Stripes 2: Revenge of the Stripes

So on Monday, I was planning on my normal routine of work --> latte and reading at Bull Run --> yoga --> sleeping. I blocked my free time during the day to finish up a presentation for Tuesday, so that I could easily get out of there by 5-5:30 with plenty of time to have a luxurious reading and coffee hour before class. As usual though, work had other plans and there was a dire emergency requiring me to write up several pages of training materials before 4pm. I whipped them together pretty quickly, but this still meant that the presentation I meant to start working on at 10am, was not started until 4:30.

I forced myself to stop working just in the nick of time, booked it out to my car only to remember that I was almost out of gas. But as we all know, Yoga > safe driving, so I rolled into Uptown 20 minutes later on fumes and the wings of angels, and miraculously made it to my 7pm class.

In other news, Lululemon keeps making stripey things. I saw this hoodie online and immediately knew I needed to have it. IT HAS STRIPES ON THE SLEEVES. AND THE HOOD. WHAT KIND OF SORCERY IS THIS.

This photo provides a better view of the hood

But this one has a great cameo by Mini in the bottom left, so I had to post it too
Also, I've decided that this phone case is totally an appropriate work accessory. If
people are going to judge me for having a phone case that looks like it
belongs to a 4-year old Japanese girl, they need to find better things
to do with their time.
End caption.

Stripes layered over EVEN MORE STRIPES
META STRIPES

Last night I subbed for my friend/teacher Laura's class, and thus have now taught my third class ever. I am still not certified.

[Sssshhhh.....]

So I sat down over the last couple of days to do some hardcore planning and sequencing, using YJ home practices, old notes, and an awesome book I'm borrowing from my teacher that includes basic cues for all of the major asanas.

Right now, I'm just working on sounding like I mean what I say. Also on not constantly mixing up left and right. Or 'leg' and 'arm'. It's a process.

Sequencing like a boss

Yesterday I discovered that Birthday Cake Oreos exist. Problem of how to fuel for 10 mile training runs = SOLVED.
OK I lied this was never a problem, but let's just pretend I have a deep and meaningful reason for eating these, because they taste like the laughter of baby unicorns and I am having a really hard time restraining myself from going to the pantry and inhaling the entire package.

BUY ME NOW AND EAT ME

And a final word for the day - Ben and I went to a free MNOrch concert on Saturday at the Lake Harriet Bandshell and it was very emotional. If you're not from Mpls or if you are not aware of the lockout and ensuing conflict that has developed between the musicians and management over the last year, go read up on it and then immediately donate to Save Our Symphony MN or Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra. They are planning to put on a fall concert series without the support of Orchestra Management and MNOrch and they need some financial help in order to do so. DO IT. We have a world class orchestra and I really hope we do not lose them.




That's all. It's Thursday and I have no plans after work other than dinner, cookies and binge watching season 2 of New Girl so I can start Season 3 ASAP. Have a wonderful day!!

UK Trip Part 3: Last days in London

Hey remember that time Ben and I went to the UK like 2 months ago? And how I was going to write all these blog recaps about it? Yeah...that didn't happen.

But I am determined to finish this even if you guys are still reading about it in December. So help me.

Anyway, the day after our Harry Potter adventure, we decided to hit up Westminster Abbey. We went pretty early in the morning and still had to wait in a long line, but it was so worth the wait. I have kind of a thing for churches and cathedrals - St Peter Cathedral in Rome is one of my favorite places I've ever been, and in Japan, India and Thailand I hit up as many temples as humanly possible.

Westminster is not only huge and gorgeous, but it's also home to poet's corner and is the burial site of many famous politicians, musicians, artists etc. Obviously I geeked out over Edward Elgar, Benjamin Britten, GF Handel, Ralph Vaughn Williams, Henry Purcell, and probably others I'm forgetting. The coolest thing about Westminster is that while it is an amazing historical site, it is also a living, breathing part of the city with daily Evensong services, its own choir and an amazing organ. Photos are not allowed inside the cathedral, but I did snap a few shots outside and in the gardens.

Big Ben & Houses of Parlaiment

Westminster Abbey - and the long line to get in...

Walking towards the courtyards just outside the cathedral

After Westminster, we took a walk through the city and past Buckingham Palace, stopping for some cheesy tourist shots along the way. Mostly I hate being a cheesy tourist but sometimes I kind of love it, when the occasion arises.

I guess everyone must have thought the baby was coming THAT DAY, because there were huge crowds around Buckingham Palace who looked like they were waiting for something really exciting to happen. This is why I do not have a picture of BP...too many people standing in front of it and I couldn't get a good shot :/

British things!!!

Ben pointing to Big Ben...super cheesy

Also cheesy - the obligatory phone booth shot

After our royal jaunt we walked to the New Globe theater! Again, a piece of history that's also a living, breathing part of the city. This might have been my favorite site we saw in London - it helped that our tour guide was AMAZING and I wish I remembered her name so I could give her a rave review. She was awesome.

