Until recently, I was a playdate-phobe. I didn't mind sending my kids off to playdates, but I never looked forward to the expected reciprocation. I have always admired and wanted to be like those moms who have kids in and out of the house all afternoon, stopping only to grab a fun yet healthy snack, entertaining themselves without needing an adult, but in actuality, I crave quiet and order. The thought of kids in and out of the house, and the aftermath of that, made me cringe. I wished I could just relax more, but honestly, I tend more toward the type-A, uptight mom.
In addition, our house and yard don't really lend themselves to lots of kids. We don't have a playroom, and our yard is not large. Before the current next door neighbors moved in, their back yard was kind of an extra back yard for us and was great for whiffleball, frisbee, hide & seek and wrestling matches. When those neighbors moved, the new neighbors put a fence up for their dog, so now we just have enough space to walk down to our back yard. No more extra back yard.
In the back yard we do have, there are two big trees, a makeshift deck that covers a storm drain, a large compost pile, and three raised garden beds. The sandbox can be somewhat entertaining - currently there is a Civil War battlefield set up there - but the boys seem to have moved beyond the 'playing in the sand' phase.
Especially during hot weather, playdates tend to be inside affairs. One problem I encountered with that is the lack of "group play" type toys we have. Michael's ideal entertainment is building Bionicles on his own and listening to an audio book; Will is similar, except that he listens to music, plays his instruments, looks at books, or else begs to watch TV. If we have a kid over who is not into Legos or music, we have a problem. And I regard TV as a playdate last resort.
When he was in kindergarten, Michael had a playdate during which I found them jumping on the futon in the spare bedroom. I discovered after the playdate that the futon frame was broken. Last year, after another playdate with the son of a friend of mine, I found out the friend had destroyed a bulletin board I had painstakingly made for Michael - I had taken marbles, fake coins, small cars, lego pieces, and plastic dinosaurs and hot-glued them around the edge of the bulletin board. The playdate friend had pulled almost all of them off. I glued them back. And I swear, the next time that friend came over, he did it again. His sister was with him that time and she pulled on and broke a wooden mobile hanging from the ceiling fan chain. Is it any wonder that I hate playdates? Despite those bad experiences, I still worried that my kids were kind of isolated when all their friends were swapping off and hanging out at each other's houses after school and on the weekends, but nobody was hanging out with us.
So, my playdate phobia has been challenged this year, because Michael has become best buds with G., who was in his class last year and is again this year. We had a couple of playdates with G. last year, both here and at his house, and Michael spent the night over at G.'s once. G.'s mom, Gwen, is very cool and someone who I wanted to know better. What better way than having our kids play together? It turns out they are very compatible and play together very well, and Gwen and I have gotten to be good friends.
Then Will got invited on a playdate earlier this week by one of his friends from Pre-K, S., who is in another kindy class but at the same school. When I picked Will up from the playdate, I found him and S. down in the basement, each playing Cartoon Network games on separate computers, after having spent an hour playing on the elaborate play structure in the back yard, and he informed me that S.'s mom had taken them to Dairy Queen for Blizzards after school.
We left S.'s house (Will protesting loudly) and went to G.'s house to get Michael, where I found them playing in the treehouse in G.'s backyard, which Gwen hates but is a kid's dream. They moved inside and began a game of Nerf dart tag. G. also has a PlayStation, which I've heard about at length.
I was beginning to feel like the uncoolest mom ever. No video games, no computer games, no fort, no play structures. Not even any Nerf dart guns. What kid would want to come to my house?
It's a long way down when falling off a soapbox, isn't it? I hate toy guns. I hate gun violence in any form. Lee and I watch no TV, so my kids only see kid shows and kid movies. But a while back I began to see I was fighting a losing battle, trying to keep guns out of their lives. When there were no toy guns in the house, they fashioned guns from Legos, K'Nex, sticks, or their fingers. Will especially was pointing finger guns and making gun noises from very early on.
But they already had an assortment of light sabers, which I hate because someone's knuckles inevitably get smacked whenever they play with them. About a year ago, Lee took them to Kennesaw mountain, which is a National Historic Site because it is a Civil War battlefield, and he bought them wooden muskets (which have since been turned into sawed-off muskets, by request). Then Aunt Brenda bought them each a Star Wars blaster, which I refused to let them use in the house. They were noisy, obnoxious, threatening-looking and they loved them.
