I had every intention of posting something else today, but my kidney stone, Cal had different plans. Yes I named my kidney stone. I mean It is something that is giving me all kinds of problems, so it should have a name. Like a hurricane or snowstorm.

Anywho.. What I had planned today was my Spring reading list. I have so many books laying around that it is time to get reading. The Spring book sale is coming up and I really need to put a dent in these stacks I have before buying more.

I think I have about 6 I am going to actively try to get done by June. This may be upped as I get through the books.

I am excited for all of them so they should go fast.

Check back tomorrow for my reading list.

Happy Wednesday!

I am not one to do many recaps of my weekend. I certainly don't do one every week. I do however want to get back into doing reviews and such on all sorts of things, not just my weekend. I also thought this past weekend needed to be reviewed because many people wanted to know what it was like to have a kidney stone. So here we go..

If I had to rate this weekend between a 10 and I want my money back, I would definitely want my money back pronto. To bad there isn't refunds on life right?

I went to CrossFit for the first time last Wednesday. I wanted to be a bad ass and show the world I could do it. It was free trial night and I dragged along a friend and we had at it. After my first "warm up" I felt crappy. I had a raspy voice and I couldn't stop coughing.

I trucked along until we got to the burpees. I hate a burpee on a regular day, but this was something else. I was in pain. Things did not feel good at all. This was beyond the pain of what a burpee brings to the table. I had to discontinue them. I finished up my workout with just rowing, which was fine.

Thursday I was pretty sore as expected. I made it through my work day pretty uneventful. I felt like I was starting to feel worse as the end of my day neared, but I figured it was just my body being tired from the intensity I put it through.

I laid down to watch Big Little Lies on HBO streaming, and had the sudden urge to pee. There's no other way to say that statement, so I'm sorry if that's TMI. I had drank A LOT of water during the day because of my 5 day challenge. I could not go at all. It was odd. As I wrapped up I got the worst pain shooting up my left side. It was between a cramp and a sharp pain.

I immediately went to lay back down. The pain got worse. I called my husband and practically yelled on the phone that he needed to get home ASAP. He was like a minute from the house, thankfully. We got in the car and headed to urgent care, because it was closer than the ER to our house.

I felt like all anyone wanted to do was ask me a million questions. I was in so much pain at this point I was very agitated. Everything became an annoyance. I didn't want to answer anymore questions about where I lived or when my last period was. I just wanted some damn relief.

I was to the point where no position was comfortable. Pain was intense and I honestly just wanted to be put out of my misery. I had been in the exam room for almost an hour with no examination. I finally walked out of the room and said, "this pain is so bad, can someone just please put me out of my misery?"

Like magic a doctor appeared.

I was finally given some pain medication and a CT scan was ordered. The medication was not doing anything. It did not touch the pain. The doctor ordered a shot to be given. At first that didn't work either. By the time the CT scan was ready I had some relief. I was so grateful. I went through my test and felt like it was all over.

As soon as I got back to the room, the pain was back. Seriously?!

I continued to be asked to give urine samples and drink more water. It was frustrating. I just wanted to know what was going on with me and if I was going to make it alive out of this exam room.

Finally, the results were in. I was being blocked by a 2mm kidney stone. It was trying to pass. The doctor felt I needed to pass this one on my own, so she gave me all of the warning signs of needing medical attention, along with prescriptions for more medicine and a strainer. I was finally going home.

We stopped at McDonalds because I was hungry, tired, and needed something bad. I don't often like cheeseburgers, but when I'm distressed apparently a McDonalds double cheeseburger is where it's at. I was in heaven eating my burger and fries. I took my pain meds and tried to sleep. Nope.

I was just too wound up and uncomfortable at this point. I ended up sleeping a few hours on the couch. Had my good moments and bad moments through the weekend, and here I am today wondering if this stone will ever pass.

I am feeling much better today. But I think I still have a stone. I'm wondering if it will get more painful as it makes it's official exit or if the worst is past me.

In the meantime I am going to try to work today, see what happens. I am hoping this will just be a distant memory and I won't ever have to deal with something like this again.

