Category Archives: healthy lifestyle

best cheap yoga in nyc

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Kevin and I like to talk about what we’d do if we suddenly had an abundance of money. I don’t mean millions (although, I think he’s hoping for millions), just enough to indulge from time to time.

One of the first things on my list is a monthly membership to one of my favorite yoga studios in NYC. Formal yoga classes in New York can be pricey – often more expensive than a gym membership. My favorite studio offers an unlimited monthly pass for $125. Oof. Too rich for my blood.

But there are ways to spend a little less on the best yoga classes in the city – if you’re willing to be flexible. (Pun delightfully intended.)

Best Cheap Yoga in Manhattan:

Ishta Yoga - (Update! I just got an email from Ishta – they’re offering a deal this Monday, May 17: an unlimited month of classes for $30. That’s a steal, since a month usually costs $125. Go here if you want to buy it.) This studio offers my favorite yoga class experience by far. The environment is calming, the rooms are big, the teachers are fantastic.  And they focus more on your relationship to your body, the earth, and your spirituality, rather than obsessing over making every pose perfect.

Unfortunately their single classes are the most expensive I’ve ever seen in the city. $22 for one class! (I treated myself to that price once, but never again. I just can’t afford it.) However, if you’re a new student, you can buy an unlimited monthly pass for $60! That’s a great deal. I took advantage of it earlier this year and it got me hooked on Ishta. They also offer a lovely meditation class with the studio’s founder, Alan Finger, included in the monthly unlimited membership, or $30 to drop-in.

Yoga to the People - Good, cheap “yoga for everyone.” They claim no celebrated teachers, no correct attire, no judgments, no right answers – just basic, happy yoga for anybody. For a mere $5, I love their hot power Vinyasa class. It’s an hour-long ass-kicking experience in a small, cramped room with people who’ve never done yoga in their lives alongside those who practice every day. Once you get past the hectic energy of the previous class leaving while your class enters, it can be a lot of fun. Most of the teachers are very good and they don’t take any of it too seriously. With three separate locations in town, YTTP also offers a “traditional” hot yoga classes (Bikram style), and a power Vinyasa class that isn’t hot (suggested donation!) – both of which are supposed to be great and are cheaper than lunch in Midtown.

Om Yoga – This Union Square yoga staple has been around forever. With dozens of master teachers and a lot of classes to choose from, it’s a great place to be a beginner or to deepen your practice. Their schedule changes every month and their drop-in prices are standard (between $14-17), but they also offer a “community” class a couple times a week for just $5. Taught by people just finishing their teacher training, the community classes aren’t as insightful as the regular ones, but they do the trick.

Kula Yoga – I did poses I’d never done before when I took a class at Kula. It’s often easy for yoga classes to feel very similar to one another; Kula’s innovative teachers make sure that doesn’t happen. Their drop-in fee is $18, but you can take advantage of their “new student special” and pay $30 for a three-class package. A sweet deal.

Vida Yoga – Located near the heart of NYU’s campus, Vida offers $5 classes for first-timers with a student ID, as well as a one-time week of unlimited classes for $10. This is the one studio on my list that I’ve never been to, but have really been dying to try. I’ll take advantage of that awesome $10 deal soon and I promise a review once I do.

I hope you won’t let the potentially high price of yoga in Manhattan stop you from seeking out good classes, great teachers and top-notch studios! You can practice yoga on any budget.

But if you come into millions, go ahead and splurge.

okay, okay – my weight loss tips!

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A few days ago, I wrote a post called “i’ve gained 10 pounds” in which I promised this blog wouldn’t be turning into a weight loss blog. And it won’t be! But I have gotten a few requests for my weight loss tips, so I’m happy to share them.

First, I want to say that I read this fabulous blog called Ramshackle Glam and I love what Jordan Reid had to say a few days ago about her relationship to her weight, and more specifically, about the Blueprint Cleanse.

