Last Chance....

Here is my (well really Madeline's) last chance at painting. Can you sense my sadness! We are moving on..wooohoooo! Yoga starts tomorrow and I am pumped. I will be taking the 4:30 or 6:30 class at bikram yoga Bellevue tomorrow if any of you are local and want to join. I am nervous but hey I did the Single Ladies class...I can totally do this. I am a bit worried about finding time this month for yoga..Ian is going to be traveling for work and I will also be doing some traveling this month but yoga will travel I guess. I am going to try for 3-4 times per week. I will keep you posted! Happy Yoga Month! xxoo-Dina

the moment you have been waiting for.

here it is people. the video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqW6s6yUiDs xoxomelissa & dina ps...happy passover

what kind of yoga?

I am researching the many kids of yoga. any ideas of one you like, and why you love it. let me know...i think more input will help. thanks!

melissa

i do love painting...

i really do, now if only i could make more time to sit and do it. this week i am home with the kids 3 of the 4 days left for painting, so i think i will get a good bit done. i have been working on my peacock feathers and a new piece. both still a work in progress. here they are:

it has also been a birthday weekend. my oldest, Lily, turned 10! double digits. we had quite a girly party here. my mom brought over lots of decorations and we had a HonFest themed party. HonFest is a Baltimore thing, from Hampden, the neighborhood we lived in there. is also goes along well with the movie/musical Hairspray...which we also watched at the sleep-over party. there were pink flamingos everywhere and i did all the girl's hair up in beehives. we all had a great time. the girls were up pretty late squealing and "selling" gossip, whatever that means! i heard 2:30am was the record set that night. i was fast asleep in bed, although i do wish i had stayed up and eavesdropped on the gossip.

oh, and i didn't tell you all about the last place we went after our class. shoot, or did it? not again. ok...i'll do this again. we went to Oddfellows. right across the street from Cal Anderson park and underneath the century Ballroom. great place. I didn't think it was going to be good, but we loved it. the bartender was really nice. we now sit at the bar everytime. something about it seemed to make our night more fun. we had homemade ricotta crostini with fresh peas and mint....soooooo good! garlic chard...mmmmmm. and dina had a minestrone soup. i also had a negroni. i always wanted to try one. and i didn't know i was headed toward one that ngiht, but i asked about the Cynar. an artichoke liqueur. and i lead down a conversation path straight to a negroni. it was herbal and strong, with a hit of sweet...but not too sweet. i hate sweet cocktails. it was a tasty evening, and so satisfying to have finished learning that dance. i promise we will post a video. i am so flipping self conscious about it i could throw up. tuesday. tuesday. tuesday. we will film and post. i promise. well, unless i get hit by a bus before then, or get a flesh eating virus and die. then, sorry.

Grrrr..painting!

I would really like to fast forward to Thursday so I can be done with painting and move on with yoga. It just is really not my thing...definitely not my thing. So instead of coming up with every reason to spend time painting I have come up with every reason not to spend time painting. I even worked on the million reports, progress reports, school reports, parent reports etc that I have to do and that says tons. Today was my day off so to not paint I decided to take the girls to the store to get some flowers for the front porch..uhhh landscaping is one of the many things on the to do list with our house but seems to keep getting pushed back so a few flowers will have to do. It was a beautiful day so the girls and I had fun..and I was not painting :).. I let the girls pick out what they wanted and we just put it all together! Here is a pic of what we did.

No gym for me today since Ian was working late so I did a cardio video (to workout or not paint??) then put the kids in the bath. No more excuses so I worked on the piece I started last time. I think it is probably done and I am sure it is no peacock feathers that Melissa is working on but I guess it is not terrible..funny thing is that I don't really care and I just want it to be done. Just so quiet for me...I need to move more when I do things so I passed the painting time by checking email, facebook, and chatting on the phone..hmmm passion I don't think so. I may play around a few more times till next Thursday but feel happy that I set out to finish one piece and I have done that! Yay me :) Here are the pics..

