Vanilla-scented laze

It’s been a slow week over here at Chez but I was alive. Between the moon day and then three four days of Lady’s Holiday, there was pretty much no yoga.

I don’t know what my body’s deal is, but it’s felt the need to throw me for a loop these past few months. I take the first three days of LH off from practice, as has been my custom forever, and then when I plan to get back on the mat on day four, KABOOM: ruthless cramps, headache, general misery.

So, mostly I spent the week (when I wasn’t working like a maniac, which was most of the time) cuddled up under a blanket watching 30 Rock and Dexter dvds with The Guy. It was nice and comfy, but it felt way too lazy for my liking. My body seems to be back to normal today, so I promise it’s back to the mat — even though that’s going to present a huge mental hurdle for me to jump over, given the fact that it’s -30 outside and all I want to do is cuddle up under a blanket and watch 30 Rock and Dexter dvds with The Guy (see above).

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On a completely unrelated note, I was in Toronto a couple weeks ago on business and I visited The Model. I was starving when I got to her house, so to tide me over until we went out for a very yummy Persian meal, she offered me some plain yogurt topped with her homemade granola. Granola is fine. I can take it or leave it. Not really my thing — until that moment. Yeah, so colour me converted.

So naturally I came home and made her recipe that weekend (with some changes based on what I had in my cupboards/what jumped out at me at the bulk food store. It’s glorious. Every morning since then my breakfast has involved plain organic yogurt, fresh berries of some sort (strawberries this morning…yum), a drizzle of maple syrup and, of course, the piece de resistance, a sprinkle of the granola. You can check out the original recipe over here.

Here’s my version:

Vanilla-scented Granola

(adapted from Bon Appetit, March 2002)

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

4 cups old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup wheat germ

1 cup pecan pieces

3/4 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup hulled pumpkin seeds (unsalted)

1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons sugar

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup yogurt covered raisins

Preparation

Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 300°F. Lightly spray large baking sheet with nonstick spray. Mix next eight ingredients together in large bowl. Combine oil, honey, and sugar in small saucepan; bring to simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour hot liquid over oat mixture; stir well. Using hands, toss mixture until thoroughly mixed.

Spread granola on prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Transfer sheet to rack; cool granola completely. Once granola has cooled, add dried cranberries and yogurt covered raisins, toss to incorporate. (Can be made 2 weeks ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

Blueprint

10. The perverse pleasure of aching muscles the day after a serious workout yoga practice. 

–From Blueprint Magazine’s “50 Reasons to Make these Resolutions” (Jan./Feb. 200

 Also, how I will feel tomorrow after tonight’s vinyasa class.  I need something to kick my bum into gear after last week’s occasional delinquency. 

Of unravelling, fragments and adulthood

January 14^th saw the unravelling of my to-that-point perfect WoYoPracMo record. Why?  Because of shoes. 

I have a very small window of time into which to fit my practice on weekdays and it occurs between 4:30 (when I finish work) and 6:30 (when The Guy usually gets home from work).  Usually I also have to squeeze grocery shopping in there as well.  But last Monday I decided that I needed to buy new knee-high leather boots.  I’d found a pair I liked, complete with kitten heel (because, really, I don’t need to add a 4” heel onto my already tall 5’10”).  But they were sold out in my size at the nearest store.  So I had to go to the other one.  At the other end of the city entirely.  And it took me over an hour round trip.  Got home.  Tried on boots.  Admired boots.  Made dinner.  Sat on couch.  Promptly forgot about practice.  Remembered practice while lying in bed around 11 p.m.  Considered getting out of bed to practice.  Realized that was ridiculous.  Went to sleep.

Since then, I’ve had a few good practices.  I’ve also had a few more misses.  I like to call this laziness.  I don’t have a single excuse.  But clearly, unlike last year, I’m not earning a perfect record for this year’s WoYoPracMo.  Such is life.  And practice.

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 Why do I love sentence fragments so much today?

