Yoga

So. As I said before, I took my first yoga class the other night.

It was....

well.............

It was...............

weird.

Weird but wonderful. And strangely enough I have a strong desire to go back!!

The instructor was a tall, strong, lithe woman whom I felt quite certain, just by looking at her, could bend over backward and continue to just roll slowly around the room like a fluid wheel.

As soon as we came in, we took our shoes off: bare feet only. I breathed a sigh of relief that I had painted my toenails.

We opened class with the traditional yoga pose, prayer hands in front.....and then.....ahem..the first sound in the universe: "ooooooommmmmmmmmm...". I was hoping that everyone'e eyes were closed because I had the BIGGEST dumb grin on my face as I supressed my laughter.

One of the first things we did was to sit on a folded blanket, and "pull up our sit-bones". I've thought about this alot since then, and I am still not sure that I actually WANT my "sit-bones" up. In fact I am pretty sure that I DON'T want my "sit-bones" up.

But after we really got into the class, I really learned A LOT.

(I learned almost immediately that "childs pose" is my favorite. ;-)).

It was so different than any other sort of excercising I've ever done.I've thought about my posture all week, and have really worked on finding that perfect balance. And I FELT so much better AFTER the class.The last 5 minutes of relaxation were incredible,and I actually slept sounder that night than I have in months, and yoga was the only thing that I could attribute it to.

So. I am excited to go back and really get into it. I've already caught myself using the phrase "downward dog" in a regular conversation. So.....ya know...I'm practically a yogini.

Of course, I will probably still immaturely laugh when we "oooooooooommmmmmmmmm", and I may be walking around with my "sit-bones" all up, but I think that I'll actually be standing up straighter, and feeling better than I did before.

Cheers!

Melissa

Maybe I'm just easily distracted.

SO. Can you believe it??? My husband is STILL gone?? How long has he been gone now.....? About 5 years I think.

No. But it really DOES seem like a long time.

The kids seem to be doing really well, but it is wearing on us all and it will be like party central around here when Race gets home!!

Schooling has been keeping me busy, but I can't say I have been extremely "passionate" about it lately.
To help me stay "in sound mind and body" I have been trying to branch out a bit more and try some new things.
Savannah and I are taking a rock climbing class next week, and that's a little terrifying. Not because of the actual climbing, but because of the fundamentals that we will be tested on.
Let's not forget that I was the girl who had faithfully practiced her knot-tying for DAYS before going out on her very first rock climb. And there, standing in front of my husband, my children, and our guide, I readied myself for my first climb. I tied my knot perfectly, and double checked it. I held it up to our guide and said, "Is this O.K.?" The look on his face said, "You've GOT to be kidding". And he said, "Yep, that's right. But you MIGHT want to actually pass it through your harness." OMGosh!! I hadn't tied myself in!!! (The sheepish grin and giggle)
So, yeah....I'm a little nervous.

I went to my first yoga class the other night, (which I loved). I found out that my many years of ballet left me completely ill-prepared for yoga. They are like polar opposites. Who knew??
But once again, I was the girl to whom the instructor had to say, "No.... no..your OTHER left". (Again with the sheepish grin and giggle. Which, for the record is only gonna get you so far at my age).
But let's not forget, that although I have to spend Race's hard earned money, these days to remain blonde, I WAS born a tow head. So...maybe there's something to all that.(shrug)

Cheers!!
Melissa

A glimpse..

As you may have guessed, the various responsibilites that fall to me in this life, have been collectively kicking my butt.

Every time I get up and running.....I slip and fall on my face, due to various unforseen curves, pot holes, and stumbling blocks that inevitably come into everyones daily experience. And it's not that I don't heed the old addage of "get back up and dust yourself off". I do. It's just that here lately, theres been A LOT of slipping and falling, and that in turn has caused me to just want to lie and wallow a bit, before the aforementioned "getting and the dusting".

I don't advise this.
Because I've noticed that after you wallow, there's more than just "dusting" that needs to be done. At that point it's more like dried mud that has to be removed, so you've really done yourself a disservice.

During my blogging hiatus, however, I have seen glimpses of a close family now and again. I think far too often I am focused on the little "fixes", and I forget to really LOOK at the little things that happen each day that ARE what we strive for.

The day that Savannah got her braces off, we came home and the boys couldn't stop talking about how awesome her "new smile" looked. She was absolutely beaming. Brothers usually don't take much notice of the personal appearance of their sister. At least THESE brothers don't. I'm pretty sure that she could shave her head bald and it would be days before one of them said something like, "Hey...has your hair always been like that?"

The day that we were going to leave for a road trip to my mom and dads, I had a ton of errands to run that morning, and this was going to set us back even further from leaving. I don't like to come home to a dirty house, and since ours looked like some nasty dwarves from middle earth had taken up residence in it, I knew it would be awhile before we could shove off. When I walked in the door, the kitchen was SPOTLESS. In fact, the whole main floor of the house was clean and swept. ANd I mean really clean. Jackson had gotten up and cleaned the whole thing that morning while I was gone! Once the smelling salts were administered we left for mom and dads.

Savannah had her birthday party at mom and dads skating center. Having grandparents that own a skating center to which you get private, VIP party rights, is one sweet deal for my kids. Just think of it: not only do you get the WHOLE skating rink to yourself, you get your own tunes, you can eat all the junk food you want....self-serve, you can play all the games FOR FREE, and what kid wouldn't LOVE to stand behind the snack bar and serve up drinks from the drink fountain??? They had been looking forward to this for-ev-er. After we arrived there was a glitch in the music. Austin saved the day, and spent the entire party up in the DJ booth blasting all of his sisters favorite music for everyone to skate to. It really did save the party. ANd while this probably WAS his dream job......he also enjoys being in the middle of everything skating, so I thought that it was really great.

Savannah is a very thoughtful and sweet girl each and every day. (No, she is not adopted).SHe really is a sweet girl, by nature. Just the other day, she spent a good part of her day helping Jackson understand and organize his ipod. She downloaded new music for him, (which she is careful to screen and be sure that he doesn't listen to anything "unsavory"), and helped him figure the whole thing out. And trust me when I tell you that Jackson is NOT the most patient student.
And then on Valentines Day, Savannah made valentines for each of us, and bought me a box of chocolates because she knew that dad wouldn't be able to send anything.

SO there you have it! Glimpses that we MIGHT actually come out on the other side of all this with something that resembles our goal. Of course all the other animal-like behaviour still happens around here too, but I will save those for another post. Sometimes I need a little reminder!

Cheers!
Melissa