The glorious results of a unfortunate online dating experiment.

So, my foray into online dating had some bizarre effects on the other aspects of my life:

*I've been drinking less alcohol and more tea. (Yay - though I've got a newly opened box of PG Tips if anyone wants 'em.) Also, in general I've found myself more inclined towards hanging out with people who don't drink as much.

*I deep cleaned my apartment and put away all of my laundry (not a regular occurrence, despite my regular Domestic Goddessing fits,) but I didn't go to bikram for two weeks.

*I have finally reached the point where I have learned not to respond to texts from Jesse and have decided that as per multiple suggestions I will move forward with a restraining order if he refuses to cease contact with me as requested. It seems bizarre that I would need to get a R.O., but blocking him on Google Voice didn't work and I've been told time and time again that harassment is harassment regardless of the medium.

*I finally started feeling guilty about neglecting my fish to death (they truly are the red-headed stepchildren of my household) and leaving my last White Cloud alone in misery, so I cleaned out the tank and visited the fish store for a few more WCs and a betta to keep him company.

*I haven't been cooking; I've just been living on Trader Joe's snack foods.

*My boy-crazy-ness is on hold.

All in all, I learned some great lessons and came out with fresher outlook on some of my dating habits and...a new attitude, babe.

Improving my mood with food & a month of yoga.

I'm going to go on a short rant:

My car is acting funny, my check engine light is on, my date had to "raincheck" this weekend after I had already gotten cuted up and come into the city, my bank balance is pretty darn sad, and the icing on the cake is that I'm breaking out and grumpy because of hormones (AND all I want to do is stuff my face full of salty/sweet junk.)

Okay, I'm done.

Tonight instead of succumbing to the cravings and crawling under my covers, I am going to cook up a nice whole wheat pasta salad with Trader Joe's feta, olives, organic tomatoes and a homemade spicy balsamic vinaigrette dressing before I start reading up and getting ready for my self-imposed Yoga Everyday For a Month Challenge. I had originally been inspired by a yoga blogger I follow who did it every day for a year and then recently spent a good amount of time chatting at a dinner get-together with a friend who does the same and also meditates on a regular basis.

I've been a little more stressed than usual lately and I'm hell bent on being in excruciatingly hot shape by the time I go to Idaho in June, so I figured - what can it hurt?

My favorite response to the "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body" article.

Lately, I've seen an article from the NYT making the rounds on Facebook and such about "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body."

I swear, my eyes just rolled back in my head so hard that I gave myself a headache (though I was pleasantly surprised that they didn't harangue Bikram specifically [as per yooj.]) I've got a few indignant personal history-based personal reflections I could throw out there, just like most of the folks who commented on the article but I found myself most entertained by The Reluctant Ashtangi's response on their blog (read that here.)

What I will say is that my the majority of my teachers remind me regularly that "it's called yoga 'practice,' not yoga 'perfect'" and I've injured myself far more with a few months of running than I ever have in my years of at-home and in-class yoga. It's all about being aware of your abilities and limitations, kiddos, and the fact that even LIVING pretty much "wrecks" the body.

The year of ME.

After spending an absolutely delightful (almost sober) evening watching the fireworks from the Seattle Center fountain with Nat and his little brother on New Year's Eve then some one on one time with said fabulous Lil Bro (LB,) I woke up knowing 2012 was going to be a fantastic year.

Work is challenging and busy, Bikram is keeping me motivated and I seem to have successfully jettisoned all of last year's unnecessary baggage (more fun ex text interactions to come, since those seem to be real popular posts.) The friendships that I cherish are growing stronger, as am I.

I'm moving forward with the pattern of taking better care of myself. As soon as I finish up In Defense of Food I'm diving straight into The End of Overeating, which I am hoping will help me focus on avoiding the whole "I'm not smoking so I'm just going to constantly shove food into my pie hole" thing.

This year I will work on my writing and go on vacation somewhere amazing and relish EVERY SINGLE MOMENT of this beautiful life I have built for myself.

It's official - I'm in love...

...with Bikram yoga and road trips.

The heat, the sweat, the sense of accomplishment when you have conquered another of the 26 poses...The challenge is so rewarding. It's also the perfect rainy season replacement for running.

I purchased another Groupon (gawd I love these discount sites/emails) for a 10 class punch card at Bikram Yoga Burien after I took a few weeks off when I ran out of classes from Bikram Yoga in West Seattle. Burien is pretty close to me so it's definitely more appealing than the deals I've seen for other places on the Eastside and in North Seattle - I don't want to have to shower at the studio and I can't imagine more than a 15 minute drive covered in drying sweat. The studio isn't as nice, but my instructor (Gary Smith) was super easy on the eyes and I plan to get back to going at least twice a week until I either find another deal nearby or save up the dough to buy a membership at one of the studios.

In other news, in nine days we are embarking on another trip down to Portland. Dubs has the day off so she will definitely be riding down with the Sailor and I and this time we've decided to book a room at the Ace Hotel instead of the Jupiter (though there is nothing wrong with the Jupiter.) I'm making a point on this trip to hit up the stripclubs and hook up with my cousins Mack & Ben who live in Vancouver and we'll also be meeting up with the Sailor's old navy buddy again.

