Daze

There seemed to be an unprecedented amount of holiday, food gifts which made me think of Shonda Rhimes' book Year of Yes.

About losing weight, Rhimes concluded that she was saying "yes" to being overweight. I have many truffles, cookies and candy. Definitely not planning on eating it all but it's tempting...

During our Christmas dinner, my uncle said it was Thanksgiving and, later on, a family friend thanked my aunt for the Easter plate. Perhaps, it was the unseasonably warm weather or the fact that we have similar food for the holidays or maybe it's the daze between Christmas and New Year.

On New Year's Eve, I watched the bulk of YogaWoman which seemed like a fitting activity -- for me anyway. I was not looking forward to midnight as people have been clowning with guns on NYE. Unbelievably, the gunfire started around 11:30 p.m. I fell asleep but totally knew when midnight hit because the fireworks and gunfire was off the chart...

A massage therapist that I used to go to returned to the area for the holidays. Couldn't believe that it had been two years, slightly over two years actually.

I went for a session and noticed her Keep Calm and Do Qigong shirt as she greeted me. She talked about how, after two years, her new state is finally starting to feel like home. People weren't sure why she and her partner wanted to move somewhere where they didn't know anyone. She was  like "Maybe this is just a brief stop. Who knows?" I admire her willingness to pull up stakes, start over and go with the flow.

Nth Degree

According to the Calm app, Wednesday was International Calm Day. Who designates these days?

At any rate, in honor of Calm Day, I had access to Calm Premium including a sleep story. I feel asleep on the sleep story so I guess it worked...

On Thursday I headed to Gloria's. She prepared everything since she was subbing for someone and wouldn't be home until around 7:30 p.m.

I'm thankful that Gloria has gone vegan and invited me over to witness the spectacle because I had really reached a point where I was stuck with cooking. If nothing else, I have new go-to recipes from the Thug Kitchen cookbook.

It's kind of like the woman at Zumba who told me that she doesn't go the bathroom closest to her at work -- makes perfect sense. Sometimes, you just need a reminder...

I don't go out of my way to eat celery but Gloria had it in our salad. For some reason, I thought that I didn't really care for celery but it was good -- especially with hummus on top. My taste buds have also matured and I didn't take that into account. Same thing with blackberries; remembered them as being too seedy but I didn't mind them on Thursday...

Alison and I have been totally out of synch of late. We were negotiating about which day to go biking and we really didn't reach an agreement. In the end, I woke up early then went back to sleep and when I thought about the mess in my trunk, I lost the desire to go biking so I went to  Zumba.

As I turned on the "Zumba Street" I saw this guy, who appeared to be homeless, giving drivers the middle finger salute. I laughed so hard. Just about everyone has been getting on my nerves lately. Oh, what I would give to salute a few... ;)

Later on Alison messaged me and asked me what I was doing. We decided to go biking so I guess everything does not need to be planned to the nth degree.

On our way out, a hawk landed nearby and several people stopped to watch him eat his snack. One bicyclist was not amused -- On your left, lady.

Hawk

The Yoga Spiel

Went to Trader Joe's and the clerk asked if I had done anything enjoyable this weekend.

I rode my bike and did yoga this morning, I responded.

Yooooooga, he said. I've been meaning to try that...He went on to ask a few questions including how I felt after practicing. I told him that I know it sounds like a cliché but yoga has made me a better person. Things that used to bother me just roll off my shoulders and I no longer pound my fists into the steering wheel...

Yesterday, I had two dates. I could not find either address on my GPS and had to run back in the house to get directions but didn't think to check the second location. I don't have a cell phone but remembered that Target has wifi, used my text-free situation and asked Katie, my second date, for directions as I simultaneously realized that I could use Google Maps. Went to customer service, asked for a pen and hoped that the sun would stay with me for a while.

The Sun -- Right Before I Found Katie

Where Katie stays reminds me of where one of my great, great aunts used to stay in Arkansas-- down a red dirt road with no signage. Before, I would have fretted that I was going in the wrong direction but Katie had told me that it was about a mile off the road so I stayed the course and was thrilled when she popped out of the house because I still wasn't sure that I was in the right place...

During my first date with Cindy, we talked about hot yoga which I do miss a bit but I also know that heat can be created without a thermostat...

At the end of savasana today, Gloria told us to feel the calm within and I felt the calm the same way that I felt the heat and the sweat rolling down my face when she guided us through sun salutations.