I just posted a long post about the awesome Partner Yoga class we held this past weekend, now i finally got my hands on some of the pictures!!! Enjoy!!
Showing posts with label Valentines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Valentines. Show all posts
Monday, February 18, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Getting Handsy in Down Dog!
So a couple of years ago, I had taken a partner yoga class, and absolutely LOVED it. Then when I took my teacher training, we were lucky enough to have one evening dedicated to learning different partner yoga poses, only reigniting my interest in it.
So earlier in the winter, I approached the studio owner about teaching a partner themed class around Valentines Day, and she was totally into it, and told me to go for it. So I did more research, got a full sequence ready, made the corny lovey playlist and it was on the calendar for 12 couples to come get their down dog romance on. It helps that we actually have a bunch of guys that come to the studio, so we knew they'd at least be into it.
We did some pre planning of the class, mainly just going through the poses to make sure the three of us knew what each pose was. And she went to town on planning food and the little touches (ie. rose petals on their eyes before the cool towel during savasana).
I got there Friday night, expecting that she would lead the class since she is far more experienced, and it IS a special event for the studio. And immediately I am corrected that no, I will be the one lead teaching. Thank goodness I was the one to actually write the sequence, but it had still been a month since I'd looked at it. Cue cramming. Although, we had gained extra people to help assist. The owner, the only instructor that taught there before me, and then the two newest instructors. One of which was my old instructor from way back in the day at the rec center.
Couples started arriving, the instructors got them signed in and we took their mats to get them all set up before they even entered the studio, because we are full service! They were all really cute. 11 boy/girl combos and one what is guess was mother/daughter (all types of love for valentines!). Some were far more romantic than others. Lots of hand rubbing and back caressing. In fact, a couple of them might have even gone a little overboard, cause it takes a lot to get me blushing, but boy did some of them achieve that.
All different levels of skill. One couple NAILED every pose, despite a solid 2.5 foot height difference. His legs were literally her entire body. Another couple, I almost felt bad for her. He might as well have been a baby deer just born. Had I not seen him walk in successfully, I would have thought he didn't know what legs were for.
18-some poses, and we got through them all! There was a quick warm up, and a nice long savasana (lights off, god only knows what fully happened). It was only supposed to last an hour, but ended up being closer to 75 minutes, but knowing our studio, no one should be shocked by that. And through it all, the owner only interjected a few instructions, and even those were completely helpful and only adding to what I had already said. She did teach two poses, but because i had asked her to, because there were two poses that she added herself, and I really had no idea how to even get a couple started moving in that direction. But otherwise, she was super smiley and happy and bouncing through the whole class. She was like a ninja photographer snapping pictures from every position when not helping assist the poses. At one point, she was in full reclined hero to get the angle she wanted. It was really cute. And it only continued after the class. She took photos of all of us in front of the buffet, and kept giving hugs and high fives and was clearly ELATED with the outcome of the class, making me extremely happy and pleased with my own doing. The couples all seemed to love it too as they finally emerged from the dark savasana. Lots of compliments and saying they would love to do it again. So that was pretty awesome.
And all the compliments were BEFORE the buffet after. Champagne, sparkling green tea (still have to pretend to be yogis ;-) ), truffles, other chocolates, mousse cups, chocolate covered strawberries, the works. And it was all fantastic. Perfect cap to the class. And once everyone left, the instructors all stayed, and it was actually the first time we have all been together, so it became a totally chat time, eventually working into finding two of them boyfriends. We also got to meet the owner's husband and daughter, who I had yet to meet so far.
Overall, a total success. Who wants to wait all the way until next February to do another one? Certainly not me. Although, I think going further into acroyoga might be funner….. :-)
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Valentine's Recap.
Our Valentine's this year was pretty spanned out over a few days. Well. Really we just ate a lot over the week and wanted something to blame it on.
