Messy
Feb 26, 14
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200 Days of Yoga: It’s All in My Head
Feb 21, 14
I think I just committed to 200 days of yoga. As I wrote the title, it seemed right. I missed my 100 yoga classes in 100 days but I realized that if I extended the time, I could catch up. I am still down 8 classes, but I can make up those classes and still meet the 200 days of yoga goal. I had to really think about why I am doing this yoga challenge. For a while I wondered if I am being obsessive in my daily commitment. I found it incredibly challenging to be with failing to make my 100 day goal. Often in my life, not making a goal would make me quit and wander off–losing the benefit of what I was doing. In this case, I was more interested in digging deep, to keep going, and to try to meet a future goal. When the people at the studio found out I was doing a 100 day challenge, I noticed a little touch of ego. It got me attention and that worried me. I don’t want my daily practice to be about feeding my ego. I want it to be about the practice–me, my mat, and my breath. I have wondered if I could trust myself to let go of my daily routine because I am not sure I trust myself to make good decisions about exercise if I don’t have strong boundaries. I didn’t like setting a goal that was about me not being good enough to do it without a daily commitment. It seemed to be coming from fear instead of abundance. I have been really paying attention to why I love daily yoga so much. There is something I get if I go daily that I wouldn’t get if I went 3 or 4 times a week. It is rest. When I am there daily, it is impossible for me to work out hard every day. I get tired. My feet hurt. I get sore. Going...
read moreMy Top 10 Most Memorable Restaurant Meals
Feb 19, 14
I have eaten out frequently my whole life and some meals are better than others. Every now and then, I have a spectacular meal either by attending a super nice restaurant or, just by accident, everything collides and a meal unexpectedly astounds me. I thought it would be interesting to try to make a list of my top 10 most memorable restaurant meals. I have placed them in chronological order. Some of these meals we have talked about for years or I have enjoyed the sweet aftertaste of the memory of them over time. For each, I can still remember how the flavors hit my tongue. The impermanence of art as food intrigues me. Sometimes everything just comes together as food and theater – something special happens with raw ingredients being transformed into a completely unique and dramatic experience. These are my top 10 most memorable restaurant meals. 1. The Tower Restaurant, London circa 1984. They served me the best scallops I have ever had–still, to this day. I was 16 years old and with my parents, and this was one of my first experiences with fine dining in a top-notch restaurant. I just couldn’t believe how good the food was. We had grilled scallops and I have been searching ever since for a scallop that comes close to how good they were. 2. Sadie’s Restaurant, Albuquerque, NM, circa 1987 when the restaurant was still in the bowling alley. The margaritas were psychedelic and the food was sublime. After 2.5 hours waiting for a table, I still remember how spectacular the flavors of the food were with the deep dark red chile and the papas (fried cubed potatoes). Sadie’s still has good food but the bowling alley days offered an unparalleled experience. 3. Sushi with Rich, 1992, Evergreen, Colorado. I had never really figured out how to “do sushi.” I was from New Mexico and although I had eaten Japanese food, sushi seemed too foreign and I didn’t really know how to order...
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Valentine’s Day: I Love You
Feb 14, 14
Some days I am overcome by love. When I pull up at the school and let my kids out, I watch them tromping off with their lunch boxes and backpacks and my heart fills up until it overflows and fills my eyes with tears. I love being married and seeing how good we can make it and how fast we can recover from when we make it bad–when we mess up and have to fix it or get over it. I read a friend’s blog recently. He was describing the death of his lover. His raw words of love touched me deeply. It was as if he opened his heart on the page–splayed open for everyone to see. It was just love. I loved him for the open-hearted love he shared. I watch my parents aging and I want to ease their way. I want them to stay eternally young like they are in my mind. I want to be able to spare them the agony of growing older. I want to protect them from the elements of time and my heart fills with love and compassion for their humanness and frailty. I love them so much and yet my love can’t keep them from experiencing their challenges. I think of two family members who got mad at me and don’t talk to me anymore. On bad days I protect myself with anger and on good days I remember that their anger can’t make me stop loving them. Memories of them fill my heart and I surreptitiously send loving thoughts their way and wish them well. I love dinner parties. There is something about the echo of laughter over food that fills my heart. I love the people I laugh with. Especially if they think my jokes are funny. I love saying I love you to friends. It was something I realized years ago. It did once go bad when I told my friend Mara I loved her in a phone message. Her husband listened...
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