Nate the Great

I have been in love with my son Nathaniel since the day he was born. I don’t just love him I love, love him. He is my heart and even when he annoys me, as soon as he flashes that cute little smile or giggles I melt. He is 3 years and 8 months old next week and I cannot believe some of the things that come out of his mouth. He makes me laugh so much so I have recently started writing things that he says in my iPhone (the notes app is the best thing EVER). I know that every mother fawns over her kid and says how great they are blah, blah, blah…and I am no different! Kids his age are amazing little sponges and he is learning so much between school, TV (believe it or not there are some educational shows on – Bubble Guppies is teaching him his numbers and he loves it), reading and his educational toys. Last night at dinner he called the half of the pizza a semi-circle and I couldn’t believe he knew that. It is such a great age and I try to enjoy everyday.

Here are just a few of his recent gems that I am happy to force you to read J

After rushing into my room in a huff…”I just don’t know what to wear! I’m staying home!”

He is obsessed with his penis…”Mommy why don’t you have a penis?”

“Because girls don’t have penises remember?”

“And you’re a girl!”…BIG grin

And my lack of one…after barging in on me in the bathroom while putting in a tampon…”Did you just put that in your butt?”

“Yes, that is exactly where I put it.”

While we’re discussing my vagina…after he ran into the bathroom while I was getting out of the shower…”Mommy you have 2 bellies.”

“You’re right Nate, I have 2 bellies. Now please leave Mommy alone.”

While eating dinner..."Nate you are my favorite nugget." (my nickname for him)

"My favorite is the dinosaur nugget." (Why didn't these exist when I was young?)

While watching Gaspard & Lisa on Disney Junior and trying to repeat Au Revoir…

“What is au ribber?”

“It’s au revoir and it means goodbye in French.  Just like adios means goodbye in Spanish”

“In Chinese you say bye, bye China!”

After giggling in his sleep…”That was good” (We need to get him out of our bed even if this did make us laugh at 3am)

After burping while waiting for someone to open the door to his pre-school…”Fruit snacks!” (which of course made me giggle and then he said it again)

How can you not love this face? And yes, that is my bra on his head.

Pet Peeve #5

Bad drivers are my pet peeve numero uno and this is so closely related that it falls pretty high on my list. What do you as a driver do when you see an ambulance in your rearview mirror? The correct answer is pull over if you are on a single lane road and if you are on a highway or road with at least 2 lanes move into the right lane. Since I began working at a hospital I obviously notice ambulances more because I tend to see them headed toward the hospital or out of the ambulance company which is in close proximity to the hospital. I also live around the corner from my local ambulance company and hear the sirens often.

I am always amazed at how people react to ambulances. Last week I was on a 4 lane highway and an ambulance was 4 cars behind me with lights flashing and sirens on. It was one exit before the hospital in that area and even though I had to slow down a little I moved over to the right. The 3 drivers behind me who could have easily moved over also instead opted to drive past me and ended up blocking the ambulance from getting any farther due to too many cars being in the right lane. I got off the highway at my exit and shook my head while I watched the ambulance stuck with no where to go. I would love to ask those drivers that decided not to move over how they would feel if it was a life and death situation and it was their relative or friend that was in the back of that ambulance. What if it was them? Would they want me to move over so they could get to the hospital when precious minutes could save their life? When did our society become so selfish?

Another thing that kills me about terrible drivers and ambulances has been happening to me a lot lately and I really want to know what is going on inside these driver’s heads.  Picture driving east down a single lane road and an ambulance is approaching from the opposite direction heading west. There are no cars blocking the ambulances path but there are cars in front of you. Suddenly as the ambulance approaches the driver in front of YOU pulls off the road. The ambulance of course stays in its own lane since there were no obstructions in its way and you jam on your breaks to avoid the idiot in front of you who has now decided it is safe to pull back into traffic. WHAT?!?! I am so puzzled by this one I am speechless. Is the problem the drivers or the driving instructors who clearly are not getting the message across about when you pull over for an emergency vehicle?

