Things have been kind of nuts lately! Teacher training, work, just trying to get stuff done! But it’s been great. Hmm, what have I been up to the last time I posted?

Well…

I got my nails done. We had some freakishly warm weather last week, so I took advantage of it, wore shorts and short sleeves, and headed to Pinky Nail to get pampered:

I did the early voting thing:

And….

I’ve been attending many video reviews. See, in addition to my own video review, I have to attend five others. I’ve gone to four others, so I only have one more to go. They make for long days; we have a practice for about 90 minutes, then we head to Daren’s (my teacher) loft to watch the video and listen to his critique. We also learn a lot more about cueing, watching the students, adjusting, and correcting them. This goes on until about 5pm or sometimes later. Then I usually end up hanging out and chatting with Daren and/or various other trainees. Not only is this a good learning experience, it’s a nice way to bond with my fellow trainees.

I’ve been hanging out with some trainees/yogis as well. Sunday, I ran into Fatima at King Spa, and also met up with Daren and his partner Lance for dinner while we were there. Monday, I attended a video review, and then Carmen and I had dinner and went BACK to King Spa. Yesterday, I got to spend hours with Graham and Milena as we explored the next phase of Moksha’s growth.

Graham, who is working so hard on getting this thing going!

SO. King Spa. Let me tell you about King Spa. Oh, glorious King Spa. It’s a Korean spa in a suburb north of Chicago. My friend Jen and I had vouchers, so we headed up Sunday, late afternoon. King Spa is open 24/7, and it’s not by appointment, so we knew we could arrive anytime. I’d never experienced a Korean spa before, so I didn’t know what to expect. But for the low regular price of $25 (we paid $15 for our vouchers), we got two lockers: one for shoes, one for the rest of our stuff, access to the steam room, the spa, many types of saunas, and a movie room, quiet rooms, meditation rooms…. basically, it’ a place to max and relax, for realz, yo. There are loads of extra services you can pay extra for: scrubs, massages, facials, etc. And there is a food court that serves yummy Korean food and yummy juices.

Sunday night was my first time there ever. If you want to get in the spas, you have to get naked. I was OK with that, though. I also got a body scrub. They really do scrub you down. I was cleaner than I’d ever been in my life. They also shampoo your hair (mmm scalp massage). The spa is unisex, but the rest is co-ed, and you are given uniforms to wear. Pink for women, grey for men, yellow for kids. The saunas range in temperatures from 19F to 400F. Yes, you read that correctly. I like to go in the 400F one and then go right into the 19F after. Mmmmm. There is something for everyone and you feel like a million bucks when you come out. I plan to frequent that place a LOT. Now that I’m getting more comfortable driving. It only took me more than four years, right? I still have not driven downtown yet, though. Mostly I drive up to Jen’s place (way North), to Moksha, or out to the suburbs, like I did today.

Because last night, I found out that John Barrowman (along with his sister Carole) was going to be at Anderson’s tonight. And with Adam completely booked with ghost tours, I knew if I wanted to meet him, I’d need to get myself out there. And believe me, I NEEDED TO MEET HIM. I’ve been a fan of his ever since I saw him playing Captain Jack on Doctor Who, so I was excited.

I made my way out to Naperville about 1:30pm, so I got there about 2:15pm or so. I got my book for him to sign, and then just hung out. I ate lunch at a yummy BBQ place where the guy behind the counter was really great. He made every single customer that walked into the place feel welcomed and wanted, and you very rarely see that anymore. I shopped a bit (and picked up these gems)!:

Then I returned to Anderson’s (OK I may have shopped a little bit in between), sat down with my new books, and started reading. I chatted a bit with some other fans, and then the really cool lady in purple next to me belted out this amazing opera note because John had come up to her to hug her! (She’s known him for years.) SO, I offered to take a photo of them together if he wouldn’t mind posing with me for a quick photo as well. Then I hung out for the next two hours, chatting with the lady in purple (Linda) and any other random people, and then it was my turn to go meet him!

Yeah. THAT HAPPENED YOU GUYS!!!!!!111!!!!!!

He and his sister signed my book!

The week is only halfway over. There is more to come.

Tomorrow, I start teaching karma classes at Moksha every Thursday from 12-1pm for the next seven weeks. The cost is $8, so if you’re near the Riverwest studio, and you have some free time, come on by! It’s a very basic level class, so no experience necessary. This is a requirement to get my certification! Eeek!

