May be basic, but it's not easy

Yoga discussion today was based on the phrase, "it may be a basic class, but that doesn't mean it will be easy." I really liked this focus. It has so many meanings. But since I teaching myself to learn to relax and not take myself so seriously, it really takes to heart.

Life in general sometimes feels like it is so basic, boring even, but that doesn't mean it's easy.

OR

Even though it seems like it should be basic, that doesn't mean it's going to be easy. (ie: don't beat up myself)

My boyfriend and I went to this awesome ropes challenge and talk about not being easy. It was basic ropes, swings, climbs, etc. I had an absolutely incredible time. It worked all my muscles and my mind was stretched to it's limit. There were so many times I thought I would give out and fall. Once, I did fall. I was climbing the wall and my feet just went out and down I went. Thankfully, I didn't fall too far, maybe a foot. It didn't feel great getting my harness to grab, but it could have been worse. I used a lot of yoga moves during the course. I used keeping my shoulders over my hips to stay in line with balance. I tried balancing on one foot to minimize the swinging when going from one rope to another. I switched from arms to legs and used my core as much as possible to reduce the amount of tiredness my muscles were feeling. It seemed to work as I had a great time the entire two hours we were there. My favorite part though was definitely the zip lines. There were a few really long ones. I screamed and yelled and hooted and hollered for joy!

It may be basic, but doesn't mean it's easy.

I will be picking up this line to use on a daily basis. I love positive messages and this one takes the cake. It just makes sense.

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Heaven help us all

Overall, I am a happy person. I tend to smile and giggle and make jokes. I even laugh at my own jokes. In the past, I have been described as bubbly - which I gotta say isn't the nicest compliment. I even had one manager tell me he wanted to punch me in the face every time he saw me because I was in such a good mood all the time. It's become a side joke with us now.

I really don't see myself as a morning person or an evening person. I am not a huge fan of waking early and I sure as heck do not enjoy staying up. I consider myself a day person, like 10am - 6pm. Those hours suit me just fine, though ten to three are even better. I have even mastered the skill of waking and my mind drifts back to sleep only to wake up again when I am at work. Yes, I do have full conversations with people I cannot remember having.

Lately, I seem to be focusing on what makes me happy. I find that the little things that drive me nuts are what I want to cut out. The list is as follows -

get rid of negative people (or ignore them if possible)
work out/exercise
eat healthier
read a lot
find happy time to do whatever I want
be with my cats, family, bf (not nec in that order)
make my house as resort-like as possible
be outside with nature
get rid of pain
relieve anxiety, pressure to perform

I hunted down a TMJ dentist who I finally found online and sent a random email asking if he would see me when he was in town next. He sent back that he would see me. Come to find out he actually has a practice here. FABU! I am now fitted with a new TMJ mouth splint that I wear full time and at night. After only a few weeks, I am feeling no teeth pain, and less next and shoulder pain.

Check!

I am really doing well with the whole learning to relax thing and I can tell the people I work with appreciate it because now when they come to me and say, Oh man so and so happened, I say, "ok I'll handle it," instead of freakin' the F out. I am learning that I don't have to react at all. Some situations I can just mull over or just let go. Mostly I know now that I don't even have to get emotionally charged. It may concern me. I may have to deal with it, but it doesn't have to upset me.

Check!

I am working out four times a week doing some serious yoga. I sweat like a fiend through the class which I hope means I am doing something. My belly that has so carelessly decided to bulge a bit over my pants still is there, but I am hoping it is working it way to going bye bye. If anything, I am trying.


Eating healthier. Hmm, it is a bit more difficult that I would like to think. I eat fruits and veggies. I drink lots of water, but I also like sweets. And pasta. And bread. And all types of potatoes. I try to mix it up a bit. But boy, it's hard. I recently bought a low glycemic book that tells what I am craving versus what I should actually eat. Good start.

The point is, I seem to be finding the little annoyances in my life and working them out. Literally out of my life. I have never really done that before. I have so much control over my own life, why not focus a little on being happier?

Heaven help us all (especially that guy at work who wants to punch me) if I actually attain more happiness.

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Serious book envy

I have a serious problem here folks.

I cannot seem to find enough time to read.

Every book I see, I want to read.

I have even made a list of books I MUST READ RIGHT NOW or I will perish. And I am not exaggerating at all!

In no particular order -

The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka - I keep hearing really good things about this and it looks to be a quick read.

The Forsaken by Lisa M Stasse

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (on my nook now)

The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano (on my nook now) - Flew through Cristofano's other book The Exceptionists - SO GOOD!! Check out my review.

Michael Vey #2 Rise of the Elgen by Richard Paul Evans

Bound To You by Christopher Pike - I really enjoy his books!

When We Were the Kennedy's by Monica Wood

Anything by Tana French - I have never read her before, but man her covers are AWESOME!

