3 hour yoga workshop. Ommmmmm, yes!

A few weeks ago, I signed up for a yoga workshop because I very much adore Sparkle, one of the yoga teachers heading it up. I asked if it was OK for pregnant women and she assured me that it would be just fine:

Yesterday, I was feeling tired. I don't really get to rest during the week because I work full-time so I'm exceptionally lazy on the weekends. I was almost dreading going to this workshop because it was three hours. Of course, the fact that I already paid was incentive enough to get my rear end out the door. Unfortunately, I wrote down the wrong location - this yoga studio has three of them. I got to the wrong location with nine minutes to spare, only to be told that it would take 15 minutes to get to the correct location. *Forehead slap*
I was anxious because it was across town but, remembering this was a YOGA workshop, I tried not to get myself worked up. I got there about 10 minutes late.
And then I needed to park.
I'm an East Bay gal to the bone but I have to admit, I have a preference for San Francisco over Oakland. It irritates me whenever I experience things I'll accept/forgive in SF but I think are totally unacceptable for Oakland. I still view it as the 'burbs (albeit it "urban") and not metropolitan, like SF. I mean, it totally is a bustling big city but this is the mindset I have so there it is. Anyway, whenever there is NO PARKING in Oakland, I get pissy.
Well, there was no parking. I circled for about 10 minutes and came upon a spot. I still managed to stay calm because, I figure, I can't be the only one who experienced this and it is a three hour workshop, after all!
I walk quickly (AKA haul ass) in the rain to the yoga studio. The front desk gal was friendly but quickly became dismayed when I told her I was there for the workshop.
"I'm sorry but we have a 10 minute policy and it's well over 10 minutes."
OK, I admit, I panicked.
"I totally understand but I went to the wrong location." Realizing that it wasn't a good enough excuse, I hurriedly added, "I got here as fast as I could. I came all the way from Castro Valley for Sparkle." I whined.
I know, whining hardly every wins. I was ready to throw in the pregnancy card, too. I mean, can you imagine? After all this I get turned away and you know for dang sure I wasn't going to get a refund. I had to try it all.
The front desk gal checked her list again and asked me for my name. I gave it and she scanned one more time, having not found me her first two glances. Then she realized I was the only person highlighted because EVERYONE else showed up early or on time, like they were supposed to. Bless this gal, she has mercy on me and told me to go ahead.
I was seriously the last one to arrive. I've never been put in this position before. Truly, I've always shown up early. I think in all the time I've gone to yoga, nearly ten years, I've been late maybe twice. But I've never been this late before. I was the gal I despised (unyoga-like, I know but I'm being honest here) - I showed up late, caused a ruckus even though I tried my hardest to be quiet and people who showed up early had to move their mats to make room for me. Oh, deaaaaarrrrrr.
But my yoga teacher was so sweet. Luckily she saw me right away and cleared a spot. She also rustled up the remaining props because most were all out but the ones they has a surplus in she made sure I received. She also made sure the other teacher knew I was pregnant so she could give me adapted poses.
It was a very cool workshop. The Man was worried I would be exhausted from a three hour workshop and, frankly, I was also wondering about my stamina. But my yoga teacher was right - it was a perfect workshop for me. Very chill and the whole point was to relax and restore ourselves. While I didn't get to partake in everything because of pregnancy limitations, it was still pretty awesome. I definitely want to do this type of workshop again, post-baby. I left feeling refreshed and thankful - Thankful to my yoga teacher and her partner for the evening, thankful to The Man for letting me take the time to go to a long workshop, thankful to live in a place that has these kind of offerings and just thankful, in general. That's one of the reasons why I love yoga and this teacher, in particular. I leave yoga classes with gratitude in my heart. It's quite lovely. It also helps me find balance against all those times I feel anxious or in a hurry, which is more often than I would like.
I want to be healthier. As I mentioned in my previous post, I seem to have picked up my old nasty habit of inhaling everything, particularly food that is j-u-n-k. And that's the only time when I believe I'm eating for two - that I need to stop being selfish and eat healthy because this little boy needs nourishment! Coffee Bean also needs me to kick up my exercise game.
Even though I was also pooped today I took up The Bun's offer to go for a walk. See, I love walks but she doesn't last for very long and doesn't walk very fast. We live in a beautiful area but it doesn't make for ideal exploring for a toddler. I would love to let her meander but we don't have sidewalks. It can be a little dangerous. But today she told me she wanted to take the stroller. Let me just say that this is a rare occurrence because as soon as The Bun could walk, she resisted the stroller. We've been without it for so long that we don't ever pack it, even when we know we're going to walk long distances! She would prefer her dad's shoulders to a stroller. So when she said she would ride in the stroller, I took her up on it!
Poor pups, they have lacked exercise too because of their mama:( I was sick, then it got to be very cold and now it's wet and I'm often tuckered out. They haven't had their frequent walks in months, just getting it sporadically now. They were overjoyed to go on a walking adventure, even if it meant being tethered to an ominous stroller. (It really isn't, it's just that if they don't watch where they're going, they get nicked in the hind legs with a tire. No one ever gets run over but I suppose it's a threatening object to them.)
It was already 5:00 PM so the sun was in it's last stages but we got in a good 45 minute walk. It was so nice to get out in the sunshine and it made me remember how great I felt when I would do this simple deed. I walked until the sun started to go down - again, having no sidewalks is a downer for our otherwise lovely neighborhood so it's always better to walk when it's bright out, especially with a kiddo and two pups.