The first event was a Valentines Pilates class at NRG. I think Tim was a bit tentative considering he's not exactly Mr. Pilates, but Jack and Nicky did a great job of making it easy for everyone. We did a bunch of different partner stuff for the actual class, but afterwards was the chocolate and wine tasting. I think they know how to cater to their audience! ;-) It was a lot of fun though, between a lot of silly pilates and super tasty chocolate, it was a good time for sure. I'm not even a wine fan, but the chocolate cherry wine wasn't anything to scoff at!
Next was Art House Cafe's Pop Up restaurant, Chao. It was their second Asian themed pop up, but the first one we've attended, and also the first one we've attended at the actual cafe. The atmosphere was good, as was the DJ they had playing, although I totally would have wanted him to play more (somehow I think we were there during the long break). But the food was a little lack luster. Most of the courses were good for what they were, but nothing extravagant. Also, everything involved a lot of rice. Produce was pretty much non existent. I just needed a little something fresh and not fried or rice. Or in dessert, BOTH fried and rice. I'm really not even sure what he was thinking. See above. A total cluster...Some sort of fried rice that was dry and flavorless, pomegranate, blue jello, and a few lychee pieces. Very very confusing....
The day before Valentine's Day, I played baker and made my parents some tasty treats. Dad got a lemon cake that was supposed to be pink, but a lack of enough red food coloring made for a very awkward flash tone cake. At least it still tasted like lemon? And Mom got a delivery of handmade chocolate covered strawberries. I gotta say, usually they look a lot more lumpy than this.....
On the actual day, we hit up Newton's for a five course dinner. And because I feel like that night already wasted too many precious hours of my life (3.5 hours is too long on a week night) I will keep this short. Course one was a beet and goat cheese salad. I learned, I do not like beets. They taste like dirt.
Second course was one shrimp, one oyster, and a dice sized piece of salmon. Third was a slice of pork and a yellow pepper. Fourth, this teepee of lamb and mashed potatoes. It looks pretty, and by this time I was so hungry that I didn't really taste anything as I shoveled it in my mouth. 
Last was a "innovative" dessert. That was a take on the cherry bomb shot, only made in jello form? With some ice cream. It was kind of weird, not horrible, but to me, Valentines Day is for chocolate!
I'll admit, we sat there from 7 to 10:30 and yet, afterwards, we will picked up a pizza from DoJo because we were still hungry. Not the best experience.....maybe we'll learn? There was a highlight though, the couple next to us was having quite the fight. They kept the volume down, but the content of their conversation and the tone of it were hilariously pissed off. And I quote, "People that call you a ho, would call me a pimp" Enough said.
And to close out, three of the furry loves of my life all snuggling together. I'm Pandora is in the bathroom, wrestling with the shower curtain....
The first event was a Valentines Pilates class at NRG. I think Tim was a bit tentative considering he's not exactly Mr. Pilates, but Jack and Nicky did a great job of making it easy for everyone. We did a bunch of different partner stuff for the actual class, but afterwards was the chocolate and wine tasting. I think they know how to cater to their audience! ;-) It was a lot of fun though, between a lot of silly pilates and super tasty chocolate, it was a good time for sure. I'm not even a wine fan, but the chocolate cherry wine wasn't anything to scoff at!
Next was Art House Cafe's Pop Up restaurant, Chao. It was their second Asian themed pop up, but the first one we've attended, and also the first one we've attended at the actual cafe. The atmosphere was good, as was the DJ they had playing, although I totally would have wanted him to play more (somehow I think we were there during the long break). But the food was a little lack luster. Most of the courses were good for what they were, but nothing extravagant. Also, everything involved a lot of rice. Produce was pretty much non existent. I just needed a little something fresh and not fried or rice. Or in dessert, BOTH fried and rice. I'm really not even sure what he was thinking. See above. A total cluster...Some sort of fried rice that was dry and flavorless, pomegranate, blue jello, and a few lychee pieces. Very very confusing....The day before Valentine's Day, I played baker and made my parents some tasty treats. Dad got a lemon cake that was supposed to be pink, but a lack of enough red food coloring made for a very awkward flash tone cake. At least it still tasted like lemon? And Mom got a delivery of handmade chocolate covered strawberries. I gotta say, usually they look a lot more lumpy than this.....
