So I made it to my second yoga lesson and needless to say I did not enjoy it at all.

I expect and intend to receive relaxation and tranquility from my yoga. I come want to relieve any stress that I have acquired since my last yoga lesson.

AND loud music and continual loud talking from this particular instructor is not what I had in mind.

I was already dazzled and in desperate need of peace before I had arrived just because of all the traffic and rushing I had to do to get there before they lock the doors.

I arrive only to find the room crowded with people and extremely loud music playing before class.

Now don't get me wrong I don't mind music playing during my yoga session as long as its soothing, relaxing and wordless. She had freakin' Colbie Callait booming. I thought ok maybe she'll turn it down when class starts and NO. It continued to.play for the ENTIRE session. And because the music was playing so loud she had to talk over it so could hear her.

I won't continue to rant anymore but this session was not worth my money or time :-(

If any of you have read my LIST OF DREAMS than you know that it is a goal of mines to get in shape and be healthy. I have noticed lately that its harder for me to walk up the stairs and I easily lose my breath.

I have also been trying to get my mother to lose weight and get in shape as well. We have both been battling this for quite a while. Now don't get me wrong I'm not huge or anything, but I'm truly out of shape and would like to lead an active lifestyle.

So my mom and I have come up with a bet. At first It was going to be something crazy like who can stick with the longest. Than it gradually became more realistic and we decided on the first to lose 20 pounds. We decided on 20 simply because I don't want to lose more than that.

We were supposed to start on Monday. Needless to say, she did not show up to weigh herself. When I weighed myself via Wii Fit Plus at 8:27 am on July 19th, I went from 150 lbs to 147 lbs (I had been trying to get in shape for about a week prior to the "weigh in"). Now our bodies weight shifts throughout the day and my little Wii board did inform me that it was actually in the middle of the day, when I weighed myself 11 days prior. So it is possible that I didn't lose anything, but nonetheless the bet went down to the first to 15 lbs, lol.

So now its on....I haven't worked out in about 2 or 3 days. I know I need to get back on it...AAAANNNNDDD I plan on taking a trip to Cali, mid September and I do plan on going to the beach. Yeah,  its getting real.

*whispering* and yesterday I pigged out and had not one, not two but 3 chocolate chip cookies and a bag of my favorite parmesan garlic potato chips and now its 4pm the next day and I have yet to workout...not looking to good huh???

So I have devised a plan to help me on my yogic journey...Although I'm doing this not for the exercise, but to seek a deeper union with God, I do understand that the poses/postures (whichever you prefer) do play a major part in it.

     

*These were too cute, I had to include them somehow.

So far I have found 2 places, I'm going to try out, Indigo Yoga and Ananda Dallas. At first, I was going to solely use Indigo Yoga. They have beginners classes, all levels classes, private instruction and meditation on Wednesdays. All a girl could ever ask for right???

I want to be able to learn the basic poses (beginners classes), continue practicing yoga (all levels classes), meditate on a consistent basis (meditation) and receive one on one spiritual advice on how to use yoga to help me accomplish a divine union (private instruction...AAAAHHHH wrong). Everything was perfect except for the latter. The price of private instruction was too much for little ole me. I know I'm making decent money now, but not that much.

So my search begun again. I found a really cool place called Ananda Dallas. Even though they are much much further away from me, they are cheaper. And guess what else is really cool about them??? They offer a Sunday service that combines meditation, chanting, worship and reading from both the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita. I'm not saying that I will become an avid service goer, but it was nice to know that Christianity does have its place at this yoga center.

But before I go there, I want to get the basic postures down to a tee. I will be attending the rest of the beginners series at Indigo Yoga and then transition to the services provided at Ananda Dallas.

I can't wait to hear God as clearly as Adam and Eve....

 Whats the difference between vegetarianism and veganism? Some people don't differentiate between the two and others do. I'm one of the ones that do. I hold a vegetarian to be someone who does not eat meat, anything of flesh. A vegan is a much stricter vegetarian that does not eat, by or use anything that is made from an animal. This includes any dairy products or by products, eggs and by products of eggs, honey, fur clothing and leather made merchandise.

