Yoga Is My Life

Tonight, I have to go to yoga.

Now, when most people say that, they really mean:

• That they should go to yoga -- as in I haven't been to yoga in awhile.
• That I cannot do what you want me to do because I don't want to do what you want me to do, thus I have to go to yoga.
• That they are meeting a friend at yoga, so that is why they have to go because their friend will kill them if they don't show up at yoga.
• That they paid for that yoga class already and dammit they have to go to yoga.

None of these are why I have to go to yoga.

I'm going because one of my friends organized a yoga class at We Yogis to benefit the Back-to-School Drive at Community Partners of Dallas.

NOTE:  The friend who did this wonderful thing is Lilly Neubauer and she is a fantastic person and blogger -- her blog is http://www.pancakesandbeetjuice.com and it is wonderful.  And I must say that she has the cutest daughter in town!  This is Lilly:

Isn't she adorable?

I'm no good at yoga.  I actually "practiced" (and I use the term so loosely that I dropped that term like a hot rock and it has rolled on down the hill to Houston) yoga for a few months about 5 years ago.  While I could do a beginners class at the time, I think the 5 years that have passed may have closed the kennel door on my downward dog.

But, I'm headed to yoga tonight.

I picture myself as this

But this is what I anticipate

If you see me over the next few days and I'm limping or my head is listing to the right, you know why.

A Thinker's Hodgepodge

Another fun Hodgepodge post today, courtesy of my friend Joyce at From this Side of the Pond (see link in my favorites).  Feel free to start participating -- and let me know if you do!

1. Way back when several of you submitted questions as part of a giveaway I was hosting. I went back to that list for inspiration today and found a question  submitted by Marla, who blogs over at Marla's Musings. Thanks Marla!   She asks-At what age did you feel like a 'grown-up'? What keeps you young now?   

I guess I felt most like a grown up when I got my first home back in college.  I don't mean the dorm -- I mean the first time I moved out of the dorm (Junior Year).  I still feel that way.  Having a home of your own is such a grown-up thing.

What keeps me young now is working with a lot of young women -- they make me join Instrgram, step up the fashion, etc.  Plus, they are just fun!

2. When did you last buy a vehicle? Was this by design or because you had no other option? Was the car/truck purchased for your own personal use or was it bought for someone else to drive? On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being delightful and 1 being 'pass the Excedrin') how would you rate the experience?

Since I am single, I only buy cars for me.  I get a new one every couple of years because I love having a new one and I hate having a car break down.  Nothing makes me madder than a car that won't work.  I should also admit that I really don't care what color I get -- someone else could even pick it out.  I do only buy the same car now.  I've had a small Lexus SUV for about 10 years, I think.  My buying experience is a 10+, as I always use Jeff Hazelwood at Sewell Lexus.  Jeff is the best!

3. Corn bread, corn chips, corn pudding, corn on the cob, cornflakes, corn chowder-your favorite of the corn-y foods listed? What needs to be served alongside your selection?

Corn Chowder for sure.  Al Bernat's has the best -- they add a little crab to it too.  Delish.  I order it with the wedge salad and a slice of coconut cream pie.  It's a lunch to remember!

4. What's something in your life that regularly requires you to 'put your thinking cap on'?

Lately, it's been working on our capital campaign for Community Partners of Dallas.  This campaign is something I've never done before, so it's fun to research and get some of the best minds in Dallas helping me.  Just asking friends and donors for advice is wonderful and very thought-provoking!

5. Share a favorite movie set in a school or classroom, or whose theme relates to school days in some way.

Bring It On is one of my favorites.  Also Clueless.

6. Reading, writing, and 'rithmatic' are commonly referred to as the three R's. What are the three R's in your life right now?

Mine have to be Resting (not enough), Ridiculing (myself -- I love self-deprecating humor) and Refrigerating (gotta have AC in Big D).

7. What's something you've learned or tried recently you can say was as 'easy as ABC'?

Water aerobics.  Loved it.  Now I just need to make myself do it.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My favorite quote lately:

Much Ado About Sketches

The funniest thing I've seen in awhile is the courtroom sketch drawing of Tom Brady.

