Goal Setting 101

well i am all settled in my beach pad... again pics to come later. i should have taken the pics when it was all party ready. its not a complete mess but by my neurotic standards, i am not photo ready. still to come! after spending all my free time plotting and pillaging through home goods, antique stores, and ikea, i realized i now had free time back on my hands! well kind of, seems i tend to fill every hour of every hour no matter what is going on in my life.

but generally the days were turning into blobs and with some other new distractions in my life, i needed to get back on track. as the yogic niyamas tell us, we need to do some svadhyaya every once in while to keep it all in check. i felt like i was spending my whole day doing everything but accomplishing nothing. a fellow fitness junkie/coach/blogger, Alison Blaker, often writes about her goal setting and i realized, i hadn't written down a goal in a long time or maybe even ever so off i went scribing my goals and hopefully making myself accountable. i don't have a fancy goal setting process or book (although now i might need one) but i put the pen to the paper and started with my weekly goals. there were a lot. not all of them time consuming but since there were so many, i decided to map out each day and decide when to get each one done. without scheduling goals each day, i knew at the end of the week i would have ended up with a list of unaccomplished tasks. and it's off to a great start! yesterday i was able to check everything off and i am well on my way today. yesterday there was even a car issue that could have easily thrown me off but i stuck to it and got it done. and now here i am blogging which was  also on the list! just thought i would share my success story of goal setting, i have never really tried this but it worked for me this week and just might for you too!

my yoga/zumba/tarot/goal setting notebook 

namaste

Melissa

23 months but whose counting anyways?

sunday marked the 23 month sadiversary of matt's death and coincidentally the one year anniversary of my world tour. last february 9th i boarded a plane from ohio to san diego to start anew and enjoy some worldly travels along the way. i once again can't believe how much has changed in one year. sometimes i wonder, will i ever stop saying that? when will things be status quo. probably never because as we all know, the only thing constant in life is change.

but i can't complain things out here have been pretty consistently amazing. at times i want to hold my breath waiting for something to go terribly wrong. at times i feel bad for being so happy when matt isn't here. i know, i know, i shouldn't but that's just how it is and i need to feel that way sometimes. i have been so happy in my new place and decorating has become my part time job. i am now on a first name basis with the workers at home goods, ikea, and the local antique shop. i am hosting a housewarming party this weekend so things should pretty much be finished by then with a little room to grow. will post pics once complete! i tried to change things up more this time around by keeping some of the things from my place in chicago but putting a new twist on them. of course there have some been some new additions as well. it always feels so good to change it up!

it has been busy though since the last two weekends i have been out of town. two weekends ago i headed to the desert to stay at Aqua Caliente, a hot springs campsite in the middle of the Anzo Borrego desert. i stayed for one night and it felt so good to get away from the hustle and bustle of life with no cell reception! i even got to close out the weekend with a morning yoga class for my fellow hikers!

last weekend i headed to LA for the 2014 Zumba Conference. if you remember, i also attended this last year after i came to San Diego. my mom attended with my last year and i missed her a lot but this year i had an amazing roomie that i met at my first Zumba Convention. she is someone who truly inspires me that at any age you can enjoy life and get out there and move! of course, a Zumba convention/conference is always motivating and energizing. i left feeling great and ready to get back to teaching, it's certainly been missing in my life. last week i also got back to teaching my corporate class. it was so great to see my students and we had a great first class full of things i learned at the conference.

so all in all things are going pretty well and here's to hoping the other shoe doesn't drop anytime soon. but i am confident if it does, i will find someway to manage and enjoy. next month marks the 2 year sadiversary of matt's death. i am toying with how i want to spend this day but i am sure i will find something suitable to commemorate, for now i am keeping it open to do whatever the hell i want.

tree pose in the desert... ain't no other trees around! 

me and my roomie, Gail 

the zumba convention welcomes yogis too 

"go confidently in the direction of your dreams. live the life you've imagined."

