Temps back to spring time normal.

Sunday, April 30, 2017

HOW can it be the last day of April already???

May already.  I’m going to have to think of my May goals.  I NEED May goals.

Today was a pretty relaxing day with some house stuff thrown in.

The weather was much more spring appropriate…cool and breezy!  MUCH BETTER sleeping weather 🙂

Breakfast…so good…English muffin with peanut butter and my new fave, peach jelly!  And COFFEE!

All while reading a really good book.

Then I went through all my shorts and t-shirts.  Almost all of the t-shirts fit, with only a few too big for normal wear, but okay for bed shirts.  But most of my shorts are too big and will need new ones.

Kimm did two loads of laundry today.  I cleaned the tub, did dishes x 2 so far (and will be doing them again for dinner).

Dinner will be chicken sandwich and fries, followed by ice cream for dessert (we caved and had some after lunch and it was SO GOOD…Ben and Jerry’s, Peanut Butter World).

I’m in for work tonight, but only two nights!!

Meditations from the Mat (Day 120)…

~~asmita is the suffering that comes from self-centered fear

~~with yoga we begin to experience life as an outpouring of grace…we become open to life

~~yoga wears away the self-centered fear that is asmita…..we become caught up in the beautiful work of being present for grace, we forget about ourselves, and through self-forgetting we find ourselves

Things making me happy today: breakfast — peach jelly!!, peanut butter!!, coffee!!, reading a really captivating book, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, old shorts too big!!!!!

In the 80s…

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Whew…it was WARM sleeping last night.  I was tossing and turning all night long.  UGH.

Then today the temps were quite warm as well.  It got up into the 80s!!  (now that’s summer weather…NOT spring weather!)

I can’t believe the day is almost over.  They always go by so fast!!

Breakfast, shower, paint nails.

Grab a quick urine sample from Izzy and drop it off at the vet so we can see if she has a UTI??

Home to watch Survivor 🙂

A quick snack of peanuts and carrot juice.

A long overdue phone call to my parents (Kimm organized her t-shirt during that time…she got rid of 21!!)

New dinner (well, new as in we haven’t had it in QUITE a while)…veggie stir fry over brown rice.  Vegetables used included — broccoli, onions, green pepper, carrots, mushrooms, water chestnuts.  YUMM!  We were both SO hungry we wolfed it down.

A short (WAY TOO SHORT) nap, dishes, after dinner walk.

Now we’re going to watch The Company Men with popcorn!

Meditations from the Mat (Day 119)…

~~the second affliction is asmita or egoism/pride

~~having lost track of who we are, we make up a definition that seems to make sense

~~asmita manifests as the despair that comes from a belief in an isolated self

Things making me happy today: breeze through the open window, newly painted toenails, watching Survivor, talking to my parents, stir fry, off of work 🙂

Warm spring day!

Friday, April 28, 2017

I CANNOT believe that this month is almost over!!!

And I am SO happy to have today off 🙂

Last night was busy at work.  As usual 🙂  But knowing it was my last day on made it easier to get through.

Home to bed.

The temps got up to the 80s today!!!!!  When I woke up, the bedroom was up to 75 degrees!

Easy dinner of veggie burger with rice.

A gorgeous after dinner walk…the first half had the most wonderful breeze ever, but that disappeared on the second half…arrived home with a little sheen of sweat!

Now we’re going to end the night with a movie and popcorn!!

Meditations from the Mat (Day 118)…

~~we are not our thoughts

~~there is another player…there is the self who witnesses our thoughts

~~in Tibetan Buddhism, the analogy is that our mind is the sky and our thoughts are the clouds…the idea is to cultivate the expansive sky and to let go of the limited clouds

~~avidya is believing that the endless distracting thoughts are who we are, vidya is the understanding that we are the quiet witness as we hold a posture or sit in meditation

Things making me happy today: magnolia petals falling to the ground, gorgeous breeze on the walk, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, movie night with popcorn!!!

Kimm’s First Mowing of the Season…

Thursday, April 27, 2017

So last night at work was okay…busy…but that kept me going all night when I was tired.

When I first got home, it was overcast and a little drizzly.  Kimm had planned to mow the lawn today but said she probably would not because the grass was too wet.  However, sometime after noon I heard the roar of the mower and knew she was able to do it after all 🙂

I closed the bedroom windows to keep the mowing sound to a minimum but then the bedroom got VERY warm.  Overall, I slept so-so.

BUT…the lawn looks GREAT!  Always nice to see it after the first mowing.

Dinner was “Chicken” Parm with corn on the side.  Yumm.

Just finished the dishes and am waiting to take a walk with Kimm and Izzy.  Our neighbor behind us is taking down his metal shed.  Kimm also told me that she ran into him last night on the walk and he is putting up a new fence behind us.  Unfortunately he is not taking down the chain link fence that is also there so we’ll still have that to look at unless we put a fence up on our side.  We’ll have to see how it looks when he is done.

One more day on only!!

