happy one year sandan-versary to me!

well todays the day! it marks the one year anniversary of me moving out to this wonderful magical paradise, San Diego! i had been out here a couple of times before i moved out here and mostly fell in love with the weather and of course the close proximity of the ocean. in those few days that i had been here, it must have simply made my should happy and it has for this whole past year. i finished my week long drive out here one year ago per my Facebook status, "i made it. kind of want to cry from exhaustion, but i made it". I pulled into my new apartment complex with my dog and my fully packed car hoping to start a new life. i lived on an air mattress holding my breath waiting for my belongings from my old life to arrive. i made my first place out hera a kind of home before deciding that i needed to be closer to the beach and making that my real home. i clinged to lifelong friends, friends from another chapter of my life, and made tons of new ones. somehow...despite it all... i made a new life for myself, one that makes me very happy. i even found love again. thank you san diego. thank you for making me realize that i could live again. and that i could love again. and of course for never-ending 70 degree and sunny days and daily sunsets that never ever look the same!

a few of my favorite moments from the past year...

 waiting for our stuff to arrive... but i guess really we don't need that much stuff

 making time to relax though

 first visitor! a fellow widow from chicago to attend Widow Camp

 lila loving the shade

 one of many

second group of visitors! college bests in old town

 opening day in del mar betting on "this one's for mel"

 one of our first of many hikes up cowles mountain to enjoy the view of our new city

 gotta do yoga by the sea

 and take advantage of the year round perfect weather with a garden

 love going to see the padres at petco!

mom's first visit and my first visit to balboa park

 auzzie friend visiting to celebrate matt's friend's nuptials in SD

 another OB sunset

 more guests! first wine tasting in temecula

and more yoga by the sea with my auntie

 first NFL game!

full moon hike on mt. laguna

 hiking with lila to a "waterfall" SD style

 lila's halloween costume for all the children of the 80's

 lifelong bestie and i celebrating matt's birthday with some music he would think i was crazy for listening to!

 lots of baths with lots of trips to the beach

 we loved chilling our first balcony overlooking the trolley

another hike to the top of mt. woodson

 pearl jam concert!

 first thanksgiving away from home in big bear with new friends!

 who knew the desert was freezing! december in joshua tree

our first cali christmas with our first real tree

see real real christmas trees in idyllwld

mom's christmas visit... no day after sales for us!

 more tasting in temecula

 watching the pack with friends!

 ringing in the new year

 moving out

to the beach

making it feel like home

 but still getting stuck every once in awhile

 camping and yoga in the desert

 catalina island

 10 mile hike across the island

 Zumba Convention with the best roomie ever!

 enjoying a sunset beer

 picnicking

 still doing yoga

and still watching sunsets

 my wonderful Zumba class

 neighborly walks to the beach

 getting a tattoo in honor of the two year sadiversary of matt's death

 st. patty's day SD style

 easter SD style

 finding a place to teach yoga

 more mountain hikes with friends

half marathon relay!

it was so fun looking back on all the amazing adventures the past year has given me...

and i can't wait to see what the next year holds...

namaste San Diego

a yogi's life

happiness is early morning walks on the beach with mom and finding new friends to pounce on! 

happy friday friends! 

looks like my blog views will hit 20,000 today! keep on readin!

namaste

Melissa 

pet appreciation week! thank you miss lila!

i don't think there is anyway i could fully express how thankful i am to miss lila. hat little fur baby has truly saved my soul in so many ways. she is the one who i snuggled with after matt's death... she missed her papa just as much as i missed him. she let me drag her all around god's green earth to find happiness and never stopped smiling. now here we are in SoCal and both her and i don't think life could get much better at this point. as i stroll her around OB, i constantly hear, "that dog is smiling" or "that is the happiest dog in the world". my heart melts every single time.

one of the reasons i am so thankful for miss li is her ability to get me out and moving especially enjoying nature. i suffer severely from something known as doggy momma guilt. now let's be clear, i think lila has one of the BEST doggie lives there is.... i work from home and a five minute walk to the beach. yet everyday, i try to get her out on at least one doggie adventure and feel bad if i don't. it doesn't always happen but i sure as heck try. in honor of pet appreciation week, below are some of the adventures lila and i embark on frequently. i also included a "Get Fit Like Fido" workout courtesy of DogVacay, if you need some more structured ideas. lila and i don't have much of a formal plan we just follow our hearts and luckily due to the always 70 and sunny SD weather we can partake year round!

Yoga

i practice pretty much every morning whether it be prepping for a class or doing my own thing. i usually do this first thing in the morn in my yoga office or on the beach. lila always joins too! she isn't an early riser but usually hops out of bed when she hears me unroll my mat and sits on her pillow to meditate along with me. if we head to the beach she usually sits next to me as i asana on my beach towel or depending on the time of year and amount of lifeguards, she heads out for a bird chase. lila is always practicing her downward dog and truth be told, she's got me beat in that pose.

Running

recently i trained for a half of a half marathon. lila often went on runs with me. she definitely slowed down my time with sniffing and pooping but she loved coming out with me so much i let it slide. in chicago, she also trained with me on the lake michigan path. here we have so many amazing options for runs... often we do a quick two mile down to dog beach where she can run free or we head up to sunset cliffs for a four miler. when we get back she lays near me panting away as i roll away my aches and pains on a foam roller. she has even made some debuts like at the below when me, matt, and our families organized a team, Matt's Marchers, for the Path to Progress to benefit the ABTA. 

Hiking

this has been something we have been able to get into since moving here although we did the occasional hike back in dayton... there weren't a lot of options in the city. lila loves to hike and runs up these SoCal mountains with the greatest of ease. she will hike up five miles then down and finish looking at you saying, "what's next". she even knows when i get out my gear that we are headed out for a climb. i guess she can smell the plasticy water leaking from my camelback a mile away. 

these are just a few of our very favorite exercise routines but even a quick walk to grab a coffee with lila can change the entire outlook of my day especially since i am cooped up in my house all day working from home. although i am pretty good about exercising typically, lila helped me immensely during my early days of grief. a full workout wasn't possible but a quick walk around the block was and it got my endorphins flowing. so thankful for this pup in my life i don't know how i would have gotten through the past couple of years without here. be sure to checkout the doggy workout plan below! 

namaste

Melissa 

yogi luv