hours.....

House is clean.

Bags are packed.

Alarm set for 3:30am.

Skyped D and Juju was in the room too. She was sooo talkative. Cannot wait to be back together.

failed again....

It's 6:45pm and I'm just closing up the office.

Can I get to yoga across town in 15 minutes?
Do I want to?

f it. Will decide in the car.

one more banana

Thanks to my little sister who so thoughtfully sent me a message in the middle of the night to put down my blackberry! She'll be happy to know I didn't read her message until after 7 this morning.

I left work last night with all intentions to go to a new yoga studio, unfortunately I didn't enter the address correctly in my sat nav so I never made it. Instead, I got stuck in some god awful traffic and spent an hour in the car. Called D from the car and started crying; I can be sooo pathetic sometimes. I am officially mentally fatigued; I need a freakin' break.

Just a day and half of work ahead of me. I can do it.

Better yet, I only have one more banana to eat before boarding my flight back to Portland. It's been routine that before any trip I take I count how many banana's to buy at the grocery for the week. This week it was five; every morning I count down my banana's to Portland.

Only ONE left on the counter.

caring too much

I woke up at 4am this morning and since I couldn't sleep, checked by blackberry. First mistake.

Read all emails coming from the states regarding work. Second mistake.

Started thinking about work and all the crap I have to deal with. Third mistake.

Didn't fall back to sleep - well maybe kinda, but not a good sleep. Came to work in a pissy mood.

What am I saying? I need to check in and re-adjust my priorities. I am caring waaaay toooo much about work. I need to regain some balance in my life. I think I do by doing yoga, but really other than yoga I have no balance. I worked last night until 7pm - that's not unusual. Quite often I work until 9, I take my laptop home every night. I have no one to blame but myself. And I hate the fact that I use execuses to cover it up. I won't share what they are.

So, what am I going to do?
Going to yoga tonight and afterwards getting out my journal and revisiting priorities. And for me, I have to start with simple things that I can change. Like no looking at the f'ing blackberry from 7pm until 7am. For starters that would a very positive change.

who needs water?

It's 6pm and I just realized that I have only had one glass of water this morning.

Followed by one black Americano around 9,

followed by another black Americano around 3.

Not good; but I blame it on the work environment. They should really provide filtered water in the big jugs as they do in the states. I have a thing that I can't drink water from the tap. And I find myself too lazy to always bring in my own water bottle. Yes, I am whining.

the big move....

Okay, so I've been living over in the UK now since mid September 2010, waiting for my husband, D and our two babes (cats), Mooshi and Juju to join. Okay, maybe not waiting, as I have been incredibly busy settling in, working, traveling, etc. But, none the less, I've had plenty of nights feeling incredibily lonely wondering if I made the right decision in accepting this expat job.

Anyway, it's all about to change. Seriously I can't quite believe it. Still working out the exact dates, but as it stands now the week of March 13th is going to be crazy. By the 19th we should all be together in our little UK home.

I cannot wait to be a family again!
Farwell Skype!

all play....

I woke up this morning rested - thank god!

Went for a short walk this morning and picked up the Sunday Times and the Sunday Observer. I absolutely love the papers here! Seriously, the journalism here is much better than the states (I do love my NY Times - but that's it). I get the papers on the week-end, generally buying three to four different ones. This gives me reading material for the entire week. The magazine inserts are great - I generally read an article every morning as I have my fruit and yogurt breakfast. I stay up on the latest culture and world news. On a rainy day I could easily spend hours reading away. Between the papers and BBC radio 4 - I've managed to stay up to date - which is good for me. For some reason I do find it important to stay up on world news as well as local news (I say this because many of my friends could care less).

Had a decent yoga practice. Although rested, I was definitely sore from yesterday. I kind of figured that would happen considering that I wasn't consistent with my practice all of last week. Plus, I was hungry before I even started. I didn't have much for dinner last night, plus only had a bananna and a few bites of yogurt early. Nothing major to report from practice. The teacher's son came in this morning, he's probably 8 or 9 years old. He set up his mat directly behind mine. Y, the teacher, told him just to follow me. Fortunately this didn't distract me at all. In fact, it made me more cautious to not steal an extra breath here and there. The kid did great. He followed me all the way through navasana. Not bad! Rest of practice was okay. I need to figure out how to get my right leg behind my head in supta kurmasana. I get my left leg behind without to much drama, and it goes pretty far down my neck, but then to balance and get my right leg behind, just doesn't happen. Y came over and yanked it back there, I can go down just fine and grab my hands no problem either. Just need to work to get my right shoulder further through my leg and then I think I can do it.

