DIY: Yoga Mat Bag

Well, it's official. My best friend and I are going to a yoga retreat in western Massachusetts for a few days in June.

I can't wait!

It's costing us around $530 each for lodging and food for three nights and four days. Since that felt a little hefty, we opted not to take any additional classes. We're just going to attend the free yoga and mediation classes.

Since I like making something for myself before going on a trip, I decided to make myself a bag for my yoga mat. I've never had one before, and I figured it was time to stop carrying my mat under my arm.

I looked at patterns in two different books for inspiration. Simple Sewing had a pattern for a yoga bag, but I didn't like the non-circular bottom. My crafting partner, Katie, suggested that I consult In Stitches to look at their laundry bag pattern, which does have a circular bottom.

Since I hate, hate, hate reading patterns, I pretty much improvised a very simple pattern. Here's what I did:

1. I used my rolled up yoga mat to estimate the right size for a large rectangular piece of fabric (P.S. All the fabric was leftover IKEA fabric from other projects).
   
2. I used a plate from my cupboard to cut out a circle for the bottom.
   
3. I cut two long rectangles for the strap. I sewed them right side to right side (along the two long sides) and then flipped it right-side-out and ironed.
   
4. I made a pocket for my keys (with a velcro enclosure) by sewing a piece of velcro to the inside of the pocket, putting two right-sides together, sewing around three sides, flipping it right-side-out, and sewing it onto the rectangular piece (closing up the last side as I attached it) after I sewed the corresponding velcro piece to the rectangular base.
   
5. I sewed the long rectangular base closed along the side.
   
6. Then I put the strap between the circular bottom and the rectangle and sewed the circle on (after stay stitching around the circle and then cutting out small notches to get the circle to connect more flatly to the rectangle).
7. At the top of the rectangle, I sewed two button holes, opened them up with a seam ripper, and then folded it over twice (with the top of the strap inside) to make the casing.
   
8. Then I used some extra fabric to make a draw string.
9. Finally, I used a safety pin to thread the draw string through the casing.

Of course those nine steps make it sound a lot easier than it actually was. I didn't spend enough time thinking through the steps of my improvised pattern before I began, so I messed a lot of things up. A lot. I had to use the seam ripper to undo a lot of my work. A lot.

Despite my frustration, I was glad I went back with the seam ripper to get everything right (I almost settled for having the seam on the opposite side of the strap which would have put the seam front and center on the bag). Having my friend Katie there (she was working on a baby hat) really helped. She wouldn't let me settle for a warped bag!

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Schnacks

As I continue to prepare my body for conception by eating as many healthy foods as possible, I'm trying to find healthier snacks. I talked to one of my student's parents on the zoo field trip last week, and she is in the process of preparing for a home birth. Her midwife has her on a very strict diet, which includes limiting grains to five a day, really watching out for sugar (hint: even the sugar in flavored yogurt is too much, as well as dried fruit), and limiting dairy.

I've found one snack so far that I love: I blend plain yogurt with frozen mango just enough to form an ice-cream like consistency (in the picture above, I threw in a few extra pieces of whole fruit). The concoction is delicious! I now eat it every day after school.

My other thought is to make a batch of hummus at the beginning of the week and eat it with cauliflower, carrots, and red peppers.

These recipes look good too:

1. Savory yogurt dip
2. Split Pea Crisps
   

It's not so easy brainstorming snack ideas that fall within the recommended parameters...

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Time to Clean Up

Enough is enough. Matt and I are letting our physical environment get too cluttered. Some people aren't bothered by clutter. Unfortunately, I am. It makes me feel claustrophobic. I keep brainstorming all the ways I want to make our house nicer, and yet step one is to simply keep it picked up. End of story. It doesn't matter how much money we invest in nice furniture if we're going to cover that furniture in crap.