It was inevitable. Video games are not going to happen, and I can't do anything about the fort, because there's nowhere to put one, but, despite my aversion to toy guns, today I went to Toys "r" Us (which Will calls "Toys For Us") and bought three Nerf dart guns and an extra set of darts. One for each boy and one for Daddy or the playdate.
It doesn't compare to a gaming console, but maybe, coupled with a trip for ice cream after school, it'll have some playdate appeal. If I fake it 'til I make it, maybe one day I'll actually feel like one of the cool moms with kids swarming all over the house and yard.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Ugh
Drinking top-shelf margaritas does not guarantee a headache-free day the next day.
Three ibuprofen, two cups of coffee, two pieces of turkey sausage, a quart of water and a hot yoga class later I still had a headache and a rock in my stomach. Now at 4:30, the headache is gone, but the rock is not. I've been trying to eat & drink various things all day hoping for the magic bullet, but alas, I haven't found it. Kind of reminds me of when I was pregnant....trying anything that I thought might make my nausea go away. But no, I'm not pregnant! Just bloated and disgusted with myself.
I'm trying to atone for my dietary/domestic sins by cooking a real dinner for tonight. Both boys had afterschool playdates, so I've been by myself all afternoon. I made a sweet potato casserole and homemade vanilla pudding for the boys. For us I am making a cauliflower dish with lots of garlic, anchovies and parmesan cheese. Yes, I am one of those freaks who likes anchovies. When they're combined with other stuff, I love the flavor (though you'll never see me ordering anchovies on a pizza). The boys will also have a piece of chicken and Lee and I will have strip steak.
I've been watching the Ken Burns documentary "The War" since it started on Sunday night. It's amazing. The elderly woman from Mobile talks the way my grandmother did: she pronounces "war" as "woaaah-ahh". The coverage of the battles in the Pacific is especially riveting. I've never known much about them, other than the Battle of Midway. Combat there was incredibly brutal and conditions were terrible. My dad sent me an email this morning telling me that he was watching it as well, and reminded me that his father was a "SeaBee" ("CB" stands for Construction Battalion") in the Coast Guard, stationed in the South Pacific. He served in New Zealand, New, Guinea, the Philippines, and New Caledonia. They went in right behind the combat troops to build airstrips, runways, and docks. Though he never had to participate in combat, his military service wasn't anything he wanted to talk much about.
I've gotten in a few yoga classes, but only one was primary series. It was a good one, though, on Monday at the urban chic studio. The teacher asked if we minded if she practiced with us, which was great, because she moved us along a little more quickly and with less talking. We still didn't do full primary, but we did more than we usually do. I've also done a 90 minute Bikram class, a 60 minute Hot Power Fusion, and today a 75 minute Hot Power Fusion.
I got an email from John that Tuesday morning classes are added back into the schedule, for the next six weeks at least. Yay! That means at least four other people besides me signed up and paid. They start next Tuesday. I'm very excited!
Three ibuprofen, two cups of coffee, two pieces of turkey sausage, a quart of water and a hot yoga class later I still had a headache and a rock in my stomach. Now at 4:30, the headache is gone, but the rock is not. I've been trying to eat & drink various things all day hoping for the magic bullet, but alas, I haven't found it. Kind of reminds me of when I was pregnant....trying anything that I thought might make my nausea go away. But no, I'm not pregnant! Just bloated and disgusted with myself.
I'm trying to atone for my dietary/domestic sins by cooking a real dinner for tonight. Both boys had afterschool playdates, so I've been by myself all afternoon. I made a sweet potato casserole and homemade vanilla pudding for the boys. For us I am making a cauliflower dish with lots of garlic, anchovies and parmesan cheese. Yes, I am one of those freaks who likes anchovies. When they're combined with other stuff, I love the flavor (though you'll never see me ordering anchovies on a pizza). The boys will also have a piece of chicken and Lee and I will have strip steak.
I've been watching the Ken Burns documentary "The War" since it started on Sunday night. It's amazing. The elderly woman from Mobile talks the way my grandmother did: she pronounces "war" as "woaaah-ahh". The coverage of the battles in the Pacific is especially riveting. I've never known much about them, other than the Battle of Midway. Combat there was incredibly brutal and conditions were terrible. My dad sent me an email this morning telling me that he was watching it as well, and reminded me that his father was a "SeaBee" ("CB" stands for Construction Battalion") in the Coast Guard, stationed in the South Pacific. He served in New Zealand, New, Guinea, the Philippines, and New Caledonia. They went in right behind the combat troops to build airstrips, runways, and docks. Though he never had to participate in combat, his military service wasn't anything he wanted to talk much about.
