40 days and 40 nights

Today marks my first observed lent.  A big part of my "Making the most of it" journey has been finding my faith and recognizing life for what it is - a daily gift filled with many blessings to go along with its many struggles.  I had always felt like something was missing from life, and the influence that realizing I needed this faith as a part of my every day was really a life-changing experience for me. Not in the "Hallelujah - I'm saved!" kind of way, but in the, "I really can handle this life - insert a very content sigh here" kind of way.

Back to lent...I've been struggling with my decision of what to give up for days.  What is "enough"? What is just silly?  What will I actually commit to??  UGH.  Where have I landed you ask? A daily yoga practice of at least 45 minutes.  As I took an objective look at how I'm living today, I realized that there really isn't anything I do in excess that would be a real "sacrifice" to give up.  I only drink alcohol on weekends (generally), I don't drink pop much ever, I really don't eat many sweets and I even have curbed my swearing considerably (from my informal facebook poll, these are the status quo during lent).  So, this led me to adding something to my life that would still require the one sacrifice I loathe making - giving up sleep - which I am going to have to do in order to practice every day.

The hubs did a great job of laying it out for me last night - "When you absolutely want nothing to do with getting up in the morning, and you remember why it is you made this commitment and get up anyway, that's what lent is about."  Forty days is a long time, but I think I can do it. What about you all - what are you giving up from/adding to your life this lent?  


P.S. Just for fun - here's an image I found via Google when I did a search of "what to give up for lent" - too funny!

I'm no beginner!

I had to share...I got the most fantastic compliment tonight!

I signed up for my beginner's yoga class at the beginning of January and though it hasn't been the most challenging, it has been fantastic for getting my breathing right and double-checking my pose postures.  Now, if I'm going to be honest, I did feel a little over-qualified for the class I was in.  And then, tonight, our instructor (who is THE most amazing woman) pulled me aside after class and told me that not only was I past the beginner class, but that I should switch straight to the Yoga II class!

Yoga on a beach....yes, please!

I always knew that I enjoyed yoga, but having a true class to go to has really changed my outlook on it.  It is so much more than a workout.

I'm going to take my post-flow high and enjoy the rest of my night, later!

28 days

Ok, so February is right around the corner (as is right in about three hours).  This means that I should finally decide what my next 28 "Make the most of it" days are going to entail.  But first, let's reminisce a bit, shall we?

January brought a lot of things to the table....
- I made it all the way to the 28th before I drank any pop (and I blame it on having the worst migraine EVER and needing caffeine)
- I started the most amazing yoga class at The Family Tree
- I only ate fast food once - ahhh Chik-fil-a, I could not help myself
- I tried out a class at church only to find it wasn't for me
- I made valiant efforts to curb my swearing.  Some days were better than others.
- I spent a lot of time doing what I wanted to - hello Dawson's Creek - and not actually cleaning my house
- I made huuuuge attempts to find the silver lining in all things super sucky (like finding out the hubs unemployment was officially ending)
- and one of my favorites, I found visual reminders for the ol'cube...like this one:

So, what are February's big plans?  They are quite grand if you ask me...which clearly you did.

- I have signed up for the February 12th ARL Volunteer Orientation to be a Cat Companion.  I may have just enlisted hubs as a secondary recruit!  I'm pretty pumped to be lovin' up some cats and kittens.  I know it's going to be hard to leave them there, but animals have always been a passion of mine and the way I figure it, I shouldn't let my guilt over not being able to adopt all of them stop me from giving them the love they deserve.  Besides, maybe it will make them even nicer to their potential adopters!

- I've also signed up for the Yoga Journal 21-day Challenge.  I had originally considered starting my 5k training this month, but honestly, I loooooove yoga and I think the mental benefits are going to outweigh the cardio of running.  Well, that, and I kind of loathe running.  I've been enjoying the heck out of my class to the point that I want to bring that bliss into my every day.  Stay tuned for details - I start tomorrow.

- I'm going to a ballet!! The Des Moines Ballet is putting on Alice in Wonderland, and as fellow blogger Des Moines is Not Boring wrote:

"The Wonderland story and the artistry will be brilliant, but the best part about the performance – in my opinion – is the local connection.  There will be over 150 Des Moines residents, who are passionate about the arts in our city, all working together to bring the amazing event to our community. "

There's just no sense paraphrasing when he said it just right - our dancers and our orchestra - working with the professionals.  And again, a huge thanks to a great friend who made my ability to see this beautiful ballet in person possible!

- Last, but not least on the big list, is the Holy Spirit Retreat at Hope.  I missed it during my Alpha classes back in November, but am really looking forward to it this month.  Once they get it up online, I'll post a link.

Of course, I'm going to keep January's list going and build on my successes, and challenges, thus far.  

What about you guys? Any big plans for February?  Anything you're doing that's just for you?