Kapotasana is killer. (granted - little Boodiba makes it look like a freakin' walk in the park. Not me! Apparently I'm not far from touching my toes - but it hasn't happened yet. This week I plan on laying on my wooden barrel every night. I need to figure out a set of exerices (?) to do every evening. I think if I use it every night I should be able to grab my toes in a month - maybe I'm being too optimistic.

Anyway - enough on the yoga practice report.

Came home and was freaking starved! Cleaned up and made myself a great breakfast - granted it was 1:30 by this time. I know I've said this before but I love, love, love the British eggs. I generally only make them on the week-end - but maybe that's part of it. I was quite the piggy - two eggs, toast with manuka honey and on top of that a liberal sprinkling of cinnamon - and I mean liberal. I made a great big pot or my earl gray tea. It was awesome. Read The Observer's - The New Review while enjoying my third cup of tea.

Since it wasn't raining out I decided to check out Dunham Massey. It was a great drive from the house - I love when my sat nav takes me places that I haven't been to before. Got to the park around 2:30 and planned to do a two hour walk. Well, it turned out to be just over an hour. It was cold! I thought I had dressed warm enough - but wasn't prepared for the wind. Plus - I used all my energy in my yoga practice. It's a nice park and I'll definitely be back. I especially liked when I was able to get away from the main buildings and the families and out to on the trails - managed to watch a few deer grazing - they are so sweet.

Back home.

Tired, cold and was feeling the effects of morning practice - meaning a bit sore. So, since the jacuzzi was just cleaned out on Friday - I took a dip. Oh - my - god - heaven!!! Seriously, I will be spoiled by this!!! I just walk out my back door onto the patio - flip back the lid and there's my California made jacuzzi - freakin' heaven. Seriously. My muscles and mind were revived. I will seriously be in this every night. I've been waiting for it to be cleaned out - and now that it has... pure bliss.

Decided to make my Indian roasted veggie soup. Such a simple recipe (my only kind). First, got the veggies roasting - carrots, sweet pototoes, red peppers and onion; sprinkled with cumin. On top of the stove, coconunt milk, my favorite Italian tomatoes and the seasoning - Spanish paprika, grated ginger (lots of it), more cumin, a bit tumeric, and of course some Indian curry, let that simmer.

After the veggies are good and roasted I just dump them into the soup and more simmering. Of course, I got hungry so I had a bowl of the roasted veggies. Considering it will take me all week to eat the soup, I figured I'd pass on it tonight. It does make the house smell sooo good.

So today was all play, I even managed to do two loads of laundry, scrub the bathroom and dust in between. Not bad.

Plan on relaxing the rest of the evening and continue the countdown till Ptown - 6 days :)

all work and no play....

This past week was all about work. Literally, all work. Somehow I managed to squeeze in a thirty minute yoga practice on Monday and my full practice on Thursday, but that was it.

I ran a three day workshop (Tuesday-Thursday), including dinners every night. Won't go into the boring details, but I do have to say that it went really, really well. On Friday I had another all day meeting over at the Didsbury House Hotel with co-workers from Amsterdam and Portland. Friday night - beyond exhaustion. I don't even remember what I ate for dinner, fell asleep on the couch and went to bed.

Up at 7:30 this morning and was still tired. Made some tea and took a nap. I did manage to do my full yoga practice. I went to my coffee shop for my Americano and to read The Guardian. After drinking my three shot Americano I practically fell asleep reading the paper. Seriously.

Such an uneventful day.

Skyped home and started the official countdown. Next week at this time I'll be back in Ptown. Cannot wait. The best part is that I come back with my two babies - Mooshi and Juju and my big babe - D.

Finally.

Roses in the garbage pail

So, Valentine's Day seems to be quite the deal here in the office. Earlier this morning I was fixing myself a cup of tea and in the little break room there were beautiful bouquets of flowers sitting in water in black garbage pails. I mean seriously, how nice is that? I had a good laugh.