I've gotten in a few yoga classes, but only one was primary series. It was a good one, though, on Monday at the urban chic studio. The teacher asked if we minded if she practiced with us, which was great, because she moved us along a little more quickly and with less talking. We still didn't do full primary, but we did more than we usually do. I've also done a 90 minute Bikram class, a 60 minute Hot Power Fusion, and today a 75 minute Hot Power Fusion.
I got an email from John that Tuesday morning classes are added back into the schedule, for the next six weeks at least. Yay! That means at least four other people besides me signed up and paid. They start next Tuesday. I'm very excited!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
When the cat's away...
...the mouse doesn't do much.
Lee is in Chicago. So my wild 'n' crazy alone time consisted of a Sweetwater 420 beer, a basket full of laundry that needed folding, and the movie "United 93".
I certainly wasn't expecting it to be fun, but holy cow. At first glance it sounds like some cheesy, second-rate movie capitalizing on a tragedy. It wasn't any of those things. It was so realistic, without the artificial manipulation of the emotions normally seen in movies like this. It was almost like a documentary - the action told the story without anything else to heighten the tension. When it ended abruptly, I found I was squeezing the remote with both hands and shaking all over. I highly recommend it, if you can take it.
And speaking of cats, my 88-year-old across the street neighbor called me today to ask me if I'd noticed the cat sleeping under our oak tree lately. I said "yeah, that's our cat!" She had thought it was some decrepit old stray and was about to haul him off to an animal clinic to be adopted!
This was taken last spring, when his hangout of choice was in my petunia planter. That's what he does...picks a place and that's where you find him for weeks. Then he completely abandons that place and moves on. Maybe that's why she's never noticed him before, because typically his places are out of the way. But since the weather's cooled off a bit, he hangs out under the oak tree, and, in the evenings, on her front porch.
She told me she's been feeding him canned tuna. No wonder he keeps going over there!
I feel like I'm kind of drifting away from my ashtanga practice...opportunities to practice are few and far between and I'm still unmotivated to practice at home, alone....yesterday I did a "hot power fusion" class, today I did some sun sals at home. Tomorrow I am going to an intermediate level primary series class. I had hoped to go to Full Primary on Saturday at John's studio, but the first soccer game of the season is at 10:00. I *could* go, but what kind of mother would I be if I missed the first game? Alas, full primary is as far away from me as the moon, it seems....
Lee is in Chicago. So my wild 'n' crazy alone time consisted of a Sweetwater 420 beer, a basket full of laundry that needed folding, and the movie "United 93".
I certainly wasn't expecting it to be fun, but holy cow. At first glance it sounds like some cheesy, second-rate movie capitalizing on a tragedy. It wasn't any of those things. It was so realistic, without the artificial manipulation of the emotions normally seen in movies like this. It was almost like a documentary - the action told the story without anything else to heighten the tension. When it ended abruptly, I found I was squeezing the remote with both hands and shaking all over. I highly recommend it, if you can take it.
And speaking of cats, my 88-year-old across the street neighbor called me today to ask me if I'd noticed the cat sleeping under our oak tree lately. I said "yeah, that's our cat!" She had thought it was some decrepit old stray and was about to haul him off to an animal clinic to be adopted!
This was taken last spring, when his hangout of choice was in my petunia planter. That's what he does...picks a place and that's where you find him for weeks. Then he completely abandons that place and moves on. Maybe that's why she's never noticed him before, because typically his places are out of the way. But since the weather's cooled off a bit, he hangs out under the oak tree, and, in the evenings, on her front porch.
She told me she's been feeding him canned tuna. No wonder he keeps going over there!
I feel like I'm kind of drifting away from my ashtanga practice...opportunities to practice are few and far between and I'm still unmotivated to practice at home, alone....yesterday I did a "hot power fusion" class, today I did some sun sals at home. Tomorrow I am going to an intermediate level primary series class. I had hoped to go to Full Primary on Saturday at John's studio, but the first soccer game of the season is at 10:00. I *could* go, but what kind of mother would I be if I missed the first game? Alas, full primary is as far away from me as the moon, it seems....
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
"Gifted" kids.