There is anatomy class tomorrow night (next to last class!) and Friday, Suzanne Sterling is back!! If you were around last year, you might remember how I came floating out of the Suzanne Sterling workshop. I won’t be able to attend the entire thing this year, but I am going to a few of the sessions (well, one at least) and I know it’s going to be amazing. I can’t wait to see her again!

Friday night, I have a brainstorming party at Daren’s loft, and Sunday morning, I have a lecture with Wendy Doniger, and she’ll be talking about death and rebirth in the history of Hinduism. Should be interesting.

So, November is going to be crazy and it’s not going to let up until Thanksgiving. I’ve got almost 400 emails to answer, and a guest post to post on my blog (I haven’t forgotten you, Celeste), a few giveaways, and more coming up. I’ve only done Christmas shopping for my mom so far, but I’ve got time for that, so I’m not too worried.

OK then. I’m tired and I have to teach tomorrow, so I’d better start heading toward sleep. Plus, Adam is bringing himself some McDonald’s and I don’t want the scent to tempt me. I haven’t had McDonald’s since March 24, 2012, and I want to try to go at least a year without giving in. I know, it’s stupid how it tempts me so much. It’s terrible for me and will probably make me sick since I haven’t had it in so long, but dammit if those fries and McNuggets don’t taste amazing. And it’s not like they aren’t SUPER aggressive with their advertising. But still. I AM STRONG. ROAR.

‘Til next time!

Mirrored from Anywhere Is....

Hey there, hi there, ho there! Thanks to the folks who entered my giveaway. The winners have been contacted and all is well.

So how goes it? I’m aware that it’s been a while (ten days, exactly) since I’ve posted a “what’s up” kinda post, but I had good reasons.

1. I was temping in an office for a few days, and then I was working a lot from home.

2. I FINALLY got some macarons. I’d been craving them for months.

3. I discovered that I love Luna bars. Certain varieties of them are soooo good. I know, I have a problem. I love BARS. Those Trader Joe’s “A Blueberry Walked Into a Bar” cereal bars. Quaker granola bars and Dipps. Cocoa Puffs Treats. They’re so easy to eat. Easy to carry around with me. But at least Luna bars are 70% organic and have lots of vitamins and nutrients, so I don’t have to feel *as* guilty for loving them so much.

4. Saturday, I got the pleasure of studying with master teacher Seane Corn (and she is 10000x amazing) and I attended a master teacher roundtable with her as well.

5. Sunday night, I went to the 2012 Kellogg’s Tour of Olympic Champions show with my silver VIP ticket. I attended the Chalk Talk (pre-show Q&A) and had 4th row seats for the actual show. I also got a souvenir gold medal. I bought a program, a pin, and a leotard but I don’t know if I am brave enough to post it here. Although if you do some digging, you’ll be able to find it…

In the meantime, take a look some girls who definitely look amazing in leotards. You might recognize a few of them….

But there was one HUGE thing that pretty much consumed me. You see, I had my video review today. The video review is an important milestone in my yoga teacher training journey, and boy was I stressed out about it. Those of you who follow my personal facebook or my tumblr got to see firsthand my freakout sessions about it. The prep for it took a lot of time. Practicing, writing sequences, editing sequences, running the sequence out loud to myself in the shower, running it through my mind in the wee hours of the morning when I couldn’t sleep and my bladder was constantly needing to be emptied and the cat was wailing outside the door. Yea, good times.

Because I wanted to do a good job. For numerous reasons. And so I got to the studio about 30 minutes before class started to help set up mats and props. People started arriving about 5-10 minutes before class. Those last ten minutes FLEW by. And then it was time for me to start. I taught the 30 minute opening sequence while Daren (my teacher) sat in the back taking notes on his laptop and Graham (one of my YTT classmates and Daren’s personal assistant) recorded us. There were three of us, 30 minutes each.

When I got to the front of the room, there were times when I just forgot myself. I forgot I was teaching. I just got in the zone. I stumbled over some words. Said some silly things. Used the word “just” wayyyy too much. But overall? HE SAID I WAS AWESOME. He said I exceeded his expectations. He gave me so many compliments, and the constructive feedback was very gentle. He has a really amazing way of delivering feedback that does not make you want to beat yourself up for messing up a cue or forgetting to do small things. I had on my Team USA leo under my shorts and Moksha tee-shirt, but only a few people knew it was there. I felt like it was a good luck charm. He told me that he thinks that teaching yoga is my dharma. (I plan to write a post on dharma sometime….)