It looks like this will probably be my last trip this year since my pregnant coworker is ready to pop at the end of December and I'm running a bit low on PTO, so we're gonna make it a good one.

Is that rude?

I am slightly dreading tonight's bikram class. I'm back with my original instructor who seems to be slightly more hardcore than the one I've gotten used to, OR she was just trying to make a point with one of the girls in my class who (in my opinion) was being a bit rude.

From what I've seen so far, pacing is a pretty important aspect of bikram and in almost every pose this chick (who actually seemed quite adept at the poses) was coming out of the posture about 5 seconds before our teacher told us to "change," which is the signal to the students to slowly come out of the current pose. By the end of the session I was convinced that the instructor was holding the poses longer than usual just to make a point. Also, though I understand posture is important this girl was incessantly staring at herself in the side mirrors while the rest of us were diligently focused on the front mirrors as you're typically told to do at least a few times throughout a class.

Focus is key and you're definitely supposed to only be paying attention to yourself and your own practice but I found myself incredibly distracted by this student's behavior. I got the distinct feeling that she had either been practicing for a while or had taken the bikram teacher training, but I still think that the instructor is essentially the boss and you should do your best to stay with the rest of the class.

Am I being overly judgmental or was she not following the typical bikram etiquette? Either way, I'm praying she isn't in my class again this evening.

Hello Halloween FAIL(?)

So, even after weeks of months of planning my possible costume for this weekend I actually ended up with no real plans to go "out" but instead of being upset, I'm a bit amused.

Technically, I did get invited out and of course there are half a dozen costume-y parties I could attend; I'm actually not really feeling it. Instead, I'll be having my friend Sailor over for dinner again - a gent who is apparently "not big on that dress up shit" and curious enough about a raw "pasta" recipe that I've been wanting to try out to pass up on an invitation to both of us from our old coworker to terrorize the bars downtown with him and his wife.

Though part of me feels that I technically "failed" at one of my favorite holidays, the other part is pretty confident that it'll be a lovely weekend even if I don't end up getting out into the costumed craziness that is sure to ensue tonight. It's been pretty freakin' dreary out and a night at home with a good meal, bottle of wine and interesting company isn't sounding too shabby at all.

In other news, this week has been delightful. I got to meet my pet-sitting wards Thursday night before Bikram and I have to admit that Honky and Orville are two sweet, adorable cats who I will be more than happy to take care of while my friends go out of town, despite the fact that Honky requires IV fluids every other day. I got a chance to try my hand at administering the fluids that same night and it really didn't freak me out as much as I had thought it might.

I also got in 2 Bikram classes in with no savasanas (another small class guilted me into pushing myself harder) AND The Madre found out her auditioning classes payed off when she got the part of Helga ten Dorp in a local production of the play "Deathtrap" - I'm so darn proud.

"You're so fucking special."

There were 3 people including me in my Bikram class on Tuesday night.

I guess the 8:30 PM start time is a bit of a stretch for some, but I find myself looking forward to slipping into the studio 15 minutes early and allowing time to relish the heat and savasana before I put my body through it's paces. Afterwards I have just enough time to go home and shower, grab a snack and slide into bed with my book for a while before I drop off to sleep.

I really have a spectacularly cozy bed so that last part of the evening when my clean skin and buzzing muscle is cradled by soft sheets and the light pressure of my warm duvet it feels completely luscious. It's become a ritual that I would probably find hard to put aside for an earlier class, though clearly late sessions are not for everyone.

That being said, I am actually considering trying the 6:30 class tonight because I keep exchanging glances with a hot tattooed dude that always seems to be coming out of class as I'm going in...But, I digress.

With 3 students in class you basically guarantee you're going to get personal attention; alternatively, you feel like a total lazy schmo if you consider savasana (or what I like to call "laying the fuck down") so I made it through my first entire class without a single non sequence savasana. My teacher also boasted that I was on my 11th or 12th class when it was in fact my 6th, so I ended up feeling pretty darn special by the time I shuffled out of the studio.

Bikram yoga is hot.

First session of Bikram: "Ohmigod, what are you doing? Are you crazy? An hour and a half of this? Just lay down, jeezus. I feel gross and out of shape."

Second session of Bikram: "Wellll, I don't think this is helping with my cold, but hey - I can actually do that pose! Oof, okay, maybe I should lay down for this one. Ahh, look at the first-timers...It ain't easy, is it, bitches? Okay, maybe I'm not so gross and out of shape."

Third session of Bikram: "Alright, it doesn't seem as ridiculously hot...Oh really, Miss Instructor, you want me to do what? Oh. Wow. I can do it. Weird. Oh my goodness, I barely laid down at all - I rock! Peep those muscles - I'm looking good!"