So...I loved loved loved dance class and Yoga is next. I have a 30 day unlimited pass to a hot yoga studio in Bellevue. I am going to take some of the classes with my friend Lindsay. I really hate being hot but I love a good sweat so I am sure it will be an experience. I am a bit nervous just because I have not done it before but it must be better than painting. Funny...I read Melissa's blog and she is excited for the peacefulness of yoga and I am excited to sweat my ass off and just try to shake up my workout a bit..maybe the peaceful/spiritual side will come..I will let you know. Crazy busy few weeks ahead with Ian's bday, Passover, Spring Break...fun times! GO WVU:)! I am going to do some single ladies dancing tonight..kids in bed, Ian out, so why not! xxoo-Dina

almost 70 degrees...

it is a beautiful march day here in seattle. my car temperature read 67 on the way home from school today. so, funny that i am sitting inside blogging! yet, here i am, so let me catch you all up on the passion finding.

last thursday was, as dina said, our last beyonce dance class. it was great. i was all cranky going into it, just having a day with my husband where we were not seeing eye to eye...or was it something else? see how important it was...i don't even remember now what i was cranky about. ha. but once we started dancing, i just let go and had a great time. we learned the entire thing and danced it through. wow. i really need to take a moment to remember what it felt like at that first class. i kept thinking i was not made to be able to grasp this dancing thing. i was near tears, and embarrassed for it. how could anyone see how this one dance class could get me so worked up and upset with myself. so, i held it in and practiced like a mad woman all week. the next class was better....and it kept getting better. ok, maybe the next class was easier cause of that scotch i had beforehand. but regardless, they got better sans alcohol after that. and i don't have it down perfect, far from it...but i did learn it. and better than i ever thought i would be after the first class. even though the practicing tapered away as the auction got closer. i am so, so proud of myself.

and now back to painting. i am working on finishing my peacock feathers. i really do like them. and wonder what in the world they will look like in the end. finding the right brush has been a challenge, and getting the paint thickness correct for the brush size...but i am learning by experience and having fun. last night, after i did some financial paperwork and read a book with jamie...and of course, watched american idol...i sat down to paint. the house was quiet, kinds were in bed and jamie was reading...and it felt so good. i am usually so busy and love to go out, that i can forget i like quiet and slow.

next weekend starts yoga....i will be researching studios to try and go to as much as i can. i am looking forward to the spiritual part of yoga practice. how great to work your body, but also deepen your understanding of yourself and life at the same time.

xoxoxmelissa

SPRING!

Happy Spring! Dancing is done :( and I really am going to miss it. I think it is not so much the dancing that I love but more adding something different into my regular workout routine and doing something a bit more fun than walking on the treadmill. I also realized that I love having a weekly "thing" to look forward to...like a guaranteed night out. I think this is something that I will continue to do when all this is over...please remind me if I forget. We are back to painting and I think I will work on mine after I finish report cards tomorrow. I don't know why painting is so hard for me...it is just so still and I don't really like to be still. Oh great..yoga is next and that is also still. My girlfriend Lindsay invited me to join her at a yoga studio in Bellevue. It is hot yoga so lets just say that will be a challenge since well being hot is not really something I love but I do love a good drenched sweat so maybe I will enjoy. Going to try..... Tonight is Hazel's school auction..not a big auction person but we are bringing the Baumgarts (James is playing music for us...Thanks Jamie!) so that should make it more fun..just looking forward to a night out with my hubby. Before we go...we will dance for a video and get it posted! I love Spring! Enjoy the first day.... xx00-Dina

How I feel....

This is how I feel today....

I can not believe tomorrow is our last class. I am really sad...boo hoo. I love going and it makes for a night out to look forward to each week. I will miss it! We will get the video up soon..right Melissa? xxoo-Dina

are you kidding me....

god damn it. my flipping allergies were so awful yesterday. so, i took some benedryl...i know, quite the herbalist. but whatever. so, i took the OTC, and i crashed. hard. at 4pm, i went to take a "nap." and i didn't wake up til the next morning. well, I did wake up for 10 minutes to eat the dinner that my 9 year old made...then stumbled back to bed. so, anyway...i did not dance. after all that, promising myself i would dance, and i didn't.

i just hate being disappointed in myself.

and tonight, after I watch other people actually doing their passion on american idol...i am going to get my ass up off this couch and dance. for real, it is going to be hard. i just want to go to bed. i worked, got the kids from school, talked to the IRS for 45 minutes, tended to my marriage, went to a parent evening at school, came home and put the kids to bed and now have had 30 minutes to send an invite email for Lily's birthday and blog. and it is almost 10pm.

but just doing the dance once or twice...even just that, will be a huge victory. huge.

life is crazy.

xoxomelissa

and the auction is over...

