Chicago's French Market

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."

Marcel Proust

I am going on an adventure this weekend!  It has to do with my bike and couchsurfing.  I'll expand upon my return on Sunday!  Today I went on a mini adventure to the French Market.  But first, I got myself to the yoga studio at 10:00am for Jessica's Jivamukti class, a very similar experience to Ashtanga with some fun variations and more philosophy talked about during class.  I love taking Jivamukti, but by Friday I don't want to think about doing much of anything except maybe pampering myself lazily.  I got a bit of that in though, think wax and arm pits (TMI?). Ha!  Not super relaxing, but feeling pampered none the less.  Like making your bed.  Always feels good afterwards.  Right? 

So Jivamukti rocked my world today and I am so glad I went.

I had a good 2.5 hours to kill before my desk shift at the studio, and decided to finally check out RAW.  A raw vegan restaurant tucked into a booth at the French Market in the train station on Clinton.  I am so glad I did.

Macaroons and other pastries

Oh yeah!

So much produce!

 I got some delicious food of course and I highly recommend Raw to any eaters in the Chicago area.  They also had some tasty samples.  I was particularly fond of their spicy entree, which I cannot recall the name of now.  Here's my plate:

 

 

 

The Sample Platter: Raw Ravioli, Raw Zucchini Pasta with "Meatball" and Marinara, Raw Garden Burger, and an Amazing Raw Apple Crumble

The Journey - The Experiences - Not The Destination

"The prize is in the process"

-Baron Baptiste

I taught food to kids!  Bah!  Loved it!  I love working with kids!  Friday I was asked to emergency sub for a fellow teacher at a school in the south side.  It is a yoga for kids summer camp class, and I loved subbing last week so I was all for subbing this week.  It went wonderfully and, of course, the best reward was having all the little girls run up to me after we finished class and give me a huge group hug!  Made my heart melt!  I wish I had pictures to show, but it was quite spontaneous, and I keep forgetting that my phone does in fact have a camera.

So, Sunday Juliana, a fellow yogi friend, asked me to help her run a food class for kids at her church.  I was thrilled to be asked and we put it together and made it happen.  During the service the kids hang out in an organized setting that Juliana has been running.  It is supposed to teach kids about nature and useful life skills.  She even has an etiquette class!  I think that is just awesome!  So we had a few different projects. First was sticking Strawberries and grapes on lollipop sticks, dipping them into yogurt/vegan yogurt, and rolling them in organic coco krispies or coconut shavings.  Nom nom!  Next we made almond milk: almonds, water, vanilla, dates, strain through cheese cloth.  They enjoyed squeezing the milk out.  Then we made green monster smoothies with the almond milk, spinach, peaches, bananas, and ice.  Some of the kids were afraid of the green aspect hahahaha!  Legit wide-eyed scared.  Those who tried them loved them.  And there was plenty left for the parents after the service and they were even more excited about them than the kids!  We went on to spiralizing zucchini, which each kid took a turn at, and we mixed it all up with tomato sauce and served at the adult brunch table!  So awesome!  Their parting gift was a little container of mung beans to take home and sprout.

Yah, life has been great fun recently.  Lots of awesomeness.  I just got asked to work back at Camp Warren in the kitchen for next week.  What I would give to do that.  My heart hurts at the idea!  It would be so much fun!  Next year, next year!  I applied to be a camp counselor again for next summer, which would be a dream come true.... It has been on my "must do before I die" list since I left in 2005.  Being back in the Midwest lets me be close enough that it is quite feasible.

It's amazing, all of these experiences that come together to create the timeline of our lives.  I chose the title because, and I mean this in the most positive sense, if the end was our goal then that would potentially mean death, right?  The end of our living time is death, in certain views.  So, the gift of living and being conscious of our time alive should be embraced and relished.  Each moment, each experience seen for the vibrancy it adds to our time in this state of being.  The sweet nectar of life savored.

Because You're Wonderful!

"you are a totally delicious hug magnet. If folks aren't hugging you right now, they just don't know what they're missing. I feel sad for them."

-Kris Carr

You know it's true.  Deep down, that unchanging you that is deep in your heart, not affected by all the self-talk going on or external influences, knows it.  Go hug people!  Let them feel the wonderfulness that is you!  Don't be selfish and keep you to you!  Share yourself, share your ideas, your love, your passions.

My wonderful joyful friend Mara and her nanny-baby Malcolm.  The lucky baby that shares happiness and love with her!

Life is awesome!  Celebrate the beauty of it.

I had a wonderful tea date with the above friend Mara.  That lovely creature in her arms is not a faerie boy but a real human baby!  She nanny's for him and I love meeting up with them during nanny time.  Mara and I met in our freshman year of college back in Boulder Colorado!  What fun times those were. And so our paths have come together again and It's been really glorious.  Don't you love it when you move somewhere and have the opportunity to see old friends again somewhat regularly?  Makes me smile.

The weekend is here and I'm so excited!  I'm going to try to go on a long bike ride, but my wrists and shoulders are not really liking the biking situation, so we shall see!

