blogging.

thismessynest.com!

that's where i'm at!

does anyone read this?

hey ya'll. sorry it's been so long since the last blog.

anyone interested in texas livin'? any other ideas for a blog?

thinking of starting to write something based on a theme. hmmm. love your input!!

leave comments. xo

engagements call for fancy hot dogs.

1: asher, with "pork militia" sign behind him at Frank's for our engagement dinner.
2: pre-dinner photo session on sofa.
3: the dinner!! we both got two fancy hot dogs. waffle fries. and fancy cocktails. it was fabulous!

we both agreed that fancy hotdogs couldn't happen on a first date because it's too messy and you'd look like a crazy person trying to be cute while eating one of those things.. but for an engagement dinner!! it's perfect. you're messy, you're already in love and nothing says i love you like a hotdog.

october 25th!! engaged. (4 year anniversary is coming up this weekend on the 31st!!)

let's hear it for new york.

1: chick on a wall in williamsburgh.
2. chick on the street in brooklyn.

brooklyn, we go hard.

this is the life.

1. the vegan yacht food cart. amazing vegan beet brownies. fabulous trey baker sammich.
2. asher at ACL rolling up his pants.
3. asher at ACL eating delicious fried pickles.

Austin Eats.

recently.

1st: sage pig in front of our new bookshelves.
2nd: cuban royalty: pixel the havanese on our rug.
3rd: boytoy and i. (i'm wearing my new favorite dress that i tend to wear whenever it's clean.)

1st home practice in the new home.

There's something to be said about people who practice yoga daily in their homes. (for example: Jillji). These people are warriors. They are devoted. They are amazing to me. It's hard to physically get yourself to the mat. It really is. This morning I thought about going to the shala for an early morning practice since I couldn't make it to evening mysore, but I slept in. So I watched Glee on the sofa and ate an apple with honey and peanut butter. I digested said apple while cleaning the floors and fiddling around with some stuff to get ready to practice. I put down my mat around 10am and practiced. The window was open. It wasn't hot or cold. Just perfect. I worked up a decent sweat. I had the dogs barricaded in the kitchen. I did full primary plus a (half-assed) 2nd series up to Kapo. I didn't do drop backs or Urdhva Danurasana. I was just too exhausted. I did a few closing poses and then just laid on the floor for a bit for savasana. I got my ladie's holiday yesterday, so I'm feeling a little sluggish.

I'm financially not stable enough to pay for yoga. This is a re-occurring theme in my life. I typically clean floors and toilets in exchange for free yoga. (or mostly free). I'm ok with practicing at home. I like it. But how long will I be able to do this for? I know how hard it is not to have the community energy around me. For now, this is what my practice is.

I'm tired. It's 9pm. I have work at Whole Foods tomorrow for the first time in a week. Shall be fabulous to be around the foodie people. Night night.

New place, New goals.

I have decided to sit down with myself and figure out what it is that I want to do in this lifetime.

I broke it down:

House Goals:
A patio
Chickens & Coop
A garden
Painted bedroom
Curtains for the kitchen
Use the clothing line outside as much as possible to dry freshly washed clothes.

Self-Goals:
2 to 2.5 hour computer time limit a day.
less facebook, more real life interactions. (maximum of 3 updates/day).
less coffee, more water & tea.
less refined stuff (sugar, etc).
asana practice 5-6 times/week.
find an acupuncturist for my allergies. (and stress).
find some form of massage therapy/body work that works to help me relax, etc.
more ayurvedic cooking...

Future Goals:
A trip to Mysore.
1 or 2 childrens.
A vacation with Asher.
Take Saturdays off from work for the Sabbath.
Eastside Ashtanga?? maybe...


That's all for now. I'm thinking of getting back on the blog wagon. It feels good to write.

Xo

live from austin texas.

howdy ya'll. i made it safely to austin from philly!! yay. the ferret and i traveled like bandits on the run... ha. just kidding. we drove 12 hours on day one and 15 hours on day two. we spent the night in knoxville, tennessee at a holiday inn express. it was luxurious. i took a fabulous bath and slept in a bed that was like a cloud.

i hit no traffic until i got into austin city limitis.

i ran into no cops or creeps.

i took plenty of breaks and drank a lot of soda and coffee.

i'm happy to be in my new home. pictures to come soon.

