs me. I have a lot of things to say about it, but I think I’ll save it for another post. Not in the mood to get too deep tonight.

I know what I need. I need some sun combined with warmer temps, hugs from Aidan (coming Friday YAY!), and a massage. A good sleep (without wailing cats, loud sexing neighbors, an overactive bladder, and random people pounding with hammers to wake me up) would be nice, too (but that’s not going to happen).

At least tomorrow I will see family, eat sushi, and make some $$. Oh and it’s payday. Woohoo!

OK, bedtime.

‘Til next time.

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Where Did Spring Go?

31 March 2012 / friends, happy, life, pictures, yoga teacher training

Seriously? SERIOUSLY? This is not cute or funny. At all. I miss those super warm days. The days when everyone was CONFIDENT that they could put away their sweaters because there was no way the weather hadn’t broken yet. I mean, the trees were flowering and budding!

They wouldn’t do that unless they knew something we didn’t right?

Bwah! I know Chicago weather. It likes to hold on to the cold as long as it possibly can. The weather never truly breaks here until mid-June. Until then, we can expect temperatures to dip into the 30s just as easily as they can climb to the 80s. Not that we’ll be seeing any 80s temps anytime soon. That one week was a lucky break!

And I’m so HAPPY when it’s warm out. See?

So is Helena. She gets to sit in the window and smell the smells and people watch and dog watch.

Oh, those were the days.

Oh well. I had a good week anyway. Saturday, I got to go see a great s00j (and other talented musicians) concert:

I got tons of hugs. I love hugs. LOVE them. And I made new friends! Three of them! I love making new friends. I wish I’d taken more photos of them. Just so I could have some proof. Hee hee. They all live far away, though. 🙁 Thank goodness for s00j shows to bring us all together.

Sunday, got to attend a wonderful Music & Magick workshop, and Monday, we spent the day with s00j and Ryan, just hanging out, eating delicious brunch at Bleeding Heart again (oh yeah!), and heading to a smoke shop where Adam and Ryan purchased pipe tobacco and assorted pipe accessories. s00j posed for a picture in the decommissioned phone box while everyone else made their purchases.

I absolutely LOVE it when they come stay with us. They bring a wonderful energy and magick to the place, and they’re so much fun. Monday night, even though there was no Internet, there was still Fruit Ninja, Twitter on our iPhones (where we went insane), sausage and cactus pizza, and music. We had a great time.

SO yea, this Internet stuff. s00j had an 8pm Skype visit, and I was on call for a client. Our Internet went down at exactly 7:55pm and stayed down until about 5 or 6 the next morning. Adam (bless his heart) drove my laptop to a Starbucks parking lot and downloaded all the files for me so I could work on them. I was up ’til 3am working (and guess who had yoga teacher training the next day!). The next morning, the net was back up, so I was able to upload the files to the client in time. s00j was able to do Skype through the app on her iPhone. But I mean, Comcast has been inconsistent like this for a few months now. It’s getting frustrating, especially when YOUR INCOME KIND OF DEPENDS ON RELIABLE INTERNET ACCESS. Sure, there are coffee shops, but what’s the point of paying for it at home if it’s not going to work all the time? Comcast needs to get it together, especially for how much they charge.

Anyway.

I had a great yoga teacher training class on Tuesday. I’d had so little sleep, but it didn’t feel like it. The day went so fast and everything was so interesting! We talked a lot about the Gunas and studied Warrior I and Chair in-depth. Chair is going to be SO MUCH BETTER for me from now on! 🙂 I’m learning SO MUCH and my teacher said for me to start practice teaching on people. So, locals! Free yoga lessons from me, if you have enough patience to deal with me as I practice and get better. 🙂

AND I got an A+ on my Sun Salutation A quiz. Can I get a whut whut! 😀

I’m going to take it easy today. For one thing, it’s cold outside. It’s supposed to get a bit warmer (if you call 56F warm at the end of March–and seriously, how it is the end of March??), but I don’t have anywhere to go except yoga this afternoon. Also, I went out to dinner with my friend Jen last night, and she wasn’t feeling well. She made every precaution to protect me from germs, but you just never know. So today = resting, studying, basics yoga class, and reading. This girl has no time to get sick. Allergies, however, have moved in and set up house.

Next week, I have a lot to look forward to. Two days at VSA, a visit from Adam’s family, yoga teacher training, and Aidan!!! YAY!!! So much to be thankful for. 🙂

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Spring Has Sprung!

21 March 2012 / life, pictures, yoga teacher training

In Chicago, Spring typically doesn’t show up. If it does, it lasts for about three days and doesn’t appear until June 23rd. So this year has been a pleasant surprise! The trees are budding! Last year, the trees didn’t start budding until late May!

I’m loving it. Adam hates it. But he loves winter and I hate it. How’s that for “opposites attract”?

Yoga teacher training is still going. I took two quizzes yesterday, got a 94% on one and an 85% on the other. I still have butt loads of homework to complete, and my shoulders are kinda unhappy from a long day of chatarunga and upward facing dog. Monday we had an orientation, and it’s going to be super busy for the next thirteen months. So many classes to take and so much homework. Still, I keep telling myself that I’ll be OK. That I can handle it and to think about how much I love sharing all the knowledge I’m learning!

