Trick or treat!

Happy Halloween! One of the things I love about working with children is getting to dress up for Halloween! This year, I was a bee and I’m a little sad that the day is over, because I would have loved to wear my costume for a lot longer! I go costume shopping with a friend every year, but it’s getting more and more difficult to find a costume that’s acceptable to wear around children. Who decided Halloween was about being as sexy as possible? What about scary or funny? I have to admit, I don’t do “ugly” for Halloween. I would rather be pretty. But come on, sexy everything?

Halloween’s also about candy! No matter how hard I try, I can’t not eat candy. I’ve been trying to be good lately, eating more vegetables and less junk food. It’s funny, because I do yoga, some people assume I’m a health nut. I’m not one of those people who’s all “carrot sticks are nature’s candy.” Candy is candy. However, I do admit it does terrible things to your insides and I’m going to try really hard to eat less sugar.

How was your Halloween?

I wish I were a pink flamingo

For some reason, we all wish we were something we’re not. When it becomes “I wish I were skinnier/richer/more like her/less like this” it’s not good. But when you let your imagination run away with “I wish I were…” it can be quite interesting to see what comes up.

I wish I were in Hawaii so I could do the hula. Grass skirts. Coconuts. Need I say more?

I wish I were a superhero so I could fly to the yoga studio instead of driving. Also, I would like those claw-things like Wolverine. And I would be indestructable like the cheerleader in Heros, or like Hancock. No sense being a superhero if you can’t have it all. And a cape, I want a cape. A pink one. With sparkles.

I wish I were a book. I love books. Think of all the wonderful things people say about books. Amazing! Beautiful! Interesting! Well written! ok, maybe that last one doesn’t work.

I wish I were a pink flamingo. They’re pink. They are graceful and look like tightrope walkers. They live in groups of pinkness and they eat lots of shrimp. I don’t like shrimp, but maybe I could be a vegetarian flamingo and eat pink cupcakes and pink peanut butter or something?

I wish I were seven years old. Children have so much imagination. They make up animals and create worlds where fairies and birds talk to each other. They write pages and pages of stories like “The adventures of Manon the giraffe” (that’s me). They don’t have writer’s block, they have ideas by the dozen.

I wish I were a giraffe. They’re my most favourite animal ever. They’re so unique and they never need to ask for help to get something off the top shelf. They have a blue tongue. And horns. So cool.

I wish I were a cake tester at the bakery. This needs no explanation.

I wish I were an astronaut. I could drink Tang and eat freeze dried spaghetti. Plus, imagine how much more effective wishing on a star would be. I wonder if astronauts get everything they wish for?

I wish I were a cloud. People see different shapes when they look at you. You block out the sun on a hot day. You’re always different. You have so many cool names like cummulus and snuffulaffagus. And, Care Bears!

This post was written in response to the weekly writing challenge at WordPress.com. This week’s prompt was I wish I were…

What do you wish you were?

What does one wear to a Time Warp?

Don’t dream it, be it.

That’s the tag line for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I heard about this movie when I was in college, and I was fascinated with the idea of audience participation during a movie. I heard people dressed up and threw things at the screen. Definitely two things I wanted to do!

Well, 12 years later, I made it! Last night, I became an official Rocky Horror participant! Because it’s almost Halloween, the Mayfair theatre, which shows old and off-beat movies, is having a Rocky Horror event. They have it every year, and it’s apparently the third most popular in North America and the highest grossing in Canada.

I had never seen the whole movie, but I knew some of the songs and who the characters were. I wasn’t sure if people were going to dress up, so I googled “what to wear to the Rocky Horror Picture Show”. I found this site and they suggested dressing up as one of the characters. I was a little hesitant, as was my friend Suzanne (who, by the way, googled the same thing I did). I went with kind-of-big hair (like Magenta, but not, because my hair was straight) and lots of eye liner. Suzanne went with sparkles (Columbia) and pearls (Frank-n-Furter).