Here's a photo I snapped of me and my little. I hope we can make this a tradition! We live on a hillside so pushing her totally kicked my bum. Even though it was cool I worked up a sweat! Very good exercise for this mama and I want to get this on our schedule. It's just so hard to do during the week because by the time we get home, it's getting dark. I'm looking forward to the days getting longer and we can do a lot more after work because the sun is out. Thankful that she had a good time, though, and I'm hoping she will want to do this again and again.

I'm not as granola as I thought.

Yoga is my outlet. Especially nowadays because my free time is limited and I've had to narrow my choices down. I go about once a week. I wish I could go twice but I take what I can get.
My point: My one class a week is precious to me. I know, I know, yoga is all about peace, love, harmony, acceptance and anything else good and loving. And I usually leave class feeling like I want to give a big bear hug to the earth because I feel one with the universe. (It's true.)
But when something disrupts my practice, I get irritable. I mean, really irritable. Quite frankly, there is this huge internal battle going on in my head. I'm upset because this time is extremely precious to me - I am doing one of my favorite things with one of my favorite teachers in my favorite studio. It's damn near perfect. But the perfection is disrupted by a hostile invasion. Well, just about any invasion is hostile which is why I'm irritable. Anyway, the other side of me, the yogini who wants to be loving and accepting, is upset with my irritable side for being upset. I mean, how hypocritical of me! Acceptance means to be accepting of everything because aren't we all striving for the same goal? To have a beautiful moment through yoga? Isn't this a semi-public space? (Open to all but you do have to pay.) Aren't we about peace and harmony???
Let me set up the picture for you.
I try to arrive 5 to 10 minutes early because the class fills up. I'm somewhat a creature of habit and like a certain spot in the room. I also like my space. What I like about my studio, and hope doesn't change, is that there is usually enough room for everyone without having to be so close are mats touch. I don't need too much personal space but I can't have the person next to me sweat on my mat. Feel free to refer to this entry if you need a refresher about my feelings on bodily fluids. I also like being close to the mirror so I can check if my alignment or poses are off. I know, I know, some yoga buffs think mirrors are for vanity and maybe they are but I think they're great for self-correcting, too.
Anyhoo.
My instructor promptly started the class on time and three minutes into it, I see HIM walk in. Keep in mind, I wouldn't even focus on or judge him except he, in just a few seconds, will greatly affect my yoga experience. HIM. This slender, decent looking guy who strutted in the class a few minutes late. He was without a shirt and wearing tie-die snug yoga pants. Not too snug but obviously meant for some serious yoga. OK. The shirt thing - well, I do have a preconceived notion about those who come into class shirtless or wearing a sports bra (cocky moh fohs) but I try to keep it in check. My instructor taped me on the shoulder and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt you but could you make room for _____?" (I forgot his name but, to be nice, I probably wouldn't put it in this entry, anyway.)
I begrudgingly made room. As I shift over, I have an obstructed view of the mirror. Damn. Dude rolled out his mat and joined us in downward dog. I should state that he looks like a poster boy for Vegan-ism. What does that look like? Well, I know Vegans. And they don't necessarily look like Dude. But he is what I imagine a Vegan would look like. Very Berkeley-esque. Huh?? If you're a Northern Californian, I could probably stop there. But let me go into further detail for you other folks. He had rumpled hair and he was very natural looking. He kind of looked like he just rolled out of bed. Since he was shirtless, I could see that he had hair on his chest as well as his back. And the tie-dye yoga pants just sort of sealed the deal.
So he went into downward dog. I instantly smelled a smell. Not pungent but definitely body odor. If you don't know what I mean, you are blessed. It wasn't like he was homeless but I don't know when Dude took his last shower. Or perhaps he just didn't believe in deodorant. Don't get me started on the whole "believing" thing. Either you use it or you don't. There's nothing to believe in. It exists! In any case, his natural smell easily wafted over to my mat.
Awesome.
But then CHECK THIS OUT. A couple minutes later, I was accosted by the smell of spicy sausage. Wait. WHAT??? No, that must have been accident. Wait, did it just happen again?! Did someone eat a polish sausage right before class? Oh-hell-to-the-no.
Obviously it was presumptuous of me to conclude that Dude was a Vegan. I honestly don't care if you are or are not. Unless you are affecting my restaurant choices because we're eating together. But you dared to eat spicy sausage before a Yoga class and now are burping?????? You strut in late, shirtless and aromatic, force me to move my mat over and are now overwhelming my sense of smell???? How DARE YOU.
Oh yes. Dude proceeded to intermittently expel silent but deadly burps throughout the entire yoga class. I never knew when I was going to be accosted by the spicy sausage smell or the light BO smell.
Ruined. My yoga class was ruined.
The love and peace side chastised my conservative with thoughts like, "Did he ruin it or did you ruin your experience because you refused to simply ignore and move past this challenge? Maybe you're too conservative and uptight." I tried! I promise I really tried!!! I was within two feet of someone with body order and spicy sausage burps!!!!!
When I came home, The Man said he could instantly tell that something went awry in class. When I told him, he sympathized and agreed that those challenges were simply too hard to ignore.
I see the humor. Which is why I'm sharing it with you. But dammit if my yoga practice didn't get bamboozled by a hairy, unpleasant smelling, spicy sausage-lovin' yogi.

