Yoga for Beginners

With school out.. (forever! eek!)..summer just around the corner, and inevitabily bathing suit season once again, I'm am trying to live more healthily. So I've been dragging myself to the gym with my gym buddy and also trying out yoga. I've only done yoga once or twice before, but I found a great deal on a yoga studio here and decided to give it a try.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into the studio is the calmness and quietness of it all. I'm used to intense cardio workouts with pumping jams blasting out, so this is of course quite a departure from that. It's almost eerie to be so aware of how your body is moving and to concentrate on your breath. That is one thing that I acknowledge I need to learn to do. Just breathe. I find myself holding my breath more than once. Holding your breath for too long is never a good thing.

The first pose called savasana is all about relaxation and I never thought that could be so difficult. The first class I did I almost started to giggle. Terrible I know. But I found it so hard to get thoughts out of my mind and just succumb to my breath. In the third class the teacher told us if we have a thought about our upcoming day, acknowledge it, inhale and let the thought out when you exhale. If only everything that stresses you out could leave with a simple breath.

In my relaxation state when I'm trying to have a clear mind, I think this is when most thoughts pop into my head.
"What am I going to have for dinner?"
"Man, I need a job."
"I hope someone, anyone, calls for an interview soon."
"My cheek has an itch. I better not scratch it. She'll know I'm not concentrating. It's getting worse. I'll just scratch it quickly. Maybe she won't notice."

I really hope I am not the only beginner that feels or thinks this way. Otherwise, I'm gonna need more than yoga to help me!

As we go through all the different poses and postures it's amazing the ones you think should be easy are not. And the ones you think "there's no way my body can do that" are easy. It's surprising how very little I am aware of myself and body.

However, at the end of class, the instructor told me my "wheel" pose (which you may know as a bridge), is amazing. I have a flexible back. Who knew? I'm pretty sure it's the only flexible part of my body...for now. Thank you elementary school gymnastics.

Cinco de Mayo Celebrations

May 5th all over North America and I'm sure other places, people celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Our little household celebrated the glorious day with fresh food. We had an array of fresh salsa and dips and a delicious vegan enchilada recipe. I found this recipe from the Oh She Glows website, and I love meat, but let me tell you, it was AMAZING!



Mine don't look nearly as pleasing as the ones on the website, but I highly recommend them!









A meal this good has to be washed down with some festive drinks of course. We decided to make and enjoy some frozen beverages. I'm not exactly sure Cinco de Mayo is celebrated for, but I'm not one to turn down a drink! Margaritas would have been the more obvious choice but with no tequila on hand, only rum, we made do with Pina Coladas! mmmm


Note: Beware the sugar hangovers that are bound to follow after drinking these all day!

Like...seriously!

Here's a few basic facts about me. I am generally a happy person. I'm not moody or dark or even that bitchy around certain times of the month. I like to laugh and joke around. Life's too short to complain or be angry at things you can't change. I'm also short. It's no secret. If you've ever stood next to me you've probably felt giant because I'm 5 foot 3, basically miniature. I also have a quiet voice. I don't like to yell. It takes a lot of effort for me to speak loudly. And, I'm a natural blonde.

I'm not sure if it's a combination of these things in particular or something else, but people tend to not take me seriously. It could also be the fact that when I tell stories or try to explain things, the word 'like' seems to take over my vocabulary. And I know it's not just me...it seems to be a trend among young people. Whether this came from the 90210 days or somewhere else but it's definitely something I am much more aware of after teaching. I am now very aware of the way I speak and I try very hard not to turn everything into a simile.

One of the reasons I really enjoy teaching is these little imperfections come out and you are forced to fix them. One of my other favourite parts of teaching is the kids take everything you say as the word of god. They take you seriously. To them, you know everything and even if you make a mistake, they forget about it 2 seconds later. Kids are the best. We could really take some pointers from these little guys.

Closer to 30

Tomorrow is my birthday. I will be 26 and I have to say I'm not sure how I feel about it. There are so many things I have yet to accomplish or points in my life I thought would be complete by now. As a young girl around the age of 10 or so you have big dreams for yourself. You think by the time you're 25 you would be married with a couple of kids and your career on the go. Not so much. And so, as I speed past 25 I realize none of these things that little girls dream of are even close within my grasp.
I'm not married. Not even close. Not even a proposal looming. And I'm in no rush.
I don't have kids. I'm not a mother. But let's face it, that's probably a good thing at this point in my life.
And definitely no career started yet. I can't wait to be a full time teacher someday but who knows how long that will take! It's not exactly in high demand right now. I am instead a student.

A long time ago, in high school I made a pact with my friend Billy. We share the same birthday - and I am exactly an hour older. He's my oldest friend...since birth, literally! Our pact started as a marriage one but from what I can remember it morphed into a children pact. We said if neither of us was married or had kids by the time we reached 30, he would father my children. (Don't worry Jamie...it's stricty through artificial insemination!) I love the guy, but he's like my brother. Yuck. This pact was laughable when I was 16, but now 10 years later (wow!) it's slowly creeping up on me. We may have to renew and rewrite some of those terms.