Obviously the New Globe is not the same building as the original Globe - actually it's not even in the same place, just basically nearby in the same neighborhood. And, since the original Globe burned down we don't even really know what it looked like, so the New Globe is an approximation of what the Globe *probably* looked like, based on writings from the time which described the theater, and from looking at the design of other theaters built in the same time period. Whatever, it is awesome. I wish we had been able to see a show there, but sadly no time :/

Putting up the set for their upcoming show

Seats in the New Globe

After the Globe, we went back to our hotel, showered and changed and took the train to St John for our 2-year anniversary dinner! A friend from work recommended St John because of their Bone Marrow dishes - Ben is a huuuuuuge fan of bone marrow (I really like it too, but he is basically obsessed) and based on the website and reviews it looked like our kind of place. We shared a bone marrow salad for our appetizer - not even a salad, basically bone marrow that you spread on toast, and then put some greenery on top of which I guess is the 'salad' part. I really love how they served it - they literally bring out this plate with four huge bones, and you have to dig the marrow out with a tiny fork. It sounds disgusting but is actually kind of awesome. I didn't get a photo and I'd feel bad stealing someone else's but if you look for 'St John London bone marrow salad' in google images, you'll see what I mean. For our mains I had a rabbit dish and Ben had some sort of delicious sausage concoction, and we split a Raspberry Fool for desert. YUM.

We had to catch the train to York the following afternoon, but before heading to King's Cross, we dedicated the morning to the second of our three favorite British things (the first being Harry Potter obviously) - Sherlock Holmes!!  First, the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street:

YAAAAY

221B Baker Street

Where all of the deductions took place, allegedly. Because Holmes and Watson were totally real people right...?

Antique books int he living room

Hats and a pipe, just waiting for their owners to return...

Sherlock's favorite pastime - beekeping!

Next, we headed to the site of BBC Sherlock's '221B Baker Street' which is not on Baker Street at all, but is the street/house they use for filming. I cleverly dubbed this site 'Faker Street'...just take a minute to marvel at my genius.

Moving on.

Speedy's cafe is a real place, and there are probably actual people who live in '221B' and I'm sure those people are sick of random tourists and Sherlock Holmes-obsessed nutcases such as myself taking ridiculous photos in front of their door, but too bad for them.

Speedy's!!

Wonder if anyone's home??

Sadly, after Faker street it was time to say goodbye to London. We packed our bags, took the underground to King's Cross, and hopped on a train to York - but not before taking one last cheesy Harry Potter-themed photo:

Can I take the Hogwarts Express instead...?

And no, that barrier is not actually between platforms 9 and 10...I think it was between 4 and 5 which was where we had to be to catch our train. We were running on a tight schedule and didn't have time to go too far out of our way, so this will have to do.

Next up (er, the next time I get around to writing a recap post) - York!

Attitude Adjustment

Hey kids. Well, work has been crazy, it's super busy, we had a product launch and some minor crises and I took on a new project. I worked a ton over the weekend. Also I haven't made it home before 9:30 any night this week until tonight. Monday I went to yoga and had dinner with a friend, Tuesday I attended a recruiting event on behalf of my employer and yesterday I had choir rehearsal until 9...and then I did 2 hours of work afterwards. Ugh. Long story short I was turning into a huge pile of crabby. Not that many of these things weren't fun but sometimes a girl just needs a night on the couch.

Ben is coaching cross country this year and his team had a meet today, so I had the house to myself in the evening. I came home, walked Sidney, and crashed on the couch with a Trader Joe's frozen mini pizza, kale salad, some cookies and How I Met Your Mother season 4.

At about 8pm I thought about logging back in to do some work but then I was like ...WHY WOULD I DO THAT. And so I watched 4 more episodes of HIMYM. It was glorious.

I seriously feel like a different person...those few hours of relaxation were much needed.

Anyway, aside from being super busy, life is pretty good. I've been consistent with my 10 mile 'training' (I use that word very loosely...basically it means I've upped my milage from about 10-15 miles a week max to ~20, with one of my runs being 8-10 - SLOW - miles).

Last weekend when we weren't working, Ben and I watched the Cornetto Trilogy in its entirety: Shaun of the Dead at 11am, Hot Fuzz (my favorite) at three, and a 7pm showing of World's end. And we ate Cornettos (er, Drumsticks...the US version of Cornettos) while doing so. Best idea ever.



We also managed to have a delightful dinner at my parents house, complete with whisky tasting.



On Sunday, I got up early and baked a cake. Then Ben and I ate that cake for breakfast. I regret nothing.



Also, Early morning runs are the way to go, especially when your view looks like this:



Tomorrow is FRIDAY. And I'm working from home...and then going to the TWINS GAME. So pumped. The Twins are terrible right now which is breaking my heart, but on the flip side I am soooo close to winning a bet with Ben and my Dad. At the beginning of the season, we took wagers on how many games the Twins would lose. I picked 93 - 100 without hesitation and for a while it looked like I was being too pessimistic, but now there appears to be a chance that my dad and husband will be buying me a glass of scotch in October.



[Just so we're clear...Ben is NOT wearing a Yankees shirt in the above photo. He's wearing a homemade shirt that says 'Yankees Suck...because they are vampires'. You don't even want to know]

HAPPY FRIDAY (almost)
(can you tell I'm pumped for the weekend)