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If you had been in our local grocery store on Saturday evening around 6:45, you would have seen The Guy and me walking around, picking out asparagus and red skinned potatoes with ridiculous smiles plastered on our faces.  You would have seen me break my gait – from a walk into an occasional skip – out of pure excitement.  We’d just come from a meeting with our builder.  We chose a lot!  Our plans are being sent to the architect to be modified as per our specifications!  We plan to move-in in September!  We are building a house.  And we love it a lot.  

When did I get old enough to do things like build a house, apply for a mortgage and send floor plans back to the architect for modifications?  When did this whole adult thing start? 

Beets! (etc.)

FINALLY.
You can’t hate beets after you’ve tried them like this.

Baked beets with balsamic vinegar, oregano and garlic
(adapted from The Naked Chef Takes Off, Jamie Oliver)

Serves 4

1 lb. fresh raw beets, preferably golf-ball sized, scrubbed and peeled
10 cloves garlic, peeled and squashed
1 handful of fresh oregano (or cilantro, or marjoram or flat leafed parsley)
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
10 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut beets into quarters (otherwise they take waaaay too long to cook). Place beets in the middle of a large piece of aluminum foil, along with the garlic and oregano (or herb of your choice). Season with salt and pepper then fold the sides of the foil in in order to form a package. Before the seal the foil into a packet, add the balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Scrunch or fold the foil together to seal at the top. Put on a baking sheet, place in other over (middle rack) and cook for 1 hour (until tender). Enjoy!

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Today’s practice consisted of much deep breathing and much time in child’s pose as I tried to deal with an exceedingly painful Ladies’ Holiday. The drugs are working quite nicely now, but I was not in a good state when the drugs from earlier in the day wore off early this evening. There was much writhing and complaining.

Even during all the aforementioned pain I was still blissfully happy. Yesterday’s news continues to thrill me. I guess I can let you in on the news somewhat and say that (a) it’s work-related, and (b) it relates to my current job (i.e. I did not get a new job). That’s really all I can say for now, and there’s quite a bit that I will never be able to discuss here for confidentiality reasons. Anyhow, it’s amazing how excited and motivated I am. Not that I wasn’t before, but now, on a Friday evening, I’m excited for work on Monday and wishing (a little bit) that it would hurry up and get here. Weird, eh? Having so much responsibility placed on my shoulders is a little scary, but at the same time knowing that others have so much faith in me is a huge confidence builder. I’m very proud of myself and right now I’m just trying to enjoy that feeling and I think I’ve finally convinced myself that I deserve it.

Status

I am positively bursting with excitement.  Unfortunately, I can’t say why.  Yet.  At least not anywhere this public.  But I just needed to say it!

YIPPEE!!!!!

Sunlight and beets

I feel as though the first week of WoYoPracMo was thoroughly lacklustre for me (practiced every day, many practices were, frankly, half-assed).  As much as working full time/not having a yoga studio or even a decent practice space limits me, I do find it much easier to practice when it’s part of a routine.  Last week I was still on holiday and each day was different, now that I’m back at work I’m finding it much easier to fit in normal practices.  Okay, well, except for Monday.  I had every intention of it, but then my friend called me.  She was planning on putting an offer in on her first condo that evening and wanted someone to come with her to look at it once more and to be there during the offer-making, paperwork-signing process.  So I went.  And I didn’t get home until late.  So a short practice it was.

I was so excited to get back into full practice yesterday.  I was looking forward to it.  Then I realized it was a moon day.  Ultimately, I said screw it and practiced anyway.  If I took advantage of every excuse that made itself available to me I probably wouldn’t even do this practice anymore.  

 I started yesterday by setting the intention to rediscover my passion for Ashtanga by way of this practice, and it worked (for now!).  Everything felt good.  Backbends felt great.  Vinyasas were fun.  My shoulders are a little sore today from throwing all the vinyasas back into the mix.  But I love that good soreness that comes from real practice.  

 I got a new space at work.  It’s glorious.  Instead of being shoved into the make-shift ergonomic nightmare that was my old area, I now have a huge three-sided desk, tons of storage and, best of all, two giant windows.  I’m awash in sunlight right now.  I heart it a lot.