One last comment on emergency vehicles and pulling over…NY State has a new law that requires drivers to move into the middle or left lane on highways when an emergency vehicle is pulled over on the shoulder.  If you cannot move over, you must slow down to a reasonable speed. It is for the protection of the emergency personnel after several cops have been killed during traffic stops. I have been shocked by the lack of response to this. Not only do people not move over, but I have seen many drivers get into the right lane after people get over to the left and speed past the cop. Its times like that when I wish there were a second cop hanging around waiting for these morons.

I am frustrated on a daily basis by bad drivers and that will never change. Commuting 2 hours a day to work for 8 ½ years has taken a toll on me. As long as my horn works and I can extend my middle finger I will continue to let people know what assholes they are.

Pictures of You

It’s one of my favorite songs, one that never gets old no matter how many times I hear it.  The Cure was a big part of my life for a while and it reminds me of a simpler time in my life.  I’m referencing it today because I would love a current picture of myself that is flattering but I cannot seem to make it happen (technically it should be Pictures of Me but that’s not a song I’m familiar with so lets just go with it). When I look in the mirror my perception of myself is finally changing and I am happy. So I grab my iPhone, almost on a daily basis, and try and recreate that goodness in a photo…and I fail every time.  I would love to say that it is just my stupid phone, but I have taken some amazing photos with it so it must be me. Mayhaps it’s the angle since I’m trying to take a self portrait.  I always end up with at least 2 chins (sometimes the dreaded 3) and after 5 minutes I give up. There has to be a better way.

If you look through my pictures there are hardly any of me because I am usually behind the camera, which I think is true for most moms.  I really enjoy looking at and taking photos but when it’s pictures of me I shudder. I have very few photos that I actually like and most of them are when I was skinny of course. Choosing my profile picture for Facebook was torture. In January I had the “new year, new me” attitude and since I cut my hair I have been trying to take a picture that I love and I am still trying. Ugh, thinking back on all the horrible pictures makes me sick. Why do I do this to myself? Who am I kidding? I will continue to take pictures and delete all of the bad ones and maybe one day soon I will have a new profile picture that I am finally happy with.

I wanted to share some really bad photos of me at my heaviest. These pictures keep me on track and I wouldn’t be 21 pounds lighter today without them.  Unfortunately I was at my heaviest when my brother got married so there are plenty of bad pictures of me hanging around.  I wish I had been disciplined enough back then but I can’t dwell on the past so here they are…

 Me and my skinny sister-in-law at the rehearsal...my son was 2 at the time

 After the wedding...OMG this is why I do not own anything strapless...my legs look good :)

 There are no words to describe how horrified I am by this one

That's me in the middle...circa 2002...I was blonde and skinny

Finally Friday!

It's been a long week and I am SO antsy for this weekend to finally begin. I am so proud of myself because I have been sticking to my lunch exercise routine for almost a month now and I feel great! I went out everyday this week (and am gearing up for today right now) and I was able to run at least a mile each day. I am really dedicated to running a 5K in June so I have been keeping that in the back of my mind as I head out everyday. 

I am convinced that the weight loss hypnosis had a big part in the changes I have made in the last 2 months.  I stopped drinking Diet Pepsi (this was HUGE for me), I am drinking a ton of water throughout the day (and spending way too much time in the bathroom because of it), making better choices in what and when I eat and exercising at least 4 times a week. My skin is looking better, I’m getting fresh air and sun everyday and I am thrilled that as someone who never considered themselves a runner that I am actually doing it. 

I am lucky to have a wonderful support system at home and at work. The saying, “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” has always resonated with me.  As soon as I start to lose weight people begin to take notice.  My face holds weight so it is very obvious when I gain and lose. My husband keeps saying how skinny I’m getting and at work people are noticing. I feel like a little kid everyday when I am praised for going out and jogging from co-workers. Sometimes it takes a village to help keep me on track and I am not going to disappoint this time. Happy weekend J

UPDATE: It seemed like in might not be in the cards for me to go for my jog/walk today...I left the building and it was cold...a half mile in the sky got dark and 2.5 miles in it started to drizzle. I am happy to report that I made it back safe and fairly dry and am glad I have a couple of days off until I do it again.