Kill You Twice by Chelsea Cain - another series book I have not read any of the series before, sigh

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

Temptation by RL Stine - has anyone read this? How truly scary is it?

And of course the continuation of sereis I have read -

The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting- frickin' awesome series

Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series - I'm on four, I think

Thirst #3 by Christopher Pike



I know the list is longer, but that's about all I can think of as of right now.

Anything you cannot live without reading right now?

I COMPLETELY FORGOT THIS ONE
which is being shipped as we speak
care of my bf

Losing Lila by Sarah Anderson
Lila #2

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Review - Ruby by Amanda Burke

Title: Ruby
Ruby #1
Author: Amanda Burke
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publish Date: June 29, 2012

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Barnes and Noble Nook book $6
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Read the First Chapter on Smashwords, here.

Amanda contacted me by email to ask if I would review her book. Since I am very emotionally driven when it comes to books, I have a really hard time accepting review books because I may just not be in the mood to read a certain book. Yes, my inner troll reader is fickle. And apparently has a few personalities as I am constantly saying, "WOW I'll read that one next! No, that one! Wait, that one!"

The book Ruby just seemed right up my alley with a strong female character, Ruby, witches, special powers and maybe, a love story.

Ruby is the daughter of a single father as her mother died years ago. When her father unexpectedly is killed, she follows a letter from her father to go meet her unknown grandmother. Her grandmother turns out to be a witch, as Ruby is a descendent of, is also a witch. Together they embark on a journey to teach Ruby how to hone her skills and possibly, save their world against an old legend. On the way she runs into Blake, a very handsome and rouge warlock.

This was a really nice light read with much entertainment. The writing was exceptional and kept me very involved in the book. Cannot wait to read the next installment! Thank you Amanda for gifting me this book!

Contact me if you are interested in this book, I am happy to pass along the goodness to a fellow reader!

Summary -

During the Salem witch hunts, an evil witch named Natasha Sullivan tricks a demon into confining himself inside an enchanted music box. She casts a spell that foretells that the demon will emerge in an unknown time in future after the birth of a child known as the Lumen Child. This child’s destiny is to bring light to the planet and Natasha knows that if he is killed then darkness will prevail. Natasha’s identical twin Sarah, discovers what her sister has done. Although she cannot break the spell she casts her own prophecy. It states that three witches known as the Triple Enchantresses will be born in the same time as the Lumen Child and they will be his supernatural protectors. The girls are not sisters, yet they will share a common destiny. Ruby is the story of the first witch and how she very nearly dies before discovering her true identity. Having grown up unaware of her powers, she is rescued by her loving grandmother who is also a white witch and taken back to the family estate where she learns everything she can about what her future holds. Ruby is the first in a four book series.

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Review - On The Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

Title: On the Island
Author: Tracey Garvis-Graves
Publisher: (not listed)
Publish Date: Oct 11, 2011

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I kept seeing this book floating around facebook and finally decided that since we were taking a vacation to California, what better book to read there. Sadly, it never made it there. I finished it the night before, reading until I couldn't keep my eyes open. I think I fell asleep with about six pages left.

Such a good read!!

I cannot say enough good things about how this book is written. The story line made me hesitate a bit because I am not a fan of older and younger, not of age. BUT Tracey handled this situation with the up most care and regard for the situation. I really appreciated the way she detailed it.

I love that Anna has a such a wonderful personality. She is sweet, kind and yet, she still makes her student be the student. She is currently in a relationship with a boy who just can't seem to make a decision and so indecision kind of becomes the decision. She takes this job as a tutor to get away and take herself out of the equation and maybe coming back to make the decision, although we get the taste that she may have already decided.

 TJ is a kid who just wants to live. He has been through much in the way of cancer dealing with all the hardships that come with it. He is finally cancer free so he wants to do what all kids do during the summer, hang with his friends. But no, that will not happen. His parent's make him come on a vacation to study with a tutor to be ready to go back to school.

Sadly their trip to the vacation doesn't go so well as their plane goes down in the middle of the ocean and they land on an island all by themselves. The telling of what Anna and TJ go through is horrific. Just image the daily things we deal with - monthly periods, food cravings, sleeping in a bed, being clean - oh wait and food, water and disease!! And then comes in the fact that TJ has a thing for Anna. She's beautiful, smart and funny. I loved the way their relationship develops. Tracey did such a good job with this! (did I say that already)

Best summer book I've read in a long time!!!

AND I WON A SIGNED COPY!! Yes, I bought the ebook and then won a signed paper copy from A Tale of Many Reviews. So stoked!! I better keep an eye on that, though I am already telling a few people they have to borrow my SIGNED COPY!!

Summary -

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day. T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends.

Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island.

Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter. Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

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Review - The Exceptionists by David Cristofano

Title: The Exceptions
Author: David Cristofano
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publish Date: Aug 7, 2012

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I was working the hardcover fiction bay new releases and kept eying this cover. There is something about it that made me want to stare at it endlessly. It made me wonder what it was about. Who was the girl? Why the boy in the background? Sadly, I left that day without even picking it up to read the summary. Yet, I thought about it all the next day, so much so I tried to remember what the title and who the author was. In the end, I waited til the following day at work to check it out. No, I still never read the summary. I am just not a fan of the blurb. I like to be surprised and wonder where this book is taking me. And boy, was I surprised.

It is about Jon, a boy of a mafia family destined to become part of the family business  of pressuring, coercing and killing. The first part talks of his age of six when he knew the power of manipulation and at age twelve, the need for killing. You had me there.

He sees this girl with blond hair who he falls in love with because of her innocence and then inexplicably his naivety is what takes away her innocence. He is then on a mission to protect what is left of her, but at the cost of upsetting his family as he is set to kill this girl.

Amazing. I fell in love with both of these characters. John for his need to be different and choose his own path, but wanting to not upset his family either. Melody for her need to be loved and shown she is worthy, but then surprises me with the funny and irradic things she does.

I was so wonderfully engaged in this book. What a pleasant find!! And now I am off to investigate David Cristofano's other book, The Girl She Used to Be.

WOHOO just realized there is another book after this one about Melody!!!!

Oops, it's actually book 1 in the series. Darn I read them out of order. I'll have to let you know if you should read them in order or if out of order is good.

Summary -

As part of the Bovaro family, one of the most powerful and respected families in organized crime, violence is passed down and becomes a way of life. Jonathan Bovaro always knew he would become a part of his family's legacy, but he never realized how the beautiful little blonde girl he saw when he was ten could change the course of his life forever.

When Melody Grace McCartney and her parents witnessed that legendary Bovaro family violent streak, it was clear they needed to be silenced. But it was too late. The McCartneys joined the Witness Protection Program. Chosen to exterminate the McCartneys and prove himself to his family, Jonathan pledges to do the job. But as he watches her grow into a beautiful but broken woman, he can't get her out of his mind...or his heart. Torn between his duty to his family and his love for Melody-the mysterious, dangerous, yet vulnerable mafioso must choose between the destiny his family carved out for him and a future unlike anything he ever imagined.

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Hampster Wheel Brain

Today in yoga, my instructor began the class with explaining how her brain just wouldn't shut off and that yoga is one hour each day she can invite her brain to focus on less, mainly body placement, breathing, etc. I think my head was going to pop off I was nodding so profusely.

I have never been one of those people that understood the comment, "I am not thinking anything." My brain is like the stock market, ticking away with thoughts so fast it can be difficult to catch them. In the past, I had to teach myself to stop before speaking because it would come out jumbled from trying to keep up with my brain. It took years to realize I would interrupt people in order to get my thoughts out before I forgot them. Literally my brain is on full blast all the time. Relaxing is actually a struggle for me. Shocking, I know.

Yoga has opened up a whole new life for me. It has allowed me to give myself permission during each class to block out all thoughts and just feel. I feel the breath going in, filling up my lungs, my lower abdomen, my lower back part of my back, relaxing my hip joints, pushing through the back of my heels, then back up again. None of this requires thinking. None of it requires judgement, pressure, anxiety or revisiting parts of my day. It is completely and utterly me. Inside and out.

I am not sure if I will ever be able to truly meditate. I am sure I could train myself as I am a "mind over matter" kinda gal, but honestly just being able to shut my brain down for one class has enabled me to realize I can be that fun loving person in even in the worst of moments. I can be kooky, bubbly, friendly and still get work done. I can have tough conversations with my team members and still be relaxed and smile. I can get into stressful situations, handle it and then walk away, leaving the situation in the past.

What amazing freedom.

I have always envied people like my sister, who can get into bed at night and simply flip their brain off as if their entire day was spent meditating. As a young child, I knew what she had done and it was way worse than my wrongs. (lol) Yet, here she slept, peacefully.

Now I get it. Nothing is so important that it should interfere with your sleep, happiness and overall peace with life.

I am still in training. There are days I want to punch people in the face, which actually could be considered an improvement because long ago I couldn't imagine wanting to punch someone, now I know right away. And I counteract that feeling with something else; being aware. I have days where I am tired, at wits end and struggle, but they are becoming fewer and farther between. I am also noticing a change in the way I react to others and their comments and feelings. I know that they are solely theirs and I can only control my own reactions.

Yoga has taught me I can have a million things going on inside, but it doesn't have to control me. I control it. By simply breathing. Breath in, move, stretch, adjust, breath out, tilt, turn, push, breath in. Work is the same concept, but I get paid. (lol) It doesn't (and shouldn't) be stressful. I love my job and I am so good at it.

Such simple lessons, but it can take a lifetime to work.

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