My latest obsession is playing with an app called Cameo. I can't say that any of my friends enjoy them as much as I do since they are always the subject. But.... well you know...

Just a reminder...

Woman Carrying Bull

I

I need to remember this.

I love this...

Beautiful athletes

So let's talk about the weather. Its nice out finally. It feels like I wont die in my garden each night when I water my flowers. Lets cross our fingers crossed it stays this way. The desert heat this summer was killer! For us and our plants!  I just transplanted a rose bush and I planted a few hyacinth bulbs for my hubby. How will he ever know I love him if they die from heatstroke?? ;)

Cooking Lesson One

Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables 

1 whole chicken
2 lemons
butter
bulb of garlic
carrots
celery
fingerling potatoes
golden onion
salt/pepper
olive oil

Mash up butter and garlic cloves to taste. Chop up root vegetables and place in bowl for later use.
Clean chicken then season with salt and pepper and olive oil. Make cut just under the skin of the chicken and insert butter garlic paste. Add lemon wedges in chicken cavity with some carrots and celery. Mix cut vegetables and garlic butter with a tablespoon of olive oil and lay in a roasting pan. Place dressed chicken on top of root vegetables and cover with tin foil. Roast in oven at 400 degrees for 45 min. Take tin foil off and roast until outside skin turns brown and crisp. Let sit for 10 minutes. Enjoy.

This is my go to recipe when I don't know what else to make. It is quick and delicious. Plus it always seems more impressive than it is because its French. Go figure. Add a turnip to the veggies and suddenly you are a Cordon Bleu graduate. Hannah, my oldest friend asked me today to teach her the recipe.

Of course by teach she meant me cook while she ate ceviche and chips.

Day One!

Its time to go shopping for home renovations! Today's adventure in the Old Pueblo will include tiles, trading massage and skin care for tiling job and lunch. Let's get this started.

New Clients!!

By tomorrow I will have worked on 8 clients in 7 days. Not a bad start to rebuilding my practice. I can’t begin to explain how good it feels to help other people in feeling well.

Tomorrow in between clients I am going to write down my professional goals and create a time line. I think this go around I will be more organized and focused this time.

Session

Today was my first one on one session with my yoga instructor. It was amazing. Absolutely amazing. I felt at home and calm the entire time.

Chelsea made the session dynamic and fun. I think the fact that we have known each other for over seven years made it so we both acted like friends doing yoga together instead of the traditional teacher/ student relationship.

Our session started off with a brief introduction to the Baptiste method and some goal setting. I love goal setting! In everything I do I have to have purpose when doing it. I don’t always need to have deadlines per se. Obviously, my first goal is to increase my mobility. My lifting has been limited because my mobility is so bad. I have been struggling with falling into my squats and it sucks doing military presses behind the neck. I need to focus on opening up my hips and rotator cuff. My second goal is to become a bad ass yoga practitioner. Of course I am competitive enough to want to master my practice (I fully understand this is counter to yogic philosophy). Thirdly, find a fun activity to do every week that connects me deeper with myself. I don’t want to feel frustration with my body anymore. I think it is important for everyone to be impressed with their physical capabilities, even if their are minor at first.

I know that it has only been one session, but I can already feel a difference in myself. I used to do yoga several times a week and I think my muscle memory kicked in during the middle of the class. It was like my body was welcoming the movements. However, there was a key difference. Even though I am terribly out of practice and in a way out of shape I entered this practice without expectations. I even found myself being surprised at my abilities on the mat (Boom Goal #3!). When I was younger I entered my practice expecting it to be easy or at the least to become easy quickly. And when it didn’t I would become frustrated and sometimes become shameful. Shocking, a 20 something guy with high expectations of himself.

Maybe I am tapping into my maturity or maybe I am remembering how difficult starting a yoga practice can be. But this time I am just fine exploring what I can do now. That I think is a lesson that is hard learned.