Let Go

"If a man has done his best, what else is there?"

George S Patton Jr.

Right?  All you can do is your best.  There is that retort: "what if your best isn't good enough?"  It always is good enough for you.  I think that retort is more geared toward if it isn't good enough for others.  Well, we don't need others to put expectations on us now do we?  It can help motivate us to accomplish goals or work harder on projects. But truly doing your best for you, knowing that you have put your all, whatever that may mean in that moment for that thing, brings peace to you.

I have this thing with guilt that I am working on letting go of.  My dear mommy sort of knows what I'm talking about here, since we had a conversation not too long ago about how I feel that she puts these expectations on me to do more of something other than what I'm doing.  A feeling of disapproval.  Well, after a mildly dramatic conversation and her closing comment, "the only thing I expect of you is to take the red out of your hair and let it grow long again," (I am working on the length part for you!) I concluded that it was me who was disapproving of my efforts!  Whaaa?  I know, not the first time we've heard this revelation come out of someone's mouth right?

So, I've done my digging, and found it is part of a larger mega-boss in this video game labyrinth of self-discovery called Guilt!  Self-unsatisfaction. What to do when confronted with said mega-boss: step back, get perspective, objectively analyze, and know that I made the decision as best I could, acted as best I could, and did what I thought was best in that moment - on that day - as me.  This makes mega-boss smaller and less powerful, and over time, it is so small as to be forgotten.  Guilt, like regret, should never be part of one's life.  When every decision is made intentionally, with respect, and with positive intentions we can do no more.  There is nothing else.

The above bit was inspired by Angela's challenge to do one thing a day that scares you.  It just got me thinking about my anxiety that I feel occasionally.  On another note:  I had an amazing Mango today.  You know what I mean.  Those Mangoes - you never know if they are going to be that sweet deep ripe wonderful experience when you buy one you think is ripe.  It could go either way.  Maybe just a tad under ripe, sour and not quite drippy juicy.  Or Over-ripe!  The slightly off taste and acting as natural floss (not good working at the front desk).  This one was perfect.  Ending yet another magnificent day in Chicago, in which I finally got over to gym - did some HIIT - took Tina's Vinyasa class, had some Vegan pizza at Whole Foods (nobody came to beach yoga today), rested my sad sacrum, and updated my blog!  Yay!

Enormous amounts of love!

Journeys Alone

"Everything is already OK. The notion strikes us as radical, and it surely is. What it means is that in our essential nature we are already fully awake and enlightened; it means that our higher self is available to us fully in the moment, simply because our higher self is our true nature. We simply have to stop resisting it...."
-Stephen Cope

Time has been slipping away from me!  Look at the last time I posted!   Where did it go?  I could say that it went to time spent with others, with lots of experiences and too much fun.  But, in reality it was just passing by with me alone in it trying to experience each moment for what it was, enjoying the breath, the touch, the yoga, the food, the sunshine, the glory that is Chicago in the summer.

What a city, and how distracting!  There is a beautiful lake with beaches, rocky outcroppings, bird sanctuaries, and a long curving trail for bikes and feet.  The street fairs and festivals seem never ending, something for every interest.  There was even a vegan friendly sausage fest!  Art festivals too, with wonderful people.  

The best experiences were, of course, the people themselves.  I've been distracting myself with dates and excursions in the evenings.  I am, by no stretch of the imagination, a night person.  I love going to bed around 10:00PM and waking up with the sun at 5:30 or 6:00AM.  Can't think of a better way to begin each day in fact!  The funny thing, though, is how we push ourselves to form patterns that are not so natural to us in order to connect with others we like/love. It is never necessary, but can be fun to "shake things up."  I felt like I was in college again, kind of neglecting important things and just letting go of control (not that I ever neglected important things in college mom and dad!).  It has been like a long vacation.  How many people can say that while working a full time job?  Loving my life.

Speaking of people, I decided to try to blend my biker-short tan by actually intentionally laying out in the sun in a bikini for the 1st time this summer?  I found myself biking north along Lake Shore Trail until I found an area of the lake shore that was quiet and the people passing through were sparse.  Perfect for my mood.  I found a flat rock and laid myself down with my book The Engine 2 Diet.  about an hour into my exercise in absorbing sunlight an older gentleman was inclined to start a conversation with me and we ended up sharing some great words for almost an hour.  He is a world traveler and is now retired after making his money by coming up with the simply brilliant idea of selling car related things at car washes back in the day.  It was a really cool encounter and one of those random awesome people/conversations that can happen!

It also led me to burn one side of my butt by sitting in the same position talking for an hour.  Kind of funny.  Kind of painful.

Throughout all the distractions and busy-ness I've forgotten that all is well because I am with me and the other stuff is just the changeable chaos that fills the external world.  Sometimes the drama of relationships ending or starting or parting, unfinished carpentry projects, or broken bed frames can throw me off balance, make me forget my foundation, my internal stability.  Letting go of all of that and allowing my natural peace to take over again is so healing and oh so necessary!

Hugs and lots of love!