‘Ello friends.  I know I am bad.  It has been awhile since I last wrote.  But, just like getting back into an exercise or food habit, it takes time.  Therefore, I want to post little things throughout the week just to get me back in the blogging habit.  I really miss it. I do.  I think after 6 years of attending journalism school I sadly needed a break from the written word.  But, now I don’t want to be on a “break” from it.  I miss words, vowels, nouns, adjectives, and of course abbreviations.  So, for my first assignment, here is 10 Things you never knew (and probably didn’t want to know) about me!  Ready?  Set?  Read!

10. I have small hands (but you know what that means: I have a big heart).  Seriously though.  My hands create so many problems for me.  Example 1:  When I do the dishes or cook, I break a dish at least.  Out of 6 wine glasses that the boy gave me, ONE remains.  It is super sad that my little hands can’t handle (pun intended) doing the dishes.  Example 2:  I can’t eat or drink without spilling on myself.  I am not kidding.  I need someone to give me a bid half the time because my hands can’t manage to do the simple job of carrying food to mouth.

9.   I can’t open a twist off bottle.  Whether it is a beer bottle, IBC rootbeer or Smart water bottle, I need assistance.  It is very sad and will slow me down if I ever become a bartender.

8. When I get sick all I want to eat are carbs.  Bread, popcorn, sandwiches, bagels, etc. are drawn to me like a moth to flame.  In fact, I am eating popcorn right now and I have a cold. 

7. When magazines that are addressed to my apartment but not me end up in my mailbox I tend to read them and then return them back to the mail room area of my building.  I feel if I return it, its not a problem.  And it is technically addressed to my apartment so it is just the person’s fault for not editing there shipping address form.

6. I haven’t gone to the gym since last summer.  I haven’t ran since that 5k on Thanksgiving which was horrific.  Yay for yoga and its magical benefits. 

5. I HATE CLEANING. HATE WITH A PASSION.  But, every so often I get the urge to clean and it is like a cleaning binge.  The boy says I have “blackout cleaning sprees” because I tend to throw things out and put things away but then I don’t remember where I placed anything after the spree.  Usually, it’s his stuff that goes MIA so I can see his annoyance from this.

4. If I could eat one food the rest of my life it would be pizza, preferably topped with jalapenos, sausage and lots of Thai chili hot sauce.

3. If I hosted a dinner party and could invite anyone, I would invite: Anthony Bourdain, Hunter S. Thompson, Bob Dylan, Paul Newman and of course my girl, Lucille Ball.  I think it would be one hell of a bash.

2. If I could have anyone’s job I would choose Padma Lakshmi‘s as host of Top Chef.  I would love to have 3 wardrobe changes per episode and eat delcious ass food.

1. My resolution for this year is to grow as a person and live each day with grace and compassion.  It is difficult sometimes (because I am human)  but I think attaining to be a better person is a wonderful goal to have.

Anything I should know about you?

Cheers,

Lo

These past 6 weeks of my life have been seriously eye opening.  Imagine you are at Thanksgiving dinner and you fill your plate with so much turkey, stuffing and pecan pie that everything begins to mesh together and flavors combine.  That is my life at the moment.  My schedule consists of raising a puppy, potty training a puppy, working twice a week, going to school twice a week, going to Yoga teacher training Saturdays and Sundays, going to at least one workshop for yoga a week, learning Sanskrit, practice teaching yoga (to my dog), attempting 5 yoga classes a week, and doing homework that never seems to ever end.

But, after the last few weeks of seriously burning myself out and stressing over EVERYTHING that needed to be done, I have had enough.  I need ME time.  I need a DATE night.  I need to see my friends.  I need to give myself some sanity by going out to dinner with my boyfriend.  I need to see my best friends at dinner and gossip over silly things, I need to snuggle with my puppy and watch trash TV.  Lately my priorities have changed and I am coming to accept that fact.  But instead of just stressing out and constantly working, I am going to work on balance–something we always hear about in yoga.

Once December hits, I will have a Masters in Journalism, and hopefully be completing my teacher training and receiving my 200 hours RYT certificate.  And rather than race to the finish I am going to take my time and ensure that I am enjoying every moment of my current journey.

