Aaaaahh. Hot chocolate success. Wobbly table fail!!! Fortunately, the splash narrowly missed my laptop, and I still have most of my hot chocolate left in the glass. Now where was I?
Oh yes, the holiday season. This holiday season has been festive and busy. I hit the road on the 17th and basically did a little yoga tour of the eastern seaboard. I drove up and down (found some good new back routes), stayed with studio owners, taught at one familiar studio and 3 where I'd never taught, got feedback, ate lots of Cheddar cheese (for some reason), went to a Solstice party, quoted The Birdcage incessantly (long story), and then finally drove back to my hometown for a belated Chanukah at my Mom's house and a timely Christmas at my Dad's.
Here are some highlights, mostly yoga related, not in chronological order:
- I taught a Thursday morning class for my friend Maria, at her beautiful new studio in Natick. She is definitely in "my generation" of yoga teachers - she went to training a couple years before I did, but our birthdays are only a month apart - and it was cool to see her in charge of her own yoga studio and doing a great job of it. The lovely Danielle surprised the heck out of me by showing up for class, and she has the cutest little baby bump you have ever seen. Glowing, literally glowing. It was great fun to have these two rocking teachers in my class, along with several regular students and two first-timers, young men (teenagers really) who gave it the old college try. I felt really comfortable in Maria's space, and it gave me a good chance to incorporate all the feedback that I'd gotten on my class recently. It was very satisfying. I had so much fun teaching that class.
- I made it to Diane's studio in West Roxbury to teach a class. (Diane had never taken my class before, and she is really good at giving feedback, so I was really excited to finally teach for her.) This was on Monday night, when there was a giant snowstorm all over Boston, so it turned out that making it to the studio was really the hardest part! Holy crap. It was dark and snowing, traffic was a mess, and I had no idea where I was going. After about 10 wrong turns, assistance from 3 Dunkin Donuts patrons, and one very distressed phone call, I arrived in the studio parking lot about 75 minutes later than I had planned on. (We switched class times and I taught at 7 instead of 5.) So that was a bit more drama than I had planned on, but I still got to teach class and it went fine. I was thrilled to spend some quality time with one of my favorite people ever, and the blizzard just made it, well, cozy.
- Speaking of West Rox, advanced class last week was awesome. Surprising new progress on full wheel: I actually went back and grabbed one of my ankles from standing! And then the other one! But NOT at the same time. That will be the next step. (In case you're not sure, that is exactly what it sounds like: stand there, bend backwards, and grab your ankles.) It was very exciting. So was lunch.
- I stayed at Teri's house up in North Andover for a few days along with my friend Ignacio, from my teacher training. Ignacio was my neighbor until recently, but now he is up in New England and boarding with Teri for a while. Now, Ignacio doesn't decorate - he is "not that kind of gay" - but he's very good about cleaning, so we decided that he is officially Teri's houseboy. Does anyone remember the Hank Azarea character in The Birdcage? Agador Spartacus? That is exactly his new role in the household. I didn't realize that so many people have watched The Birdcage, by the way. Pretty much everyone knew what we were talking about and could produce a quote to prove it. The Solstice party ended with four of us in the kitchen quoting The Birdcage and rolling around on the floor for probably 30 minutes. It is a very funny movie. Although we all feel sad for the Nathan Lane character when he dresses up in the suit with the bright socks on. ("One does want a hint of color!" Awww.)
- I spent a lot of time holding the world's largest cat, Mr. Sweetie. I know a lot of cats are big, but this is no joke; he is a 30 pound cat. (I suspect that he has a weird pituitary gland.)
Please be clear: he is not FAT, he is just BIG. If you stretch him out, he is about 3 feet distance (36 inches.) The kids love to hold him, and he's very docile, but it's hard for them because he tends to outweigh them.
- Then I went to my Dad's house and spent a lot of time with two very small cats. Here they are.
Their names are Romeo and Olive, and they are freaking adorable. I've never really considered myself a cat person, but I am falling in love with cats all over the place! These guys are very sociable and will come right up and sit on your shoulder. They also like to chase toy mice and sleep. For a while, Olive slept on my lap while Romeo slept on Olive, which was just absurdly cute. Here is Romeo again with my sister:
Awwwww. Baby!
- This is so not a food blog, but I must say, my sister and I did a great job producing a vegetarian Christmas dinner for 10 people. Here is the broccoli cheese baked risotto that we made, which was a big hit. Even my cousin's baby liked it, and he is the pickiest eater out of the group. Great success!
- If anyone is looking for a geeky new obsession, check out the new(est) Doctor Who series! I got my sister the second season for Chanukah and we watched the "Christmas Invasion" episode, which really got me into the Christmas spirit! This series stars David Tennant (I think he is the 10th Doctor now?) and he is delicious. Great hair. In the Christmas episode, he has a swordfighting duel against an alien leader while he is wearing pajamas. I think this may be the best scifi I have ever seen. Campy, dramatic, clever script, great acting, and lovely eye candy.
Alright, that's enough of that for now. Hope all of you have been having terrific holidays so far! And I hope this "blizzard" lands so I can stay in watching movies and then go skiing.
May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be white.... :)
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