Hi readers,
Sorry for my recent 2 week hiatus. The days have been busy and I spent a whole week over stimulated by a visit to the movies- every time I forget why I hate going, I remember as I cross and uncross my legs until they are sore in a stale popcorn smelling seat wearing jeans.
Plus, it took me a grand total of 2 full days to decompress and relax and on the night of the movie, I cried myself to sleep- it was Les Mis. I cried in the movie Ted too. I am ashamed.
Anywho, I digress.
After a whirlwind weekend spent with good friends and family (and a massive hangover thanks to a pretty stellar engagement party), it was nice to get back to routine last night. You will all be pleased to hear that 3 weeks in, my hubs is still loving hot yoga. I am actually floored. There is no words for how happy I was/ how cute it was when, as we were walking to the car last night (yes, we drove the 3 minute walk. It was cold ok?), he goes “you know, I was really having trouble in pigeon today”. What is better than that?
But we are totally loving the Monday night class- the super hairy teacher and the sweat that comes with it. Plus, being a part of the studio is just another connection to our hood and peeps, the hood is good.
This past Friday night we had some hood love too- Friday night we dined in with our across the street neighbors. Having neighbors as friends= awesomeness and certainly makes up for both homeless Japanese Santa who trolls our streets daily and the strange Chinese woman who screams at herself every morning heading towards the bus- plus it makes us forget that but 2 houses away lives someone who collects lawn ornaments and gnomes and displays them, willingly, on his/her lawn (ambiguous gender reference due to NEVER actually seeing them despite their colorful surroundings).
Then, whilst at yoga, we ran into other neighborhood friends and THEN, we met some other friends at a resto nearby for a late bite. Pretty sure there is nothing cuter in the world than having cute neighborhood nights- it makes me SO happy that we bought where we did and even happier that we have made the effort to make new and keep old friends who live nearby- obv I don’t discriminate if you chose Thornhill as your home base- one of my besties even chose Thornhill Woods, but the thought of the upcoming summer night spent strolling the streets with friends or popping in for visits to everyone who lives nearby, that is pretty awesome.
Point being. Loves my hood.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
YOLO
In an effort to support my “new year resolution” I woke up Sunday with a whiskey hangover and dragged my ass to yoga.
No, my resolution was not to work out more or to lose weight or get back in to yoga. It was, plain and simple, to spend more time for me.
One of the manageable things that plagued my 2012 was an overwhelming amount of time spent doing stuff that I didn’t want to. Obligatory crap that no one wants to do aside, I felt that a lot of my time was being taken up with plans I didn’t want to have, activities I didn’t want to do and obligations I wished I hadn't made. By the end of the year my weeks were so heavily scheduled that I knew not only what I was doing on the Wednesday approaching but the next 4 Wednesdays to come.
While I, and most people thrive on routine, stability and planning, this over-planned and overstretched kind of life was crappy. Who wants to be busy planning a month in advance? And, by planning so far in advance, I ended up spending a lot of time doing things that, when the time finally came, I didn’t want to do.
How can I say that I want to see a movie 3 Thursdays from now? I don’t even know if I would want to see a movie tonight!
Spending more time for me also means having the capacity to enjoy my time. Throwing stuff into a calendar for a month in advance effectively eliminates my ability to live in the moment. It is hard to enjoy the weekend to come when I am busy worrying about the first weekend of February.
And moreover, I don’t want to be an over planner. I pride myself on being pretty relaxed (for a total crazy person) and the more tightly wound I get, the worse my chances are of being a relaxed parent, lover, friend and peer as time goes on.
So with that and bearing in mind that some situations do not fall into this encompassing resolution (ie. Making dinner plans with my oldest and best friends who live all over the city and have their own million obligations to work and families of their own- yes, whenever date we pick, I’m happy to see you- these are not the kinds of plans I will resent when they come up) I decided to quit planning and start living.
So, when I awoke Sunday morning with a need to be active, I went. I was a bit groggy, nervous to try a new studio after such a long hiatus from my practice, and lazy but it was genuinely what I wanted to do, so I did it.
It was a great call.
First of all, this studio is, timed, 6 minutes from my house when speed walking. It is cozy and clean and the reception desk knew each of the names of the patrons including myself by the time I left. They are environmentally conscious (they rent out mason jars for water unlike my last studio that had plastic water bottles) and the air smelled good despite it being a small studio which practices only hot yoga.
