Wardrobe Malfunction: Check Yourself Before You're Exposed

Down Dog

Yoga Lessons:


Lesson #1: Stay in the moment and quiet your mind. Focusing on yourself you will not be your worst enemy. 


Lesson #2: If it hurts, you should not be doing it.  It is one thing to push yourself a little, it's another thing to be HeMan.


Lesson #3: Do not wear any perfume


Lesson#4: If you are late, do not disturb meditation at the beginning of class.  Wait until after meditation before opening the doors and entering the studio. 


I love yoga.  I will do anything to be able to go to yoga.  As usual, I'm rushing to get to yoga.  I should say lately I've been rushing. If someone were to ask me, "Why do you think Pam is late to yoga?"  My standby theory is, "If they want to do something they will do it, they will be early or on time, they will not make excuses."  My behavior kind of blows this theory of mine.   I don't think my tardiness indicates my level of enjoyment.  I do enjoy yoga.  I like everything about yoga as a practice.  The studio is awesome, the instructors make me want to come everyday and I don't want to leave, the atmosphere is inviting, the classes are just what I need.  It's just been this past year that I've been running behind by 5 minutes, give or take.  I'm trying to make it seem less damaging.  At least I arrive before meditation.  I'm getting there just as everyone settles in,  so I'm good.


I know that I have at least 5 extra minutes.  My yoga instructor usually gets us nice and relaxed by telling us a story.  He truly has the best stories.   Not only does he teach yoga but he also teaches piano and he writes music.  He used to cut hair.  I'm sure you can only imagine the stories he has.  It's funny though because his best stories are about him.  My daughter goes with me to yoga when she has a day off from school.  She goes to hear his stories.  He doesn't tell his stories then.  That fact just occurred to my daughter after our last visit.


Okay, so I blame my tardiness on getting my kids off to school, the long traffic lights, the pokey drivers, the unexpected school zones and farm equipment.  I'm usually eating breakfast, a bowl full of yogurt with berries, in the car.  I don't know what's gotten into me.  I just need to pay better attention to the clock.


I also need to pay better attention to what I wear to yoga.  I don't have enough of the right kinds of clothing for all of the bends and twists.  My pants scoot down before I can catch them and my top gets twisted and pulled down so far that I'm flashing the instructor as well as anyone else not "in the moment."


On this particular day I was, as expected, running late to class.  As I dressed, I realized way too late that my top was too short and my yoga pants were not quite long enough.  Maybe it had something to do with those martinis? I got to class just in time.   We finished our meditation and began our salutations.


Sun salutations are a continuous and very fluid movement.  I struggled with this.  Every lunge I was tugging on my top and my pants.  Of course I was in my place in class.  The front left position was the one I claimed.  I really wish I hadn't done that.


Forward bends, back to down dog, to plank, forward bend, over and over again.  The last forward bend into down dog had me off balance and trying to reclaim hips distance as best I could.  As I spread out my stance I hear threads popping the same time I feel air coming in.  Air is almost flooding into my behind. 


 Now, if my top was long enough I would have done a pull down and cover.  Another choice would be to tie my fleece sports jacket around my waist.  No, wait!  I was running late so in an attempt to shave off 2 minutes I decided not to run back into the house to grab my jacket before I left.  


Okay, so I'm in down dog, exposing myself yet again, only in ways I never could have imagined.  The really sad part is I waited a while before coming out of down dog because I thought the cool breeze had to have been coming from somewhere else.  I was in total denial.  That couldn't possibly have happened.  It sure did.


I made a quick exit to the bathroom where low and behold the seam had split in the most compromising of places.


Yoga lesson #5, always check your attire before coming to class.  Just like in a gym you inspect your equipment, in yoga you need to inspect what you are wearing.

One Hot Body

Okay, today was a new experience for me.  It was my first body wrap.  Normally a body wrap wouldn't even be on my radar but Sweet Jack shot me an email and the discounted price was too tempting.  I called to schedule my appointment.  The man on the other end of the line sounded very professional although a bit robotic.   You know, like your typical inside salesperson.  He also sounded a bit harried so I didn't ask a lot of questions.  "It wouldn't be a traditional wrap.  It will not be a nude wrap.  Drink extra water, ...."


 Immediately, after wishing him to have a good afternoon, my mind went into "What's it going to be like?" mode.  When my mind jumps there I'm literally  trying to calculate what it will be like down to the parking situation.  I know the person on the other end of the phone could answer my questions but some of the questions would definitely pinpoint my quirks and other questions would zero in on areas that are just naturally revolting.