At any rate, I PASSED MY VIDEO REVIEW, and now I get to teach eight karma/community classes to actual, paying customers. *gulp*

So… that’s what I’ve been up to these days. Now the the video review is done, I can let out a huge breath I’ve been holding, get a decent night’s sleep, and tackle my next to do list. Also, we’re going to Morton’s Arboretum this week. I’m super excited for that! Trees seem to be peaking so this will be awesome. Can’t wait to take lots of photos!

Til next time….

Early this week, I drove out to Ohio to visit my mom. I hadn’t seen her since Christmas and was missing her. I had a really great visit with her! We stayed up til 3, 4, 5am every night talking. It was so nice to reconnect with her.

Adam and I arrived Sunday morning around 1130EST. (We left home about 430CST.) I drove the entire six hours with direction from the Hungarian Grandmother I downloaded to my GPS. I probably wouldn’t have stopped at all for more time than to get gas and/or pee but Adam woke me up and started asking for food. He didn’t want the food I’d packed. Hmph. I listened to my three playlists (The Commute Mix, Elventified™!, and The 90s) and had fun singing along. The only hard part was when the sun was rising. I was driving East. You do the math.

It felt SO NICE to drive like that, you guys. When you’re on the Interstate between 4-6am, it’s pretty much empty. I was able to sit back and really just become reacquainted with my car. I am not comfortable driving her in the city, but I certainly enjoyed bonding with her on the highway.

I ate terribly when I was there. Well, except the home cooked stuff. Somehow that doesn’t count, right? But I ate fast food three times (shh, don’t tell my yogi friends) and I snacked a lot more than usual. My mom and Adam said I don’t eat enough. Three meals and day and two snacks just sound like SO MUCH, though, and I just can’t do it. I don’t get hungry enough.

Here are a couple of new things I tried:

OH MY GOD this juice is soooooo freaking good, I can’t wait to get more!!!

I know right? But they tasted really good. I shared this little bag with my mom and Adam.

We don’t have Bob Evans very close to us yet, so I ate there twice on this trip. This is the French toast topped with blueberries. More please.

I visited with some cousins and Aidan and Chris came up to visit too! So I get a bonus Aidan visit!

I’ve been home for a few days now. Still worn out and I have yet to unpack. Haven’t been to a yoga class in well over a week. But I did make it to my anatomy class and I worked yesterday. I spent all day today reading and being lazy.

I promise to get back on track tomorrow. There is a rogue cat turd in this house and the scent is driving me up a wall. That’s how they punish us for leaving, by the way. Pooping all over the place. Ugh. There is always one that is hidden very well and I literally have to sniff it out. Gross. I’ve got to eradicate that ASAP; my nose can’t take it.

OK then. Til next time.

Time is flying. I can’t believe that next week it’ll be autumn. Seems like it was just summer, and I was wearing my tiny shorts and tank tops. Today, I was all bundled up, which made some people tease me. (Forgive me, I freeze easily!) Some people had on short sleeves and shorts. And every time I am freezing at work, at least one person is like “You’re cold? It’s hot in here to me!”

I have the space heater blowing on my feet now, while Adam basks in the air conditioning. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

me freezing at one office or another

Sorry I haven’t been so active on the blog here. Besides that fact that I’ve spent some time on tumblr, I’ve been pretty busy. I did get the bathroom cleaned up, but now my room and my “nest” is a hot mess. I’ve been working onsite for two of my favorite clients, trying to squeeze in yoga classes, and attending workshops and extra courses. Spent all weekend at a Building Blocks of Alignment workshop, and started my Thursday night anatomy classes. First weekend of September was spent at WorldCon, where I got to spend time with friends I hadn’t seen since 2009, and some who I’d seen a little bit more recently. I also blew a nice chunk of change in the Dealer’s Room–there’s something about handmade jewelry that’s just super hard to resist. And hair falls! I got new hair falls!

I guess, if I were to use a few photos to sum up what I’ve been up to the past few weeks, it’d be this:

And that’s just a tiny sampling! But it’s a good kind of busy though. It’s tiring, but fulfilling. And I’m grateful for it.

So, I’ve been in kind of a funk for a while. I have’t had anything really good to write about, I’ve been tired, and I’ve been busy as well. If I start posting memes or really short entries, then you know that I’m either super busy or just uninspired. This time I was uninspired. And busy too, I suppose. But mostly lazy.

