the shawshank redemption way of effectiveness training

Posted on March 5, 2010 - Filed Under mayalife, writing | Leave a Comment

If you haven’t seen The Shawshank Redemption, you really ought to netflix that puppy at your earliest convenience.   If you’ve seen it, you’ll get what I mean.  If you haven’t seen it, I’m not going to explain the title of this post because I don’t want to give any spoilers.  Just go watch the movie [...]

birthdays of the future

Posted on February 23, 2010 - Filed Under kiddo life, mayalife | 3 Comments

Yesterday I turned 39. Today, Sophie turns 6. Six years ago, she was, by far, the best birthday present I have ever gotten. Or probably ever will.
But wow, hey, forty is looming, right? 364 days away. A friend asked me how I was doing facing it, and oddly, I realized I really feel okay about [...]

guruji pays me a visit

Posted on February 9, 2010 - Filed Under mayalife, yoga | 3 Comments

Listen to this. I dreamed last night that I went…somewhere, I don’t know, this sunny room with big, square, terra-cotta tiles on the floor and a peaceful breeze. I was doing some yoga. There were some other people doing the same. And then, Lo, Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois came over to help me! I was [...]

in which i pop my meditation cherry

Posted on February 8, 2010 - Filed Under mayalife, yoga | 1 Comment

I know, right? What am I thinking? I’m Ms. “I like my fantasy life, thank you very much,” what am I going to do with being mindful of the present moment? I mean, reality can be so disappointing. But I’ve been reading a stack of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and its all dhyana (meditation) this and [...]

don’t blink

Posted on December 14, 2009 - Filed Under mayalife | 1 Comment

Uh-oh, four days and no blog post. I’m so busy! I don’t even know what with, just that whole weeks disappear into the the past without my having really grokked their passing. What is happening? Turbo speed life! Death is rushing towards me! AAARRRGG! Quick! Go hug your kids before it’s too laaaaaaaaaatttttte…..

what does a girl have to do get a little rest around here?

Posted on December 9, 2009 - Filed Under mayalife | 5 Comments

Ugh. I’ve had this terrible cold the last two days, just deflated, pitiful, lying on the couch, moaning. Parenting has been reduced to mac n cheese and TV. Thank goodness it stopped raining today so at least the kiddos can go outside and get away from my grumpy assed self. [ETA: although I did manage [...]

love kitty

Posted on December 7, 2009 - Filed Under mayalife | 2 Comments

Our sweet little kitten is not so little any more. Boy cats started showing up at night. Paul even caught one guy peeing on our front door. Eww. The time had come. It was time to get Mochi fixed.
But when I called my old vet, I about fell off my chair when they quoted a [...]

are you buying this?

Posted on November 30, 2009 - Filed Under mayalife | 1 Comment

It was a quiet long-weekend around here for us. But I did get my semi-annual mommy-afternoon-off—woo hoo! I decided to go to the movies, all by my own little self. Man, I used to love going to the movies. I’d meet my cousin every Monday and see a matinee of…whateverthefuck, I sure didn’t care. But [...]

dare I call myself an ashtangi?

Posted on October 28, 2009 - Filed Under mayalife, yoga | 4 Comments

I’ve been really getting into my yoga. Specifically, the primary series of Ashtanga yoga as taught by the late Shri K. Pattabhi Jois. Five or six days a week I’ve been on my yoga mat, working my way through this demanding series of postures, sweating, breathing—
I know, right? I can hardly believe it, either.
The tradition [...]

you deserve a medal

Posted on October 16, 2009 - Filed Under making things, mayalife | 1 Comment

Someone I used to know had the annoying habit of saying, in lieu of ‘thank you’ or some other appreciative feedback for a job well done, “You want a medal or a chest to pin it on?”
Criminy.
But one day, in a particularly foul mood, I found myself repeating this phrase to Paul who was announcing [...]