I try to always be prepared, period.   I am prepared.  Every detail is laid out in my head and on paper, especially if it is a place I haven't been to before, a job interview, ...  I'm okay with change as long as I can prepare.  That is how I cope.  


I don't think most people are this way.  I actually go to the extent of visualizing myself in a particular situation just to see what I might need.  It's the physical needs I'm concerned with.  For example, when I first ran across this deal, I thought I wouldn't be able to do it.  The reason?  When I get hot, I get really hot.  No, I mean REALLY HOT.  I have been known to pass out due to the heat. It has nothing to do with how hot the temperature is outside.   I have passed out in Best Buy and I came within a millisecond of dropping to the floor at a very crowded funeral. 


So now I'm paying to be wrapped in heat. Dear God, help me!


TO BE CONTINUED...

Some of My Favorite Things

Things ~ Random Listing

• All Things Apple (Mac, Macbook, iPad,  iPhone & iPod ~ Old school iPod:0)  

Okay, just as a side note:  Yesterday morning I watched CBS's story on Foxconn. I must admit I was a little more than shocked.  I was also shocked specifically that if Steve Jobs were as involved in his products as he was that he wouldn't have tried his best to take care of the situation.  Did his need to get product to the masses override his compassion.  NO, wait a minute.  Steve Jobs in the same sentence with compassion?  I do applaud him for being at the realm of such a perfect product but at what expense?

• Paper Mate (SharpWriter)mechanical pencil ~ for writing. LOVE THESE!  The leads are just soft enough and the pencil is light enough.  It has a really good eraser too. 
• Pens ~ Have always been a bit preoccupied with finding a good one.  The more expensive ones aren't necessarily the best.  Seeing a pen for me is the equivalent of "Squirrel!"  
• Post-Its ~ Big and small (I especially like the recycled ones)
• Journals ~ with seemingly handmade paper
• Lavendar and lavender oil (I grow lavender.  I just need to figure out how to harvest it) 
• Patchouli ~ Makes me feel really grounded
• Vivelle ~ Hormone patch.  Wonderful bliss:0)
• Gummy Vitamins ~ Really hard for me to stomach the regular stuff
• Prescription Readers ~ Some think there isn't a difference but there is.
• Vera Bradly Tote ~ Just big enough for my MacBook, journal, magazines,...
• Tervis Tumblers ~ Someday I will own one.
• Handmade Soaps ~ Good start to a day
• Candles ~ that burn well and smell exceptional
• Incense ~ Almost any sent except the fruity ones or the fake smelling ones
• Lint Roller ~ We have 3 dogs, need I say more.  I have a son that is obsessed with "Mom, where's the lint roller!"  Can you hear him shout it.
• Calculators and a good dictionary
• Red wine ~ Sometimes, at the end of the day, (or at least after 11) it helps me make sense of it all.  

My Favorite Places

Some of my favorite places both of the material and the ethereal worlds. You decide what belongs in what world.


Places I LOVE! ~ In a Particular Order

• The home I grew up in (Shoutout to Louisville, KY~ The East End)
• Kentucky Center for the Arts (I could live there)
• Youth Performing Arts School (I did live there and loved it for 3 years)
• The Posture Project (Woodstock, GA.  It's intoxicating place for getting more intune with oneself)
• The Herb Shop (Holly Springs, GA.  Not what you think.  Just driving by gives off such good energy)
• Fox Theater ( Atlanta~ I wouldn't mind spending a little more time there)

•  Angel Oak in South Carolina
• Navarre Beach in Florida

• Starbucks (A black coffee with a little ice.  Just enough to cool it off but not enough to make it cold)
• Publix (Produce is awesome and the employees at my location are exceptionally nice.  Love the BOGO items)
• SuperTarget (Their produce isn't great but I really enjoy the atmosphere and the 5% back with a debit Target card.  I also like their clothes:0))

• FranklinCovey stores (It's all about organization and how you carry it). 
• The Container Store (Everything and I mean Everything has it's place!)
• TJ Maxx/Marshall's (For clothes and houswares and linens)
• Steinmart (For undergarmets and special occasion clothing)
• Ross (For who knows what!)

Permanent

Words can never be erased.  They are permanent.  They can be so damaging.   In this particular case I'm talking about how girls begin to view their bodies based on what others say to them.  How one word to a little girl could stay with her a lifetime.

