Lately I’ve really enjoyed this humorous look at the goings-on at the Toronto Pro Supershow, and this reflection on motivations for getting moving.
My kid sister coaches field hockey in my hometown: take 3 clicks to vote for the Kutztown Cougars? wotr.io/USAFieldHockey… #growthegamefh
— Kate Ziegler (@KZiegs) June 4, 2013
Can you spare three clicks? Thanks, friends!
I grew up in the country, on a farm in a township six miles outside my hometown (pop. 5,012) in rural Pennsylvania. I have always been comfortable in the woods.
My love affair with the Big City began at an early age, too. My great aunt took me to see the Christmas Spectacular when I was five, and though I remember very little about the show itself, I have clear memories of pressing my face against the bus window, trying to see the tops of the buildings. My mother introduced me to New York’s art museums, theater and shopping; we still rendezvous there from time to time. I fell in love with Boston during a summer jazz clinic at Berklee when I was 15, and before I knew what school I wanted to attend, I knew which city it would be in.
This is a lot of unnecessary biographical information, but here’s the thing: last night, I had a chance to attend a teeny tiny private yoga class, hosted by a neighbor on her outdoor patio with skyline views of Boston, where a new friend, recently certified, was practicing her teaching techniques on us.
And it was glorious.
My calves are still knotted from Tuesday’s jump squats, and I’m very much looking forward to yoga today. We have family coming to visit this weekend, so it’s sure to be a rough few days for tracking food – in the name of positivity, though, here are a few things I’m really loving right now.
New heels with just a touch of cobalt were a steal at DSW, and I can’t get enough of Essie’s Lilacism, subdued cousin to Play Date (another favorite).
I’m rapidly becoming a fan of ThredUp, too – the company recently launched a women’s division, having been founded for consigning children’s clothing online. I’ve been particularly impressed with the selection of athletic gear – lots of new-with-tags bargains, including the yoga pants I bought this week.
In a timely follow-up to my thoughts on avoidance earlier this week, Alexandra Franzen shares some of her own acquired yogic wisdom to help refocus on what matters.
What are you loving right now?
image credit: Union Jack Creative
I’m moving a bit on the slow side today, and I have this to blame.
Yesterday’s workout included a mashup of ZWOW #37 with a pushup sequence from somewhere else on the internet (which was clearly sweat upon previously). I added one more round for seven, and swapped Zuzana’s “santana” pushups for two sets each of each of the pushup varietals. Be careful with this if your knees are fussy: the side hops are far from low impact.
image credit: Union Jack Creative
Yesterday yoga kicked my butt.
It was a challenging practice, especially bearing in mind that I’m a bit out of practice. Somewhere during the third or fourth high-to-low-plank hold, Victoria mentioned something that her own teacher had told her last week:
If you keep fussing with the pose, you’re really practicing an advanced form of avoidance.
There’s something that always seems wrong about rushing to make it to a yoga class. I always have to wonder, as I stress over wrapping up work to run to the gym, if the truly yogic thing would be to skip it and om in my office.
Wrong or not, I’ve come to realize I do need to make it a point to get to yoga, rush or no; when April got stressful and I stopped making time, my hips and hamstrings tightened up immediately and I lost my hard-earned plank power. (And nobody wants that!)
What a month. The second half of April was a strange time to be in Boston, as a resident and as a marathoner, and also as someone who lives in a neighborhood that happens to experience violence far more regularly than Boylston Street. To use a hyperbolic inside joke line that Jack and I say when we’re stressed over something probably ultimately not the most important: everything was terrible.
Then the beginning of May happened, and we were sick, and the house that we were thisclose to buying fell through. We were bummed and adrift. (Still are, a little, if I’m completely honest.)
I didn’t track down my mother’s recipe for homemade Baileys in time for St. Patty’s, but when I did come across it today I decided to make it anyway.
Almost by accident (my pantry was sparse), I upgraded my mama’s version to an eversoslightly healthier recipe, swapping in light coconut milk for cream and using fat free sweetened condensed milk instead of the good stuff. To be clear: this is still by no means health food, but at least it makes it more reasonable for the occasional non-holiday evening.
I love daylight savings time. Sunday was rough – who likes losing an hour? – but leaving work with daylight to spare is such a relief.
We’ve been busy, and mileage has been low, but yoga has been a lifesaver. Nothing much else is exciting – except, you guys, this recipe.
When I got a slow cooker for Christmas (thank you, Mutti!), Jack was skeptical. We try to keep appliances and kitchen stuff to a minimum, and where the heck do we store a crockpot? I, however, was determined to spend less time cooking on weeknights. I enjoy cooking, but there are only so many hours in a day, and after work I just want to come home and eat immediately – I was sure I had to be able to find some slow cooker recipes that would be satisfying, healthy (enough) and quick to reheat the whole week long.
We’ve tried a few; so far, this is the favorite.
