check out my guest blog

i am honored and thrilled to have been a guest blogger today at the oh-so fabulous joy of yoga blog. check it out when if you can! i love the format of her blog for anyone looking to rev up their yoga practice! it's so easy to fall into the same sequencing rut and this is great to give you new ideas for your home practice! om shanthi!!!

Merry SITSmas card

Merry SITSmas to all the amazing wonderful blogging gals!!!

the beast wishes you happy holidays!

(he really loves his holiday bow - he's still wearing it!)

for those who may not know SITS is a fantastic blog for women bloggers. i have found the most interesting people there and am so grateful (especially as a newbie blogger) to have found them and be a part of their fantastic community building. today is their holiday and members are encouraged to post a holiday card. check out the icon to the right and give them a visit to find more wonderful bloggers.

ta-da....here's my mini tree decorated up with beautiful glittery ornaments that my aunt has helped my collect over the years. they all have significant meaning and i love pulling them out of the box each year and reliving the moments when i received them!

my snowman sitting on the mantle....

yippee!!! newest ornaments from the wedding this summer! my aunt had a shower for me and had an table arrangement with them! so thoughtful!

my favorite ornament is a blue crab. i am from sc and spent so much time on the coast with my family growing up! every summer we visit edisto beach every summer with all the aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, and grandparents. we crab, fish, shrimp - you name it. plus, my father is an avid shrimper and fisherman year round and it makes me think of him!

here's a shout out to some of my favorite blogs found through SITS! happy holidays ladies - i know there are many more blogs to discover as we roll into 2010!!!

THE ACTORS DIET

Milk and Cuddles

When is there time to sleep?

Midday Escapes

The Scholastic Scribe

my hopes for the coming year include blogging more and discovering more amazing women bloggers!!! i hope to grow as a writer and explore new ways to share my passion of health and wellness with others. i wish you good tidings, fantastic joy and much mindfulness in the coming month and into the new year!!!

partner yoga

today has been a fun day! enjoying a visit from my father-in-law, preparing to make a yummy meal with my favorite (kale!) and relax and share the evening with the family.

here are a few photos of my yoga practice this morning. as soon as i went into downward dog, my beast was there front and center! be on the look out for my guest post on the joy of yoga blog coming soon. i am really excited to share my practice!

have a lovely evening....

what other people think....

i heard one of the greatest quotes i've heard in a long time recently from a friend (coco). i heard it second hand from another friend, but it really stuck with me.

"what other people think of you is none of your business."

i just finished reading an article in the latest yoga journal on gossiping. i really don't like it when i gossip and was aware this weekend when hanging out with an old co-worker how easy it is to gossip when your intention is just to catch up on people you haven't seen in a while. i am going to set an intention to be extremely mindful when i talk about other people. there is some gossip that i know is gossip, but what about when you talk about other people with good intention. like wondering if your best guy's new girlfriend could be the one or what kind of job you think your brother-in-law should get. i think those things could turn into negative gossip, but it's important to be aware that those genuine conversations don't become wrought with judging over-analysis. i would have to live in a cave alone to not talk about people. it's just human nature. i just want to be mindful that i am not causing any harm when i do open my mouth. bringing this focus will help me see what better things i could be talking about or sharing with the people i am talking to!

then it comes back to the quote above. it's so important to have friend's and family to bounce ideas off of and gain perspective, but when it comes down to it - you have to connect with you and who you are and how you are not defined by what other people think!

i totally struggle with this in my ever challenging time management and over committing. for example, there is a yoga studio i have taught for that would like for me to come back and instruct a donation based class. in my heart i would love to share with these students, but the time of day is not so great and i know (based on lots of previous over committing) that it would put a deep rut in the center of my day and i would come to not look forward to it. however, my mind totally wants to talk me into doing it because i don't want the studio manager and owner to think any less of me. "what?!?!?" you ask. yeah, me too. because of course they are going to respect that i am honoring my home commitments and my personal time. that thought pattern still happens though. deep breathes. i am always learning. and i know the quote is helping me stay centered cause i really need to honor what i think about me!

post per ecto

i'm so excited to give ecto a try! i am really doing all that i can to get myself reorganized and reinvented for the coming year including utilizing programs that can help the blog continue to grow and for me to be more pro active and on top of my game! we'll see if this publishes like i hope it will!

today has been pretty relaxing. i had an acupuncture treatment this morning. ahhhh...there is nothing like it! i mentioned in my skin story how acupuncture and chinese herbs have really made my chronic condition manageable. i typically have a treatment once per week at our local community clinic, but today was the first in two weeks due to the holidays. i love my acupuncturist - she let me sleep for one and a half hours. who knew i was so tired!?!?!

photo from flickr

the rest of the day thus far as pretty much followed suit. it's been rainy and cold and we've actually had some snow! the hubby and i ventured to earthfare where i had a yummy salad and piece of fantastic veggie pizza. then we grocery shopped for the week. i love getting this done and then not having to fret over finding healthy meals during the week!

goals for the afternoon/evening:

• gym with the hubby for some cardio
• make christmas shopping list (wow - is it already almost the second week of the month!!??!)
• finish some personal assistant work from home
• make list of blog articles i want to work on
• finish ideas about choreography for tomorrow's rehearsal

the blog article list is uber important as i always think of things to share when i am away from the computer and then am stumped when i make my way back! hoping the planner pad will also help with managing those ideas in the future! woo hoo!

control freak vs. surprise!

my happy body consort jessica give me a great birthday present, but it was a total surprise until last night! even though my 30th was a month ago - we just could never work our schedules out to make my surprise evening a reality.

