Category Archives: Life At Home + The Neighborhood

43 Books: Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman

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As part of my 43 Before 43, I’m reading 43 books.

Let me start with what I liked about the book:

  • I absolutely l.o.v.e cultural studies especially with similar cultures. {I am practically clapping my hands and hopping with glee – this is how excited I am.}
  • The way the author describes French children as: sleeping through the night by three months, eating well-rounded multi-course meals, and their parents able to carry on adult conversations while the kids played independently reminded me of teachers who have a firm grasp on classroom management. {Hint: they don’t get the “easy” kids or work harder, they make it look easy, but they are managing those kids invisibly. – So exciting! And really, how do they do it?)
  • The French words/phrases/concepts: The following are a small, yet powerful list of my favorites.
  • The Pause: Making kids wait builds their waiting muscles thus avoiding immediate meltdowns.
  • Betise: small act of naughtiness which is considered normal child behavior and parents don’t need to freak out about (Hello, me!)
  • Cadre: A frame/framework – setting limits and having plenty of freedom within the frame. {sigh….I miss teaching}
  •  Non – no, absolutely not.

A couple of things that weren’t my favorite:

  • I wish the French pronunciation (as well as the English translation) would have been in the text. I loved knowing what the words meant without having to turn to the (well placed at the beginning) glossary, but I never looked at the pronunciation guide after my first read.
  • I know some people will HATE this book because she writes in a way that implies the French are doing it right thus making everyone else wrong. Although for some reason, my usually defensive self, did not even take it that way. I just read it with a lot of curiosity agreeing with parts and observing other differences.
  • The idea of kids going on week-long class trips sans parents as young as 3 or 4 years old gives me hives

The all important question – would I want to be friends with the author?

Yes! We could practice saying no convincingly to our little ones while wringing our hands over sending kids on vacations without us.

Should you read Bringing Up Bebe?

Yes. If you are interested in the lives of little people and if you like to travel or ever want to spend time in France.

You may also want to spend some time reading other reviews of this book. Holy moly, some people HATED it.

Have you read Bringing Up Bebe? What did you think?

Ten Things I Loved In January

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Taking time each month to reflect on the good stuff has done wonders for my ability to actually stop and notice the good stuff.  I’m truly thankful for Rosie’s inspiration.

Ten Things I Loved In January

Things I/We Did

1.      Introduced the girl to Sesame Street and the rest of the gang on Sprout. She was sick, it was cold. I got sick super anxious, it was cold. Mostly I liked how she walked around, played with toys and checked it once in a while. She liked the musical numbers best. Good for dancing.

2.      Watched the Inauguration and totally cried. Ruby danced with the Obamas, clapped with the audience and waved at the President and First Lady.  She totally cracked me up. She is so good at TV. 

3.     Brunched at home. New Year’s Day Crepe Party AND a Waffle Party. Once I decided brunches were easier and better than dinner parties with a toddler, we’ve been eating a lot more with friends. Take it from me, forget dinner and bust out your waffle iron.

new years crepes and salads

4.    Connected. I left blog comments, made and received phone calls, sent texts, took walks, coordinated play dates, dined with out-of-town visitors, and we visited out-of-town friends.

me and my girl - self portrait

On The Plate

5.     Baked Honey Oatmeal with Raspberries and Pistachios

6.     Minestrone soup

On The Bookshelf 

7.      The Hunger Games.  You guys! This was so good! Like for real. It kept me up past my bedtime several times and gave me a night of insomnia brought on by my excellent survival empathy skills.

8.      A Short Guide to A Good Life by Anna Quinlan – Truth in advertising. Very short and also a good life.

9.    Dads Are the Original Hipsters by Brad Getty. – I laughed. Hard. A lot. Not rocket science (like any of my picks are), but entertaining.

10.     Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets. What can I say? I’m hooked. (PS – I am totally reading all the Hunger Games sequels next even though I heard they are in no way as good as the first. Thoughts you care to share?)

BONUS BOOKS!

11.     The $100 Start Up by Chris Guillebeau

12.     Vegan Diner: Classic Comfort Food For the Body and Soul by Julie Hasson.

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So what are you loving lately? I’m always on the lookout for what is delicious in food, drink, fashion, and life. Leave me your favorites in the comments or write a post of your own and link back here.

 

43 Books: A Short Guide to A Happy Life by Anna Quindlen

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As part of my 43 Before 43, I’m reading 43 books.

A Short Guide to A Happy Life is a very quick read that gave me pause.

Let me start with what I liked about the book:

  • The title. So many key elements for wanting to read this book: short, guide and happy.
  • It mostly felt fresh and heartfelt.
  • She talks about being in sole custody of your life. – In my mind both daunting and exhilarating.
  • She talks about living a full life beyond work, school, achievements and developing your soul. – I couldn’t agree more. There is so much more to life than working.
  • I read it in less than half an hour – (plus I could add another read to my list!) – and it left enough of an impression I wanted to tell others about it.

An excerpt and my favorite part: 

But you are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on the bus, or in the car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul.

A couple of things that weren’t my favorite:

  • In some places it felt a bit dated (published in 2000). Post 9/11 writing has a different feeling.
  • The quotes definitely have been used a lot since publication – example:  “No man ever said on his deathbed I wish I had spent more time at the office.” – Paul Tsongas

The all important question – would I want to be friends with the author?

Yes. She seems to have a lot to teach (and so many books for me to catch up on).

Should you read A Short Guide to a Happy Life?

Yes. I think most of us could use a bit more happiness in our lives and development of our souls.

Have you read A Short Guide to a Happy Life? What did you think?

A Resolution for Self-Acceptance

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reloveution

In preparation for planning my yoga classes for the month of January, I settled in on the notion of resolutions or the need for change. I, myself, have made countless promises to myself to finally get it right this year.

Each New Year, I promise myself and set out to to become the new and improved version of me, one with no more of those pesky flaws I tend to worry about when no one else is paying attention. I suspect they may be too busy running themselves into the ground to worry about me.

As most of us have made resolutions each year and wholeheartedly and with great enthusiasm pursued our freshly flossed teeth, countless miles on the running trail and ingesting everything green in the grocery store, only to burn ourselves out by February and return to our previous state of unflossed teeth, couch/channel surfing and emotionally eating comfort foods because we have once again failed to change ourselves for the “better”.

What if we decided to do it differently this year?

What if we resolved to spend all our enthusiastic January energy into accepting ourselves for how we are, flaws and all?

What would life feel like in February?

In Beautiful You: A Daily Guide to Radical Self-Acceptance, author Rosie Molinary, challenges readers to Accept Your Imperfections  and to “give up the perfection facade and just be who you are.”

This, my friends, is my challenge to you this month. And by you, I mean me.

Can we just practice letting things be as they are and learn to finally accept who we really are?

What are your thoughts or resolutions and self-acceptance? I would love to connect, so please let me a comment.

Also, if you’d like to practice letting things be, I am teaching restorative yoga at It’s All Yoga on Sunday afternoons from 4:30-5:45.

Image source: pinterest

Word for 2013

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This time of year, a lot of people are setting intentions and making resolutions, myself included most years.  As it turns out, I’m less good at resolutions than one would like. So rather than doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, I’ve decided to try something different.

This year I’ve decided to go with a single feeling/theme I would like to cultivate in my life and not just another list of do’s and don’ts.