~henry david thoreau 

just another day in the life

happy hump day! namaste!

melissa

life's a beach!

i live by the beach! and i luv it! moving was a pain as always but i had worked it up so much in my mind that it wasn't actually as bad as i thought it was going to be! there is still a lot of unpacking and organizing to do but that will happen eventually, i have a beach to enjoy! this morning i woke up to the sound of the ocean waves, took miss lila for a run on the beach, and then headed to yoga class a block from my place. cannot complain. sorry, am i annoying? but really i couldn't help but smile this week. i wasn't happy with where my life was at a year ago and i made some moves (more like a lot) and now i am happy with where i am at. time to enjoy! below are a few pics from the first week of living at the beach!

Our first SD apartment all cleared out... goodbye 5395 Napa St. 

sunset stroll 

stuck on the jetty 

sunset from the eyes of miss lila 

the two of us enjoying the sunset after a day of cruising OB

namaste

Melissa 

#homebodyyoga 28-day challenge

on Tuesday, i found a 28 day home yoga challenge post, commented and won a free copy of Homebody Yoga by Jay Fields. yipee! who doesn't love winning! while in the process of moving with plenty of heavy lifting, i don't think it's exactly necessary or feasible to get to the gym everyday. Although the physical aspects of a workout are being met through the move process, what about the mental? yoga is so much more to me than a workout so finding time to be still for even five minutes a day when my mind is racing violently is crucial. And while, I know this is true, implementing it is another thing. thus when i saw this challenge posted... i thought, game on!

yesterday i woke up a little later than i liked but still did a quick five minute meditation followed by some brief asana. over lunch, i took lila to the park and we romped around and i even tried a couple of handstands. it was a little tough given the slope of the park but i feel into wheel in a giggle. being able to get out and enjoy this beautiful sunny seventy degree weather changes the course of my day and is certainly part of my practice. today, the boxes have pretty much overtaken my home and while i could probably find a little space for my mat, i just don't think i could quiet my mind. i plan to head to the beach for a quick run and then some asana on the beach. not a bad alternative to the studio! i encourage you to join me in this challenge. it doesn't have to be yoga, it could be drinking a cup of tea, gardening, or for all my midwest friends it could be playing in the snow. just something that allows you to unplug from the world and tune in to you. tell me what you are up to and i hope you find some peace in this #homebodyyoga challenge!

namaste

Melissa

new year and definitely a new life

well my new years resolution isn't off to a great start. well i didn't really make a resolution but i know i want to write more and find a way to share what has happened to me in the past two years. although, in my humble opinion though, the new year didn't really start until yesterday so i guess one day in... i am not doing so bad.

the holidays were busy. i usually hate when people tell me they are soooo busy but i get it this time around. and not that i had a ton of plans but i was busy dealing with the weird set of emotions that comes around the second year without. i finished up bootcamp, headed to idyllwild and before i knew it, it was christmas and my mom was visiting. i had a wonderful christmas filled with sun, fun, and love. being out here for the holidays is so different and with windchills registering at negative 30 back in the midwest, i will gladly take it! i spent new years with new friends and felt that it was a wonderful way to kick off a new year full of promise and hope.

last year i wrote an epic Top 10 Moments of 2012 post which was difficult given it was the crappiest year of my life. i thought about doing the same this year but just wasn't feeling it when i looked back. it seemed my 2013 centered around my travels to Bali and moving to San Diego. then i realized it wasn't about either place but really just about finding gratitude and learning to move forward in the best way possible after the crappiest year of my life.

so here i am, seven days into the new year and thinking 2014 is going to be a great one! i am moving to the beach next week so really, how bad could it be?!?! i hope all of you have the same hope in your heart... i have no idea what the year will bring but i do know that i will get through it with a smile on my face. cheers to 2014!

hello 2014!

