I Love Yoga!

We haven’t discussed Yoga in a while. I love Yoga. It has been amazing for my body. I have seen huge changes in my ability to stretch. I love being able to move closer and closer to a pose until I can master it. I love that my wrists and arms are getting so much stronger. And I love the way I feel when class is over – like I have had a message. I love when the college girls are home from school at Christmas or summer and come in for the first time ready to conquer the world, and they leave saying, that was harder than I thought it would be. I love Yoga!

There is a pose that most people have heard of, but may not know: Downward Facing Dog.

Well there is a variation of this pose where you throw one of your legs up, back and over – this is called Flipping Your Dog. I was very uncomfortable with this pose for a very long time. Just after the New Year, I went for it. I flipped my dog. And I was so proud of my progress. I still have some work to do to master this pose, but I am so happy that my body is getting stronger!

I have been going pretty regularly for the last few months. By regular I mean twice a week. The last two weeks I was not able to go due to one thing or another. But today I was able to go back. It was wonderful. I was surprised at how tight I was, but by the end of class I was back on track.

There is a pose that I have been working on that I made a huge step forward with today. It is called the Bird of Paradise. To start you bind in side angle. To bind is to reach one of your hands around your back and the other one under your leg, and then grab your hands together in the back. Once you have done this, you balance and raise your leg ending up in the Bird of Paradise. Today I was able to bind and almost get balanced enough to raise my leg.



OK, you may be thinking, well that is easy enough. If you are, and you don’t practice Yoga regularly, stop what you are doing and try binding. Let me know how that worked out for you!

Things That Suck:

1. Have you ever been out shopping, at dinner, etc… and saw someone that made you think, “Hey, that looks like ____?” But then you realize that _____ is gone from this earth. Tonight I was at the store and turned the corner and standing at the end of the isle was a woman facing the chips and from the side she looked like Angela, my neighbor that passed away due to cancer in September of 2008. Yep, that sucks!

2. Have you ever noticed that the registration sticker/inspection sticker on your car is out and think “OMG! I have got to get that done.” And found yourself still thinking it about a month later when you see a cop in the parking lot. Last night, I was in the Wal-Mart parking lot and passed a cop, who flipped around and pulled me over. He noticed that my registration sticker was out in December. No warning, he just wrote me a ticket. Yep, that sucks!

Three Wishes

Tonight we had one of Major’s favorite shows on, Jack’s Big Music Show. It is really a very cool show that I enjoy watching as well. The characters found a horn and blew it and a Music Genie came out. She then granted the three main characters three wishes. That got me to wondering, if I had three wishes, what would I wish for?

If you would have asked me this question 20 years ago, I am certain the wishes would be different, and easier to come up with. Now, I don’t even know what I would wish for. It is amazing how you change and grow, and so does your perspective. Beauty fades, fortunes get spent, true loves die. Nothing lasts forever.

So do you wish for something to change the here and now? Or do you wish for something in the future? Do you wish things for yourself? For those you love? For the world? If a Genie granted me three wishes, what would I wish for? What would you wish for?

Road Trip Week

WOW! What a busy week. The past several days have been packed full of fun and running around! On Monday, the boys had their gym class and that evening we went to the ADPi house so I could go over some housing stuff with the members. Then we drove to Mom and Dad’s and spent the night.

Tuesday we hung out with mom and dad and the boys burnt leaves. Tuesday afternoon we went to check out a dirt bike track that is just down I-20 from Mom and Dad. It was closed that day, but we got to see it and it looks like it would be A LOT of fun. So, as soon as the boys get comfortable on their dirt bikes we are going to take them there.

Wednesday we drove down to Austin to go to the UT v. Texas Tech game. We had a great time! Mavrick was the DJ on the way down (he called shotgun on Monday because Michael always sits in the front with me). We stopped by the Temple Ronald McDonald House on the way down and dropped off a few boxes of things that the Alumnae Association had collected. The lady there was so nice, she gave both of the boys a baseball cap.

When we got to Austin, we went to Glenda and Marla’s then out to dinner with them. It was very rushed, but a lot of fun.




Then we headed to the game. Finding a parking spot was a beating. I had no idea that there would be that many people at a basketball game. So, we parked in a parking garage that was like 2 miles from the basketball facility. By the end of the evening, I did not feel bad that I had not exercised that morning. The game was good, but Tech lost. The boys said that they really enjoyed it. It was fun just spending time with them.



After the game, just as we walked out of the facility, Mavrick said “I gotta pee.” I told him that was too bad and he would have to wait. I thought for sure we would find a place that was dark enough for him to go. We didn’t. When we got to the parking garage there was a LONG line to get out. I told Mav just to go behind the car and take care of his business. He thought it was hilarious that he had “pissed on UT.” I love that kid. He is so dang funny! 45 minutes later, when we were still in line to get out of the parking garage I had to unbutton my pants because I had to pee so bad! But I held it till we got back to Glenda’s.


Thursday we all slept in. It was nice, but I knew we had to get home and we were on a schedule. We went and met my friend, Darcy for lunch before we left town. Darcy moved to Virginia about two years ago, and now has been back in Texas, Austin that is, for about two weeks. We were really good friends, so it is good to have her back in these parts.