This cleanse, which is basically a juice fast, has become popular in NYC recently thanks, in part, to people like Julia Allison and the girls at Non-Society. (If you don’t know what or whom I’m talking about, let’s keep it that way – you don’t want to know.) My friends and Faryn, Marina and Chloe recently did the Blueprint Cleanse themselves. I haven’t yet spoken to any of them directly about their experience, but I think it went just fine.

That said, Jordan Reid didn’t have quite the same experience. Everyone’s different! (If you want to read Jordan’s review of the cleanse and her thoughts about dieting, here’s the post.)

I bring up Jordan because I appreciate her perspective on healthy living and her weight, which is – mostly – that she doesn’t give it much thought. True, the girl is naturally thin and many of us aren’t. Many of us have to pay close attention to what we eat to avoid gaining weight. But something I want to say before I list my weight loss tips is this:

If you live your life in a perpetual state of trying to lose weight, or obsessing about, talking about and worrying about your weight, there might be something else going – something bigger than your concerns about your body.

I am not a psychologist and I’m not a nutrition expert, and I do believe in eating healthy, fresh, naturally lower-calorie stuff whenever possible.

I also think that obsessing about our bodies and our weight is crazy and ultimately ineffective. Just so you know.

So now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, if you want to safely and responsibly shed weight for the right reasons….

Here are my 5 Tips for Lasting Weight Loss!

1. Be realistic. Be realistic about how much weight you need to lose. Ultimately, you want to maintain a healthy, average weight. If you have a desire to be thinner than that, you need to look at what’s really going on because it’s probably not about your body, it’s about something else.

2. Be patient and stay committed. Whether you have 100+ pounds to lose, or if you’d only like to shed a few, losing weight takes time. It’s done by making lasting, simple changes to your diet and your lifestyle. It can be fun, but it can also feel challenging, so be patient with yourself. You are human, you will make mistakes, expect to fail sometimes – if you want weight loss to last, be loving with yourself, practice making changes every day and stay committed no matter what. This is not about willpower, it’s about commitment.

3. Be simple. Make simple changes. Eat less. Eat more greens. Eat more protein and whole grain. Take walks. Sleep more regularly. Do some yoga. These are all simple adjustments. Don’t go crazy overhauling your whole life in a weekend because it’s not likely to last and you will feel badly when it doesn’t. Pick a starting point that feels comfortable and thoughtfully make changes in that area of your life. More changes will follow. Then revisit #2.

4. Be smart. So, you have to eat a little bit less if you want to see the scale move. Period. That’s just the math of it. Exercise is important, but exercise is really more about your health – your heart, your mind, your bones – than it is about weight loss. In fact, if you never exercised, you could still lose weight by changing what you eat. I don’t recommend doing that, most people wouldn’t, because exercise is good for you. But what you eat and how much is the more important piece of weight loss. If the scale didn’t go down over the course of a month (a month, not a week, see #2), you need to be honest with yourself about what you’ve been eating and then eat a little less. Period. There are no quick fixes.

5. Be indulgent. Not all the time, no. That’s what got you into this mess. Be indulgent when it matters to you. Go out to dinner and enjoy yourself. Have a few drinks with friends at a special event. Enjoy a slice of cake on the rare occasion that one might present itself. Don’t buy cake at the store, keep it in your freezer, and eat it by yourself, but do not miss out on life because of your weight loss – trust me, that will backfire. Weight loss is not prison and dessert IS allowed. Giving into temptation sometimes, and indulging on occasion can make watching what you eat so much easier.

I think that’s it. I could share dozens of other tricks, tidbits and advise, but the bottom line is that we all KNOW HOW to lose weight! Eat less, move more.

Losing weight isn’t so much about what you do, as it is about what you think and feel. You’ve got to believe in yourself, in your ability to succeed, and you have to keep practicing the habits necessary (you know what they are) to achieve results, even if it takes 2 years. There are no quick fixes, there aren’t any shakes or powders that will solve this issue for you.

My overall thesis statement advice is this:  Think about why you might be overeating. Then be loving with yourself while you practice eating a little bit less. Do it every day and see where you end up!

i’ve gained 10 pounds!