Hunger Games

I am so excited for this weekend.  I bought tickets online today for Hunger Games and I cannot wait to see it.  I never go to the movies (the last thing I saw was Cars 2 last June with Nate and before that I don't even know) because Love hates the movie theatre.  I love watching movies so I get new releases on DVD from the library or wait until it hits HBO or Starz.  I kept hearing about Hunger Games and I wondered what all of the hype was about so I finally downloaded the first book to my Nook.  Six days later I had read the first and second book and started in on the third.  It's a YA series so the books are short and very easy reads.  I was hooked from page one.

Suzanne Collins is a gifted writer and the popularity of this series is a testament to that.  The books are filled with characters who come and go throughout and she always re-introduces people and things that happened to give you a reminder.  I happen to love that because over the course of reading a book you sometimes forget small details.  I also am a fan of the more violent nature of her writing.  Harry Potter skews a little too young for me and I have not even thought about getting into the Twilight series (my mother LOVES them).  I'm hoping the movie is as great as I imagine it will be so I won't be disappointed.  Then again it's a date night for me and Love and my parents are taking Nate overnight so we will get some much needed alone time (just the two of us at dinner - we can have an actual CONVERSATION!) and sleep without the boy between us.  It's going to be a good time even if the movie sucks!

Woo Hoo!!!

Walking Dead

This could reference my recent decision to start jogging but thankfully I am referencing the show since my new routine is still going strong (thank you very much!).  The season finale was on Sunday night and I had the pleasure of watching it with 2 of my good friends, Aimee and Scotty.  We kept waiting for T-Dog to get attacked by Walkers since the last 2 episodes the writers decided to actually use his character as more than set dressing.  I was pleasantly surprised when he made it through the Walker attack unscathed.  I was not however a fan of the OJ Simpson black gloves they had him wearing through the entire episode.  It’s not bad enough that the only black character (for now) says things like, “oh hell no!” when he has a line of dialogue, now we need to dress him like a famous killer…whoops.

Daryl Motherf---ing Dixon had the best lines of the night as usual.  I loved when he husseled Carol onto the back of his chopper and of course the racist driving while Asian joke aimed at Glenn.  I’m excited that Merle will appear next season and I look forward to finally see the two of them interact…in real life anyway.  Lori is still alive (boo hiss) but I don’t see her dying in the foreseeable future unless Rick really goes batshit crazy and decides that she needs to go.  I’m really hoping that the fact that they are all infected means that she is carrying a zombie baby and it grows ridiculously fast and rips through her flesh to escape like in Alien.  That would be very fun.

Shane is still dead and that of course is a waste of a good looking man.  The fact that they had him keep his shirt on during the entire episode was more upsetting than his actual death.  Dale, on the other hand, needed to go – he had clearly used Miracle Grow on his eyebrows and they required a trim, which is impossible during a zombie apocalypse apparently.  Au Revoir Daledo, you will not be missed.  Almost all of Herschel’s remaining relatives perished but since I never knew any of their names, let alone how they were related, I really couldn’t give a crap. 

I’m really looking forward to next season.  The prison brings a whole new element to the show and I am very curious to see how it plays out.  The hooded woman is also a welcome addition.  She clearly knows how to survive on her own and her two zombie pets have piqued my interest.  I’ve heard that an actor who was in the BBC miniseries State of Play has been cast as the mayor and he has a large role in the prison storyline.  I liked him on that show but I haven’t read the graphic novels so I don’t know anything about the mayor character.  I wish I didn’t have to wait so long for answers.  October can’t come soon enough!

70 and Sunny!

It’s Monday which usually puts me in a pretty sour mood but I can’t help but be in a good mood today because the weather is SO nice.  I love being able to throw on a light jacket and some ballet flats in the morning instead of a wool jacket and my faux Uggs.  Leaving the house to the sound of birds chirping, my flowers blooming and the smell of spring in the air is so nice.  I had planned on going to yoga today but decided it was too nice out and instead headed out for a walk/run.  I took it easy since I didn’t do much over the weekend and it was pretty hot out.  I wasn’t prepared with a short sleeved shirt so I made do with my baseball tee.  Jogging past the lake was heaven with the cool breeze engulfing me. 

