Yoga Streaking!!

It's Day 4 of my self-imposed yoga streak challenge.  How many days can I go without missing a day of yoga.  It takes 21 days to make a habit. Motivation gets you started, but habits keep you going.  Hopefully, I can keep this going...at least until I stop.  Isn't that usually how it is?

So today, I woke up bright and early at 4:50 AM.  OK, it wasn't so bright at that time, but dayum it was early!

I got to class in time and I have to thank "strategic conservation", something I learned about from reading this article.

Basically, plan ahead and you won't waste your energy running around in the morning trying to get your act together.  I plan to practice strategic conservation a lot more in 2013.  Last night, I made sure I packed my gym bag, lunch and work computer.  I even filled up and chilled my water bottle the night before.  This morning, the only thing I forgot to include in the gym bag was a towel and my shower flip flops and sinceI wasn't running around frantically at 5:15 AM to pack, I actually had room in my mind to think about anything I may have forgotten.  I had plenty of time to throw those last minute items in my bag and get to yoga calm and ready for the challenge.

Goodbye 2012!

Goodbye 2012!

We welcomed you at the Montelucia Resort and had no idea what you had in store. One year later we've got our oldest son, Hunter in Navy Nuclear Power Training School, Trenton in 4th Grade doing great in flag Football and our daughter, Spencer celebrated an amazing Sweet 16 birthday. 

2012 took us to Miami, The Grand Caymans, San Diego, Chicago, Rocky Point, Mexico, Boston and Cape Cod

We spent the summer hanging out on our new boat "No Regrets" and ended the year having my family celebrate Christmas with us here in Arizona!

We have had a blessed 2012 and we're truly grateful.  We are looking forward to an amazing 2013.

Get a Little Mud on the Tires

My husband never ceases to amaze, or surprise me.  Last Friday, when I got home, he and the kids met me in the garage as I drove slowly in.  I'm not sure what I was so preoccupied with when I got out of the car.  We were headed out to the boat that night and maybe I wanted to make sure we got everything packed.  I didn't realize that the kids and Brian were all pointing to something in front of my car.

It was a shiny new Diamondback Mountain Bike!! With a note saying "In case you got bored with your BMW, here's a new set of wheels for you!" A Mountain bike?? I never even mentioned to Brian that I wanted a bike.  I was content in just riding around my daughter's beach cruiser if I needed to tag along on Brian and Trenton's rides.  This one was really nice, and even had head and tail lights for those late night trips to the Yogurt Bar.

Brian said he wanted to go biking on Sunday up in Flagstaff.  This was all so new to me. Not mountain biking.  I used to have my own bike, but it was old, broken and we got rid of it.  We would bike the trails in Briones and Mount Diablo when we lived in the East Bay.  I never though about biking here because it's always too hot and I really got into running.  What was new to me was that we were going out (yet again) on Sunday.

I thought Sunday was finally going to be my day of rest.  After 5 days in Mexico, partying at the lake for the 4th of July followed by 2 days of work, we would be boating on Saturday and then finally, blissfully on Sunday I would be able to finally catch up with all the house cleaning and laundry.  Hmm...I don't think the words "blissfully", "house cleaning" and "laundry" were ever used together in a sentence before today.  Which reminds me, last week also included a girls night out on Thursday at a BYOB art studio painting masterpieces and drinking Chardonnay.

But it looks like we would be mountain biking with my new bike on Sunday.

Sunday morning, we finally got on the road at 10:00.  Flagstaff is a little over 2 hours away, but it could be worlds away.  The landscape is completely different.  The Sonoran saguaros give way to the beginning of the largest Ponderosa Pine forest in the continent.  You gain over 5700 feet in elevation and by the time arrived, the temperature had cooled from a toasty 105 to a bearable and beautiful 82.  Then the ominous clouds rolled in and it began pouring, sending the temperature plunging to the low 50s by the time we got to town.

Brian researched the bike trails and found the Cambell Mesa Loops would be perfect for a family ride.  The incline/decline were manageable for my 8 year old son and the single track wasn't too technical for my daughter and I who needed a refresher on changing gears.  But by the time we got to the trailhead, it was pouring! I was disappointed and even suggested we drive down to Sedona and into 90+ degrees for a dry trail, but my husband said to wait 15 minutes.

Amazingly enough, as is usually the case with my husband's predictions, the rain stopped and we were treated to a great ride through the forest.  The trail was empty, thanks to the rain for deterring any other bikers and hikers.  The ground was not very muddy at all and the temperature was perfect!

I love my new mountain bike!

We finished off the day with some refreshments and appetizers at the Lumberyard's beer garden watching the trains go by with the Snowbowl mountain peak in the distance.

Slacker

Crap! I've done the most travelling this year and I haven't written one word! Well, I have one word for you now...LAME!

I've been travelling so much that by the end of this month, I'll be completely out of vacation days here at work. Boo!

Actually, after Hawaii last November, I had to sit back while my vacation days accumulated. So by May, I was able to do more travelling. Here's what my schedule was like the past several weeks.

May

• 1 night in Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• 1 night in South Beach, FL
• 5 nights in the Grand Caymans

June

• 4 nights in Rocky Point, Mexico

July

• Day trip to Flagstaff, AZ
• 2 nights in San Diego, CA
• 3 nights in Massachusetts

This is the rental we picked up in Florida. It was a pretty nice ride! We got such a great deal from a new Rental Car Company, SixT. They're huge in Europe, but they are just starting out in the US. So, they've got some pretty good deals on their cars.

This Friday, I'll be cruising in a red convertible Audi A4 from Phoenix to San Diego. ROAD TRIP! I'm spending 3 days in San Diego doing some work exchange for Yoga Journal's Yoga Conference I've signed up to take a class with one of my favorite yoginis, Sean Corn. I'll also be taking a Stand-Up Paddle Board yoga class which should prove to be wet and fun.

This past weekend, on our boat (OMG! I forgot to write that we got a boat!! I guess I'll blog about that later.), Trenton and I tried out some yoga poses on the inflatable tube we tow around. So, if Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Yoga is anything like that, I am going to get VERY wet.

OK. I'm off to a specialty swim suit store to look for a suit for my daughter that's sold out pretty much everywhere. Sigh. It's what mom's do...

Lunch at the Stadium

Ahhh...I love this time of year. Spring Training is in the air!

I took an early and extended lunch today to take in some batting practice at Scottsdale Stadium. Brown bagged it and sat in the bleachers right behind the first base dug out. The players practice from 10-noon each day. How do I get a job like that?

Anyway, Bochy was out watching the catchers throw a few, then they set up for batting practice. Buster Posey was out most of last season so it was great to see him out there, even if he had a huge brace on his ankle. He was hittin' 'em pretty well, too! It was fun to watch the kids in the far left field stands scrambling after any of his foul balls. Whiteside and Stewart were out there, too.

Unfortunately, my ham n' swiss and lunch hour were up before I knew it and I had to head back to the office. But what a nice day to get out...mid 70's with sunny, beautiful skies. Also, of all days for me to forget my phone! So, with no pictures and no foursquare check in, did I even go? Ha! I don't need the digital proof. Spring training isn't in the bits and bytes of the internet and location based apps...it's in the air!!