 I realize that I have been thoroughly remiss in my promise from waaaaay back to provide the recipe for the best beets ever.  And now that Yogamum has declared her love for beets, I’m sure she’ll want to try this recipe next.  I promise I’ll post it in the next couple days.  It’s the best thing ever.

WoYoPracMo: Days 2 - 5

Boring run down: -Day 2: Took a Moksha class. A lot of fun backbending. A lot of ab work. Hurt to laugh, move, turn the steering wheel (who knew how much abdominal strength that required?!) etc. the next day.

-Day 3: In a hotel room while my mum and I were cross-border shopping in NY State. Short. Sweet. Abs both screamed/felt great with every single up-dog as the front body stretched out.

-Day 4: Again, minimal. Sun sals. Much hip-opening. Closing. Savasana.

-Day 5: Normal day of rest. Did a restorative practice. It was really nice. Held each pose for 15 breaths. Felt like jello afterwards.

These first five practice of WoYoPracMo have been largely abbreviated, non-hardcore practices. I suspect that once I go back to work on Monday (yes, I’ve been off since December 20 and it’s been glorious) I’ll get back into my usual routine, including full practices — until Ladies’ Holiday strikes late next week when I’ll probably retreat to more restorative stuff for a day or two — or three.

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In cross-border shopping news, many deals were had. Canadians are deprived of the wonders of Target, where I was able to pick up my toothbrush heads for $25 for two, as opposed to $40 here. Oh, and I got the kashi granola bars that I’m obsessed with that I can’t get here. Not exciting to most, but definitely exciting to this Canadian.

I was also thrilled to uncover these shoes that I thought existed only in my imagination.Oh, and this suit that was marked down from $320 to $95, pretty proud of grabbing that one.

Back in Canada now. Planning a full practice tomorrow morning. We’ll see how that goes.

WoYoPracMo is underway

WoYoPracMo started with a whimper…not unlike last year (ha, look at that, I used the same first sentence last year). Last night’s celebrations were fairly low key but decadent nonetheless.

Here’s a word to the wise though, if you can’t fit a practice in earlier in the day because you’re too busy lounging around the house watching HGTV On Demand until 3 p.m., try not to do your practice (short as it may be — sun sals and finishing — it’s New Year’s Day after all) at 8:30 p.m. after a large family meal. Uttanasana is not so pleasant. No it isn’t. And yes, I am aware that yoga is meant to be practiced on an empty stomach, but hey, sometimes desperate WoYoPracMo times call for desperate WoYoPracMo measures.

One down. 30 to go.

Last eve

Just finished my last practice of 2007 and before WoYoPracMo 2008 commences tomorrow.  It was tough.  Planned on doing a full practice, but quit after standing as my stomach was grumbling madly and I needed to eat — lest I pass out (this explains why morning practice is done in the early morning, and not at 11 a.m.).  When did my hamstrings and hips turn into lead? After spending hours pouring over my newest Christmas acquisition (from my little brother — how cute is that?) last night, I was reinspired and looked forward to hitting the mat this morning. Unfortunately, it was not a pleasant experience. One of those practices in which I caught myself thinking, “Why do I do this again?” Ick. Luckily, midnight will bring a clean slate.

Tonight The Guy and I are celebrating by doing exactly the same thing we did last year: eating an extravagant meal (8 course menu) at our favourite restaurant in town. The meal begins at 9 and usually wraps up around 1. Midnight is accompanied by champagne and silly noise makers. Decadent, warm and wonderful.

This morning I read over my “resolutions” from last year. I think I’ve made some progress. I have a better idea of what I want to be when I grow up — kind of. I haven’t nailed it down entirely, but I’m circling around a certain area and I’m more comfortable where I am. I was lucky to get a new job back in the spring and I love it — whether or not I will keep it remains to be seen, but things are looking positive on that front. And, perhaps most exciting of all, The Guy and I have found a house, only it’s not a resale home as we’d first imagined, instead we’ve decided to build! We’ve chosen an area, a builder and floorplans and now it’s just a matter of topping up our savings accounts until they contain enough to put forward a serious downpayment — we’re getting close!