I appreciate all of the love and support I have received through this rough time. I hope none of you ever have to go through this.

Happy Monday Ya'll!

I am going to start posting this challenge on Sunday's so the goal is set and ready to go for Monday mornings. For those of you new to the 5 Day Goal Challenge, it is a small goal set to help you reach your larger goals. Reading my intro post will give you a better idea of what I believe the purpose is for smaller goals.

For last week I challenged myself to drink 80 ounces of water a day. I can honestly say I don't know why I challenged myself this much water, as I did not meet that goal each day until Thursday and Friday. I did however up my water intake quite a bit, so I call that a win.

Part of me wonders if by upping my water intake set things in motion to my kidney stone episode. On Thursday at about 6pm I was laying down watching TV when I got this sudden urinary track infection feeling, that sudden urge. You know what I mean. So off to the bathroom I went. I suddenly had the most awful cramp and pain in my left side.

I immediately went to lay down in bed. It just got worse. I called my husband and told him he needed to get home immediately. I needed medical attention. By 9:30pm I was diagnosed with a kidney stone that was travelling through my system. I had a partial blockage which was what brought on the pain so quickly.

I have really upped my water intake through the weekend to help flush that baby out. As of now it still has not come out, but I am hopeful that will be soon.

So for this coming week, my goal is going to be pretty chill. I had originally planned to get to the gym 5 days this week, but that isn't happening until I am all better from this fun experience I've been going through.

I am thinking this week I am going to write letters to all my friends. One letter a day. I have been wanting to get back into writing actual meaningful letters to all my friends whom I don't see on a regular basis. This might be the perfect week to get that done. Not a lot of effort required to do that.

What goals are you setting in motion this week? Will you join me in taking this 5 day challenge?

They say immersing yourself into the practices and teachings of yoga can be life changing. They say it can be an emotional rollercoaster, where every loop you twirl can be different. They say you will be lonely. They say you will feel liberated.

What they say, is all true. It is really hard to explain this journey out loud. It is so challenging, yet so rewarding. You have moments where you feel amazing and strong and like you can rule the world. You also have moments that make you feel uncomfortable both physically and mentally.

I just finished my third weekend training and I had a really great Saturday training. I felt strong and moved through my practice very fluidly. Sunday I came in and my energy was all out of wack. I felt very off, but not 100% sure how to explain that feeling. My practice wasn't focused. I didn't feel great.

By the time savasana (relaxation pose) came I was exhausted. I laid still and for the first time in my training I felt connected to my inner voice. I heard what needed to be done to move forward in a situation that has been dragging me down for way to long. It was very uncomfortable for me to accept this.

It is times like this that remind me why I am doing this. Why I want to surrender myself to my intention. I want that release. I want to let go of all of the pain, both physical and mental that I have carried with me for so many years. I want to fully know myself and be confident in teaching others who want the same.

My journey is only just beginning, yet I already feel so different. Yesterday I took a yoga class at my studio where I'm training and my teacher asked if I wanted to teach some of his class. I said yes. This isn't something I would of done just 2 months ago. I felt the answer in myself to do this. I felt confident and comfortable leading the class and it made me feel strong.

I cannot explain how great it was to share my teachings with others. I am confident this is what I want to do. It was like the universe knew I needed an answer. Now I know.  I am so grateful for this opportunity.

What practices have led you on a journey to your own self? Do you practice yoga or something else? I'd love to hear about your journey!

Happy First day of Spring! Although there is still quite a bit of snow out there, I know the  nicer weather is coming. It also makes Monday seem a little friendlier when the word "Spring" is associated with it. Am I right?



So today I want to introduce a new 5 day challenge and also let you know with pictures how I did last week. Last week I challenged myself to get dressed 5 days in a row. That to me meant changing out of what I wore to bed into something new. Working from home can make it easy to hop out of bed in your PJ's and start work.

I am excited to announce that I met my goal and dressed all 5 days! I learned it really made me feel put together and made me take my work seriously. I also realized I own A LOT of leggings! But ya know what? When you sit 8 hours a day, this is okay in my book. Plus it's winter.

