Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Day Trip to San Antonio

We decided to make a quick jaunt on down to San Antonio! Got my NPS stamp at the Missions, right next to the one I got when I was little. Went to the Alamo, sorely disappointed, but the Buckhorn Texas Ranger Museum wasn't too shabby! Although slightly creepy with the animal heads and chairs....With a final stop of the San Antonio Riverwalk before lunch at La Gloria on the outskirts of town!








Some More Austin....


But to counteract all the food, or at least a few bites of it, we ran the Trail of Lights 5k! It was pretty sweet, I gotta say.






Everything IS bigger in TX, including my appetite! (Pt 1)

Tim and I went on a mini vacation to Austin, Texas in mid December! We saw the State Capital, ate Gourdough's AMAZING drop dead awesome donuts, did some Corepower Yoga, did some shopping, visited the very first Whole Foods (not just visited, but probably went literally 9 times in the few days we were there), wanted to buy this super awesome cowboy boots, ate Torchy's Tacos, went and checked out University of Texas' campus,  AND we took a Food Tour. In case you didn't notice, it was quite food themed.....








We did the Austin Eats Food Tour and it was fabulous. So much deliciousness!

Sausage gravy biscuit - Farmers Market
Chocolate Cocoa beans - Farmers Market
Breakfast taco - Taco Deli
Kitchen sink burger - Huts Hamburgers
Chicken eggs hollandaise / Moscow mule- Haddingtons
Golden Egg Cinnamon scone- Fancy & Staple
Chocolate covered bacon / strawberry infused gin / coffee / chicago dog / chili dog- Frank
Mini cupcakes / cookie - Delish




Sunday, January 13, 2013

They ALL showed up....


This past weekend I was lucky enough to teach a Saturday morning yoga class. It's always a big class, but I knew it was going to be insane this weekend. I had nine of my friends telling me they were going to come to their first hot yoga class EVER. Well, seven hot yoga virgins, one had been two ONE hot yoga class, and one hot yoga instructor.

I have always wanted my friends to come to class with me, or even a class that I am teaching. But one or two at a time! So I can interact with them, give them some special attention, and if I'm teaching, I'll totally style the class around their needs. But when there are NINE of them. You're just screwed. I'll be honest, I didn't expect them all to show up. I figured a few would forget, a few would be hungover, and/or a few would just chicken out. They ALL showed. But so did 25 other students.

My biggest class has been 21 before Saturday. Usually 16-18. The studio itself has never been able to hold more than 31. We end up having to turn people away. But with the chaos of having only a half an hour turn around from the prior class to mine, we somehow crammed in THIRTY FOUR people into my class.

I was pretty nervous going in, knowing that many people that I personally know were going to be there. If its strangers, you can just get by knowing that they don't know you and if they don't like how you teach, they never have to go to a class you are scheduled to teach again. But when you know them, its so different, you want to please them! You NEED to please them. And with the varied level of bodies coming in, boy howdy I was in for it.

But with 34 people, I was literally brushing sides with my mat neighbors. Who thank GOD were Tim to my left and Nate to my right. The two people I want most next to me through that insanity. It got so hot and humid I thought I would black out. But thats when being the teacher feels the absolute best. Feel like passing out? Oh thats right childs pose for a few breaths, drink break, or lets just let the cool breeze in.

With the amount of people, I didn't get to talk to everyone in person afterwards, but I got immense praise from a few immediately after, including the people I most wanted to impress, and Facebook went wild later that day with how much everyone loved it. In fact, I think only one actually didn't like it. He thinks I tried to kill him with the heat. I think he just needs to buck it up. But he never down talked it to me, so Ill let it slide, at least he tried.

All in all, it went swimmingly, but lets just try to span out the friends and newbies from now on. Give my heart a few extra years to live.

But thank you to Tim, Nate, Chris, John, Creed, Jeff, Kayla, Sarah, and Matt for surviving that heat, you all did amazingly well!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Yoga thoughts

Girl comes in Sol yesterday, my brain says she looks familiar, but I've got nothing.

She chats quite a bit about living in NY and how much she misses hot yoga so she's pumped about Sol now, wants to buy a package. Tells me her lady name for the computer, I immediately know it.

But there's two in the computer, I don't want to assume its her, I ask her first name. She tells me. I blurt "I totally rode the bus with you in elementary school, I'm Clare Nordyke" and she bursts "I KNEW I knew you!" She asks about teaching and says she's thinking about getting certified.

I was amused.

It's really amazing the amount of people I know I should know that come in, but with all I've been involved with since birth, I have no clue who they are. Sometimes they know me and acknowledge me, and then I feel bad.

And now there's people that act like they KNOW me when really I just teach them. That's a weird one. We have that at NLXF, but that's more a silent club. You know you see eachother dying and miserable at 6am in their weakest and most ugly moments, but you don't say anything to them. It's a silent bond that run shockingly deep. But at the studio, when students know you change your hair or start liking things on Facebook even when you aren't FB friends. It's a weird feeling.

Not that I mind, at least I know they don't hate me :-)

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Places Slept 2012.

Continuing tradition since 2008 (2009, 2010, 2011). Travel is such a huge part of our life, that this post is one of my favorite's all year. And this year is definitely not slacking.


Cedar Falls, IA
3/8-Chicago, IL
3/9-3/16-Buena Vista, FL
4/13-Bloomington, MN
5/10-over the Atlantic
5/11-13- Cairo, Egypt
5/14-15-onboard Nile Cruise @Luxor, Egypt
5/16-onboard Nile Cruise @ Kom Obo, Egypt
5/17-onboard Nile Cruise @ Aswan, Egypt
5/18-5/19- Cairo, Egypt
5/20- Amman, Jordan
5/21-5/22- Wadi Musa, Jordan
5/23- Flying from the Middle East to Europe
6/13- Lincoln, NE
6/14-5/16- Snowmass Village, CO
6/17- Denver, CO
7/6-7/20 -West Des Moines, IA
8/1-West Des Moines
8/2-8/4- Somerville, MA
8/5- Brookline, MA
8/6- Cambridge, MA
8/24- Chicago, IL
10/12-10/13- Coralville, IA
10/31 -West Des Moines, IA
12/12-West Des Moines, IA
12/13-16-Austin, TX
12/17-West Des Moines, IA