namaste

Melissa

holiday bootcamp breakdown

i briefly mentioned bootcamp in my last post but i wanted to dedicate one whole post to this challenging experience. i was probably in a bit of a rut a couple of months ago. nothing too serious but i was more settled into life here and working from home left me with a lot of time to myself and not a real "set" schedule. i was still working out pretty much daily including runs with Lila or a yoga class. by a lot of people's standards, i was still a crazy workout lady but i could tell i wasn't bringing my "A" game by my own standards.

as you know, i have practiced yoga at Corepower for a couple of years now and have been familiar with their bootcamp program especially when i took 6am classes, i would see the bootcampers in their sneakers and not the usual yoga attire sweating out during circuit training. i never really thought much about participating in the program until a couple of months ago when one of my favorite instructors mentioned it after a Yoga Scuplt class. there was a free class to give you an idea of the bootcamps so i joined and quickly signed up afterwards. i knew this is just what i needed to jumpstart my energy and get myself back into a better routine.

the camp started the Sunday after Tgiving. yes right after a weekend of stuffing myself full of food and drink. i mounted up and prepped myself to start the camp with plenty of good for you foods and the right mindset. camp officially start on monday and i set off on my three week journey. on monday, wednesday, friday, and saturday, we had scheduled workouts and then were supposed to do a second workout to keep ourselves moving and from getting sore. on tuesdays and thursdays we were supposed to also do a workout which for me was usually a strong powerful yoga class. my second workout of the day was typically a run/walk on the beach or sun salutations and meditation in the morning. we were also supposed to keep a food journal which i was good at in the beginning using my fitness pal but towards the end when work got busy, i wasn't as good at food journaling but i still watched what i ate. there were lots of green smoothies! sundays were a day of rest although that was somewhat thrown off with outdoor hikes but did include a therapeutic massage from a kundalini yoga instructor and foam rolling.

i stuck to the program although i could have probably pushed it a little harder on my some of my second workouts. work has been crazy busy and while i can't use this as an excuse, i should realize that despite work being insanely busy, i still found time to work out twice daily! i always feel a low after the end of a training and wonder where will i go from here? i know that this has truly jumpstarted me back on a healthier lifestyle. after a strict workout regimen, i realize that when i workout and eat right, i have much more energy and things start to flow. i was in tears the morning before my last workout since i had re-read my blogs from christmas last year. i am in such a better place. i am in such a healthier place. and while this holiday season has been stressful and sad at times, i committed to myself and found a the best way to deal.

feeling like wonderwoman on a friday superhero bootcamp party

merry christmas to me! foam roller from santa!

namaste

melissa

bah (half the bah humbug this year)

 i am about halfway through my second holiday season and well it's been rough but cheerful at the same time. it has been more of a sneaky rough. a i will get in the christmas spirit and decide to decorate only to cry in middle of the target aisle filled with cheap stockings and no tree stands. i will wake up the next day and hunt the greater san diego area for those box full of tangled ornament hooks only to get frustrated with a haggard christmas store worker to elation after speaking to real life elf telling me about his life partner. yep all in the day of the life of a 30 something widowed grinch.

no but really i have found some of my christmas spirit this year and it has been a blessing. life is so different out here that to even get in the christmas spirit you have to manufacture it. at least for a midwest girl, these 70 degree temps tell me i won't be waiting for a white christmas.

but i forged ahead and even put up my first real christmas tree this year! i had the room and pulling out the fake christmas tree that Matt and i put up for a few years just didn't seem enticing. i am finding new SoCal Xmas traditions including admiring christmas trees on piers above the pacific and driving to the mountains to see snow... how cute!

i also signed up for a bootcamp through Corepower. yep the same studio chain that i went to in chicago. bootcamp is a three week four day a week bootcamp training. it is circuit training with no yoga but the strength moves that target muscle groups you use in yoga. and while it's been a HUGE time commitment, i am so happy i made this commitment to myself and dealt with the the stress of the season a more healthy way. and while i have certainly been a basket case a time or two in the past couple of weeks, i am absolutely feelin in the flow.

my real live christmas tree basking in the san diego sun

namaste

Cindy Lou