i am a mother to a beast. or two.

the huckabee-zee used to be small. this is when we first got him..december??
sage is so pretty. so pretty. i love her. and the beast. 

i have nothing exciting to write about. but i am posting picture's for the bear. and for whoever else reads this philly life. 

baby at the shala.

this morning, j, pictured above, was at the shala (*disclaimer: normally baby is never there...). he crawled around. talked to himself. ate a cookie. crawled on mats. looked at people. crawled under people during asana. all together it was a riot. we laughed. we laughed out loud. 

it allowed me to not take practice so seriously. but at the same time, it was distracting. for some people, a baby crawling around makes them focus. their gaze focused inward. their breath controlled. their practice strong.

i suffered though. my maternal instincts came out. i didn't want the baby to go to the candles. i didn't want him to get into trouble. i just wanted to cuddle him. i didn't want to practice. i wanted my teacher to tell me to babysit him so i could just cuddle him on the sofa.. but she didn't. i practiced a distracted practice, but it was a practice nonetheless. i got to hang out with the baby for a half an hour after practice and it was lovely. then i babysat him this afternoon. so i got my baby time... 

a focused practice tomorrow is in the cards, for sure.

the huckster. my favorite photo real quickie.

friday night lights?

boytoy and i. after some sweet potato rolls. on 12th and walnut. 
the huck laying on his back, passed out. better photo below.
look at his paws. i thought he was dead!

this is me in the middle of my apt. a 365 degree view.

got rid of sofa. now the bike isn't sitting against the bed. yay!
josh's room on left. front door on right. a chair with all my various bags, sage's food and 2 yoga mats. ferret's cage in the corner.
asher in his kingdom of clothing and computer.
the bed. the storage unit. my clothing, my computer, the bookshelf/ my nightstand.
the bed. the pig and her domain. asher's bookshelf. the red chair that has many purposes.
our new bed stuff. woo hoo for new clean things. those are throw pillows and i plan on throwing them off the bed every night. partttttty.
the mantle full of jew stuff. bills. a jade plant from jp. and my ipod. 

ahhh. i love when we change around this apartment. it keeps it fresh. 

things are a changing and i think i like it. 

dropbacks are scary or fear at it's finest.

i've been writing this blog in my head since 7:46 this morning when i rushed down the stairs and ran across the street to catch the bus. 

it's been fairly easy to get up everyday at 5:30 this week. i mean, david is here. so there's major motivation to get to practice on time. today i really don't remember waking up. alarm one goes off at 5:25 and i'm sure i closed my eyes. but around 5:28 i open them and realize next alarm goes off at 5:30 so it's time to get moving.

i did my usual morning activity. 5 minutes on the computer. get dressed. do hair. take out pig. feed pig. grab grub from fridge. catch bus at 6:02 to be at practice by 6:13 or so. i got to the bus at 5:57.. and i waited. and waited. i considered a cab. i saw andrea ride by on her moped. i got sad. and wanted to jump on the back. finally a bus came at 6:06. normally i wouldn't care about a late bus, but david is here. and i have to work at 8 everyday (except yesterday i got to come in at 8:15 yippee!) i get on the bus. i'm a little upset. but there's nothing i can do except just get to y2 and do my practice. i did 5 a's and 4 b's today so i could have the more time for dropbacks at the end. 

i felt kind of rushed through standing.. i slowed down on the floor. i'm working on jumping back and through... i think i'm starting to finally "get it," both mentally and physically. so that is coming along...

david worked on supta kurmasana with me. it's like seriously so intense. i can't control the intensity. but yea.

i'm working on dropbacks. those are scary. for the past two days, david assisted me in every sense of the word. but today, he said, are you doing these alone? and i said i don't know... haha.

he told me to do it and that he would catch me towards the end. so i just did it and let gravity do it's thing. david stayed true to his word and "caught" me before i hit the ground and helped me on my way back up. i'm starting to realize how much you can control these damn dropbacks if you use your hips in the right way.