So I've already admitted the problem. What's the next step for fixing the problem? I think I need to get at the root of the situation and figure out what's causing it. First, it's a mindset. I hate picking up after myself. But I have to remember that I can either do it now or do it later. I need to make it a habit to pick up after myself immediately.

Second, I think I'm always busy, busy, busy. I literally run out the door every morning, leaving everything unkempt. If I pick up before I start doing my work (like put away the dishes from the previous night before I get engrossed in my work), then I will reprioritize keeping things clean.

Third, I need to invest Matt in helping to keep our place picked up. Maybe right after dinner we can spend a few minutes picking up together.

Okay, I'm off to go clean and start working on these steps!

How do you feel about the state of your physical environment? What are your next steps?

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Balanced Living

When I was lying in bed on Saturday morning just relishing the fact that my first obligation didn't start until 3pm (our end-of-year class pool party), I looked at the bookshelf next to my bed and spotted a book I haven't picked up in a while: Integrative Nutrition: Feeding Your Hunger for Health & Happiness.

It's a dense book--not one that's amenable to skimming--but I decided to skim it anyway. I found a chapter on "Primary Food," and this quote resonated with me:

"Primary food is more than what is on your plate. Healthy relationships, regular physical activity, a fulfilling career and a spiritual practice can fill your soul and satisfy your hunger for life. When primary food is balanced and satiating, your life feeds you, making what you eat secondary."

This concept is so, so true for me. When my life is not feeding me enough, I turn to junk food to feed my hunger. If I am overly stressed or bored or lonely, I eat. And I eat a lot. At one point in my life, when I was living alone in a commercial apartment complex and working insane hours, I would go to Amy's Ice Cream and order an entire pint of Mexican vanilla with cookie dough and cinnamon mixed in. And that would be after an unhealthy meal at Taco Cabana or a veggie burger and an entire plate of fries from The Hobbit Cafe.

My weight goes up or down depending on what's going on in my life. The more satiated I am with myself and my life, the less I weigh and the healthier I am.

Since Matt has entered my life, I've had fewer issues. I guess I was craving connection. I still go through phases in my life when something is out of whack and I can feel the physical manifestation in my body as I start to gain weight.

It reminded me of a simple exercise in another book of mine: Be Your Own Life Coach, called The Wheel of Life. Here's how it works:

"For each area of life, assess where you are RIGHT NOW on a scale of 0-10, where 0 is the worst things could be and 10 is the best. Using 0 as the center of the wheel (where the spokes come together) and 10 as the outer perimeter, place a dot in the appropriate place for that section, with the numeric rating next to it.

This small, simple exercise helps me identify which areas need a little work. It looks like I have some work to do with building more friendships and working on personal growth.

What does your own Wheel of Life look like? What are your strengths? Areas for growth?

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Summer Plans

My brother and me two summers ago in the mountains of Colorado

If my obsessive planning rubs you the wrong way or if you think I overextend myself and need to relax more, you might not want to read this post.

Just saying.

You see, during the boring minutes of my photography workshop (which was only about 15 minutes out of an entire day), I decided to finalize my list of what I want to do with my wide-open summer (thank you to the antiquated K-12 educational system that still has us on an agrarian schedule!).

I started brainstorming a list a while back, but I wanted to solidify it, as well as give myself a loose structure to the day. I know I need to relax and destress (especially as Matt and I start trying to conceive in June), but I also want to work on projects that I haven't had a chance to work on during the busy school year.