You know, I won an award for this.

I don't know if I've ever shared this but I won an award in graduate school. Best Writing in my graduate program, son. Ya' heard.
OK, OK, I'm 100% certain there are errors in just about every entry I've written. But it's true, I was awarded Best Writing way back when. I knew I was a decent to good writer but not confident enough to ever enter a competition. It was only because of one of the professors reviewing my graduate project recommended I submit an excerpt from my project. So I did. And I won.
I write less and less as the years go by. I used to write for one of my past jobs - grants, print materials, proposals. But now I hardly write. All I really have is this blog.
I think most people blog because they like to write. It's an opportunity to freely share one's thoughts and express oneself to the whole wide world through the world wide web.
I've missed writing. I worry that, just like most skills, it's something I've lost over time because I haven't practiced. Do you know I knew APA style like the back of my hand? OK, not that well but pret-ty well. Now I don't remember if I put the period before or after the parenthesis.
Know what else I miss? Having a hobby. I love yoga and am able to take a class once a week but it's hard to fit it in my schedule more than that. But this year, I'm going to express my interest and see if my studio needs my help. I'm not interested in teaching but I'd like to submerge myself more in the practice. Perhaps through writing? Maybe fund raising. Either way, I'm going to figure it out.
I'm also promising myself to write more so maybe, one day, I can win another award :)