Well! Today I had a conference with Michael's teacher. At open house, she had a signup sheet and I didn't think I had anything in particular to talk about with her, because he's a good student with no issues, but I thought, what the heck. She's offering, I'll go.
A few weeks ago the third graders spent a few hours participating in MAP testing. They haven't fully implemented it system wide, and this was just kind of a tryout of this testing system. From what I've heard about it, it sounds quite cool. It's computer-based, and as the kids answer questions on various subjects, the questions get easier or harder. Or, as the website puts it more succinctly, "test items dynamically adjust to a student's performance level, and as a result, test scores are more accurate".
He was tested in language arts, math, and science/social studies, and she showed me his scores. Across the board, he scored 99%. There's a key to accompany the scores that shows the grade level for each, and in each area he is working at an eighth grade or between eighth/ninth grade level. She seemed quite flabbergasted at the result and said she'd kids score that high in one area of testing, but never in all three. She also showed me some of his writing samples and said how amazed she was at the level of sophistication in his writing and she raved about what a quick thinker he is.
She said flat out that he's well past the third grade curriculum and that her challenge is going to be to keep him interested and learning even more than he is now. "If he's at an eighth grade level, there's no reason he can't be at a tenth grade level at the end of the year." She also hasn't bothered to give him the DRA this year because it only goes up to fifth grade.
We talked about ways to expand on what he's doing in the classroom, additional projects in areas he's particularly interested in, and we're going to work together on that. I feel like he is this untapped area of incredible potential and I'm not exactly sure how to make the most of it. I already feel like he's going to be much more knowledgeable than I am in no time. How can I maximize his natural abilities? I feel pretty clueless, frankly. As well, he spends lots of time by himself - by choice - reading, building legos, and listening to audiobooks. Scheduling him for a bunch of extracurricular activities is something we will have to approach with caution.
I am excited about his teacher's willingness to work on keeping him challenged. She did say that this is the largest group of gifted program kids she's ever had in a class, and admitted it was going to be like teaching two different classes.
I feel like I have been given an amazing, wonderful gift that I don't quite know what to do with.
At the other end of the kid spectrum, my bull-in-a-china-shop kindergartener continues to come home with "yellow" on his daily report, but his teachers assure me that he is sweet and loving with just a bit of difficulty controlling himself. I have been stressing about it a bit, because to me, stuff like talking in class = disrespect for the teacher. He appears to be loving school, though, and spends lots of time singing Spanish songs and reading short sentences and phrases.
And I practiced today, most of primary, and I have finally developed enough strength that I don't have to touch my knees down at all during chattarangas, and the weather is cool, sunny and fallish, absolutely beautiful and perfect. And I'm getting ready to order these awesome boots. Life is good!
A few weeks ago the third graders spent a few hours participating in MAP testing. They haven't fully implemented it system wide, and this was just kind of a tryout of this testing system. From what I've heard about it, it sounds quite cool. It's computer-based, and as the kids answer questions on various subjects, the questions get easier or harder. Or, as the website puts it more succinctly, "test items dynamically adjust to a student's performance level, and as a result, test scores are more accurate".
He was tested in language arts, math, and science/social studies, and she showed me his scores. Across the board, he scored 99%. There's a key to accompany the scores that shows the grade level for each, and in each area he is working at an eighth grade or between eighth/ninth grade level. She seemed quite flabbergasted at the result and said she'd kids score that high in one area of testing, but never in all three. She also showed me some of his writing samples and said how amazed she was at the level of sophistication in his writing and she raved about what a quick thinker he is.
She said flat out that he's well past the third grade curriculum and that her challenge is going to be to keep him interested and learning even more than he is now. "If he's at an eighth grade level, there's no reason he can't be at a tenth grade level at the end of the year." She also hasn't bothered to give him the DRA this year because it only goes up to fifth grade.
We talked about ways to expand on what he's doing in the classroom, additional projects in areas he's particularly interested in, and we're going to work together on that. I feel like he is this untapped area of incredible potential and I'm not exactly sure how to make the most of it. I already feel like he's going to be much more knowledgeable than I am in no time. How can I maximize his natural abilities? I feel pretty clueless, frankly. As well, he spends lots of time by himself - by choice - reading, building legos, and listening to audiobooks. Scheduling him for a bunch of extracurricular activities is something we will have to approach with caution.
I am excited about his teacher's willingness to work on keeping him challenged. She did say that this is the largest group of gifted program kids she's ever had in a class, and admitted it was going to be like teaching two different classes.
