i NIA

remember Aralyn? well, i'm happily on her mailing list of super fun stuff...this week i receive an invite to experience NIA, Tango or acting classes...how fun is she? i opted for the NIA class. i've done it once before, and thoroughly enjoyed it. i've been wanting to add some exercise into my life and this kind comes with so much more.

today, after i dropped of Mia at Casa T, i got a haircut, had a quick bite at WF and hoped over to Congress and 9th to Aralyn's pad.....pet her sweet pig, Ara, before walking in to her funky cool home. when Aralyn saw me, her face lit up and told everyone, 'this is Tanya! she's fun....she drums'. what a super fab intro. then we NIA'd. Julie was an amazingly positive and joyful instructor. we focused on our spines...i even got to wag & drag my tail (the one that would be there if i had a long tail. i LOVE that she said to shake it...feathered or furry...what OPTIONS! ) on the ground, dance and sweat and we closed by focusing on our chakras. wednesday's from 12-1pm, at Aralyn's, is where i'll be. it was everything i needed and so much more.

to finish up my day gone wild, i stopped by my honey's office for a quick kiss & a plastic spoon (my fine dark chocolate bar had melted in this Austin heat....so i ate it with a spoon) before i spent 1 1/2 hours at Half Price Books...then off to pick up my happy happy happy child from Casa T.

i heart wednesdays

Nuad Bo'Rarn

Sara did this to me and it was amazing!

i'm having a hard time finding words to explain the process or express how fabulous it felt...still feels. i was stretched, pulled and pushed in all sorts of interesting positions. sometimes it was like a game, trying to figure out if it was her hand, elbow or foot that was pressing against (insert major or minor muscle of choice here). it was beyond relaxing and not at all painful. the stretches were deep and warm...just right. the best part about getting the right leg done was that i had a left :) this is now my massage of choice, and lovely Sara is my therapist :) i feel like i'm not doing Sara or her work justice. i'm at a loss for words.

Update: it's the next day, and i'm seriously still feeling the super effects of the massage. my muscles and joints still feel relaxed...no soreness or aches....quiet the opposite. i'm sitting up straighter and my body just feels like a well oiled machine. i was just able to notice how weird my typing posture was and was able to relax. hmmmm there just may be something to this Thai massage stuff ;)

this just may be something i need in my arsenal against PMDD.

Sara, i LOVE you...and your feet, elbows, hands....and KNEES!!!

i wanna have sex with you, but...

...i'm hoping for a boy.

so, we're gonna have to wait till tomorrow night, k?

my fab friend, Andrea, sent me a checklist for conceiving a boy. the highlights of the list are:

*have sex no earlier than 12 hours after ovulation. (girl sperm hang out and linger, boys are strong and fast)

*doggie, baby! (deposits the sperm super close to the cervix)

*the big O (having an orgasm after him will help his guys move on up)

one thing about having pcos, is that i usually have VERY painful ovulation. i ovulated today (thanks for the ibuprofen, Sara) from the right ovary. yes, this is NOT a made up thang. i can actually feel (often very acutely) when i ovulate.

tonight, we're gonna have to mess around, but i ain't messin' around with this baby stuff. i'm going by the list...what could it hurt? if we do get a girl out of this, i sure in hell am not going to name her Andrea! :)

gluten hangover

i was pretty much on the GF thang on the way to the coast on friday. saturday was pretty easy as well. i know not everyone is gf, so i don't expect that they'd provide those options for me. my in-laws were super fab about the whole thing. there was plenty for me to eat, and Mia only ate a smidge of the glutenny stuff. we all went out to dinner sat night, and i still did well. it was when we got back, and i'd been drinking a little...i ate a huge as banana nut muffin! then the next day i had 1/2 of a huge ass blueberry muffin! hmmm the rest is a gluten induced blur...i know i had a banana double decker moon pie (we were on a roadtrip) and some cheese rangoons. fuck.

this morning, i didn't feel well. at all. i ended up in the bathroom at a playdate, and all i have to say is that if i keep doing this, i'm gonna need to carry matches with me (sorry Ashley). i was sluggish and gained 3 pounds.

today, i'm back on the wagon. it hurts too much not to be. plus the feeling of being out of control really sucks.