anyway, they are scary. but i'm trying to get over this fear. i used to be scared to roll around in garbha pindasana. i'm not anymore. i'm still scared of headstand. but i'm getting over that too. slowly slowly.

blog blog blog. about yoga yoga yoga. boring for those who don't do yoga, but for those that do... you get what i'm saying about everything. ok. well off to baby land... 

for quinn!!!!!

i couldn't get a good frontal view of this garage because there was something blocking it... but here are some cool shots! the descriptions of the parts are in lots of languages. can you identify which language is which??? hmmmmmmm. sending love to bk from philly. 

the pig and the huck.

how to do your hair at the bus stop on 19th and chestnut.

well. the key here is to not care about what people think.

the end.

---------

got to y2 at 6:13ish... got to see adam and the morning crew. had a quick breathing exercise with david. chanted. practiced. intensity.  the place filled up.

i was done by 7:40. quick savasana... sad. i took a quick shower. like 30 seconds. got dressed with a wet body.. and ran down the stairs to the bus stop.

realized the bus was a few blocks away so i proceeded to put on my face lotion at the bus stop on 19th and chestnut.. and while i was at it.. i sprayed some surf spray into my entangled hair and fluffed it up a few times. shook it out. and then realized the people in the cars were staring...

but i figured... what the hey? who cares. hahaha. this bus stop is my home. 

-----

working everyday at 8 starting today. practicing everyday at 6:15. 

what a week!?

----

huckabee and pig pictures coming soon. aka when i'm home at night and have my laptop full of goodies.

----

singing and signing off! 

amanda kain

a recent pig pic i love.

boytoy's brother moved in. we switched rooms. he lives in "bedroom." we in "living room." the above photo was taken after we moved all of our bedroom stuff into the living room aka our new bedroom... and i swept up 6 months of dust. pig looks too cute for words. 

my work mantra for the week.

"maybe you don't like your job. maybe you didn't get enough sleep. well, nobody likes their job. nobody got enough sleep." -ani difranco

i've been listening to pixie (the quote from above is in this song) every time i put on my ipod. on the way to work, and on the way home. it just resonates with me. i guess the lack of sleep. jonah's changing nap schedule. time change. etc. has put a damper on my life this week. 

only got to practice 3 days this week, but i'll be well rested for when david comes on tuesday! i'm so excited. the shala is gonna be full of energy.

also, liz phair is like a life saver. her lyrics just get me ramped up and happy.

a quick photo documentary from brooklyn trip.

sitting, drinking, chatting at 9th street espresso. 

these stickers were all around town.
q and i had brunch here after yoga to the people and 9th street coffee.
apple, ginger, carrot juice at second helping in bk after long day of running around manhattan.
taking photos of quinn for her bike blog.
one for the history books...
sunday morning, after my ashtanga practice at guy's... waiting for the F train. (sweaty, see hair!)

i almost didn't make it...or old speckled hen is so yum.

let me set the scene: went out last night for some brews with my college buds. we went to barbes. it was packed. we got some drinks. stood in a corner. i flirted. i cause trouble. it's who i am.

old speckled hen. great beer. i got it solely for the name.. but it turned out to be good. i had 1 and a half.. alexis drank my other half.

------
we make it home. hang out. watch old college videos. it's insane to see yourself a few years back. i was definitely like 15-20 lbs heavier... but i never thought i was "fat." i guess my confidence was so strong that i never realized i heavy for a short girl.

----

anyway, this blog is not about weight. or beer. it's about my philly life and the adventures that ensue.

-----

scene starts here:
alarm goes off at 7:20am. i turn it off. get back into the twin bed with alexis. she asked me if i was going to yoga, and i said, i need a few more minutes. after going over the reasons why i should go to practice or should just sleep... practice got the best of me... and i got dressed and went out the door by 7:40 am.