DFW was expecting a HUGE rain storm on Thursday. Sure enough, we got it! And me and the boys were driving in it. We had to go back to the farm to get Major before going home. And Mavrick had basketball practice at 7:00, and Michael’s was 7:30. So, we went as fast as we could in the rain, and made it all happen. I will tell you though, I was one tired little momma when we got home.

My back was all tight, and I could hardly pick up Major out of his car seat. I took a muscle relaxer and had some mommy juice, and POW! I was out. When I woke up this morning to go to the CUBE, I was still drunk! That pill really worked! I had to call us in sick! So today we have just taken it real slow. I am exhausted, and I don’t know if it is that I am just that tired or if I am hung over from muscle relaxer!

Still in My Bed

Well, I know that we have covered this subject previously, but …Major is still sleeping in our bed. Actually, it feels more like we are sleeping in Major’s bed. Really! How did this happen? All the things we didn’t do wrong with Michael and Mav, we have done with Major. Many of the things we did wrong with Michael and Mav we are doing right with Major, but this, this we have failed miserably.

I gave his bedding to a friend of mine who was having a boy. It was pretty much new. I gave the mattress to my sister. We have some of our Christmas stuff that hasn’t made it to the attic yet stored in his room. So, my intent (yes, you have heard this before) is to get his room back in order, with his big boy bed and by his birthday. By April 16th! I gotta have a goal, right!

I think this may have come about, well peaked, this evening when I had to vacuum out my bed because he turned a bag of Gold Fish upside down in my bed. Good Times!

Feet

If you have spent any amount of time with me, you probably know that I have feet issues. I don’t really like them. I think that most feet are ugly. I would rather not see most feet. And please, never touch me with your feet. Really. Now, on the flip side of that (and with me, there will always be a flip side) I love baby feet. I will kiss them, and tickle and hold and, well, I love baby feet. Major is 21 months old and still has very sweet feet. Michael and Mavrick’s feet are border line. Still cute in some ways, but getting uglier by the day. I knew it was love when I would let Mark’s feet touch me. The man has ugly feet, but I love those ugly feet.

Of course, when people have cute feet, I do appreciate them. I, for example, have cute feet. My sister's feet are cute. My old boss, Melanie, her feet are cute. My Granny had cute feet. So, that is four out of the thousands of people I know and have seen their feet. Maybe I am a feet snob? I could never be one of those people who do pedicures! If I am getting a pedi and think about giving someone one, I get really uncomfortable. I am also very ticklish, so I only get one around Mother’s Day (whether I need it or not). They are the only pair I will ever get, so I gotta take care of them.

There is only one problem with my cute feet. My toes get cold. I mean like ICE. Really. I am sitting here right now, in a 70 degree house and my toes are cold. Maybe I have bad circulation. They look cute, but I’m not sure that they function correctly. LOL! I was laughing about a week ago because my feet were SO cold when I went to bed. They always are. Most of the time I wear socks. Sexy, I know. Anyway, I was thinking about how long Mark has been sleeping with these cold feet, or sexy socks. My feet have touched him in the night and woke him up because they were so cold. At least his feet aren’t cold!

Dead in my tracks!

Do you ever come across something that just stops you dead in your tracks? It’s so random, and your mind moves so quickly that you suddenly notice that you’re not breathing. I did today. I was on FaceBook and saw a picture of a friend of mine with his little brother. They are cute guys and you can tell that they are close. It was a good picture.

When I saw it I thought “aww. That’s a good picture.” But all of the sudden I was thinking, “I had a brother. He was a lot taller than me too. I wonder what he would be doing today. Where he would live. Who he would be married to. What his kids would be like.”

I think I have taught myself not to think, and especially dwell, on it. But when I go there, I still crash pretty hard. So, I stood in the kitchen and cried for about 30 minutes. This year will be 20 years. To me, that is unbelievable! Unbelievable.

Happy New Year! 2010!

We started out our New Year the way we have for several of the past year, with some great friends! We started having a NYE party about 7 or 8 years ago, when we and everyone we knew had itty-bitty kids, but we still wanted to hangout and ring in the New Year rather than go to bed at 9:00. I have grown to believe that it is really important to teach our kids traditions and the importance of being socially active.

In addition to having friends and neighbors over, another tradition that my kids do came from some other really good friends in Arkansas, the Goodpastor’s. We spent many New Year’s Eves with them and my parents after mom and dad moved to Dallas. Their family always got pots and pans and went outside and banged on them with a spoon. Now, every year, right before mid-night, my boys line all the kids up in the kitchen and pass out pots and spoons and them march them outside to count down. It is so much fun to see them having their traditions, and it always makes me think of Mike and Sudean.







My mom always said to start the New Year doing what you want to do all year long. So, for me, that entailed going to the gym, doing a little shopping with girlfriends, taking the kids to the movies and eating our favorite pizza for dinner. I would say it was a great way to start out a great New Year!

And today was just as good as yesterday. I went to the gym this morning for Yoga. At the beginning of each class we take a moment and “set our intention for the class.” Today, I wanted to “push myself just a bit more.” I had not been to Yoga in about a month, so I was not sure what that point would be, but it is a new year, so bring it! So, today, I flipped my dog – both ways! I had been kind of scared to do that before, but know that I know I can, I will do it from now on! Yea Me!

And now, I am about to snuggle up in a warm blanket and watch Texas Tech win the Alamo Bowl. Happy New Year all!