Life Detox With My BFF

Hello Reader,

Ashleigh is visiting!!!

It has been amazing and she's only been here for 36 hours!

We decided that today turned into a life detox kind of a day. There was plenty of space for reflection, processing, and good conversations about life in our past, all it encompasses now, and in the future. Really, really great day.

We started the day with rooftop yoga (which I have raved about before) and it was so nice to share this with experience with the bestest best friend a girl could ask for. The instructor didn't get into her philosophy of life quite as much as in the past weeks but it was still exactly the words we needed to hear to set up for a mindful rest of the day.

 

We followed that experience with a trip to a gem of a nail place Ashleigh discovered on her last visit. We had time to process our revelations post yoga practice and then rest in quite reflection while being pampered for an hour.

Next, it was time to eat. I had a coupon to a gluten free place so we went there for lunch, dessert, and deep thought provoking conversations (with a sprinkling of brutal honesty in there too). Followed that up with a trip to Mrs. Rita's Palm Reading (the Gin Blossoms wrote a song about her) to top off the day of reflection. She read the cards very quickly and shared a lot of information at once which was a bit intense but absolutely appropriate after the lunch discussions.

And after all of that craziness - plus two loads of laundry, making dinner for the week, and muffins for breakfast - it was time to relax by the pool and in the hot tub.

This weekend feels like it lasted forever in a really good way, like I've been on self-awareness retreat for a week (hence the "life detox" for the title).

And on top of all of that I saw some exquisite dancers and heard some incredible music this weekend. 

Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring!

Thanks for reading!

- M

"Running"

Hello Reader,

I went for a run! 

Well, sort of ... it was more of a jog, with some large intervals of walking ... but I have felt like I have accomplished a major feat all day!

I'm sure me running was not a pretty sight. I'd prefer to sashay, pas de bourree, or jeté my way down a street any day. But I'm proud that I tried this running thing again since it turned out to be not as bad as I remember. And I will do it again. My goal is to be a part of the themed 5Ks around here and other running events (nothing wicked long, just a few miles).  I could definitely use some advice though, if anyone out there would care to share. 

Thanks for reading!

- M

The Cupcake Obsession Continues ...

Hello Reader,

I think I've been doing a mighty fine job of not posting about food for a while and as a reward to myself, I'm going to post about food :-)

Last year for the birthday boy, I made chocolate stout cupcakes with an Irish cream butter cream frosting...this year I stepped it up a notch and made Irish car bomb cupcakes.

Same cake as last year, chocolate stout ...

... then I scooped out the centers (and ate them) ...

... so I could fill it with a dark chocolate whiskey ganache ...

... and then topped off these beauties with some Irish cream butter cream frosting ...

Ta da!

Thanks for reading! Go eat a cupcake!

- M

P.S. These are not the only cupcakes I've had in the past month, but by far the most recorded. My next cupcake mission to to learn how to make a half baked peanut butter cookie cupcake (chocolate chip cake, with peanut butter cookie dough, and a chocolate frosting.) It was unreal.

Mainers in AZ!

Hello Reader,

Maine is a somewhat isolated place hanging out in the far northeast corner of he country. It's rare that people happen to pass through Maine, it's more of a well planned destination.

Out here, not so much. Mainers are passing through here all the time for conferences, shows, travel, and visiting me for vacation. I love it! It's fun to play tourist while I have visitors, then go back to living the day to day life. I think this place is great for anyone to visit since there are so many things to do. I'm not saying this as a shameless plug to encourage more visitors (of whom I will always accept), it is a simple observation I've made with friends out here. I have an eclectic group of friends - and I mean that in the nicest way - and each time one visits I've discovered a new layer to this city .

And the first thing any Mainer does out here??? 

Classic pic with a cactus! See Mum below at the Desert Botanical Gardens.

Miss. Tori came out last month and I will be posting a recap blog of her visit soon. And Chica (Ashleigh) will be out in two days (AH!) and I will be writing about that as well (we have a few pretty awesome things happening). 

In the meantime, you can check out posts from some other Mainers that visited last year about this time:

"Health Win: Yoga and Water Galor" by Miss. Cassandra (The Lyric Locket) 

"We're Gonna Turn This Party Out"... by Cait (The White Beyonce)

Thanks for reading!

- M

No more excuses

Hello Reader,

Whenever I meet someone new out here and I tell them I'm from Maine, I always get the same response, "... Maine?!" 

If I happen to meet someone from the northern half of the U.S. or the east coast or Canada or pretty much any where but the southwest, it's like we're long lost family.  There is an instant connection of being "from away." Meeting someone from New England is a novelty for me, but it's like finding someone from your hometown.

And that's how I view New England these days - It's my hometown.

I have found the horrific events that have happened in New England over the past six month to hit me much harder than I expected. Maybe it has something to do with the distance between here and there.

I've had my fair share of homesick moments while being out here. My go-to homesick song is, "Boston" by Augustana. I've been singing it since hearing the news at lunch yesterday. I found the events heart-wrenching and it was compounded by the fact the miles of the marathon were dedicated to victims from the shooting in Connecticut. 

When the shootings happened, there was a 26 acts of kindness initiative that started to trend. I said that I would be apart of it and haven't gotten around to it for all sorts of lame excuses. No more excuses. I will definitely be completing 26 acts of kindness.

I also think I will finally get my act together and start running. I saw a few people post on Facebook that they ran today even though they do not like running, and I thought there was something poignant about that. There's a 3 mile loop I love walking out here and I haven't run it - for all sorts of more lame excuses - even though I said I would try running it. 

So, again, no more excuses. I will complete 26 acts of kindness (and not really stop at 26) and I will run. I have put it out there into cyberspace and I will hold myself accountable this time.

Take care of each other.

- M

Apology for lack thereof writing, plus a new favorite thing in AZ

Hello Reader,

Forgive me blogging world for I have - once again - totally dropped the ball with the regular posting goal of 2013. In my defense, it's been a little crazy out here. Details will come out in time and over blog posts, but for now, let's focus on my new favorite thing in AZ ...

Rooftop Yoga!

 

Oh my goodness, rooftop yoga is amazing. Pure happenstance I found out about this and I'm so glad I did. Life the past few months has been crazy and bringing it back to the yoga mat regularly has definitely helped. As I've said before, there is something about doing yoga outside that forces you to be here in the present. I also think to sit in stillness outside in the middle of a busy city adds to the experience. It reminds me that no matter how crazy life is, it is possible to find peacefulness. 

 

There's a lot of philosophy shared in this yoga class that has truly been speaking to me and where I am in life at this moment.  She talks about the courage it takes to try something new and go into the unknown, how vulnerability is going to be a part of any new experience and to note what your reaction is to it, and  she talks about being in the present not worrying about the future or dwelling on the past. Some of her comments have hit me harder than expected (I changed my intention at one point mid practice to 'I will not cry in yoga' because of a few statements that conjured up mega emotions). But I think I've connected with this philosophy because I needed to have something to hang on to. I have carried those lessons from the mat into life which is the purpose of it anyways.

Thanks for reading!

Namaste.

- M