Washington DC, the last day

20JAN14

Today was an extremely lazy day, which was great because I basically never have them at home, so I was totally good with that.  I lazed around for awhile and eventually mobilized enough to shower.  Then Andrea made breakfast.  She better in the kitchen then me, and galley kitchens are hard to fit two people.  We had avocado egg cups


They were delicious.  And really seemed really easy.  I will definitely be trying them on my own at some point.  Or possibly with the potential eventual house guest...though not sure when that's going to happen.

Anyway, after  breakfast I gathered my stuff and we headed off to buy Andrea a bathrobe.  Essentially we just went shopping.  It was fun to roam around this nice shopping area in Friendship Heights (not that I really know where that was)   We had a snack and then it was time to make the way to the airport.

Happily I can report the way back was uneventful and I made it back home in decent time.

All in all a great weekend.

Washington DC day 2

19jan14. 

Today started off slow, even after getting of bed at 9 pm I really didn't want to get up in the morning. And the fact that I didn't hear Andrea or Franto meant I definitely had no modivation.  I eventually mobilized, showered, and had some trail mix to hold me over, and started my book.... Labor Day... So far pretty good. 

We eventually all mobilized and the plan was to get brunch.  unfortunately since it was Sunday of a long weekend the wait was a bit much. So instead we went straight to the Eden Center. 

http://www.edencenter.com

This place was totally wild. It is a Vitamamese shopping mall in the middle of Virginia.  It was mostly restaurants and we got lunch there of delicious vermicelli and spring rolls. It was awesome and very authentic.  

Then it was off to the air and space museum in Virginia. This was completely nerdy and cool. They had a plane section and space section.  Both were pretty awesome but I definitely like the space stuff better. Some of the older models it was pretty impressive that they actually worked and when you saw how close the  quarters were it was amazing people were willing to spend a week or two in them. 

Stealth fighter 

The shiney one.... Apparently just a training plane

Space shuttle discovery - fun fact it was used to bring the Hubble telescope up there and fix it.... I have a thing for the Hubble, maybe because it's old, but I think it's just really cool. 

Weird plane that can turn into a car

Floating platform - very odd 

So clearly it was pretty cool. After the museum I went with Andrea and Franto to run a few errands, I never mind a trip to trader joes :-) and then we went to dinner. 

We went to this place called Open City. It was really good. We had actually tried to go there for brunch but bailed because of the wait. So I got my eggs at the end of the day. It was delicious egg burger thing and they had sides of broccoli so mission increase fiber could continue. 

We all came back and watched the end of this French movie that was pretty funny called "the closet". Highly recommend basically because of the sheer ridiculousness of the whole thing.  

Bed was a little later.... To feel slightly less lame :-) 

Washington DC day 1

18jan14

Ok, so after a less then ideal start I made it the Baltimore airport only 2 hrs later than planed so in the grand scheme of things, not bad. I connected with Andrea and we were on out way. 

After a quick stop at her place to drop the bags, we hopped on the subway to go to Union Market. Apparently during the summer it's pretty big and has a whole farmers market with it. Now of course it was just inside and had mostly food stalls, ideal for lunch.  We dined at this noodle place and I'm pretty sure I tried trype... Wasn't a huge fan but mostly for the mental aspect. But the noodle soup definitely had some atypical animal parts. We also had sticky buns and finished it off with cupcakes ( from a different stall). It was good to get some real food since I'd had a Special K bar and a scone up to that point. 

After that is was back on the train and off to the natural history museum. The museum was packed, but really cool. I liked the gems exhibit, and the mammals exhibit.  We also saw the Hope diamond.   Not as big as you'd think, but still very cool. 

There was a number of bones and fossil exhibits as well, which was really neat. I liked the skeletons because it was interesting to see which animals were skeltally similar, but look nothing alike when cover up.   And of course the dinosaurs prompted a discussion about Jurassic Park... Like is bound to happen. We stayed at the museum pretty much until close and then redevoused with Franto to get home. 