This feeling idea had been floating around in my head all month and was solidified when I overheard some yogi friends talking on Twitter about their year words {listening and compassion}, when Ashlee posted hers, Amy posted hers and Rosie posted this.

The feeling I most want to cultivate this new year is CONNECTION.

Connection – just the word brings up warm and fuzzy feelings for me. I am imaging a year full of new holiday traditions, lots of hugs and hand holding, cooking and eating with friends, snuggles under the covers with books and movies, book club meetings, phone/Skype dates, road trips/vacations, meeting friends for tea, lunch and movies, communing with nature as much as possible and finding time on my mat just being quiet.

What about you? What comes to mind when you hear the word CONNECTION? What word or theme speaks to you this year?

Image source: We Heart It

Ten Things I Loved In December

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Taking time each month to reflect on the good stuff has done wonders for my ability to actually stop and notice the good stuff. I’m truly thankful for Rosie’s inspiration.

Ten Things I Loved In December

Things I/We Did

1.      Celebrated our tiny girl’s 2nd birthday. She is growing up! I know, I know, enjoy it while I can. But I really felt like she was one FOREVER, so I am happy to report she has made it to two. Love this girl with my whole heart and at least part of yours.

2.      Reconnected with friends from junior high.    A couple of times a year for the past few years a group of us from Juan Crespi Junior Hugh School get together for some reminiscing and general wacky good times. This time was family fun day in our home town – El Sob#1 – for burgers at The Original Red Onion and playing at Cheese Park.

3.     Celebrated good news on the legal and health fronts.

4.    Visited the Sacramento Zoo on Christmas Eve. We have a family tradition!

zoo xmas eve

5.     Reveled in the brilliance that is Yoga for Holiday Stress with Madeleine Lohman at It’s All Yoga. People, I have shared in the past that I am not really friends with the holiday season. However, since starting this yearly tradition {three years running!}, I now have a new found affection for the holiday season.

The secret, it would seem, is to make friends with the season and do the seasonal things that makes you smile. Not your mom, not your crazy sister — you.

Who knew?

6.    Played in the California State Capitol Building and danced in front of the state menorah and Christmas tree. The running, jumping and testing the acoustics in the Capitol happened spontaneously, but man, that was the most fun I’d ever had in there.

7.    Purged closets, drawers and baskets. I absolutely love getting rid of stuff. Especially other people’s stuff. Good thing I have a little kid and can go through her stuff. The husband is less excited about me getting rid of his stuff, but I’m working on it.

In all seriousness, I asked for permission to get rid of anything I wanted for Christmas.

He did not bite.

This time.

Not to worry, friends! My birthday is right around the corner and I think I’ll ask again.

On The Plate

8.     Daily green smoothies. I am in the midst of a 5 week Holiday Wellness Challenge with Nikki over at Mindful Moms Holistics

9.     Burger, fries and onion rings at The Original Red Onion. {burp!}

On The Bookshelf 

10.      Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – by JK Rowling. I previously believed I had no interest in these books. Two teacher friends convinced me to give it a try and I absolutely loved it! I’ve already reserved the second book and watched the movie.

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So what are you loving lately? I’m always on the lookout for what is delicious in food, drink, fashion, and life. Leave me your favorites in the comments or write a post of your own and link back here.

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My friend, Rosie Molinary, made a list and I loved hers so much I stole her idea. Now I’ve been inspired to pause and notice the good stuff each month.

How I Overcame the Holiday Humbug In 7 Steps

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image source: we heart it

I have a long history of hating the holidays. All of them, but especially the ones the last six weeks of the year.

Yes, even as a kid.

Maybe it was the high expectations for fun or the knowing one side of your family was disappointed because you were with the other or the shuttling from place to place to place…

In any case,  the holidays used to fill me with dread and a heavier dose of SAD than the average gal.

That is until recently.

Three years ago, I signed up for a Yoga for Holiday Stress workshop at It’s All Yoga with my good friend, Madeleine. I thought if nothing else, I will have a nice day of yoga with one of my favorite teachers, but what I ended up with was nothing short of revolutionary.

The best take away from Madeleine’s workshop: if the holidays get you down, find new traditions that make your heart sing.

New Holiday Traditions Maybe You’d Like to Try:

1.    Take a yearly workshop in December – mine is yoga, but maybe yours is cooking, crafting or reading. Do something fun for yourself either with a friend or on your own. You may even make new friends there.

When will you find the time in an already stuffed full calendar you ask? I started saying no to things that weren’t working for me any longer (or never had and I had been doing them because of tradition or other people’s expectations). Once I started saying no, I was able to find time to do activities that made me happy.

Was it uncomfortable at first? Oh, yes! Disappointing people isn’t my strong suit, however, the trade off ended up being worth it.

2.   Listen to holiday music that doesn’t make you cringe – mine is the Do They Know It’s Christmas (best.song.ever) station on Pandora. They played lots of Wham’s Last Christmas and Bruce Springsteen and Bing Crosby and Elvis. Even the Waitresses made the cut. Now when little Ruby hears Christmas music she pumps her little fist in the air and dances along.

As cute as you might expect.

3.   Make a different kind of tree each year – seems like a lot of work I know, but knowing my little monkey will climb anything and every thing the idea of putting a tree in my house just seemed completely nuts. Plus I’m less into the 3D tree than most. Don’t get me wrong, I like looking at them a lot – in public places and at your house…. kinda like how I love other people’s dogs.

4.   Saying no to shopping – what???? I know. But hear me out.We have a really small house and we’re trying to keep the clutter monster from eating us alive, so not bringing more gear into the house ourselves helps toward that end.

The Hubs and the Girl’s birthdays are in December so those two are presented up right before Christmas. We usually make a present of some sort of the grandparents (which requires us to get our act together way before December) and we decided years ago to forgo presents for each other so we can have less stress and get better birthday gifts. We see it as a win, win. Plus our girl is tiny right now and doesn’t really get the present thing, so…. we’ll check in later on this business. But just know, for now, it totally works for us.

5.      Saying yes to experiences – the zoo on Christmas Eve morning, White Christmas on the big screen, walking around midtown looking at Christmas lights. I’m hoping to add seeing the Nutcracker and ice skating once little girl is a bigger girl. I figure we are saving lots of time cutting out baking, shopping, and wrapping, so we might as well have fun.

6.     Healthy eating and walking daily – this one is new this year and I feel so much better because of it. Every morning this month I’ve been drinking warm lemon water as soon as I get up (before !) and drinking either a green smoothie or vegetable soup to start the day with lots of vitamins and fiber. What a huge difference this has made! I don’t know about you, but when I start my day in a healthful/intentional way, that’s usually how my day goes. I think I’ll keep it up after the holidays.

7.    Stay mindful. Or at least keep coming back to the moment. This is a good practice all year long. Most moments are pretty darn good, if I’m leaving the past and future where they belong. A mindful practice can look like a formal meditation sit, but usually looks more like a nature walk in the early morning or washing dishes for the thousandth time.

Tell me about the holiday traditions and winter activities that you love. I’m always interested in adding new fun winter activities to our calendar.

Ten Things I Loved In November

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Taking time each month to reflect on the good stuff has done wonders for my ability to actually stop and notice the good stuff. I’m truly thankful for Rosie’s inspiration.