As people so lovingly tell me, I am now closer to 30 than 20. Somewhere along the way, those little girl dreams have changed from marriage, kids, career into something else. I have a bucket list for myself, and although those things are included on it. There are about 30 other things that are unrelated to the traditional dreams. But as I've said before, age is merely a number. And I don't feel 26. I'm told I don't look 26. Even though I'm slowly starting to notice some laugh lines. (I'm not so against botox anymore).

There are some things I am sure of. I will ineveitably get older and those laugh lines will deepen. But, I'm also sure there is so much more to life than living for what is 'supposed to be'. I'm sure these things will happen for me someday, but I'm in no rush. I'm enjoying living in the moment and making the most of what I have now. And what I have is no money and no job...but I've got great family and friends. Even some that would make a very generous donation....


PS...Just a little update on my no eating fast food. It's been 2 weeks and I'm proud to say I have not faltered! (Although I don't include Subway or Tim Horton's under the fast food category).

Give it up

Lent. Ash Wednesday. I'm not Catholic nor am I religious in any way. I like to consider myself more spiritual than anything. But, as most attempt to give up something for 40 days and 40 nights at this time of year, I am following suit. I just hope this goes better than my New Year's resolutions. Those quickly were tossed to the side a day after making them.



What I am self denying during this time is fast food. That's right, no McDonalds, no Wendys, no Harveys, no Burger King, no Taco Bell, etc. They will just have to learn to live without my money.

But I did learn something new yesterday. Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Tuesday, or Fat Tuesday is special because you are allowed and encouraged to stuff your face with paczis (sp?). From what I understand they are jelly filled doughnuts but better than the regular kind because they are fatter. Who knew? I didn't partake in this jelly-filled heaven because I'm not a fan of regular sized ones so I assumed I also wouldn't enjoy the fatter version.

So I wish you all well on your journey of self denial and hope you don't kill anyone in the crossfire.

Hands off!

The Farting Diaries

Farts. A touchy subject for some. Humourous to most. It can be a turning point in a relationship (usually for the women), or it can be the breaking point (again, usually for the women).

Everyone does it. Everyone knows it. But so many of us can't talk about it.


I've met some people that are in long term relationships and even married, that will not, or cannot, fart in front of their significant other. It has always been my belief that once you are truly comfortable around a person...farts ensue. This can only mean you really like the person to completely be yourself. You probably do it in front of your family. My brothers used to fart in jars, leave it for days and have us smell it later. Gross, but true.

You're bound to let one slip sooner or later if you spend a large amount of time with a person. That can't be helped. It may be by accident, on purpose, or simply for the sake of saving your stomach from imploding because you've been holding them in.



Now, I'm not saying to just let them rip whenever you feel like it. I mean, it's just common decency to not have that poor unsuspecting person in the grocery aisle run in the other direction when you drop a silent bomb. Also, save yourself a little embarrassment if you're not sure whether the sound can be controlled. But, we all know it happens.



It's puzzling as to why society is so disgusted by farting but burping is quickly forgiven by an "excuse me." They are both passing gas. Does farting need an "excuse me" when done in front of others? Maybe. Once the laughter stops. Or will it never be ok because it comes from your ass?



If you have a gas problem, you better not travel to Malawi - the government recently decided that 'fouling the air' was to be outlawed. They take air pollution very seriously.

Grade 1's make me smile...and make me sick

We all know kids say the darndest things. I mean, there was a whole show dedicated to this. Being in a grade 1 classroom for my second placement is a breath of fresh air with me trying to suppress laughter all day long. The things they say just make me smile. They just say what's on their mind. Not only are they not afraid to say what's on their minds, they are not scared to fart at any given moment. Of course everyone giggles, including me.

And of course we all know kids are incubators of germs. I started February 4th have been sick basically the entire time. It could have something to do with the fact that they are always sticking their fingers in their mouths or sneezing all over stuff. I really wish I could have invented ColdFX...I'd be rolling in it by now.

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Kid: "Miss, is it okay if I fall asleep?"
Teacher: "No. Why do you want to sleep?"
Kid: "Cause I'm tired.
Teacher: "Would it be okay if I went to sleep?"

Second Kid: "Yeah! We should all go to sleep!"

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Student: "Miss....have you ever done a drug?"

Me: "What do you mean?"

Student: "Well, a drug is like a cigarette, beer, or a smoke."

Me: "No, not me. (lie) Have you?"

Student: "Once. Someone gave me some and I got really sick and almost died."

Me: "Drugs are bad."

Student: "Yeah..."

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Student: "Miss...how old are you?"

Me: "Twenty-five" (cringing on the inside). "Soon I'll be 26."

Student: "My mom's older than you. She's 26."

Damn.......

There is also a student that can't speak properly. I'm not sure exactly what the issue is but how he spells reflects upon how he speaks.

Long=wong

Block=bwock

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against speech impediments. A little known fact about me is that I took speech therapy when I was younger. I apparently couldn't pronounce my sssssss.

Look at me now...Sally sells seashells by the seashore. (I really wish you could hear me to appreciate the beauty of it.)