On the actual day, we hit up Newton's for a five course dinner. And because I feel like that night already wasted too many precious hours of my life (3.5 hours is too long on a week night) I will keep this short. Course one was a beet and goat cheese salad. I learned, I do not like beets. They taste like dirt.
Second course was one shrimp, one oyster, and a dice sized piece of salmon. Third was a slice of pork and a yellow pepper. Fourth, this teepee of lamb and mashed potatoes. It looks pretty, and by this time I was so hungry that I didn't really taste anything as I shoveled it in my mouth. 
Last was a "innovative" dessert. That was a take on the cherry bomb shot, only made in jello form? With some ice cream. It was kind of weird, not horrible, but to me, Valentines Day is for chocolate!
I'll admit, we sat there from 7 to 10:30 and yet, afterwards, we will picked up a pizza from DoJo because we were still hungry. Not the best experience.....maybe we'll learn? There was a highlight though, the couple next to us was having quite the fight. They kept the volume down, but the content of their conversation and the tone of it were hilariously pissed off. And I quote, "People that call you a ho, would call me a pimp" Enough said.
And to close out, three of the furry loves of my life all snuggling together. I'm Pandora is in the bathroom, wrestling with the shower curtain....
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The way to my heart: My stomach.
My Valentine's was spent at one of my new favorite restaurants downtown. It's not typical for around these parts, it thankfully seems to forget that not only is it just styled like a diner, but also that it's located in the midwest. Simple food, but prepared with great skill and conceptualication. Anyways. They were having a six course Valentine's dinner, and I pounced on that like kitties on catnip.
Totally cute set up, it's a quaint diner/cafe atmosphere normally, but add candles everywhere, white linens, hints of Valentines red in places. Even better was the fact that there were only eight other couples in the whole place, so it was killer service and we got the chef's talk before the meal explaining all the courses and running us through the five different entrees.
Course #.5: Champagne
Course #1: Scallop with reduction.
Course #2: Romaine with garlic bacon vinagrette and shaved parmesan.
Course #3: Lobster bisque.
Course #4: Scoop of lime sorbet.
Course #5: Pork w/ risotto and sauteed spinach. Breaded chicken w/ grilled zucchini and a thyme waffle.
Course #6: Poached pear w/ cheese plate (aged cheddar, bleu, and brie).
Course #7: Trio of chocolate. Coffee chocolate mousse, triple chocolate ice cream, and a white chocolate covered strawberry.
Delicious food. Great atmosphere. Something different for Valentines Day. Good times.
And to top it all off, a Macy's Gift card, but personalized, with Nessa's mouth wide open on the card itself, and a card explaining that she wants me to use it all on her, but that Myla and Nessa disagree. Too cute. Well executed! Much better than my gift of crab cakes kit, thats for certain!
Totally cute set up, it's a quaint diner/cafe atmosphere normally, but add candles everywhere, white linens, hints of Valentines red in places. Even better was the fact that there were only eight other couples in the whole place, so it was killer service and we got the chef's talk before the meal explaining all the courses and running us through the five different entrees.
Course #.5: Champagne
Course #1: Scallop with reduction.
Course #2: Romaine with garlic bacon vinagrette and shaved parmesan.
Course #3: Lobster bisque.
Course #4: Scoop of lime sorbet.
Course #5: Pork w/ risotto and sauteed spinach. Breaded chicken w/ grilled zucchini and a thyme waffle.
Course #6: Poached pear w/ cheese plate (aged cheddar, bleu, and brie).
Course #7: Trio of chocolate. Coffee chocolate mousse, triple chocolate ice cream, and a white chocolate covered strawberry.
Delicious food. Great atmosphere. Something different for Valentines Day. Good times.
And to top it all off, a Macy's Gift card, but personalized, with Nessa's mouth wide open on the card itself, and a card explaining that she wants me to use it all on her, but that Myla and Nessa disagree. Too cute. Well executed! Much better than my gift of crab cakes kit, thats for certain!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Drunk Sluts and Chocolate Covered Strawberries!
