Yoga Photo Shoot

                Now that I'm a little bit more comfortable with sharing my personal thoughts with you         
                                                   here are some of those thoughts now.

I was recently in a YogaWorks photo shoot. It came to my attention that if one was at least 200Hour YogaWorks Certified  they could be involved in a number of things. So I got involved and there I was up before sunrise. 
                                                             Dressed in my Yoga best. 
                                                                   Noah with a sitter. 
                                        Me. Driving in the pouring rain to Santa Monica. 

Taking risks and putting myself out there has been my life for a while now. I was nervous and when I got there I felt like I was an amateur compared to the more seasoned teachers but,wow, it felt good to be called a model. A word, I might add, that I never thought I would be called in my entire life. I only wish I volunteered for more poses I knew I could do. I wish I wasn't so timid. In first time experiences I tend to watch and listen more that anything else. 

It was hard to not be self-conscious  when being told how you should look for the photos. I am so used to not making Yoga about aesthetics and more about the personal journey it takes me on. By the end I was able to take something away from it even though that part was hard for me. To not sweat it. To keep smiling and to have fun.

I was disappointed when getting there and trying to speak to the other teachers. I was thinking that surely we have this beautiful love of Yoga in common so we have a connection. Some were sweet but others were terribly pretentious and too serious. Yes, we are all serious about Yoga but it's about bliss, happiness, and love. I once heard a teacher that I look up to say that if you can't smile through your practice you are taking yourself too seriously...or you need to breathe. 

At first I thought I was wrong by how smily and talkative I was. Wrong by being there because I was younger and less experienced. No, the truth is I should smile through it and not let insecurity change me or scare me away from something as fun as this.
Anyway, thank you for reading my random train of thought. I hope it helped someone out there who feels too small, young, old, inexperienced, or goofy to put themselves in a new situation.

Sometimes I feel Pretty

I have been into the half-shaved-head look. This hair style is a good way to stlye the hair in that "edgy" way without committing to the real thing.

It is rare that I feel pretty but I find that this style suits me. You can do two small tight French braids or even two French twists. 

It is fast, simple, and needs minimal maintenance. Just the way I like it.

Oh! And if you are wondering about the beads, my beautiful friend Chelsea has a small business where she puts them in your hair with a simple method. Whatever style and size you would like. This is very unique to me and I love it! An extra plus is they stay in for weeks! If you are interested to know more about that please let me know!

I feel like so hard core this week when I teach Yoga!

Why I Play

This post is going to be a little bit different that what I am generally going for.

 

So... Why do I play Pokemon? Well it might sound silly for a person of my age but it is actually something that I do with my husband. Our friends who are also married got us into it. It is now our escape together. We spend our free time together planning and strategizing and playing this game together. 

At first it seemed like we should be to embarrassed to tell people or hesitate when people ask but now I am proud and more in love with my man than ever before. 

 We do it for the same reason that we played sports together and for the same reason that we watch shows together: to try something new, to have fun, and to have something exciting to experience with each other.

We will go on dates and play. Remember that cafe I told you about? We sometimes play there. 

Yes we are 22 years old and yes it's a kids game but it requires skill!

I just wanted to post this as a reminder for us to not take ourselves too seriously and to stop and enjoy small things with people we love. Go out there and say yes to trying new things. Sometimes silly things... 

If you have a significant other I would really suggest finding a hobby together!

Little things

Sometimes in my life I experience spurts of menencholy.  Now that we have entered the colder seasons it is the time when people are more in their heads. They are more reflective and in some cases people get the cloudy-time blues. When it comes around I like to do some things in order to help myself come out of my funk.

This is pretty basic but this really helps me. It allows you to free yourself from the mood but also you can still maintain that gloomy and yet magical feeling that the cold can bring. 

It's mainly doing small things for yourself.

Do something for yourself that is small but nice.

If you don't want to leave home you don't have to. Something small that I like is making myself feel a little bit prettier. An option can be painting your nails. Maybe in fall/winter colors if you want to get fancy.

Go out and get yourself a treat.

