my very first yoga class experience

i'm dead. dead tired that is.

a few weeks ago i got the crazy idea to buy a groupon for a yoga studio here in good 'ol rhode island. i looked up reviews beforehand and knew it was going to be a good, clean place. i was super excited to get such a good deal and because i've been doing a yoga video at home i loved and was looking forward to giving a class a whirl.

so i followed all the directions for newbies on the website: drank lots of water, didn't eat two hours beforehand and realized i might not be able to get all the moves right away but to do my best.

so there i am, driving to my class having a mild anxiety attack because i had no idea what i was getting myself into. first off, let me tell you a little about this specific yoga class. the room is 105 degrees. yes, you read that right 105. they pump in fresh air and humidity to make it a little more bearable and i thought that if other people can do it, certainly a lifelong athlete would be able to.

WRONGGGGGGGG. yoga isn't all about flexibility and strength. there's a whole other mental aspect that clearly, i struggle with. with that being said, this class was tough. there were a few times i thought i might throw up or faint. i was lucky to have the most wonderful instructor who encouraged us all to take a seat if we needed to. i was so stubborn at first and told myself "i should be able to do this!" but after seeing a few other people taking a break i decided to give in and get my breathing in check. that and i was so drenched in sweat it was getting into my eyes and blurring my vision.

i was able to get through it though. and the second half of the class was amazing. it was a nice mental vacation and group therapy session all in one. laying there is some pose with 20 other people you didn't know, it was inspiring. there was no talking. just all of us laying in silence and focusing on breathing. glorious.

afterwards, i felt like a million bucks. i had sweat out approximately 5 gallons of fluid and was so calm and proud.

fast forward 2 hours: i am dead. drained and exhausted. the most amazing shower gave way to the most amazing nap of my life. it closely resembled the last nap of a really long cold or flu. the one where you feel like you're just now feeling better but still have that overall hotness/fever. talk about a detoxing day.

it over 12 hours later and i still have that lingering "i just conquered the world" sensation so needless to say, i will be back in that sweat-box this weekend. until then, i will be sleeping and training myself to become a camel.

ciao.

my favorite pose for obvious reasons: savasana or more affectionately known as "the corpse"

durka dee durka doo

am i the only one who feels this way?

i feel like i'm in a constant uphill battle with my career/life. i need a break.

it seems that every week i walk into work with a sense of optimism. slowly but surely it is broken down. sometimes its by thursday or friday but this week it was tuesday. impressive.

and then when this happens, i start thinking about all the lovely jobs i'm going to apply to...which never happens. c'mon self, GET TO IT!

so here it is: my proclamation to get a new job:

 I WILL GET A NEW JOB BY THE SUMMER. 

there are certainly people i know reading this and saying "heard that before" but whatever, it'll happen this time. i bet you $1.25 it will.

onto way more awesomer things:

i'm taking a photography class that is EXTREMELY hard. its digital photography 100 but the professor is a die-hard photographer that assumes we should be up to her level. so far she likes my stuff but she gave me a B+ on my first project and that ticked me off. especially since i got such good feedback from my classmates. whatever.

here is a more recent photo i took of my sister on a reallyyyyyyy cold day. 

obviously not the greatest pic in the world but honestly, its so cold and miserable out lately, there is nothing great to photograph. so i am stuck photographing dead grass and dull skies. c'mon mother nature, give me something to work with.

i am getting the death stare from my boss for clearly avoiding doing the task she asked me to do. guess thats my cue.

sunday get shit-done day

honestly, when i have friends post things on facebook like "sunday funday" i'm like...wait, whattttt? what the hell is that?

you're telling me that people have time to go out and get drunk all day? you're telling me they have nothing else that they actually HAVE to do? c'mon now. either i'm becoming old at the ripe age of 25 or there is seriously something wrong with their lives.

sunday people. its a day to lounge around and get stuff done that you put off the rest of the week...not a day to drink your face off. thats what monday-saturday are for. i mean...what?

anyways. here's what got accomplished in my household today.

   strawberry and nutella crepes. boom.

it was like chocolate covered strawberries nestled in the most scrumptious thing you could imagine.
usually when i am in the mood to cook, i just google whatever i'm in the mood for and get going. so today, i was led to the closet cook. great idea. the crepes turned out stupendous. so much better than the first time i tried to tackle them.

make them. now, in an hour, tomorrow, in a month...whenever. just make them. you won't be disappointed.


then i spent the rest of the day shopping. now, i'm not made of money...in fact, i'm super frugal but sometimes, you just need some retail therapy.

get ready to be amazed-balls. yes, thats a word.