I’m in a place that I never thought I’d be, never wanted to be, and much to my surprise it’s blissful and joyous.

Wishing everyone the happiest new year and all the best in 2008! All you WoYoPracMo-ers, I’ll see you on the mat tomorrow.

Standoff

Yeah, I don’t know what happened.  Maybe I just had to distance myself from that failure called NaBloPoMo.  Or maybe it was the constant going-ness of the holidays.  Not sure.  Anyhow, here I am.  Hoping everyone’s Christmas was merry, holidays happy etc. I’m currently sitting  on my living room floor, drinking a cup of green tea (I’m trying to limit the black tea and coffee after I went to a new dentist a couple weeks ago and within seconds of opening my mouth he asked, “Are you a tea drinker?”) while gazing over at my unrolled mat with trepidation.  I plan to practice as soon as I finish drinking/writing.  Although I’m not too sure how serious my intentions are given that I’m still wearing my pajamas (complete with toothpaste spilled down the front…I’m nothing if not klutzy).

 I did practice yesterday.  I went to the Moksha studio and took what was supposed to be a vinyasa class.  It was not.  Given that they are running on a bit of a skeleton holiday schedule it was just a regular Moksha class.  I was secretly happy about that, as Moksha is easier than vinyasa.  Much, much easier.  That was my first day back on the mat since the whole Christmas thing started, oh, a week and a half ago.  So this will be my first home practice…hence the Andrea vs. Mat standoff that’s current occurring.

 I am sore and I suspect I will wimp out after sun sals and finishing poses.  I feel guilty now that that’s on paper.  But, some yoga is better  than no yoga.  And with WoYoPracMo starting next week (NEXT WEEK!  Ack!) I better get used to it.  That reminds me, I need to remember to actualy sign up for WoYoPracMo.  I started to a couple weeks ago, and I was about to upload a photo.  I went to grab one from my very old-school Yahoo Photos account only to discover that it no longer exists and a whole bunch of my Asia photos are gone forever.  And no, I never received notice from them as they claim.  I did not.  So yes, that threw me off track with the WoYoPracMo registration.  Must get back on that today.

I’m slowly trying to come down from a week long sugar high.  I think I’m doing pretty well.  Yesterday I only had one very yummy chocolate truffle and one cup of hot chocolate (with frangelico), which is actually a vast improvement over my Cookie Monster-esque binges earlier in the week. The Moksha studio is doing a two week detox/yoga challenge in January, which will kick off with a workshop with an Ayurveda expert.  I’m tempted to take part, I mean, it would dovetail quite nicely with WoYoPracMo, but something about it isn’t sitting right with me….something about it seems overly dogmatic.  I don’t know, maybe that’s just my sugar addiction trying to talk me out of it. Okay..I’m down to my last couple sips of tea.  Off I go.   

Ow

I don’t know what I did, but I know that it’s not good.  I had no sense that anything was wrong until I woke up a couple times in the middle of the night and, in shifting around in bed, noticed what I thought was a minor tweak in my back.  Then, when I tried to get out of bed this morning, I discovered it was not so much minor.  

It seems that in last evening’s really good practice (save for the mid-practice cry, second day in a row, don’t know why) I managed to do something to pull what I think is my rhomboid major (i.e. the muscle that is deeply involved in the movement of my left shoulder blade…and given my experiences this morning, everything else, including breathing).  A couple Advil liquigels have take the edge off the pain a little, but trust me when I say that it hurts to do anything.  

Anyone watching me get ready for work this morning would have undoubtedly had a few laughs, especially when I tried to bend over to spit out the toothpaste after brushing my teeth.  Apparently bending over is out of the question, which resulted in me standing (at my full 5’10”), opening my mouth and just hoping  that the toothpaste would make it into the sink and not onto the surrounding counter.  