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Quitting my job, still one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, has had one less than desirable impact on my life: I’ve gained ten pounds.

Before I write more on that, I want to say this: I happen to think that obsessing about a few pounds gained or lost is not a healthy place for women to spend their energy. I don’t believe in weighing myself every day, in “starting over” every other week on some new diet or plan to finally get to a goal weight I’ve never been able to attain. I don’t believe in skinny jeans or depriving myself of any type of food.

I believe my body is perfect no matter what size it is, that I look great when I want to look great, not when I weigh some “dream” number. I also believe that I exercise to be healthy and sane, not to drop pounds, that I eat well to keep my body functioning properly, not to stay above the yellow line (Biggest Loser reference).

It has, however, taken me years to get to this place of unconditional love and acceptance about my body and my weight. Since I decided to live this philosophy, it has helped me immeasurably in my personal life, my professional life, with my relationship – in every way. Self Love: The Brain’s Wonder Drug.

ANYWAY, I’ve gained 10 pounds. And I’m hoping to lose them because I don’t feel comfortable with them on my frame. I feel sluggish, I’ve noticed my level of fitness has diminished, I’ve noticed I’m reaching for unhealthy foods more often, I don’t feel like I fit comfortably into last summer’s clothes. And I know I can do something about that.

When I began to exercise regularly at the beginning of my weight loss journey at age 21, I did not stop doing so for eight years, more or less. I think I could count on two hands the number of weeks during that time that I didn’t work out and I’ve practiced every kind of imaginable routine. I believe exercise is fundamental for health, well-being, and if you’re trying to lose weight, it keeps your mindset in check.

So before I left my desk job, I used to daydream about the day when I’d be free to make my own schedule – I was certain it would, in part, include hours of exercise.

The exact opposite happened. I wanted to do other things instead. For the first time in almost a decade, working out took a backseat. Sure, I still exercised like I always have. But I skipped days more often, took it easy, did what I wanted to when I felt up to it. Frankly, that’s the kind of exercise routine I’d like to have for the rest of my life – a relaxed one. But in order to accommodate that without gaining weight, I would’ve needed to change my diet, and I hadn’t.

I kept eating the same things I’d been eating even though my exercise level went down. Plus, I went out with friends more, Kev and I had impromptu date nights more often. Again, that’s what I want for my life. But in order to have that, one has to make sure things are balancing out if one doesn’t want to gain weight.

So in almost 8 months of being self-employed, I’ve gained 8-10 pounds. About a pound a month of fun, relaxation and being gentle with myself. I will lose it again. But I kinda like that gained it. Does that sound weird?

It feels like I told myself it was okay to loosen the reigns a little bit, something I hadn’t done in a long time in terms of my weight. I told myself, it’s okay to live it up, eat pizza and tacos when you want to, and finally bask in this freedom that you’ve desired for so long. Now, I don’t need to bask in freedom with food and couch-time, not forever anyway. But for a little while is a-okay with me. The last time I battled a ten-pound weight gain was the year I started dating Kevin. And I didn’t truly mind gaining it then either. I enjoyed our first blissful year as a couple, dinners and drinks and all the rest, and I lost the weight the following year.

I also like it because I can always use extra practice accepting myself exactly as I am. When you are morbidly obese, you do not like yourself. I’m sure you could find people who’re exceptions to that rule, but I was not one of them. As I lost weight, I began to love myself. But I couldn’t help thinking, “Why couldn’t I offer myself this kind of respect and acceptance when I was heavy?”

This will be my third experience over the years of  “Yikes, I gained 10 pounds back” since I lost the 115. But I always lose it again, and it also always helps me practice loving myself all the time, no matter what I weigh.

So if you see me, yes those are new jeans! Because the old ones felt too snug!

I was surprised at how wobbly I was upon re-entering the weight loss game last week. I haven’t been actively trying to lose weight for a few years, so it was strange at first. But soon I felt comfortable with my old methods, habits and tricks – and here we are!