Updates and such

1. Work, work, work - pluggin' away. Still love my job but BOY am I tired! Looking forward to things slowing down a bit around Christmas.
2. Dirty confession - all decor but the Christmas tree(s) are up. I did it the first weekend of November! I'm holding out on playing X-mas music until Thanksgiving so that The Man doesn't leave me.
3. Work it out - I think I'm in my 4th week of Bootcamp. I LOVE it. Let me be clear, I do not love waking up in the morning and knowing I'm going to get my ass kicked. I kind of dread it, to be quite honest. But I love how I feel afterward because I know I totally kicked my own ass and pushed myself to the limit. I don't have the drive or discipline to do that on my own so I really like the trainer. He manages to motivate without being a douche. A rare and honorable trait.
4. Eating - working on it. I start off so well with my bowl of oatmeal in the morning and it somehow goes to hell in a handbasket (what the hell IS a handbasket?) by the end of the day. Ahhh ... it's always something, right?
5. No go on the Yoga :( I'm sad about this one. My chiropractor told me to lay off of it for a while. When I did, my shoulder got so much better. I really liked yoga, it made me feel good and accomplished and it always challenged me. But I like my left shoulder better so no more yoga for a while.
6. Facebook - Well, isn't that just a time sucker? While I'm on it a lot less, it is a great go to when trying to kill time or just do a brain numbing activity. But isn't it interesting the people and stuff you find out about??
7. Married life - I was trying to remember the last time someone asked me, "How's married life?" and just when I was going to write that it's been a while, I remember that my parents' neighbor just asked me that this morning :) But I think we're officially no longer newlyweds. Awwww ... that was a fun title. The Man is great. He is very stressed out at work and it's hard for him not to bring it home. I feel bad because he does a great job of not taking it out on me or the pups (I'm telling you, if you're stressed, hug a puppy - it works in this household!) But work does affect his attitude in the sense that it's really hard for him to be completely happy and carefree. I wish I could help him on that :( I wish I could light a bag of the pups' poo and shove it in his supervisor's mailbox. But I won't. Because that isn't classy. And it can get a person arrested.
8. Christmas cards - we are giving it a go next week and trying to take pictures. But if you get a lovely card with a wedding photo, don't be surprised!
9. The big 3-0 - for the longest time, I've been looking forward to this milestone. Now, I don't know. I'm not really "freaking out" but I'm having some serious reservations about this new chapter. I think I've accomplished quite a bit but (and how dumb is this) I also think about what I haven't done. And how much I wish I had done. But I'm pretty sure I'm not depressed about the whole thing ... just thinking about it too much!
All right, that's it. Again, I miss reading you guys but I suppose I can't be hypocrite and expect y'all to write if I haven't been doing much of the same. So write!

Jam packed weekend!

Says the girl who normally hangs around the house with The Man and their two pups.

On Saturday I went to get my dressed altered. Again. I think I must have been so focused on the fact that my dress needed to seriously be hemmed that I didn't look at anything else. Then a few days later, I wanted to see how the dress looked with the necklace I had made. Thank goodness I did that! I realized that my straps were too loose and my V-neckline was very low. How come I didn't notice this before?! Well, one fixes the other so that's why I brought it back to the tailor on Saturday. He is also going to fix the bustle (is that the spelling?) so that it doesn't show. After I dropped off my dress, my friend and I went to the St. Patrick's Day parade in San Francisco.
Earlier last year, I vowed to myself that I would partake, at least one time, in many of the festivities that make the Bay Area a fun place to live. Well, this one was a doozie. Oooo-weeee, talk about a lot of drinking! There was beer EVERYWHERE! And I think every Irish person in the Bay Area made a showing which is fantastic since I don't see too many where I live (Little Mexico. And yes, I'm allowed to call it this because my Mexican friends nicknamed it.) I'm all about diversity. So the beer was flowing which was great for the beer drinkers but not so much for me. My friend and I ordered a big Diet Coke at Burger King and then went to the nearest liquor store, bought some rum and dumped it in. What a little piece of heaven.
You can take the girl out of the ghetto but you can't take the ghetto out of the girl.
Although, in its concealed Burger King cup, at least we didn't throw caution (and good taste) into the wind and drink out of a paper bag. After we made our concoction, we made our way back to the Beer Garden and that was a ton more fun! Truthfully, I didn't see a lick of the parade. We were with a group that wanted to stay in the Beer Garden and so that's where we stayed. I think the Beer Garden was designed so they can have people legitimately drink right outside of City Hall and not get in trouble. Sweet! What was also great was that the St. Patrick's Day parade brought out everyone. Of course, there was little brown me who was obviously not Irish. But I also saw a Chinese Bagpipe player, an entire Hispanic family dressed in green and many other ethnicities tht wanted to help the Irish pay tribute to their day. Fun!
Thank goodness it was a daytime activity because on Sunday, today, I had a three hour yoga workshop. Starting at 6:00am. Back in the city.
Oh sweet baby jeezus, it was REALLY hard getting up at 4:00am. I was meeting back up with my friend on the Peninsula at 5:00am and then we were carpooling back up to San Francisco so we could be there by 5:30am. I know I've been waking up pretty GD early to workout but even 4:00am was a little extreme for me.
But back to the yoga workshop. OK, I do not claim to be a true blue Yogi. I really enjoy the classes I take at the gym but haven't been a regular at a yoga studio. And I most certainly haven't attended a three hour workshop. This class KICKED MY ASS. The room was set at a comfortable 70 degrees but quickly warmed with the 70+ people in the class. I was drenched in my own sweat. This was a little uncomfortable but I felt like I was getting a great workout. What was not at all great was that other people's sweat was everywhere. I am not exaggerating. We had to do inversions using the wall so people were walking all around the room to stake claim on a piece of the wall. There was enormous amounts of foot sweat on the floor. And some people didn't think it was rude to step on other people's mat. With their foot sweat. Anyway, because we were using the wall to support us for handstands, there was also sweat on the wall from feet as well as hands. Yes, there was literally sweat dripping from the walls.
Maybe you don't recall my hang up with bodily fluids but I am very uncomfortable being in contact with other people's sweat. I don't enjoy being splashed with it, rubbed against with it or touching it with any parts of my body. And while I was pretty distracted by how physically challenging the class was, I still noticed all the sweat around me. When I finally walked out of the class three hours later, my feet were dripping with my and many other people's sweat. I just can't get over something like that. I wish I could, I wish I didn't care, but that really grosses me out.
I am very happy to go back to the little cold studio in the gym that I belong to and do my yoga there. With sweat free walls and floors. Because even though I feel like I just ran a marathon and got one of the best workouts that I've had in a good long time, I just can't get past the sweat. It's a hang up of mine that I wish I could change but I can't. And it's really quite a shame since my mom's profession was microbiology and all she did was deal with bodily fluids. But I fear that I will always be this way which means limited or no yoga classea at yoga studios. And I am A-OK being an Amateur or Novice Yogi.