Personally, I've never, ever, ever been one to celebrate Valentine's day. It's one of the most obnoxious holiday's that exist. Don't get me wrong, I love to get gifts and sweet little nothings from my D. But not on a certain day that says you're supposed to. I much prefer the hidden box of chocolates he put in my suitcase only to be found when I landed in Manchester in tears, or the many pieces of jewelry he gave me for no reason at all, the freesia flowers he left in my office drawer when we first started dating, blah, blah, blah. You get the idea.

So, here are these beautiful flowers sitting in black garbage pails on the floor. What a sight.

rain....

That's all it did today. You'd think that having lived in Portland, OR I'd be used to it. Yeah, well I'm not.

I did manage to drag myself to yoga this morning; I was really tired and wasn't quite in the mood. But, in the end was glad I went. I had a really nice practice and Yasmin gave me some great adujustments. Plus, it was much quieter in the room today, which I like. On Saturday there's a short big guy that comes in, which is great and all, except that he breaths sooo freakin' loud and if he feels like it he'll start talking to his neighbor. After awhile I don't notice his breathing until he finishes his practice; I think I was about three quarters of the way through my own practice and all of sudden it was peace and quiet. ahhhhh So today, it was very noticable that he wasn't there.

Well, yeah, so yoga was my highlight for the day.

I think I had a completely opposite week-end from last. Stopped on the way home to pick up the Sunday Times and The Observer newspapers. Went next door to the little coffee house and picked up myself a piece of cake. Why not?

Came home, had a lousy lunch (some pre-bought veggie pot), but the cake and pot of tea afterwards made up for it. I was going to go out for a walk, but it was just pouring and the wind would kick up. Wasn't in the mood. Instead I watched a great Alfred Hitchcock show - love that time period.

Bummed around the house, did laundry, read bits of the paper. Finally around 5, the wind had died down so decided to go for my walk. Came home and made dinner.

Completely boring day; but kinda needed it.

It's going to be another crazy week at work.

Recovery....

Last night having surived a hell of a week from work I came home and had a glass of wine. Would have been okay, but I ended up drinking too much. What's too much? For me, it was three glasses. Granted I managed to go out to my favorite little Napalese restaurant - and had a very nice dinner. I just don't think I ate enough. Came home and fell asleep on the couch.

Woke up this morning and although I didn't have a hang over I wasn't feeling the greatest. Thankfully yoga wasn't until 11am; so after a banana with a bit of yogurt, I went for a long walk - fresh air always feels good. By the time I got on my mat I was fine. Suprisingly I even had a decent enough practice.

Came home and had a great lunch - was starved! Made two eggs (love British eggs - I swear they're better than even the organic free range eggs from the states), toast with butter and cinnamon and a great pot of tea (organic earl gray from the states - cannot find anything like it here). Felt so much better.

Laid on the couch to take a nap. Went back out around 3:30ish all the way over to Unicorn, stopped for my soy latte at Berkley something... I can't remember the name and read the paper. Back home, Skype date, walked to Waitrose to get yogurt for tomorrow morning and ended up buying two bags full of food. Mainly fruit - but still have no idea how I'm going to eat it all.

It was a rather uneventful Saturday, the only major accomplishment was my yoga practice. I needed a day like today; complete recovery.

Tomorrow is shaping up to be another lazy day. Yoga in the morning and then I want to go for a proper walk - thinking of trying a new place. Will see how much energy I have after yoga - I may just want to lounge around and read the Sunday paper.

A bit of a boring post, but kinda wanted to document a rather uneventful day.

12 hour fucking work day!

Honesty.
Be forewarned, I'm cutting through all the nicety bull shit and just saying what I'm feeling. And for me, that includes swear words. I know it's not pretty, but sometimes it's the best way to express myself.

At work this morning at 7:45 - worked straight until 6:30pm. I only left at that time so I could make it to my yoga class. Home at 9, showered and ate a quick dinner, skyped hubby - and basically listened to him giving me shit for working too much - and then I'm back online for two more hours doing email since I was in meetings all day today.

Finally got my email inbox to under 200 with only 25 unread emails so I'm calling it quits. Besides it's 11:15.

The Big C - it's a new show on TV and I'm completely in love with it. It's not your typical sitcom. Not going to attempt to explain it - just watch it.

Oh, in other news I got a letter from the post master today saying that I need to pay a f'ing £38 to get my backbending wheel delivered. Pissed me off; but what the fuck can I do? I'm calling tomorrow and paying for it. Won't get it until Monday. F - I wanted it for this week-end.