Today, though, I took it kind of easy. A while ago, I broke down and ordered one of the Erin Condren Life Planners. Then I eagerly awaited for it to arrive–and it came today! 🙂 I love it. I spent the afternoon filling in a bunch of Yoga Teacher Training stuff. There is a LOT. I need to find my older planner so I can transfer the rest of my information over.

I love filling out planners. :p

Sunday, Fi hopped onto my lap. He NEVER gets on laps. I had to commemorate this moment because it was awesome. I love Fi so much.

I also managed to snap a pretty dramatic-looking photo of Helena.

So, it’s only Wednesday, and my week’s already been awesome. But the biggest thing (so far) is that Adam got me this!

My Four Year of Living In Chicago Present!

See, Saturday was my four year anniversary of living in Chicago. I moved here on St. Patrick’s Day in 2008. It was overcast, cold, and there were flurries coming from the sky. Sucks as far as Spring weather goes, but perfect moving weather. Anyway, Adam says it’s my anniversary present. How cool is that? So I’ve been playing with it, customizing it, setting it up and everything. Fantastic! And a total surprise!

Here’s what it looks like now:

Cool, huh? This is just my first page. I have five pages. I’d upload it now but Adam’s playing Skee-Ball on it.

With the exception of an emergency project for a client, I took it easy today. I need to get back on the ball tomorrow. I need to pick up my clothes and also pull out some summer/spring outfits. I also need to organize my nightstand, dresser, and general Ronni area. Bathroom needs to be cleaned as well. Then Friday, I go see The Hunger Games, then attend a workshop at Moksha, then clean some more! We have awesome guests coming to stay with us and I want the place to be all nice for them. Busy, music-filled weekend ahead, and then I have to get a lot of studying in besides.

Good times.

OK then. I’m tired. And hungry. Time to grab something to nibble then head to bed. I got a LOT of cleaning to do. 😮 Til next time.

14 Comments

What a Week!

18 March 2012 / geekalicious, life, living in chicago, pictures, recap, yoga teacher training

Time really is flying. Is it really already March 18? How did this happen? Spring will OFFICIALLY be here in just a few days! But Chicago’s been having some wonderful Spring weather already. Seriously, every day has been gorgeous out! I love it.

Monday, I went to a yoga class, then I headed downtown to do some shopping (I needed some school supplies, a new yoga mat bag, and Old Navy is having their stock up sale. Buy one tee/tank, get one free.) and to get a mani/pedi! The mani was just OK but the pedi looks fantastic!

yay shiny!

Tuesday was my first day of yoga teacher training! An entire day of learning about downward facing dog. Everything you ever wanted to know about downward facing dog. And we didn’t even scratch the surface. There is so much. I was honestly a bit overwhelmed, not just at that, but at the amount of information I have to learn overall. I was also overwhelmed at how excited I was to be learning all of it and how eager I was to share what I learned to help my friends with their downward facing dogs. My friend Missy doesn’t believe for one second it will ever become a “resting pose” for her. I told her that takes time. It took me six months before I ever thought to myself (while in class) “Thank GOD down dog!!”

Wednesday, I took it easy. It was soooo super gorgeous out! We took a very exciting trip to The Home Depot, where Adam got a new grill, some charcoal, and other assorted grilling fun things. I took to the back porch to sit out in the warm air.

I look like I have a football head here.

Thursday, I was back in the office at VSA.

All right, misspellings and grammatical errors.
It’s ON.

I like it there. They give me the work and leave me alone to do that. When someone does that, it means they trust me to do the work they hired me for. And that makes me feel good. Plus, the person I work most closely with? She has bleached hair with BLUE TIPS, and she likes Doctor Who. She HAS A TARDIS ON HER DESK. HOW awesome is that? There was also free breakfast that day. ROCK. ON.

some of MY Doctor Who toys

I got of work out early enough that I was able to go to the yoga nidra class at Moksha. Very nice. Friday was another day at work, but I was done at 4:30!

Which takes me to Saturday. I was awakened at 5am by sirens and sirens and sirens. I’d heard sirens stop on my street before, but it was usually an ambulance or something. Not this time!

[via]

Yeah. That was happening. Across the street and down a few doors. I didn’t get that close; Adam found this picture on his instagram feed.

It scared me. Once I realized everything was under control, I couldn’t stop shaking for ten minutes. But the floors were unoccupied, and one of the businesses in the building was open at 8am! I didn’t get back to sleep until 7am, then I rolled out of bed at noon. Spent the day doing a few errands and cleaning the living room like a MOFO. See, part of teacher training is that we have to do a 15-20 minute home practice every day. That’s kind of difficult when the living room is so cluttered that one can barely walk across the floor. So, I handled that. Then I was cruising through practice when Crookshanks happened.

Crookshanks ALWAYS happens, and it’s going to be interesting as I progress through the training, to see if he’ll get in my way every single day.

I moved to Chicago on March 17, 2008. It was an overcast, cold day. Temps were in the 30s and there were flurries. I didn’t know what to expect. And I definitely didn’t see myself where I am today (except for the being married to Adam part). Life is funny, don’t you think? And also wonderful.

Also:

Only 4 DAYS, 22 HOURS ’til THE HUNGER GAMES! (I’ve already got my tickets.)
Only 6 DAYS ’til I get to see s00j again!!

OK, I’m hungry. See ya later!

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