We clean up well don't we? I absolutely love this dress. And its quite an event when I break out the heels! This was taken this past weekend at the Heart Ball. And despite the name, and weekend, it wasn't a Valentine's event. It was a charity fundraiser for a troubled kids school. My mother was on the committee for the fundraiser, and for the first time in four years, we got the invite to join them for fun, food, and fanciness! The auction didn't go so hot, but hey, I got a camera bag full of confiscated desserts! :)
This is dad's face on the upcoming change in our lives...more to come on that one....needless to say, the weirdo keeps busting out the crybaby face.
I dont think I even want to know what they are looking for.....
Sunday, February 15, 2009
A Lovely Valentines.
How cute are the two people that kissed once and I magically appeared?!
Yesterday is how Valentine's should be. It was supposed to be hindered by a middle of the day wrestling match to work, or Man Love on the Mat, as I was calling it. But thankfully, my afternoon of sweaty muscles was moved to a location where I wasn't needed, and I was free to be me!
It was nice though, there's so much pressure on people's impressions of Valentine's Day, that no matter how awesome a person's plans are, they feel like they failed. But when you spend the day with your entire family and all of your loved ones, and have no actual plans but to spend the day together, and share meals, then there's no pressure to do anything crazy exotic or impress anyone.
Tim and I had planned to make pancakes for my family in the morning, but it turned into picking up bagels for everyone at Panera and spending the morning at the Nordyke household, eating our bagels and just chilling. My brother got his gift from his girlfriend. Cute puzzle pieces that spelled out a message. Then we all finagled our way into the car and went downtown for mom to do her every Saturday shopping and hunt for the German wine that simply didn't exist. But car rides with the Nordykes are never just car rides, they are giggle fests full of totally inappropriate jokes and very odd stories....and this Saturday was no exception.
After helping mom with her final wine selection at HyVee (buy five bottles, get one free!) we moved on to Best Buy for my brother to get a Valentine's gift. I ended up with Season Two of Veronica Mars. Moving on down the line to Bed Bath and Beyond and Barnes and Noble. My family loves to peruse those kinds of stores....
OH! Great Barnes and Nobles story! Tim comes running up to me, to tell me that there is a 80 year old man in the back chairs, who is looking at Penthouse. Like, sitting, and actually reading Penthouse, not trying to hide the boobs or anything. I know it's Valentines and all, but really? Whoa buddy.
It must have been Kids Day at Carlos O Kellys, because we walked in, and already we saw 6 kids under the age of 10 all with the same white trash couple. 30 seconds later, another family walked out with four young kids. Kids were EVERYWHERE! Thankfully we were seated in a corner near the kitchen, away from the screaming children throwing their chips and salsa at each other.
Back to the house for some more family hang out time, watching my parents get ready for their Heart Ball fundraiser. It's this super decked out gala that they go to every year with crazy gowns and food and music. They always have a blast and its so cute to see them all dressed up! We even got family pictures taken, since my mom is on a family pictures kick. She thinks we don't have enough family pictures taken, so her goal for 2009 is to have our family picture taken once a month. Since we spent Valentines together, and we were all decked out in our red gear, with my parents in their gala attire, we took our February picture!
They headed off to their event, and Tim and I headed to the Waterloo mall to return the ugly sweater his mom got me for Christmas (yup, I got a whole 12 dollars back....) but as long as we were there, we made a stop at the Arcade. The Waterloo arcade is one of very few left that still are home to Area 51 old school arcade games. So we spent a good part of an hour shooting aliens down. I killed those nasty drooling buggers! Kablam!
Back at our house, Tim broke out his gift to me, a crazy barbecue spread from our favorite BBQ place in Kansas Cit that he had shipped.