Dinner was Indian food from near by, and then we attempted to watch a movie.  I say attempted because I kept dozing off and after half an hr we all gave up. Ironically I was in bed by 9.   Apparently I needed the extra sleep.  That's what I get for wearing myself ragged.  But sleep is awesome as well..... So it doesn't matter. 

Renegade rowing week... Who knows

  13jan14

Ok so I lost count... Deal with it. 

This weeks workout was another max sprint sort if situation. 

20 second on / 40 sec rest for 15 rounds.  Max effort.  

It was an interesting workout because I have the most trouble with my starts. So I was curious how this would go.  I managed to keep a pretty consistent pace so I was happy. 

I managed to get it under 2 min average for each one. Which is good cause that's my goal for my time in the crash b's.  Those aren't happening yet, but coming up this week is another 2k test.  My goal will be to keep a 2:00 / 500 m pace.  We'll see how it goes. 

But for now I can be happy that I am definitely improving and I love rowing with the team. 

Washington DC... Enroute

18jan14

I guess technically I'm flying to Baltimore, but that is still pretty close, and the goal of this trip is to see Andrea in DC so semantics semantics. 

Got up at 4:45, which in the grand scheme of things isn't bad. Early but not aweful. Since I get up by 5:15 for crossfit anyway.  Threw clothes on, since at that hr there was no way a morning shower was in the works.  That happened at night, after packing and driving to newton.   I was actually so out of it last night I almost passed out on the couch cause I sat down for a min. It was good I made it to newton when I did.  

Made it to Logan uneventful, and through security slowly but uneventfully.  I'm always glad I'm good at not completely spazzing out at airports. We were waiting in line and this women comes running down the speed aisle, saying she has a flight at 624... And I'm like whatever lady, go ahead... Realizing after that she may be on my flight... Yep she was.  Stupid. It's called take a breath people.  

Speaking of take a breath, I definitely spoke too soon.  Two runs of electrical issues, meant two trips back to the gate, a deplaneing, a walk through terminal C and then getting on the plane again.  Oops.   Though I did get to talk to two very interesting people who ironically were having longer travel issues then me.  So yay, meeting fun people. 

Looking forward and looking back

01jan 14

So New Years naturally brings about some amount of reflection and resolutions.  What was the year like, what did I learn and what do I want to work to change for next year... Also how am I spending the last day of the year.   All very important, or at least noteworthy questions. 

Let's start with the easy one, New Year's Eve... What did I do? 

First I got very dolled up, new bra and everything ( is that an overshare... Don't care) 

Mirror selfie not withstanding, I was looking pretty cute... This was because Ben invited me to a party held at his friend Daniel's house.  I was pretty excited to actually have something to do and knew it would be a good time. We took the T over (Daniels house is near symphony hall) which meant I managed not freeze. There was lots of fun, a midnight count down, and trip to roof. Staying up way later then I ever like, accompanied by Dunkin donuts coffee in the morning.  All in all a pretty good way I ring in the new year. 

Moving on, how was 2013? 

Overall 2013 was a pretty good year. With every passing year I become more confident a self assured so that is always a  good thing.  Let's divert to bullets for time

- ran Disney princess marathon with laurel (which now that I'm thinking about it I sort of forgot that was this year. ) 

- decided to take the plunge and do yoga teacher training... Starting jan 2014

- went to Wanderlust Austin in November. It was an amazing time, full of good yoga and good people. 

- actually went to Florida twice... Again, not including the Disney trip... Lots of Florida this year I guess. 

- cooked most of thanksgiving dinner (minus the turkey and dessert ) 

- learned to row on the water and rowed in my first race

- started rock climbing, and LOVE it

-started hiking again 

so what initially started as it was a slow year is clearly not the case.  I've definitely done some stuff this year.  So go me.... I mean even when it feels like a slow year it clearly was a pretty good and eventful year.  And here is to the next year being even more full of adventures and self discovery. 