Here's the proof!



This week I am challenging myself to drink 80 ounces of water every day. Spring is here and I am ready to start working on myself. I gained some weight over the winter and clothing is a bit snug. Time to work towards that summer goal so I don't need to buy a new swimsuit! My current one is new from last year.

Will you be joining me in this challenge? Check back to see my results next week!

Recently I decided to trace my ancestry. It is a lot of work and gets frustrating at times, but it is so rewarding when you find connections that were your ancestors. I found it appropriate to write about this today, on St. Patrick's Day, as I have traced most of my ancestors back to Ireland.

My Irish eyes were shining! Picture from many many years ago!

I am doing this search mostly on my own. I no longer have grandparents to ask these questions to. My parents have been a little helpful. One of my uncles is in connection with an aunt of his who would have some of the info I am looking for. I am planning to call her this weekend.

It is exciting to see the old documents with my ancestors names on them. So far all of the people I have found settled in Brooklyn, New York when they come over from Ireland. My mother told me her grandfather was an orphan, so I would probably have a hard time finding him. I do believe I found him and his siblings.

It seems his parents immigrated here in the early 1900's and his mother passed away somewhere between 1905 and 1910. I was able to find her on a census for 1905, but by 1910 her husband was marked as a widow. I have not found any proper paperwork, but my own suspicion has me wondering if the father abandoned his children after his wife passed, leaving them in an orphanage.

So much to still learn, but so exciting none the less! I am proud of my heritage and what my family worked for to make us who we are today. Everyone I found had hard labor jobs and provided for a lot of children. I today still follow in those footsteps. I have worked 2 and 3 jobs to provide when needed. Hard work is in my blood, and I can see that clearly now from my ancestors.

Today I remember those people who have passed on. I am celebrating by cooking some Irish food and sharing stories with my family. I am teaching my husband some tradition and I can't wait to share this with my children one day!

Have you traced back your ancestry? What did you find? Let's chat about it!

Sometimes forming habits take time. It doesn't happen overnight. When life gets busy and you have a million things going on (hello yoga teacher training classes, work, and family) you may get even further behind on forming habits or getting back on track to your goals.

Because we all have long term goals we are working towards that may take months or even years, I figured I was going to implement short term goals that will help me reach those long term goals. Little things to remind you of what you want and who you are at the end of the day.

These 5 day challenges may reguire me to do something new each day or reguire me to work on something through out the 5 days to achieve a small goal.

Because I decided March was going to be a month of challenges, I figured this would be the perfect time to implement this. This first week I am challenging myself to get dressed every day. Let me clarify.

I am now working from home. I get to work in my pajamas if I want to, and let's just say I have taken that to the extreme. I get out of bed, throw on my robe, throw my hair up in a messy blob and get to work.

It's really easy to forget who you are this way. I have all of these cute clothes (hello new Stich Fix clothes!) and I am living in my sweats and t-shirts. Not to say this isn't nice once in awhile, but seriously, what's the point of buying cute clothes if I don't wear them regularly?

Starting today, I am fully dressed. I have on real pants, a top, my hair is brushed, and hey I even put on some makeup. Stop back Sunday to see pictures of my 5 days of outfits.

This is helping me reach my long term goals of being a successful #girlboss. It makes me feel better about myself. I'm put together and don't feel like I am dressed for a sick day. I am dressed to be a strong, confident woman.

What do you do to make yourself feel put together and ready to conquer the day? Share in the comments!

Stop back Sunday to see if I achieved my 5 days. I will also let you know what my next 5 day challenge is! I'd  love to know if you have these type of challenges or if you want to follow along with my challenges! We can make reach our goals together!

It's Friday! Heck yeah! I have had an interesting week, and thought this would be a good time to get back to posting 5 things every Friday. I always loved reading those posts, so here I am jumping back into it!

1. Weirdest thing I did this week: Guys, I showered with my orange. Say what?! So last week I came across this article about people who are taking their oranges into the shower with them and peeling and eating it. There is a whole Reddit thread on this, no lie. People say it's life changing. I gotta say, I was intrigued.