I have only ever once been to a Moksha studio and I did a regular class (not hot) so I was a bit nervy about taking this class- I am used to infra-red heat for hot yoga and had visions of passing out or hyperventilating because of the sauna like steam heat. I successfully remained upright, steady breathing and conscious for the 75 minute class which was, in a word, awesome.
I felt sweaty and rejuvenated and had a great day and a subsequent great night sleep.
The best part, and the part that gave me that fuzzy feeling of a “meant to be” moment was when the teacher introduced herself and the class and gave the pep talk/ inspirational motivation message to begin the class. She said, “there are many reasons you may be here today- for a workout, to relieve your stress or just to take some time to do something special for yourself whatever it is, embrace this and thank yourself for allowing yourself to take the time.”
Well hell to the yes on that. She nailed it in the head and made me feel really gratified about my decision to take time for myself and come. The funny thing about doing what you want is that we have this innate sense of feeling selfish- like we should do less for our own happiness and more for others. We also tend to all be gratification seekers and therefore get a lot more “thank yous” from doing stuff for other people. When was the last time you thanked yourself for having a healthy meal or finishing a chore you meant to get done?
There is a huge difference between being a selfish person and a person who takes care of themselves and makes their happiness a top priority- I think that this distinction gets blurred because people are just so crazy but it has been really helpful to me to try and make those distinctions in my activities. It is never selfish to do things to help make yourself a happier person- you will only radiate that happiness in every other aspect of your life as a result.
And, we should all try and thank ourselves a little more for the mundane things. If you cleaned someone else's room, made their bed, washed their dishes or mopped their floors, you would expect and deserve a “thank you”. If you made time for someone else to have a wonderful hour to themselves to work out or do an activity, if you bought someone else a little gift or treated them to a yummy lunch, they would thank you- think about that next time you do these things for yourself and give yourself a hug.
We are all way to hard on ourselves and everyone needs a little love.
So, yes, the combination of having gone back to yoga since (and I even got my hubs to come too, and he really liked it) and reading a book about happiness and the quest towards it has made me a little preachy, a little idealistic and a little sappy but I think 2013 should be the year for you and me.
YOLO- right people?? (omg I fucking hate YOLO)
XO
Jane
No, my resolution was not to work out more or to lose weight or get back in to yoga. It was, plain and simple, to spend more time for me.
One of the manageable things that plagued my 2012 was an overwhelming amount of time spent doing stuff that I didn’t want to. Obligatory crap that no one wants to do aside, I felt that a lot of my time was being taken up with plans I didn’t want to have, activities I didn’t want to do and obligations I wished I hadn't made. By the end of the year my weeks were so heavily scheduled that I knew not only what I was doing on the Wednesday approaching but the next 4 Wednesdays to come.
While I, and most people thrive on routine, stability and planning, this over-planned and overstretched kind of life was crappy. Who wants to be busy planning a month in advance? And, by planning so far in advance, I ended up spending a lot of time doing things that, when the time finally came, I didn’t want to do.
How can I say that I want to see a movie 3 Thursdays from now? I don’t even know if I would want to see a movie tonight!
Spending more time for me also means having the capacity to enjoy my time. Throwing stuff into a calendar for a month in advance effectively eliminates my ability to live in the moment. It is hard to enjoy the weekend to come when I am busy worrying about the first weekend of February.
And moreover, I don’t want to be an over planner. I pride myself on being pretty relaxed (for a total crazy person) and the more tightly wound I get, the worse my chances are of being a relaxed parent, lover, friend and peer as time goes on.
So with that and bearing in mind that some situations do not fall into this encompassing resolution (ie. Making dinner plans with my oldest and best friends who live all over the city and have their own million obligations to work and families of their own- yes, whenever date we pick, I’m happy to see you- these are not the kinds of plans I will resent when they come up) I decided to quit planning and start living.
So, when I awoke Sunday morning with a need to be active, I went. I was a bit groggy, nervous to try a new studio after such a long hiatus from my practice, and lazy but it was genuinely what I wanted to do, so I did it.
It was a great call.
First of all, this studio is, timed, 6 minutes from my house when speed walking. It is cozy and clean and the reception desk knew each of the names of the patrons including myself by the time I left. They are environmentally conscious (they rent out mason jars for water unlike my last studio that had plastic water bottles) and the air smelled good despite it being a small studio which practices only hot yoga.
