taking a break from the cerebral

things i love, the shallow clothing edition:

* cardigans
* ruffles
* ballet flats
** these first three are obvs, as they're lit worn daily, and it was prob not necessary to list.  oh well. **
* toms - and the fact that they're coming out w ballet flats only multiplies my affection
* pleats.  everywhere.
* skinny belts
* scarves.  esp thin, long ones. 
* polka dots
* pink + green combo
* black + white + grey + red combo
* stripes
* yoga pants
* navy blue, anything
* flowers
* change purses - i'm ADDICTED
* darrrrk jeans
* plaid!
* blazers
* hugs.

xo

blink. breathe. remember.

this post changed my life.  or rather, did not but made me this much more conscious.  brought new life to my life.

things are happening.  and yet, here i sit.  with 2 minutes left to blog before my lunch break comes to a close... and so.  in the words of the Terminator, i'll be back.

love.love.

So you think that you've got troubles?

So you think that you've got troubles?
Well, trouble's a bubble,
So tell old Mr. Trouble to "Get lost!".

Why not hold your head up high and,
Stop cryin', start tryin',
And don't forget to keep your fingers crossed.

When you find the joy of livin'
Is lovin' and givin'
You'll be there when the winning dice are tossed.

A smile is just a frown that's turned upside down,
So smile, and that frown will defrost.
And don't forget to keep your fingers crossed!

- lyrics from the dick van dyke show, written by Morey Amsterdam

look what happens.

Even

After

All this time

The Sun never says to the Earth,

"You owe me."

Look

What happens

With a love like that,

It lights the whole sky.
- hafiz

repetition

some days are just like the ones before.

some days have an ongoing theme.

today is already the latter - thrice this morning i've stumbled upon the name charles bukowski.  so, here's a couple of words i'll borrow from him. 
let's see what the rest of today brings, yeah?

xo

“We're all going to die, all of us, what a circus!
That alone should make us love each other but it doesn't.
We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing.”

[photo cred]

 

juice of the day:
"apples cover a multitude of greens"

3-4 stalks of celery
1.5 carrots
4-5 kale leaves
2 apples

(measurements are approx due to cutting of produce the evening before,
and blindly shoving things into juicer at ungodly hours of the morning.)

not in the mood for it today.  :(

love is a place...

love is a place

& through this place of
love move
(with brightness of peace)
all places

yes is a world
& in this world of
yes live
(skilfully curled)
all worlds


- ee cummings

how.many.times.

how many times will i suffer through a ragin' (legit) sugar hangover before i learn my binging lession?

omg.  so gross.

treehouse update coming soon...  it was the best 2 days of my life.  i'm moving there. 

{really.  gonna do a 2 month internship before moving to TX.}
details to follow. 

beat the beet up

(jersey shore, anyone?) 

sorry, i couldn't resist. 
dj pauly d is cute marginally less obnoxious than the rest of them, though.

this juice actually grossed me out. 
it looked like blood.
it did not taste awesome.
i've decided i do not care for beets.
(at least, not raw beets.  i'll try again, but i'll roast them, not juice them.)

juice of the day:  beat the beet up

beet root - 1/2 bulb
celery - 2 stalks
carrots - 2
kale leaves - 3
water - 1 c.

i had heard read on blogs/recipes that beets are super sweet and not to over-do it.  WRONG.  i tried to cover up the smell of dirt that was wafting up from the juice with a carrot or two, to no avail.  the results were less than desirable, but i felt good after holding my breath and shooting drinking it.

second time around, i added an apple.  (i had to use the other half of the beet!)  and no celery.  it was better, but still not gonna be my go-to.

you can't win them all.

HBD!

My little baby nugget smunchface puppy breath snuggle monster turns 1 today!

I love you, Miss Betty Rose White!!

xoxo

goodnight, handsome

steve, my love for you will never fade.

i wish you peace and rest... 

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”



“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it.
Don’t settle.”

- the one and only, Steven Paul Jobs

juice of the day

honeydew (1/3 of whole)
spinach (2 c.)
basil (4-5 leaves)
water (2 c.).

get out of here.  it's so good. 

tomorrow i'm thinking of doing something with that beet i bought... or maybe i'll do another day of fruit.  who knows!