first up: a trip to Berk's. a shoe store on a funky little street in downtown Providence. I rarely go because i rarely buy shoes but today was my day indeed. HUGEEEE sale and i just couldn't resist these bad boys.

  shiny silver sperry's and sparkly tom's. and get this....

tom's- $19  sperry's: $26  how that was even possible, i'm not sure. i realize they are both last season but seriously, this cheap? i haddddd to get them. wouldn't you?

then i went to tj maxx.

abercrombie jeans: $24.99   kipling bag: $28

i've giving myself a round of applause for those steals. i basically got $300 of stuff for $100. schwwwwingggggg.

anyways. time to get homework and all that loveliness going. if you are in need of anything, i say shop now. you will not be disappointed.

last note: sorry for the crap pictures. i was too lazy to break out an actual camera and used the crackberry.

anxiety

so...i have anxiety.

at first it was just a little...but now, its a lot. i've been put on some super small dose of medication to control it but to be honest, it doesn't do much.

tonight t is completely out of control for no apparent reason. there isn't a thing i'm anxious or stressed about. maybe thats it...i'm stressed that i'm not stressed? who knows.


either way it sucks. when it gets bad (like tonight) i actually get numb. my arms and fingers get numb. sometimes i convince myself its a sign of diabetes but i eat so well and it only happens once in a great while....so basically, i'm just crazy.

its hard to talk about because if you don't have anxiety like this, its a hard thing to understand. when i do talk about it, it gives me anxiety thinking about what the person is thinking about what i am saying. vicious circle right?

anyways. i'm going to bed early tonight in hopes i will wake up well rested and ready to go tomorrow. here's hoping! if you have anxiety like me, go see someone. anything helps, i promise!

hahaaha.

hobbies

i'm not quite sure why but for some reason i have the phrase "you only live once" stuck in my head. i must have seen some motivational photo on pinterest yesterday but however it happened, it has stuck with me. i've seen and heard the phrase too many times to count but has always been something that was in one ear and out the other. i'm not sure why it has stuck with me this time but before it vanishes, i'm going to try a little experiment.

bear with me people...i'm no scientist.

so here it is. 

that's pretty much me in a nutshell. i'm curious about everything. i want to ride horses, be a photographer, be a florist, make clothes, do makeup, write articles, help people, sing, play guitar, be a baker, be a victoria's secret model (ok far fetched but it's true).

i've always been one to have a million hobbies. my sister thinks its hilarious that one week i'm making 120 cupcakes and the next i'm over that and onto photography. but hey, i'm not apologizing. i have hobby ADHD or am just a hobby slut. either way, i love trying new things.

so from here on out (or however long it lasts) i'm going to carpe the freaking diem.  i'm sure i'll truly despise some of the new things i thought i would love but who cares? if i'm only going to live once, i'm trying every single thing i have ever had an interest in.

having a glass of wine and debating my next move. love.

banana cake

so today i was being a good little employee and wasted an hour on pinterest at work.  i was just looking around and came across this recipe for frosted banana bars. the pin was linked to a www.cooking.com recipe so i printed it out and decided to take a whack at it when i got home because i had some bananas that i was NOT eating with such an awful amount of brown on it. i was excited because i hadn't baked in so long but then i realized i didn't have some of the ingredients, was too lazy and cheap to go out and buy them and wanted to make it a little more figure friendly...

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. 

here's the original recipe ingredients:

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

For the Banana Bars:

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

For the Frosting:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 3/4 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar here's what i did: RECIPE INGREDIENTS For the Banana Bars: 1/2 cup margarine 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 egg whites 1 cup (8 ounces) non-fat plain yogurt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup quick oats 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed for the glaze: 1 cup dark brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 tbsp. water and do the following.... cream together the margarine and sugar, add egg whites, vanilla and yogurt. mix together flour, salt and baking soda in a seperate bowl and then add sugar mixture a little at a time. then stir in the bananas. grease a 15x10 pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 22 minutes or until set. let cool completely then glaze. by removing the cream cheese, sour cream, extra butter and whole eggs, i think i saved us all a bunch of unwanted calories. mine turned out to be more of a sheet cake but cuts really nicely if you want to cut into pieces for a platter. these are seriously delicious. its basically a really moist banana bread but i think it deserves to be a dessert as well. a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a piece of this nuked for 20 seconds or so and i'll be heaven.  enjoy :)

this is so great. went after work to watch the sunset at a local park and caught so many birds in what looks like a mid-migration. they were definitely heading south and there were so many together it was amazing. at least 700 or so.

think i'll go back tomorrow and see if i can spot so more...and bring a decent camera this time.