In other news; I'm cancelling my trip to Shanghai tomorrow. Why? Don't even get me started. Let's just say, I have no idea what the f the girl at work has been doing to get my visa. She's known forever. I'm supposed to leave next Sunday - at this rate there's no way she's going to get it done. So fuck it. I'm telling them tomorrow I'm not going - whatever.

head massage & yoga

I got my haircut after work tonight. The best part? The amazing head massage. Why is that when someone else gives you a head massage it feels so great? Seriously.

Other news...in no particualy order, in fact will be completely random and may not make any sense.

1. I escaped work over the lunch hour and came home and squeezed a short yoga practice in the conservatory - with the sun streaming in. I actually got warm. All I did was standing series of primary and then into playing with hand stands and back bends. Managed to do my version of pincha maryuasana. My version means I'm using blocks under my shoulders as I still have a tweak on my right shoulder. It's getting better, but still being cautious about it. The key for me in this pose is to walk the feet in further than what I think and almost to what I can take, but then when I kick up into the posture, it's barely a kick up, rather more of a lift up. As Tiffany, one of my yoga teachers in Portland would say, it's all physics. She's right, get the hips in line and you use much less force - or much less kicking up.
I can't wait to get my wooden wheel (from Alaska!). My plan is to use it every night until my back cracks open and I can do full kapotasana, as demonstrated by little yogi friend in NYC. Mine is no where close to her's. In fact I'm not able to walk my hands to my feet. However, as my yoga teacher here says, I'm making progress every day. And I know Boo had to work on the posture as well. In fact, she's the one inspired me to pay way too much for this wooden wheel.

2. Okay, really don't feel like writing about much else. Any extra energy I have is focused on my yoga practice and obsessing over my right shoulder feeling better and doing kapo.

So sorry, untless you're into ashtanga (which seems to be very few people in this neck of the woods) this will be a very boring post.

Tomorrow - long day. Supposed to be doing a VC back to Portland for four hours - god help me.

The sun!

My plan is to go home over lunch hour and practice yoga in the conservatory and hopefully soak up some of this vitamin D.

what a freakin' productive day!

Seriously folks, I accomplished so much today. I have to document it, if just for the ability to look back on it and think how much I accomplished in one day.

Started with breakfast of yogurt, banana and flax seed.

1. Yoga practice - with the little ashtanga yoga community in Chorlton (Yasmin is an awesome teacher). Thankfully, I packed clothes to change into after class.

2. Off to Unicorn - the only local organic grocery - reminds me of Food Front back home. Bought a ready prepared lunch - quinau (sp?) and veggies.

3. Navigated to this bedroom shop and bought the spare bedroom furniture! Yeah - of course have to wait five weeks for it to be deliverd, but so don't care. I can finally check this off my to do list.

4. Back to John Lewis (kinda like a Macy's back in the states but a bit nicer) - anyway, I returned the broken bread machine. And I found a mirror that fits the bathroom. Finally I have a mirror for the bathroom - it only took four months to find one.

5. Recycling Center - three large bags of bottles, paper, etc.

6. Filled the car up with gas!

7. Back home - put away groceries.

8. Walked to little store in neighborhood to get my flax seed and other misc. stuff.

9. Came home, made a cup of tea and had some of the halvah from the co-op. Read Elle magazine. Took a 10 minute nap in my purple chair.

10. Cleaned the entire house. Vacumed upstairs, scrubbed the bathroom, vacumed downstairs, cleaned the wood floors (vinegar/water), three loads of laundry - done and put away.

11. Took a shower in the very clean bathroom.

12. Finally just after 8pm I made a simple dinner - a mix of sprouted mung beans, lentils, etc, with avocado and smoked fish. With some white wine. Later some dark chocolate and then later some almonds. A second glass of white wine.

13. Now it's almost 10pm.

Seriously, it feels f'ing great to have accomplished so much.

Tomorrow's plans:
1. yoga
2. shop for a desk for D!
3. Cat stuff - need to get the cat supplies
4. Journal
5. Relax and prepare for an insane week at work

Friday night

Geesh - I'm becoming boring.

Let's see, I'm tired and feeling uncreative and I'm tired.
It's 9:30 pm and I'm going to bed. Will listen to my iPOD and read Yoga Journal.