Thick.

White.

Perfection.

Bending Over Backwards for Yoga

Yoga and I don't always jive.  I have dabbled in yoga on and off for two decades, but I never really commit.  I usually crank up my efforts after hearing another inspiring tale from a friend about how yoga changed their lives.  A girlfriend of mine in SoBe told me last year that her body "hums" after doing yoga.  Hums?  My body groans, creaks, cracks and occasionally outright laughs, but I'm not aware of any humming unless there is a pile of C batteries within close proximity.

Part of me is a bit suspicious, I've known far too many yogis that get hooked.  The signs are always there: they start going every day, they talk about yoga non-stop, they want you to come to their class, they drink green smoothies, then (and this is so predictable) invariably they all want to ditch their careers and become yoga instructors!

I've been to all sorts of yoga classes, hot ones, long ones, ommming ones, quiet ones, dark ones, smelly ones, easy ones, impossible ones.  Not once did I feel compelled to go down the instructor path.  Maybe I'm just lazy.  Maybe I just missed the day when they dispensed with the yoga Kool-aid.  But I also have a healthy amount of skepticism and a recent report on NPR confirmed what I always suspected: if you go to India, the birthplace of yoga, you will be hard pressed to find a yoga studio much less someone practicing yoga.  It really is just another American obsession that comes with the layers of stuff like yoga mats, yoga straps, yoga bags, yoga pants, an entire magazine dedicated to all things yoga.  And I have to wonder, as I watch women clad in sleek yoga attire emerging from their Hummer combat vehicles, if maybe we haven't gone completely overboard with what was meant to be some simple stretching?  With simplicity and stretching in mind, I enrolled in yet again another yoga class.  I'll keep you posted, be sure to raise a flag if I start blogging about becoming a yoga instructor.

Bottled Water Blows

Banished to the Arctic

Voting to send someone to the Arctic may seem akin to a prison sentence, but in this case, it is for a good cause.  If you have 30 seconds to spare, vote for Leslie's journey to the North Pole so her eloquent writing and skilled photography will help us journey to this far off land.  I would go myself, but somehow I don't think sub zero arctic air and pack & plays jive. 
http://www.blogyourwaytothenorthpole.com/entries/217

Local color coded eating

Yellow and red food groups?  Check.  

The "No More FB!" Resolution...with a twist

Considering that one of my new year's resolutions was to spend less time on Facebook, it may seem a bit counter-intuitive to be starting a blog.  But what are the flaws with FB?  In my opinion, it is the fleeting and useless scraps of information that are just thrown out there.  It is the superficial relationships that at one time in our history were based on something real and tangible.  It is the giant sucking sound that drones in my ear when I realize that I have spent 20 minutes putzing around FB, precious time that I could be using to read, work out, clean, paint, you name it.  (Spending time with kids isn't on that list because I only check FB when they are asleep or not around).   It has reached a point where commenting on cute baby photos is just too much work, a thumbs-up "like" button is the lazy option on engagement. 

Despite my gripes, I'm actually a big fan of FB, it helped me connect with childhood friends, this past fall, we all planned a 25 year reunion in Budapest, where we all went to school.  It was incredible to see everyone again, and to walk around a city that I'm so madly in love with, with people that had the same, life-changing, powerful memories that I had of going to tiny American school in a communist country at the height of the Cold War.  So yes, that was amazing.  I will not discount that experience.  But I'm seeking a more meaningful way to engage online that reflects my intentional, and passionate values.   Thoughts on raising children, musings on the environment and nature, reflections on art and local happenings, observations on life in Maine.  I hope you join me!