I have only ever once been to a Moksha studio and I did a regular class (not hot) so I was a bit nervy about taking this class- I am used to infra-red heat for hot yoga and had visions of passing out or hyperventilating because of the sauna like steam heat. I successfully remained upright, steady breathing and conscious for the 75 minute class which was, in a word, awesome.
I felt sweaty and rejuvenated and had a great day and a subsequent great night sleep.
The best part, and the part that gave me that fuzzy feeling of a “meant to be” moment was when the teacher introduced herself and the class and gave the pep talk/ inspirational motivation message to begin the class. She said, “there are many reasons you may be here today- for a workout, to relieve your stress or just to take some time to do something special for yourself whatever it is, embrace this and thank yourself for allowing yourself to take the time.”
Well hell to the yes on that. She nailed it in the head and made me feel really gratified about my decision to take time for myself and come. The funny thing about doing what you want is that we have this innate sense of feeling selfish- like we should do less for our own happiness and more for others. We also tend to all be gratification seekers and therefore get a lot more “thank yous” from doing stuff for other people. When was the last time you thanked yourself for having a healthy meal or finishing a chore you meant to get done?
There is a huge difference between being a selfish person and a person who takes care of themselves and makes their happiness a top priority- I think that this distinction gets blurred because people are just so crazy but it has been really helpful to me to try and make those distinctions in my activities. It is never selfish to do things to help make yourself a happier person- you will only radiate that happiness in every other aspect of your life as a result.
And, we should all try and thank ourselves a little more for the mundane things. If you cleaned someone else's room, made their bed, washed their dishes or mopped their floors, you would expect and deserve a “thank you”. If you made time for someone else to have a wonderful hour to themselves to work out or do an activity, if you bought someone else a little gift or treated them to a yummy lunch, they would thank you- think about that next time you do these things for yourself and give yourself a hug.
We are all way to hard on ourselves and everyone needs a little love.
So, yes, the combination of having gone back to yoga since (and I even got my hubs to come too, and he really liked it) and reading a book about happiness and the quest towards it has made me a little preachy, a little idealistic and a little sappy but I think 2013 should be the year for you and me.
YOLO- right people?? (omg I fucking hate YOLO)
XO
Jane
Friday, January 4, 2013
It's a dog eat dog world- and I am a plantain kind of girl
It’s Friday, Friday, Friday.....
Oh hey, it is Friday and that can only mean one thing. It is Friday.
This has been the shortest long week of ever and while I was aching for some routine and normality after my vacation, being back at work without those things (because they haven't quite sunk in yet) is way worse than being on vacation without them.
But enough of me complaining.
So for this past week we have been dog sitting for the f-ing cutest dog in the world of dogs, Billie. Billie is a super small Boston terrier with the most fun-loving personality. Did I cry out loud on the subway this morning after leaving her? Yes, I sure did. Because, you know what? I learned a valuable lesson this week. I love dogs.
I have never been 100 percent sure that I would be eternally happy having a pet dog, but now I am certain that not only would I be super happy, I would increase my overall level of happiness by having one.
My husband, who is amazing in every way, is not a man who loves being pampered. When he is sick, he likes to be left alone. When he is down, he likes to deal with it himself. If he hurts himself, he can take of himself and honestly, unless he is asking about the exact location of Advil in the house, I know nothing of his everyday maladies.
I find this one of the more frustrating characteristics of his personality. I love taking care of people- it is just something I do. Feeling and probably actually being not needed is something I have had to learn to deal with as a part of the compromise of marriage. Enter dog.
Dog needs me all the time, wants to follow me around the house and give me kisses, wants to cuddle, wants to play, loves being chased around rooms, never gets annoyed with me and is cute as fuck. Dog successfully makes me feel needed ALL THE TIME!!! Plus, dog never grows up into a sullen teenager who will hate me and be ashamed to hold my hand in public. Dog doesn’t give a shit what I look like and dog makes me do double the amount of physical activity per day.
And, as a friend pointed out when she came over a bit sad- dogs are the perfect therapy. They are distracting and cute.
You can dress them up in stupid clothing.
They are always warm.
I woke up to take the dog out, spent time with her, fed her, cleaned her paw when she got salt stuck in it and put up with her terrible farts and snoring that rivals my hubs. I think I have proven myself more than worthy and capable of dog ownership.
I could go on but suffice to say that by volunteering our puppy sitting skills, my husband successfully turned me into an obsessive psycho with one, and only one end goal.