Now that I am working from home, I get to do things like shower in the middle of the day. I needed a pick me up, so I hopped in with my citrus.

 It was strange, but strangely liberating. I got to enjoy a juicy pieces of fruit, while inhaling the sweet citrus scent. It definitely woke me up and brought me back to focus. The fruit itself was kind of warm, as I normally take hot showers. Somehow this didn't bother me.


So I can say I gave it an honest try and can mark it off my list of weird things to try. I can't say I'd do it regularly, but I didn't hate it.

2. Coffee meetings: Me and my group from my yoga teaching class have a project we need to complete before we can graduate. We met up at a local coffee shop for a cup o' joe and some good conversation. It was great. I haven't been out much, and the coffee was much needed.



3. Lot's of great yoga: Now that I have gotten rid of the plague, I am feeling much better and yoga is on my radar. I took 2 really great classes this week that really brought me back to center. I feel much lighter and my focus and mind feels much clearer.

Also you got to see a lot of my feet in this post. I don't find that coincidental as I have been working with grounding and coming back to center this week. Grounding comes from the feet. When you go into a place of anxiety or feel out of control, focus on your feet. It brings you back.

Also my foot tattoo means "dream". Whenever I an looking down, I remember my goals and that I need to stay grounded. It's a great reminder.



















4. Hot baths: I can't remember the last time I took a bath in my own home. I cleaned the living crap out of my tub over the weekend. I think its now cleaner than it was when we moved in. I have now taken 2 relaxing Epsom salt baths. They were both just what I needed. Just me, a good book, and some detoxing.

Also I have a band aid on my toe because I broke it on a chair this week. Yay me! No downward dog or lunges for me this week.



5. Over active thoughts: I have had some pretty amazing ideas come to mind this week. I have pages and pages of ideas for this blog, for my yoga journey, for my career, and my personal wellbeing.

It's like I have woken up out of a fog and all the good stuff is coming full speed ahead. I am a little upset that I am having trouble sleeping due to all these exciting thought, but we can sleep when we're dead right?

Rick doesn't agree. Lol.



How was your week?

Linking up with: High 5 for Friday, Oh Hey, Friday, and Five on Friday

We have all had those days. Those days when we don't feel like blogging. We say we will do it tomorrow, and tomorrow comes and still no post. This goes on longer than you realize and suddenly it's been a month. Two months. And so on.

Blogging can be a hobby for some. It can be someone's part-time job. Blogging can be your only income, if you play it right. But truth be told, just like any other "job" blogging can burn you out.

Most bloggers I know also juggle a full time job, kids, and other life responsibilities. We let this space slip for life. We become absent. We are less consistent. What does that do for our readers? For our blogging community?

Last year I was one of those bloggers. I burnt out. I tried to fit more onto my plate than I was capable of at that moment. I would come on here and tell everyone I was great and was finally getting my shit together and to expect X, Y, and Z. Bam. Crickets. I didn't follow through. I wasn't delivering my promises.

I saw the decline in my daily numbers. I was no longer generating conversation on my blog. You lost interest. I lost your trust. You didn't believe me anymore when I said I was coming out with a new series, or a fun topic on this or that. You kept coming back to my crying wolf and eventually you just got tired of me. You stopped coming.

I was upset. I wanted to blame everything but myself for this blog not doing well. Maybe people just didn't get me? Maybe I needed more posts on this or that. The reality was, I needed to step back and re-evaluate what I was doing here. I wasn't being consistent because I was losing interest in my own hobby.

Since the new year started, I have taken some steps to get back to a consistent schedule and work on getting you interested again. In the process I have come up with some great tips to help re-connect you with your readers, as well as your blogging community.

Comment, comment, comment

Be consistent

I continuously told my readers I was going to do something, and then never got around to it. I'm sure that made me look like a complete brat. I was asking you to come back, and to what? No post. No explanation. Just woops I once again forgot to follow through. Riiiiiight.

