Timing is everything

Our new schedule at work is good, it really is, even though I have a hard time remembering where I'm supposed to be each week and have to check all the time. It's three days on, three days off, three days on, three days off, THEN three days off, three days on, three days off, three days on, repeat. So, every month, we get a super-long weekend, which is really nice! It does mean fewer hours, less money. But the hardest thing is that, with working until 7:30 (store closes at 7:00 p.m. now), I can't schedule any classes for after work. They all seem to start at 7:00. Unless I join a proper gym or the Y. I can't afford that option. I've been very happy with the local recreation department fitness classes in the past, but their schedule doesn't fit mine. Bummer!

I've been taking an early-morning fitness class once a week that continues to kick my butt. And I'm losing flexibility. SO! I need to do some yoga. I love yoga! I haven't found a class I can afford that meets at a convenient time and I'm waaaay too shy to hook up with some random Craig's List person.  I have many DVDs and have downloaded many different options. Yet, I don't do them. I need a better/bigger space in which to practice, I don't like how slow they are, I blah blah blah. I WILL start, though, because getting my ass kicked once a week is apparently not enough for me.  I miss yoga.

Soundtrack for a Happy Day

Music is so powerful! Have you read Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks or This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin? I highly recommend BOTH!

Here are some cheerful selections to brighten your day:













Do you have any suggestions to add to the soundtrack? Please leave 'em in the comments!

It's been a Yoga Weekend. Yesterday, I went to a new-to-me studio with a friend who just signed up for classes. It was in a suburban office building, but they'd created such a lovely space, and the many windows look out over a lake, I really forgot I was in a building that shares space with an insurance company. Really, really pretty. It was mega-crowded and I was SUPER grouchy to start, but it all turned out really well! I might join my friend again.

Today, I went to a close-to-home place that I've been meaning to go to for ages. The Armenta Studio. It has a more organic feel to it, a little more down-to-earth and genuine feel. I really liked it! I was really nervous and anxious about going, but it also turned out great. I had a good workout and will prob go back again!

Catching up

Yesterday, the yoga studio had a free yoga class offered, so of COURSE I went, thrifty woman that I am! I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to participate properly, due to the damn fibromyalgia, but I did really well! And it was fun! And I'm super sore today, but not immobile, like I have been in the past when I've done exercise. Additionally, I had lots of dog walks yesterday, so I might have just overdone it in general, but I STILL don't feel incapacitated with pain. SUCH a relief. Thank god for pharmeceuticals. I'm going to sign Mr Handsome and myself up for a yoga class!
I'm caring for Samba this week and he's doing very well after have had surgery to remove an aggressive cancer in his nose. They had to take his upper mandible and jowls, so he looks very odd. Actually, it looks horrible, but he's still the same loving, lovable, wonderful, best-dog-in-the-WHOLE-world Samba. I am so glad he looks like he does, because it means he had life-saving surgery. I just love that dog as if he were my own.
Tonight, it feels like Seattle, but warm, outside. It's really damp and misty/drizzley. Everything is so fragrant and lush and luminously green. Really gorgeous. And Mr Handsome wants to buy a little cottage in Spring Lake! Wow! Exciting!