Dog 2013. Let the campaign begin.
Oh hey, it is Friday and that can only mean one thing. It is Friday.
This has been the shortest long week of ever and while I was aching for some routine and normality after my vacation, being back at work without those things (because they haven't quite sunk in yet) is way worse than being on vacation without them.
But enough of me complaining.
So for this past week we have been dog sitting for the f-ing cutest dog in the world of dogs, Billie. Billie is a super small Boston terrier with the most fun-loving personality. Did I cry out loud on the subway this morning after leaving her? Yes, I sure did. Because, you know what? I learned a valuable lesson this week. I love dogs.
I have never been 100 percent sure that I would be eternally happy having a pet dog, but now I am certain that not only would I be super happy, I would increase my overall level of happiness by having one.
My husband, who is amazing in every way, is not a man who loves being pampered. When he is sick, he likes to be left alone. When he is down, he likes to deal with it himself. If he hurts himself, he can take of himself and honestly, unless he is asking about the exact location of Advil in the house, I know nothing of his everyday maladies.
I find this one of the more frustrating characteristics of his personality. I love taking care of people- it is just something I do. Feeling and probably actually being not needed is something I have had to learn to deal with as a part of the compromise of marriage. Enter dog.
Dog needs me all the time, wants to follow me around the house and give me kisses, wants to cuddle, wants to play, loves being chased around rooms, never gets annoyed with me and is cute as fuck. Dog successfully makes me feel needed ALL THE TIME!!! Plus, dog never grows up into a sullen teenager who will hate me and be ashamed to hold my hand in public. Dog doesn’t give a shit what I look like and dog makes me do double the amount of physical activity per day.
And, as a friend pointed out when she came over a bit sad- dogs are the perfect therapy. They are distracting and cute.
You can dress them up in stupid clothing.
They are always warm.
I woke up to take the dog out, spent time with her, fed her, cleaned her paw when she got salt stuck in it and put up with her terrible farts and snoring that rivals my hubs. I think I have proven myself more than worthy and capable of dog ownership.
I could go on but suffice to say that by volunteering our puppy sitting skills, my husband successfully turned me into an obsessive psycho with one, and only one end goal.
Dog 2013. Let the campaign begin.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Dick in its natural habitat.
So, now that we
are all back to the grind and real life has taken over the blissful
days of Christmas break, I find myself here, in front of the computer
with a fair amount to share with you all. That is the theme of today’s
Post, sharing.
So first, and shamelessly, I implore you to share me. if you are reading this post, can you please take some time and tell 2 other people about it? Share my words so I can become famous and retire early. I swear I will share my fortunes with you if that happens*. Plus, you get a good laugh out of me often enough, right? Share the gift of laughter with your friends or family. It is very selfish to hog all the laughter in the world- that is what grinches are made of.
Ok, so you have shared me now- thank you.
Now allow me to share some great moments from my Floridian vacation. Florida is paradise if you like to laugh at ridiculous people in the sun. It is unlike anywhere else on earth. The rules of the road are sort of iffy and in one sweep across the I95 you can see an old lady driving at 30MPH, a person eating a cheeseburger while drinking a coke and smoking a cigarette and steering with their knees to someone on a cell phone with their top down texting at the same time. Laws? What laws?
It is also the home to tracksuits, people who really love American flag stuff and fat people. BUT, in all my life, of all the weirdos I have seen and had a chuckle courtesy of, it was on this trip that I encountered the weirdest of them all.
We spent Christmas day at the wildlife sanctuary located about 30 minutes from our place and it was a truly awesome way to enjoy what beauty (outside the malls and outlets) Florida can offer. I chuckled my way inside because back a few years ago, this was the exact place where I encountered that man Jordan (whose name I know from having walked behind him as he talked, nay, screamed into his cell phone for the entire duration of our visit).
Jordan, by comparison, was normal.
In one of those, "what came first, the laughter or the man" moments, I saw him. A 40 something year old man in full Safari hat carrying a paparazzi esque camera, wearing very sensible teva shoes with a mild to medium tan wearing a neon teal short short sleeveless onesie.
Yes, you could see his ass cheeks flex as he walked, and his nipple erection from the light breeze running through the park. And yes, every single detail of his junk was out on display overtaking the awesomeness of the alligators basking in the sun. 2 alligators and a baby alligator moving around and flashing their impressive teeth seemed just less impressive next to this man's unit.