I've always wanted to take my view on animals rights a step further. I just didn't know when. At first I was going to give myself a timeline of 5 years of being a vegetarian. Then I went into I'll do it when the time is  right; meaning whenever I felt that it was the right time.

Then I moved to Thailand, where I witnessed mistreated animals and read about the abuse that they receive. I changed a lot while living over there. I was able to prioritize and confront a lot of things internally and externally. I knew that veganism was going to be in my near future. But before I made that change I wanted to be sure that nothing would stand in my way. NO EXCUSES this time.

So my 2 year anniversary it would be.....Well that 2 year anniversary was 5 days ago....So I began.

Instead of going cold turkey like I did with vegetarianism I'm strategizing this time. But my strategy will act more as a guideline (I will explain what I mean later). Here it is:

July 15th - October 15th

October 15th - January 15th

 

January 15th - April 15th

April 15th - July 15th

July 15th - The End of My Life

(had to throw this in :-)

When I state EGGS, MILK, CHEESE AND BUTTER, I mean soley those products by themselves, not products that contain these. I have decided to do it in this way because I know that this is going to be way harder for me than just being a vegetarian. It is going to severely limit me in the places that I can eat at and what I can eat when I go. I want to ease myself into it, so that I can do it right and not cave in.

So when will I stop eating products that contain the main four??? Along the way and most definitely after July 15th. I think that as I master the 4 main categories, it will become easier and easier for me to give up products that contain them such as egg noodles and soups from Olive Garden, homemade pancakes, muffins, Naked drinks and even margaritas (yeah I know, they actually have eggs in them).

But like I said this is more of a guideline. If I feel that I can move on before my deadline then I will; if I think that I can cut out the products that use the main 4 along the way then I will. A friend once told me, as long as I'm trying thats all that matters.

WISH ME LUCK!!!

I decided to get eliminate the presence of meat in my life 2 years and 5 days ago. July 15th is my vegversary. I told myself that it wouldn't be enough for me to just be a vegetarian. Now I know most may be confused, because you don't know why I became a vegetarian. I know some people do it for health reasons, others do it for religious reasons and then others do it because they do not want to harm animals. I started because I do not believe that we have to harm or kill animals in order for us to survive. I don't believe that God would want us to treat his beautiful creations the way we do, just so we can eat and waste it.

It took me a while to build up the courage to do it. I tried doing it for like 3 days in high school with my first Morningstar Farms Breakfast Sandwich, but I was too weak. I had other things that I thought were important to me like boys, friends and money.

Then I tried again in college right around the summer of my sophomore year. This time I lasted for a week. I was working 3 jobs to come back to school and my dad thought that I was going through a phase. So I didn't have much support emotionally and all my finances were going towards school, so I gave it up.

It wasn't until one random day in the middle of the summer of my junior year that I decided ENOUGH! Enough of me making excuses for not following through on what I believe. I had a freezer filled with meat, family packs of chicken drumsticks and porkchops, 10lb roll of ground beef, a pot roast and much more....I gave it away. I didn't waste by just throwing it away. I gave it to my college friends. I went to the store and stocked up on veggie friendly foods.

From that point on I began to change my diet and my outlook on life.

So I have just finished my first formal class of vinyasa yoga...

My instructor was pretty cool and laid back and I was quite proud of myself for opening up and seeking her advice on why I was interested in yoga and where I want to go with it.

Needless to say it wasn't what I was expecting spiritually but I can say that my body is a lot more relaxed than when I arrived.  I have also recognized and accepted that I carry a lot of stress and tension in my body and most of it resides in my neck and throat. I realize that I need to do something to get rid of it.

Don't fret my fellow yogi's. I'm not going to quit. I'm going to.continue taking classes at Indigo Yoga and may go ahead and consider purchasing an unlimited membership so that I van maximize in all the benefits of practicing yoga, spiritually and physically.