Ten Things I Loved In November

Things I/We Did

1.      Voted. Since the election is over, we can now start answering our phone again. Yes, we still have a land line and we are the only living humans without caller ID, so you understand why this is so exciting. I’m also really happy with the outcome of the election and feel pretty damn good about the people in my Facebook feed. Hardly a reason to defriend anyone.

cutest ballot holder ever

2.      Draped over a bolster for hours at a time at the One Day Emotional Restoration Retreat with Michelle at It’s All Yoga.  Laying down for a couple hours, without sleeping, fully supported by props? Totally underrated. People, get yourselves to a restorative yoga class STAT!

pausing is good.

3.     FairyTale Town – Built in the 50’s, the play areas are metal and pointy and not at all what I expected. I think I liked it more than the kid, so we’ll definitely be going back.

4.    Embraced the leaves changing.

the twins

5.     Visited the redwoods in our backyard at the UC Davis Arboretum. Holy moly tree huggers! These redwoods ground me in a way I never thought possible or at least thought was reserved only for the ocean. I’m glad I’ve decided to embrace nature instead of bourbon.

tree hugger

6.    Introduced Ruby to the chickens who roam free in Fair Oaks. To be honest, I just really needed a change of playground scenery and deciding to visit the chickens was a pretty easy choice. A 20 minute drive from home and some serious laughs. Little girl was perplexed by their very existence. It cracked me up because a lot of the chickens were taller than her.

chickens are king!

7.    Celebrated Thanksgiving on Wednesday instead of Thursday. Dude, talk about taking the pressure off. I highly recommend it for the holiday avoidant.

On The Plate

8.     Mandarin pineapple smoothie {3 seedless mandarins, a bunch of frozen pineapple chunks and a container or plain soy yogurt in the blender with a touch of honey.}

deliciousness

9.     Polenta with marinara, olives, spinach, artichoke hearts and Daiya.

On The Bookshelf 

10.      Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

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So what are you loving lately? I’m always on the lookout for what is delicious in food, drink, fashion, and life. Leave me your favorites in the comments or write a post of your own and link back here.

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My friend, Rosie Molinary, made a list and I loved hers so much I stole her idea. Now I’ve been inspired to pause and notice the good stuff each month.

Ten Things I Loved In October

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Taking time each month to reflect on the good stuff has done wonders for my ability to actually stop and notice the good stuff. I’m truly thankful for Rosie’s inspiration.

Ten Things I Loved In October

Things I/We Did

1.      Celebrated one year as a family. Day off from work, breakfast out, haircut for baby, playground with mama AND papa, a long nap, and massages for the grown ups.

2.      I gave up my beloved gym membership and during my 30 days notice period, I actually went to the gym. Oh the irony.

3.     SwapAsana! Free clothes and great conversation with cool women in a beautiful venue? So much fun.

4.    I had a massage. I was reminded why I used to get regular massages and how I need to get them back on my schedule. Magic fingers! 

5.     Saw so many friends. Happy hour! Movies! Dinner parties! Brunches! Playground dates! Walks! I want more friend dates. Call me greedy, but the more time I spend with inspiring, funny women friends, the more I want.

On The Plate

6.     Pasta with Baby Broccoli and Lemon Garlic Sauce

7.     Vegan chocolate chip cookie bars.  We had to give most of them to our neighbors and friends because they were so delicious we sort of made ourselves sick.

On The Bookshelf – such a great reading month.

8.      Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

9.      MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend by Rachel Bertsche

10.     Happier At Home by Gretchen Rubin

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So what are you loving lately? I’m always on the lookout for what is delicious in food, drink, fashion, and life. Leave me your favorites in the comments or write a post of your own and link back here.

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My friend, Rosie Molinary, made a list and I loved hers so much I stole her idea. Now I’ve been inspired to pause and notice the good stuff each month.

How {and why} to Hold A Clothing Swap

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For the past few years, I’ve been involved with organizing a women’s clothing swap twice a year at It’s All Yoga, the yoga studio where I teach,  and recently I’ve been asked to explain how and why we do it.

What Is A Clothing Swap?

It’s a get together with friends, clients, students with the purpose of trading gently used items (clothes, shoes and accessories) with others.

Wardrobes are remade and friendships begin with chatting over tables while in search of that perfect new-to-you outfit. I have connected with friends and students while building a new seasonable wardrobe.

Why Hold A Clothing Swap:

1. It’s fun.

2. It’s an environmentally and budget friendly way to build a new wardrobe for yourself while helping someone else build theirs.

3. The clothes and shoes that mock you from the closet because they were expensive, but just not quite right, usually can find a new home with someone you know, thus making everyone happy.

4. We raise a bunch of funds for a local charity and donate all the unclaimed items for them to sell in their shop.

5. We get to finally talk to the lovely people on the mats next to ours! Teachers and students interacting with each other in a super friendly environment is a great way to help everyone feel like they belong to the IAY community.

6. Friends bring friends and we usually leave SwapAsana with new to us clothes and connections with people we wouldn’t have otherwise made.

How To Hold A Clothing Swap:

My friend Amy hosted a swap party at her house this summer with a couple of girlfriends and wrote a post about it. I totally scored in the sweater and dress department and got to taste Joy The Baker’s famous Simple Vegan Chocolate Cake.   All in all, a great night!

In my research I also found this post and this comprehensive guide.

At It’s All Yoga’s SwapAsana, we put half of the goods on tables at the beginning and take a break midway. We use the free-for-all method and most people take what looks best and leave the rest. There is one group of swappers who try things on together and decide who brings the item home based on who it most flatters. Team work at its finest!

If you are interested in hosting a swap party, I definitely recommend going to someone else’s party first. I did and fell in love! Thanks, Stitch Swap!

It’s All Yoga’s bi-annual SwapAsana is this Sunday, October 14th at the studio in Midtown Sacramento. Feel free to come by!

Have you ever hosted/attended a swap? What was your experience?

Image 1 source

Ten Things I Loved In September

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My friend, Rosie Molinary, made a list and I loved hers so much I stole her idea. Now I’ve been inspired to pause and notice the good stuff each month.

Ten Things I Loved In September

Things I/We Did

1.      Old 97’s Too Far To Care Tour

My favorite band playing my favorite album start to finish in one of my favorite cities in the world? YES, please!

Seriously, one of the best shows of my life.

Imagine orange cowboy boots, Maker’s Mark up, and very, very loud singing along. Oh and the in-between-song hopping up and down in anticipation of the NEXT.FAVORITE.SONG!

Old97s know how to take care of their fans. For years, my girlfriends have talked about how “wouldn’t it be great if the 97s played TFTC at a show? Like, the whole thing?”

True story.

Dreams do come true.

-Thanks to fellow superfan/photographer, Lori Hillhouse of I’ll Show You My Four Leaf Clover, for the photo.

2.      I started teaching a WEEKLY restorative class at It’s All Yoga – Tuesdays, 7:15-8:30.

You should come. It’ll be fun.

Seriously, even if you aren’t in Sacramento or haven’t ever tried restorative yoga, you can do this pose (Viparita Karani or Legs-Up-The-Wall) for ten minutes and you will feel so much better than you do right now.

Check here for potential health considerations.

3.     I went to the movies! In the theater! Again! This time with a friend!

4.    We went to a swimming pool party at our friends new house. So happy to have even more friends close by.

5.     I taught a class for Sacramento Free Day of Yoga. So awesome to meet so many new people. Labor Day Monday – get it on your calendar now for next year.

