Office Update

Last night we began the process of moving our upstairs office downstairs to a brand new setup on the first floor! So far, the work table is built (and my hands are blistered) and that's about it! Will keep you updated with progress but Finn has already given his seal of approval on the desk!

{Oct 23 2012}

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Dad is home from the hospital and doing well so far.
2. Wireless keyboard!
3. A husband who makes me breakfast for dinner. :)

Happy Tuesday! We are off to buy a camera I believe!

Weekend Review {8.27.2012}

Greetings, Monday! This was a fun weekend!

We kept Friday night pretty low-key. Eric and I used up a gift card to Longhorn Steakhouse (neither of us had ever been before that we could remember...) and then stayed in the rest of the night. I stayed up and caught up on blog reading while Eric crashed early after his 4:30am wake-ups all week.

Saturday morning started with a 9am yoga class (felt great for the shoulders+hips) and then was pretty uneventful the rest of the morning/afternoon. I made chicken posole soup for a Mexican potluck hosted by my sister and her husband (Kirstin and Chad) and packed it up for the drive to Columbus. We left for Columbus and had a great time at the party (margarita jello shots were involved courtesy of my mom!) and then headed back home totally exhausted on Saturday night!

Yesterday we went to mass at Holy Angels (on the University of Dayton campus) and then I took Parker to Petsmart for his first paw-dicure. They used a little dremel-like device to grind down his nails so now he can sit on our wood floors again without sliding down slowly. He was a champ about it and I rewarded him with a hike in the heat at Sugarcreek Reserve. It was a fun time and I even let him get in the mud a little bit. He doesn't seem to be a water dog but maybe he just wasn't in the mood yesterday! After that adventure, we came back home and headed over to my in-laws house for Sunday night dinner. We took Parker and he ate up all of the attention from the family. My sister-in-law, Megan, is moving to Atlanta today for her first post-grad job so we all said our goodbyes last night. It was bittersweet but lots of fun, as always.

Lots of partying this weekend, and the scale reflected it this morning! Up 2.1 pounds from my newest "normal" so I'm drinking lots of water and reigning it in today. I am planning on taking an advanced Yoga Flow class tonight at 6:00pm so hopefully that will help me to get it in gear!

Any tips for pressing "reset" after an indulgent weekend?

Terror

Good morning! Just popping in to share some cute scenes from this morning. My sweet puppy has temporarily turned into a terror! My mother in law and sister in law dropped by yesterday and brought Parker some beanie toys to play with. My gosh! He has gone nuts for the beanie squirrel! We have a little groundhog that runs in our backyard so maybe he is in training for the takedown? Anyways, have a happy Sunday!

*excuse the picture quality - they were taken on my iPad's camera.

Reclining Bound Angle Pose

I ended up going back to Day Yoga Studio (on Brown Street, located on the University of Dayton campus) yesterday for a 75-min Gentle Yoga class. I decided to go ahead and buy a month-long pass to the studio because they are closest to me and their schedule works well with mine. I would still like to try out the other studio in the Oregon District and maybe I will get a quarterly pass to that studio next month! Gentle Yoga was great and left me feeling totally peaceful and relaxed. A highlight of class was holding supta baddha konasana (reclining bound angle pose) for about 5 minutes. I had never done this pose before and modified it by laying on a bolster (no props under my legs and no strap pulling my ankles in) and it was an intense 5 minutes!

(source)

Holy cow! I have always had tight inner thigh/groin area but that really showed me just how tight I really am there. I need to do that stretch daily...my life will never be the same!

I didn't realize it yesterday when I bought the pass, but the studio has no classes on Fridays. They do offer a few on Saturday mornings though so I have taken it easy tonight in order to be up and ready tomorrow morning for a 9:00 Yoga Flow class! I am excited to get my sweat on. Not quite ready to try hot yoga yet...

Today was uneventful other than that. I did score my first maxi dress ever from The Gap - originally $69 marked down to $19.99 plus an additional 25% off today only...so with tax only about $16! I am planning to wear it tomorrow to Kirstin and Chad's house for their mexican-themed gathering. Ayyayayay! ;)

The Search is On

Lately, my body has been craving a return to yoga. I have been practicing yoga for about six years now, always at varying levels. When I began practicing, yoga was my exclusive form of exercise. As the years have gone by, I've incorporated lots of other methods of exercise, but nothing gives me the total reset that yoga gives. For this reason, I'm heavily considering making yoga my primary form of exercise again. I've not returned to this way for a while because yoga feels so indulgent...like it's not a "real" workout because it feels so so good. I know that's not really true, but it's a psychological thing I guess. Yoga also always helps me to be more present and patient with life, and enjoy today instead of rushing ahead to the future all the time.

source

In light of this change, and in the spirit of taking advantage of our new urban location, I am actively looking for a yoga studio to join.  I've never frequented a yoga studio before, only practiced at home (through Yoga Today) and at various drop-in places. I love Yoga Today for their community, their great price, their variety and their quality of yoga and instruction, but at this point in my life I'd like to integrate into the community in Dayton a little more and meet some people and potentially some friends. Also...to be completely honest, I've been having a really hard time calming down and clearing my mind in the new house. Every time I roll out my mat and light my candle to get in the yoga zone, I notice a dusty corner or start thinking about refinishing the hardwood! Oh, home-ownership! Anyways, I visited this yoga studio on Tuesday and can't wait to go back. It is less than 2 miles away from our house on University of Dayton's campus, too and has really affordable monthly passes so I am very interested in joining full time. There is another studio in the Oregon district of downtown Dayton (a trendier, hip neighborhood) complete with exposed brick inside the studio that I haven't had a chance to check out yet. It is less than three miles from our house, but I haven't decided if location or cool factor is more important to me in a studio. Quality of instruction never hurts either.. of course! I'd like to take a few classes at each but eventually I would like to buy a monthly/quarterly pass to one and start to establish a community there. Med school has provided a crazy schedule for Eric and I think it would be great for me to get out of the house for an hour or two each evening to give him some peace and quiet for studying or relaxing. It will also make me calmer and give me something to do each evening, which is a win-win in my book. I will keep you updated with the search!

Hope you have a great day!

Three Little Things {8.10.12}

Yesterday I started my first day at a new job. I wanted to share three little things that got my happy going yesterday.

1. The beautiful recess during outdoor play.

2. The conversation about sleepwalking that I had with my mentor during quiet time. (She would get up in the middle of the night and bang the peanut butter jar on her kitchen counter when she was a newlywed and she was afraid her new husband would think she was a looney.

3. Having a quiet evening at home with Eric (with a quick stop to the Dixie Dreem) and watching The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish version). Great night!