Meditations from the Mat (Day 117)…

~~the all-pervasive avidya (ignorance) is matched with the eternal vidya (clear seeing)

~~the moment we become willing to believe in a power greater than ourselves, in a reality more complex than the material world, we find ourselves to be embraced by the TRUE

~~every interaction, every moment is an opportunity to grow spiritually, to practice yoga

Things making me happy today: sipping on coffee on the way home from work, newly mowed lawn, clean dishes, blooms on the magnolia tree

Another dreary day…

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Well, after working my 3p-11p yesterday, we slept in like crazy!  I can’t believe it but Izzy let us sleep in until past 9:30 am!!!

My back is feeling a LITTLE bit better today.  Still stiff and a bit tight at times.  I’m hoping after a few more days it will be back to normal completely.

Toast with Biscoff and jam…coffee…reading!

Finance meeting (finally)…we had been putting it off and off and off…

Homemade pizza for dinner…while watching QAF…only 3 episodes left!

Now writing blogs before heading up for a nap…two on.

Kimm went for a walk with Izzy….strange not to go…

Meditations from the Mat (Day 116)…

~~we come to define ourselves by externals and therefore we always come up short 

~~the opposite of spiritual ignorance is vidya, or knowledge

~~often our self esteem collapses due to the strain of our most recent attempt to get something from the outside in order to make us feel okay on the inside

~~but then there are those moments…when we pause and connect to another reality…where we suddenly have a feeling that things are going to be all right after all…there is a sense that we are glad to be who we are

~~the moment passes, but it has left an impression…LIFE WILL GO ON

~~what has happened is that in that brief, still moment, we have had direct knowledge of our soul

Things making me happy today: sleeping in, finally getting a finance meeting in, homemade pizza, nap after dinner, coconut-scented lotion 🙂

Working 3-11.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Well, today was the day that I was kind of dreading for a while.  I knew I had to work 3p – 11p.  One of our supervisors who normally works that shift is out after knee surgery (for a torn meniscus) so the rest of us are trying to help cover shifts as much as we can so the other supervisor who works 3p – 11p is not working like 20 days in a row 🙂

I was able to sleep in a bit, ate breakfast while reading and then was able to use the rest of the morning to watch DWTS (Disney night!!)

Then came showering and eating lunch (mini pizza).

And then it was already time to get ready for work.  I left a little early because I was not sure about the traffic and the parking.  Thankfully the traffic was not horrible and I got a spot where I was hoping I would (now that we have valet parking for staff members, there are only a few lots where you can park if you don’t want valet parking).

Then the shift.

It was CRAZY busy at the very beginning (that 3p-7p is just insane with all the doctors, social workers, visitors, etc).  But then the second half (7p-11p) was actually not bad.  In fact, I didn’t have anything happen that made my night bad like how my co-overnight-supervisor had when she did the shift a week ago.  WHEW!

I gave my report and was out of there by 11:30 ish and home by a bit after midnight.

Kimm was sweet enough to wait up for me 🙂

Then it was straight to bed.

Meditations from the Mat (Day 115)…

~~avidya puts the focus on us….the problem is spiritual ignorance, so the solution is getting to know who WE are

~~the good thing is we can begin immediately

~~most of us come to the mat with a mind that is out of control and a poor relationship to our bodies…but WE STAY WITH IT

~~amidst the jumble of pride, desire, aversion and fear, there is a still point…a part of ourselves bearing witness to it all

~~it’s like getting to know that interesting stranger at the bus stop week after week

~~we make a beginning , we develop a love and respect for the person we meet in the mirror of our yoga practice

~~we find that we would rather be ourselves, imperfectly, than someone else, perfectly

Things making me happy today: toast for breakfast, watching DWTS!, mini pizza for lunch, letting my hair partially air dry, new scrubs, DONE with my 3p-11p

Back ache.

Monday, April 24, 2017

It was so nice to sleep in 🙂

Unfortunately, as I was getting dressed to head downstairs, I somehow did SOMETHING to my back and it hurts SO MUCH.  It was a sharp, sudden pain that caused me to catch my breath.  It felt so much like how Kimm described her back pain when we had to go to the ER so I think maybe I did have a sudden back spasm??  Or I pulled a muscle??  Regardless, it was not a good feeling.

I hobbled downstairs, moving very slowly.  I took Izzy out, gave her breakfast, made my breakfast, and just sat for a while.  Kimm gave me some of her muscle relaxants that she had from the ER and I hoped that they would make a difference.  I’m not sure if they did…at least they did not make it worse.

We had been debating going out to see Beauty and the Beast (finally!) but then reconsidered when my back acted up.  But finally I just said, “let’s do it” (because my back was going to be sore sitting in the theater or sitting at home…so I’d rather have a sore back eating some popcorn!)

So we went to see Beauty and the Beast!  I really liked it 🙂  And Kimm sat through it for me 🙂  I had COMPLETELY forgot that it was a musical!!!!  I think having popcorn made it more tolerable for her 🙂

When we got out of the theater it was 70 degrees and sunny…so nice.