Pee in my cheerios. And a $48 torture contraption.

DAMMIT! The beautiful, gorgeous, and thick yoga mat that I bought is USELESS! I had inherited my old mat so I have never gone mat shopping before. I checked the reviews on Amazon and everyone loved it. So why, OH WHY, did my mat fail me when I took it to class? I'm not a huge perspirer but I was losing traction on my hands and feet. Seriously, my groin muscles should not hurt when I'm in warrior positions (but they did because I fought not to end up in the splits.) I even gave it one more chance at another class but I was slipping and sliding so much that I turned the mat over, hoping to get more traction. I didn't. OK, so I'm not crying but how annoying! Anyway ...
I bought my wedding undergarments today at Nordstrom. First I tried on Spanx. OH LAWDEEE!!! Those are some intense pieces of underoos! It was the first time I regretted choosing a sheath for a wedding gown rather than a puffier dress. I wouldn't have to deal with underwear lines with a nice tulle and petticoat number! Spanx definitely did the job, keeping everything in. But My main concern was lines and making sure my dress didn't go up my butt (something I didn't even think about until my Sister mentioned it. And, let's face it, it's pretty funky when you see a gal's butt practically munching on the dress. Nasty, I know but what a visual, hm?) Anyway, I was able to see the lines from the Spanx through my dress. Well, that defeated the whole purpose of getting bodyshape wear. (Under my dress, it looked like I was wearing biker shorts, Steve Urkel-style.) I should also mention that Spanx are HOT. I needed someone to fan me after getting into one of those contraptions. And then wearing it over a period of time? How was I going to survive in Hawaii?!
Then my friend unearthed the Body Wrap from another rack - she had mistakenly thought she had worn Spanx at her wedding but it was actually Body Wrap. Ooh! It was a much lighter fabric (imagine panty hose verses biker shorts.) But when she gave this undergarment to me, it looked like it could fit a toddler. No lie, it was about a foot and a half long. Then she told me that it will actually stretch from the bottom of my bra to a little below my knee. Serious?

Yes, oh yes, that is the Body Wrap. Pretty sexy, right? But I honestly can't knock it. It's light, it doesn't roll down (I hope!) and it keeps everything in order. It doesn't necessarily slim me down but it holds everything in place. Plus, since it ends below my knees, there are no lines on my dress. Of course the first thing I did when I got home was show The Man. I held it up and said that this is what I'm going to be wearing under my wedding gown and we would be makin' babies after he saw me in this.
He looked at it, a little confused at first (it looks like it could may one of our puppies) and said, "How much did it cost?" I pretended I didn't hear.
Whooohooo! One more thing checked off the To Do list!