I feel like I have been given an amazing, wonderful gift that I don't quite know what to do with.
At the other end of the kid spectrum, my bull-in-a-china-shop kindergartener continues to come home with "yellow" on his daily report, but his teachers assure me that he is sweet and loving with just a bit of difficulty controlling himself. I have been stressing about it a bit, because to me, stuff like talking in class = disrespect for the teacher. He appears to be loving school, though, and spends lots of time singing Spanish songs and reading short sentences and phrases.
And I practiced today, most of primary, and I have finally developed enough strength that I don't have to touch my knees down at all during chattarangas, and the weather is cool, sunny and fallish, absolutely beautiful and perfect. And I'm getting ready to order these awesome boots. Life is good!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Mama needs a new pair of shoes
So Mama bought her some yesterday:
I set out to buy Will some shoes yesterday, because he pronates when we walks, and sometimes complains about his feet hurting when he's just wearing his Keens or especially if he's wearing his evil Crocs.
So we went to REI where I also hoped to score some shoes for myself. I had spotted the above shoes online in red, but not in my size.
REI had them in other colors, but not red. Will scored some velcro closure Merrells, nice and supportive, and he loves them.
So I bribed the boys with the promise of a treat at Trader Joe's if they accompanied me to another shoe store without any grumbling/rowdy behavior. We stopped at abbadabba's, where I had not shopped in several years. Ohmygod, it's a shoe lover's dream! Alas, they did not have them in red either, so I went for the "rum raisin". LOVE them!
It was probably a good thing I had the boys with me, otherwise I could have done some serious damage to my bank account in there.
The husbands of all my friends (and my husband too) went off for a Dad's weekend at the lake. Poker, beer, college football and boating was their weekend. The moms and kids all got together last night for cocktails and swimming; then we got together again this morning for brunch. My friend Gloria has a fully stocked liquor cabinet and she was concocting some funky drinks for us last night including some kind of key lime martini which was to die for. I have had my carbohydrate and vodka allotment for the week, to be sure.
Practice has been sporadic; I went to a 6am hot power class on Tuesday, then Thursday (I think?) did part primary at home; yesterday I did part primary again while the boys watched a movie. Yesterday's practice was one of those rare strong AND bendy practices; I was sorry I didn't have time for the whole series.
I'm on my way to a Bikram class; I need to be sure to stand in the back lest I crap out due to toxic overload.
I set out to buy Will some shoes yesterday, because he pronates when we walks, and sometimes complains about his feet hurting when he's just wearing his Keens or especially if he's wearing his evil Crocs.
So we went to REI where I also hoped to score some shoes for myself. I had spotted the above shoes online in red, but not in my size.
REI had them in other colors, but not red. Will scored some velcro closure Merrells, nice and supportive, and he loves them.
So I bribed the boys with the promise of a treat at Trader Joe's if they accompanied me to another shoe store without any grumbling/rowdy behavior. We stopped at abbadabba's, where I had not shopped in several years. Ohmygod, it's a shoe lover's dream! Alas, they did not have them in red either, so I went for the "rum raisin". LOVE them!
It was probably a good thing I had the boys with me, otherwise I could have done some serious damage to my bank account in there.
The husbands of all my friends (and my husband too) went off for a Dad's weekend at the lake. Poker, beer, college football and boating was their weekend. The moms and kids all got together last night for cocktails and swimming; then we got together again this morning for brunch. My friend Gloria has a fully stocked liquor cabinet and she was concocting some funky drinks for us last night including some kind of key lime martini which was to die for. I have had my carbohydrate and vodka allotment for the week, to be sure.
Practice has been sporadic; I went to a 6am hot power class on Tuesday, then Thursday (I think?) did part primary at home; yesterday I did part primary again while the boys watched a movie. Yesterday's practice was one of those rare strong AND bendy practices; I was sorry I didn't have time for the whole series.
I'm on my way to a Bikram class; I need to be sure to stand in the back lest I crap out due to toxic overload.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Like a rock.
Only dumber. No, wait, that's the president and I'm not talking about him here. What I meant to say was, Like a rock. Only heavier. And that would be me!
I'm getting back into practice. I went Friday to a new studio , a big place with a very minimalist/urban chic vibe, for an "Ashtanga level 2/3" class which was basically a little more than half primary. The teacher is one that I knew from the nearby Bikram studio. There were all levels of folks in there, from a few guys who were beginners, to two women who, at urdva dhanurasana, stood up and did unassisted dropbacks.
