Yoga Party

Clare has been teaching yoga for almost a year now and I finally got to take her class. She has led mini yoga sessions when we get together for family things, but last night I got to see her in her element. It was perfect.

I went to her 8:00 candle lit Hot Power Fusion class at Core Power Yoga on S. Colorado Blvd (go if you are a Denverite!). We had gone to breweries in Fort Collins earlier in the day and despite trying to rehydrate throughout the evening, I was sluggish and lacking motivation to do anything that takes effort.

Flight of saisons at Funkwerks. Maybe not the best choice
before hot yoga, but there are only so many hours in the day!

In teaching, we often talk about meeting students where they are and then building from there, which is exactly what Clare did. It was a crazy, windy, Wednesday and people were coming from their busy workday. 45 people to be exact. The class was packed with people jonesing for their daily dose of Clare. She greeted the class, acknowledged that we were all feeling a little "on edge" and started a slow, methodical class. The beginning of the class is a familiar sequence of hot yoga poses, and the familiarity was a great way to start.

As the heat in the room built, so did the music and before long we were moving through a Warrior 2 sequence to La Roux. Everyone had officially ditched their day and was now in a fun, sweaty, almost dance party space. Needless to say, class wasn't your typical (boring) meditative class. It was a workout. It was hard. It was loud. And it was satisfying. It was a yoga party :) And the icing on the cake was the mini back massage I got while flopped on my stomach during the lotus series.

We ended in savasana with Radiohead's All I Need and relished the satisfaction of making it through a challenging class. People were all smiles, thanks and namaste as they went back out into the world. And that's really the point of a yoga class, isn't it?

:D

***SUMMER VACATION HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN!***

Tuesday was my last day of school. Wednesday I went to the beach. Today I scrubbed my apt (Mom and Dad are due in any minute). And tomorrow I head to Vermont for an out of NYC dose of nature and extended family. (Insert big cheer here) I can already say it was my best year yet, but I'll wait until I get some distance from the year to reflect on it. Translation: too pumped to be done to think about school :D

I had the beach to myself at Breezy Point

Clare was here this past weekend. She flew in from Denver to kick off her whirlwind east coast tour and stayed with me for a few days. She worked at the Unified Bouldering Champoinships in Central Park, which I went to go watch with Zach, Dovman and Kopes on Saturday. I'd never been to a climbing competition before and the energy there was awesome! Dance party music, cool outdoorsy people and an intense spirit of competition pulsing through the air. 

Each climber has five minutes to finish the problem, many of which are characterized by tiny hand holds or overhangs, or some rediculous, gravity defying feature. If they fall off, which many of them did, they have to shake it off, get past the dramatic gasp of the crowd and try again because the time is ticking. Except that as a spectator, you don't realize how pumped full of lactic acid their arms are. Or how intense the angle of the wall is.

On Sunday, we hit up the New Amsterdam Farmer's Market, located under the FDR, just north of the South Street Seaport. We got there around 10:30, but they were still setting up. What kind of Farmer's Market is still setting up at 10:30 you ask? A super laid back one. All of the bakers and produce vendors were raring to go, but it was the vineyards and the Brooklyn based, hipster run prepared foods places that were taking their sweet time setting up. While we were perusing, we had a sample of orange rind + cardamom pate w/ whole grain mustard that was frikin' amazing! It was bright and colorful and meaty all at once, and that is coming from someone who doesn't usually care one way or another about pate. Since the Farmer's Market didn't officially open until 11, and we had a brunch reservation to make, we didn't stay to see it in full swing. Definitely still on the to do list.

New Amsterdam Farmer's Market getting set up.

Love when life cheers you on!

Work it, girl!

Adorable decor at the Fat Radish

7 grain toast w/ avocado & spicy eggs. MmMmm
Would I pay for it again? No.
Will I make it all the time chez moi? Yes.

Sister photo op!

Summer is off to a good start! I'll be out of town till the middle of July (celebrating the 4th, celebrating my cousin Sydney's wedding, and hiking the Appalachian Trail for a week) but will have lots to share when I get back. 

P.S. Don't try to rob me while I'm gone, my cat and her sitter will eff you up. 

The here and now

23 of my kids being promoted to 5th grade.
10-15 the number of crabs I ate this past wknd (I lost count, which is always a sign of a good time).
11 days until Vermont vacay & my cousin Syd's wedding!
10 (on a scale of 1-10). How excited I am to see Bad Teacher w/ my coworkers :)
5 more school days until the end of the year!
4 more IEPs to write (fml).
3 things you can't do in the courtyard of my building: slackline, fry a turkey, have a party. Seems like a waste of space to me. (Note: I found out through phone calls, not personal experience. Don't worry, I haven't making a nuisance of myself. Yet.)
3 letters/care packages going out this week
2 days until Clare comes!
2 trips to the beach this past weekend (Rockaway Beach & Coney Island)
1 kid who didn't pass his state tests (however, this is the kid who did go to Puerto Rico for the month of March)

1 new pair of shoes in 2011. I held out for 6 months, twas about time for some retail therapy.
0 the amount of food in my fridge.

Spring Break

CLA & KCA at Rocky Mountain National Park 2011

I love vacation. I don't know what I'm going to do when I don't get it built in to my job. It's a total reset button. After a week of marching to the beat of my own drum and catching up on things that are just too annoying to do after a day of work, I feel like myself again. I spent my spring break in Denver with my sister Clare, who was an amazing hostess. We ate great food, worked out every day, and got on the same page in a way that you just can't on the phone.

It is weird being a grown up and not having my sister around. I suppose I should be used to that, seeing as though it is going on eight years since we have lived under the same roof. But it is different now that she is in Denver and not always at home when I go back to visit Baltimore. We talk on the phone all the time, but nothing beats just hanging out, watching The Office and making dinner together.

One of the highlights of my Denver vacay was our day trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. Wednesday was gray in Denver and threatening rain, but we were up early and booked it up north in an attempt to make the best of the day. As we wound through Lyons, up into the mountains, pondering how mountain people get their groceries, the clouds disappeared behind us and the blue sky stretched out in front of us. AMAZING! That thing that we wanted to happen, but probably wasn't going to happen actually did!

Elk behind me. They have VERY furry butts.

Our hike began in rocky/grassy/streams and zig zagged up the mountain into the snow, where we ate lunch and I got shat on by a bird with a mohawk. After lunch, the wind picked up and it started snowing, but we didn't really notice because our attention was focused on not sliding down the snowy mountain or falling through the snow. Of course, we weren't always successful in avoiding the snow holes and every few minutes one of us would let out a yelp as we sunk past our knees in the snow. It was the best hike ever. Lots of laughing and many pauses to take in the beautiful mountains.

It was cold, but we were determined to make
 that mountain ours. Layering was key.

Cub Lake

The "frolicky part" of the hike. Before the serious incline
and sinking into the snow holes. 

Narnia trees

Vogue.

Strike a pose.

Nothing better than a hard earned dinner:
Shrimp sauteed in Sawtooth Ale, shallots and garlic
over wild rice & shrooms. MmMmm