"by letting go it all gets done"
- lao-tzu

work

“The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.” -Jessica Hische

Oh, what's that?

reading about yoga practices?  yep.
researching nutrition?  yep.
working on all of that. 

with a bit of knitting on the side, just for kicks.

work? 
huh?
where?
alriiiiiight..  gah..



juice of the day: 

apples (4 tiny ones)
cucumber (1 med)
spinach (uh, some - 2.5 cups-ish)
water (1 c.)

totally addicted to whole grain (really grainy/seedy) bread, darkly toasted, with smooshed avocado & a couple of flecks of freshly cracked pepper.  knock-your-socks-off-good. 

and just while i'm thinking about it, i really hope i am the kind of mom who makes those things for her kid.  simple, delish, lovely, WHOLE foods.  i know it seems so much easier to throw tray of pizza rolls in the oven, but... i just hope...

p.s.  no pics of the pasta bc the leftovers were not as pretty.  or as good... maybe the only pasta in history that doesn't get better the next day?

play time!

more pics from yesterday:

went to Susan's class this morning - it felt sooo good to work out some of the soreness.  my practice was all over the place.  i had to laugh - the whole time.  it was fun and funny and silly and completely the opposite of yesterday's intensity.  wrapped it up with a little paperwork and headed out...

leaving the studio, feeling the brisk autumn air, seeing nothing but blue skies = the perfect sunday.

went to whole foods, spent too much money, got a yummy juice and some "juice".  and omg, i made dinner.  didn't take a photo because i couldn't stop eating it.  so good.  this is so not like me, to be able to just throw things together and have them taste amazing, but holy cow.  seriously.

1/2 red onion, sliced
1 T EVOO
2 (small) zukes, sliced
1 c. whole wheat pasta (i used penne)
2 T goat cheese, crumbled
fresh basil, to taste

i put the onions in a skillet w the evoo and let that go on med/low-ish heat for a while... during which time i was rumaging around, trying to figure out what the heck i was gonna do.  so, maybe about 20 mins?  low and slow... gotta get those onions dark & sweet.  i roasted the zukes, plain in the oven at 500, but next time i'll season them w garlic salt & pepper.  maybe turn it down to 450 (i was impatient at this point).  boiled some water, cooked the pasta al dente, reserving some of the water.  tossed the pasta, onion, zuke & goat cheese together & i did that chiffonade thing to the basil and mixed it in, too.  the cheese melted like a dream.  i only added a spoonful of the pasta water, just to keep things loose.  (made 2 servings)

and then the girl was happy.

i paired it with a glass of red, which i'm sure breaks some kind of food rule, but whatever.  me likey.

bonus:  the fridge was clean.  haha.  ;)

maybe next time i'll throw in some sun-dried tomatoes, maybe a little eggplant... who knows!

i'll have the leftovers tomorrow and try to remember a photo. 

love & light!

yoga fest, year 1

what a beautiful day! everything went better than expected today!  only had 2 students in class, but we really honed in and had a lovely practice.  followed by mysore with sati... my practice was exactly what i needed, even though i didn't know what was in store for me.  i find that more often than not, that tends to be how it goes, yeah?  when you're really truly not looking for the growth/change is when it's plopped right in front of yer face.  i've known for a while that i need to be less judgmental toward myself and my asana practice, but so many times, i just don't see when or how i am criticizing these things.  because i've been given so many new poses from sati, i believe that i'll really have an opportunity to see that in the coming months - and learn the right ways to push myself... learn to listen to my body.  it's hard to know when i need to make myself practice, even when i don't feel like it AND when i need to take rest, even though i want to push through.  hopefully, i can get a handle on this before i get an injury.  i hear way too frequently that this is how ashtangis (and yogis/athletes) learn when to say WHEN.  and when to learn some of the less physical practicies.  i also feel very strongly that this is the universe telling me that the time is now - time to deal with stuff, face some fears, and just get on with it... move through it...  we'll see.  i'm just trusting my teacher on this one - sati, as well as the ultimate teacher - the practice.  also, my asana practice will now be extended in such a way that it will require a greater time commitment from me.  i am so excited for this challenge!  okay, more on this later... on to yoga day!

today was the FIRST ANNUAL yoga day at the riverside arts market!  it was exciting and compelling and wonderful - and we couldn't have dreamed up better weather.  the teachers who set up the tent (while i was teaching) did an excellent job.  everything looked great!  over all, jacksonville raised more than $20k for the Africa Yoga Project -- (currently) more than any other city in the nation!!  WHAAA!!!!
 
 

 

over 180 students showed up for the 108 Sun Salutations lead by 10 of Jax's yoga instructors. 

i can't even properly depict how my heart goes pitter-patter when i see this photo: 

i felt like i was "home", seeing all those people in their yoga attire, mat bags slung over their shoulders, grinning from ear-to-ear.  it was a great time all around. we all really enjoyed reaching out into the community and developing relationships within the network of shalas around town. i made some new friends, and even got in some MORE yoga during the afternoon and played around with a new friend doing some acro-yoga... it was more like an acro-massage... it was totally wonderful.

i could've hung out there all day...  my hips were super sore, i can't imagine i would've been able to walk without this crazy-looking totally uh-maze-ing hip joint massage.

 ok, enough for now... more to come!