This is us waiting in line outside the theatre like groupies at a concert.

The Mayfair theatre is really beautiful and old. It’s a one-room theatre and it has so much more character than the newer movie complexes. There was also a stage in front of the screen.

There were actors playing the parts of the main characters. I wasn’t sure what to expect. When the first song came on, with only the mouth singing on screen, a girl, dressed as Magenta, came on stage and started lipsynching. The she started to strip. She stripped all the way down to practically nothing. I knew some of the costumes were racy, but I wasn’t expecting this!

After that, I was ready for anything. We weren’t allowed to throw rice or confetti during the wedding scene, but people were shouting out one-liners and comments and it was pretty funny. I didn’t know any of the lines, but it was my first time, after all.

When Janet and Brad got out of the car during the storm, I was ready with my newspaper. Everyone covered their head when Janet did and people were spraying water and waving flashlights around when they got to the mansion. It was so much fun!

My favourite part was the Time Warp. I loved getting up, dancing and singing. I don’t think I did all the moves right, but no one was looking, everyone was having a great time.

I also really liked throwing toast during the dinner scene! I felt a little strange before the show, making toast with the sole purpose of throwing it at a movie screen, but it was worth it! Actually, to be fair, I ate the first toast I made, so then I had to make more.

The movie itself is pretty cheesy, but that’s what makes it so good. Having the people on stage act out the scenes at the same time as the movie was great. It added to the story, especially when the actors made up their own lines. Sometimes, people were yelling so many things that you couldn’t hear what was going on in the movie. I’m pretty sure that’s the point.

Plus, going to this event was number 59 on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. It was also on Suzanne’s list, so we wanted to do it together!

Next time, because there will definitely be a next time, I’m going full-out Magenta, big hair, apron and all!

Remember, Don’t dream it, be it!

Cheating on yoga

1. Make a plan to go to yoga three times during the week.

2. Blog about it, so the whole universe knows.

3. Go to class on Monday.

4. Sweat and fall off the red ball.

5. Go to class on Wednesday.

6. Enjoy.

7. Wake up with twinge in right tricep.

8. Decide it’s nothing.

9. Assure yoga you will be there that evening, as promised.

10. Go on a nature walk with students.

11. Enjoy the sunshine.

12. Try to convince kids the wasps will not sting them while fighting the urge to run around like a crazy person yelling “wasp!”

13. Feel bad when little girl gets stung.

14. Look for frogs.

15. Suffer through 40-minute bus ride with very loud children.

16. Teach after-school dance class.

17. Feel twinge in right arm again.

18. Tell it to go away.

19. Regretfully decide to skip yoga when arm will not go up without face scrunching up.

20. Get text from dad who says he will stop by that evening for a visit.

21. Take it as a sign.

22. Cheat on yoga with The Big Bang Theory.

23. Feel guilty about not feeling guilty.

24. Eat a cookie.

25. Post happy, shiny pictures to distract people with the pretty colours.

Are blue books sad?

I have a lot of blue books. Really, I have a lot of books, but it seems like a lot of them are blue. I put them all together and it made me wonder, are blue books sad? Now, I regularly ask myself silly (or brilliant, depending on how you look at it) questions like this, but I rarely find an answer. Shocking, I know.

I think, amongst themselves, books probably have stereotypes based on colour, just like people do. This is what I think they think.

Blue books : They’re sad and mopey. They cry a lot.

Pink books: They’re bubbly and flirty and kind of flaky. They say things like “Aren’t dolphins beautiful?”

Yellow books: They’re happy and have a positive attitude. They encourage the other books to get out and enjoy the sunshine on their pages.

Black books: They’re dark and creepy. They hide in the shadows and scare the other books, especially the pink ones.

Grey books: They’re twisted. They enjoy leather book marks.

Orange books: They’re hyperactive and drive the other books nuts with their crazy ideas and plans.