Saturday I went back to John's studio for full primary. Sunday I didn't practice. Today I went back to the first studio for another Ashtanga 2/3 class with the same teacher. (There were only two of us there today, so I got lots of adjustments).
I'm kind of suprised by how much ground I feel like I've lost in terms of balance and strength. Well, the balance thing could just be temporary, but I've struggled a bit with my strength. My flexibility is still good, though.
I have barely managed to remain upright during uttita hasta padangustasana during any of those classes. I don't know what's up with that. I swear I've done it fine plenty of times, no wobbling.
And I was seriously worried about headstand, too. I felt like I'd lost my ability to balance. On Saturday, John saw me struggling, so he spotted me, and when I came down, he told me I had my head tilted too far forward, which probably made me unstable.
On Sunday, at home, I practiced, with more of the crown of my head on the floor. Five time I went up and stayed, until I felt like I knew what I was doing again. John's suggestion helped a lot. Today in class, I got up with ease and stayed for fifteen breaths (Friday I couldn't get up at all).
I'm not thrilled with the 2/3 class, we don't chant and though the detailed instruction is good, I prefer less so that I can focus on my breath more easily. But, once again, I have to take my ashtanga where-the-heck-ever I can get it.
In that vein, John finally sent out an email about morning classes, and the deal is, at least five people have to pre-register and pay for a six week series of classes, either Tuesday or Friday. Tuesday is primary series and Friday is "power hour". The classes will start next month or whenever five people register & prepay. If five people don't register, the classes won't be held.
Why does everything have to be so hard?
I will sign up for the Tuesday series, so that if that is held, I could do that class, the level 2/3 on Fridays, and throw in a Bikram or Power Fusion class another day or two a week, and maybe a Saturday at John's studio. Of course it seems ridiculous to have class cards at three different yoga studios, but there you go.
DH is working late tonight because of a seemingly trivial incident, not sure what exactly, damage control, interviews, whatever. The corporation in question absolutely hates negative publicity and freaks out accordingly whenever something happens that gets them in the news. In any event, there is another worker who still needs to be interviewed, but doesn't come in until 9:00 tonight. And the location in question is 45 minutes away.
I shouldn't grumble; it'll be about ten billable hours alone today and that'll buy a lot of yoga classes.
Tomorrow I'm planning to attend a 6:00 am Hot Power Fusion class. The rest of the week is so busy that 6:00 am is all I could fit in. I can't imagine what my life would be like if I were employed full time....
I'm getting back into practice. I went Friday to a new studio , a big place with a very minimalist/urban chic vibe, for an "Ashtanga level 2/3" class which was basically a little more than half primary. The teacher is one that I knew from the nearby Bikram studio. There were all levels of folks in there, from a few guys who were beginners, to two women who, at urdva dhanurasana, stood up and did unassisted dropbacks.
Saturday I went back to John's studio for full primary. Sunday I didn't practice. Today I went back to the first studio for another Ashtanga 2/3 class with the same teacher. (There were only two of us there today, so I got lots of adjustments).
I'm kind of suprised by how much ground I feel like I've lost in terms of balance and strength. Well, the balance thing could just be temporary, but I've struggled a bit with my strength. My flexibility is still good, though.
I have barely managed to remain upright during uttita hasta padangustasana during any of those classes. I don't know what's up with that. I swear I've done it fine plenty of times, no wobbling.
And I was seriously worried about headstand, too. I felt like I'd lost my ability to balance. On Saturday, John saw me struggling, so he spotted me, and when I came down, he told me I had my head tilted too far forward, which probably made me unstable.
On Sunday, at home, I practiced, with more of the crown of my head on the floor. Five time I went up and stayed, until I felt like I knew what I was doing again. John's suggestion helped a lot. Today in class, I got up with ease and stayed for fifteen breaths (Friday I couldn't get up at all).
I'm not thrilled with the 2/3 class, we don't chant and though the detailed instruction is good, I prefer less so that I can focus on my breath more easily. But, once again, I have to take my ashtanga where-the-heck-ever I can get it.
In that vein, John finally sent out an email about morning classes, and the deal is, at least five people have to pre-register and pay for a six week series of classes, either Tuesday or Friday. Tuesday is primary series and Friday is "power hour". The classes will start next month or whenever five people register & prepay. If five people don't register, the classes won't be held.