In my world, trying to lose weight doesn’t mean much other than being committed to an exercise schedule, writing down what I eat, and actually saying no to certain tempting foods, instead of “Okay, why not?” If I enjoy anything, (I mean anything besides nachos, brownies, cookies, and pizza) I genuinely enjoy the process of losing weight. I know that sounds bizarre, but I lived as someone who was actively losing weight for years and years. I’m good at it, it gives me something to do, and it can even be fun – at least in my experience.

So that’s the update. I thought you might like to know that being your own boss and working from home, although wonderful, isn’t perfect. Unexpected pitfalls do arise. This one’s mine. Frankly, it was a shock for me that this happened, but now that I recognize how my patterns have shifted, and now that I’ve decided I want to comfortably wear the shorts I bought last summer, I’m re-balancing.

Oh also, I turn 30 in ALMOST SIX MONTHS. (MOM!) So that motivation doesn’t hurt.

routine

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This is one of my mom’s adorable cats, in one of his rare visits to the main floor of the house while we were in town.

Kevin and I just returned home from a week-long trip to the Chicagoland area. My mom and stepdad have two cats, neither of whom like to spend much time with us when we come to visit, which is pretty funny. We took care of them for a week at Christmastime and even then they barely ventured out to say hello.

I’m not sure I would either if I had a big, old house to run around in and no good reason to acquaint myself with visiting strangers who happen to also smell like cats – BROOKLYN cats – the worst kind.

Still, it was nice to spend some time with the Crystal Lake cats of our family when we did get to see them – they are both adorable.

Can you see little Mocha in the chair on the left? I discovered these two basking in the sun on the warm porch one afternoon. She stared at me for a few minutes, stunned or disgusted – I couldn’t tell which – and then she decided sharing the porch with me would simply not do and she scurried upstairs to her hiding place.

We had a friend stay with our two cats while we were away and he took fabulous care of them. Even so, they were delighted when their mom and dad walked through the door last night.

Look who seems very glad to have Kev back in his usual spot.

He’s drunk with contentedness.

I’m feeling a little bit out of my routines and habits lately – I felt that way even before the trip to Chicago. It was lovely to see family, to get to spend so much time with my mom, and to get to enjoy the spoils of the suburbs (lotsa driving, lotsa good food, and several trips to Kohl’s). I’m glad to be home, though, so that I can get into a bit more of a structured pattern with my workday, my exercise routine and my other commitments.

That said, I’m starting to catch on that there may never be a time when I’m satisfied with my “routine” and how effective it is, or how effectively I’m able to navigate it. Maybe that’s the point.

Oh yes, and the Chicago Improv Festival was a super fun time. Our show went well and we had fun – and thank you so much to anyone and everyone who came out to see the Jen+Steve set! We were sold out! Woot!

five months later – where I am now

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(Photo by the very talented Eric Michael Pearson. And yes, I wore that outfit on CBS too. I guess I need another nice outfit…)

Harvard Sailing Team was in the Cosmopolitan Magazine blog tonight! These videos just won’t stop. It’s nice. Definitely nice.

Here’s an article I wrote on Gather about the hot press HST’s gotten in the last two days alone.

For my part, I’m having fun with this ride, for sure. I’m also in the midst of learning how to juggle all the stuff that’s popped up lately! Between the bakery, writing for Gather, writing for The Examiner, Harvard Sailing Team, The Baldwins AND Jen+Steve, my life is busy right now! It’s lovely of course, because it’s a wonderful kind of busy filled with all the things I like to do in my life (!!). But you still have to learn to make time for it all. Until yesterday, I hadn’t exercised in a week. I’m still practicing how to strike the balance.

On Thursday of next week, I’m headed to Chicago for the Chicago Improv Festival with Jen+Steve. We were featured in Time Out Chicago yesterday. Pffft. Very nice. Thanks, Chicago! (The other team we’re going with, Swords, was featured in the Chicago Tribune!)

(Photo by Eric Michael Pearson.)