He didn't see to be fazed by the fact that people around him burst into laughter all throughout the park- in fact, he seemed rather comfortable in his getup- I suppose I should applaud this moment of confidence except for that it was actually vulgar and if I had a kid with me that day, I would have to shield their eyes from the snake in his pants that no one came to see. Penis in its natural habitat?? No thank you.
Suffice to say that this image burned into my retinas at an alarming speed and became both the joke and cause for shuddering for the remainder of our vacation.
Sure, I spent days poolside with a man who had fake hair and felt that screaming at the top of his lungs instead of simply just speaking to his fat ass wife and kids was acceptable. Sure, there was a plethora of wildly inappropriate racism such as one of our valet drivers asking another valet driver if a car he pulled up "looked like it belonged to a black person". Sure my mother got a weird sexual advance in the form of a Kiss impersonator wagging his tongue at her. And sure, my airplane seat mates got wasted on vodka and OF even though they were about 200 years old combined.
But ol' onesie was the best of the bunch (and when I type bunch I immediately think of his do dah)
Anyways. SO happy to be beginning 2013! Happy to be back and happy to spend another year with you, my readers.
Thank you all again for spreading the love.
Jane.
*swearing to share not guaranteed
So first, and shamelessly, I implore you to share me. if you are reading this post, can you please take some time and tell 2 other people about it? Share my words so I can become famous and retire early. I swear I will share my fortunes with you if that happens*. Plus, you get a good laugh out of me often enough, right? Share the gift of laughter with your friends or family. It is very selfish to hog all the laughter in the world- that is what grinches are made of.
Ok, so you have shared me now- thank you.
Now allow me to share some great moments from my Floridian vacation. Florida is paradise if you like to laugh at ridiculous people in the sun. It is unlike anywhere else on earth. The rules of the road are sort of iffy and in one sweep across the I95 you can see an old lady driving at 30MPH, a person eating a cheeseburger while drinking a coke and smoking a cigarette and steering with their knees to someone on a cell phone with their top down texting at the same time. Laws? What laws?
It is also the home to tracksuits, people who really love American flag stuff and fat people. BUT, in all my life, of all the weirdos I have seen and had a chuckle courtesy of, it was on this trip that I encountered the weirdest of them all.
We spent Christmas day at the wildlife sanctuary located about 30 minutes from our place and it was a truly awesome way to enjoy what beauty (outside the malls and outlets) Florida can offer. I chuckled my way inside because back a few years ago, this was the exact place where I encountered that man Jordan (whose name I know from having walked behind him as he talked, nay, screamed into his cell phone for the entire duration of our visit).
Jordan, by comparison, was normal.
In one of those, "what came first, the laughter or the man" moments, I saw him. A 40 something year old man in full Safari hat carrying a paparazzi esque camera, wearing very sensible teva shoes with a mild to medium tan wearing a neon teal short short sleeveless onesie.
Yes, you could see his ass cheeks flex as he walked, and his nipple erection from the light breeze running through the park. And yes, every single detail of his junk was out on display overtaking the awesomeness of the alligators basking in the sun. 2 alligators and a baby alligator moving around and flashing their impressive teeth seemed just less impressive next to this man's unit.
He didn't see to be fazed by the fact that people around him burst into laughter all throughout the park- in fact, he seemed rather comfortable in his getup- I suppose I should applaud this moment of confidence except for that it was actually vulgar and if I had a kid with me that day, I would have to shield their eyes from the snake in his pants that no one came to see. Penis in its natural habitat?? No thank you.
Suffice to say that this image burned into my retinas at an alarming speed and became both the joke and cause for shuddering for the remainder of our vacation.
Sure, I spent days poolside with a man who had fake hair and felt that screaming at the top of his lungs instead of simply just speaking to his fat ass wife and kids was acceptable. Sure, there was a plethora of wildly inappropriate racism such as one of our valet drivers asking another valet driver if a car he pulled up "looked like it belonged to a black person". Sure my mother got a weird sexual advance in the form of a Kiss impersonator wagging his tongue at her. And sure, my airplane seat mates got wasted on vodka and OF even though they were about 200 years old combined.
But ol' onesie was the best of the bunch (and when I type bunch I immediately think of his do dah)
Anyways. SO happy to be beginning 2013! Happy to be back and happy to spend another year with you, my readers.
Thank you all again for spreading the love.
Jane.
*swearing to share not guaranteed
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