The only pose I can imagine that would have resulted in this is prasarita padottanasana c.  Not usually a difficult pose for me, I think that I pushed further than I should have in this pose last night.  Normally, as I bring my arms down toward the floor I get several loud, fun pops and cracks from my spine.  Last evening, when that didn’t happen (and I do admit to being mildly addicted to those pops and cracks…they feel so good) I decided that I need to push further, and so I kept pushing that “broadening of the back” feeling hoping for the pops and cracks that never came.  Instead, I can’t move today. 

There’s definitely a lesson in there somewhere!

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I’ve been tagged by Tim for a new meme, but I need time to think about it….silly long first name.

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To all you Americans, wishing you a happy, joyful and gluttonous Thanksgiving.  Don’t forget to be on your mats bright and early on Friday morning!  Ha!

Don’t wanna

Okay, so NaBloPoMo and I have all but broken up. Actually, I think we’re in that phase right before the breakup, you know the one where you’re “on a break.” Yeah, well, that’s the status of my relatonship with NaBloPoMo.

I had a few posts brewing in my head last week, but for some reason (laziness) I never got around to actually writing them. If they ever invent telepathic blogging I’ll probably excel at that. The gist of one of the posts was that for the last while I’ve had an inexplicable disdain for standing poses. I’ve seen then merely as something to “get through” in order to get to the good stuff. Well, last week, on two particularly time-crunched days, I didn’t have time for anything other than sun sals, standing and the last poses of finishing, so I decided to savour it. And in those two practices I rediscovered a little love for the standing poses, in addition to a further understanding of what this practice is all about: being in the moment, being in the breath. It’s not about the postures, it’s about where they take you.

So, I’m off tonight to a Bon Jovi concert. I honestly think I got a little caught up in my friend’s Bon Jovi love when I said I wanted to go. Because frankly, I’m really not sure why I’m going. I’m not really a Bon Jovi fan (okay, so maybe there’s a video somewhere of me having a really fantastic time dancing to Living on a Prayer, but I assure you, that involved plenty of vodka). I would so much rather stay at home and have time to practice. As it is, I have to shower, put some make up on, dry my hair, get dressed and throw together some kind of dinner in the next hour. Ack. I guess the plus side here is that it’s really causing me to look forward to tomorrow’s practice.

Not here

So I many not have posted here today, (well, other than this little note) but I posted over here at i obsess.  That totally counts toward NaBloPoMo, no?

Whoops

The NaBloPoMo gods are probably going to stike me down. I’ve missed two days in a row. And all because I’m so un-fun that I’ve been exhausted and going to bed (on the weekend, no less) around 10 p.m.

I’m also probably pissing off the ashtanga gods. What’s my favourite day of the week for practice? Sunday. What day is it today? Sunday. Have I practiced? No. Why not? Because I passed up practice in favour of going out for breakfast. Mmmmm…eggs. *sigh* No discipline at all. I’ll try to fit some practice in later, but it will be just asana, as opposed to actual yoga….difficult to focus when The Guy has football blaring in the background (go Colts!).

Let go

The mat provided a refuge yet again. I got home late tonight, burnt out, stressed, head filled with way too much information and too many questions. I found the time to do a most basic of basic practices: sun sals, last three poses of finishing and savasana. It felt so refreshing after the sun sals to do sit and breathe and think about waves washing over me and carrying all this worry out to sea.

It’s been a tough week. I have felt such a range of emotions, from shock to anger, hope to total and utter pessimism and, of course, sadness. If I lose my job it will be shitty, yes. Agreed. But what really gets me, is everyone else who will be losing out. What my organization does is so very, profoundly important to this country. The people we serve truly get help because of what we do. It makes me so angry that they want to just get rid of that, and that they have the power to just brush us aside.

I’m really trying to detach myself from it though..in the best of ways. I’m reminding myself that I do not have the power to change this and that whatever happens happens. We will carry on. We will find other jobs. And I hope deeply that someone or something can take up the work that we’ve been doing and continue to help those who need help.

I am deeply grateful to have found a job about which I am so passionate. In a society in which so many people hate what they do, that’s really something.

But I still really want to sit down and cry about it.