After my third class, the instructor (I had a different teacher for the first 2 classes) asked me if I had gone to another studio and when I told her that I had only done mat work at home with DVDs she complimented me by saying I did very well for someone with only 3 classes under their belt and had demonstrated a really good practice. I was pretty damn proud of myself.

Already it seems when I can't make it to 2 classes a week I start to get the "itch" and start trying to figure out where I can squeeze it into my schedule. I've got another class tonight....I may just be addicted.

"Thy ass doth shakith - Ninja Ian"

On Monday my favorite Ian (I know quite a few; this one is usually called "curly-haired") took me to a Chromeo show and we boogied the evening away. For those of you unfamiliar with the addictive dance grooves of this fun Canadian duo, I submit the following:

And maybe a little bit of this:

Needless to say, I'm getting old and going out on a "school night" left me too freakin' tired to attempt Bikram yoga on Tuesday. By the time my Thursday class rolls around I'm going to be itching for the heat.

For months and months I've followed The Missus' adventures in Bikram at On Common Ground but I never imagined I would get hooked so quickly. More on that coming very soon...

One of my favorite parts of Fall...

...is Halloween.

I have a costume arsenal in my closet, though it is nothing compared to my bff Dubs' collection - she's, like, a drag queen stuck in a gorgeous chick's body.

I love dressing up. I love costumes, I love food and cooking, I love giving gifts - Fall is definitely my season.

For the past few months I've been pretty set on being an emo scene kid this October (defined by Urban Dictionary as :

scene kid = boy/girl. usually seen wearing neon colors w/ black. leopard and/or zebra print obsessed. hair colored at least 2 different colors and cut at different angles. male scene kids usually try to attain over 500 friends on myspace and post pictures up of themselves making out with other boys. female

scene kids just ADORE neon colored eye shadow and wear one thousand layers of eyeliner. hair of both sexes is usually parted to the side.

All I need to do is track down a tight band tee and some coon-tail extensions and I'm pretty much ready to go.

Then I saw this costume (which would actually be super-simple to make and is cute, but non-slutty:)

A Cookie Monster costume! Look at that adorable headband!! Honestly though, I don't know that I will have the time or motivation to make a costume in the next three weeks. I've got Bikram again tonight and multiple plans this weekend (which is my ultimate goal since I'm focusing on making new friends and meeting new people after I realized cute, available boys are not going to just pop up on my doorstep) so I am severely tempted to go the easy route.

What are you going to be for Halloween this year?

Hot Yoga/hot mess

Well, I'm not sure I have ever felt more unattractive - staring at your sweaty body in a mirror for 90 minutes is tough on the ol' ego.

For those of you who may still be unfamiliar with Bikram yoga (which is slightly different from "hot,") here's the Wiki scoop:

Bikram Yoga is a system of yoga that Bikram Choudhury synthesized from traditional yoga techniques and popularized beginning in the early 1970s. Bikram's classes run exactly 90 minutes and consist of a set series of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises. Bikram Yoga is ideally practiced in a room heated to 105°F (≈ 40.6°C) with a humidity of 40%, and is the most popular form of hot yoga (a series of yoga poses done in a heated room).

So, I tried my first class at 8:30 PM Tuesday night with the plan to head home after 10PM to shower and most likely go straight to bed as I expected to be exhausted. I was super early and totally anxious, but the instructor went through the basics (reassuring, since she essentially confirmed I already knew what to expect through my research) and gave me a basic rundown on their space. I headed to the changing room to stash my stuff and then found a place at the back line of the studio where I laid down in savasana and attempted to let my body acclimate to the heat. I didn't hear many people come in and once I opened my eyes after the instructor raised the lights I was somewhat pleased to find we only had about 8 students total in the studio.

It was tough for me from the very beginning and I was sweating lightly before we even got past the first breathing exercise but I stuck it out as much as I possibly could. The standing poses seemed to be the most difficult for me...I used to pride myself on my keen sense of balance, but in class I could not seem to get my knee to lock to create the stability needed for those poses. There was quite a bit of savasana and falling over going on during that part of the series, but I wasn't the only one so it was slightly reassuring. It seems I do have a decent range of flexibility for the floor exercises (possibly left over from my cheer leading days & kept in check with my current yoga regimen) but I clearly still need to work on a lot of strengthening.

I wasn't as exhausted (or smelly) after class as I thought I might be and after I collected my gear and changed my clothes I chatted with the instructor for a few minutes before leaving. She happily told me how Bikram had changed her life, not just her body, and related a few anecdotes that left me thinking "oh hey, that's JUST LIKE ME." I made my way home and hopped in the shower before I grabbed a snack and popped a muscle relaxer (oy, my back) then settled into bed to read for a while and bring my energy level down. I slept well and woke up to find myself not really sore, but definitely feeling worked over. I'd say it's easily the best workout I've had outside of Tae Bo.

That "wow, I look gross" factor is seemingly going to work in my favor as it's an inspiration to go back and keep working on changing my body and through challenging myself, my mind. I've committed myself to going at least twice a week for the next five weeks and I suspect it's gonna hurt a little, but I can tell already I'm going to get some serious results.