Be honest

I have been thinking a lot lately about what I want out of life. I tend to go through waves of this. Sometimes I think about this when I am in a rut. Sometimes it just randomly pops up and makes me think. I know I am the only person who can make these things happen. I am in control of where my life goes.

I was reading over some comments on my blog this weekend, and someone pointed out my tattoo on my foot. They wanted to know what it was. It really got me thinking. The tattoo is a Kangi symbol meaning dream. I got the tattoo to remind myself to never stop dreaming 10 years ago.

As I continue to get older, as we all do, I notice myself more and more daydreaming about the things I want to do. I see clear vivid visions of what I want to do and where I want to go. Then I question myself. Why am I not doing this?

It is really interesting when you ask yourself these deep questions. You really get into a moment where you are clearly thinking this through.

Yesterday I cleaned my bathroom. I scrubbed my tub until it sparkled. Something told me I needed to do that. It then opened the door for me to take a nice relaxing bath. I soaked in a nice detoxing bath and I was able to read, and enjoy the quiet. There was a moment when I decided to put the book down and just sit.

My dreams popped up again.

It once again reminded me that you can't ever give up. Your soul is searching for happiness and these thoughts are always in the background, waiting to break through.. It helps me get motivated to stay on track for what I want.

I think I am ready to start working on these dreams again. I have taken the time to really get in touch with myself lately. I have learned what my being is craving. I am going to work hard every day to get those dreams into reality.

I can't wait to share with you all some of these dreams. I am planning to post about this soon.

What are some ways your dreams push their way into the present to jump start you to get going? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Here we are again. We are at the beginning of a new month. A time where we all ask for a clean slate and new chances. We often blame a month for our misfortunes. But maybe we are looking at it all wrong.

Every night we rejuvenate our bodies, thus giving us a clean slate the next day.  We just need to learn to utilize our clean slates daily and be the best person we can be.

I am asking March to challenge me rather than be better. I need to start holding myself accountable for some of the "better" I want to see.

Today is Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. I was baptized Catholic but haven't much practiced since I was a little girl. Today I am going to take the challenge of Lent to make myself better.

For 40 days and 40 nights I am focusing on my health and well being. I am giving up the foods I know don't agree with me, but I continue to anger my body with. I  also going to make it a point to give everyday.

I want to feel better in my body as well as in my choices. This challenge is not for selfish intentions. If I do not take care of myself, I cannot help those around me in need.

So challenge me March. Make me stronger.

What does your March look like?

I haven't done one of these in awhile, so I figured I'd tell you all about my weekend! Exciting right? Let me hear those ooooh's and ahhhhhh's.

I had absolutely no plans on adulating on Saturday for the most part. I wanted to become one with my couch, but the universe had other plans for me. I wanted to do a mini photo shoot with my first ever Stitch Fix box, because I needed to send it back today. I was putting on my face, when my phone rang.

My bestie who was moving out of state for a new adventure called me in an anxious mess asking me for my help. Of course I couldn't say no to a friend in need when all I planned to do was sit on my couch. We made a deal. If she took my photos for me I would be at her disposal. It was a win/win in my book.

Here's a sneak peak of one of the photos. She did awesome, don't you agree? Make sure to tune in later this week for the full photo shoot and first impression of my first ever fix!


It was a bittersweet day though. This was my last time hanging out with my bestie for awhile. She is off to new things 7 hours away. Thank God for Facebook video chat right?

Next on my weekend adventure was visiting my parent's in Pennsylvania on Sunday. They got a new puppy about a month ago and I still hadn't met him. I was so excited to meet the new baby. He was everything I could of hoped for, and more.

He was tiny and cuddly and just all around cute. What's not to love. he laid perfectly in his little bed and slept for a majority of the visit, but he was very shy. My parents reassured us that he was normal a destructive little machine. Maybe we will see that next visit?

In the meantime, here is a cute photo of the little guy.


So yeah that was my exciting weekend. Don't forget to go answer my pondering question from Friday for me. I need it for an upcoming project. I promise it only takes a minute and it will be very helpful to me.


Have a great week ya'll!

