Being 26 on the 26th

This is the last day of 26! And a good riddance, too.

Onwards to my late-twenties and perhaps more maturity (but probably not).

Today, I slept in---meaning I woke up at 7:30 feeling refreshed and ready for my pre-birthday celebrations.

I put in a decent effort at the shala. I did Marichiyasana B and D for the first time since upping the running ante. I'm going to have to keep my running miles low in order to keep my Ashtanga awesomeness up, eh? Alas.

After Ashtanga, I raced home and grabbed the dog. She had an appointment to get shots into her Two-Bum.

Here, and here.

Sorry for the laundry basket and piles of wood in my house. It doesn't look pretty, no, but there's a reason, I swear! The reason might be "lazy" but that is besides the point.

What is the point, you ask?

Don't ask me, I'm only 26. I'm a kid.

"Sorry your bum-bum hurts, Dog. I'm sorry you don't understand why walking up and down the stairs hurts you or why you feel lethargic. I'm sorrryyyyy!"

For dinner, Jenbeans took me to Agra on Yonge and Sheppard.

Jumbo Tandoori Shrimp. Jen, Eric and Ferrari-Boy indulged in these.

Why am I calling him Ferrari-Boy instead of Strawberry Jam-Boy like he should be called?

Because he's afraid everyone will think he really likes strawberry jam and will buy him strawberry jam when they go to France (ahem...). He made sure to clarify that he likes it, but would rather be called Ferrari-Boy if it means people buy him stuff for his birthday or as souvenirs.

He makes a good point though.

BACK TO AGRA!

Okra! Delicious.

Palak Paneer. Good, but a little too oniony and not the greasy creamy stuff you usually get. Not that I'm complaining!

The butter chicken that I didn't have.

My plate!

Overall, Agra is good, but Banjara is still my favourite.

The sister did something silly and bought me stuff from Lululemon, even though I get a discount there since I'm a yoga teacher (sort of).

She got me arm sleeves for running and a light running zip-up.

AT FULL PRICE.

SISTER! You kill meeeeee....

But she shoved them in this tubey thing and wrote "To Sandy Beans". Which is awesome-sauce.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL THE CHAMPAGNE OCT-27-ERS OUT THERE!

Didn't get my hair done, nails done, but...

I don't get "retail therapy".

I think of it more like "retail punishment".

Why would women ENJOY spending their hard-earned dollar on their faces.

Faces are faces. They exist. What more is there?

Money should be spent on food, dogs, travel, running shoes and yoga mats (obviously).

So it was a real adventure when I went into the beauty store yesterday to pick up some stuff for the wedding.

I went straight to the Clinique section as they are hypoallergenic and I have a tendency to rash out. A nice woman named Jennifer came over and asked if I needed any help.

I thought my pimple-ridden face would have told her everything.

"I need something to cover up my pimples," I said.

"Oh, OK, what's your normal skin care regimen?"

"Water and body lotion?"

She looked at me like I had stolen her child and ate her puppy. 

She called in the reinforcements. Several other ladies came over and cluck-clucked at my sorry state.

One told me I have milia, because the waxes in the body lotion were clogging up my pores.

Let's just say that I walked away with $140 worth of stash and a bunch of samples.

I don't usually throw away $140 on a whim. That $100-yoga mat took me a LOONNNG time and lots of deliberation.

But I like to think about it this way: I haven't EVER thrown out a mascara or eye-liner.

Meaning the ones I've been using are probably older than my dog.

And that can't be right, right?

Like the post title says, I didn't worry much about my hair (hopeless) or nails (who's going to look at my NAILS?!) so I'm obviously winning at this Don't-Look-Like-A-Hag act.

In other news, I consumed about 6 cupcakes all by myself.

And this beautiful and fun new lady friend taught me the "proper" way of eating them.

You've gotta rip off the bottom, stack it on top of the frosting like a cupcake sandwich. Very clever, this girl. She has my vote.

They had a great photobooth going. You got a copy of the pictures, and with the other copy, you got to make a scrapbook page for the new couple.

I think by the end of the night, we had made three.

Super fun!

Look, we're grown-ups!! :)

Welcome home, yoga mat!

Last night, Steven was the groomsman to his friend's wedding. I got up early to drive him to the men's breakfast.

Then I went for some Hot Yoga, which I haven't done in more than a month!

It felt really good to stretch out in a hot environment. Hot Yoga doesn't have the athleticism or grace of Ashtanga, but it's still good, useful work.

My mat has seen better days.

