Do more of what makes you happy

May was a busy, happy month for me. I spent most of it annoying people so they would watch my yoga video. I participated in a contest to win money for my yoga teacher training tuition. And I won! I am so grateful to everyone who watched. Thanks a million!

May had a lot of happy moments for me. Here are a few.

Climbing  fences.

Picking flowers.

Pretty flowers.

Surprise flowers by my door.

Reading a fairy tale.

Book day with my students.

Also there was yoga. Lots of yoga. Always yoga.

I know we’re well into June now, but I still wanted to share!

When blissful moments find you

Today was one of those days. Happy just because. Little bits of bliss here and there.

I’ve been sick and whiny lately, so it was a nice change to have some moments that made me smile.

There was my new dress, which is so fabulous, it deserves it’s own post. (Soon!)

All the classes at school put on plays around this time. My class’ play was a couple of weeks ago (a musical circus, adorable!). Tonight, I helped out with another group. We don’t have a stage at school, so we go to the church across the street. They have a huge basement with a great stage. While I was setting up chairs, I noticed a bookshelf. Obviously, I had to check it out. They were for sale. For 25 cents! Seriously! A quarter for a book! There was a piggy bank to put your coins in.

And then coming home after a long, long day to find these beautiful lilacs my cousin Annie left for me and a card her daughter made me. Such a thoughtful gesture and it made me crazy happy! When someone goes out of their way to do something nice, just because, it’s a wonderful feeling.

I had one of these moments today. They don’t happen every day, so I sat back for a few minutes and enjoyed watching the kids work.

Also, I went to the library after school and ran into one of my first graders. Her reaction is a perfect example of how kids act when they see their teacher out of school.

You’re at the library?

You’re getting books?!

For our class?! Wow.

I hope your day had some bliss in it!

Running and flowers

I’ve been getting back into running lately. For the past three weeks, I’ve been following the couch to 5k program, and so far, so good. Except yesterday. Yesterday was not good. It was the last day of week three and I needed to get my third run in.

I did not want to run.

I went to a kick-my-butt yoga class in the morning, then ran some errands. All I wanted to do after that was crash on the couch for a while and read my book. The thing is, when my friend Suzanne and I started running together, I made us these motivation calendars. What’s a motivation calendar, you ask? Well, it’s a calendar where you get to put a sticker when you go running. Little feet for running, stars for yoga.

The only thing that made me go on that run was the thought of not getting a third sticker for the week. Not because I really love stickers (but who doesn’t love stickers?) but because if I didn’t go, that empty space on my calendar would mock me every time I walked by it.

So I went running. I’m not going to lie and say that as soon as I started running, I felt amazing. No. I felt like I was on a run I didn’t want to be on. But about halfway through, I got over my crankiness and enjoyed myself. I really, really enjoyed putting that sticker on my calendar!

Today, Sunday, is mother’s day. My mom is awesome, which is a good thing, because I’m becoming more and more like her. There is no doubt that I am my mother’s daughter and I couldn’t be happier about it. I hope that, when I have kids, I’m just like her. She used to take my sister and I on all sorts of adventures, playing under a bridge (seriously the coolest thing ever when you’re a kid) letting us take all the lessons we wanted (figure skating, horsback riding and step dancing anyone?) and baked, played, danced, sang, read with us all the time. And I mean all the time. She was, and still is, always there for us.

Every year, since I was little, I pick May flowers for my mom on mother’s day. Last year, I had a nasty cold and I still stopped by the side of the road and picked flowers for her. This year, don’t ask me what happened, but I forgot. I know! How could I forget!? My mom did not say anything, probably so I wouldn’t feel bad, but when my sister showed up, she asked “Where are the May flowers?”

I couldn’t believe I forgot, so I took my two little cousins and drove out to my “secret spot” so we could pick some for our moms. Sadly, my mom only got a small bouquet, as the kids were so into it, yelling “I found one!” whenever they saw a flower, that I just had to leave more for them.

Here’s a tip: If you’re going to be walking in the cold, mucky woods, don’t wear thin little flats.

The rest of the day was spent indoors, eating delicious food and spending time with family. And that included doing the dishes!

Calla Lily Cake

My friend Dominique got married on Saturday. She’s having a beautiful wedding ceremony with family and friends in January, but she had a civil ceremony this weekend. She wanted to keep things simple and invited us to the ceremony, followed by a wine and cheese at her house. Her daughters wanted to make sure the day was extra-special, so they planned little surprises. One of those surprises was asking me to make a cake.