NOTE:  Of course, I couldn't even remember what his name was a minute ago.  Luckily Google was able to find it for me when I typed in "courtroom sketch of football guy".  Google knows us better than we know ourselves.

Actually the funniest thing to me is the uproar about the ugly sketch.

Yes, Tom Brady is a good looking man -- a top notch specimen -- and the sketch certainly does him no favors; however, do his fans really need to get on their high horse and complain about it?  My first thought is don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

If the accusations are true, Tom Brady cheated.  He doesn't get to have John Singer Sargent draw his face the way his fans (and probably he) would prefer it drawn.

I think the same thing about the people who abuse and neglect children.  Yes, CPS caseworkers sometimes make mistakes.  Horrible mistakes.  Life and death stuff.  But, to fry the CPS system when a child is harmed because they weren't able to intervene fast enough or (more often than not) they weren't legally able to intervene at all, pisses me off.  The parents are the ones who did the crime.

Almost every time CPS did the best they could with the information they had.  The parents are the criminals.

Recently a caseworker in Vermont (in Vermont they call their system DCF -- Department of Children and Families) was killed as she left a family court hearing.  The caseworker, Lara Sobel, was killed by the mother of the children Sobel was trying to protect by removing the kids from the mother's care.

I doubt there was a sketch artist in the courtroom from which Lara Sobel took her last steps.

Hodgepodge on the move!

The Hodgepodge is back after a brief summer holiday.  Joyce, Hodgepodger-extraordinaire, moved over the weekend, so I'm glad she's back on the job!

1. When was the last time you relocated? Did you move yourself or leave it to the professionals? Are you happy staying put or is there a move in your future? Best thing about moving to a new city or town? Least favorite and/or hardest thing about moving house?

I last moved about 9 or 10 years ago, but before that I moved about every 2 years.  I always had the move (and packing) done for me.  It was expensive, but so worth it.  I'd go to work in the morning, then come home and everything was packed. Moving van came the next day.  I will be here forever, I think, but I do love getting to learn a new city or even just a new part of town.  My least favorite part was putting away the shoes. I've never had a walk-in closet since I left my parents' home.  I need shoe space!

2. When were you last 'moved to tears'? Explain.

I can cry every day thinking about the kids we help at Community Partners of Dallas. They are the most innocent victims of domestic violence and they are so vulnerable.  

3. Do you have rules about eating in the car...any forbidden foods? What's the last thing you consumed in your car? Your go-to car snack when traveling long distance?

My car is always clean.  I do allow food and drinks; however, I never pick-up drinks for people when I make the lunch run.  Too risky!

4. Share a favorite song relating to cars and/or driving.

The Cars - Drive (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) - YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuZA6qiJVfU

5. What's your most frequently visited drive-thru...Starbucks? the bank? the pharmacy? some other window?

The bank.  I use more cash than most people -- it keeps me on budget AND all my change goes into my Change is Good jar for CPD!  It is our fun family event in September and all the funds raised help the abused and neglected children of Dallas County.

6. "He who hesitates is lost"...would you agree? When it comes to making decisions do you generally act quickly or do you more often than not fall into the 'lost' category?

Act now.  I always regret the things I didn't buy when I could have.  Apple stock, anyone?

7. When was the last time you got lost? Was it stressful or an unexpected happy adventure?

Joe and I got slightly lost in Santa Fe this summer, but damn if there wasn't always a combination plate with our names on it at every turn.  

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I'm not a cat person, but I am in love with Beth Stern's cats.  She is on Instagram as @bethostern -- she fosters cats and is Howard's wife.  She is fostering a blind cat now named Buddy and he is a heartbreaker.  The Stern's own cats (Yoda and Chunk) are great too.  Kittens everywhere -- photos, videos, you name it.  Never, never, never thought I'd ever be love with cats.  Won't be getting one though -- seeing the Stern's cats on Instagram is close enough!