We headed home and BOTH of us ended up napping on the couch.

A quick dinner — veggie burgers and rice, followed by the rest of our ice cream from last night.

And now we’re relaxing before bed.

I’ll be taking another muscle relaxant at bedtime and crossing my fingers that this back issue is all better when I wake up.

THANKFULLY I did not have to work tonight, but I do have to work 3p-11p tomorrow so I want to be in better shape.

Meditations from the Mat (Day 114)…

~~despite avidya, the cloud of unknowing, we are compelled by a sense of deeper knowing

~~yoga encourages us to become OURSELVES

~~we must cultivate and hold with a steady effort the vision we have for ourselves

~~now is the time to follow the guidance of our hearts

Things making me happy today: eating breakfast with Kimm, finally getting to see Beauty and the Beast!!, movie theater popcorn, sun!, napping, reading

April Drag Brunch

Sunday, April 23, 2017

My two nights of work…done!  (and the second one not that bad…)

I got out of work as quick as I could and was home by 8:50 am and in bed by 9 am…which was good because I was only getting a nap (about an hour and 15 minutes!!) because we had Drag Brunch to attend 🙂

It was a good one!!!  I’m so happy it was because I’m always more tired on the days where I have to work the night before…having a good show means I’m less tired!  The time flew by…

When we left we stopped to get some pizza for dinner 🙂

YUMM.  SO FULL AFTERWARDS.

A nap definitely followed 🙂

And then ice cream while watching QAF.

Quite a good first day off.

Meditations from the Mat (Day 113)…

~~yoga tells us what we already know to be true…that materialism is a lie and that we are spiritual beings

~~no matter how rich or powerful we may be, in the end we must forsake external power and embrace the power WITHIN

~~”Mistaking the transient for the permanent, the impure for the pure, pain for pleasure, and that which is not the self for the self: All this is called lack of spiritual knowledge, avidya.” — Yoga Sutras

Things making me happy today: done with work!!, Drag Brunch — great performances, selfies with Kimm, ordering pizza out, ice cream!!, napping, days off….

Not much to the day.

Saturday, April 22, 2017

First off, yay (!!) to a pretty easy night at work for once.  There was really only one issue that popped up at the end of my shift that I was not able to completely solve and had to pass along to the next supervisor and clinical coordinator.  Hopefully it worked out since it involved a patient’s missing purse.

I stopped at the grocery store on the way home for a super quick trip.  In and out in about 15 minutes!

Then to bed, but first some reading under the covers…the best 🙂

Up by 4:30 pm.  Kimm told me this horrific story of being caught in the garage by a HUGE bumblebee as she was looking outside the garage window to see what was making a lot of racket in our neighbor’s yard.  She couldn’t figure out the noise thing, but the bee was NOT a good thing.  Eventually she had to climb over the front of the car!!!!!  OH MY.  I am so glad that I was not there.  One more reason why I spend as LITTLE time outside during this beginning part of spring as I need to.  Unless it is windy, overcast or raining 🙂

Dinner was super simple and good…leftover tacos.

A quick nap on the couch next to my sweetie…the dishes washed…and now my blog and shower.  No time for a longer nap tonight as I’m going in early.

Tomorrow is Drag Brunch (and we’re getting pizza out after!!!)

Meditations from the Mat (Day 112)…

~~the first of the afflictions is avidya, or spiritual ignorance

~~this is the cause of all the remaining afflictions

~~we do not know who we really are and this drives us away from ourselves

~~we are who we are

~~on our mats we find the truth…we are the solution

~~we come to know that we are everything we have always hoped we would be but never believed we could be

Things making me happy today: an easy night at work, resisting temptation at work (ice cream cake!!), reading in bed, snuggling on the couch after dinner

Rainy, lazy day.

Friday, April 21, 2017

It rained ALL day today.  Mostly just a slow drizzle.  But it was dark and dreary all day long…the PERFECT day to do NOTHING.

We slept in…up at 9 am…I don’t know how our dog let us sleep that long 🙂

Breakfast and reading.

Survivor!!

I did clean the tub…my only real work of the day besides making dinner and doing the dishes!

Watched DWTS after lunch while Kimm read and napped.

Dinner was tacos and rice…yumm!

Now I’m going to take a nap before heading into work…only two on!!

Meditations from the Mat (Day 111)…

~~what is it that makes life so hard??  the loss of those we love, we regret the past and worry about the future, we feel the pain of ill health, betrayal, disappointment, there are injustices like war, oppression and death

~~the yoga sutras defines the problem as the five afflictions, or kleshas: ignorance, pride, desire, aversion and fear of death

~~under the influence of these afflictions, we are driven away from our true selves and deeper into despair

~~we seek answers outside of ourselves, instead of within…we identify with a material world that is beyond our control and therefore we become consumed with fear

~~yoga destroys this fear and the five afflictions…yoga helps us come home to ourselves

Things making me happy today: rainy, relaxing day!!, watching Survivor and DWTS, reading, snuggling on the couch together, tacos!, only two nights on!!