Small but happy purchase ... and heart healthy soaps!

I am now hopped up on decongestion medication and allergy medication because I don't know what's what anymore. I save my special codeine cough syrup for the evenings. Anyhow, now that I'm somewhat back to normal, I'm trying to go back to my (as of lately) normal routine.
Well, I woke up at 1:30am today and couldn't go back to sleep. I hope to not wake up so early moving forward. But with the pups moving around and my nose being stuffed up and runny at the same time, I couldn't go back to sleep. I finally got out of bed around 3:00am and did some work and surfed the 'net. Thanks for the wee early morning chat, Jen! I even ate a little bit of oatmeal before I headed out to the gym.
I haven't been to the gym in seven days. When you're supposed to be going six days a week, that's been a loooooong time. I didn't even try to go on the treadmill. My trainer had to lighten up my weights because I was weaker. I felt like a wheezing old biddy. Who coughed a lot.
Anyway, it looks like I will be OK enough to go to yoga tomorrow. I love yoga!! Specifically, vinyasa or power yoga. OK, no one may care and I may lose anyone who was thinking about reading this entry. But I do! I do love yoga! It makes me feel strong and peaceful at the same time. I feel focused and energized. I wish I was a true yogi but I'm not. I'm not in it for the meditation. I like the challenges and using my own body for resistance. I love it. Well, except for Plow. If you don't do yoga, this is plow:


I hate this position. I feel like my stomach (muffin top) and boobs are suffocating me. My "cushion" even prevents me from getting my toes to the ground. The Man tried doing this position once when we did a yoga video together ... it made him feel a little tubby. I have to admit, it made me feel better that I wasn't the only one.
I had done yoga for about a year and then had to take a year off because of my previous employer - yet another reason why I hated that job. Anyway, I started my yoga practice in November and am back in love. But it is time to get a new mat. See, I had inherited this mat a little over two years ago:It's done right by me. Two years ago, I didn't know if I'd like yoga but I wanted to give it a try. I was still working at a gym and one of the guys I worked with told me there was an unclaimed new-ish looking mat and mat bag that had been there for a while. I think you all know how I feel about other people's sweat. Specifically, other people's sweat touching ME. But it did look like new. I had taken the mat and bag home and put them in the wash. Good as new! And the mat and bag have been great to me ever since.
Well, maybe it's just because, or maybe it's because I'm going into my 30s, but I realized recently that I need more cushion for my knees, elbows and wrists and my 1/8" inch mat just isn't doing it for me anymore. I mean, how am I supposed to comfortably do this?

This is one of my most favorite poses. Except I don't dare do it in white biker shorts and sports bra.

Or this?

I like this pose because it reminds me of when I did gymnastics as a kid. Plus it's easy for me.

I need some protection for my poor joints and limbs! So I perused through amazon.com (a favorite of our household now) to shop around for my new yoga partner and found this lovely mat:

So pretty! Just like the ocean with all the different shades of blue and aquamarine (is aquamarine a shade of blue?) And it's 1/4" thick. Double the thickness - hallelujah! I am hoping that my cough continues to subside and that my nose running is kept to a minimum so I can go back to yoga tomorrow morning. And use my lovely new mat! See? A small purchase but it made me very happy.
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A TOTALLY DIFFERENT SUBJECT BUT ON THE SAME DAY ...
Oh my gosh! So you know how I love my j-o-b? Not only do I really enjoy my work but I also think very highly of the company. I just received an email letting me know that one of our campaigns, Go Red for Women, was featured on General Hospital!
Soooo, long story short, I used to be addicted to soap operas. Seriously. I watched since I was a baby (I don't blame my mama, it's just how it was) up until I started grad school. 23 years of watching soap operas. How is this possible? Didn't I go to school?! My mama taped them. While I was doing my homework, I would watch One Life to Live, General Hospital and Days of our Lives. We would get done around 7pm. Every week day, from when I was in diapers all the way to senior year in high school. And then I would do my best to catch some if not all when I was in college. It was a struggle.
I even wrote a thesis on a qualitative study of soap opera audiences because I realized it affected the way I thought about relationships. No joke. My therapist and grad school professors helped me figure that out. Anyway, I used to be addicted. I stopped watching all together (the thesis and therapy really opened my eyes.) But I do have a fondness for "my stories." And I loved, loved, loved General Hospital! So imagine the GLEE I felt when I found out "we" were on GH!
AHA visits ABC’s General Hospital
The Feb. 27 storyline of ABC’s General Hospital was created with one goal in mind: inform women about their risk of heart disease. The episode features Go Red For Women messaging and includes appearances by AHA volunteer survivors Maria Kisska and Evan McCabe, as well as Molly McLellan, AHA’s corporate events director in Los Angeles.
In the episode, General Hospital character Epiphany Johnson, a heart attack survivor, takes part in a Go Red support group meeting and talks with other heart survivors, including Maria, Evan and Molly. Go Red signage can be seen in the background.
How cool is that?! I'm so proud of the company I work for and all that my colleagues and our volunteers do. Anyway, now you know! The importance of living heart healthy and my complicated views of soap operas! My thesis rocked, by the way. Do you doubt? Think the topic was too frivolous and trite? It won an award for Best Writing in my graduate studies the year I graduated :) BIG shout outs to my kick ass (non paid) editors, Kim and Darwin.

