the dog ate my post. I SWEAR!

Minnesota is either getting warmer or I’m getting used to it. Coming back from somewhere today the radio announced the temperature as 35 and having just been in it, I realized that it wasn’t that bad. Coming out of Yoga today it was “nice” and “warm” and when I got home, seeing the number reading 53 made me agree that it indeed was “nice” and “warm”. My definition of cold has now decreased to temperatures in the 20’s and teens.

Yoga is getting amazing. I started a week ago Sunday, doing my normal practice (Primary to Mari A) and Michelle convinced me to try a local Yoga place (some people call them studios, some call them shalas. Not sure of the difference or what this one is.). We took the Tuesday class (a week ago today) and then Ladies Holiday forced me to wait until Friday for the next class. We attended Friday, Saturday and Sunday and each day I learned something new. Before taking a class, I had worried that classes would stifle me or that I was not good enough for a class. I have learned new facets to poses, corrections to what I was previously doing in poses and been enlightened to nuances that had passed me by relying solely on The Book. Today, Michelle and I got stoned. We were so blissed out after class that we were absolutely S.T.O.N.E.D on Yoga. I’ve never had that happen with my home practice and I’m so going to miss the ease of class. It is a different level of practice, harder than home practice but at the same time easier in motivation. Oh, and chanting. I’ve never done (or known what they were) the invocations and the chanting is starting to grow on me. I’m not doing it yet, but I’m considering it. I was totally roached before today’s practice and even considered not going but we dragged our sorry asses to the shala/studio and I’m so glad we did. I am learning something new each and every time, even today when I had to stop after Mari D due to my aching back. OH! And I got headstands! One class we got to get pointers on specific poses and I was shown how to get up in headstands and I can now do them. Without a wall. Amazing. I’m SO going to miss classes when we hit the road.

Ellen is eating food. The day we arrived I was talking to Michelle about how she and Jesse survive on air and it seems she must have heard me. She must have set out to prove me wrong as she eats all day long and finishes the day with yogurt at 10pm.

You honestly cannot have too much coffee in one day. Slade starts out morning right by making us all a lovely pot of coffee before he leaves for work. We work on that through the morning and sometimes make a second pot for the afternoon. With Oregon Chai at $1.79 a box (I’ve seen it as high as some $6 a box in Santa Fe), we work on that in the evening. Going back to road and restricting ourselves to one or two cups will put us into definite withdrawl. But we’ll instead think happy thoughts of massive amounts of coffee and a pot that never empties. This is a very good house for coffee.
It is absolutely possible to completely double your family size; double your 4 children; double the adults, and in a mansion, it doesn’t even feel tight. The hospitality continues to flow, the kids continue to play; Sebby and Sissy have found wonderful playmates and companions in each other (a first for Sissy) and we’re only using two of three full floors. And the kids are LOATHE to venture outside, so it is all INSIDE time.

Yellow Tail Shiraz is well worth the seeking and finding especially in Minnesota where you cannot purchase wine and bread at the same time. Insanity I tell you.

I’m so glad we came here. The cousins are such a breath of fresh air, the kids are LOVING spending time with them and they are introducing them to all kinds of concepts from video gaming to Montessori school methods.

I picked up a pair of lower rise (though not hip hugging) jeans at a flea market in New Mexico. Today I decided to give Jamie Christmas a little early and replaced my old granny undies with nice and smaller items. I put one on and was writing this post at a backless chair when Ellen passed by me.
“Mommy what’s this?” (she pulls on what is peeping out of my lowrise pants)
“It’s my underwear.”
“It’s very small.” (thong)
“Yes, it’s a different kind of underwear.”
“Do we have any? (she and Sissy)”
“No.” (weesh!)

Apparently this wasn’t enough as later, she came by and pulled, HARD, on the offending item, giving me a marvelous wedgie and proclaimed them very stretchy. I have a feeling the granny panties will be making a much needed comeback.

And that’s the news from not-so-cold-anymore-Minneapolis AND just to show how much I love you all, I re-created this entire post after my hosting server crashed just long enough for me to lose the original post. I can’t tell you how difficult it was to start all over a-freaking-gain.