I remembered she had mentionned calla lilies for her bouquet, but I couldn’t ask her about it, it was meant to be a surprise!

I decided to go with the lilies, but I had never made life-like flowers before. I usually just cut my decorations out of fondant. I found a tutorial with a little video and it didn’t look that hard. Turs out, it was pretty easy! I made several flowers and let them dry overnight. I covered the cake in light yellow fondant, added a yellow ribbon, and voilà! Calla lily perfection!

Sunshine and Wedding Bells

On Saturday, my friends Julie and Pete got married. It was perfect! I had a great time and I think everyone else did too! It was the first time I was so involved with all the “behind the scenes” stuff, and let me tell you, planning a wedding is not for sissies!

First, as promised, the pictures of my incredible fascinator! I even had people tell me “It’s so Kate Middleton!” Yes! Exactly what I was going for.

 

Before the ceremony, I did a lot of running around.

– Get flowers from point A to point B.

– Zip the bride into her dress.

– Give the flower girl her basket of flowers.

– Pin the boutonnières on the men.

– Unlock reception hall for the caterer.

Then, it was time for the ceremony. It was beautiful and I cried when they said their vows. I always cry at weddings, but this one touched me more than most.

This is my favourite picture of the day.

After the ceremony, there was a garden party. I think this was the part I was looking forward to the most. I stopped at the store to get a pen for the guest book, because nobody thought to get one, and the only one we found had “funeral home directors” written on it. They didn’t have what I was looking for, but the girls at the store found one in their desk that was a million times better than the funeral pen.

As I got back in my car to head to the garden party, there was a small problem. My car wouldn’t start. This is a long story that deserves it’s own blog post, so more to come on this tomorrow.

At the reception hall, I took a picture of the wedding cake I made. Now, I admit is was a little crooked. I tried so hard to make it level, I even used a level, but it was still a little off. However, it was nowhere near as topsy-turvy as it looks in this picture! It must be the angle or something.

The evening was filled with laughter, good food, excellent cake (if I do say so myself) dancing, lovely speeches and many happy moments!

Walk, don’t run!

I have a nasty cold. So bad, that I just spent all weekend complaining. It was a really nice day out on Saturday, but I spent most of it on the couch. At one point, I opened the door, stepped out onto the porch to confirm that, yes, in fact, it was a beautiful day. Then I went back to bed. Yesterday was a little better and I spent the afternoon with family, sitting on my grandma’s porch.

Today, I decided I was sick of being sick. It was another amazing day and I could not spend one more minute inside. Well, after work, anyways. I stopped at the park on my way home, because the word for my photo a day challenge was grass. Since I live in an appartment, I don’t have any grass. I sat around, took some pictures and enjoyed the sun. This is my picture of the day.

Then I decided that what I really wanted wasn’t just to sit outside, but to run. I went home and started getting ready. That’s when the inner dialogue started.

Sick me: – You know, you’re still sick.

Sick of being sick me: – Whatever, I need to move!

– I’m just saying, walk, don’t run.

– We’ll see. I really want to run.

– I know, but you keep having coughing fits.

– I can stop running to cough, it’s all good.

– Ok, well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Obviously, 5 minutes in, I started to run. I felt amazing, free, like I was a gazelle….and my lungs were on fire. Actually, I started coughing so I slowed down, and that’s when my lungs felt like they were about to explode. So much for running while being sick. I did run for longer than I thought I would though (a total of about 5 minutes).

Since I couldn’t run, I decided to go back to the park. There were beautiful lilac bushes. Some kids gave me some lilacs today. It was very sweet, even if the flowers were a little (a lot) wilted from being held in grubby little hands for who knows how long during recess. I decided I wanted to pick some. Trouble is, the ones I could reach were on the street side and I didn’t want anyone to see me. I don’t think picking flowers is allowed in parks, but there’s no sign or anything. Anyways I went to the other side and jumped around and grabbed at the branches untill I had a few flowers. I sent all kinds of tree bits and leaves and maybe a bug down the front of my shirt, but it was worth it. I also picked some blue flowers.

I like to take before and after pictures. This is before and after my run/walk/flower picking expedition. I still have dark circles under my eyes, but I think I look happier after playing outside.

So this is what I learned today: when you’re sick, walk, don’t run. Or even better, pick flowers!