You don't have to go alone. Being with friends is one of the better ways to cheer yourself up but I am mainly giving ideas that you can do if you are feeling like a recluse. There is nothing wrong with getting yourself outside and going to get a yummy treat and maybe read. Even go to a book store. All alone. It can be nice and healing. 

Exercise. Yes I said it. There's nothing like breaking a funk like feeling every inch of your body liven up, while also tightening that bum if yours. Cardio. Yoga. Doesn't matter what you choose. Just do what you want and sweat those sorrows away. This is my go-to response to a depressed mood.

 ___________________________________

I decided to write this as a reminder to take my own advice. As a new mother I am experiencing a little bit of melancholy. I love being a mother with everything in me but I am 22 and most of my friends are not married or have kids yet so I feel a little bit like it is hard to feel understood when I'm feeling down.
Maybe it's hormones and maybe I just miss working but the blues have entered me.

In times like this I try to get myself outside. I try to do something just for me. I also try not to pressure myself too much so that I don't force anything. Heck I have had some wonderful dates with myself! I have even taken myself to a movie just because I wanted to! No shame!

So this week Noah and I went out and cheered me up. 

I had him in his little pouch and we did little nice things in the beautiful cool air.

I am definately feeling cheerful now!

Kombucha

I recently began my quest to cook and started a 100 Days of Recipies on my instagram. I set out to follow a new recipe every day. I started out strong but as you might have already guessed I haven't been doing it everyday. 

The last recipe that I did was my 8th one kombucha. 

I just want to share a little bit with you about this lovely fermented bevarage!

I first purchased the stuff from Whole Foods and then here and there until I was absolutely addicted. At first sip I thought I wouldn't like it but I seriously ended up in love! I guess it doesn't have to be love at first sip to be real! At first I was intrigued by the fact that it was one of the best places to get probiotics and then it turned into a yummy soda for me. More of a treat than something meant to be healthy.

So, my husband and I frequently go to Ventura on dates and when we would go we would stop by The Sandbox Cafe. Which is a place right by surfers point that sells beer, fresh sandwitches, juices, smoothies, coffee, and kombucha. Their kombucha is home made... I'm telling you, there is nothing like the real stuff. Your whole body feels warm and detoxed. 

But here comes the sad part. For the past couple months they have not sold it there because they no longer have a provider. The owner was telling me that they were looking for a new one. My imagination went wild. 

{photo from our honymoon}

I can be a bit unrealistic at times. In my head I was thinking "I have wanted to start making kombucha for a while now and Brandon (my husband) makes it... What if we were the provider" 

This, of course, was obsired. Sure we were regulars and sure we kind of knew the craft of fermenting tea but we are by no means pros. Not worthy of the store owners secret recipe. 

::side note:: 

Brandon is really into fermenting foods such as kefir and sour kraut for the wonderful probiotics so he tries to make kombucha from time to time. 

Anyways, that inspired me to try and make it. Brandon hasn't been able to come out with a kombucha that is delicious and I am up to the challenge. 

For a while I had been plagued by the fact that he is the main cook because it's a hobby of his that he is passionate about. I have felt for a while that I would like to know what it would feel like to make him food "just how he likes it". 

Which brings me here. The present.

So I began my 100 days of Recipies. 

My last recipe was the kombucha. It finneshed firmenting this week and I want to tell you how it turned out

I used two Recipies.

One from the Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon & one from the Lorna Jane App. 

The Nourashing Traditions book is a great book that has everything you will need for eating right and heeling yourself with food. The kombucha recipe is a good basic one. I will put it at the bottom.

But this first time I made it I made it too strong but I think I did very well with it. I think I am going to keep trying with it and attempt to make it great one day!

The Lorna Jane recipe is a ginger turmeric kombucha that I will also post at the bottom. I fermented it longer than the first one and it was so very good! Not perfect, but good. 

This has been an adventure that has shown me that maybe I can do this. Maybe I actually can make delicious things people can consume.