On The Plate

6.     Fat Face strawberry coconut popsicle. 

7.    Sweet potato black bean stew.

September, in a nutshell – too hot not to eat frozen treats, but the calendar says fall and so we eat fall food.

Products (and Services) I Love

8.      Evernote. It is changing my life by letting me organized in one place.

9.      Pinterest. Meal planning just got ridiculously easy by dropping pins in my Evernote file.

10.     Emailing with my doctor. So efficient!

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So what are you loving lately? I’m always on the lookout for what is delicious in food, drink, fashion, and life. Leave me your favorites in the comments or write a post of your own and link back here.

Ten Things I Loved In August

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My friend, Rosie Molinary, made a list and I loved hers so much I stole her idea. Now I’ve been inspired to pause and notice the good stuff each month.

Ten Things I Loved In August

Things I/We Did

1.      Portland. I love you. Not in a want to move back way, but in a really happy I used to live there way and I’m super happy some of my bestie besties live there way.

2.      We saw a movie! Together! In the theater! For the first time in way more than a year!

3.     It’s All Yoga photo shoot. I love these people. Click the picture for more fun times.

4.    Celebrated 17 years of awesome togetherness.

5.     Duran Duran Appreciation Day.

On The Plate

6.     Vegan frosties.

7.    All of the berries in the Pacific Northwest.

Products (and Services) I Love

8.      Portland Children’s Museum – a perfect place to spend an unexpectedly sweltering afternoon.

9.      Temple Fine Coffee and Tea – the S Street location is the best place for meetings and reading.

10.     It’s All Yoga to-go! – aren’t in Sacramento? Can’t make it to the studio for some reason? No problem! Classes are on your computer.

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So what are you loving lately? I’m always on the lookout for what is delicious in food, drink, fashion, and life. Leave me your favorites in the comments or write a post of your own and link back here.

43 Books – Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

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As part of my 43 Before 43 I’m reading 43 Books.

tiny-beautiful-things

Tiny Beautiful Things is a collection of Dear Sugar columns from The Rumpus. I checked this book out from my library’s e-reader collection because so many people have raved about the author’s (Cheryl Strayed) other book, Wild, that I decided I’d read this while I waited for Wild to become available.

Until I read this book I didn’t even know Sugar existed. I’m hoping I’m the only one! If you’ve never read Dear Sugar, stop what you are doing and go check it out.

Why you may be asking yourself, am I advocating you spend time reading an advice column? In a word, kindness. Sugar answers every single letter she gets with kindness. And a whole heart and no BS. In my opinion tender-hearted kindness is in short supply these days of reality TV marathons and competitiveness for competitiveness sake.

I spent most of the time reading Tiny Beautiful Things with tears streaming down my cheeks because I could feel Sugar’s empathy and compassion coming through her writing. I felt like she really cared about the letter writers and their problems.

It also probably helps that the problems people write to Sugar about are universal – love, lust, loss – and either me or someone I love has been in the midst of suffering like that and the answers Sugar gives and nothing short of tender reminders that we’re all in it together.

Do I recommend this book? Without a doubt.

Would I want to be friends with author? Yes. She seems like she’s been through a whole lot of life and come out the other side.

Have you read Tiny Beautiful Things or the Dear Sugar column? What did you think?

Ten Things I Loved In July

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My friend, Rosie Molinary, made a list and I loved hers so much I stole her idea. Now I’ve been inspired to pause and notice the good stuff each month.

Ten Things I Loved In July 

Things I/We Did

1.      San Francisco – Once the mercury rises to over 100 degrees, I’m looking for an escape hatch. We are lucky enough to not only live within driving distance of SF, but have friends to visit while we’re there. We took advantage of our time off from work by driving to the East Bay and taking BART to the City. We visited at a couple of playgrounds/parks and reveled not sweating in the sun.

Late in the afternoon, we sautered over to a friend’s house to celebrate his son’s first birthday. Ruby helped by drooling all over his new Casio keyboard, riding his poki and charming his grandparents with her laughing while running away tricks. Oh and we ate excellent pupusas.

We left with a new Giants cap for Ruby and full bellies.

{Why, yes that is mother/daughter gingham.}

2.      East Bay Parks – Kennedy Grove, Tilden, Fernandez, Cheese Parks. So many playgrounds/parks and so little time. Ruby has so much energy, we keep her on the move and sometimes invite friends.

3.     Visited my mom. – El Paso Zoo and swimming at the hotel. We decided to make the hotel our playground.

4.     Visited Jed’s Dad – Mendocino County – Papa’s Papa’s ranch outside of Boonville is the biggest toddler science lab. We saw lizards, hawks, quail, bunnies, hummingbirds, bees, and various other insects and lots of plants. We hiked (as much as you can with a 21 pound toddler yelling, “UP!” the whole time), snoozed in the hammock (Ruby) and ate berries right from the bush.

Some people also switched hats.

5.     Yoga classes – taught and took. My favorites: Mondays 5:45 with Michelle and Saturdays 9am with Madeleine.

On The Plate

6.     Tacos, pupusas and guacamole.

7.     Stone fruit!

Products (and Services) I Love

8.      Sacramento County Library – pretty much every book I want to read, free books for my Kindle and tons of board books for Ruby. Plus it is perfectly walkable from my house and a wonderful community meeting place.

9.      Midtown Birkenstock – cute comfortable shoe heaven.

10.     Ikea home delivery – I wish I could afford to do this every time I bought something heavy.

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So what are you loving lately? I’m always on the lookout for what is delicious in food, drink, fashion, and life. Leave me your favorites in the comments or write a post of your own and link back here.

Awesome Yoga Happenings In Sacramento and Elsewhere

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Labor Day weekend. You are all invited. There is a good chance I’ll be teaching and I am totally going to class too. Join me?

Be sure to “like” Sacramento Free Day of Yoga on Facebook to get all the details.

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I wish I had a dime for every time someone asked about a book club. And don’t get me started on the scheduling!

Meredith from the Pondering Yogini has the answer: Online Yoga Book Club!

Join me?

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I know this isn’t happening until October, but I’ve already signed up. Anna is such an inspiration to me and I am thrilled to have a chance to practice with her.

Please join me and sign up today.

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Tell me about the awesome yoga happenings/events in your life.

On My Kindle

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We’ve been on the road a lot recently visiting family, friends and playgrounds and parks in the Bay Area. It’s been refreshing to get out of the heat in the Sacramento Valley and spend some time reading somewhere other than home.

Here’s what’s on my Kindle:

God bless the Sacramento Public Library and their e-book loans. Saves me tons of money and gives me the freedom to read, read, read!

What’s on your Kindle?

Ten Things I Loved In June

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My friend, Rosie Molinary, made a list and I loved hers so much I stole her idea. Last month I was late to the party {click here for May’s list}, but now I’ve been inspired to pause and notice the good stuff each month.

{photo source: we heart it.}

Here are Ten Things I Loved In June 

Things I/We Did

1.      Summer Break!!! –  Our little family survived our first school year and have enjoyed having more time with Jed/papa the last couple weeks.

2.      Wearing dresses and leggings to play with Ruby in the park and the most wonderful thing happened. A mom (wearing capris and a t-shirt) came up to me and told me I looked beautiful in my dress and that I’d inspired her to wear the dresses hanging in her closet. Talk about a way to make someone’s day!

