Weekend Yoga Retreat

I was at Kripalu this weekend, something I have been wanting to do for a long time. The planning all came together, with my being in RI w/my parents for a few days earlier in the week.

It was amazing. But the funny part is that I really did not appreciate the experience until I was in the car Sunday afternoon, driving back to the airport in Providence. This calm came over me and I felt so relaxed. My breathing was so clear.

The workshop teacher was Cyndi Lee, from Om Yoga in NYC. I had never heard of her before, but many of the people in the class knew who she was and there were a few people in the class who take classes at the studio in New York. She took a great picture of the class when were finished for the weekend, totally spent but completely renewed. Well, I was anyway.

New Projects

I have a couple of projects I am working on.

The first is the Auburn Camp Shirt found in the Spring 2008 issue of Interweave Knits. I found this beautiful yarn (at left) at Charlotte’s Web in Epping, NH, a couple of weekends ago when I made a quick trip up north for my friend Heather’s 40^th birthday (more on that later). The yarn is Olympic from Artful Yarns. It was the color range that caught me – deep pinks, a little purple, melon, and the strands are really different, too, giving the yarn a lot of texture. The pictures don’t do it justice, unfortunately.

The second is a simple pullover sweater from a pattern in Ann Budd’s The Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns. I am adapting the pullover with a rollband color and cuffs, but I tried to give it a little shape at the waist. We’ll see how that worked. The yarn is TLC Cotton Plus, a cotton and acrylic blend that is really nice for inexpensive yarn. I like the stretch the acrylic gives this yarn because cotton can be so stiff to knit. I bought it quite a few years ago because I really liked the color combination, very springy, with blues, purples, greens, yellows, all tempered by white.

The big birthday

Most of my college crowd is turning 40 this year. Myself included, although I am the last to turn that corner because my birthday is in December. I guess that makes me the baby!

Heather’s birthday was supposed to be a surprise but her family had to tell her because they feared they would not get her over to the Inn. She did not know who was going to be there or any of the details so I think she was surprised. It was so much fun seeing my friends, yarn shopping with Deb, the complete change of scenery I needed so badly.

When the party was winding down, we got a group together to go to a small club nearby to hear some live music. Heather’s older brother was leading the charge as we were not that excited to go out, but out of support for Heather, Deb and I soldiered on. The club was jumping, surprising for a beach community in Maine in late March, packed with people. We squeezed our way through the crowded bar and dance floor to an open space to watch the band. And it slowly started to dawn on Heather, Deb, and I that we were in the movie “Cocoon.” Everybody, including the band, was 60+, dressed up, coiffed, metroed out, on the dance floor, singing along from their tables. I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. God bless the baby boomers. It was poignant with Heather turning 40. I realized that age is relative and it was kind of fun looking like high school kids crashing the party. (And I met the mother of a blogger that Heather told me about a couple of years ago, so if you’re reading, HI!)

I truly believe that my life gets better as I get older, but there are some milestone birthdays that make me cringe. Well, maybe that word is too strong. They make me stop and think about where I am. (And then I cringe.) Twenty-five was the first one, then 30, and now 40. I surely don’t feel anywhere near 40. When I turned 39 in December I decided this was going to be the Year of Sarah. Nothing is holding me back, and it is all topped off with my trip to Turkey in June.

Just yesterday, a new colleague, Melanie, mentioned that she is turning 25 in October and she is a little bothered by it. I could so relate, I remember how hard it was to turn 25 because I did not feel as mature or accomplished as I thought I should be. I remember now how desperately I wanted to get away from my life at that time. I felt so trapped in my job that I loved but was going nowhere and trapped living with my parents in RI. And that winter was a record snowfall so that was making me miserable. Alas, there were lots of good things too, like I had room to quilt at my parents house, I really miss that, and I had a car so I drove all over to see my friends far and near. And it was that desperation that got me to move to D.C. and that is all good.

Around DC

It is Yoga Week in DC so here is your chance to try yoga for the first time or to take advantage of a bunch of free or $5 classes around the metro area.