SICK

I am a weenie when I'm sick. Usually I just try to sleep for a couple of days and, for the most part, it goes away. Not this time.
I have been sick since Thursday night.
I slept through a beautiful weekend. I saw the sun through the drapes but was too congested and my throat was too sore for me to care.
And then it GOT WORSE on Monday. So I saw my doctor and she recommended I take it easy for a couple of days.
I feel like I'm behind at work. I had to reschedule four meetings to when I am less or not contagious.
I haven't worked out since Thursday. I cancelled my training session on Friday. Backed out of yoga on Sunday. Cancelled another session on Monday. Didn't go to yoga today. For a gal that has been committed to working out six days a week, I feel like a blob. A snotty, congested, bleary-eyed blob. Who finally has the right medication.
Bless the codeine.

I woke up at 5:30 am to go to yoga!

I then texted my friend and told her I was going back to bed.
I slept for probably 15 minutes and played out a whole argument in my head.
"C'mon fat ass! You complain you can't fit into your clothes and you won't even get up to go to yoga? What good is Weight Watchers if you don't exercise? Stop being lazy!" My other side can be mean.
"I just want to sleep!"
"Get up. Just GET UP!"
At 6:15 am, I felt too guilty to go back to sleep so I got out of bed and went to yoga.
Whooohooo!
I love Power Yoga. Specifically, the way this certain instructor teaches it. She's brilliant (she graduated from Stanford) and is some sort of engineer. So she's not very friendly. But I think that's part of the reason why I adore her. She means business. She pushes me way beyond what I think I can do. She doesn't talk much so when she does, it means something. When I took my last job, I was very sad that I couldn't take her class anymore. But now with my shiny, brand new spankin' job, I'm able to take her class again. Hurray!
Right?
She told us this morning that she gave her two week notice.
Son. Of. A. Bitch.

Love, thanks, and a load of turkey

I adore the holidays. Specifically, Christmas. And Thanksgiving is a great kick off holiday to the big shin-dig that is Christmas!
What's great about Thanksgiving, though, is there are no strings attached. Giving and receiving is AWESOME but Thanksgiving is all about being with loved ones, eating a HUGE meal, watching the Macy's parade and then catching some football. Holy smokes, could you ask for anything else???

LULU GIVES THANKS

1. Parents: My family is the best. I love them to pieces. My parents are so generous and loving. They have a thankless job, being a parent and all, and they would give everything to make sure their kids are safe and happy. I love them soo much. Plus, they are so teeny tiny and cute!

2. Sister: She is my best friend. She was my third parent growing up - she was the hip one - but now I get a best friend out of the deal. What a steal!!! She is so kind and generous (she must have good parents) and funny. She is talented, stylish (did I ever tell you she made me a color chart when I was little because the outfit I put together hurt her eyes?) and just simply divine.

3. Brother: He is our earth angel. If anyone has a non-stop flight to Heaven, it's him. He teaches me patience and compassion.

4. The Man: My other best friend. He knows me so well. He is a dork trapped in the body of a hottie! How can I not love that he is beautiful inside and out yet is humble, bashful and shy? He is truly a good man who loves me. Plus, he be my puppy's daddy. Word.

