Yoga fun

Yoga with a 3 year old and a 1 year old = hopping up and down pretending to be frogs eating bugs (and eggs?), halasana with a boy climbing on your legs (not sure this is entirely safe), bridge pose where you actually function as a bridge, tree poses that get chopped down by "tree-cutters", the cutest little down dogs, lots of singing and the most genuine of "namaste's"

My 28th Birthday

On Wednesday, the 13th, I turned 28! Holy-moly. I'm pretty happy with how I feel right now, so I would be perfectly happy if I could just stop again and stay at 28 please. If only that's how things worked right?

For my birthday, I was fantastically surprised by Robbie. In the morning, he made us a delicious breakfast of french toast. Then we packed up the car and headed for an overnight trip to Boston. We were to stay with his sister, Jess. Meo slept most of the way there, but was up for a bit towards the end and loved looking out the window and seeing all the tall buildings and cars zooming past.

When we arrived at Jess's apartment, we were surprised at how instantly comfortable Meo was in his new surroundings. We had only brought him to Jess's house once before, but right away he was fine with running up and down the halls, and climbing all over his Auntie's bed.

Meo hanging out with Jess on her bed

Once we got settled in, we went out for a walk to go to a nearby co-op and get groceries for dinner. Jess wore Meo on her back, which he thought was lots of fun. When he saw things that interested him, like busese and birds he would point and say "wooooow!" He especially liked watching the train go under us when we crossed a bridge.

Walking with Auntie Jess in Boston (19 months)

Stopped at a street light

Watching the train go by

For dinner, Jess and Robbie made a wonderfully light salad of spinach, raisins, green apples, goat cheese, quinoa, beans, and a raspberry balsamic vinaigrette. I have not had a very big appetite lately so it was the perfect meal for me. Especially considering what I did next.

 
For my birthday present, Robbie got me a really nice pair of yoga pants and signed me up for a yoga class with Patricia Walden. What a wonderful surprise! Patricia Walden is considered one of the most influential Yoga instructors in the United States, and she regularly studies with the Iyengars (the founders of Iyengar Yoga...which is the type of yoga I do). Here is a little bio about her:

Patricia Walden is a uniquely inspiring teacher who is renowned for her keen observation, the dynamic depth of her teaching, and the elegant refinement of her practice. She is one of only two North Americans who hold a senior advanced certificate in the Iyengar method.

Patricia came to yoga in her early 20s, as a spiritual calling. In 1976, she met B.K.S Iyengar and was immediately struck by his light, energy, insight, and genius, as well as by his joy in yoga and delightful humor. She became his devoted student and has been traveling to Pune to study with him (and his daughter Geeta) every year since.

Under Guruji’s guidance, she has developed her own methodical and inspirational approach to practice and teaching. 

Patricia has been a prominent figure in the evolution of yoga in the United States, and she has played an active role in the Iyengar Yoga community since the mid-1980s. She co-founded the B.K.S Iyengar Center of Cambridge, served as president of the B.K.S Iyengar Association of Massachusetts, and co-chaired the 1987 BK.S Iyengar Yoga Convention. She helped start the National Certification Committee and has served on it for more than 23 years. Currently, she is vice president of the B.K.S. Iyengar Regional Association of New England.

Along with her teaching, Patricia is known for her yoga videos and writings. Her DVDs, including "Yoga for Beginners," were tremendously influential in the popularization of yoga worldwide.  She has co-authored three books, including The Women's Book of Yoga and Health, and a booklet on yoga for depression (“Take an Action, No Matter How Small”). In 2004, she was cited by Yoga Journal as one of “25 American yoga originals who are shaping yoga today.”

Patricia’s classes are infused with wisdom, humor, and the philosophy of yoga.  Her aspiration is that students leave class seated in their hearts with fearlessness, having touched the deeper levels of their being.

Patricia is the person who trained my yoga teacher at Portland Yoga studio, Pamela, and she is an absolutely amazing teacher. When Robbie told me what my surprise was, I was ecstatic! What a perfect and thoughtful birthday present!

The only catch was that I had to drive myself to the class, since it was at from 6-7:30 pm and Robbie needed to stay at Jess's so he could give Meo a bath and get him to bed at a reasonable time. This was worrisome because I hadn't drove in Boston since high school, and I was a much more reckless driver then. Robbie assured me that even though it was a half hour drive across the city (we were in JP and the class was in Cambridge), it was only 3 turns and I would be fine. Well, my GPS decided to change routes on me in the middle of traffic, and I couldn't switch it back. So I got over my fear quite quickly. Instead of 3, I made about 300 turns, but survived nonetheless. The worst part ended up being trying to park. I gave myself 45 minutes to park. And at 6:05 I, I still hadn't found a parking spot and was about to give up and not go to the class. But I miraculously found one, ran as fast as I could three blocks to the studio, and managed to get there just as they were warming up. After a quick downward dog pose, I ran into the bathroom to change into my yoga pants (because my other pants were way too warm), and realized my water bottle had leaked so I had a wet spot on my crotch the entire class. But I didn't really care because I was too focused on the class and trying to get as much out of it as I could.

The class was fantastic. There was about 25 people there I'm guessing, and she had a couple teacher-in-training assistants to help her out. We spent a lot of time working on opening our armpits and stretch our hamstrings to deepen poses like downward facing dog, and help with headstands. While I really enjoyed the class, and had a lot of fun, I really realized how fortunate I am to have such great instructors at Portland Yoga Studio. I learn just as much there as I did with Patricia, and I find that very comforting. I did love taking a class with Patricia though, and know I would enjoy going through teacher training with her if I ever get to the point where I am ready to do that (long term goal of mine).

When I got back to Jess's apartment, I was surprised with a homemade banana pound cake topped with freshly made whipped cream and sliced strawberries, and a side of homemade raspberry and lemon sorbet. Jess invited a couple of her friends over, Anna and Jake, who I had never met before but liked a lot. They were certainly kindered spirits and I was happy to share my birthday night with them. Everyone sang happy birthday to me in a whisper (we didn't want to wake Meo up in the other room), and shared some cake and sorbet. It was a very nice evening, and yummy food!

My dessert

Robbie and I on my 28th birthday

Robbie and I on my 28th birthday

Gathering with Anna and Jake on my birthday

Robinson's

The next day, my birthday celebration continued. We got some yummy food from Jess's place of employment. Then Robbie, Meo and I headed downtown to the New England Aquarium. They were doing construction inside on the big center tank (their main attraction), but we decided to go anyways. I love going to the aquarium and seeing all the animals, but I love seeing how excited Meo gets even more. He loves feeling the animals in the touch tanks, pointing at the fish as they swim by, and and running up and down the ramps between exhibits.

I think one of my favorite moments at the aquarium was when Meo started "neighing" at the sea horses. So cute!

Our little family in front of the aquarium

Boston sky line (Meo looking at seagulls)

After the aquarium, we met up with Jess for a quick lunch at Panara Bread, then all four of us headed back to Maine. Jess and Meo enjoyed a long nap in the back seat.

Jess spent the night at our house, and I made some orzo with marinara sauce, spinach, artichoke hearts, goat cheese, some pull apart Italian bread, and some left over "astonishing salad" (spinach, apple slices, apricots and dressing made from white wine stewed with with apricots and lemon juice). It was quite yummy, if I do say so myself. And also a nice end to a little birthday holiday. I was quite tired and went to bed soon after Meo.

Excited to see a naughty Pi kitty

Popeye Grin

Silly Face (19 months)

Thank you Robbie, Jess and Meo for a great birthday celebration!