Green books: They’re, you know, green. They recycle and smoke pot and play guitar.

Red books: They’re always angry. Nobody knows why, because all the other books stay away from them.

White books: They’re very sweet, but also kind of boring. They like marshmallows.

Purple books: They’re very moody. The green books have suggested they take up yoga, but they get depressed if the corners of their pages get folded.

In an attempt to check if these stereotypes were based on fact or fiction, I asked my books.

And there you have it, the books have spoken!

This post is a little different from what I normally write, but I was inspired by this week’s weekly writing challenge. The theme was “A splash of color”. Hope you enjoyed my splash!

99 red balloons

I am very happy with myself right now. Yesterday, I planned out my yoga classes for the week. The first one was a power class today, and I did it. Success!

It was one of the most unusual yoga classes I’ve been too. Why, you ask? Well, maybe because Todd, the teacher, threw each person a red, rubbery, bouncy, ball. A little smaller than a volleyball. Kind of like a dodge ball. Actually, scratch that. I haven’t played dodge ball in 20 years, so I’m in no position to compare my red ball to a dodge ball.

It was kind of like this. Well, I’m not sure what size these are.

Everyone was so calm and adult about the whole thing. They just put their ball to the side and waited. Not me. I bounced my ball as high as I could. Then my ball ran away from me and hit the girl in front of me. She didn’t mind. Well, she smiled, so I think it was all good.

At first it was a regular class, but then we started working with the ball. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but red balls are happy and bouncy and it was not like that at all. No, that happy little red ball was for core work! Core! If you’re thinking, obviously, you know more about core stuff than me. Most people do.

I held that ball between my knees, pushed against it with my abs and also fell of it quite often. Good times, good times.

Actually, even if I felt like I had the core of the Pillsbury dough boy, it was great. I know I need to work on my core, and this was a fun new way to do it.

Hitting the reset button

Since October started, I haven’t been to yoga very much. Twice, to be exact. The first week, I was taking it easy after my 30 day challenge in September, so I only went to one class. But this past week, I’ve been feeling lazy and unmotivated. Every evening, I found a reason not to go to class.

Challenges work well for me. I like the motivation they bring me. Without it, I feel a little lost. I convince myself I am too tired, or sick, or busy to practice, but that leads to me feeling worse, not better.

This morning, I decided enough was enough. I went to a noon detox flow class at Pure. I felt better just walking through the door. A fellow blogger wrote a post about finding your yoga home recently, and it made me realize how much I missed my yoga home. I missed the people, the classes, the energy.

At least five or six people said to me “I haven’t seen you in a while!” Another sign that I’ve been neglecting my second home.

Class was great. I thought it would be a little difficult, since it had been over a week since I’d practiced at all, but it made me feel wonderful. I don’t know why it’s so easy for me to forget how amazing yoga makes me feel about myself. That class was really like hitting a reset button. I’m going to forget about the last two weeks and just focus on what’s to come.

I kind of missed not getting a sticker after class, like I did during the challenge, but Jen gave me a Pure Yoga bumper sticker, so that’s even better!

I’ve decided to try a little experiment. The yoga challenge helped motivate me because I felt like I was being held accountable for doing what I said I would (even if it was just to myself). So now I’m putting it out there that I’m going to three classes this week.

Monday, 7:30 pm Power class with Todd

Wednesday, 7:30 Yin class with Ichih

Thursday, 7:30 Flow class with Jen.

I reserve the right to change my plans, but only if I make other plans instead, like dinner with friends. No cancelling yoga to sit on the couch and watch tv. Hopefully, this will help keep me motivated this week!

I am thankful

Today is Thanksgiving. It’s a day for gratitude and thanks. I have so much to be thankful for.

I am thankful for beautiful fall days and walks in the woods.

I am thankful for my family.

I am thankful that my sister is my friend.

I am thankful for this dog, even if he did eat my contact lenses.

I am thankful for the ability to practice yoga.

I am thankful for babies in downward dog.