I don’t take my medication like I’m supposed to. Part of the reason is that it’s expensive and I’m trying to stretch it out as long as I can. I cut the pills in half, and I take it when I feel like I need it, and I felt like it last night, even though I knew I’d probably have a hard time sleeping. I was so tired, though, I figured I’d be OK.

So… I was up at 3am. Wide awake. I scooped the litter boxes, cleaned up the kitchen and bathroom somewhat, finished the first draft of the September Moksha newsletter, turned in my timesheet for last week, and did a yoga practice, in which I did ANOTHER breakthrough pose: Mermaid. MY HOLY GRAIL POSE. Guys, I DID MY HOLY GRAIL POSE THIS MORNING.

Mermaid Pose.
This is Kathryn Budig,
who I got to study with this weekend.
I love her outfit.
[via]

I went through a yoga funk for most of July. I was just NOT INTO IT. I didn’t go to classes regularly, I barely practiced at home… it just wasn’t the thing for me. I even skipped one of my Tuesday classes (arm balances because guys, I suck at most arm balances and I just didn’t want to be bothered), and yeah. It wasn’t good. I think it had something to do with Mercury being in retrograde, because now I’m back to loving yoga again. Or maybe I was just in a tamasic (lazy) period.

Anyway, I’m glad to be back.

Here is me and Ariel at last week’s homework review. We were talking about Viparita Karani (Legs-up-the-Wall Pose) and well, we had to demonstrate.

And in the random….

I have loads of playlists on my iPod, but I think I finally got my Commute Mix sorted. At least for now:

See how everything has a genre, an artist, and an album? I am super anal about my playlist. I hate to see blank spaces or jacked up genres. I’m also not above making up genres to suit my needs (like “Marching Band” or “Patriotic”). What’s on your playlist these days?

And finally, It’s a chilly 64F outside right now with rain. Adam’s loving this weather; it’s his favorite. You all know what I like and fortunately, it’ll be back tomorrow. But I figured that since today is fall weather, I can wear fall clothes.

GO BUCKEYES!

And finally, I’m featured over at Crazy, Beautiful, Unique today! Celeste is a super sweetheart with awesome hair. Go visit!

‘Til next time!

That’s all of us, except for Cameron, who had to leave early for work.

We just completed foundations training. Twenty-two classes, giving us the foundation for our teaching. Poses, lectures, nutrition, gunas, sutras. New friends, good times, great oldies. It was all there.

Up next? Video review. Teaching karma/community classes. Anatomy classes. Workshops with Kathryn Budig, Seane Corn (love her), Aadil Palhkivala (I am SO PUMPED for this one you have no idea), Suzanne Sterling (can’t wait to see her again!), and Tias Little. Answering study guide questions, book reviews, catching up on my reading and my Anatomy Coloring Book assignments. All of that will keep me quite busy until the end of 2012.

Now 2013? That’s a whole other animal, and I’m just gonna not worry about that now.

So, I fail. I forgot to do Sunday Stealing this past Sunday ON Sunday. So I’m doing it now. Aren’t you so lucky?

26. What type of errands do you like running?
I like going to Target for anything, and I like going to Trader Joe’s for groceries.

27. Have you ever eaten snow?
Yes, when I was younger. And no, it wasn’t yellow.

28. What color are your bedsheets?
I’m pretty sure they’re orange.

29. What’s your favorite flower?
Wildflowers, followed by lilacs.

30. Do you do ballet?
No. Wellll, sometimes I bust out my New York City Ballet Workout DVD. Does that count?

31. Do you listen to classical music?
Yes. I love classical music.

32. What is the first TV Theme song that pops in your head?
The theme song to Punky Brewster. I still know all the words!

33. Do you watch Sponge Bob?
I do when Aidan puts it on. My favorite episode is “The Idiot Box.”

34. What temperature is it outside right now?
81F.

35. Do people consider you smart?
Yes.

36. How many piercing do you have?
Just my ears now, double pierced. Used to have navel a long time ago.

37. Are you signed on [to] AIM?
No.

38. Have you ever tried gluing your fingers together?
No.

39. How do you feel about your family?
Love them.

40. Do you have an iPod?
I have two. One is a classic from 2007 that no longer really works with headphones (but works fine in our dock player), the other is a silver classic. I got it last fall. Apple was nice enough to replace it for me after the one I bought in 2010 crashed and burned one or two days after my warranty expired.