My daughter.  My beautiful daughter and I were turning my bedroom floor into a nail shop.  I was painting her toenails, as she was telling me about her day at school.  A boy was bothering her, so and so got new boots and she had to catch-up on her reading.  I could tell she wanted to say more and knew that an evening of painting nails might provide her with the courage she needs.  It's funny, I can usually get more out of my kids when we are doing something together.  Something other than just sitting and talking.  This evening proved to be just such a night.


After telling me the fluff stuff, she made a bold statement. 
                        
                        "Mom, my thighs are fat."  
                         Me, "What did you say?"
                            "My thighs are fat."  


It wasn't a question but a statement.  She didn't even hesitate.  My first question was "Who told you that?"  Of course the response was something like, "No one."  Yeah, okay right.  She's not going to tell me right now.  I went into the whole, we are all built differently, .... She, on the other hand, wouldn't even consider that.  Her urgency to get to another subject told me that.To be perfectly honest I don't know what I would do if I found out who told her that.   


I do know to well how words are permanent.  When I was 12 I thought I would never get taller.  I was stuck at 4'8" FOREVER.  All of my friends already had growth spurts.  I, on the other hand, needed one.  My doctor, at my well visit, told my mom (but I was sitting right there) that I really didn't need to gain anymore weight.  That was permanently embedded in my head, as is evidence of this post.


 I just hope it's not too late for my daughter.


Thanks Gabriela!!   Visit her @ celebreightyourself.blogspot.com  


http://celebreightyourself.blogspot.com/2012/01/fat-is-perfect-scapegoat.html

NCLB: The Forgotten Ones

Initially,  No Child Left Behind (NCLB) gave me hope. I was hopeful that this was the government's promise to take education seriously, leaving behind the focus on dollars and numbers. I was hopeful that no child would be left behind, giving every child an opportunity for success. The reality is this is not the case. Never did I think I would come to distrust this bill and everything it now represents.

It seems NCLB caters to students and schools who fit into a mold of either average students or above average students or those students that need more than a little help.  What happens to the students who are not socio-economically disadvantaged or special needs? What happens to those students who need a little help to be on grade level? Are those students getting the help they need? Does NCLB provide help to this segment of students? 

NCLB has forced public schools to place too much importance on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT).  The CRCT is a standardized test given to students in April, usually right after Spring Break here in Georgia.   This test, that most parents start hearing about in August and that teachers start prepping the kids for in August, is supposed to measure how well students are doing and how well teachers are teaching. In the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 8th grades the student's individual scores are used as a way to determine if the student needs to be retained or should be promoted. In my experience it is almost solely used to place students. If you ask administration they will deny it unless they are pressed.  

Did you know that CRCT scores not only place students but rank schools? If the school's overall score is a "passing" one,  they receive more funds.  They receive more money than a school that does not perform well. What about the school that performs poorly but is in disparate need of more funding, to be able to get more help to the students who need it?  Are the student's needs the priority? They should be.

Where is the focus? I sympathize with the teachers because their focus has had to shift as well. Teachers are bound by what seems like a mountain of test preparations which begin months before the test actually takes place. They want to make certain their students score well.  Do teachers feel like they have to teach only things that might be on the test or "teach to the test?" NCLB seems to be pushing toward this goal.  As an added pressure, these scores are being used to reflect how well teachers teach.  What about the kids who have test anxiety and just do not test well? What about the children who are learning to speak and understand English?  They take the same test everyone else does. Their scores are figured into the overall score as well.  How  accurate is the reflection now? 

We, as parents and guardians,  need to advocate for our children. The most important thing we can do is speak out, stay informed, stay in touch with our child's teachers and vote.  Schedule parent meetings, look over the school work your children bring home to see if there are discrepancies between what you know about your child and what you are seeing. I encourage everyone to start doing this today!  So much is being taken away from our children's educational experience, regarding time and resources, that those caring for school aged children need to fill in the gaps.  If we do not step in, the children who were not left behind in the beginning will be in the end. 

On This Day

On this day,  I remember  a person who fought for the rights of people who thought they didn't have any.  On this day,  I remember a person who "looked fear in the face and said, I just don't care." Pink sang it best. On this day,  I remember a person who fought not just for one but for many.  A person that was led by passionate discord.  A person who just couldn't take it anymore and did something about it.  On this day,  I remember more than just an African American man fighting for the rights of other African Americans.  Martin Luther King is an inspiration to keep going, to keep fighting for what you believe in.