FilmFest DC starts in a couple to weeks, too. I spend way too much time making a spreadsheet of the movies I want to see.

In all of his beauty

I am back after a long absence. What have I been up to?

I knit three scarves for the Orphan Project. They sat around waiting to be mailing for weeks and then I was racing out of town and remembered I had to mail them. Therefore no pictures. I am so glad to work on that project, this is my second year.

· My current project is Ivy from the fall 2006 Knitty. I have had Cashsoft sitting around for more than a year and this is the perfect yarn for the project. The cables threw me at first, but they seemed to come together as I knit each row. I am pretty psyched, actually. Last year’s knitting resolution completed.

· Reunited with Gabriel in October and things are going well. I am really happy. Last fall I was thinking about him a lot so I got up the nerve, after much angst and hand-wringing, to email him. Just to say hi and to apologize for just walking off that day he broke up with me in the middle of my sailing class. And he responded almost immediately, to my surprise. Two weeks later, it’s Saturday afternoon, I am home, talking on the phone to my brother in Maine, and out of the blue there is someone is calling me from the front door of my building (the buzzer rings to my cell phone). To my shock it’s Gabriel. I race around, change my shirt, brush my teeth, and go down to see him, trying to catch my breath as I casually walk out the front door.

And there he is, in all of his beauty. Wow. Shock.

We have been seeing each other regularly, but not constantly, ever since. He threw me a lovely birthday of hiking at Great Falls, Mexican food, a soft-kiss (finally), an emergency Red Cross crank radio, and amazing sex (we move fast).

· Cranked up the yoga to two classes a week. Tranquil Space is about two blocks from my office so I have no excuse. My colleague was going on Mondays at lunch time so I started going with her (thanks Charisse). It was just the push I needed. I appreciate the discipline of Iyengar yoga that I have been practicing at Unity Woods because it makes my flow classes at TS that much more enjoyable. I know most of the poses and it is empowering to understand how to get into them. And I am learning more from the different teachers I see weekly. It’s great, I so recommend yoga to everyone. It is so much more than stretching. That is a difficult message to get across to people. But if I can get one person to try it for 6 months, they too will see.

Knitting and Yoga

In the past few months I have noticed a change in my overall well being. I feel good all the time, even when I am bothered by things like work or family or boys. I have been working on my “things” in my own way, with my attitude being the number one adjustment. And I think it is all coming together, after years of work.

My entire adulthood has been a series of ups and downs that I had gotten used to. In my twenties I knew when things were going well that soon enough that would change. I have had periods of mild depression that I recognized and dreaded when they would come on. But it wasn’t anything serious and I knew it would pass like all the times before. It was mainly triggered by my hormones – I definitely suffered from PMS (as did the people around me!).

Over the last few months I have had a lightness that I have attributed to my ongoing yoga practice and a couple of chakra workshops at Spiral Flight.

And the light bulb just went on a little brighter when I read this:

http://www.yogajournal.com/dailyinsight/112206.html

So now I can add knitting to probable cause for my new lightness.

It’s hard to describe and when I try to tell people what yoga has brought to my life it starts to sound hokey and new-agey. I am not that AT ALL. But I really believe that yoga has taught me to remain centered and opened up my energy centers. This has not happened overnight and it is gratifying to know that all my inward focus is paying off.

Thanksgiving on ice

I started this post sitting on the phone with my friend D, booking our Thanksgiving trip to Iceland. We have been talking about this trip for a couple of years now and finally the stars are aligned and we are going.

I don’t travel home for Thanksgiving anymore because I go there (Rhode Island) for Christmas every year. So this is the perfect time to go to Iceland. I often have to invite myself to someone’s house, it’s been my older brother in NJ the last couple of years, and deal with the drama of my brother and the drama of my sister-in-law’s family. I love seeing my nephews but the holidays make me feel like I am at the mercy of other people and I am tagging along.

Enough on holiday drama. It’s too early!!

So this will be fun. Cold, but fun. D is a great guy, full of energy and curiosity.