They always say happiness comes to those who wait. But I say why wait? Get out there and create the happiness you are seeking. Only you know what will make you happy. You need to be in charge of that. So I have a question today for you to ponder. It's a simple question, but may take some thinking.

It has taken me 5 weeks and another yoga weekend to really put into perspective how my training is going. How it has already touched me so deeply.

They say training to teach yoga will chage you, and before starting the classes your mind probably wanders as to what that actually means. How will you change? At least these were the questions I asked.

I walked into a studio with a room full of (mostly) strangers and walked out after 3 days feeling like they were my family. They understood me.

I am in the process of tremendous growth within my own soul. I'm working through things I never thought possible. This practice isn't only physical, but mental and spiritual.

We spend more time talking about yoga then we do in physical practice. The practice we get is amazing. We get to flow and learn. My body is so alive.

I believe everything happens for a reason, and though it's been tough balancing a new job, personal distractions, and keeping up with my practice and studies, I'm grateful for it all. It's challenging me to be my best self. It's showing me the world is mine if I want it.

I am going to come out of this certification ready to share my knowledge with you all. I will be able to support anyone who needs me, because I am supporting myself. It's a wonderful feeling.

I have some specific topics I want to discuss in the next few weeks leading up to my next training weekend. They will be more specific then this overall thought I have had through this.

I can't wait to share.

Namaste  <3

What can I say? It's Friday. I'm working from home. And I'm having all the feels today. Do you ever have one of those days where all the emotions just hit you in the face hard? Well that's pretty much how my day is going.

I've learned in just 2 short months of 2017 that SO much can change in just a day. A week. A month. I have changed jobs, started training for yoga teacher certification, and have watched a bunch of my friends start new adventures as well. We all had very quick and sudden changes that leave us happy with our new adventures, but sad with change.

I saw a friend take a new job that will take her to another state 6 hours away. I saw a friend elope and will be moving across the country to be with her new husband. I saw another friend decide to make the leap and work from home with her own business. Another friend is starting her own business. So much potential. So much growth.

But when we stop to think about it, growth means change. Sometimes our growth takes us to new places. Sometimes we leave our communities and along with that comes leaving our comfort zone. I may not be leaving my community yet, but I am definitely feeling like a fish out of water lately. I am losing some of my closest friends in my community and that is breaking my heart today. I am so proud, but also feeling sad.

I can't wait to see where all of these new adventures take us. It's an exciting time.

How's your Friday going?

Oh my word people, how did January sneak by as well as half of February?!

This year is already turning out to be crazy busy and it's making me sad that this blog has suffered a little after I had made plans to revive the blog this year. What can I say? Life happens? So here is another little update and a brief thought on what I am planning on writing about in the near future.

First and foremost I told you all about starting yoga teacher training (YTT) and that officially started on January 14th. I immersed myself into a full weekend of yoga practice and training. I really, really enjoy my classmates and all of the stuff we are learning. I only have 1 classroom weekend a month, so I am gearing up for my 2nd one this weekend.

In between our month classes we are responsible for attending a minimum of 2 yoga classes a week of our choice as well as some homework related to our teachings. Everything was going great until I decided to take a new job.

Back in December I was offered a position to get back into optical, which is something I have missed over the past 5 years. It also came along with the convenience of working from home. I couldn't pass it up. I spent most of January preparing to leave my job and readying myself to travel to train for my new job.

I went out of town for a week at the beginning of February to train, and since then I caught a virus that has kept me pretty tired and with no energy, along with learning my new job. Yoga has been hard to keep up with, through all of that, but things will hopefully slow down in the next few weeks and I should be able to get back on track.

I am planning to write more in depth about my yoga training. I have found some very interesting topics to discuss just within my own practice and readings. I am hoping to get those moving starting next week. I also want to focus on my new journey, working from home. It is an interesting process and deserves to be written about here.

So there you have it, my crazy busy life, all condensed into this short update. I hope you are all having a great start to your year, and I can't wait to get more going here on the blog!

Hey strangers! I know I have kind of fallen off the face of the Earth over the past couple of weeks, but I wanted to just pop on and tell you all I am alive and will have an update this week!