Four Favorite Things I Love Right Now! Part 22

Yes, it's that time again -- a Four Faves Post!  I've been writing these posts for a long time now, but damn if there isn't always something wonderful to pass along to you guys.  If you're new to my blog, be sure to check out the previous faves by clicking here:

http://blog.paigemcdaniel.org/2015/04/four-favorite-things-i-love-right-now.html 

It is helpful if you live in the Dallas area for some of my favorites.  It is not so helpful if you live in the Dallas area today, as it is going to be a sunny 104 degrees in Big D.  I know people from other parts of the USA and the world don't understand why we live here with this heat.

One answer.  It's the best.  And we have air conditioning everywhere.

Alright, now on to the Four Favorites!

1. This will be shocking to some of you, but I actually do my own fingernails.  I do get a monthly pedicure and love it -- shout out to the gals at the Lovers Lane Barber Shop -- but my fingernails just need more attention and I can't spend the time once a week letting someone else do them.  Plus, I get really mad when they chip, so I'd rather get mad at myself.  Anyway, the best thing I've ever found to keep the polish on is this Nailtiques Nail Protein polish.  I use it as a base coat and a top coat.  Also, another tip -- buy the little small bottle if you can.  It gets old and the little bottles get used up more quickly.
   
2. I haven't even finished this book, but it is a must-read if you like a really good fast-moving story and characters.  It's been all I can do to come to work this week, as I just want to stay home and finish Station Eleven, but I love it so much I'm spacing it out to extend the enjoyment! It was recommended by my friend Jenny, who is my go-to person for book recs.  Here's what smile.amazon.com says:  A flight from Russia lands in middle America, its passengers carrying a virus that explodes “like a neutron bomb over the surface of the earth.” In a blink, the world as we know it collapses. “No more ballgames played under floodlights,” Emily St. John Mandel writes in this smart and sober homage to life’s smaller pleasures, brutally erased by an apocalypse. “No more trains running under the surface of cities ... No more cities ... No more Internet ... No more avatars.” Survivors become scavengers, roaming the ravaged landscape or clustering in pocket settlements, some of them welcoming, some dangerous. What’s touching about the world of Station Eleven is its ode to what survived, in particular the music and plays performed for wasteland communities by a roving Shakespeare troupe, the Traveling Symphony, whose members form a wounded family of sorts. The story shifts deftly between the fraught post-apocalyptic world and, twenty years earlier, just before the apocalypse, the death of a famous actor, which has a rippling effect across the decades. It’s heartbreaking to watch the troupe strive for more than mere survival. At once terrible and tender, dark and hopeful, Station Eleven is a tragically beautiful novel that both mourns and mocks the things we cherish. –Neal Thompson
   
3. What else can I say about this one?  The dinner (in this case it was the small dinner) at Joe T. Garcia's in Ft. Worth is by far my favorite Mexican food in the world.  It will definitely be my last meal, but I just can't decide what part of that meal will be my last bite.  Looks like a bunch more decision making field work in my future...
   
4. My mom bought me this stuff and it has saved my feet on so many occasions that I carry it with me in my purse at all times.  Before you even think you might get a blister, rub this stuff on your feet, toes, wherever you need it and it really helps.  There are lots of brands, but I prefer this Band-Aid Friction Block Stick the most.
   

What are your four faves?

P.S.  No Hodgepodge this week, as its creator is otherwise occupied.  Hope the move is going well, Joyce!

Hodgepodge in July!

1.  I recently read here about four secrets to happiness from around the world. They were-

Overcome your fears by facing them head on, allow yourself to relax and reset, work to live versus living to work, and find the good in life. Not sure if these are the actual secret to happiness, but which of the four do you struggle with most? Which one comes most easily to you?

Shockingly, I think I'm pretty good at all of these!  

Probably the hardest is living to work just because I'm single and don't have another option.  I do sometimes find myself envying women who are married and/or seem to be able to quit working and stay home or make a new life choice.  Not that I would ever want to quit my job at Community Partners of Dallas -- it's a great one.  It's more the fact that quitting would be impossible for me.

I'm best at facing fear.  My mom taught me that.  

2. How would you spend a found $20 bill today?

Dinner tonight at Mi Cocina.  Mambo Taxi, baby!

3. Ego trip, power trip, guilt trip, round trip, trip the light fantastic, or trip over your own two feet...which 'trip' have you experienced or dealt with most recently? Explain.