It’s fun to learn to adjust to this new busy lifestyle. I remember the months of January and February, which were dark, cold, boring months when I was so un-busy that I did a 30-Day Yoga Challenge! Ha.

Tomorrow night is an HST show – looking forward to it! We have some great stuff lined up. I mentioned on here a couple months ago that I was taking a 3-month hiatus from the team. Well, hiatus taken, and I’m “coming back” a bit earlier than expected.

Other news? Faryn wrote a great post about Fanny & Jane at the Greenpoint Food Market. If you live in NYC and you haven’t been to the GFM, you should come. You guys! It’s totally cute and great. They’ve got live music. It’s indoors, which is not quite as fabulous as being outdoors in the warmer months, but it’s not that big of a place so you can do the whole thing in less than an hour, and the atmosphere is so fun and lively, you barely miss being outside. So many fabulous, up and coming Brooklyn food vendors present their wares at this market, and most offer free samples.

Last, but certainly not least in this update, I took a yoga class today for the first time in a very long time. It was bliss. And I also hung out with little Otto Grimwood today, who always reminds me what being in the moment looks like.

new shoes?

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I miss having money!

The bakery did very well over the holidays so my income didn’t change much at all in the months after I left my job. The bakery is still doing well, but it’s not the holiday season right now, which is always the most lucrative time of year for a bakery. So I’m now trying to make ends meet. And I miss having expendable income! Having a salary was fun. I didn’t care for everything that came with it, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to missing it now that it’s gone. I was marveling the other day that there was once a time when I was receiving regular and relatively large sums of money (a paycheck) with complete predictability. That was nice.

Opening a business is a different animal than working at a job that gives you a salary.

I wouldn’t change anything, don’t get me wrong. I’m still loving running Fanny & Jane. I enjoy the baking very much, I enjoy all the aspects of it, really. But I’ve decided to get another job in addition to operating the bakery so that making ends meet is even easier. I wanna have fun with money again! I wanna buy shoes sometimes! Right now, a splurge feels irresponsible. If I had additional income, a splurge might feel deserved. I also wouldn’t feel so guilty about eating dinner out sometimes, or taking a few trips this year.

So, tonight, I went on an interview! The reason it was at night is because it was for a late night shift of – what else – baking! I interviewed and had a trial-run to be a part-time batter maker for another bakery. I had fun! Should they call to offer me the job, I don’t plan to take it because the pay is just not enough, the hours are a little nutty and it involves coming home very very late at night from a kind of sketchy section of Brooklyn, something I’m just not comfortable doing.

So the search for the part time job continues. But having the interview itself was a blast. I got to bake for an hour in a big kitchen, making gigantic batches of cake – batches much larger than we ever make for Fanny & Jane. I loved it and it reaffirmed for me how much I enjoy baking and also how much I enjoy being active while I’m working.

I’ve decided that the key to my getting this job is lifestyle compatibility. How compatible will the job be with my current lifestyle. It’s important to me that I don’t make any rushed choices and end up with a job I dislike, with hours that aren’t good for me, in a neighborhood that’s far away. That’s exactly the job I just came from last fall. So I’m focusing on interviewing for stuff that I can really see myself enjoying, doing well and something that will fit into the life I’m still building. The bakery remains a huge priority, obviously.

So let’s see what comes my way! My interview tonight was an exciting reminder of the possibilities available to me right now. Including the possibility of new pants or a new scarf.

a sunny monday!

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I woke up this morning to see the sun streaming in our front door, and I instantly turned the TV on to check the temp. Mid-fifties and rising! I could not be happier about this.

It was a beautiful weekend here in NYC, sunny and warmer than it’s been in recent weeks, but to wake up on a Monday to bright blue skies and temps even warmer than the weekend – well, that’s my jam right there. I hate to think that I’m so impacted by the weather that I lose a solid two months at the beginning of every year to the doldrums, but that’s just the reality. This spring-like weather makes me ridiculously happy. I feel hopeful, I feel inspired, I am focused on what’s possible rather than on what needs to get done. It’s amazing how that works.

