Starting again…again?

I have a domain now! It’s, http://www.yogiggles.com! Cute, huh? But now what? Insta, FB, Snapchat, Go Daddy? Where’s an oversharer without a platform supposed to turn? I really want a website, I think..somewhere that I can have multiple locations to sort all of the things I’m dying to share! Somewhere I can talk about health, fitness and food, but also my meditations (what I call my essays on life and my journey to find the authentic “daryl”) and of course, the Puggles need space. So where do I go and how do I set it up? Universe, or Greta Van Susteren, help me!

Happy Mother’s Day, Mother Nature

I hated to cut my first peony blooms but I couldn’t bear to see them droop and die. As I cut and arranged them, I out of the blue I had a flashback to a line from an Emerson poem, I wrote an essay about 30 something years ago in a poetry class @syracuseu – yes, I really took classes like that much to the amusement of @georgewolke. The line “the earth laughs in flowers,” has become one of those “touchy-feely” sayings you find on mugs and greeting cards. The full poem reads: “Earth laughs in flowers, to see her boastful boys Earth-proud, proud of the earth which is not theirs; Who steer the plough but cannot steer their feet clear of the grave.” Out of context, it is all warm and fuzzy, but Emerson wrote it as an illustration of Mother Nature’s supremacy; mocking the arrogance of humans (and I think, politicians) who believe they have power over the Earth; after all, nature was created long before we existed and will remain long after we’re gone. I find the quote so much more interesting after a few weeks living in Utah. Now, after hearing daily about the struggle of those who are fighting to keep national parks and monuments like Utah’s Bears Ears safe from the ravages of the politicians who seek to sell off our natural resources for profit, I hear the poem in all it’s ironic context. Happy Mother’s Day, Mother Nature – I hope you always laugh in flowers especially at those who think they can own and destroy YOUR America. 

#uniquelyUtah #poetrylove #darylwisdom

Pass the milk

I read an article yesterday that said @banburycdonuts were the best in Utah; a claim that just challenged me to try them for myself (I grew up on Montgomery Donuts so the bar is set high) and after painting all day, I felt I deserved a treat! So when I “happened” to drive by on my way back to the apartment, there was no stopping me! I walked in and asked what the best flavors were and the guy behind the counter says “don’t overthink it!” I took that to mean they’re all equally delicious and ordered 2 of everything they still had on the shelves…Note to self go first thing in the morning next time! Now how many more hours till George gets home? #utahfoodie #uniquelyUtah #wookiesmovinwest #unexpectedmoments @BANBURYCDONUTS

It’s the Easter Bunny, Boogie Wolke!

We took Boogie to Murray, Utah today for his first Easter Egg Hunt! Once he caught on that the plastic eggs were filled with treats he had a blast searching through the tall grass and gobbling up everything he found. 

And, like most human 6-year olds he wasn’t wild about his visit with the Bunny! Wheeler Historic Farm was an operational farm from 1853 to 1943. It is now operated by Salt Lake Parks & Recreation as an agricultural living history museum and outdoor recreation site. 

#uniquelyUtah #wookiesmovinwest #unexpectedmoments #SLClife #puggles #pugglemania #puggleselfie #easter2017 #boogiewolke 

Flower Power

72 degrees, no humidity and a bright blue sky practically willed us to take a long walk and grab a picnic lunch from Harmon’s today. Our destination was City Creek – and Ann Taylor – I wanted a new outfit to wear tomorrow night to celebrate closing on our new home with our new friends. But, Boogie was being a good boy and after I shopped, we decided to walk across Temple Square.

And, then we found this…

And my mind was officially blown.
Valentine’s Day roses 🌹may pull my emotional heartstrings, and I love the surprise of a bouquet of flowers 💐for my birthday. But, if you really want to know the truth, I’m a sucker for spring flowers. I don’t know whether to blame it on Christian LaCroix, Betsy Johnson or Claude Monet, but I’d trade all the other flowers in the world for a field blooming with masses of tulips, pansies, irises, violets and daffodils.🌸🌺🌷🌼
Every year, the Temple Square gardens famously bloom into a French Parterre Garden – a garden planted to form a design – and literally thousands of spring blossoms take over the 35 acres! To learn more read Temple Square Gardens – How do they do it?