When I got back to the office I was starving as usual so I had some lunch and then had a nice surprise.  The woman who teaches the Monday yoga class appeared in my doorway.  She was going around doing yoga for the employees and I was the only one around to take advantage.  We did a quick 10 minutes and I felt even better.  I think the nice breeze coming in my window will help me make it through the rest of the work day (1 hour to go woo hoo!).  I’m looking forward to Weight Watchers tonight since I’ll get my 10% keychain and then it’s off to Aimee’s house for dinner and The Walking Dead season finale with our friend Scott.  Sometimes things seem to fall into place when you least expect it.  I’m hoping the rest of the week will go as well as today.

 My pretty daffodils

 The boys enjoying the nice weather

A view from my jog

(Clearly copying pics from Instagram is not a good idea - they're tiny!)



I Like to Move it, Move it

I did something today that I never thought I would do.  Something that a year ago seemed impossible.  I jogged for 13 minutes straight! I am still in shock that I could jog for an entire mile.  I got some advice from my best friend Mike yesterday and I decided to take his challenge and then completely demolish it.  He has a running trainer and his advice was for me to try and run for 7-8 minutes in a row and then walk for the rest of the half hour.  I usually go out for a full hour so I figured maybe I should do that twice and I may still do that next week.  Today it is raining, but not really raining, just that terrible misting that gets you wet enough, but not drenched.  I started out walking for about 5 minutes and then stopped to stretch a little and then I was off.  I had a small goal of getting to the end of the block and since that only took a few minutes I kept going…and going.  I finally decided to stop at the street that I usually park on to go to the beach.  I was shocked when I checked my iPod and 13 minutes had passed.

I’ve been able to do 3.5 miles a day since I added in the jogging to my walking but since the weather was getting worse I decided to cut it down and walked for the rest of the 2.5 miles.  I cannot even begin to describe how great I feel right now (as I eat my Lean Cuisine pepperoni pizza – jogging makes me hungry) and I think that this time I am hooked for good.  I am obsessive about most things in my life and I had hoped that one day that could translate to some sort of exercise again.  I’m so glad that day arrived sooner rather than later.

I have also been trying to switch my weigh in day to later in the week and in the morning but it didn’t work out until today.  I’ve been struggling to reach my 10% goal at Weight Watchers (21 pounds) for several weeks and I was really hoping that the last 2 weeks of exercise would get me there.  I got up and out of the house early today (which is HUGE for Nate and I because we are a complete mess in the morning) and after I dropped Nate at school I went to WW and hoped for the best.  I was so excited to see that I was down another 1.8 pounds for a total of 21.2!!! I am feeling great and looking better and I love that my clothes are fitting better or falling off of me…like my pants today.  I needed a really good day to get me into the weekend with a positive attitude and the knowledge that if I keep going I will be able to lose another 31 pounds and maybe even run a 5K one day.

Even Weight Watchers got excited for me lol



A Little Spring in My Step

It is March 15^th and I have Spring fever.  I think that everyone else I know has it too so I am in good company.  Yesterday I took my car in to get fixed and had to leave work early to pick it up before they closed.  It was 70 degrees and sunny yesterday and I couldn’t wait to get outside.  I got in my car and it smelled like someone had pumped gas directly into my backseat so I was really glad that I was able to drive with the windows down and the sunroof open.  My mom had Nate at her house so I stopped by to pick him up and my friend Wendy and her son Jackson were outside when I passed their house.  They live across the street from my parents so we had an impromptu play date for the boys while we caught up.

I wish I had the energy that 3 and 4-year olds have.  They ran around for almost an hour without even pausing.  I went for a walk/jog today for an hour and after sitting for a half hour eating my lunch noticed that my thighs were a little sore.  I have a 3 and a 4 in my age and it is really starting to slow me down.  The only time I am running (any faster than my slow jog) is if I am being chased…by someone with a gun…or knife…or taser…or napkin with chloroform (you get the picture). 

