in case you haven't noticed

i enjoy a picnic.

and lately i'm weirdly obsessed with thermoses.

what would you like to bring?

{see picnic components on my polyvore.}

randomness

1. last class of the semester was last night!  while i'm glad it's over, it was a pleasure teaching such a bright group.  i like to teach.
2. i enjoy the sound of words spoken in sanskrit.  i'm attempting to learn my yoga postures by their original name.
3. purple globe alliums!  quite possibly a contender with peonies as my favorite bloom.  all that backbreaking bulb-planting last fall?  totally worth it.
4. i have to go to a work meeting this morning to discuss creating an informative and positive unit presence on facebook.  not really sure how i feel about this?  would you "like" child protective services?
5. the royal wedding hoopla made me nostalgic for that other royal wedding that i watched through 16-year old sleepy eyes and literally uttered my very first "wtf?".  (never been a fan of the whole over-the-top-wedding-princess thing.)

happy weekend friends!  embrace the royalness of you!!!

{nourish}

*

the prompt for this inaugural week of bella's 52 photos project is "nourish".

when i first read the prompt, i got all giddy with plans of photographing luscious images of food.  but the more i thought about it, the thing that has nourished my body and soul the most over the past five months is bikram yoga.

i started doing this challenging class (90 minutes, 105°, 40% humidity) five months ago and now i'm hooked like so many others.

bikram yoga nourishes me in so many ways during class; what i love the most is how what happens in class translates into life outside the very hot room:

• it never gets easier, just better
• there are endless opportunities for awareness, growth and improvement
• the unique relationship with the mirror in a bikram class moves me to previously unknown levels of self-awareness and self-acceptance
• it's true that my body is different every time i walk in the door, this knowledge has brought me to a new understanding of "go with it"
• i greet and dismiss resistance before each and every class, practicing peaceful warfare with this thing that cripples me most in real life
• following directions and relinquishing control and authority is fun
• the only decision i have to make is "try the right way"
• my nemesis posture, ustrasana, the heart-opening camel, has become one of my favorites
• tense does not equal strong
• the gallons of sweat and the many many exhales of breath empty my body, allowing space for health and newness

in may, i am starting a 30-day challenge:  a class a day for thirty days (if i miss a day, i get to do two classes in one day!).  i'll post my progress here.  i'm sure there will be setbacks as well.  i'm a wee bit daunted by this challenge (and the thought of all that laundry!).  but i can't wait to meet the girl staring back at me in the mirror on june 1.

*my classmate isabelle, totally rocking dandayamana-bibhaktapada-paschimotthanasana.

picnic {№9}

the first picnic of the season!  the beauty of this spring day inspired me to keep it simple and indulge in things i love.  hint:  there's rum in that thermos.

cupcakes and mojitos!

pretty little sugar butterflies (sugar robot).

the sunshine was spendiflorous.  the new baby green leaves on the trees cast a pale aqua tint to everything.

i am a happy girl with a mojito in hand...add some tiny cupcakes, sweet birdsong and a gentle breeze and the afternoon is perfect.

(i am so pleased to be picnic-ing again and enjoying the amazing outdoors.  if you'd like to see last year's picnics, click here.)

birth and rebirth

it's really difficult for me to imagine a life in which i could not count on another opportunity to let go, surrender, forgive, peel off another layer that has served its purpose, reset, restart, reinvent, switch up and try on a different bloom.  i am so grateful for the many times and many ways i have begun anew.

this is the spirit of today. 

and tomorrow.

and the day after...

happy easter.

happy earth day

oh hi there

i've been quiet over here...not sure why.  i seem to be in a state of soft and easy exploration, an exquisite incubation of sorts.  sometimes i just want to be in it, not necessarily photograph and document it.  you know what i mean?

i wanted to pop in and share some friends' work that fills me with joy and pride and that is partly responsible for my retreat:

• sarah's book arrived a few days ago and i can't stop looking at it!  it's so gloriously beautiful.  i've been lucky enough to take sarah's mixed-media art class in person and her book really does make you feel like you are in the room with her.  i can't recommend it enough.
• and the very lovely jen lee has a new multimedia workbook to guide you through discovering and telling your own amazing story. 

i hope you are enjoying spring my friends!  see you here soon...

white

lavender

pink

yellow

green

it's poppytalk's colour week friends. 

sunday grace

on a positive note:  the intensity of my resistance makes the actual letting go feel so much more momentous.