And the scarves I am working on will come in so handy.

Anyone have any advice on what to see in Iceland?

I blame the endorphins

In a moment of weakness, I rejoined match.com today. I so did not want to do it, but after a long walk around NW and the National Zoo this beautiful day, my endorphins were pumping and I caved.

(Or maybe it was the Flying Dog, on my empty stomach.)

There are many things I want to do, but don’t want to do them alone, so I don’t know why I am being coy about meeting new people online. Match is my old stand-by, a place I know I will meet decent men to go out with and do things.

To add to my torture, I read G’s profile which he has rewritten and is total BS. I have to give him credit, he is an excellent writer. I used to love reading his email, it was so eloquent without being gushy.

Anyway, his profile goes on and on about how 2 people can like different things but still make a connection. He is paraphrasing me! He broke up w/me because he didn’t think we had enough in common!! OMG

My stance with him was that when 2 people come together they share their interests. It is one way to get to know another person. How boring would it be to date someone who does the exact same activities as you? He was like, ‘my free time is precious and I want to do the things I want to do.’ Sheesh. What is up w/that?

I don’t have any bad feelings toward him at all. But it is still painful to see an ex back up on match.com. Repeating my sentiments.

Sniffle. I miss him. I had fun with him.

Chakra this

This weekend I took an energy medicine class at Spiral Flight yoga studio. It was about opening up the 2nd chakra. I am really curious about the chakras so I was excited to see their series of workshops on each of the 7 chakras. I got so much out of the class and felt great after.

This is my first experience in new agey stuff outside of my regular yoga class. As I expected, there were a few characters in the class. Translation: people who share WAY too much and have much looser boundaries than me.

In my 5+ years doing yoga, I have learned to avoid people who have weird energy and sit clear across the room from them. That is usually all it takes for me to block them out. But this one pair, A and L, were too freaking much. I immediately sensed her so I stayed clear and tried my best to be nonjudgmental. But I can only take so much weirdness!!

She was bossing H around as we were setting up. “Get me some mats. I need a blanket. I need a pillow. Orange if there is one.”

Ugh. L was so accommodating. And she talked to him in this loud, authoritative, do-it-now voice that was heard by everyone. It’s a tranquil, yoga studio for cripes sakes.

Her intention (we all had to make one) for the class was to create healthy boundaries, one of the many facets of the 2nd chakra. But it is such a freaking cliché. And what about her boundaries with poor, mealy-mouthed L? The irony.

And the cherry on top was that she is studying to be an energy medicine practitioner!!

Good luck with that.

Om

Have you noticed how big the toothpaste aisle has gotten? What gives.

Practically all of the toothpaste is now "whitening." It's a bunch of lies, people. My dentist told me it will not do anything to make your teeth whiter and a dental hygienist-friend of mine told me that over time, it damages the enamel on your teeth. To that end, I don't use them because they make my teeth sensitive and quite frankly, my teeth are white enough!

But what really ticks me off is that Crest doesn't make my tartar control gel anymore and my dental health is being affected. I went for my bi-annual cleaning yesterday and the hygienist was scratching away much long and harder than she ever has before. Even she commented because my cleanings are usually so easy! I swear the culprit is the toothpaste. Now I am stuck using Colgate of some kind or another.

Have you tried the new flavors? Toothpaste is supposed to me MINTY people! Not vanilla or rocky road or key lime.

Case in point. Last year I was dating this guy and once in a while I was brushing my teeth at his place. Every time I was in his bathroom, brushing, I would start gagging. At first I thought it was all the stubble in the sink, grossing me out. It took a few days for me to realize it was the vanilla-mint toothpaste.

Good thing I had my yoga class tonight to calm my nerves and get centered.

I am being tempted to get back on Match.com (G broke up w/me a few weeks back, declaring that we did not have enough in common. Whatever!).

Talk me down, people! But I have found it is the best, most consistent way to meet people.

Now the quality of the people varies, and it takes so much energy.

I think I just talked myself out of it.

Thank goodness for yoga!


oommmmm