Jack Stack barbecue is amazing. When I got to see the layout, he had a full picnic in our living room complete with red checkered blanket with our meal of bbq pork, beef, and a smoked turkey. Buns and cheesey corn bake rounded out the awesome meal. With my splendid Little Mermaid movie in the background and chocolate chip muffins for dessert. 
I was ready to puke. Absolutely stuffed. I felt like a rhinopotamus plus a sow. The rest of the evening was pretty much a moot point of wallowing in distended tummies and trying to pick up the house a bit. But I was totally asleep by the end of Valentines Day! A fun day full of loved ones.
Yesterday is how Valentine's should be. It was supposed to be hindered by a middle of the day wrestling match to work, or Man Love on the Mat, as I was calling it. But thankfully, my afternoon of sweaty muscles was moved to a location where I wasn't needed, and I was free to be me!
It was nice though, there's so much pressure on people's impressions of Valentine's Day, that no matter how awesome a person's plans are, they feel like they failed. But when you spend the day with your entire family and all of your loved ones, and have no actual plans but to spend the day together, and share meals, then there's no pressure to do anything crazy exotic or impress anyone.
Tim and I had planned to make pancakes for my family in the morning, but it turned into picking up bagels for everyone at Panera and spending the morning at the Nordyke household, eating our bagels and just chilling. My brother got his gift from his girlfriend. Cute puzzle pieces that spelled out a message. Then we all finagled our way into the car and went downtown for mom to do her every Saturday shopping and hunt for the German wine that simply didn't exist. But car rides with the Nordykes are never just car rides, they are giggle fests full of totally inappropriate jokes and very odd stories....and this Saturday was no exception.
After helping mom with her final wine selection at HyVee (buy five bottles, get one free!) we moved on to Best Buy for my brother to get a Valentine's gift. I ended up with Season Two of Veronica Mars. Moving on down the line to Bed Bath and Beyond and Barnes and Noble. My family loves to peruse those kinds of stores....
OH! Great Barnes and Nobles story! Tim comes running up to me, to tell me that there is a 80 year old man in the back chairs, who is looking at Penthouse. Like, sitting, and actually reading Penthouse, not trying to hide the boobs or anything. I know it's Valentines and all, but really? Whoa buddy.
It must have been Kids Day at Carlos O Kellys, because we walked in, and already we saw 6 kids under the age of 10 all with the same white trash couple. 30 seconds later, another family walked out with four young kids. Kids were EVERYWHERE! Thankfully we were seated in a corner near the kitchen, away from the screaming children throwing their chips and salsa at each other.
Back to the house for some more family hang out time, watching my parents get ready for their Heart Ball fundraiser. It's this super decked out gala that they go to every year with crazy gowns and food and music. They always have a blast and its so cute to see them all dressed up! We even got family pictures taken, since my mom is on a family pictures kick. She thinks we don't have enough family pictures taken, so her goal for 2009 is to have our family picture taken once a month. Since we spent Valentines together, and we were all decked out in our red gear, with my parents in their gala attire, we took our February picture!
They headed off to their event, and Tim and I headed to the Waterloo mall to return the ugly sweater his mom got me for Christmas (yup, I got a whole 12 dollars back....) but as long as we were there, we made a stop at the Arcade. The Waterloo arcade is one of very few left that still are home to Area 51 old school arcade games. So we spent a good part of an hour shooting aliens down. I killed those nasty drooling buggers! Kablam!
Back at our house, Tim broke out his gift to me, a crazy barbecue spread from our favorite BBQ place in Kansas Cit that he had shipped.
Jack Stack barbecue is amazing. When I got to see the layout, he had a full picnic in our living room complete with red checkered blanket with our meal of bbq pork, beef, and a smoked turkey. Buns and cheesey corn bake rounded out the awesome meal. With my splendid Little Mermaid movie in the background and chocolate chip muffins for dessert. 
I was ready to puke. Absolutely stuffed. I felt like a rhinopotamus plus a sow. The rest of the evening was pretty much a moot point of wallowing in distended tummies and trying to pick up the house a bit. But I was totally asleep by the end of Valentines Day! A fun day full of loved ones.
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