My desire is to keep with my goal and make all 100 Recipies. Maybe making at least two a week until I feel confident just whipping up food at will! Oh gosh... Fingers crossed.

Nourashing Traditions| Kombucha:

Makes 2 quarts

3 quarts filtered water

1 cup sugar 

4 tea bags of organic black tea

1/2 cup kumbucha from a previous culture 

1 kombucha mushroom 

Bring 3 quarts water to boil. Add sugar. Let simmer and dissolve. Remove from heat. Steep tea bags. After cool  transfer to Pyrex. Add 1/2 cup kombucha from previos batch. Place mushroom on top. Cover loosely. Let ferment in a dark warm place for 7-10 days. 

Remove mushroom and put in jar in the frige with some kumbucha inside for next use.

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Lorna Jane| Kombucha

 1 litre filtered water

¼ cup organic white sugar (normal or raw is fine – the bacteria do not like the fancy sweeteners like rapadura or stevia)

2 organic black tea bags (many say non-organic tea just doesn’t work as well)

½ cup pre-made kombucha liquid (from a previous batch or a commercial one in a bottle)

1 SCOBY (you can buy these online or phone a friend who has a spare)

Fresh ginger, cut into match sticks

Fresh Turmeric or ground

Bring water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat, add tea bags, cover and allow to steep for at least 10-15 minutes. Remove tea bags and allow liquid to cool to around body temperature. Pour into a glass or ceramic jar (which you’ve sterilised with boiling water). The jar needs to be broad to allow plenty of contact with oxygen.

Add pre-made kombucha (the liquid needs to be quite cool so you don’t kill bacteria) and then gently place the SCOBY on top (it may sink to bottom, this is OK). Cover the jar with a towel or muslin. I use a tea towel and secure it with an elastic band.

Allow to sit for 7-10 days (7 will be plenty in warm weather). The temperature needs to be around 24C, so if it’s cool where you live, stick the jar on the top of the fridge.

At the end of 7-10 days, a “baby” SCOBY will have formed on top of the liquid, the mother underneath. Remove both SCOBYs and store them in a glass container with a little kombucha liquid. Or use one to start a new batch straight away. 

Add fresh ginger and turmeric to the kombucha and screw cap on tightly.

Let sit out for 4 to 5 days as a secondary fermentation. The longer you let it sit, the more carbonation will build up. (Caution, depending on your ginger, room temperature, and sugar content of your kombucha and length of this secondary fermentation, the carbonation can be surprisingly strong. Best to refrigerate after 4-5 days rather than leaving it out indefinitely, and open cautiously). 

Refrigerate and enjoy a shot every morning before breakfast.

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Friendship, for me, has changed as I have grown up. Matured, I guess. This woman has shown me what it means to be a sister in Christ and a true friend. 

Honestly, my mind is blown watching how we were strangers who met while going through stressful pregnancies and then coming out on the other side of it all with beautiful sons and a person to have with you who understands.

And as we learn how to be wives and mothers we can laugh at the strange situations that come and pray for one another when it is hard. 

I didn't know that I would not have to be alone here as a young wife and mother. 

I guess that what I am trying to say is that God listens to our prayers and he does not always respond in the way that we expect. 

There I was, happy to have my husband, but the understanding and fellowship from my piers was lacking. When I asked for help He sent me a friend and she needed a friend that she wasn't looking for too.

And our little group of 6 (me+her+hubbies+babies) have been there for birthdays...

...and hangouts...

I almost feel like someone should slap me for not realizing how lucky I am to have a Lord who is actively working in my life.

All in all lets just say... today was nice.

"Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17

You know what's been haunting me?

Faliure. The thought of it... You know it creeps into my bed at night and whispers in my ear "you will never--No! You are incapable of doing great things!"

It tells me every day of my life things that keep me in this slupm. 

Well, I am thinking that today I make living my life and following my dreams a career. A career that I do not give up on. 

And get away from me Satan! You and your stupid lies. God has big plans for me. I can feel it in my gut. 

... Thank you for reading by the way. Whoever you are. If you come back soon you will see that these things I'm saying will be a reality.