School has resumed. Yesterday was the first day of classes for spring semester 2009 at ASU. I had such a great winter break getting myself all put back together that I felt fresh and rejuvenated starting back.
Now when I say put back together, I by no means mean I was broken. Tired and weary ABSOLUTELY, but not broken. I took a lot of time for rest, relaxation and catching up with the things in my life that tend to slide while I am trying to maintain school, work and a household.
Now as far as school, I am feeling so much more relaxed because this is now my second semester at ASU and I now feel as though I have a good flow and understanding about how the campus and school itself operates.
I am taking two interesting core health classes that are relatively simple. You do the reading, do the work and you understand the material. Now on the other hand, I have a statistics course that I prepared to be terrified of, right along with my math class (ahhhhhh) and I was so pleasantly surprised by my instructor’s extremely positive attitudes and vibes. After meeting them and reading the syllabi, I felt a newfound appreciation for the art of learning. I came home realizing that learning is, “the act or process of acquiring knowledge or skill.” This means to me that it doesn’t always have to be safe or easy or even predictable, instead I can accept that those subjects might be challenging and then prepare for the challenge.
Girls, this is no different than having to play in a soccer game an hour before Prom. You know ahead of time it will be a challenge to perform well in the game, get home, shower and prepare for a formal dance all in an hour. However, if you acknowledge this challenge well ahead of time, you can fully prepare to pull it all off. It may not all look like perfection but you have a great chance of getting it all accomplished with the admittance of it being a challenge.
Guys, what about getting free tickets to your favorite bands concert the night before the SAT’s? Without any preparation this could be a disaster. However, if you prepare yourself and acknowledge the challenge, properly, it all can be achievable. Making some compromises and studying ahead could get you through both situations fairly.
This my dear friends, was my newest stroke of inspiration that I share with you. For me, math and statistics are just not my strong point and I have approximately seventeen more weeks to grab a hold of both subjects, acknowledge they are challenging, prepare for it and appreciate I have two other classes that come a little easier to me. For that alone, I am happy!
Cheers to a new semester and a new attitude!

Good solid friends that are forward thinking with great values are irreplaceable and their positive effect is limitless. I say this as I prepare for an upcoming trip back to my hometown of Minneapolis. I am going to celebrate an old friends birthday and I am just beaming with excitement. In everyone's busy lives, especially after school is over, sometimes it is hard to stay connected. I was fortunate enough to have some really incredible people in my life while I was growing up and most of them remain to this day. Things, standards, priorities and motivators, in our lives, have changed drastically but there are many constants. I wish I could say it was intentional, that I sought out these amazing people that remain in my life currently, but I am unable to do that. At the time in my life when I met most of these great friends I was not always making conscious good decisions. I guess it becomes normal to relate being under 18 with either not thinking through decisions, not caring or just flat out making poor decisions. Well if that was the norm, I was a correct statistic. I guess what I am trying to say is, if at all possible, be conscious of the friends you choose to entertain. I got lucky back then but I have learned from it and I go out of my way to be conscious about the individuals that I choose to entertain today. Also, if you happen to be under 18 and do make a conscious decision to choose your friends wisely, POWER TO YA, POWER TO YOU!!!! The impact that forward thinking people with positive goals (that stay focused on those goals) have is just day brightening. I could never count the times I have been pulled out of a dark tunnel by a forward thinking friend who consoled me by simply reminding me of a positive personal goal I hadn't yet reached. Or could never count how many out loud belly laughs and exhausted facial muscles I've had from smiling so big when we achieve those goals and blissful moments together. Like I said, be picky and you will not be disappointed. I know I haven't been.

So recently I have been searching, desperately, for a form of exercise that will not only bring balance to my physical body but also my mental and spiritual body. As a child and adolescent I always participated in sports, which meant for me that exercise was fun and exciting. As I grew older, I took up the practice of boxing and kickboxing at a little hole in the wall gym. During those five years I was in the best shape of my life. I had two children during that time and always managed to just bounce back gracefully. It was also critical to my mental well being. Since moving to Arizona, five years ago, I have been unable to find a method of exercise that is fun and exciting. Something that I can’t wait to do after work, something that takes my mind inside for a bit, something that brings challenge every time I show up, something that is just not down right boring and procrastinateable (hahaha that’s one of my new made up words). I have joined gyms, multiple times. I have taken up hiking. I have hired personal trainers. I’ve tried running, walking in the neighborhood. Nothing seems to stick for long. Nothing pulls at me the way I’ve been pulled at before. However, not long ago…ta dah! I found a new adventure…As I prepared for a recent trip to NYC, I was contacting friends that live out there and found out one of my friends from back home, Colleen was practicing and actually instructing something called Bikram Yoga. I thought, hey I’ve taken yoga plenty of times but have never had the courage to try that “hot yoga” maybe this is my chance to explore in the safety of a class that a dear friend will be teaching. I went searching the internet for everything I needed to know and was instantly eager for the new beginning! I felt like this was exactly what I had been searching for and if I liked it enough I would find a place to practice back here in Phoenix. Well, last week I adventured to NYC and more importantly to the Lower East Side Bikram Yoga studio to take my first class. AMAZING! I could have never prepared myself for my level of satisfaction with the experience. It’s funny how with every stage of life you are drawn to different yet similar experiences. There was a time and place for group sports in my life, as with boxing. And most recently Bikram yoga. The form of exercise being different each time but the draw to the function and purpose so similar. The function and purpose of those 90 minutes is what my mind, body and spirit have been craving. I am so grateful to my friends, Colleen and her husband Christian for the warm welcome to a beautiful practice. I have been inspired to be well to myself for at least 90 minutes at least three to four times a week. I encourage everyone to try “hot yoga” just even once. The practice is not for everyone and you may not make the same connection but there is no doubt you will find some clarity, even if it’s clarity that you are not ever doing Bikram Yoga again  I, myself, will be sweating myself clear for some time to come.