41. What time do you go to bed?
Too late! Wah.

42. What CD is currently in your CD player?
There isn’t one in there now but I can tell you that the last one was Bon Jovi – Cross Road.

43. What movie do you know every line to?
Clueless.

44. What is your favorite salad dressing?
Catalina! Mmmmm. Oh wow, a salad sounds really good right now.

45. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Gift cards to iTunes, gift cards to bookstores (or Amazon), gift cards to Old Navy, just about everything from The Pyramid Collection, safe travels, health, love, my mom’s traditional Christmas dinner (YUM), to be looking forward to a trip to Disney World (hee hee), to be happy.

46. What family member/friend lives the farthest from you? Where?
My friend Stephanie Jae lives in London.

47. Do you like hugs?
I LOVE hugs!

48. Last time you had butterflies in your stomach?
Yesterday because I knew I had to do savasana adjustments and I just learned how to do them so I was hoping I wouldn’t mess up. (Someone came up and complimented me after class, so I guess I did OK.)

49. What’s the way people most often mispronounce any part of your name?
It doesn’t happen so much anymore because I introduce myself as Ronni, but when I go by Ronica (my real name), a lot of people think it’s “Veronica” and when I was younger, I often got Roo-NEEK-uh if they hadn’t heard it pronounced (like in a doctor’s office or in a new class with a new teacher). It’s pronounced RAW-ni-kah.

50. Last person you hugged?
Aidan. Although I got a lot of hugs at Moksha–one from Amber, one from Betty, and one from Rachel. <3

1. What kind of work do you do?
I am a freelance copy editor and proofreader.

2. During the course of your lifetime, which job or career has been your favorite or most fulfilling?
Anytime I get the chance to edit materials meant for primary school I get super excited. My most fulfilling work is when I get to make really cool stuff even cooler.

this was one of my favorite projects.

3. Do you think it’s necessary in your life to have a day-to-day “career” that is meaningful and service-oriented or do you function better in “just a job” with a steady paycheck?
I have to do meaningful work, but I admit that it taks a certain amount of privilege to be able to say that. Any time I’ve worked on a position that was just a “paycheck”, I felt like I was dying inside. When it’s Sunday night and you’re wishing you’d get sick so you can call off? That’s a problem. When you’re crying on the commute home? That’s a problem. But some people don’t have a choice, and I respect that.

4. Was there ever a time in your life when you wanted to stay home with your children instead of working, even if it meant less money in the household?
Yes, especially when Aidan was first born. Now I am fortunate enough to be able to do most of my work from home.

5. Tell us your worst boss story.
Hmm, there was the time I went to leave work and the boss said, “You have five more minutes.” When I showed him the clock on my computer that did NOT indicate I had five more minutes, he reset the clock and made me sit for five more minutes before I could leave.

6. Have your ever been the boss? Do you like this this role?
No. I purposely avoid those types of roles. I’ve been sort of a “leader” in a way, but I feel that’s different from being a boss. And even then I was dragged kicking and screaming into the role.

7. What is your dream occupation?
New York Times Best-Selling author as well as someone who gets to edit awesome fiction.

Here are some pictures from some of my past jobs:

working the front desk at the stadium scholarship dorm at ohio state university
(yes, i actually lived in the stadium. it was awesome.
this gave me the opportunity to live in less expensive housing.
it actually should’ve been called the stadium workstudy dorm.)

first day working as a desk attendent at the apt i lived in from 1995-1998

i took pictures of myself during breaks when i worked at Nationwide

see?

And a couple past workspaces:

Wanna hire me? Check out my LinkedIn profile.

OK speaking of work, I need to get back to it. Ta ta!

Now I know what it meant when a parent (mine never said this, mind you) on TV says “This hurts me more than it hurts you.” Because having to be strict and discipline your child, seeing him upset and crying, is NOT the thing. And I fought it. Boy did I fight it. I’m not a confrontational person, so it was really hard for me to do it and follow through.

BUT he did something that broke my trust, so all the fun stuff had to be taken away (in all fairness, I think he got off VERY easily considering), and I hated doing it. But I know that I have to. I’m not trying to be on Jerry Springer or something like that duking it out with my kid. No way.

Being a mom is hard. But not hard enough for me to EVER say, “This is hurting me more than it hurts you.” Heh.