When I get stressed out I remind myself of the quote from Nelson Mandela, “Everything seems impossible until it’s done.”  This man’s inspiration rings so true to me right now.  So, tonight I am enjoying some bowling and beer with my best friends rather than sitting at my computer for another 6 hours working on a final project.  Tomorrow, I am going to read some of “How Yoga Works” (a book that I am currently reading) and practice lots of vinyasa’s during a level 2/3 yoga class which always kicks my butt.

I guess I just wanted to remind us all that no matter what you have on your life plate right now, whether it’s an overflowing turkey dinner, or a cup of soup, we have to remind ourselves to have “me” time, “friend” time, or “romantic” time.  Whether you are super busy or not we all must remember to make time for things, because going through the motions in life is not a way to live at all.

Cheers and Namaste,

Lolo

So what have I been doing lately? Trying not to pull my hair out from this little guy:

 Benjamin Louis- aka, Benny, is our 3 month old Beagle puppy.  We spent the past two months researching dog breeds, rescue organizations and breeders.  We found Benny when he was just 7 weeks old (via GotBeagles.Org) but he was not quite ready for adoption.  His mom and dad were living in a foster family’s home when Benny and his siblings were born.  He is the runt of them all-weighing 6 pounds.  Surprisingly he was the LAST one picked for adoption! I found this shocking since he is the absolute cutest.

He has been with us for 5 days and he has brought so much joy to our lives.

Has anyone ever raised a puppy and successfully potty trained them?  We are definitely working out the kinks that comes with being new parents.

This week I did something relatively cool.  I got into crow pose and was able to life both of my feet off the ground.  Sure, it was only 4 inches from the floor, but that is the first time I was in the air.  I am not the strongest in class. I am not the most flexible in class. But, to know my downward dog is the best its ever been, to know that I can chaturanga with the best of them even though I still can’t do a REAL push up, and to know that after each class I have a sense of calm while clarity washes over me, gives me smiles in deepness of my belly.  It’s the little things in life like accomplishing a new pose in yoga class, talking to my grandfather on the phone, eating pizza at 5AM because you can’t sleep, that make life just that much better.  How can we appreciate those Friday nights out with girlfriends, when we don’t have those lazy Sundays? How can we appreciate a wonderfully cooked meal if we don’t have those evenings with take out Pad Thai?  If we don’t procrastinate/rent movies like, Bridesmaids and Everything Must Go, on a school night, then how can we ever confront all of the homework that’s piling up with a fresh new approach?  When I come to my mat and set an intention for my practice it is usually something like, “I want to appreciate the little things in life more.”  As we get older and busier, we tend to forget the things in life that truly make us happy.  I recently attended my boyfriend’s 3 year old brother’s birthday party where I learned to let go and spend a few hours jumping in a bouncy house -not worrying about school, life, or other useless stresses.  When I came to my yoga mat this week, I realized I have to stop trying to be the girl next to me doing a Scorpion pose, because one day I will get there.  Sometimes, all it takes to make us relax, breath, and let go of stress is an endless sushi dinner with your best friend, a take-out Chinese dinner served along side Netflix on a Friday night, a candlelight restorative yoga class where you leave relaxed and detoxified, or even just a phone call with your momma.  I am going to make sure that when I wake up every morning,  I am going to set an intention for my day just like I  do in my yoga practice.  When I get too stressed from either dirty dishes or too much homework, I can focus back on what I want from the day and appreciate the little things in life again.

If you saw my wine rack, you'd think, "Wow, she has a lot of red wine." Well, guess what? Its a simple thing in life that really makes an evening complete.

spring rolls put a spring in my step.

best pad thai ever, from a hole in the wall next door.

XoXo,

Lo

P.S.  Didn’t Jenny do a fabulous job on my blog?  I am now a resident at WordPress and have a header that screams, “LO!” Muah Jenny!

The Cobb salad is not a new culinary creation.  But, it is in fact brand new to me.  Believe it or not my first Cobb was this summer! My virginity was taken by a lad named Michael Diversey–well my Cobb salad virginity anyway. Michael Diversey’s is a local restaurant that has modern takes on traditional food and they also feature Trivia Tuesdays–what more could a twenty-something, pop culture loving girl ask for in a dining spot?  It wasn’t until I walked through those doors awhile back at Diversey’s, that their Cobb salad would in fact change my life.  Since this afternoon luncheon, the Cobb salad has been calling my name. Sometimes so many times that I have had a Cobb salad three times a week!  My eyes peruse menus searching for a Cobb to fill my stomach’s void.  Yes, I am now a Cobb convert.