So, without further ado, here is the list:

1. Prepare my workshop for the KIPP School Summit
2. Travel to Las Vegas to present the workshop and take a side trip to the Grand Canyon
3. Make my blogs look a bit nicer
4. Prepare my body for pregnancy and birth through cardiovascular and strength training
5. Attend a yoga retreat with my best friend
6. Travel with Matt through California and into British Columbia
7. Revise my book about tying the knot in a meaningful and memorable way without losing your savings or sanity
8. Visit a progressive charter school in Waco Texas
9. Work on creating an e-course
10. Study Spanish
11. Complete the Taking Flight course
12. Start working on a charter school application for the Montessori International Baccalaureate school I want to create
13. Collaborate with my colleagues to prepare for next year
14. Attend professional development with a friend in Austin
    

I know it sounds like a lot, but I promise it's actually a very relaxed (and fun!) schedule. Here's what my loose schedule looks like during the weeks when I'm not traveling:

• 8:00-9:00 = Check e-mail and work on Taking Flight class
• 9:00-11:00 = Exercise and walk at the Arboretum
• 11:00-12:00 = Update blogs
• 12:00-2:00 = Revise book
• 2:00-whenever = Work on specific projects

Of course I will abandon the schedule if fun opportunities with friends pop up. Or if I want to sleep in and watch a movie. I pinky promise!

I just like have a loose schedule for myself to make sure I accomplish everything I want to accomplish and feel productive and purposeful.

I'm excited!

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Questions to Ask a Midwife

Matt got home unexpectedly early this evening, so we decided to trek to the Houston Arboretum for a free walk (with Hoss, of course) through the tree-lined paths. Heavenly!

Afterward, we decided to skip our yellow split-pea meal for the evening and instead head to one of our local restaurants.

Over dinner, I asked Matt if we could brainstorm some questions for our visit with the midwife next week. Occasionally, my thorough planning gets on his nerves (mainly when he's trying to do something else and I'm asking for his input), but tonight he was up for it.

Here's what we came up with:

1. What are the things that can go wrong at birth?
2. Which of these situations have you faced with your clients? How did you handle them?
3. What is your hospital transfer rate?
4. What equipment do you bring with you to a home birth?
5. Are there certain pre-pregnancy exercises I should do to better prepare my body for the demands of pregnancy and birth?
6. What do you consider the role of the doula to be?
   
7. In your opinion, who do you think should be present at a birth?
8. Do you provide any type of pain relief during labor?
9. What are your thoughts about working full-time while pregnant?
10. What should we say to the critics of home birth?
    
11. What other questions should I be asking?

So that's what we've got so far. I would love, love, love for your feedback. Those of you who are critical of home birth, now's the time to make your arguments against it! Once we've made a decision, I really won't want to subject myself to antagonism and criticism. It's too stressful. I'm also going to e-mail my friend who is a pediatric neurologist to get her perspective.

I'd also love to hear your thoughts about other questions to add or things to think about. Thanks!

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Healthy, Whole, and Balanced: A Process, Not a Product

Oh holy yoga, how I've missed you!

I have to confess that I've strayed from my nightly Relaxation Ritual. I've mainly been consumed by other stuff. I've traveled out of town/state the past three weekends, so I had to move all my weekend work to the week. It's been a bit overwhelming.

But my schedule is clearing and I am once again making time for at least 15 minutes of yoga each night. It's amazing how it healthifies my entire attitude. For example, doing yoga makes me want to eat better.

I want to commit to eating more balanced foods (enough iron, calcium, protein, etc.). I want to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables (hello, green smoothies!). I want to drink at least 120 ounces of water a day. Eighty ounces is honestly not cutting it. I'm still getting what seem to be dehydration headaches.

I want to commit to saying no to empty calories. No to the cake at the monthly faculty meetings. No to the chocolate that shows up in my mailbox at school. No to the processed foods that my students bring for our community snack.

I want to commit to saying no to the restaurant binges that promise to lift my mood but inevitably leave me feeling worse.

I want to commit to adding new recipes to our binder that are healthy, whole, and balanced.

I'm probably going to head to a yoga retreat in Western Massachusetts with my best friend in June. It's funny how I'm motivated to adopt healthier habits in preparation for that trip. How very Western to focus so obsessively on the goal! Instead, I need to commit to the process. Healthy living is a process, not a product. It's daily and weekly conscious living. It's stretching and eating whole foods and moving more. It's not something I can achieve and then leave behind.

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