After talking with the instructor she informed me that a meditation class is offered in Wednesdays that I can go to improve my spirituality and that she herself has been obstructed on the ways and methods of yoga that can help me get closer to God.

All in all, I'm pretty excited for the future and the 17 bucks I spent was well worth it!!!

Namaste :-)

I have just now realized that I have yet to introduce you to one of the most important beings in my life, my baby, my confidant.....LEXI!!!

Yes she is a dog. A wonderful Chihuahua and Shih Tzu mixed female with coffee and vanilla. I love her with every being in my body. Now, yes, I do recognized and acknowledge that she is a dog. But to me that means nothing. If anything she has shown me what unconditional and true love is. No matter what I'm going through she is always there. Even when I'm neglecting her because I'm extremely tired from work or just life or when I'm stressing out about how to pay this or that or just depressed about not being where I want to be or even when I just want to go out for extended periods of time, she always have the same level of intensity, passion and love when she seems.

We have only shared a mere 4 years together, but I can't wait for the many more we will have and the adventures we will share. If I could take her everywhere with me, I would but unfortunately not everyone is as passionate about animals as I am. But nonetheless I do the best I can reciprocate the same love she gives me.

Hmmm....just a little bit about her...she is DEATHLY afraid of the vacuum cleaner (my brother makes it a point to torture her everytime he vacuums; my dad is vacuuming at this very moment I wish I could capture the look on her face lol).

She does not care for water and does not like the dark (just like her mom, we're morning people) and she loves being outside (again just like her mom; and I know some people may be frustrated with this but yes I am one of those people who refer to their pet as a member of the family so get used to it).

She also loves being around people not so much other dogs because she's really picky but she LOVES humans.

Thats just a little bit about her and I'm sure there will be many articles about her in the future....TOODLES!!!

Ok, so I'm writing because I'm somewhat disappointed in myself. For the life of me I can't understand why I'm attracted to a dude when I know it will not workout....


I can't understand why I constantly dream about someone who 9 times out of 10 doesn't feel the same way I do??? Someone who probably tells me the same stuff he tells another girl???


Why is it that I constantly put myself in these type of predicaments??? Is it because I'm one of those "hopeful" females who is just waiting for him to come around and everything to be perfect??? Or am I just stupid???


I've tried the blunt approach and simply asking what the deal is, but for some reason I'm not quite satisfied with the answer that I get...maybe its because I'll see something similar written on his wall or status (i promise i'm not stalking him, you know how facebook randomly puts stuff up on your feed)...I've tried relaxing and just going with the flow...and both still leave me in the dark...confused, not knowing or feeling anymore confident than I did before.


But I do know one thing...


Regardless of what it is that I am or he is doing...I always keep going back and falling...


I don't know if anyone is actually reading this, but if you are.....HELP me :-(

So I have run into a slight problem with my quest of playing the guitar. I found me a beautiful acoustic bright blue Squire. I looked up where I could find lessons. Picked a good music company and then researched the instructors available to me. I actually went ahead and picked out a cool instructor. One that was influenced heavily by reggae and young enough to relate to me. I even contacted the company and set a date to begin my journey....

But I forgot one major thing...REALITY!

I was getting so lost in my dreams and being set on fulfilling that I lost sight of necessity. Necessity that has been imposed on me (we'll get into that statement another time).

I didn't realize it until.after my dad pointed out to me that I needed to be focused on getting my car fixed. At first, I thought oh it can get fixed later and then moments late I realised that's what I said when I got paid the first time.

One must be smart when following their dreams. You can't just get so caught up that you forget about the things that you have to do because one day they will keep you from being able follow your dreams.

There must always be a balance in everything you do!!!

So instead of starting my lessons during the week of the 12th like I had planned. I have decided to start my official lessons a month late and get my car fixed. But in the mean time buy me a beginners book. The person I bought the guitar from said there was a particular young man that has great videos that had close ups of finger placement and such for beginners. So I'm going to see if I can find him or some other YouTube vids to get me going.



Isn't that a good start to finding a balance???