I plan to go for a walk/jog in the park in a few minutes, after I finish this post, finish the Fanny & Jane books (I do the books on Mondays) and throw on some exercise clothes. But when I woke up, I knew I couldn’t wait until I was finished with those tasks to get into the sunshine. So I had breakfast on our stoop.

The sun shines down onto the front of our house for most of the day, which is a lucky thing for a girl who likes to sit on her front stoop. It’s not even 60 degrees out there, but I had breakfast wearing only a tshirt and jeans. It was heavenly!

Fair trade coffee from Trader Joe’s…

And a spinach smoothie with banana, soy milk and flax seed.

And look who joined me for some sunbathing!

Chawser LOVES to hang out on the stoop with us when it’s warm out. We’ll open the door a bit and he’ll venture out at his own pace. We’ve (miraculously) trained him to only stay on the stoop, not to go off onto the driveway or the surrounding gardens. I’m sure if we weren’t out there to regulate him, he’d dart off in whatever direction, but he will sit right next to me for as long as I’ll let him. It was so nice to have a breakfast mate.

My other breakfast mates were two succulents that I have managed to make ill with my incredibly inept green thumb. I was hoping the sun would inspire them back to health. I thought you weren’t supposed to be able to kill these things!

Nothing whatsoever is perfect in my world and I have constant stresses and worries, but this day makes it all seem a little bit simpler. Also? Days like this are why I quit my job. Because I would wake up back then, and head into work, enjoying the heck out of my commute for its amazing views of the city from the Manhattan Bridge, for its ten-minute walk from the subway to the office through a bustling, energizing midtown Manhattan. And then I’d always feel my heart sink a little as I walked into the dark, gloomy office, knowing that I wouldn’t re-emerge for nine hours. And as much as I loved the salary, I always thought, This is not a reasonable trade-off for me. This is not good enough.

Today, even though I have a To Do list ten miles long, a budget to worry about, a bank account I’d love to add a few more zeros to, and an all-around imperfect life, I’m thrilled to get to go for a jog in the spring weather, on MY schedule, when I feel like it. Imperfection is perfect today.

happiness is a state of mind

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I’ve been thinking a lot about this entry today, the one I wrote the day I quit my job.

I’ve been thinking about how much has changed for me since September 1, 2009.

My life is no longer monotonous like it was back then.

And I’ve decided to start standing up to the people that have chosen to judge me.

I spend more time doing the things I love, like taking yoga class more often, going for walks and jogs when the mood strikes me, and spending more time with my friends.

I’ve also had to continue to make tough decisions, like taking a break from my beloved sketch comedy group because I know it’s the best thing for me right now. And dealing with the unnecessary guilt that accompanies a choice like that.

I’ve confronted incredible challenges with my new business, the bakery Fanny & Jane. And learned a lot about what it means to be a small business owner, someone who works for herself and makes her own schedule – things I dreamed about having before I had them, and things I sometimes now wish I could trade back in for just a day.

I’ve also been blessed with exciting success and progress on this company’s journey. Those little steps boost me up every day. And every time I get an email from someone who’s sampled and loved our stuff, or every time we land a new account, attract a new customer, or come up with a smart new marketing idea, I feel inspired and re-invigorated. I don’t have kids, but I can only imagine, as I’ve said before, that starting a new business probably feels, in some small (and much less significant) way, challenging, terrifying, exciting and rewarding in a similar fashion.

But more than all of that stuff, more than the lessons, the joys, the mornings of sleeping in, the evenings of staying out late, the days of eating lunch on my own schedule, more than the excitement and stress of being the captain of my own ship, I have learned one singular thing that stands above everything else:

That old job, that desk job that I blogged for months about leaving, and planned for weeks to escape from, did not make me happy. NOR did it make me unhappy.

Only I control my happiness. My circumstances do not.

I knew that all along, but it’s been really hammered home for me in these last several months during which I”ve been “living the dream,” so to speak.