3.     My workout partner has returned!  Boy, let me tell you, friends, I am a social creature when it comes to exercise. I will gladly do anything as long as I have a partner to do it with. Let to my own devices, I’m on Facebook.

4.     Taking Ruby to visit UC Davis and letting her walk around campus. We visited during finals week and she happily said hello to every stressed out student she encountered. Made me wonder where (or if) she’s going to college. *gulp*

5.     We hosted long-time friends (like from junior high!) for a potluck. Why do I resist having people over? Please remind me to do this more often.

In The Kitchen

6.     Vegan Oreo Cupcakes. – Potlucks rock.

7.     Thundersticks. 

Products (and Services) I Love

8.      Dansko sandals – I wear the clogs and Mary Janes to teach and secretly covet other teachers’ sandals so I decided to make these mine. Must have been a good omen because they were on super sale.

9.      It’s All Yoga – yes, I know I teach there. I also take classes there. Such goodness.

10.      The Dreamer – Rhett Miller’s latest (and best) solo record. Brilliant and self-produced.

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So what are you loving lately? I’m always on the lookout for what is delicious in food, drink, fashion, and life. Leave me your favorites in the comments or write a post of your own and link back here.

Ten Things I Loved In May

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My friend, Rosie Molinary, made a list and I loved hers so much I stole her idea. And now it’s almost mid-June and I’m here to tell you what was going on last month. It does beg the question – where did the month go?

Here are Ten Things I Loved In May

Things I/We Did

1.      Mother’s Day brunch.  At home.  Jed made waffles for everyone while I chowed on bagels with creamy goat cheese and tomatoes. I somehow managed not to take a single photo. Good food, great company.

2.     Wednesday Playdates. I love this standing date with my friend from yoga teacher training. We have similar parenting styles and personalities so it is just so easy and fun. Plus watching these two interact is really comical.

3.     Yoga.  I went to a bunch of classes, taught and practiced at home. In other words, I remembered why I love getting on my mat and I’m pretty sure I’m going to need to start setting a yoga alarm on my calendar to make sure this happens more often.

4.     Meeting our dearest friends’ brand new baby. Let me just say, adoption is a crazy process and I’m so happy they are now a family.

In The Kitchen

5.     Eating (extremely) local – stone fruit from the next door neighbors and kale from front yard garden (not shown).

6.      Vegan Pie! Finally satisfying a long-held craving. Triple Berry from Vanessa (not shown here, but you can see it on The Food We Make and coconut chocolate pudding pie from me (the one previously afraid to eat and make pie!)

Products (and Services) I Love

7.      Haircuts from Tari at Parlour By The Park and groomed eye brows by Dana at Cezanne Skin Group.

8.      Hand-me-downs for me and little girl – Cute free clothes. What is not to like?

9.      Colored denim and My Style Inspiration Pinterest board coming to life.  I’ve made some variation of both these outfits and it’s made me ridiculously happy.

10.      Blackout curtains – sound sleep past sunrise? Yes, please. This one brought to you by the Princess and the Pea.

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So what are you loving lately? I’m always on the lookout for what is delicious in food, drink, fashion, and life. Leave me your favorites in the comments or write a post of your own and link back here.

Spring Cleaning and Planting Seeds

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Spring Cleaning – out with the old:

– Comparisons be damned!

– Glasses organized – hanging on a white wooden clothes hanger and now I’m wearing ALL my glasses and feeling fancy with my cute glasses wardrobe. Thanks to Pinterest for the inspiration!

– Emptied out my sock and underwear drawer and tossed all the ugly and uncomfortable. Why did it take so long to do this? Only cute and comfortable belong in those drawers.

– Purged my entire wardrobe to make room for my new wardrobe from Swap Asana. I totally scored.

–  Sorted, stashed,  and organized all Ruby’s toys into daily toy bins. Less choice makes for a less chaotic house and kid.

– Stashed almost all Ruby’s board books – turns out babies love repeats so much, this mama was going a bit kookoo.

– My sinuses – so many allergies going on here lately. Early to bed and lots of medication and I’m making it outside every day without sneezing like a crazy person.

Planting Seeds – in with the new:

– Daily park visits with the baby in hopes of planting the seed of daily physical exercise. {Maybe I can finally learn this lesson, since I’m responsible for teaching Ruby}.

– Boot organization project envisioned and supplies procured.

– Cooking 3 meals a day for the tiny girl in hopes we’ll all have a lifetime of mindful meal times. {A girl can dream}.

– Added yoga classes to my calendar – twice a week. I remember why I love it so much – quiet, community and savasana.

– Table manners – teaching the tiny one how to use a napkin and utensils and sit at the table instead of the Exersaucer. Now if only I can get her to stop dropping the napkin and utensils on the floor…

– Reading with that girl every day from her stack of library books because children are made readers on the laps of their parents. {someone please make me a t-shirt}.

– Mama meditation group – next meeting May 10th.

What have you been clearing out? What are you planting the seeds of?

photo credits: we heart it – click image for source

What I’m Excited About: Sacramento Edition

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So many good things going on locally that I feel the need to share.

My friends Amanda from Urban Almanac and Christine from Stinky Buddha have started a mindful meditation/discussion group. The first meeting is tonight.

It’s All Yoga is having Spring Swap Asana on Saturday, April 21 – at the studio. Women’s gently used, still in style, clothes, shoes and accessories.

Check out the Facebook invite and bring your friends.

Play and Stay and Baby and Me Rhyme Time at the Robbie Waters Branch of the Sacramento Public Library is totally worth the drive to the Pocket from Midtown.

Tuesday and Thursdays – Open play time starts at 10:15 and goes to 11.

11-11:20 or so is story time and if your kid doesn’t nap until later the toys come back out until noon.

It’s completely FREE and always filled with delightful tiny people and their caregivers.

What are you excited about?

43 Books – Learning To Breathe: My Yearlong Quest to Bring Calm to My Life

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As part of my 43 Before 43 I’m reading 43 Books.

photo credit: ponderingyogini.org

After a lifetime of panic attacks, author Pris Warner decided she would like the brain of a monk and all that comes along with it – peace, tranquility, compassion, loving kindness, wisdom and patience.

In Learning To Breathe, she takes a year to discover the path to peace.

Friends, I loved almost everything about this book.

I immersed myself in the author’s story and admired the author for facing her fears. I found her immediately likable and I really cared whether she would be relieved from her panic attacks in the end. Reading quickly over three days I was reminded of my own lifelong desire for inner peace.

Hmmm, maybe I need to get myself back on the cushion.

My only issue is I found it to be a bit tidy. What do I mean by tidy? The author decided she wanted the brain of a monk and next thing you know she’s on the path to a daily 20 minute meditation practice.

I have been struggling with adding meditation to my life for years, so I wonder how this happened so effortlessly. She didn’t feel any resistance or forget just plain forget? I need some of that!

That was my only beef with the book.

I sped through each chapter which covers a month and a spiritual practice aimed at resolving her panic attacks.

While I don’t suffer specifically from panic attacks, I do suffer from complex PTSD  and as a result have also used many of the therapies the author experiences in my quest to find a more peaceful existence.

The one hold out for me has been EMDR. As a result of reading about the author’s success, I decided to give it a try.