well, i must say i learned that surprises are so hard for me. as you may imagine (from the previous post of becoming a scheduling goddess) i really like to be in control. what i learned about myself was - sometimes i've gotta learn to let it go and love it! all day long i was so anxious to know what was going to happen. i was to call jessica after i finished at the "office" at 4pm. i called and she told me i had to meet her at the oh-so-gorgeous grove park inn for a glass of vino in front of the fireplace! i am so excited to meet up and catch up that i completely spaced on taking a photo of this beautiful hotel lobby. i got these photos from their website - it's so historic and beautiful! the hotel opening in 1913 and has had many famous guests:

During the summers of 1935 and ’36, author F. Scott Fitzgerald resided in our Room 441. He’s just one of the American luminaries to have stayed here, a list that includes Harry Houdini, Will Rogers, George Gershwin, Thomas Edison, Eleanor Roosevelt and Henry Ford. Not to mention presidents — William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard M. Nixon, George H. W. Bush, William J. Clinton and Barack H. Obama.

pretty cool - huh?!? i forget how close this is to my house! i should go more often and pretend to be a tourist and enjoy this amazing spot! you can read more about it's history here.

the view from above in the fall in breath taking!
ok - here's the best part of the surprise. i am thinking we are going to leave the gpi until jessica informs me the surprise is here! we are going for an evening at the spa!!!!! they have a most incredible spa! we were escorted in, given a locker and oh-so cushy robes - doned our suits and off we went to explore. (with a bottle of merlot!) i tried to sneak my camera in to get a few shots, but was politely told "no cameras allowed." no fair for this blogger gal....boo!

ahhhh...the spa! it was marvelous. hot tubs, hot sauna, dry sauna, cold plunge, cold wash clothes with peppermint essential oils, aromatherapy room, mineral (yes - salt water!) pool and the best was going outside in the cold to the hot tub surrounded by fireplaces. oh-la-la!

we stayed until they closed at nine! there was hardly anyone there and it was so wonderful to just girl talk! we talked about how it should be a once a month routine for us! just to reconnect, detox and relax! all my worry about what the surprise could be melted away as i soaked away. thanks jessica for a wonderful amazing super duper fabulous evening!!!!!

on another exercise junkie note:

i just found the best ab challenge on this fun blog oh she glows. oh how i wish i would have found this earlier and could be participating the whole time! i am going to challenge myself to keep up with this for the month of december starting today. i feel like i get the blahs during december as the weather changes, but this december i am focusing on feeling good and that means exercising and lots of home cooking!

CORE WORK: 6-10 minute core workout, 5 days a week, doing the following exercises:

• Plank
• Side plank
• Plank with elbows on stability ball
• Stability Ball Jackknifes
• Stability ball roll out
• Plank Rotations

check out angela's video and progress here. i'm going to get going with it this morning after a little walk and cardio. wishing you all a happy weekend!

feeling the crunch & becoming a scheduling goddess

i am so grateful to work for myself, but this week i am totally feeling the crunch of having way too many things happening! i used to feel like this all the time, so i am happy there is relief on the horizon (i.e. next week), but it still makes me mindful that maybe there is too much going on right now. i can't believe it, but i haven't posted since sunday - it's already wednesday!!! i've never let that much time slide! of course - i want to blog everyday and hopefully would like to get in the practice of making it happen more than once a day (we shall see!). i am going to take a good look at my schedule and see what i could possibly rearrange and/or change to make life a little smoother.

don't get me wrong - i love all the hats that i wear: wife, dog "mommy" to a very demandingpup, pilates & yoga teacher, exercise junkie, personal assistant (work from home, but still another responsibility), modern dancer with a company (who has a show creeping up in march), choreographer is said company, blogger and the list goes on and on. i also constantly feel pulled in two directions (1) is to be an uber successful business woman and continue to grow not only the business, but the mind/body services i provide and (2) to be in the creative world of dance and be the homemaker i so desire to be (home cooking, an organized home, travel with the hubby etc.) i know i can do it all! it's just hard to maintain perspective and not over book myself.

i think it is so important to take a step back - at least once a month and evaluate how things are going. i love doing it at the beginning of each month. once i get all the beginning of the month stuff checked of the to-do list (invoice clients, pay rent for office, mortgage, etc.) i love to look at the coming month and prepare - and be open to changing things around to make my life as smooth and manageable as possible!

i am so excited about this plan for 2010. i got a planner pad for my birthday and am already jazzed to get it going! i am in no way have been compensated for writing about this product - i just love it and know that it will help me gain better perspective on balancing and my scheduling life! (why, yes...i am a little calendar obsessed....)

here's the inside - love it! there are 3 different "levels" and then two side bars.

in between each month there is a monthly calendar and a whole page for notes for the month. so many weekly calendars don't have the "look at the whole month" page, so i am totally into this feature.

the weekly view has three levels. the first has seven categories (that you pick and name) that can focus you during the week. i think mine are going to be: blissful body (business), blog, personal assistant job, exercise, home, book thoughts/ideas, and one that will rotate week to week depending on what is happening.

then comes with things to do by the day - based on the categories list. i love to check things off my list! (i'm actually a crosser - i love seeing that big line through what i have accomplished!)

then comes the specific layout of the week and time management. appointments, etc.

on the side there is a list of phone calls and expenses. yeah for keeping up with the business.

i am super (maybe a little overly excited) about this calendar. cheers to celebrating an organized, mindful life.

what do you juggle? and how do you keep your life managed, mindful, calm, and organized?