in my face

Ben's M&C from Waterloo on 360 & 2222

my buddy, Ben, ordered some mac & cheese today for lunch. he sat right next to me taunting me with the cheesy pasta goodness. ok. Ben is 3 years old and doesn't have a clue what gluten is much less that i'm not eating it anymore. it was still a huge tease....don't get me started on the wrongness displayed by 9 month old Sam going to town on a yummy piece of WHITE bread while on my LAP!

ebb & flow

last night, the inner Tanya hung out with inner Sara. lovely friend, Sara, is taking classes for cranial sacral therapy and needed a guinea pig to 'listen' to. me, me, me, meeeeee! yay, she picked me!..while i am special, she does need others to work on, too.

the whole experience was indescribable...here's the part where i try to describe it :) actually, i've just decided not to. i know i don't have the words to describe my experience, so trying won't do it or Sara justice.

just know that i was moved from within while laying still with lovely Sara's hands gently resting on my feet, neck and head. i'm also going back next tuesday evening for more.

soymilk no more

soy beans - good

large amounts of concentrated soy - not good

the ONLY time i drink/use soymilk is in my daily much needed chai. i figured that out of all the other 'milks' out there that almond milk may be the one to replace my beloved Silk Vanilla Soymilk with added fiber or Omega-3's... i alternate boxes.

so today was my first try. let's say my ONLY try. it was fucking disgusting!

giving up 1 cup of soymilk a day, yeah that's not gonna happen!

note to self

stock photo of brownies....i freakin ate my brownie!!

don't eat a mega brownie before bed....regardless if it's GF, it's still packed with sugar. so, next time, don't do it if you want to come down off your sugar high in time for bed.

*Note to others:

Living Arts' brownies kick ASS!!! but do not work as a sleep aid.

*

Sunday....what a fun day!

While Daryl mowed the lawn (thanks honey), Mia and I hit Whole Foods downtown. She played on the playscape while if finalized my list. I really like having new recipes, because it helps me plan our meals for the week better...a lot less waste, too. I made chicken fried bison for dinner on Saturday, but he cut was weird...I swear I bit into a couple of tendons....ewwww. The butcher today told me that WF North must have had a novice cutting, because that just shouldn't happen. He helped me pick out a nice bison ribeye that he cut lengthwise for me and then in half. We'll be eating meat more as a side dish than the 1/2 of the plate it usually takes up...so, one steak = 2 meals for us :) I also picked up a couple of cowboy burgers that we grilled tonight (yum!), some ground bison and some shrimp. Oh, another huge find for me...ok two huge finds...1. WF brand of GF hamburger buns!!! OMG they ROCK!!! Even Daryl prefers them to the old kind. 2. I found my sun dried tomato and basil hummus that they USED to carry at WF North. I know I was very thrilled and vocal about my find. I'm glad Mia isn't at the age where she's embarrassed my her mama :) Oh, speaking of embarrassing. How many times do I have to walk up to the register with a whole bunch of beer before noon on Sunday and be told no go before I learn to be mindful of the day and time?


Back home to pick up the Dada and we drove over to Auntie M, Unca Joe and Cousin Gwen's place for a fun afternoon. Nana and Pawpaw were there, too. Happiness. Nana was center of the girls' universe, so I was able to chat a lot with Melissa....when we weren't trying to redirect a tot...Mia really doesn't dig sharing her Nana....but she's learning. When her Nana was occupied with her cousin, Mia looked for her Pawpaws' loving arms.


The guys chatted about the house we're looking to buy. We all ended up out on the shaded deck. Gwen applied dots of sunblock on herself, Mia found a new purse (watering can)and the girls stole ice from their Nana's glass....Nana was in HEAVEN.



I actually played ping pong (I don't call it table tennis...that's not how I grew up) with Joe. He's a blast to play with and was very understanding of my super competitive nature and my lack of ping pong skills....both those things together just made me laugh and laugh and laugh. I'm so ready for round two...hell, if I break a sweat...that's exercise and it counts!

