om...m...g...

i have practiced yoga intermittently for about a decade, but have been consistent for the past year or so.  i love it...the feeling of stretching my achy and uncooperative muscles and seeing those little improvements in my poses over the passing months, but especially, the quietness of my mind.  it is very energizing on many levels.  i have practiced yoga at a gym, through chicago parks and rec, at a dance studio, and a variety of other places, including my own living room.  a couple of these yoga classes left such an impression on me.  this summer i had the privilege to join in a few yoga classes while i was in hawaii, however, one class i attended forever forged my view on the power of yoga and the ujjayi breath. this particular class was held on a vacant beach outside of kona in the early morning, just after sunrise.  the sky was blue with wispy clouds, the plumeria trees growing in the fertile ground where the sandy beach meets the ancient lava flow perfumed the air with their sweet aroma...and of course, the sound of the waves crashing on the shore was like a metronome for my breathing.  it could not have been anymore perfect, but wait...it was.  toward the end of this class, after being in deep, long, stretchy poses with my gaze at the shells in the sand, i looked out onto the vast, blue ocean and there they were...a playful group of spinner dolphins jumping and splashing just yards from the shore's edge.  it was ethereal.  i believe i had an out of body (or mind) experience that morning.  something i thought could never be replicated, until now.  

a few weeks ago a couple friends and i (we are all a yogini in our minds) went to flourish yoga + wellbeing studio in fishers to try a style of yoga that was new to us...hot vinyasa.  so at the wee hour of 8 o'clock this saturday morning, we went to the studio.  i, frankly, was intimidated by the place and the other students in the room.  the studio was beautiful, the room was hot...105 degrees plus humidity according to amy.  i immediately thought there was no way i could make it through this 90 minute class.  at the beginning of most classes, i start out with clearing my mind and setting my intentions for that next hour or so.  this was going to be very challenging as i really couldn't focus on anything but the stifling hot air that was filling my lungs with every breath.  however, soon i stopped thinking about the heat and heard my breathing and felt the sweat dripping down my body.  the next thing i knew, it was time for final poses.  i lost myself somewhere in that time..maybe it was dehydration.  regardless, it was exhilarating.  i was full of energy and was chattering on like a first grader with add who missed a much needed dose of ritalin.  this feeling was short lived though, after a quick shower and a liter of water, i crashed.  i crashed hard and slept for 2 hours.  it was a great experience and to know it is just down the street from me is a plus. i think i may be hooked.

so in honor of all my fellow yogis and yoginis, i created this necklace to wear as a reminder throughout our crazy, busy days that we are so close to a momentary escape...just breathe.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/81601289/om-necklace-made-in-sterling-silver-and

nameste.
kathy

go green...eat cookie dough

tonight, we joined our neighbors for another culinary experimentation...sonoran hotdogs.  the recipe was something our neighbor discovered on a recent trip to tucson.  basically, it is a hotdog (any variety will do - all beef, turkey, natural casing, kosher (well maybe not since it was wrapped in bacon and smothered with cheese), or the kind with all those unmentionable animal parts if you so dare.  the dog is wrapped in a strip of bacon and cooked in a skillet on the grill.  when it is done, the crisp, bacon-y dog is shoved into a mexican roll and covered with beans, cheese, onion, tomato, salsa verde, green chiles and then drizzled with ketchup, mustard, and mayo, of all things.  delish!!

we have known our neighbors for over 7 years and have talked about a lot of things, but tonight, it seemed like most of our conversation involved food. it was almost like an episode of "the best thing i ever ate" on food network.  while we were enjoying our sonoran hotdogs and a nice, cold beer or three on this warm and hair-curling-ly humid evening, my daughter was at home making us dessert...chocolate chip cookies, you know the break and bake kind (all great moms have a pack of these tasty morsels at the ready, anytime day or night...they cure anything!).  when they were baked to perfection in precisely 9 minutes, she brought us a platter of warm cookies.  in no time, the cookies were devoured and the conversation turned to cookie dough...i mean, really what else is there to talk about.  we discussed which cookie dough is the best, how to stuff cookie dough into a wonton wrapper and cook it without an explosion of some kind, and easy ways to split a tube of dough between a group of co-eds, and we even pondered the possibility of deep-frying cookie dough.  what we discovered is that everyone loves to eat cookie dough.  it is universal.  why even bother baking, stuffing, or frying it?  like most things in life, it is best in its pure state.  think of all the time (waiting for the cookies to bake) and energy (that of the oven and of the baker who has to break apart all those little squares o' dough) we could save.  so to do my part in reducing my carbon footprint, i have decided to "go green...eat cookie dough".  my new mmmm...mantra.

sonoran hotdog from sunset.com

it's wine o'clock somewhere...

here are a few fun items you may need for your next "girls night in" or wine tasting event.  Your home bar is bare and your glassware is boring and un-bling-y without them. also, in the season of h1n1 flu, you certainly would not want to drink from some unidentified wine glass, unless of course you are drinking from "big joe", the ginormous chalice that is worshipped on "cougar town"...there is enough wine in that to kill anything...or anyone, for that matter.

You can impress your friends with these fancy wine glass charms with fancy wine words to go with your fancy wine...or not.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/kathykdesigns

or your could get this set of wine charms to really set the "par-tay" tone for your get-together.  however, i would not recommend this set while entertaining bosses, mothers (our own), or any other judge-y people.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/kathykdesigns

just remember it is always wine o'clock somewhere...

peace,
kathy

from this day forward...

this weekend, we had the honor of sharing in our dear friends' wedding in washington dc.  the groom, dave, was our best man 15 years ago and has been my husband's friend since childhood.  his new bride, jennifer, was beaming with pure joy and happiness the entire weekend.  it was a lovely affair from the rehearsal dinner through to the post-nuptial brunch.  the cathedral was stunning, as were Jennifer and Dave in their wedding finery.  there is nothing like the stately White House and the Washington Monument as backdrops for some photos that were snapped...paparazzi-style!!  we had so much fun reconnecting with our friends from chicago and meeting great new friends along the way too.  best of all, we rocked the dance floor like it was 1988...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/kathykdesigns

to dave and jennifer, best wishes for a lifetime of love, happiness, and of course, much laughter.

peace,
kathy

pot o' gold

well today has been a very busy day....we spent the day at junior high school orientation for my daughter.  while roaming the halls of her new school to practice her class route, my 10-year-old son found this little treasure on the floor.  at first he thought it was really cool, then after telling him what it represented, he refused to even touch it.  guess the d.a.r.e. program is getting the message through to him.  anyway, this little trinket got me thinking...i could make a pretty groovy design with this.  do i have any takers?

peace,
kathy

my itsy bitsy etsy shop

well it has been 24 hours since i "opened" my etsy shop.  i have now listed 3 items...count 'em, 1, 2, 3.  i have more to create, to finish, to photograph, to list...so exciting! i could stay up all night working on it but alas, it is after 11pm and my kids need to go to bed. i have had twenty views of my items so far and i am fairly certain that not all those viewers are related to me.

peace,
kathy

hello...

welcome to my blog. as with any new venture into the vast blogosphere, one never knows exactly where it will go... but i am ok with that...

peace,
kathy