#26: Hot Yoga

After being encouraged by a friend to try the hot yoga class at our gym, I persuaded my husband, Rick, and daughter, Maya, to join me in a session tonight. It's Thanksgiving week, so I figured it would be a lighter crowd than usual which might make it less intimidating for a newbie. I was right on one front, it was a relatively light crowd given the room was not as jam packed as I hear the yoga sessions at Lifetime Fitness often are. However, those who were there appeared to be regulars and incredibly good at yoga – which was a little intimidating.

But we jumped right in and pretended we knew what we were doing. I admit I felt a sense of relief when the instructor, Stephanie, announced that the heating system was not working properly and might not quite reach the target temperature of 95 degrees. I think Maya and I even smiled at each other when she said the A/C had been unexpectedly kicking on during sessions. However, as luck would have it, that wasn’t the case during our session and we were quickly sweating through our poses. That is the purpose of hot yoga though, so at least we got to experience it completely.

Stephanie guided the class through a series of increasingly difficult poses probably very entertained by our family’s inexperience – even joking with a light-hearted chuckle that Rick’s flip of the downward dog was one of the most interesting transitions she had seen. All joking aside, she was a great instructor and catered well to the various levels in the class.

Even with the sweating, I really enjoyed the experience. I deal with chronic lower back pain and it might sound strange, but at one point I could actually tell by the pain that what I was doing was helping. I’ll probably go back for that reason if nothing else.

Maya, on the other hand, is recovering from elbow surgery and had to take it easy. As a former cheerleader/gymnast, she seemed slightly disturbed and maybe a little jealous by the yoga experts in the room who effortlessly went into handstands and other unique poses. It might take some bribery to get her to go back with me.

Overall, experience #26 was interesting and enlightening. Only 14 to go!

#25: Christmas Wreath

This 40x40 experience is a little diferent than the others I’ve written about. I’m sure many of my friends are wondering what the big deal is about making a Christmas wreath, but for me it is absolutely a new experience. While I love seeing cute holiday craft ideas on Pinterest and I’ve always enjoyed festive decorations at people’s homes, I would not typically try to recreate something myself. Honestly, in the past I would either spend more money than I should to buy something similar or would simply be ok admiring from afar.

I decided this year would be different, so on a recent rainy Saturday I headed to Hobby Lobby with my two daughters with the idea that by the end of the day we would have a festive wreath on our front door. We started at the pre-made wreaths and almost snatched up a super cute whimsical one for only $95 (which seemed like a steal since it was originally $189.99 before the 50% discount), but we remembered our DIY intentions and headed to the holiday craft aisles.

It took about 30 minutes of dodging carts from some very serious crafters and trying to find just the right elements that all three of us cound agree on (well, Maya and I, really, as Luca was just patiently waiting to head to the Frozen-licensed section) to fill our cart with the makings for a perfect wreath. And all together, the total was just under $60. That’s $35 less than the pre-made one we considered purchasing!

We’re not crafters, so we struggled a bit when we got home to make everything fit just right. In full transperancy, we couldn’t find our hot glue gun (I think we have one), so all decorations were affixed with bobby pins, but it seemed to work and we were proud to hang our creation on the door. And, if the bobby pins hold up, we will hang this wreath on our door for years to come.

Experience #25 was an adventure in creativity. Only 15 more to go!

#24: ICE!

For years I have heard about the incredible ice sculptures at the ICE! exhibit at Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. It’s a few miles from my house, so I really have no excuse for not having been before except maybe the annual craziness of November and December and my apprehension to voluntarily spend 30 minutes in the nine-degree temperature.

I’ve had great intentions to check it out, but every year it seems to come and go before that happens. This year, however, was different. My dad was attending an accounting conference at Gaylord so my parents were staying there for a few days – a great excuse to enjoy the amazing holiday light exhibits and ICE!

After a nice dinner at one of the restaurants at Gaylord, we bundled up in our hats, gloves and the big blue parkas provided and headed into the exhibit. This year’s theme was Frosty the Snowman with more than two million pounds of hand-carved ice sculptures including two-story tall ice slides. Of course the kids loved the slides but I was pleasantly surprised when my both of parents opted to take the ride too –and enjoyed it!

Admittedly a little cold, we made it through the exhibit and finished the evening with hot chocolate for the kids and a group photo with Santa.