When I first got it a year ago, I was so happy with Jade. It was sticky to my hands and feet in hot, sweaty situations, and had enough depth to feel really comfortable lying down or on the knees.

It's also biodegradable...and it biodegraded right under my hands.

While I'm sure the trail of pink bits on studio floors is a nice little surprise for floor sweepers (lint...lint...hair.. WOAH PINK STUFF!), I couldn't take the pink stuff all over my clothes and towels anymore.

IT WAS TIME...

TO TAKE....

THE PLUNGE....

I've only used this beautiful blue baby once, but everyone, everyone EVERYONE says mandukas rock their world.

Plus, the lifetime warranty helps justify the hefty price tag (about $100 after tax).

However, these mats aren't as grippy as the Jade, so you'll need a towel to lay on top of it if you plan on getting as slippery and slimy as we Ashtangi's usually do.

More on the wedding and the other $100 I spent yesterday coming up soon!

Taking the week off

Last week, after my long-ish run, I felt quite a bit of pain in my knees. It got worse and worse as the days went on, and by Tuesday's Ashtanga, I was really sore in my knees even standing and sitting.

So I've pushed the big red "STOP" button.

It's time to take some time off.

It's been hard, especially since I've been getting fat off of all this delicious fall harvest food, like roasted squash (of all varieties), kale and those super crisp apples.

Mmm...

My breakfasts have been more kale than eggs lately, but that's fine with me. I like kale!

I'm really looking forward to running again, and working on my mileage.

Alas, until they invent bionic knees then I'll be sitting on the couch, watching trash TV and eating apples (and donuts).

Hard, long (not really) run

Today's long run was hard.

And not only because the weather was poop: rainy, wet, dark, cold.

It was 5.34 miles of increasing agony. I was supposed to do 6.2, but I figured I was cold and wet and tired so I would just go home.

I was running on 2 muffins and a bazillion cups of coffee, so I'm going to forgive myself for cutting my run short.

After dinner, Steven took me for a romantic Korean dinner (not really...it was crowded and delicious like always, but not really very romantic... not that this is a complaint! Steven, I really do like Soon Tofu!)

Now, it's time to visit our favorite place in the world!

It involves yogurt that is possibly frozen with balls that are possibly made of mochi.

Yup.

See you there!

More Ashtanga Backbends

This morning, David Robson told me that I have a curve in my spine!

COOL! 

Hurray for scoliosis?

He said it was nothing to worry about, and I totally believe him.

After all, all of us are infected with something or other, like us Asians. It's one of those things that is only a problem when it's severe, and those cases are rare.

In backbends today, he pushed me pretty far down on the 3 half-way dips. And on my last drop down to hold, he told me to "walk your hands in" a LOT.

He also said to walk my right hand in further than my left.

I walked in so much that I swear I nearly touched my feet (which was crazy cool), and then my left arm went numb.

Google told me that I have a pinched nerve, or Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. I would really like to floss and gloss my nerves, please, like the last treatment says.

Anyway, I came home and ran up and down the big MoFo of a hill near my house TWO times!

When I came home to stretch, the dog decided to help me.

She looks epic when she's towering over you.

That's my hero dog!

Headache, Rib-ache, Goodnight!

It's been a while, Blogger.

It's been a while....

My 26-year-old body is decomposing before my eyes.

Which is weird, cuz I can't exactly see my whole body with my eyes unless I'm looking in a mirror, then I can see everything including my eyes!

Anyway, I've come here to report that my pain-in-the-left-side-rib is back.

So I'm kicking the Half-Marathon training plan to the curb. It is far more important to breathe without pain, so I must get back into the chlorine-infested waters (better than poop-infested) of the community pool  and swim my weekly laps.

I think I may have been trying to do too much with my days.

Morning Ashtanga.
Being walked by my dog.
Afternoon classes.
Running.
Night classes.
See the Strawberry Jam Boy so I don't forget his face.

Add in planning for Australia, swimming, and being the best House Cleaner in the world, I've got a headache.

I've taken one of my classes off my plate for tonight, so I'll have to pop the pills, power through the other, and then collapse. Hopefully my favorite donut in the whole world will be there to cushion the fall.

THE most epic breakfast ever

Oven-roasted potatoes.

Veggie breakfast links.

Scrambled egg with tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes and cheddar.

Aroma-inspired cucumber salad with crumbled feta.

EPIC.

But now I know why they shaved the feta super fine. It's too salty when it's crumbed... I'll do that next time!