I sang and danced a little at lunch yesterday -- they were playing a great song at the restaurant as we were taken to our table.  Not that my dancing is fantastic, BTW.  I only started dancing again recently.  I quit about 25 years ago when I saw myself dancing in Cathy & Tom's wedding video.  Frighting.

Started again because I'm over 50 and no longer care what anyone thinks -- much...

4. If you could master any physical skill in the world what would it be, and how would you use that skill?

Maybe I should say dancing?

I would love to be able to play tennis pretty well.  I took lessons for awhile about 15 years ago, but quit.  It's really hot here in Big D and the public courts are not air conditioned.  Yes, that is the reason, plus the fact that I sucked.

5. As July draws to a close, let's take inventory of our summer fun. Since the official first day of (North American) summer (June 20th) have you...been swimming? enjoyed an ice cream cone? seen a summer blockbuster? camped? eaten corn on the cob? gardened? deliberately unplugged? watched a ballgame? picked fruit off the vine? taken a road trip? read a book?  Are any of these activities on your must-do-before-summer-ends list?

No swimming.

Yes ice cream.

Yes blockbuster.

Yes corn on cob.

No gardening.

No ballgames unless you count tennis on TV -- the French Open and Wimbledon.

No fruit picking.

No road trips unless you count a drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe and back.  I don't.

Yes books.

Camping -- please.  You are killing me.  NO.

All the yeses I plan to do again, as well as watch the US Open.

6. The Republican Presidential candidates will debate on August 6th. What's your question?

What did you have last night for dinner?

7. What's your most listened to song so far this summer?

I promise it's not a political statement, but I cannot get enough of I Don't Like Mondays by The Boomtown Rats  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yteMugRAc0.  

I have also been hitting The Four Tops classic Bernadette pretty hard too.  I mean, just listen to his voice singing about her -- he wants that girl, doesn't he?  The angst is real, people!  The hilarious 60's models are fab in this You Tube video too:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-_sDdS-7Ug

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I am very grateful to God for so many blessings.  This blog is one of them.

Thoughts on Joe Paterno, Gerald Sandusky, and Bill Cosby

You may already know that I like quotes.  I usually start the morning with a quote from my box of 365 quotes and I love it.  Every once in awhile I even do a blog post with a famous quote or two.  I usually post the good ones on Instagram to share too, so if you want to follow me there, I'm xxoopaige

Info about my 365 quote box here:  http://blog.paigemcdaniel.org/2015/04/four-favorite-things-i-love-right-now.html

Anyway, I do love my quote box, but a couple of days ago, I threw one into the recycling.  It wasn't the quote that made me do it -- it was the "quotee" -- Joe Paterno.

Frankly, I don't even remember what the quote was -- it was fine and uplifting, but I just thought I didn't want to ever think about those boys and the Sandusky crap again.  And Joe Paterno makes me think of that crap.

Most of you probably didn't read the 162 page report and the accompanying 150-ish page appendices when they came out.  I did.

People do abuse children.  That is the sad and horrific truth.  And most of the time those who abuse children are family members.  Sometimes, like with Gerald Sandusky, it is a friend.  Child abuse of any kind is a crime that is sometimes difficult to see.  A predator -- whether family, friend, or stranger -- can get away with it.  But the Pennsylvania State University employees who looked the other way, suspected what was going on, even had a "hmmm, that's weird" feeling sicken me too.

So, sorry, Joe Paterno, no quotes from you stay in my little box.

Bill Cosby and his cover-ups of rape crimes make me mad too.

I really loved The Cosby Show.  I often laughed out loud at Cliff Huxtable -- one of my favorite lines was when Theo (his teen-aged son) was talking about being rich and Dr. Huxtable said something like "Son, WE are not rich.  Your mother and I are rich."  Truth!

This all got me thinking about how quickly it can all be over -- fame, respect, your place in history, etc.  No more dinner invites for the Cosby's, I bet.  His place on the speaker circuit is gone.  Any deals he had in the works are kaput.

Cosby made his bed (so to speak) himself.  Paterno just didn't turn in his friend.

Neither one will be quoted by me again.