I have a feeling experience #24 may become a family tradition!

#23: Stroll through Seattle

Seattle Great Wheel at Miners Landing

I've always been intrigued by depictions of Seattle in movies and TV shows. Something about the breathtaking natural scenery, casual lifestyle and plentiful seafood has always piqued my interest. So I was excited to finally have a chance to visit this fall when my organization hosted a roundtable event there.

I was in town less than 48 hours and most of the time was spent in team meetings and the event, but I chose to take an early flight so I could explore a little before we got started. With only about three hours to spare I decided to walk around the waterfront, thru the aquarium and around downtown. I was lucky to be there on a sunny fall day, which I hear is rare in Washington. In fact, everyone was smiling and seemed to have an extra burst of energy courtesy of the sunshine. 

Pike Place Market

Seattle seems like a great city. I especially enjoyed Walking thru the historic Pike Place Market with its unique shops including the famous Pikes Place Fish Market. I went back with a friend/coworker the next day so she could get smoked salmon and we walked thru the marketplace a little further. We enjoyed walking by the kiosks of fresh flowers and even purchased chocolate-flavored dry pasta from Pappardelle’s Pasta.

Pikes Place Fish Market

I think we got a truer taste of Seattle the second day with continuous rain and cloudy skies, but I guess, in a way, that shapes the personality of the city. The frequent dreary weather makes people especially appreciate the nice days.

Experience #23 was just a glimpse of the city, but I look forward to returning to Seattle someday to explore it further with my husband and kids.

#22: Clean Eating 5-Day Challenge

A friend recently sent me an invite on Facebook to join a 5-Day Clean Eating Challenge. I typically eat fairly healthy, but lately I’ve felt like I needed some inspiration to step things up. With diet and exercise, like most people, I always do better when I have a specific goal or program to focus on. And her message said side effects of a clean eating diet might include:

• Feeling better
• Improved digestion
• Mental clarity
• Enhanced mood
• Better sleep
• Weight loss
• Less bloat
• And much more good stuff!

I could use all of these things, so I decided to give it a try. She’s a Beachbody coach and she and another coach created the event to offer support and accountability for participants. They posted some initial details on how to eat clean, and I did some additional research to be sure I understood all of the do’s and don’ts.

Clean eating is about getting rid of processed foods that contain chemicals that can be harmful to our bodies. The idea for the challenge was that NOTHING you eat would have an ingredients label, unless it listed the whole foods that it contained. Everything should be food you can get from nature.

Again, I do try to eat pretty healthy, so I figured this would be easy. My diet regularly consists of vegetables and I primarily eat healthy carbs and grilled or baked meats.

However, it was much more difficult than I thought. I didn’t realize how many unnatural ingredients are in many of the sauces, marinades and dressings I typically use. And almost all of the breads and snack foods in our house were not clean. My favorite Greek yogurt, “healthy” frozen meals, canned veggies and flavored waters were also out of the question.

It was kind of fun though to go shopping and find things I could actually eat for these five days…primarily fresh fruits and veggies. I also hit up Sprouts and Whole Foods for some clean protein and grain options. And it was even fun at first to only eat clean food.

I admit that excitement wore off pretty quickly but I managed to make it through the full five-day challenge.  And with the exception of day two (when according to my family I became very irritable and grumpy), I experienced almost all of the benefits listed above.The challenge also helped me realize a few things:

• Taking pictures of your food can be a great tool. Before this week I thought people who constantly snap pictures of their food were a little strange, but by chronicling my diet I felt much more inspired to make sure I followed the rules and I tried harder to have lots of color on my plate.
• There’s a lot to look at on labels. I’ve been a label reader most of my life, but until now I primarily looked at fat, calorie and sodium content. I had no idea how many artificial ingredients and preservatives were in food I thought was healthy. This experience will definitely impact my future grocery trips.
• Restaurant food can be a mystery. Like most people, my family stays busy. My husband and I both work full time and our kids are in activities almost every night, so we tend to eat out more than we should. For these five days I mostly avoided restaurants to ensure I stayed clean. But I’ll be much more selective and inquisitive about restaurant food preparation and origin in the future.