January was a huge month of change and new stuff and I can't wait to share it with you all!

I hope the start of everyone's new year has been smooth and can't wait to re-connect soon!

Have a fabulous Monday!

The day has come. A day many people are fearing. Today a new president takes the White House. It will be a day full of tears, struggles, joys, frustration, and unfortunately there will be some violence.

We will see people out of character who either cannot accept the change or will go against anyone who does not want the change. There can be bad on both sides of this.

I know many beautiful ladies headed to Washington DC this weekend for the Women's March. I wish I could be there with you, making history. I will be home locally supporting you. But my fear is, this event will bring the worst out of people. I am praying for a safe peaceful protest where everyone makes it home safe.

I am a realist. I have watched as the world has reacted to what it to come. I have seen peace and I have seen war. I have seen families torn apart by their differences. Sadly this isn't a president thing, this is a people thing.

I am writing this post this morning to urge everyone to find some peace today. Respect your neighbor, even if you do not have the same views. Allow there to be conversation that is listened to rather than responded to. Learning to let people speak before responding is a beautiful thing. We may learn something.

I personally know people who voted both ways. I have friends who are realing about today and others who are celebrating. I see it in my Facebook feeds. I see some kindness and some negativity. So today I want to remind you all one thing...

YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE TO BE THE BETTER PERSON. 

You may not agree with what is happening, but you need to be apart of the solution, not the problem.

Let's all radiate together and create love and joy and march forward.

Guys, let me tell you.. 34 hours of yoga teacher training from Friday to Monday is INTENSE! I am training to be a mindful warrior. I spent many hours in meditation along with learning the history and base poses to a yoga practice.

I am still working on processing everything I experienced on my weekend retreat immersed in all things yoga and mindfulness. I left feeling extremely close to my classmates and pondering all sorts of things in my life and about the world.

I do not have to be back in the class room for 5 weeks, but will be doing home study and practice in between. I will be logging a minimum of 2 yoga classes a week. I will be meditating 10 minutes a day, every day. I will be reading and studying the history and learning the whole body system.

I am beyond excited for this journey, and wish to share more once I processed everything completely over the next few weeks. I debated not posting at all until I had the words, but felt like going radio silent wasn't fun either.

Now I want to ask.. Do you practice mindfulness? Do you practice yoga? Please share with me your stories and journey. I would love to hear them all.


Much love!

Trish

Hi there! It's Friday and that means I want to do something fun here on the blog. Maybe it's more fun for me than you, but fun none the less. Today I decided it would be a good idea to re-introduce myself (I did one last year too, and it has more info if you're interested..). 2016 was pretty hit or miss for me and I know I have some newer readers who have no idea what I am all about. You might even learn something new if you've been around awhile..


So.. My name is Trish and I have been blogging for almost 3 years. I started this blog as a product review site and after taking the plunge I realized I wanted to write more than just reviews. I wanted to talk about life, and things, and stuff. So I moved my domain over to blogger and got myself a fancy design (or 5) and here I am.

In the past I have focused on a variety of things, and never really found a niche. If I wanted to talk about fitness, I talked about fitness. If I wanted to talk about my crazy life, I vented here. In 2017 I want to be more focused and talk about things that matter to me and things that I know lots about. I feel like that is how you become the expert. You talk about the things you know best.

More about me..

I got married in September and live in a town home with my hubby, step-children, and 2 rescue cats Rick and Grace. I have always been a cat person, and have an allergy to dogs. My house is constantly full of some form of chaos, but that's life right?


Starting tomorrow, I am starting my 200 hour yoga teacher training (200 YTT). I will be immersed in yoga every week until May. I decided this is a good year to really find myself. To release all of the stresses and upsets that I have been holding onto. I will be incorporating this into my weekly blogging.

I will be starting a new career at the end of the month, which will allow me to work from home. I will be talking a little more about that when it gets closer.

I love photography, journaling, reading, music, and finding new ways to earn free stuff. I have been told I am lucky.. I've won trips to The Grammy's and an adventure trip to Montana. I often win giveaways and free night stays at hotels and random beauty products. I don't completely consider it luck, but lots of work.