5. My friends: I'm not very good at keeping friends. It's a lot of effort to stay in touch and before I know it, I haven't talked to a friend in almost a year! Plus, if I am wronged, it's very hard for me to let a person back into my life. So the friends I do have really are super stars. They are kind, funny, supportive, smart, generous and all-around wonderful.

6. Power Yoga: I haven't been to class since April because of my new job schedule. But I'm going to today!!!! I can't possibly convey how excited I am. Just know I am beside myself because I love my nazi yoga teacher (by that I mean like "soup nazi" and not "genocide leader") I am so happy today!

And I'm thankful for a lot more (like my wild Pekatese puppy) but that's the jist of it. So, because I am a pretty cool gal, and I mean, pret-ty cool, I am giving y'all a little gift:

Go to www.sephora.com and shop your little heart out. Buy about $100 worth of stuff. Then get 20% off your Sephora purchase when you enter promotional code "FF2006" at checkout. You should also have free shipping because you spend over $75. And you get the dope discount. Seriously.

Told you I was a pretty cool gal. Happy Thanksgiving!!!! xoxoxo

Over the shoulder boulder holders

I try to go to my yoga class twice a week. It's hard because it's at 7:00am and I have a 1/2 hour commute. Therefore, not only do I have to wake up early but I have to pack my clothes, toiletries, shoes, make up and lunch the night before so I don't have haul ass in the morning.

Unfortunately, I was too beat last night so yes, I hauled ass this morning. Worse, I didn't have my act together and felt compelled to put away my laundry. It made sense in the moment. Until I put away all my laundry, I wouldn't be able to pick out a good outfit for work. This ate up about 15 minutes but I had to do it. Silly, silly, silly. At 6:30am, I knew I had to get the hell-up-outa-here to make it to my class. I threw my clothes (and it was a cute outfit!), shoes, makeup and toiletries in my gym bag, ransacked my fridge to grab my lunch and then ran out the door.

Made it in time and had an awesome class. But after yoga, I had to jam to get ready for a morning meeting. I took a quick shower and went to my locker to get ready. A bit modest, unlike my fellow gym buffs in the buff, I used ninja-like moves to put on mah draws. Then I dug in my bag again. "Hmm, where is ... *hands rustling through my clothes* ...oh, no. Really? Shiiiiiit." I plum forgot my bra.

Now, there are times that call for going commando. Fine, sure, whatever. But I've never gone sans bra. Damn. (Before you even suggest wearing my sports bra, I wore a yoga top with shelf bra so that idea was out the door.) My mind was racing. When does the mall open? Which one of my coworkers is the same size as me? Obviously, I was desperate. OK, I needed to reevalute my situation. My blouse and trousers were black topped off with a shimmery shawl. Would the shawl cover my "lady lumps"? I hastily put on my clothes and threw the shawl over my shoulder, around my front and back over the other shoulder. Maybe, just maybe, I could get away with it. I finished getting ready and went to my office. I let two coworkers in on my little secret. They told me not to worry and they couldn't see a thing. One, in her forties, was impressed that I could even get away with it. Slightly comforting but still.

I felt odd the entire day. The shawl did the trick and no one knew otherwise. Thanks be for it too because the office is always COLD. I checked on my top-half several times throughout the day to make sure I stayed properly covered. I must reinterate that I felt WEIRD. It was like being in jammies ... but not. I even felt vulnerable. I don't recommend going sans bra and it's something that I will try my darndest to avoid in the future. (It's not unprofessional to make one of my desk drawers an emergency undergarments drawer, is it?)

I am now a believer that the brassiere is a gal's best friend. Dare I say a bra may even be called our protective armor?

Aww, thanks!

I struggled to get to my yoga class today. (When I write "struggle", I really mean it - for almost 20 minutes, I was convincing myself to get my bumm moving to make it to my 7:15am class. Yup, I gotta leave my home by 6:40am!!!) Anyhow, after class was finished, one of my classmates asked me if I was also a yoga instructor. Thinking she was being funny, I laughed and said no. But then she told me she was serious. She thought, because of my flexibility, I was an instructor. Hot damn! What a compliment. I mean, she's smoking crack because I can be stiff as a board. But still, it made my morning.

You probably figured it out by now. I'm easy. To flatter. You can tell me, "Hey, those are great shoelaces" or "You sure fold paper pretty." And as long as you're being sincere, I'll be flattered. Kinda sad but true!