I may or may not be writing about that experience later, but I am hopeful that I will be able to move forward because if this treatment.

Do I recommend this book? Without a doubt.

Would I want to be friends with author? Yes, if for nothing else, to get some meditation tips.

Have you read Learning to Breathe? What did you think?

43 Books – Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga Poses by Claire Dederer

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As part of my 43 Before 43, I’m reading 43 books.

I am totally conflicted about this book. I didn’t put it down until I was finished despite having just come home with a new baby and a serious case of insomnia. And yet, I was irritated the whole time I was reading it.

Let me start with what I really liked about the book:

  • The title. I would have argued with the publisher to leave off the 23 poses part.
  • Each chapter is a pose name and the ones where the author tells about her childhood are called child’s pose – clever and it only took me half way through the book to figure that out. {see insomnia/stupidity}
  • The author and I each suffer from mama anxiety and use yoga as a way to find our sanity or at least a way to ease some of the pain in our aching backs.
  • Like most people, we both started out with a really physical practice and learned to quiet it down.
  • We are about the same age so our cultural references are spot on – apparently we love the 90’s.
  • The Pacific Northwest! I lived there (in the 90’s!) and could picture the setting perfectly.
  • Claire explores the others limbs of yoga besides asana and gets to the down and dirty of why yoga can be such a life changing practice.

So what was my problem?

I think I identified a little too closely for my comfort with Claire. This book could, in a lot of ways, be mine. Although at points it just sounds whiny and precious and all first-worldly and I wanted to smack both of us and quite frankly I’m not sure I wanted to tell this story yet (or ever), so it was shocking to see it on the page.

Claire’s yoga story is so similar to mine,  with all it’s twists, turns and complaints, I felt like she’d some how inhabited my most annoying self and decided to let that cat out of the bag. It just isn’t the easy breezy side I’ve been trying to cultivate for the world to see and I’m at once horrified to see all “my” crap out there and secretly thrilled I’m not the only one with this particular brand of crazy.

In a completely petty side note, the mention that her brother was in a band that was super popular in the 90’s (and she named the band!) bugged the holy hell out of me. Why? I guess because it seemed all star-f*ckery and it totally wasn’t relavent to the story. Brother? Yes. Name of band? No.

The all important question – would I want to be friends with the author?

Absolutely. At the very least we could talk about how great the 90’s were.

Should you read Poser?

Yes, if you are someone exploring yoga beyond a Saturday morning exercise class or is interested in a brief look into the history of the other limbs of yoga.

Have you read Poser? What did you think?

Yeah So, 2011

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Friends, December is over and I’m feeling all lovey toward the new year so decided to reflect a bit on 2011. Plus I saw these questions answered on Nothing But Bonfires and felt inspired.

What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

I became a mama.

 Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?


I did not. I think I am over resolutions at this point and have decided to try to add new habits as needed rather than trying (and failing again) to do a bunch of new things in January. Most years I am so well-behaved in January that I completely give up in February. The good news is I finally saw this pattern and can knock it off already.

 Did anyone close to you give birth?


Yes and we’ve been so busy learning how to be parents we haven’t met him yet.

Did anyone close to you die?

No, thankfully.

What countries did you visit?

Taiwan! In the US we spent a bunch of time in the Bay Area this summer and we were lucky to spend some vacation time in Jenner on the coast.

What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

My ability to concentrate diminished at an alarming rate, so if someone could share a bit of that I’d truly appreciate it.

What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

May 9th – we met Ruby on paper.

July 11th – we got first decree.

October 3rd – we met The Ru for the first time.

What was your biggest failure?

Managing my stress about the unknown.

Did you suffer illness or injury?

A minor cold or two – a minor miracle! Plus there was that time I ate a whole box of Joe Joe’s and had to stay in bed for a day because I poisoned myself with all that sugar.

What was the best thing you bought?

A tie between our Ergo baby carrier and the sound machine we use to help Ruby sleep.

 Where did most of your money go?

Adoption. Oh my goodness. Expensive.

What did you get really excited about?

Besides, Ruby?

Old 97’s playing in Sacramento.

Twice!

What song will always remind you of 2011?

Why is this so hard? How about what did I listen to a lot in 2011?

Answer: Big Star

Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder? Thinner or fatter?Richer or poorer?

Happier.

Thinner. Only just.

Financially poorer. Although not nearly as much as I thought I would be thanks to the kindness of friends, family and even strangers.

Life richer.

What do you wish you’d done more of?


Chilled out. Trusted the process. Yoga. Slept soundly.

What do you wish you’d done less of?


Worry. Good god, the anxiety about becoming a parent almost killed me.

How did you spend Christmas?

Christmas Eve we went to the zoo with the rest of Sacramento, took naps and ate pork chops with stuffing.

Christmas Day we chilled at home and then walked to Tari’s for a cocktail. We capped the day off with a speaker phone chat with Grandma and Grandpa in Minnesota.

What was your favorite TV program?

We started watching Modern Family season 1 – a sitcom that is actually funny!

Dexter – have I ever mentioned how I wish I would have thought of this?

I love any kind of home staging show. Watching people pack up their stuff and clean until it sparkles almost inspires me to do the same.

What were your favorite books of the year?

Not going to lie: What to Expect The First Year, Good Night Gorilla, and Happiest Baby on the Block.

What was your favorite music from this year?


Try not to be surprised – Old 97’s Grand Theater Volume 1 and 2.

What were your favorite films of the year?

Midnight In Paris

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Went to dinner with friends at Magpie and I turned 41.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Feeling more confident in becoming a parent.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

Are jeans and t-shirts a personal fashion concept?

What kept you sane?

Yoga and my wonderful friends.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.


Babies are only babies for a little while so chill out about moving at their pace for a while.

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Want to play along? Either answer here in the comments or do a post of your own and link back here. I can’t wait to hear about your 2011.

43 Books – Battle Hymn of A Tiger Mother

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As part of my 43 Things Before 43, I am reading 43 books.

Here is the list as it stands now.

1. Battle Hymn of The Tiger Mother {finished November 2011} – I read this book in 3 days with a baby. Needless to say, I found it hard to put down.

I’m surprised because I didn’t think I would like it based on some of the talk on Twitter and book reviews. A lot of people clearly didn’t read the book and relied on pull quotes, when taken out of context, make the author sound like a crazy ogre.

What did I like about it?

Amy Chua is funny and quite direct in her approach both in parenting and in writing. I found her writing style to be engaging  and easy to read. Plus she’s pretty self-reflective and sees her ways as extreme. At least she’s not fooling herself. Plus, she’s not asking you to raise your kids the Chinese way.

Would I want to be friends with her if I met her?

Maybe. She’s a bit intense, but I can be too. She is funny and self-reflective and truly only wants what is best for her kids. Although she may be a bit harsh for my taste. I probably would end up telling her that “thoughts are for inside” – rough translation: dude, stop being so harsh.

Do I agree with all of her methods?

Absolutely not. In some cases she just sounds cruel.

On the other hand, I do agree a lot of parents take the easy way out. Nothing is more frustrating as a teacher than to be the only one seemingly invested in a student’s success. Somethings take practice and practice isn’t always fun.

Truth be told, I may have been a bit of a “tiger teacher” my first few years. While my actions didn’t measure up to Chua’s, these were my students, not my own children. We both shared high expectations for our young people and in the process aren’t very popular.