Beer me…in Salt Lake City?

Did someone say beer? I think one of the most common misconceptions we heard about living in Salt Lake is that there are no bars (or coffee shops) – fortunately for the Wookies who love their beer, this is completely false. In downtown SLC alone there are at least 5 breweries (that we’ve already visited – there are a couple more we still need to get to) and numerous brew pubs and bars. What makes it challenging is all of the laws, regulations and zoning issues. If you want a draft beer it’s going to be 3.2% ABV, however if you order the same beer in a bottle it might be 7% or higher. Some bars are zoned so that you can’t order a drink unless you also order food, some bars just need to say they “offer” food (one brewery actually had chips & salsa for $250 on the menu) and others have what’s known as the Zion Curtain where alcohol can’t be served in view of children (you can drink it in front of them though lol). But have no fear, you can visit us in SLC and we’ll take you out for a beer or 3, in fact we already have a favorite neighborhood hangout! #uniquelyUtah #SLClife #beerme #wookiesmovinwest

It’s what I like about you (I mean ME)

Last June, on our way to Napa, I picked up a copy of Kathryn Budig’s book “Aim True.” I was at the very beginning of my yoga journey and was following the crowd – read the “right” books, wear the “cool” yoga labels, etc. It was almost as if I thought an arm load of bracelets and Mala beads, a stack of vegan recipes to try, not wearing make up and carrying my yoga mat with me at all times would make me a more legitimate yogi. Admittedly, I was in the midst of perhaps one of the most challenging periods in my life, but instead of facing the facts that bad shit happens to good people sometimes, I was busy trying to reinvent Daryl; someone that I and a bunch of other people had really liked for 50+ years. 

So, I’m sitting on the plane reading the first chapter and there’s an exercise – write down at least  3 amazing qualities that you possess…What are your talents? What makes you uniquely you? – and I pull out my journal (because EVERYONE carries their journal with them everywhere, right?), flip to a blank page and just sit there. Literally. For about an hour and a half, I sat there with a blank piece of paper and my pen and couldn’t come up with one thing. Then I started to panic. Then I started to cry. Then George (who in his defense had on his sound cancelling headphones and his nose in a book) noticed and asked what was wrong. I showed him the exercise. He nodded. I showed him my blank journal page. He nodded. I said, “I don’t have anything.” He laughed. So, I asked him to start me off. He said, you’re very empathetic, you make great pasta sauce, you’re going to be a great teacher and you love me. Then he put on his headphones and went back to his book. 

I wrote those 4 things down and maybe a couple of others, but the exercise was too humbling, too humiliating and too frustrating at that particular time in my life. I tossed the book aside and started a novel and really never gave it a second thought. 

Until Elena Sonnino challenged me (not directly but through her blog and workshop) to make a list of “things I like about me” and wow! what a different a year makes! Here’s my list…

1. I like that I can cook without a recipe with whatever I find in the fridge, freezer and pantry 
2. I like that I’m a rock & roll chick at heart 
3. I like that when I’m in the middle of a tough run I think about how my father continued to run almost every day with end stage pancreatic cancer 
4. I like my coarse, curly, thick hair, despite how hard it is to manage – especially because I could’ve lost it all by now
5. I like that I’m a great writer and can express my emotions and experiences in a permanent way
6. I like that I have shoulder definition and wearing clothes that show it off
7. I like that my favorite color is orange  
8. I like being petite – “though she be but little she is fierce!” 
9. I like that I cry at movies (and watching Hallmark commercials)
10. I like that I challenge myself to things that I always thought were too hard for me – physically and mentally
11. I like that my favorite place in the whole world is at home with George and Boogie
12. I like that I overshare – on social media and IRL
13. I like that I’ve survived through hardships and loss and am ok
14. I like that I am empathetic to a fault; your pain, your victories, your emotions become part of me
15. I like that I expose myself; I wear my heart on my sleeve and my feelings all over my face 
16. I like that I am intuitive and let my emotional brain rule my logical brain
17. I like that I’m genuine – what you see is what you get
18. I like that being “cute” doesn’t mean that I’m not smart and I don’t feel that I have to act dumb or inferior to anyone
19. I like that when I like something I go all in – 100%, even if it’s short lived
20. I like that I am an honest, trusting and true friend – even though sometimes I get hurt – and will always drop everything for my friends
21. I like being in my 50s and knowing the best is yet to come!