I’m hoping that my attitude on running will change as I get more into my walking with some jogging thrown in.  Today I was able to do a half hour of walking and a half hour of jogging.  Where I walk in Southampton there are a lot of signs and the properties are very large so the mailboxes are a good distance from each other.  I start jogging at a sign or mailbox and pick another one down the street as my goal and when I get there I push myself to get the next one and sometimes the one after that.  Twice my goal was to get to the end of the street and I was able to jog steadily for 4 minutes each time.  The rest of the time I tried to keep it to 2 or 3 minutes of walking and jogging on and off.  I’m beginning to think that I may be able to reach my goal of running a 5K this summer and maybe even drop another 15 pounds.  Fingers crossed!

At the end of my walk I came across this car...I think a dead body may be in the trunk



Hit Me Up on My Beeper

I have had several interesting conversations about technology in the last few days.  15 years ago my husband and I started dating and we used to reach each other on our pagers.  If you asked a 15-year old what a pager was I am positive they would have no idea.  I broke down and got a cell phone in 1999 and I still have the same phone number.  I love technology but sometimes change is still a little difficult for me.  I thought I would never get a Smart Phone but that went out the window with my beloved Blackberry in 2010.  It was so exciting to be able to go online without having to turn on my computer anymore.  I was connected to the interweb wherever I was and it was wonderful.  Now I have the iPhone and I will never go back.  The Blackberry was a dinosaur compared to the iPhone.  I can do everything including paying my bills and watch TV on it and it takes better pictures than my camera.  I’m in love with my phone and its sparkly pink case and I am not afraid to shout it from the roof tops.

As much as I love my phone I think there is a time and a place for everything.  I hate walking through stores dodging people who are too busy texting to pay attention to where they are  pushing their cart.  I cannot stand people who text or talk while driving and veer into my lane or drive really slow in the left lane because they can’t be bothered to realize that they are not the only person on the road.  It annoys me when people talk on the phone while they are checking out in a store.  No conversation is so important that it can’t wait 5 minutes while you pay attention to the person helping you.  And if it is that important then you shouldn’t be shopping anyway. 

I feel like some people may even prefer their phones over real live people.  I have spent too much time with friends and family who sit on their phones texting while in a room full of people.  This is an equal opportunity offense with both men and women indulging.  Technology has made us a society that can no longer live in the moment and enjoy the company of the people around us.  We have become multi-tasking robots who have to be leashed to our phones at all times.  It’s disturbing and it will only get worse as more and more people head to the dark side and get Smart Phones.  Last night I was sitting across the room from a friend and he was browsing through my photos on Facebook that I had posted earlier that day.  Another friend pointed out that instead of telling me that he liked certain pictures since I was right there he instead chose to “like” almost all of them on Facebook.  I happen to know that he is a people person, but sometimes it’s like he forgets that he is in a room full of people when he is on his iPhone.

Some days I feel like I need a technology break.  I hardly turn on the computer at home anymore because I’m on one all day at work and weekends are family days.  Yesterday when Nate went down for his nap I put my phone on the docking station to charge and put it on silent before heading to the living room.  I didn’t check it for 3 hours and it felt great to not even care if anyone was calling or texting.  Of course when I did finally check it I had 6 texts and a missed call from my husband.  I think I’ll take baby steps on this one for now.

Cheers to the Freakin’ Weekend

I apologize if you are not a Rihanna fan but I am so suck it! LOL! I’m sorry but it is Friday afternoon and I just finished my second caffeinated beverage of the day and I am wired.  It doesn’t help that it was coffee, which I rarely drink.  I had a very mixed week so I am really looking forward to a couple of days off.  I am REALLY excited to go see my adorable nephew Charlie again.  I love that kid so much and I’ve only met him once.  Every picture I see melts my heart a little.  I’m also excited to spend some quality time with family and friends.