This book is definitely NOT a parenting or child care book, but a memoir.

I definitely recommend reading this book. Please skip the reviews (except mine, of course) and read it for yourself.

Have you read Hymn of A Tiger Mother? What did you think?

Do you have any books you loved and think I should read?

Attitude of Gratitude Re-Cap

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Day 1 – thankful for Ruby and adoption for making us a family.

Day 2 – thankful for Jed – best husband and father.

Day 3 – thankful for sometimes waking up before the baby.

Day 4 – thankful for books. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t read and watching Ruby play with hers is the best gift.

Day 5 – thankful for healthcare coverage for my entire family and a clean bill of health for all.

Day 6 – thankful for sweater dresses and boot socks.

Day 7 – so thankful for my It’s All Yoga family.

Day 8 – thankful for generous friends.

Day 9 – thankful for a union job and parental leave so we can be at home to bond with our baby without worrying about our jobs.

Day 10 – thankful for massage.

Day 11 – thankful for the people in the armed services and their dedicated service to this country.

Day 12 – thankful for social media because it keeps me in touch with the outside world.

Day 13 – thankful for year round farmer’s markets.

Day 14 – thankful for long, hot baths after the baby goes to sleep.

Day 15 – thankful for music that inspires me to sing out loud.

Day 16 – thankful for the restorative powers of showers.

Day 17 – thankful for uninterrupted sleep in a way I never dreamed possible.

Day 18 – thankful for daily account summaries from my bank which remind me I’m not completely broke.

Day 19 –  thankful for warm cozy blankets for naps on cool days.

Day 20 – thankful for central heat (and air).

Day 21 – thankful for early morning walks with lovely friends.

Day 22 – thankful for all the blogs I read and the Google Reader to keep them organized.

Day 23 – thankful for my yoga props: bolster, eye bag, strap, blankets, mat.

Day 24 – thankful for Ruby’s birth family. Our family wouldn’t be complete without their generosity.

Day 25 – thankful for the middle path.

Day 26 – thankful for whole days with nothing planned.

Day 27 – thankful for free shipping.

Day 28 – thankful for our house cleaning fairies.

Day 29 – thankful for YOU, my readers.

Day 30 – thankful for It’s All Yoga for the Attitude of Gratitude inspiration.

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A special thank you to Amy Shearn over at The Oprah Life Life blog for the Attitude of Gratitude post.

Want to see where it all started?

What are you thankful for?

Picture Books I Love: I Am A Bunny

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November is National Picture Book Month.

This bit of information just came my way, however I’ve been celebrating all month by reading to Ruby.

My new favorite picture book is one we got as a shower gift.

I Am A Bunny

Written by Ole Risom with pictures by Richard Scarry. It was first published in 1963. I’m not sure how I missed this gem in my childhood, so I’m thrilled to read it {several times} daily.

Nicolas is the bunny in this sweet adventure through the seasons. The text is simple, yet lovely. The illustrations are what makes this book such a treasure. Each season is pictured perfectly and have provided us  many an opportunity to talk about the changing seasons while we’re out on our daily walks.

If you are in need of a baby shower or toddler birthday gift, I highly recommend this book.

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If you could only bring one picture book on your desert island {oh, the horror!} – what book would you bring?

Want more information on National Picture Book Month?

Happy Haul-idays Giveaway from Chronicle Books

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Dear TGBTS friends,

I love books.

You love books.

We love charities and they love books.

So let’s try to win this thing, shall we?

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Here’s how it works.

I post my my whole list favorite Chronicle Books here.

I tell you about the charity I’d like to donate to and why.

You comment, we tweet, we (hopefully) win.

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My charity is my favorite branch of the Sacramento Public Library – Ella K. McClatchy.

I choose this branch because it is my home away from home and could always use more new books. McClatchy truly serves as a community meeting place and I hope to help it grow its collection.

Is this a good time to tell you ONE LUCKY COMMENTER also wins my book list?

Say whaa?

Yep, one of YOU wins the whole lot.

Plus my charity wins $500 in books of their choice.

Sounds good, huh?

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A select few BOOKS!

The complete list is HERE.

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In order to be eligible to win my haul of books, please click on the whole list above and leave a comment about which book is your favorite and why.

Are you on Twitter? Please tweet about my our list using the hashtag #happyhaulidays and we get an extra entry per day. So be sure to tweet away every day!

Good luck to all of us!

43 Things Before 43

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For months I’ve been reading about other people’s Life Lists and wondering if I could ever make one without driving myself crazy with all the achieving and in-my-head competition.

Would my list be cool enough?

Would I really do everything I said I would?

What huge adventures await?

Inspired by Rosie’s birthday list, Sarah’s try new things before her birthday list and Amy’s Life List, I’ve decided to put together a list of things I would like to do before I turn 43.

Why 43 instead of 42?

My birthday is in 4 months and I don’t want to hurt myself getting it all done before then. My list is l-o-n-g, makes me think I needed to start this  thing in my 20s.

My intention with this list is to remind myself to have more fun, take care of myself and to do things out of the ordinary.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

The List:

1. Take my birthday (March 20th) off – no work, no obligations – just fun.

2. Take an anti-gravity yoga class.

3. Road trip to Portland with Ruby.

4. Take Ruby to see live music.

5. Read 43 books.

6. Put my feet in the ocean with Ruby.

7. Pick berries.

8. Go on retreat.

9. Teach an active yoga class.

10. Go to the movies by myself. {Yep, I’ve never done this. I have, however, gone to a rock show on my own so don’t feel too sorry for me.}

11. Attend a service at a Universal Unitarian church.

12. Explore the Taiwanese culture in Sacramento.

13. Learn 10 words/phrases in Mandarin.

14. Run a 5K.

15. Write a fan letter.

16. Rent a house at the coast or in the mountains.

17. Teach a class on social media and blogging to teachers.

18. Sleep outside.

19. Do a swim workout.

20. Watch my first students graduate from high school.

21. Spend a week away from the Internet.

22. See a play.

23. Go to a sing along at the Crest.

24. Take a photography class.

25. Take a cooking class.

26. Take a private yoga class.

27. Actually make something I’ve pinned on Pinterest.

28. Go to the ballet.

29. Have a family portrait taken.

30. Watch a movie outside in the backyard.

31. Take Ruby on a hike.

32. Help a friend start a blog.

33. Build an outdoor shower.

34. Make a wall of bookshelves in the dining room.

35. Redesign the entryway and make it pretty and useful.

36. Start a mom/play group in Midtown.

37. Teach a class at my gym.

38. Organize the pantry.

39. Get rid of all the shoes I don’t wear because they are uncomfortable.

40. Take a nap in a hammock.

41. Host a baby shower.

42. Take a photo every day.

43. Make the Book of Me into a book.

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Do you make yearly plans? A Life List? Would you like to?

I’d love to hear about yours.

And I’d love for you to join me in making my list a reality. Please let me know if you’d like to do any of my 43 with me.

It’s My Lucky Day!

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The other day Katy from the Non-Consumer Advocate wrote about a new program through the Portland Public Library called Lucky Day and I was feeling jealous.

Just walk into your neighborhood branch and pick a brand new popular title off the shelf and check it out without the endless hold list?  Of course those kinds of programs happen in Portland.

<imagine whiny voice here> I wish we had a cool program like this in Sacramento.