Big difference, right? I’ve come a long way toward finding myself again. I can honestly say, I’m happy with me today and acknowledge there’s still some work yet to do! I need to search my kindle for Aim True maybe I’m ready to move beyond page 4 of chapter 1…or maybe I need to start my own book!

Namaste for today 🙏🏻

Shiny. Happy. Me.

Me. Last night. 100% embracing the shine. Most of you didn’t know me a year ago – but this was not the woman I saw in the mirror.

I had just lost my dream job and was physically and mentally unable to leave my apartment. I wore yoga clothes every day that never touched a mat and refused to talk to anyone (except my husband) – I texted or messengered with a handful of very close friends and my brothers. I watched a lot of daytime tv. I held my Puggle on my lap for hours and cried a lot. Then one day, I wandered over to the local yoga studio near my community and took a class; then signed up for the free week and somehow decided to pursue teacher training (actually I know exactly how that happened, my husband thought it would make me happy again to be around people who shared the same physical and spiritual mentality that I once had, but that’s another story).

I remember one of my first classes vividly. Elena was wearing a blue and purple sparkly headband. I thought to myself, I want to be sparkly like her. I want her sweaty, smily glow. I want her calm composure, and I REALLY want her headband lol. The more I practiced, the better I felt – physically and mentally. Learning to teach gave me purpose and helped me find a new dimension to my spirit and personality. I read Kathryn Budig’s book Aim True and it was mind blowing when I couldn’t think of 3 things I was good at or able to right a love letter to myself. I’ve always considered myself intuitive and empathetic, and I let those 2 traits guide me.

I know I wasn’t the most experienced yogi in teacher training and I definitely struggled and felt challenged. But the growth, the metamorphic change from who I had become on March 2016 to who I am today is nothing short of miraculous. I still have a ways to go, as a teacher and as the woman I want to be, but here I am one year later (almost to the day), here I am – happy, grounded, centered and very, very sparkly.

Its a bit of a mind flip

Heres a little honesty to start off Friday. Teaching yoga looks/sounds like a lot of fun…and guess what?  It is! But it’s also a lot of work. And sometimes no matter how prepared you are for class, how much effort you put in to planning and practicing your sequences, how hard you try during class to be clear and succinct with your cues (but also funny and engaging) or how badly you want to stay on track, not skip postures and finish at the same time as your killer playlist…it just doesn’t happen. AND THATS OK 👌🏻.

I’ve taught a total of 8 classes so far. That’s all by myself, open the front door, turn on the lights, heat and music and guide students through a one hour class solo – not including the free co unity round robin classes I taught during training. I’ve forgotten whole postures (extended side angle in Sun B and Pigeon seem to be my kryptonite), I’ve been challenged by right and left (teaching at different studios make directions difficult), I didn’t set an intention (once) and I’ve been told that I get a little monotone in certain portions. AND THAT’S ALL OK! 👌🏻

This week, I taught a class at my home studio and a couple of my fellow teachers attended. As is the Corepower practice, after class we ask for feedback, which i’m all for…how else can you be expected to grow, right? But the problem for someone who’s as thin skinned as I am and who’s emotions are always right at the surface is sometimes positive, offered with the best intensions yet constructive criticism, still stings a little bit. As I left class that night, George was waiting for me and asked how it went. My  response (based on the criticism) was not so great 😪. But then, a guy who had been in that class and was walking just behind us said, “It was great for me! I made it through and I just started taking yoga.”

So, I’ve been harboring a little self doubt and I admit I brought some of those “stories I tell myself” into my class last night. Guess what? It wasn’t awful, it was actually pretty good. My students got a good 1 hour practice, were challenged and perhaps most importantly enjoyed themselves. AND THATS OK! 👌🏻

In a bizarre mash up of two of my favorite movies, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Pirates of the Caribbean, my intention for today’s 2 classes is a bit of a mind flip…The problem isn’t the problem, the problem is your reaction to the problem.

I don’t think I’ve ever quoted Riff Raff and Capt. Jack Sparrow in the same sentence before, but when you’re right, your right! 🙏🏻