Instagram Yoga Challenge.

I was recently introduced to Instagram yoga challenges by a group of ladies that I taught a yoga class too at the Hard Rock Hotel here in Las Vegas. First, I was impressed with thier practice. They were very good and all they really needed from me was some minor tweeks and some basics. Otherwise, there were brave, and strong attempting all sorts of poses and tricks. Second, I loved that some had the idea of introducing a pose a day for people to do and try. They can warm up however they like, tailor a little practice and then do the challenge pose. Some are hard and some are really not so hard but, the challenge is to do it. So, inspired, I started following all these yogi's on my personal instagram feed. 

Thing is, I am having trouble. I want to do it, but I do not want to take pictures of myself doing the poses. That is part of the challenge. It is part of doing the poses, to share, allow others to share. This is a huge problem for me. I HATE taking pictures. I am just not photogenic. I have had to face this fact. I do not think I am ugly or anything but, I never like pictures of me. I just look weird and awkward in almost all of them. I am however realizing that this just be why these challenges are so intriguing to me. I just need to get over it. It is just a silly hang up. Who says that I have to look great in pictures? So many things I have done, I have not wanted or allowed myself to be in the pictures so there is no photographic evidence of me even doing so many things I have done. Stupid. Now I am afraid to do do these challenges because I have a stupid hang up about picture. My work it is release this so I celebrate all the wonderful things that my body can do and I am even impressed with my body at times. So, here goes yoga peeps. Time to get over it. 

Grateful for fleas

In high school I read a book about a woman who, during World War 2, that was imprisoned in a concentration camp. The woman recounts a story about how her sister would always find something to be grateful for, even in their bleak circumstance. Their barracks we riddled with fleas and they were constantly itching and were covered in bumps. Her sister reminded her to be grateful for even the fleas. The fleas made it so the Nazi guards would avoid going into the barracks so, they were able to had small creature comforts, like morsels of food, pictures, and jewelry. As a teenager in the middle of Arizona, the story completely amazed me. Talk about trying to find the silver lining! The woman got through being in a concentration camp with gratitude. (I would be forever grateful to anyone who could remind me of the name of the book, because I just can’t remember. Haha!)

This blog is not for wimps. It is easy to find gratitude in a warm cooked meal, flowers, babies, and butterflies and yes, these things do grace our real lives but, everything is worth being grateful for. That annoying coworker, dog doo on the floor, a screaming child in the super market, someone dying, and that slow car in front of you on the freeway that is in your way of getting where you want to go. If you are willing to open your mind to it, it is there. Why is this blog not for wimps? Well, I am asking you to dig deep and find gratitude in everything. Everything that is happening in your life right now, no matter how small, no matter how scary, no matter how terrible, be brave and find something to be grateful for. Quit expecting everything to be perfect. You might feel I am getting preachy but, actually, I am talking to myself.

My hope is to find all things in my life to be worthy of gratefulness and I also hope people will share with me the things that teach them that same thing. This blog will be the place where I collect all of those wonderful things to inspire the world to love itself. Thank you internet for making it possible. 

Something Smells Yucky!

Ewwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!! I truly hate it when I walk into my house after a long days work and smell something bad. You know, when you have maybe thrown something in the trash and forgot to realize that is going to smell up the joint like a package that used to hold chicken breasts. Yesterday, that is what I came home to. My husband was home and he just could not smell it. After planting a kiss on my beautiful husbands lips, I bee-lined to the trash and took it out. Then sprayed my house with the wonderful sage clearing spray I picked up at my local Whole Foods. Awe! Right? Going from one of my most hated smells to one of my favorite.
Today I am looking for creative writing ideas. I want to start blogging regularly, so I can master my craft. I have not truly been writing for fun for a long long time now. I just want to start small, right here and focus on what makes life worth living. The small stuff, the stuff we take for granted, like sage spray. Anyways, I came across the idea, 5 favorite smells. Huh? That is something I take for granted.  I mean, I love to smell good scents but rarely am I grateful for them. So, here goes, homage to 5 of my favorite scents.

1.  Vanilla. I just love it. It is the tried and true, readily available, comes in everything from candles to ice cream, truly nose candy. Who could not love vanilla? Light a candle and it smells almost like baking. It's sweet but not sickly sweet. Plus you can almost add anything to it and it only adds to the splendor. Chocolate, coffee, lavender, nuts! Perfection. Vanilla is a sort of the blank canvas for scent and food.
2. Dog. Yup, dog stank. It may sound crazy but I love how dogs smell. It is hard to explain unless of course you have a dog. I grew up with lots of dogs. My parents never saw a dog they could say no to. Especially if it was a doberman. At one time we had 7 dogs in our house. Our house wreaked of dog. So, dog smell reminds of my childhood, of best friends, and being greeted at the door by love and lots of puppy kisses. These days I love to lay with with 2 dogs and smell their sweet bellies and of course, I rub them too. 
3. My husband. Clean or dirty, he always smells like heaven to me. He has a manly musky scent that makes me crazy! Love it. Moving on.......
4. Lavender. Admittedly, this scent had to grow on me. Now I can not get enough of it. I love spraying lavender on my pillow, to freshen the air in my home, and I keep a bottle of lavender essential oils on my desk at work just for sniffing. It calms me. I like to rub it on my hands and neck. So soothing.
5. Coconut. This is why all my lotions smell like coconuts. It is sweet but makes me feel fresh and clean at the same time. After my shower I truly enjoy slathering myself up with coconut buttery goodness and I am happy that my husband loves how it smells on me too. 

I am truly grateful that the world is so full of delicious and wonderful smells. Actually, bad smells only make me appreciate the good ones all the more, so I am happy those exist too. What are you favorite smells?

Everyday Graditude

This blog is for everyone and everything. I have started posting something on Facebook everyday that I am grateful for. It has been such a gift so I want to share it. Here I am hoping to post all kinds of things I am grateful for and also post all the things everyone else is grateful for so that we can all see how wonderful life is even in the mist of total imperfection. Please send me your pictures, quotes and just what you are grateful for here so I can post it and share how wonderful life can truly be.