Overall I enjoyed the challenge and gained a lot of knowledge from the experience. I encourage others to try it as a way to learn more about what you’re putting into your body and to experience the health benefits that go along with clean eating. My 5-day challenge ended yesterday, but what I learned will absolutely impact my future food choices.

Only 18 more experiences to go!

#21: Salt Therapy

I admit I’ve been feeling a little stressed by the 40x40 project. I made a commitment to have 40 new experiences in the year before my 40^th birthday. Forty things in 12 months…should be easy, right? Well, eight months into it and I’m not even half way there, so I feel a little pressure. I only point that out since I’m fairly certain without that pressure I would not have tried salt therapy. But, I needed some new experiences to help catch up and stumbled upon a Groupon for the Salt Cave in Southlake. 

According to their website, salt therapy can help you feel better faster when dealing with common ailments such as Cold and Flu, Asthma, Bronchitis, Cystic Fibrosis, Sinus Infection, Sinusitis, Rhinitis, Hay Fever, Emphysema, Dermatitis, Eczema, Acne, ADHD, and much more.

Luckily, I have none of these conditions. Although I was suffering from some mild allergies, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a try. I signed up for a 45-minute session in their Relax Cave. It’s basically a dimly lit room with eight large, comfy chaise lounges and purifying Himalayan Rock Salt circulating in the air.

The staff was wonderful. Before my session they gave me a full tour of the facility. They have a very cool kids cave, a small yoga studio and a private salt bed. They reinforced the significant benefits of salt therapy for people suffering from respiratory and skin issues.

As I entered the Relax Cave, I was given a glass of wine, a warm neck wrap and a lavender eye pillow. It was a very tranquil environment, and the 45 minutes went by quickly, the humming of the salt machine acting as a timer. Surprisingly, I really couldn’t feel or smell the salt, but I trusted it was there.  

After the session, I noticed no real difference in my breathing or skin, though they say it takes multiple times before people truly see results and honestly I’m not the ideal candidate for the therapy. I did, however, enjoy the 45 minutes of sitting still and relaxing, something I rarely have an opportunity to do.

So, I’d say experience #21 was interesting and enjoyable. While the relaxation cave is probably not something I would do again, I plan to try the yoga someday and I can see how the overall Salt Cave experience could have great benefits for certain people.

19 Experiences to go!

#20: Volunteer with a Dog Rescue Group

Anyone who knows me well knows I adore dogs. In fact, I would say my life has been significantly impacted by the presence of a few special canines and their unconditional love, sloppy kisses and unwavering loyalty. Cinnamon, Luke, Abbey and Oliver are the four dogs that have blessed my life so far – each with their own, quirky charm.  I love those animals.

And since I made a commitment to give back as part of my 40x40 project, volunteering with a rescue dog program was a no brainer. I’d love to become a regular shelter volunteer, but I simply don’t have the time at this point in my life. However, when my daughter, Maya (also a dog lover) and I had a free afternoon recently, I logged into Voly and found an opportunity to volunteer at a pet adoption fair for Texas Little Cuties, a nonprofit organization specializing in saving dogs and cats scheduled to be euthanized because shelters lack room and funding.

We signed up for a three-hour shift and enjoyed every minute! We walked dogs, filled water dishes and greeted prospective families. We also had the chance to get to know some incredibly special people who run the organization. I was reminded how much I love spending time with other “dog people.” We may have had nothing else in common but we instantly connected thru our love for animals.

Maya and Marty

Maya even made a special friend, a three-year-old, 6 lb. Chihuahua named Marty (she was found in a Wal-Mart parking lot). Maya really wanted to bring Marty home, and I was so tempted to agree to adopt her. I have a hard time being logical in situations like this – especially since I was just as enchanted by Marty as Maya. But two dogs really is all our busy family can handle, and I have no doubt Marty will find the perfect home soon. In the meantime, she’s lucky to have the team at Texas Little Cuties.

Luke, Abbey and Oliver were rescue dogs, so I’m especially grateful for organizations like this who focus on saving animals that might otherwise be discarded. Although we only volunteered for a few hours this time, Maya and I felt good about offering our afternoon and energy to make a small difference. We look forward to future opportunities to help this great organization. And we’ll be saying a special prayer for Marty and her future family.

Experience #20 was rewarding in many ways. Only 20 more to go. Half way there!