5 minutes to get to subway.
10 minutes to wait for train.
15-20 minute ride to 2nd Ave stop..
15 minute, slow and steady, no rush walk to shala.
i still get there at like 8:30... too early. (50 minute commute i think...)

i sit in tomkins square park and think about life. i read my new book. i see a yogi walk by. i figured she was also going to guy's shala. so i follow her to see if she knows when the doors open.
we wait together. her friend shows up. another guy shows up. eventually the door opens.

once inside, i have no idea what is happening. i hang up coat. take off shoes. drop trous. shove clothes into bag. head into shala...sign my waiver, leave my 20 dollars on a counter and hope for the best.

i do my sun salutes slow and steady. i'm always always always nervous practicing in a new setting. i take deep breaths and just jump in. guy walks over to me during my b's and asked my name. i said amanda. he shook his head in a nod of approval seeing that i already signed my waiver and left money and let me go on my way.

during the opening chant, my heart was pounding. i don't know why i got so nervous, but i could barely chant. maybe just being in new york was overwhelming. or a new setting. new teacher. not knowing a single soul.

practice was so intense. i felt like had to do my best practice since i was new. i was very focused. breath so strong. sweaty doesn't even begin to describe my life.

guy adjusted me in a few poses. i didn't expect that. but on my waiver it says i practice 4-5 times a week, so i guess he knew i wasn't fucking around with the practice. i normally don't expect to get adjusted from new teachers right away, but his adjustments were exactly what i needed.

i did my closing. he helped me in headstand and i have a little more clarity over the headstand situation. i grab my belongings from cubby, and as i head out the door, i mouth the words "thank you" to him and he nods.

-----
50 minute commute back to brooklyn. i walked slow and steady on the way home because of my yoga high. i felt like i knew the area really well and i found my way back to the subway no problem.

train had a bunch of delays. but i read my book and waited for my stop.

got a little turned around when i got out of station.. but eventually found my way back to alexis's apt. now she is cooking me breakfast and singing prince. i love her. xoxo

-----
david comes in a little over a week. i'm ready. ready ready. and steady.

this is me posting from bk.

i worked yesterday from 8-545. 

walked to chinatown. finally found my bus company. new century 2000 travel.

let me tell you, it was horrific. mobs of people. chaos. disorder. 

all i could do was squeeze my yoga mat against my chest and breathe.

patience is a virtue and all i could do was breathe and be nice to people. 

i missed the first 2 buses. but finally squeezed my way onto the 3rd that had come by.

i sat next to a brooklyn girl who is my age. has a master's and has been unemployed for almost a year. 

i got into chinatown around 9:10. quinn couldn't find me for like 20 minutes. so she took a cab to come get me. 

we finally made it to brooklyn at like 10:30. went to eat at kitchen bar. i had a burger and a pomegranate mojito. 

at quinn's by 12:30 or so. in bed. slept really well.

it's quiet here except for this song.....

umm all i hear are birds. it's amazing. but i still would never live in new york and that's that!

mondays practice.

i've been busy. work. work. work. moving around apartment. wart on foot. boyfriend  has shingles. work work work.

kcdv gave me a ride to y2 so i didn't have to wait for the bus in the snow storm. it was awesome! thank you so much! glad i made it to practice because sunday i took off to take care of my foot and boytoy... and today i have lady's holiday. so back to the mat tomorrow. thank goodness. i'll get two more practices in this week, then off to new york... maybe qr will take me to yoga to the people so i can do something physical this weekend. hmm.

i'm so beat. i'm beat. beat beat. beat poet. 

if the computer at work isn't fixed, then my blogs are probably going to be short and sweet like this because i normally don't have time to blog once i get home...

(plans for this week in the evenings: monday: rearranged apt. tuesday: walmart and ikea. wednesday: cleaning y2 real good. thursday: laundry.. or led class at y2? friday: off to new york!)