Marvelous Monday: Week 45

I had a great weekend that included some bowling, a birthday celebration with old friends, and some much-needed couch time on Sunday evening with a very tired dog after yesterday's outdoor festivities. I have never seen Wish so utterly tuckered out. He's not usually one to snuggle with me too much, but last night on the couch, he wedged his head next to my collarbone and fell into a deep sleep with my arm around him.

Five more marvelous tidbits:

1) After too many days away from the yoga studio this summer and fall, I thought it would be prudent to stop my membership. It was the right decision for now - I'm running a little more and have gym access through work - but I recently decided to sign up for a weekly Monday night yoga class, also through work. That means tonight was my first yoga class since midsummer, and I was so happy. It's power yoga, like I was doing at the studio, and it's so, so good for my mind and body - even though I expect some sore arms tomorrow. At this time, a weekly class works much better for me than a monthly studio membership, and I'm very excited to get back into it.

2) Today's temperatures were cold, but the sun was out, and that makes a huge difference.

3) A year ago this week on a porch in Tennessee, Josh asked me to marry him!

4) I've got a new recipe for butternut squash and sage lasagna that I'm excited to try out this week. (Although tonight was not the weeknight to roast the squash, cook the noodles, assemble the layers and then wait another 45 minutes until it's ready to eat. Nachos for dinner!!!)

5) My Road ID mysteriously went on the lam for a long time - I velcro the tag to my shoes, so I truly have no idea what happened to it. Whatever happened, its absence is bad because I take very seriously the habit of carrying ID with me when I run. (I've been grabbing my license, but I love the Road ID because it's attached to my shoe at all times and thus impossible to forget - unless, of course, it goes on the lam.) I finally ordered a replacement Road ID, complete with my new information, and I think it should arrive tomorrow.

Finally, it's Veterans Day, and among other vets, I've been thinking of both of my grandpas: two dear men who served in World War II.

I hope your week is starting out well, Reader.

Back to winter

A couple of hours after that pretty springy walk, winter stormed back in with sleet and snow and cold winds. I responded by heading inside for yoga and later revisiting Felicity on Hulu. It is hard to believe that a year ago today, the high surged into the upper 70s and I roasted at a St. Patrick's Day half-marathon with Molly.

On my morning stroll with you-know-who today, the sidewalks were covered with a fresh inch or two of snow, creating perfect conditions for the track-capturing that you guys know I love so much. Some little animals were going crazy!

Long run pushed to tomorrow in hopes of less slippery streets, more yoga instead, cozy afternoon under a quilt, a wedding reception tonight: a happy March Saturday, chilly temperatures aside. Hope yours is nice, too!

The almost-Friday recap

This week has been a quiet one: some What is the What reading, some cooking, some running - the usual. The major new adventure continues to be my Core Power Yoga classes.  I did my second heated class last night (opposed to the nonheated classes I took last week) and it's a little funny because this is a super-challenging and fascinating new little journey for me, but it's not one that's easily captured in photos unless you're interested in a picture of my red, sweaty face. (Please don't be!)  

The major good news is that I have not fallen on my face in yoga for a full week now.  But like one of my yoga teachers said: if you're not falling, you're not learning, no?

I bring you Three Things Thursday:

1) Josh and I went out to breakfast before work this morning!  I had a truly beautiful egg and sausage sandwich, with sweet potato hash. We generally fly around each other in the home each morning in various stages of hurry up, so the mid-week morning mini-dates are something to which we both look forward.  We're trying to do these weekly this winter and spring.

2) I launched an Explosions in the Sky station on Pandora today - that is the band possibly best known for the Friday Night Lights movie soundtrack - and the second song to pop on was "The Winner Is" from the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack (i.e. one of my favorite movies and songs of all time). Pandora is mysterious and all-knowing.

3) I saw 40 Things That Make Corgis Happy.  Go.  Just look.  Happy Thursday!

In honor of yoga tonight

Reader, do you love Babar like I do?

And make no mistake about it - that's in present tense for good reason.  Babar and his brood of elephants were a beloved cast of characters in my childhood.  He, obviously, was the king of the elephants.  He had a wife, Celeste, and three children: Pom, Flora and Alexander.  They got into various adventures over the course of a series of children's books.  My dad has made Babar replicas out of both snow and ground beef.  (Truth.)  A quick wikipedia search reveals that some critics assert that Babar's stories are politically charged and loaded with justification for colonialism.  If that is true, it totally went over my head as a youth.  I just loved Babar, his little green suit and his little elephant family.  That's all.

So it makes perfect sense, you understand, when this book landed in my basket during an expedition to a bookstore over the weekend:

Now you get a sense of why my bookcase is crammed full, right?  Because I buy books like this and love them all...although I kind of want to give this one prime real estate on my coffee table.  There is a great line introducing one of the poses, for example, by noting that it was designed primarily for elephants and that humans should not feel frustrated if they can't do it.

Or this gem:

"The life of a modern-day elephant is stressful and complicated. Yoga turned out to be exactly what we in Celesteville needed, offering calm and control in days that were busy and demanding."

Per Amazon, this book is "perfect for anyone who loves yoga or elephants."  I wholeheartedly agree.