I am thankful for my parents.

I am thankful for my friends.

I am thankful for turkey and mashed potatoes, stuffing and pie. (I don’t like stuffing, but it makes a lot of people pretty happy.)

I am thankful that I have a job I love.

I am thankful for days spent making apple pie with my mom and my sister.

I am thankful to be living my life.

What are you thankful for?

How to say thank you with cookies

For all of September, I had free yoga classes. Everyone who does yoga knows, that while it’s definitely worth it, it’s not usually free. Since the challenge I was participating in was to raise money for charity, Jen and Amber at Pure Yoga Ottawa gave all of us challenge people free yoga for the month. Most people went a few time, some even 10 or 12 times. I went to 30 classes. That’s a lot of free yoga.

I wanted to make something for the girls to say thank you. I decided to make cookies. I love to bake, but I didn’t do it much in September, since I was busy getting blissed out on daily yoga.

I made the sugar cookies from the Five Rose cookbook, since those are the ones my mom always makes, and also because I’ve made them so often, I barely have to look at the recipe!

I like to fill  a cookie sheet with all the same shape of cookie. That way, they bake evenly. Also, I use thin, cheap, aluminum cookie sheets. I have “better” cookie sheets, but these cheap ones make the best cookies!

After they cooled, I covered them in fondant. I make my fondant in large batches and freeze it, so I always have some on hand. This time, I had white and yellow, so that’s what I used!

I made royal icing in two colours to pipe some designs on the cookies. My piping skills are not excellent, I’m much better with fondant, but I think they came out pretty cute!

I put them in a pretty little box with some tissue paper and voilà, a cookie thank you!

27 out of 101

On October 1st, 2011, I started a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. It’s been an amazing year. Some of the things I imagined I would do right away have yet to be done, while some of the things I thought would be done towards the end of the 1001 days have been accomplished already! It’s been great. If I’m feeling restless or bored, I look to my list and find instant inspiration and motivation!

Here is a recap of what I’ve done so far. For the full list, click here.

12. Try snowboarding.

I did this last year with my friend Julie. We went out a few times and I fell in love with it! I’m actually looking forward to snow this year. Sadly, my friend Julie moved to Abu Dhabi, so I lost my snow buddy, but I’m still going to make it out to the hill, because I enjoy it so much! I fall a lot, but that’s nothing new!

13. Go to Central or South America

When I wrote this, I had Costa Rica or Brazil in mind. However, not everything happens as planned. I went to Cuba this summer and although I’m not sure the Caribbean counts and Central or South America, I have decided that, for the purpose of this list, it does! It doesn’t mean I won’t go someday, but 1001 days is less than three years, so I’m not sure I’ll make it before then.

18. Do 108 sun salutations

I did this twice! Once for the spring equinox and once for the summer solstice. There was supposed to be an event held for the fall equinox, but it was outside and it was cancelled due to rain. I was disappointed, because I thought I might do 108 sun salutations for all of the seasons in 2012. It’s definitely not easy, and your legs feel it the next day, but it’s a great experience.

22. Take a trip with my mom

My mom and I went to Cuba together this summer. I love my mom and I like her too! We have a great time together. I always feel bad for my friends who don’t like to spend time with their mom, or who just don’t get along. My mom rocks.

23. Go running along the canal

The canal is beautiful and I always see people running and think “I want to do that.” So I did. It was a beautiful day and it made me happy.

24. Get a cellphone I can text with

I got one for my birthday, last November. I enjoy my phone, but it is not surgically implanted in my hand. It’s not an iphone, it doesn’t do anything special. It lets me text, which makes me thing I have caught up with technology, although deep down, I know I haven’t.

30. Visit the National Gallery

I went to see the Van Gogh exhibit in September. The gallery is beautiful, which is why I wanted to go again. It’s right across the river, I should go every time there is a new exhibit.

