LA Weekends

“Be in the habit of getting up bright and early on the weekends. Why waste such precious time in bed?”
–Marilyn vos Savant


For some odd reason, I tend to have no problems waking up bright and early on the weekends. No matter how late I might stay out the previous night, I’m usually wide-eyed by 6:30AM, which is ironic because I have a hard time opening just one eyeball by 8AM on weekdays.

I agree with Marilyn vos Savant; weekend time is precious time and should not be wasted. For me, weekends are opportunities to really live your life free of hardset time constraints and having to do what you HAVE to do. Weekends are a time for you to do what you WANT to do.

This weekend I…

• Enjoyed a hearty pasta dinner in my little Los Feliz neighborhood at a restaurant called il Capriccio. I very much enjoyed their Penne Pasta in a homemade Creamy Tomato Sauce with Mushrooms and Chicken.
• Stayed up until 2AM reading my favorite blogs and online magazines
• Went to my favorite yoga class. Bryan Kest Power Yoga is a physically challenging, mentally settling, and spiritually activating style. My muscles burned as the 6’5 man next to me toppled onto me during Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana (aka Standing Split). As sweat ran down my arms, I became grateful for not putting on self tanner earlier that morning, and by the end of the class, I felt relaxed and energized with even more energy even though I had exerted so much during this 90 minute challenge.
• Participated in a tough mudder. The Spartan Race specifically. Let me just say that I have the least bit of tolerance to two things: 1) Being dirty, and 2) Being cold. This was a good hour of being both. And while I consider myself to be a fairly tough girl, this was really not my cup of tea. My friend Ashley thought it would be fun to run in mud. Little did we know that 100M in, we’d have to swim across a muddy pond (fully clothed). Add in rope climbing, tire carrying, monkey bar swinging, concrete bucket lifting and barbed wire crawling. Still drenched, still dirty, and still really really cold. Oh, and we also thought it would be fun to be a part of the last heat, which meant we ran through 3.5 miles of jungleness in the DARK. Add the fact that we showed up 10 minutes AFTER the last heat of the day already took off. Not an ideal situation, but it sure was an experience. I don’t know that I would do it again. Call me a wuss. Fine, I accept.
• Fueled my ravenous appetite with a big, juicy burger from The Westside Tavern. I really do appreciate a juicy, perfectly cooked Burger with Aged Cheddar and Carmelized Onions.
• Woke up at 8AM in anticipation of a morning surf session. Then I realized it was about to rain. And it didn’t just rain today, it POURED. So, I marched right back to yoga class, at the same location with the same teacher. There’s no way he would teach two back to back over-the-top challenging classes in one weekend. WRONG. As every joint in my body ached out the muddy uphill 3.5 mile run, I tried really really hard to convince myself that I would only feel GREAT after this yoga class. Ahh and I did. Namaste.
• I ate 3 mini blueberry muffins and a bowl of Brown Rice topped with sauteed Onions, Bell Peppers, Asparagus, Mushrooms, Ground Turkey and a Poached Egg at Jack n’ Jill. The mini blueberry muffins made my morning of sweat and aching worth it.

And now I’m back at home, hiding from this horrific weather. I’ve got my cup of Yerba Mate tea on my coffee table with a plate of Trader Joe’s Bistro Biscuits as my dog attempts to sneakily crawl into my lap where my laptop is. I just realized that Bryan Kest has a few free yoga sessions online for streaming. You can make a donation (it’s not required) to gain access here. I have it streaming in the background as I type this post. I think my dog has fallen asleep listening to the “breathe in, breathe out, downward dog” prompts. Stay.

I’m debating on whether I can sit through Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 in a couple hours. I think I’ve exhausted my energy for this weekend. My energy. That is something I am grateful for this weekend. With Thanksgiving just a few days away, I am constantly being reminded of the little things in life that I am most definitely grateful for. And as my yoga instructor, Vytas, mentioned the other day, yogis practice the act of being grateful…every day. Not just during the week of Thanksgiving, but every day, they make conscious efforts to give thanks. That is probably the most important lesson I learned this weekend–to be grateful every day.

As originally posted on my other blog November 20, 2011 at The View A La Vu