it was great! it actually went really smoothly, and i hope we made a lot of money for the kid's school. i had a great crew of volunteers, so my job was actually pretty cake. it was a long day, but fun. easy breezy.

so, now nothing left to do but blog, blog, blog.

today I totally commit to practicing. and my plan is to check in this evening with a blog and let you all know how it went. this is our last week. wow. 5 classes, 6 weeks, almost over. then a couple more painting weeks...which I am really looking forward to, i have to say. my bare peacock feathers have been staring at me, just begging to be finished.

the sun is shining today here in seattle. i read it is going to get up to 63 degrees!

and my kids are home from school....what to do?

xoxomelissa

fo shizzle.

sitting at victrola. my favorite thing in the past two days. i get to sit here, and actually have something to keep me busy. i have focus. i have purpose.

i am working on the kid's school auction. at times it is overwhelming...only because i beat myself up about not doing a good enough job. and then there are times, when i get into it, that i really really enjoy doing the work. emailing, coordinating, pulling together all the loose ends and actually not forgetting anyone or anything. I hope.

another highlight of the past week...snoop dogg. saw him at the showbox with my brother. jamie was supposed to be there, but he got a little too intoxicated and had to leave. big fight in our house this week. he wanted me to leave with him. WHAT? i sent him in a cab with a twenty and our address. and he was fine, he didn't die or anything. and snoop was awesome. well, from what i could see through the haze. the whole world is like the LBC to me these days. everything relates to being a gangbanger. what is wrong with me...i am a white mom in seattle with three kids. repeat to yourself, melissa...."you are not a gangster."

sadly, i have not danced all week. i mean, not danced the routine...cause i did get my groove on at snoop. this is exactly what i did not want to happen. that vision i had of me was still busy, but still doing whatever the month's thing was. so, i bounce back and forth in my head....maybe dancing isn't my thing....maybe i am just not giving it my all.

so, then there is life. the emotions, the chores, the questioning why the fuck we even do any of this at all, the pondering of existence. these are the everyday things in my house. if it is not me, it is my husband. sometimes i wish we could just live our life and not be so...so, god damn contemplative. man up Baumgarts. just get on with it.

i was watching the Oscar's the other night and on barbara walter's special afterwards, monique had some words of wisdom. i can still hear her in my head. "it ain't heavy, mama. let it go." how do you master that act?

now back to auction emails.

sorry to have been gone so long.

i am for sure back after the auction on saturday.

and class is tonight...that should be inspiring. we will learn the whole thing tonight.

What to do?

Good Morning! An unexpected day off...what to do? I am going to practice dancing, clean, and.....??? Suggestions please! Enjoy your Tuesday...I will :)! XXOO-Dina

Top 10...

So I wanted to blog about something interesting but well it has not been that kinda day..just really nothing interesting. I am trying hard to appreciate the little things so I thought I would give you the top 10 things good or bad that happened on a not so interesting day! 10. The bonky bird is back (for years we have had a bird that likes to bang into our playroom window. I makes me nuts and we have tried all kinds of things to make him go away...would love any suggestions. Kinda wanting him to knock himself out one of these days :)) 9. I did not clean or do laundry! 8. No work! Got to spend the whole day with Hazel and 1/2 with Madeline. 7. Worked as Parent Helper in Madeline's school. We really are so lucky..what a great classroom. She has just learned so much..I have always been impressed by teachers but this tops it for me! 6. No big news...we are kinda waiting for big news! 5. Jamie called me Flexible! I know he probably would never have thought I would remember that (funny how you never realize what you say to someone could really stick with them) this is not really a word I would use to describe me and scary that I do teach this on a daily basis. This is something I have been working on happy that someone noticed! 4. Going to go to the gym late so I can sneak in the yoga room and practice my dancing! Class Tomorrow!!!! 3. Took my girls to get our toes done. I got a real pedicure and well they got one kiddy style. They totally loved it and as a mama it was most fun for me. Hazel giggled the whole time and Madeline just wanted to make sure it was perfect. 2. I was proud of my girls. I really can take them anywhere. They sat quietly for almost an hour while I had my appointment in a small nail place and they were just sitting and reading the books we took with us. They are amazingly well behaved most of the time...I was really proud of them. Oh and this was before I told them they could have their toes done :)! 1. I felt really happy all day..sun was out and really nothing to complain about! well..except the bird that keeps bashing my window as I type! Hope your not so interesting day was as fun as mine:) XXOO-Dina