Looking forward?  Whats the plan for 2014?  

In terms of stuff to do, I don't have anything planned for this year yet.  But i have determined at least a few things I want to work on.  I mean its always good to work on ourselves.   The first is continuing to accept myself for who I am.  I think I'm tons better then I used to be, but still think its something to work on.  2013 had many instances where I recognized I was undervaluing myself in one why or another.  SO this year I will be working to not do that.  Because I am awesome...its my blog, i can say that... 

The second sort of goes along with that, and can be summed up in one word calm.  What does that mean?  I'm going to work on my internal anxiety.  I have realized in 2013 that alot of my anxiety was wrapped up in my thoughts about what I thought people thought of me... confused yet, so since that is almost always completely FALSE.  I am going to work to release those thoughts from my head and not let my head plan tricks on me to increase my anxiety.    I act like I'm invisible because I expect people not to notice me, so when they don't because I act invisible its a self fulfilling prophecy.  Soooo lets cut the anxiety and let my voice be heard...because its a damn good voice, cussing and all 

I'll leave you with one of my favorite songs of this year... that has pretty much completely amazing lyrics 

Mala project

Happy new year everyone,

It's a new year, and a new outlook or revamping the outlook on things. It's a good time to rejuivinate ones self and recommit myself to the things that make me happy. 

Ok I'm sure how much sense that made but hey whatever. I started writing after taking a sleep aid for the first time in about a month, so I think it was a bit "strong" 

As some people know this will be the year of the yoga for me. I am going to do my first 200 hr yoga teacher training at Pranan Power Yoga. This is the studio I've pretty much only studied at. I like it and it feels like home, so it made sense to do it there. 

So something that I've wanted for awhile was a Mala, random yes but I have and I got one while in Austin at wanderlust. 

What is a mala you ask? (Other then a glorified necklace) 

Mala beads hold a lot of mystery. They're made in a range of different colors and materials, and while they’re used for generally the same reason, they mean something slightly different to all who wear them. If you’re curious how you might be able to use a mala, you’ve come to the right place.

What is a mala?
A mala is a string of 108 beads with one bead as the summit or head bead called a ‘sumeru.’ Malas are used as a tool to help the mind focus on meditation, or count mantras in sets of 108 repetitions.

Why use a mala?
Meditation is tricky! It can be challenging to sit still and quiet your mind for a period of time. The mala provides a much-needed anchor in these situations. It also allows the user to keep easy count during mantra repetitions.

How is a mala used?
The mala is traditionally held in the right hand and used in two ways; in one method, the mala is hanging between the thumb and the ring finger. The second finger is used to rotate the mala by one bead toward oneself with each repetition of breath or mantra. In the other method, the mala is hanging on the middle finger, with the thumb used to rotate the mala just as explained; one bead at a time. Either way, the index finger is never used to touch the mala. (The index finger represents ego, seen as the greatest impediment to self-realization in ancient Hinduism). The practice begins at the summit or head bead and continues around the loop until the head bead is reached again.

In Hinduism, the head bead is never passed over, so if more than one round is planned, the mala is turned around to proceed again in the reverse direction.

How is a mala worn?
It’s up to you! Malas create lovely necklaces, and can also be looped multiple times around your wrist. It’s a common belief that when malas are used regularly for meditation and repeating mantras, they absorb the vibrations of the practice. So the more you wear it, the more positive energy it absorbs and reflects back.

- 

Source : corepoweryoga.com/blogs/mala-beads-explained

So what am I going to do. My goal is to add 1 sun salutation, either a or b for the next 108 days. Let me tell you, it's not going to be easy cause I've already missed some days, but I'm going to try and also going to make up the days I miss. If nothing else I'll get stronger, and anything better then that would be kind of awesome.  So we'll see, wish me luck