34. Go hiking

I’ve done this several times since last October, and I hope to do it again before the 1001 days are up. There are so many wonderful places to hike and walk in the woods around here, there’s no reason not to go!

37. Make a dress

I wrote this thinking I would make myself a dress. However, last year, for my class play, I made two dresses for two very happy little girls! I think two mini-dresses equals one me-size dress!

38. Eat beets

I don’t like beets, but, at a restaurant for my birthday last year, I discovered fried beets. They were delicious and did not taste like regular beets at all. This means they did not taste like dirt.

39. Climb a tree

Trees are made for climbing. I’ve discovered I can climb a tree when it needs to be climbed, it doesn’t matter if I’m wearing white or a dress. I can do it.

43. Play volleyball

I’ve done this twice. I’ve discovered I’m not very good (ok, I knew this already) but I do enjoy it very much. My goal is to get better (meaning not duck when the ball comes my way) and maybe play on a team next summer.

45. Get an IMAX teacher movie pass

I’ve been to several movies, and it’s definitely worth it! One and a half movies paid for my pass, now all the movies I see are free!

46. Go on a road trip

I don’t know if going to Montreal, which is 2 hours away, counts as a road trip, but it was a car full of girls with one bride-to-be, on a mission to find some dresses, singing ABBA songs and eating chocolate cookies. I say it counts.

58. Play Monopoly

I played with some of the kids in my class, and it wasn’t quite how I remembered. They didn’t want to spend their money on anything, so they just kept going around, passing go, collecting 200$. I felt bad buying properties and making them pay when they landed there. But it was still fun!

61. Try a yoga dance class

I’ve done Madonna flow yoga with Natalie, one of my favourite teachers. It’s ashtanga yoga, but it’s to the music of Madonna. We sing, we dance, we vogue. If this isn’t a yoga dance class, I don’t know what is!

63. Try a new kind of tea

I’ve tried many. I even went to a tea house with the road trip girls, although not during the road trip. I love tea. Must keep trying new kinds.

64. Do yoga on the beach

I went to a moonlight yoga class which was held at the beach. I also did some yoga poses on the beach in Cuba. Not many though, it was too hot!

68. Give someone flowers

I picked some May flowers for my mom for mother’s day. I’ve been doing it every year since I was a kid. They grow in the woods and I used to go walking to pick them. Now, I usually park by the side of the road and wave at people who look at me like I’m crazy, in the woods in my dress and sandals.

72. Do the hula

I had the Hawaiian hula in mind, but I did a couple of hula hoop dancing classes. Lots of fun and a great workout!

74. Donate to a good cause

I thought I would donate a big amount to a charity, but I realized I donate regularly, just smaller amounts to different causes. I always give to the kids packing my groceries for their sports team, the man sitting at the table in the mall for cancer, the run for the cure, the fundraising for my 30-day challenge. I give in small doses, but as much as I can.

77. Make a list of the books I read (up to 101)

I’m at 54. Number 55 is taking me a while.

84. Write a list of 101 things that make me happy

I’ve started. I’ll post the whole list when I’m done.

86. Do yoga every day for one week

Well, this one took on a life of it’s own! I not only did yoga for a week, I did it for 30 days. Twice! Once in the spring with my friend Julie and once in September. I will probably do it again!

90. Not buy any new clothes for one month

This one also became something else. I did a no-spending challenge last May, where I did not buy anything but essentials. It’s crazy how much money I saved. It has made me realize I buy way too much crap I don’t need. I’m not as strict with myself as I was in May, but I have changed my spending habits.

98. Ride in a limousine

Did this last December for my friend’s birthday. I don’t like champagne, but it tasted lovely in a limo!

99. Run on the beach

I went for a run in the spring in an area that was somewhat unfamiliar, and I was surprised when the path brought me to the beach. It’s not a large beach, but I ran next to the water to get to the path on the other side. It made me happy because it was unexpected!

So far, I’ve done 27 things on my list. I can’t wait to do the rest!