The beginning of the week was rough but I was able to power through.  Wednesday I checked our bank account and was pleasantly surprised to find our tax return had been deposited.  Love cancelled our Sirius service because it angers me when I get in my car and Howard Stern is on vacation…for 2 weeks…and EVERY Thursday and Friday.  Yesterday we got oil delivered, I made an appointment to get my car fixed next week and I got paid.  I was feeling a sense of accomplishment as we were ticking things off our “To Do” list.  It was 60 degrees yesterday so that helped out too.

I was also feeling proud of myself for sticking to my plan to exercise.  I always have really good intentions when I start and then I lose momentum and stop.  I decided this time that I am not stopping.  Last week I walked 2 days at lunch and I took one yoga class.  This week I took yoga twice and walked twice.  Yesterday was so beautiful and I was so excited to get out and walk.  I figured out where I wanted to go and I started out strong.  About 15 minutes in I decided to jog for a couple of minutes.  I felt great when I went back to walking so I decided to keep alternating walking and jogging and increase the distance I planned to go so I would still be out for an hour.  I walk at a pretty good pace so an hour usually works out to about 3 miles.  I have an app on my iPhone that tells me how far and fast I am going and even maps the walk.  I ended up doing 3.6 miles with the jogging added in.  I was so excited all day yesterday knowing that I can do that any day of the week and feel great.  My plan is to continue going out for a walk/jog twice a week and trying to do one weekend day also.  Here’s to a healthier me!

When It Rains, It Pours

I am one of those people with a dark cloud hanging over my head.  I have had plenty of good things happen in my life and for the most part I am a very happy person (as long as I’m well medicated of course) but sometimes I feel like I am running in circles.  This week is certainly one of those times.  Monday morning Love went to leave for work and realized that his car had a flat tire.  Luckily for us we have 3 cars so he just jumped in the Jeep and went about his day.  I’m hoping it’s just a nail and can be plugged for $20 but knowing our luck we will have to get 2 new tires.  Yesterday I went out to lunch and my check engine light came on.  When I got back in the car after running errands my gas light was on too.  I thought it was odd since I had over a half tank of gas in the morning but I stopped and filled up.  When I got back in the car the gas light was still on and the gauge was still on E.  I called Hyundai when I got back to my office because I have 96,816 miles on my Santa Fe and I bought it 5 years ago this month so I wasn’t sure if I was still under warranty.  Of course the answer I received was that the fuel sensors are only covered for 36,000 miles and it will cost me roughly $500 to fix.  Did I mention that we ordered oil today? Yup, another $376 out the window for roughly $1,000 in unexpected expenses in 3 short days.  Excuse me for feeling a little down right now.

We had a spell like this during the month of August in 2010.  On a Tuesday Love was driving home when a woman driving a Durango decided that she needed to avoid stopping for the bus in front of her so she drove into the side of the Civic.  Thank goodness Nate was not in the car because the window shattered and his car seat was filled with glass.  That Friday (oddly enough it happened to be the 13^th) I decided to take the Jeep since my car was low on gas and Love had a rental.  Driving down the highway at 70mph I thought that my tire had blown and shredded off because it sounded like metal was scraping on the pavement.  When we got out of the car Aimee and I were shocked to find the tire was fine.  We called for a tow and when we got to the shop the tire snapped as it was being backed down.  They told me the ball joint had snapped and they had never seen that happen before.  Lucky me.  Turns out it was a recalled part and I had the other side replaced 2 weeks later. 

Aimee and I had my mother drive us back to her car so we could head back to work.  I was so stressed I bought a pack of cigarettes and would have had a drink if I wasn’t on the clock.  At 5pm we were so excited to finally go home and forget everything that had happened.  We made it down the street and Aimee’s truck broke down and was leaking gas.  She had the fuel filter changed the day before and the mechanic didn’t put the cap back on properly so it fell off and we were stranded…in Southampton…on a Friday night…in AUGUST.  We went back to the office and cracked open a bottle of wine and hung out in the garden outside for almost 2 hours waiting for her mechanic to come and save the day.  We got home around 8pm and we still talk about what a shitty day that was.  At least we had each other.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse I got a flat tire on my car 3 days later.  Did I mention that my brother was getting married in another state 3 days after that?  And I was driving 5 people in my car?  Yeah, good times for sure.  The wedding was actually a welcome distraction from all that was going on at home.  I look back and realize how nice it was to leave our problems behind for a few days and enjoy our family and friends and the beautiful cabin in the woods.  I wish I had something to look forward to right now.  When life hands you a lemon…

look at a cute picture of Nate and everything is better ;)

Namaste Bitches!