I am just as occasionally grouchy and stressed out as I was then. I am just as occasionally joyful for no reason and excited about the little things as I was then. I have different stressors now, and I have different challenges. I struggle with different issues and different concerns. I also have new sources of contentment and some of the same old ones.

In essence: I am the exact same person. I just wear pajamas more often. I am just as happy, sad, confused, eager, frustrated, conflicted and optimistic as I always was.

Is that disappointing to hear? I hope not. It’s the truth. The truth is what we all know to be true – happiness is a state of mind.

Duh.

march

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I watched the season finale of The Bachelor last night, after not having seen a moment of the show all season long. And while I watched, I uploaded some photos from our DC trip to this here blog so y’all could see what we did! Except then something went awry, the photos didn’t save, and those are two hours I can never get back. (Because of the photo debacle AND because of The Bachelor.)

We had a fantastic trip – it was ideal. Kevin and I met my mom, grandma and step dad at our hotel on Friday night. They’d flown in from Chicago for the weekend and we’d bus’d down from NYC, having just barely gotten out of the city in the midst of a crazy snowstorm. We had a blast traveling around the DC area together, seeing the sites, enjoying their bars and restaurants and stuffing ourselves into the back of cabs to get from place to place.

The Harvard Sailing Team show at The Kennedy Center was fantastic! There were over 500 people in our audience! I could not believe it – we’d certainly never performed for that large of a crowd before. It’s a whole different animal, doing a sketch comedy show for hundreds of people instead of the 60 that can fit into The PIT, the theater where we perform our weekly show in NYC. We had a great time and felt good about our performance.

It was the perfect little weekend trip and I was so glad to get to experience it with my family. It was a great way to spend time together – exploring another city in a whirlwind weekend.

But, of course, as soon as we sat down on the bus to head home, I started to feel like I was coming down with something. And now I have a full blown head and chest cold that has me feeling pretty miserable.

So I’m playing it safe and taking the week off from baking for Fanny & Jane. You can never be too careful or too clean when you work with food.

One of the best aspects of the DC trip was how I felt when I got back to New York, my ailment aside, of course. I was grateful to have had a weekend of drinking, eating and playing, but I also felt really ready to embrace Monday, March 1 with open arms.

I am not a winter person. I like the way the snow looks, I like the festive feeling of the holidays, but I really hate the cold and I really hate the often-dreariness and I really hate that it’s not spring or summer. Period. January and February are always difficult months for me. I don’t feel motivated, I sleep a lot, and I am drawn to heavy, fatty foods. I know I’m not the only person that experiences that and it’s no secret that the colder temps and the lack of sunshine does a real number on people every year. I’m definitely one of those people.

So March 1 is always a welcome date in my world. I know that I won’t wake up that morning to instantly warmer weather, chirping birds or blooming flowers, but it’s at least one step closer to those things.

I went to sleep early on Sunday night, exhausted from the busy weekend (during which I drank a lot of alcohol!), and feeling sickly, and so I decided to use that opportunity to get up early on Monday morning, something I’ve struggled with since I quit my job back in October. I set the alarm, made a list of the things I wanted to accomplish with my Monday, and made sure we had coffee to brew.

As much as I’m a natural night owl, I do find I get more accomplished and generally feel better about my productivity level when I get up earlier. So on Monday I woke up early, got my day underway and was able to get a lot of business stuff done. Plus, I even did my taxes! And went to the grocery store! Impressive, if I do say so myself. I also went for a jog in the balmy 47 degree weather and did a little yoga in the living room. It was a good day and I felt like it kicked my March off right.

This month also begins my three-month hiatus from Harvard Sailing Team, a decision I made a few weeks ago and blogged about here. As much as I’m going to miss the team and doing weekly shows with them, this was the right decision for my life right now.

