Oh It's Such A Perfect Day, I'm Glad I Spent It With You. ~ Lou Reed

What a perfect day. It was 80° in Portland! I guess it never gets this warm this early in the season. I am so happy. I have missed the warm sun. I have seen the sun since I moved here but it hasn’t been warm. In Denver, we can have wonderfully warm days in the middle of winter but here you see the sun, get excited, run outside, and it is freezing! So not fair. ☺

Anyhoo, I went to Bikram this morning. I grabbed my right foot in the Full Bow pose! I still can’t grab both feet without some help but I can now grab each foot by itself! This is exciting for me. I have blown out both of my knees in skiing and mountain biking accidents. I have babied my knees for years. I would baby them in every yoga class, Nia class, or during any kind of exercise. I was so scared of the pain I felt when I injured them. Now? Now I charge forward in these yoga classes. I am bending my knees as hard as I can. There are some pretty loud and gross pops and creaks but it feels SO good. I still baby them while I am at home but in that heated studio I am knee squatting fool!

After class, I was in the locker room and two different women told me that I was improving so well. One girl, “C”, has been so supportive since my first couple of classes. She told me that my poses are looking great, my breathing is almost perfectly calm, and she can’t believe how quickly I built up my endurance. Then she gave me a great big hug. She is such a nice girl. I hope we can become friends outside of the studio. I am scared to ask her to go get coffee or something because of the Seattle Freeze. Yes, I live in Portland but I have been warned there is a Freeze here too.

Here is a description of the Seattle Freeze by the Seattle Times:

Those who move to Seattle also have another kind of story. But you don't broadcast this one. You keep it to yourself or whisper it to other transplants. It goes something like this:
You're talking to a co-worker/someone at a party/fill in the blank. In any other town, this person looks like someone with whom you might be friends. Potential friend asks, "So what are you up to this weekend?"
"Oh, I don't have any plans yet. I just moved to Seattle and don't really know anybody . . ."
You try not to look desperate.
Friend-to-be smiles and, for a brief, shining moment you think to yourself: Finally, someone is going to ask me to do something. Invite me to a party. Happy hour. Brunch with the girls. It'll be just like "Sex and the City." She'll be Charlotte; you'll be Carrie!
You feel a chill coming on. Still smiling, Friend-Not-On-Your-Life politely excuses herself, "Well, have a nice weekend then."
Ouch.
You've just experienced the infamous Seattle Freeze. It's the flip side of Seattle Nice. Welcome to Seattle . . . Now please go away.

I am scared of the Freeze. I don’t want to ask her to do something, get the cold shoulder, and then it be awkward at classes. Wow, it sounds like I am asking her out on a date. I have experienced this already with moms at playgrounds and mom groups. Very, very cliquey.

This having to make new friends is new to me. I have had my same group of friends in Denver for over 15 years. My best friend and I have known each other for 20. How do you make new friends? I sound really pathetic. LOL

Back to my perfect day. After class we drove up to Vancouver to sign some papers. From there we drove to the Multnomah Falls. What in the hell were we thinking?!?! The warmest day of the year so far and it’s a Saturday. We saw the falls from the road and quickly hightailed it out of there back to Portland. We stopped for lunch at Seasons & Regions for a late lunch. I hadn’t eat since 630 a.m. and I was starving! I ordered the eggs benedict with crab cakes. Holy moly it was good. Crab cake, eggs benedict..seriously YUM! I am proud of myself. I only ate the benedicts. I didn’t eat the freshly made scone and home fries that came with it. We headed home, changed clothes, and then walked up to the playground to let the Bug run free. We were up there for about an hour and then it was time to come home.

Agnes is asleep, Sean and I just a couple pieces of a Cheese deLite (1/2 carbs & ½ calories of regular pizza) pizza from Papa Murphy’s.

What a perfect day.

"My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me." ~ Henry Ford

It is funny how life works. I have been going through the motions of working-out and watching what I eat but my heart really isn’t in it. Thanks to my best friend who is inspiring me to keep with it and stay strong.

After reading Jody’s blog the other day about her trip to a Bikram Yoga studio opened my eyes. I haven’t done yoga in years especially Bikram. I have become addicted to Nia classes and my cardio/weight lifting. She first introduced me to Bikram about 5 years ago and I am forever in her debt. As I was reading her blog it was like we were talking on the phone and she was telling me to find a class.

So, I went to a class today. It kicked my butt! I had trouble with some of the poses especially the toe stand. I don’t think in my entire life I am going to be able to do it correctly. ☺ There was something about the final dead body pose when I realized (even though Jody has told me time & time again) the Universe is taking me where I am supposed go.

Thank Jody. Thank you for always supporting me, pushing me when I need to be pushed, and doing that last shot when we should have stopped hours ago. ☺

I love you.

"Life is trying things to see if they work" ~ Ray Bradbury

Yes, August was my last post. Life has taken some pretty unexpected turns in the past 6 months. Things I never imagined happening. In December, we moved to Portland, Oregon. We were moving so we could be closer to Sean's dad who had been ill. Jim passed away on November 30th. I miss Jim greatly. He was such a fun guy. It really sucks for Agnes that she will never know her Grandpa.

It has been a year since I started this blog and guess what? I am not skinny! Am I sad? No! I am 20 pounds lighter than I was when I started this journal. And, you know what? THAT ROCKS! I am still working out as much as I can. I have finally found a gym here in Portland that I love. I have been doing my cardio stuff and started back up with the weights. I have been taking Nia classes as well. They are so much fun but I feel like a complete idiot dancing around. I am trying to find a yoga instructor that I like. Until I do I will continue doing yoga here at home. Agnes loves doing yoga or oh-ga with me. She will roll out my mat, step into Mountain pose, and yell "Mommy! Oh-ga! Now!" I may not get to my full routine but who cares when I can do Oh-ga with my Bug.

I will be having back surgery again in May/June. I am really hoping this is the last time I will have to have it done. It is such an inconvineice. At least Agnes is going to "school" two days a week so that should help with my recovery time.

I have some friends who have just started a blog of their own called Wheres My Damn Answer Weblog - Five Girls on Wine Looking for the Answer. Swing on by for a read. They are a bunch of really fun gals.

Now, that I have a little bit more time on my hands I really hope to keep up with my journal. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I have said it before but I am thinking the more I write about this journey the more it will help me.