Grammy's

 One of my greatest passions is mental health. I want to find a way to get everyone who needs help, the help they need. I want people to be able to talk openly about mental health without feeling judged. I had plans to write a mini series on this last year, but it never happened. I am working on making that happen this year. Link up and all.

If you asked me one thing I would want to do for the rest of my life, I would tell you travel. I think the most fascinating thing we can ever learn is the cultures of the world we live in. If we could just all understand each other and share the beauty of life, we could have a beautiful world full of love.


I could probably go on and on, but I am going to stop there. I want you to understand who I am without getting bored. I am hoping to bring a lot of who I am to the blog this year. I am done following in others footsteps as it doesn't always suit me. I may find something interesting in the blog world and do something similar, but I no longer want to "keep up with the jones' "per say.

Time to find my voice and my place here in the blog world. I can't wait to see you all along the way. Take a poke around the blog. There are some good ones throughout the past 3 years, I promise!

When I announced I would be starting classes for my yoga teaching training, I had a lot of people ask my why. Why am I going to put myself through 200 hours of yoga in a short period of time?

Well since I start my journey this weekend (eek!) I figured I would give you my why.


Being healthy, both physically and mentally is always something I strive to work on. It is a personal choice for me, and I think it should be personal for you. Anytime you make a decision about your well-being you should be all in or not at all.

I have been committing to yoga for about a year now and I wanted a way to take it further. Life is stressful and I know I feel better when I give myself over to yoga and meditation. My mind clears and my body feels better.

I am also at a place in my life where I want to really get to know myself. I want to have a deep relationship with myself, which will help me have deeper relationships with others.

This was my calling for a better and balanced life.

Starting this Saturday the 14th, I will completely immerse myself into a yoga practice. I will learn about my body, and how to help you learn about yours. I will challenge myself both physically and mentally, and hope I will heal along the way.

That is what 2017 is going to be for me. Healing. Growth. Strength.

I am also going to do a journal here weekly. I will start this weekend with a start photo. I can't wait to see how much I change in 4 months.

What are you doing this year to encourage growth within yourself?

Happy 2017! I hope you all had a great start to the new year!

I celebrated my birthday last night into the countdown to 2017 with my hubby and good friends. I couldn't have asked for more.

Let me take a quick moment to talk about my 2016 highlights before jumping into the outlook for 2017.

I traveled to NYC in March for a weekend and stayed at the Dream hotel, which had been on my bucklet list for years.

In May we flew to Colorado and visited Denver and Glenwood Springs where we soaked in the hot springs for the first time. I also hiked up a mountain on a whim and lived to talk about it.

In August I visited Point Pleasant, NJ and went to the beach for the first time in years. We had a beautiful day where we played in the ocean like kids with no worry in the world.

I got married in September! It was a beautiful day with close friends and family. I couldn't have asked for a better day!

October brought on a mini honeymoon to Alexandria Bay in the Thousand Islands. We visited Boldt Castle and took a boat tour of the islands traveling between Canada and New York. It was a beautiful trip with beautiful fall colors.

In November we hosted not 1, but 2 Thanksgiving. One with friends and one with family. The food was a plenty and the conversations endless.

December I found myself dreaming of something I wasn't sure was possible. I enrolled and was accepted into a 200 hour yoga teaching training. I can't wait to see where that journey takes me...

Something noteworthy for me, I read 16 books in 2016. That may not sound like much, but for me that was a great accomplishment.

Now onto what 2017..

Lots of new opportunities are on the horizon. I will be starting yoga training in January. I'm planning to document my journey here on the blog. I hope you'll join me.

I'll be working on new ways to keep this blog relevant for not only me, but for you. Lots of ideas on my mind.

I plan to double my books read for this year and have decided to read a lot about travel and new places.

A honeymoon and a solo trip may also be in the works.

The biggest thing I'm working on this year is my own personal growth. Always learning and evolving. I'm hoping to have an exciting progress report come December.

What are you planning for 2017?