Well, imagine my surprise when I went to the McClatchy branch of the library today (to get myself out of library fine jail) when I looked up and saw a shelf with Lucky Day books.

I now have three weeks to read these two titles:

Extreme motherhood and a yoga book I’ve had my eye on for months.

Yay me!

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What new books have you read that I should keep my eye on? 

Have you had a lucky day recently?

Review 11 Things for 2011 on 11/11/11

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Last December I wrote about 11 things I going to give up in 2011.

Seems it would be appropriate today to check in on the progress.

1. Cable TV – we still have it and we’re still talking about how we need to get rid of it. Not because we’re watching too much (thanks, Ruby), but because it is an added expense on our new one-income household.

The problem? We have bad internet and research is showing that good internet comes with cable.

Any advice?

2. My Yoga Journal subscription – gone. Haven’t thought about it once until now.

3. Paring down books and clothes.

I have definitely caught the clothes swapping bug. I went shopping in a store once this year. The rest were swaps or hand-me-downs from lovely friends.

Books have been traded, swapped, sold and donated.

Newest challenge? Keeping Ruby’s books corralled and her clothes sorted and passed on once she’s finished with them. Again, the generosity of friends and family with gifts and hand-me-downs and she has quite an extensive wardrobe.

4. Eliminate sugar, dairy and bread for a month.

I did it and NEVER felt better which inspired me to visit the allergists and lo and behold, I am really allergic to dairy. Not in the my-tummy-hurts-way, but in the why is my nose completely stuffed up way.

I have been dairy free since January (mistakes have been made and paid for) and I am happy to report I haven’t suffered the wrath of a respiratory infection, cold or much more than a mild case of the sniffles since.  Seasonable allergies (to every single plant in Sacramento) can finally be treated with regular allergy medicine.

While eating dairy free is a ridiculous pain the in butt, it has made my life world’s better.

5. Cutting out screen time at 8:30 pm.

I did it all during January and I never slept better or felt more refreshed. I kept track of my progress on a Gold Star Chart (like Gretchen Rubin). Simply amazing. I kept that screen time limit all month!

February rolled around and I promptly forgot the chart and the screen time crept right back to bed time. Clearly, this is a work in progress.

6. Clearing out the clutter.

Another work in progress. Jed and I got rid of countless bags of our stuff only to have it replaced with baby stuff. Again, a work in progress. If you know anyone needing baby girl stuff in Sacramento, please send them my way. I will have plenty to pass on.

7. Quit signing up for e-courses and finish 2010’s.

I am still working on 2010’s (a gentle nudge to do so) and only purchased two in 2010. I really liked one (and I still need to finish) and the other was only $12 (totally worth the price).

8. Consistently exercising – making friends with cardio.

2011 has been a good year for exercise. I found my perfect exercise partner and we hit the gym most weekdays during summer break and we’re both exercising (albeit way less) well into the fall.

Cardio is still mind-numbingly boring, however I am trying to make nice with it by walking with Ruby in the pouch and friends by my side.

Want to make a walking date? Leave a comment and let’s set up a date.

9. To stop taking things personally.

It is definitely less of a struggle to do this, but these days I have less opportunity to be criticised. I think. Or I am just too tired and involved with my new kid I stopped caring. Jury is still out.

10. Hire a housecleaning service.

Holy crap! BEST money I’ve ever spent. Plus it turns out the people I know with tidy houses have help keeping it that way. Need a referral? We love Angela, Sally and Elsa over at California Green Clean.

11. We finally became a family.

2011 saw the end of our adoption wait. Ruby is finally home and we couldn’t be happier.

Looking back at the year so far – were you able to let go of what no longer worked in your life? What can you give up going forward?

Fall Swap Asana!

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Women of Sacramento – Swap Asana {It’s All Yoga’s twice yearly clothing swap} is THIS SATURDAY!

Who: You, me, other awesome women looking for new-to-us wardrobe pieces

Admission: $5 and 1 piece of clothing gets you in. Take home all you like. Donations and unclaimed items go to WEAVE.

What: Clothing swap – gently used women’s clothes, shoes, accessories

When: Saturday, November 12th 2-4pm

Where: It’s All Yoga – 21st and X Streets – Sacramento, CA

Will you be there? EVERY size will be represented, so come on out.

The One In Which I Declare I Hate Halloween

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Yesterday I woke up feeling a little out of sorts when I realized it was Halloween.

The beginning of the (dreaded holiday season).

I admitted out loud (on Facebook no less!) that I don’t like Halloween and was pleasantly surprised by the agreement from some friends. So happy to not be alone in this.

The scary costumes, the scary decorations, the way-too-old trick or treaters, the slutty costumes and the idiotic drunken behavior – bah humbug!

I don’t get it.

I never have.

Even when I was a kid, Halloween left me feeling uncreative, disappointed, generally let down. Every year I resolved to come up with a better costume, to not be a scaredy cat when the older kids played pranks and maybe finally make it through the haunted house without wanting to cry.

Not much has changed, I still don’t like Halloween.

But then someone kindly offered that I may find something new about Halloween since I’m now a mama and responsible for Ruby’s Halloweens.

Hmmmm.

So grabbed the borrowed lady bug costume and brought Ruby outside for a little photo shoot before the trick or treaters arrived.

Bah humbug begone!

What do you think of Halloween? Celebrate or hate?

Do you ever change your mind about something because someone you love sees it differently than you?

Second Chances and Do Overs: Let’s Talk Fitness, Friends.

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Back in the days before I became a Stay-At-Home-Mom/teacher on parental leave/person without a fulltime job or baby – yet – (otherwise known as July), I was talking about making a commitment to regular exercise when I returned to work.

Uh, well, yeah.

I didn’t return to work and then we tore up the walls in the house and hired painters and I decided to rip the ugly carpet out of Ruby’s room without a plan and well, my commitment to fitness disappeared in a frenzy of the furniture-is-in-the-wrong-room-ness.

Can you relate?

In part of my fitness hiatus I’ve been spending a lot of some time on Pinterest. Hello, new eye candy.

Anyway, there are lots of words of wisdom on the internet.

Who knew?

I would like to think of this time as a second chance for fitness. In a lifelong series of second chances. It is my belief humans requiring exercise to be healthy and sane is a design flaw.

Amy over at Just A Titch has been writing about her fitness journey and she’s got some great ideas about food planning, getting hydrated and rethinking your body image.

Here’s what I’ve learned about myself and exercise.

I love it being done. I’m pretty lukewarm/chilly about actually doing it. {is your head nodding?}

I am a social exerciser. If I am by myself, I’m most likely not going or doing.

The weight room fascinates me.  Where are the women folk? I like lifting heavy stuff and feeling strong.

As it turns out, I like walking outside. Especially in the not-hot part of the day when it is light. I think they call it morning.

My gym is awesome because it is remarkably clean and has the best sauna/steam/soak spot. {Justifying the large price tag? Yes, yes I am.}

Now you – What are your fitness secrets?

What do you do?

Where do you do it?

Who do you do it with?

What time of day do you do it?

What motivates you?

+++++

I’m feeling a bit lost in it all these days. Lots of time, lots to do, mostly just running things through my mind.

Please tell me your fitness secrets (or questions/complaints or whatever) in the comments. Let’s start a conversation.

Anyone want to exercise with me?

Images: click for source