-----

so far in austin, i've practiced asana once at ashtanga yoga center of austin. i've had an amazing smoothie at the daily juice. i've been to walmart two or three times. ikea to come later in the week. i've washed floors, cleaned the tub, done dishes, played with dogs.

i've been doing house wife stuff and haven't looked much for a job yet. i definitely will start to look later on this week. austin is HOT, but not unbearable. i really enjoy the vibe down here. people are lovely.

my best friend from college lives down here and we went to her house for a dinner party on monday. she just came by a little while ago and hung out in my air conditioned living room.

life is grand. there are lots of trees outside my window. i'm sleeping well and feeling great.

ashtanga milestones:

for the past 2 weeks or so i've been getting my bound hands to the floor during prasarita padotanasana c.
i also got myself into supta kurmasana today, alone!

here's my facebook update about it (i thought it was kinda cute):
" supta kurmasana and i have been dating for a long time, today... we went all the way."

i am loving practice these days. i just have a few more practices left in philly, then onto austin! today, after savasana, i got a little sad that i'll be leaving such great friends.. but i'm still really stoked about the next chapter in my life!!

2 weeks and counting.

this picture is from my first of two winters in philly, circa late 2008 or early 2009. i am getting ready to leave town. two weeks to go. i have so many fabulous memories of philadelphia. i seriously had a blast here and i cannot believe my time here is over. i have lots of people i want to see... mostly adam... i want to go out for la colombe a few more times. are you up for it? if anyone else wants to hang before i leave, get it touch.. much love.

this little piggy.

miss her.. she's in austin, without me. soon soon. i will be reunited.. and it will feel so good.

little house on the prairie... aka austin, texas.

this is my new home. asher and morgan are currently there.. they are setting up shop. they installed a/c units. got our beds. built a sofa. next up, maintaining the yard.. getting rid of hornets nests. and painting.

i wish i was there. but i'm also realizing i have a month left to spend here in philly. i need to get off the green sofa and start exploring this city for the last time.

if anyone in philly wants to play, i'm around. i have a lot of free time..

end of august... austin, texas. here i come.

divine lorraine.

i love the divine lorraine hotel in phildelphia. it's gorgeous, although in ruins.

6 things I'm loving about practice right now....

I borrowed this idea from Christina's Blog, Prescribing Yoga.

1. I love the vinyasas between the asana's in 2nd series. It's seriously beautiful and fun. I love when you pick yourself up after Ustrasana and Laghu Vajrasana. It's just wild.

2. I love that I still can't do a headstand for more than 5 breaths at a time. It will come soon. I love that I keep trying and trying and trying.

3. I love that this practice is physical and mental. There are so many mental challenges... For example, I've been kind of freaking out right before drop backs recently. Totally mental. I love that my mind is challenged as much as my body is.

4. I love the quietness in the room. Just breath and some whispers. Sometimes there's a loud thud, I like that too.

5. I love the repetition. I like that everyday things feel different even though you're practicing the same thing.

6. I love that yoga has become part of my lifestyle. I told my friend's that I needed a hobby... They said, Isn't yoga a hobby? I said, No, It's my lifestyle. It truly has shaped my life.

miss this boy.

maybe asher will kill me when he see's this pic. maybe he won't. anyway, i miss him.

Goals:

1. Buy a used mandolin, learn to play, find some friends in Austin and play some bluegrass together.
2. Plant a garden in my backyard.
3. Teach private yoga lessons + small group classes around Austin. (www.citybirdyoga.com coming soon!)


That's a start.

street art... ganesha??

there are a bunch of these street art animals around town. i spotted this pink elephant while biking through philly yesterday. it reminds me of ganesha, the remover of obstacles. jai ganesha jai.

Milestones. Memories. Sleep walking through practice.

Today was the first day I could come up from Laghu Vajrasana on my own. That's the milestone. I'm documenting it here on my blog so when I read this in the future I can have a sweet memory of this day.

Sometimes, when I'm super tired in the morning.. I don't want to go to yoga, but most of the time.. I still go.

Often, through the tiredness, I feel like I'm "sleep walking" or "sleep practicing" through the practice. I often feel like I'm in a haze and practice was a dream. Sometimes, Savasana becomes a nap... a continuation of sleep from the night before. I catch myself snoring on the mat and wake up a little shocked at myself. Anyway.. The days where I'm so tired... I just practice through the tiredness and when it's over, it really feels like a dream.

I'm tired as I write this. I'll go take a nap.

I'm happy tomorrow is Friday. Primary Only. Love it. <3