Why does everything have to be so hard?
I will sign up for the Tuesday series, so that if that is held, I could do that class, the level 2/3 on Fridays, and throw in a Bikram or Power Fusion class another day or two a week, and maybe a Saturday at John's studio. Of course it seems ridiculous to have class cards at three different yoga studios, but there you go.
DH is working late tonight because of a seemingly trivial incident, not sure what exactly, damage control, interviews, whatever. The corporation in question absolutely hates negative publicity and freaks out accordingly whenever something happens that gets them in the news. In any event, there is another worker who still needs to be interviewed, but doesn't come in until 9:00 tonight. And the location in question is 45 minutes away.
I shouldn't grumble; it'll be about ten billable hours alone today and that'll buy a lot of yoga classes.
Tomorrow I'm planning to attend a 6:00 am Hot Power Fusion class. The rest of the week is so busy that 6:00 am is all I could fit in. I can't imagine what my life would be like if I were employed full time....
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Aaargh.
Have not been to a yoga class since August 25, the week that I did four Hot Power Fusion classes. I have gained three pounds since then, but it feels like more than three on my body. It also doesn't help that I went on a girls' weekend the weekend before Labor Day, and then Labor Day weekend we went to my S-I-L's house to celebrate Michael's 9th birthday, which was Monday. AND, I made Michael a birthday cake for the family birthday. So basically, it's been cake, cocktails, and a few somewhat lame practices for the last two weeks.
Saturday morning I was SO looking forward to full primary at the studio. But dammit, I got there and the class time had been changed to 10 (from 9:00). I had looked at the studio calendar on Friday and it said 9:00. I looked through my inbox trash and saw that John had sent out an email with a bunch of weekend schedule changes but it was titled "Adjusting Workshop 8/19 cancelled" when 8/19 was the week before. He had obviously re-used the email template or something, and the content was just generally garbled, so I didn't pay much attention to it. My fault. But you'd think he'd have changed the studio calendar to show the time change...he deleted all the cancelled classes from it for the weekend.
ANYWAY, I was so disappointed. I couldn't stay until 10 because the family was waiting on me to leave for the S-I-L's. So I asked Lee to take the boys upstairs and just let me do 30 minutes downstairs. It actually was a pretty decent practice, despite the fact that Will was lolling around on the sofa whining "mooooo-mmmmyyy, when are we going to leave?" and playing with this incredibly noisy wooden pinball game in the next room. I didn't do the full series, just standing, seated through bhuja p, and a quick closing.
I also set out to do full primary at home on Tuesday morning. It started out well, I felt strong and a little stiff, but good. I got to the chakrasana after supta padangustasana and I rolled right over on my neck. OUCH. I am always a little timid about chakrasana at home, because the living room is not big and I'm always afraid I'm going to hit the wall. I probably wouldn't, but it affects the posture anyway. When I came up, my neck was killing me! It was more muscular as opposed to one of those things where you know something is out of whack, fortunately, but I stopped there. I didn't think I could even do closing, so I ended with a short savasana. And that was my last practice, and I am feeling cranky, fat, and jonesing for a led class.
Supposedly, there is supposed to be a new morning class schedule after September 3, but, hello, it's September 6 and I've heard nothing. So tomorrow, I am trying a new studio for an "Ashtanga primary series level 2/3" led class. It's not at the best time, 12:30 - 1:45, which means that I will have time to rush home after, scarf some lunch, then go pick up the boys from school. But by god I'll get my ashtanga where I can find it.
In addition to not ever being terribly motivated to practice at home, I've been super busy with PTA stuff, some of which is frustrating and tedious. After next Wednesday, which is the Back To School Picnic (rescheduled from a rainout last Thursday) things should slow down a bit. I had a Board meeting on Monday, then I had to be at school at 7:30 this morning to help with "Campus Parent Portal" signup, then tonight is the general PTA meeting and Curriculum Night. There's also a Kid's Consignment Sale at which I signed up to sell at AND work, and I have not even begun pricing my items, which have to be dropped off next Wednesday morning. I also went to the thrift store yesterday for some eBay inventory, I need to get listing because we need the money. As well, I've been working on my resume (basically from scratch, since it's been nine years since I've had a real job). I've lined up three references, but I need to get them on paper and finalize my resume. I don't know how much detail to go into with my volunteer work; I've got my volunteer positions listed, but I'm not sure whether to list everything I've done in those positions or not. My resume is already two pages, so I guess I could fill up some of the space on the second page with my experience.