Interestingly, I was looking at my planner on Sunday night, thinking about the week ahead, and I felt a bit of anxiety when I realized I didn’t have any obligations on Tuesday night OR on Saturday night, two nights during which I’ve historically been busy with HST. Having that time to myself (and to focus more on the business) during the upcoming three months is exactly why I decided to take this break, but when confronted with the reality of those extra hours, I felt a bit panicked. What am I going to do with that time? What if I’m lonely or bored or don’t have as much to get done as I thought I did? What if I feel isolated or like I don’t have any friends? You don’t have to come up with ways to spend your time when it’s already decided for you. This Tuesday/Saturday commitment has been a staple of my schedule for years and years. And I suddenly have that time back to myself for three months. WHO AM I NOW?!

And that, my friends, is exactly why I need this break. To find out what the hell I will do with that time when it’s totally up to me. It’s just two nights a week, but in many ways it’s much more than that for me. It takes up mental space and it gives me an excuse to put other things off. If there was something else in my life that I could have taken a hiatus from for three months in order to free up two nights a week without penalty, I would have. But there wasn’t anything else that would have allowed that right now. I’m lucky that this group of people is supportive and understanding enough to provide me this opportunity and that I’ll be able to go back  to it when the three months is over.

In the meantime, I’ve started to curb my anxiety about not having a standing Tuesday/Saturday evening activity. Maybe I’ll write more, maybe I’ll do nothing, maybe my business mindset with flourish and I’ll start coming up with brilliant ways to make millions. The possibilities are endless. My Aunt Lisa, a very wise lady, once told me, “Sometimes you have to leave a space in your life empty for a little while before you discover what will take its place.” Very true. She’s very smart. Then again, she also gets lost on her way home from Starbucks, so maybe I should take her advice with a grain of salt. ;) (Love you, Lise.)

Speaking of my Aunt Lisa, she gifted me these gorgeous flowers last week with a card that told me to “Break a leg!” at The Kennedy Center. I love them!!

Happy March, everybody.

yogaaaaahhh

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So. The 30 Day Yoga Challenge has come and gone. When I started the challenge I assumed Day 30 would arrive and I’d celebrate and throw myself a victory party at Chipotle. (If I had an assistant, this is where I’d ask her to schedule me a victory party at Chipotle because it’s never too late to throw a victory party.)

Believe it or not, the 30th day came and went and I didn’t tell you guys because I didn’t even notice myself. Gah!

Ah. Yoga. I guess that’s kind of how it works. There’s no counting days in yoga. You know, a day doesn’t really mean anything in the spirit of yoga.

In the end, I missed probably 3-4 days total through the month. And it wasn’t until the whole journey was over that I realized I needed to be a lot less hard on myself about missing those days. It’s great to do 30 days in a row of anything that is good for you. But it’s okay if you don’t, too. And you shouldn’t beat yourself up. I re-learned that concept for the 900th time once this challenge was over. Someday it will stick in my mind.

So during those four weeks, I did a LOT of yoga. And it was wonderful. Sure, there were times when I was sore, times when I was really tired and did not want to take class, and times when I missed a day and got all upset with myself over it. But the majority of the experience left me feeling strong, more comfortable in my body, and capable.

All of my poses improved dramatically. My downward dog is deeper, I’m more comfortable sitting in chair pose, and I stopped shying away from the difficult poses – I started at least attempting them. And sometimes I succeeded! One day, my shoulder was really hurting. I’d injured it at some point during yoga class. I felt so frustrated and sorry for myself. Then the teacher showed us a difficult new pose, but it didn’t involve the shoulder so I tried it. AND I DID IT! That was probably the best moment for me throughout these 30 days.

There were lots of other lovely moments during the month. Moments when I found a sense of quiet, contented peace during class after a particularly hard day in the outside world, moments when I realized how much I was enjoying these classes and these teachers. And a warm feeling every time I walked into that studio, knowing what I was about to do for myself.

Since the 30 days ended, I’ve been easing back into a regular routine. I took about a week off yoga entirely. Then I took a class on Tuesday. And it was fantastic. I felt just as strong, capable and limber as I’d felt on Day 30. I was elated. All in all, good stuff.