“The gesture Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another.”

Can you tell that Aimee and I went to yoga today?!?!  We should have known by the name “gentle yoga” that there would be no sweating involved.  It was still nice to put on yoga pants and a tee shirt and have some time away from the daily grind to get in some deep breathing.  Our instructor Barbara started by making us take out every yoga prop that they have (lucky for us since we had to get back to work she put them all back!). I had no idea how many things you can use for yoga.  We each had 4 of one blanket and 2 much softer blankets, 2 large round bolsters, 2 small rectangular bolsters, 2 blocks, a strap and of course our mats.  We removed our socks and began to assemble our props for our first pose.  We only had an hour and by the time we got through all of that we were down to 45 minutes so we only got in a few poses but it was still nice and relaxing.

I really liked Barbara and I think it will be a great stress reliever to do this twice a week.  I also think that doing it on Mondays and Fridays is a great plan because that is when we are most stressed.  I honestly was hoping for a little more movement but maybe as we get more familiar with her and the props we will be able to move a little quicker through the class.  I will say that I felt very relaxed and I loved the last 2 poses.  Once we were all set up (with eye covers and all!) she asked us to pay attention to our breathing and she brought around some lavender oil for us to smell.  She even did a little Reiki (very light touch or “laying of hands”) on each of our heads.  Of course at the end she told us what Namaste means and showed us how to put our hands to our chest like in the photo above.  So next time I see you I may greet you like that – if you’re lucky!

Sweet Dreams are Not Made of This

Since I was a little girl I have always had nightmares and recurring dreams.  I remember being very little and having the same dream night after night.  I was on a cliff with a cave entrance behind me and looking up at a pterodactyl flying right at me.  I had my mouth open to scream but no noise would come out.  I still remember waking up and not being scared, but wondering why I kept having the same dream.  As an adult my recurring dreams have become even worse.  Normally I am being chased and I am scared for my life and I often end up dead at the end.  I remember one very vivid dream where I was shot in the head at close range.  Sometimes I wake up scared or think someone is in the house but I quickly realize that it was a dream and drift back off to sleep.

Last night I had a dream that seemed to go on forever.  I was at my parent’s house in the bedroom I slept in when we first bought the house.  I looked out the window and saw two small boys around 10-years old peering into the backyard.  The fence wasn’t a fence but instead a short concrete wall that a car had recently driven through.  I opened the window and yelled at them to leave and I headed to the back door to figure out what had driven through it.  I met up with my brother outside (we were not young or teenagers in the dream, we were our current ages) and the backyard was not my parents backyard.  Quick aside – I have always hated that about my dreams, you know where you are but it looks nothing like it actually does or did – aside over.  In front of us was an in ground pool and behind that the concrete wall which was demolished.  We looked at each other and I said, “If a car drove through there it had no where to go but the pool.”  My brother walked around to the right of the pool and I headed left and we realized at the same time that there was indeed a car at the bottom of the pool.

Here’s where the dream really goes to crazy town.  My brother suddenly realizes that the driver is still in the car and when I get close enough I realize the person is clearly dead.  I run inside to call 911 and I get a recording that a call has already been made for assistance at this location but if I have any details about the crime to call a different number.  I run back outside and tell my brother that if the cops knew about the dead body in the pool then they should have been here by now and should be working on getting the person out of the pool.  Suddenly people started showing up to pay their respects.  They said they were her co-workers and I began to cry because I knew if it was my loved one in that car that I would want to know.  I have no idea how her co-workers knew where she was but her family didn’t.  I would love to know the meaning behind it.  I think I just watch too many horror shows and movies and have too much stress in my life that manifests in this bizarre way.  What do you think?