AND if I wasn't feeling a bit frazzled with all that, Michael has developed a "vocal tic". It started out a few weeks before school started, tapered off, and now is back. He makes this soft little grunting noise every twenty to thirty seconds or so. It's much better when he's well rested, but very prevalent at night. I'm not sure where it's come from, he claims to love school, the work is not overly taxing (a whole 'nother issue in itself, but I hope to resolve it tonight) and his teacher says he is wonderful. He does seem to be chronically overtired but he is having a bit of a hard time falling asleep at night.
An hour or two on the mat would really work wonders for my perspective on this stuff.
Saturday morning I was SO looking forward to full primary at the studio. But dammit, I got there and the class time had been changed to 10 (from 9:00). I had looked at the studio calendar on Friday and it said 9:00. I looked through my inbox trash and saw that John had sent out an email with a bunch of weekend schedule changes but it was titled "Adjusting Workshop 8/19 cancelled" when 8/19 was the week before. He had obviously re-used the email template or something, and the content was just generally garbled, so I didn't pay much attention to it. My fault. But you'd think he'd have changed the studio calendar to show the time change...he deleted all the cancelled classes from it for the weekend.
ANYWAY, I was so disappointed. I couldn't stay until 10 because the family was waiting on me to leave for the S-I-L's. So I asked Lee to take the boys upstairs and just let me do 30 minutes downstairs. It actually was a pretty decent practice, despite the fact that Will was lolling around on the sofa whining "mooooo-mmmmyyy, when are we going to leave?" and playing with this incredibly noisy wooden pinball game in the next room. I didn't do the full series, just standing, seated through bhuja p, and a quick closing.
I also set out to do full primary at home on Tuesday morning. It started out well, I felt strong and a little stiff, but good. I got to the chakrasana after supta padangustasana and I rolled right over on my neck. OUCH. I am always a little timid about chakrasana at home, because the living room is not big and I'm always afraid I'm going to hit the wall. I probably wouldn't, but it affects the posture anyway. When I came up, my neck was killing me! It was more muscular as opposed to one of those things where you know something is out of whack, fortunately, but I stopped there. I didn't think I could even do closing, so I ended with a short savasana. And that was my last practice, and I am feeling cranky, fat, and jonesing for a led class.
Supposedly, there is supposed to be a new morning class schedule after September 3, but, hello, it's September 6 and I've heard nothing. So tomorrow, I am trying a new studio for an "Ashtanga primary series level 2/3" led class. It's not at the best time, 12:30 - 1:45, which means that I will have time to rush home after, scarf some lunch, then go pick up the boys from school. But by god I'll get my ashtanga where I can find it.
In addition to not ever being terribly motivated to practice at home, I've been super busy with PTA stuff, some of which is frustrating and tedious. After next Wednesday, which is the Back To School Picnic (rescheduled from a rainout last Thursday) things should slow down a bit. I had a Board meeting on Monday, then I had to be at school at 7:30 this morning to help with "Campus Parent Portal" signup, then tonight is the general PTA meeting and Curriculum Night. There's also a Kid's Consignment Sale at which I signed up to sell at AND work, and I have not even begun pricing my items, which have to be dropped off next Wednesday morning. I also went to the thrift store yesterday for some eBay inventory, I need to get listing because we need the money. As well, I've been working on my resume (basically from scratch, since it's been nine years since I've had a real job). I've lined up three references, but I need to get them on paper and finalize my resume. I don't know how much detail to go into with my volunteer work; I've got my volunteer positions listed, but I'm not sure whether to list everything I've done in those positions or not. My resume is already two pages, so I guess I could fill up some of the space on the second page with my experience.
AND if I wasn't feeling a bit frazzled with all that, Michael has developed a "vocal tic". It started out a few weeks before school started, tapered off, and now is back. He makes this soft little grunting noise every twenty to thirty seconds or so. It's much better when he's well rested, but very prevalent at night. I'm not sure where it's come from, he claims to love school, the work is not overly taxing (a whole 'nother issue in itself, but I hope to resolve it tonight) and his teacher says he is wonderful. He does seem to be chronically overtired but he is having a bit of a hard time falling asleep at night.
An hour or two on the mat would really work wonders for my perspective on this stuff.
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