I was given two Mother's Day gifts....an amazingly beautiful orchid by Dee. I love that gifts from her are always thoughtful and things that I want but would never buy for myself. Melissa was super sweet and gave me a sweet treat...a yummy chocolate bar. Yes, it is gluten free :) I embarrassingly was empty handed. My mind has been so clear lately, but I spaced on a going away gift for Elsa and now Mother's Day. I need to work on that. I hope these women know how incredible I think they are and how fortunate I am to have them in my life.

the trash bag debate

as Daryl was taking out the trash a couple of minutes ago, i asked him to start thinking about not using trash bags anymore. when we run out of our current supply, i don't want to buy anymore.

here's our conversation:

Daryl: what do i use instead?
me: the can
D: how do i carry it outside
m: pick up the can, carry it to the big trash bin and dump it in
D: if i eat a trash bag can i keep using them?
m: WTF?!?!
D: it would show you that they mean a lot to me
m: why do they mean so much to you? (i ask like i'm unaware of his slight ocd cleanliness issues?)
D: they just DO
m: what if i were to wash the trash can out myself before it's brought back in?
D: ok. no trash bags

a few minutes later:

D: landfills are fine and there's all this research...blah blah blah (i stopped listening to him)
m: it's not about the landfills, it's about consuming less.
D: do YOU eat trash bags?
m: NO, less of a commercial consumer
D: oh, so you wanna save money
M: sure, yeah
D: ok. no bags....but we still have some left, right?

crap

i'm tired of feeling like crap so i'm going to stop eating crap.

hence, the embarkment on the wheat-free partial gluten-free way.

today was my first full day, and i did rather well. i think the only thing i ate that GF or WF were the two crab won tons i had with my pad thai.

who's really kicking me in gear (and she probably doesn't even know it) is Melanie. i'm taking part of a healthy challenge with some of the O'Mamas. Mel is putting it together, and it's just what i needed. so, i've recruited my honey to train me. i asked him to train along side me so i won't feel so alone. my husband is now exercising. he underestimates my sneakiness

Yesterday

Mia and I hit the Angel Valley Farms market. They come to town on Wednesdays and it's always fun. It had rained earlier that morning, so there were oodles of puddles for Mia to jump in. She found a fabulous one in a safe area...she splashed and I shopped. I scored a pint of wild blackberries...we ate about half in the check out line. Well, here's a snap or two of our treasure.

Then Melissa and Gwen were having an impromptu playdate that we got in on. It was so nice and relaxing. Sarah with her Leilani & baby Orion were there too. Melissa and I have both been so busy that we haven't seen each other for a while, so it was great to catch up a little.

Before music class....a conversation with a shell:

Mia puts a sea shell to her ear and says: 'mama, I hear the ocean'

then, as if she's talking on the phone: 'hey water, how ya doin' today?'

That evening, I wanted to try some leaf rubbings that pal Andrea did at Casa T. I'm not sure we did it right, but it was fun and colorful.


Oh, Mia was also into water again. She's learned that if she steps on the side of her pool, all the water comes rushing out :)

Hopper Time

Well. I'm feeling a little better. The Doc said I was at the beginnings of a virus...that never came. I never developed any symptoms, and feel fine. My thyroid check won't be in till Wed, but we remembered that I'd been diagnosed with PMDD a few months ago. I haven't had any severe symptoms since then, so I forgot about it. Well, symptoms for hypothyroidism and PMDD are very similar. So, now we're treating the PMDD, and won't forget about it this time. On, to stuff about the snapper...

Yesterday, we went to the Angel Valley Organic Farm in Jonestown. We saw Mama friend, Donna and her crew driving out as we were walking in. Then ran into a fellow Mama, Wendy and her husband Gabe and their kiddo, Zephyr. After I picked out some wonderful looking veg... Brussel sprout greens, red peppers, broccoli, turnips and some Japanese eggplant, we went for a look around the farm. Mia was enchanted by all the hoppers (grasshoppers) around. I caught one for Mia and Zephyr to check out. Mia loved it, Zephyr was not very impressed and swatted it from my hand...let's hope it survived the fall. They both loved the chickens, though.

Then we went for lunch at our fav little Mexican restaurant in Cedar Park, Los Reyes. It was yummy, as usual. Then we headed home for the UT game. Mia learned how to say 'hook 'em horns' and was able to get her pointer and pinkie fingers to make the hook 'em sign ... only once. She did love running around saying hook 'em while waving the peace sign around :)

cutie at the farm

checkin' out a hopper Mia found another stick to write with Hittin' the bottle during half time

It's hopper time:

Hook 'em...sort of, but not really: