Category Archives: Life

Cranberry Blue Cheese Autumn Salad

Ingredients:

3 cups of Arugula

3 oz. Chicken, Sliced

1/4 Braeburn Apple, Diced

1/4 cup Carrot, Shredded

1/4 cup Dried Cranberries

1 oz. Blue Cheese, Crumbles

1/4 cup Candied Pecans (optional)

2 Tbls. Balsamic Vinaigrette

Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, and toss until everything is lightly coated with the vinaigrette.

Blue cheese. Cranberries. Pecans. Yum! This salad is one of my favorite fall dishes. The tart flavors are a great contrast to the comfort foods I usually enjoy this time of year. I frequently eat it for lunch or dinner when Jon isn’t home (he doesn’t believe salad counts as a meal). Or sometimes I leave out the chicken and divide between several servings for side salad.

Getting Ready for my Yoga Teacher Training

Finally got my Beach Day!

I’ve really been needing a true day off lately. One of the downsides to working from home is that it can be difficult to take time off. Checking email real quick can very easily turn into a few hours in front of the computer. I’ve decided that Saturdays, will now be our days off, and that means no yard work or projects around the house either. With Jon that means I have to take him away from the house or we’ll end up working. I love that he has such a great work ethic, but projects around the house are truly never ending, and sometimes you just need to let it go.

This is my home yoga studio, its also the spare bedroom. I love having this space where I can practice my yoga undisturbed, at least until my dogs lose their minds because the fedex man is here.

I’ve wanted to complete my training to become a yoga teacher for a few years now, and I’ve finally signed up for a program starting in July. I’m very excited, but nervous too. I’m worried about the physical part of the training; I know I’m flexible, but my strength and stamina, for potentially long days of practicing and and learning the postures, could definitely use some improvement. I’m also concerned about the classroom part of the training, its alot of knowledge to absorb in a three week period.

But after a set back this winter, I’m now doing yoga almost everyday, even if its just 15 minutes of stretching. I’ve also added a few guided meditations and strength training sessions a week. I feel like I’m definitely seeing improvements. Which is good, because I only have a month left to get ready. I’ve also downloaded some of the text books so I can get familiar with them and not be so overwhelmed when my training starts.

Have you done any intensive yoga study? What was your experience and how would you recommend to prepare for it?

Instagram, February 2017

As you can see, I did some hiking this month, mostly on the Neusiok Trail. I’ll do some more on that in a separate post.

I’ve been working on a new sock pattern, I’m almost done knitting them so I can write and post the pattern to ravelry, hopefully by the end of this week.

Lots of pictures of my dogs. Panzer had his semi annual vet appointment this week hes doing really well. The vet told us he wishes all 10 year olds he see were this healthy. I think its because the younger dogs keep him active and playful. And we actually walk our dogs everyday, I’m convinced thats the reason my husky lived to be 16 and was pretty healthy for all but his last 6 months.

We did lose a chicken. When they were out in the yard a hawk killed one. So the ladies have been stuck in there coop for the last few weeks. I’ll start letting them out again in the spring, when there is more food around and the ladies wont be such a target.

Towards the end of the month my bulbs started flowering. I’ve been really missing winter, probably because I see everyone’s pretty snowy pics on instagram, but I’m over it and so glad spring is here!

Instagram, January 2017

Top Row:

I love my morning walk with my dogs. Notice that Sasha is leading the pack. I haven’t been as consistent this last month as I would like.

Gathering inspriration on Pinterest. I bookmarked a bunch of magnolia flower pictures for an illustration I started over the weekend.

Lemon Ginger tea from a nearby Japanese restaurant, its delicious!

Bottom Row:

Trees reflecting in the still waters of Willow Pond

Willow Pond

A sketch for an up coming magnolia illustration. I haven’t decided if the final illustration will be digital or by hand yet, but I started this in my sketchbook over the weekend. I’m pretty happy with my progress so far.