Goodnite Irene

fresh

January 11, 2013

icelately i’ve been inhaling the color fresh.

’round here mr. winter is kind and mild mannered. minty. soft. rarely harsh. 

even our rain, like yesterday morning’s splash: juicy, plump, aquamarine, wet gumdrops, felt more like a tidying up, a quick rinse of the place before a raucous house-guest whipped through town: the always unpredictable, but never boring mr. wind.

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 the spunky, rebellious wind, who ransacked trees of palm, shouted over private chitchats between soul and universe during yoga meditation, and from what i observe inspires most four-legged and elementary aged beings to act, on the whole, more wiggly and untamed, is a welcome nuisance. beneath those rolled eyes and above the exasperated should shrugs is typically a smile and smirk. a giggle hidden behind cupped hands. the wind brings a playfulness to our lives. it cleans the air so we can take giant gulps of breath feeling that purification happen at the cellular and spiritual level.

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i’m holding on to these new fresh lens’. i’ll wear them this weekend as i amble my same, comfortable, tried and true paths, but search for new landmarks and guides along the way. 

i’ll let you know what my search comes up with.

what does your weekend hike look like for you m’loves?

see you on the other side of sunday.

love,

katie 

No CommentsNewport Beach, Orange County, southern california life, yoga, yoga

hello……

January 9, 2013

legsin the words of neil diamond, “hello my friend, hello.”

i’ve had a technological imposed vacation away from y’all where i filled my time with toffee consumption-that’s with a {T} and i’m talking 12oz boxes at a sitting, and booty shaking—that’s with a {B} and i’m talking sasha fierce

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i am sitting here on fantastic news. news i can’t wait to share concerning my job: an honor bestowed upon me which i consider my “oscar” nomination since i’ve been teaching fitness.

i know: #lameosayswhat #everthedramaprincess

this morning i was like a caffeinated cricket. bounding and pouncing up and down the stairs with joy and excitement.

somewhere

but every leap is a little bit heavier than it should be. days ago i found out that one of my best friends of 14 years is battling stage four cancer. news like this changes not just the clichéd outlook on life, it changes the way you suck in air, like it’s through a tiny, clogged straw pushed up out of a cramped manhole, and you’re taking turns with 6 other hyperventilating freaks. 

the moon and night sky look different too. suddenly they have faces of counsel, listening to my pleas for recovery and mend; giving comfort to my sad, furious heart.

i’ve already made a deal with the angels that i’d trade my next twenty years of teaching if it meant she’d be ok. 

© JORGE BISPO

and she will be ok. i know it. anyone who, with one raise of her perfectly-shaped-chanel-shaded brow, can make scalding hot wonton soup, simultaneously spew out of my eyes and nose {wonton intact}, surely possesses super-powers beyond us mere humanoids. she is a well of strength and beauty and loved by so many. won’t you please add to that and send her healing thoughts, prayers, and loving vibes? thank you m’loves.

i love you j.

love,

katie

2 Commentsfitness, Food, friends, health, Spin Class

get lost…..

January 4, 2013

 wa

do you have the itch to ramble? that hunger to trace new footsteps through dirt paths untread?motosometimes i salivate at a vision of an unending, open road; no one awaiting my arrival, save for stray lodging of my last second choosing with a 24-hour check-in policy, and a “dogs welcome” sign on the front door.

canoemarried semi-white woman seeking the lullaby of lapping water, desert grass that genuflects under the mid-sky sun, and midnight ceremonies where i can burn cleansing sage, and dance silly for the gods. 

beautiful

getting lost doesn’t have to mean packing your passport or getting your malaria shot though.

sometimes it’s as simple as looking up for twenty minutes.

spacebut then there are times when only certain modes of transport seem suffice, and you can’t get lost enough.

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case in point: wednesday, this curious, british seal was spotted exploring near cambridgeshire. that’s over 50 miles inland! that must have been some terrible new year’s eve buddy.

because i’m still battling this wretched flu/cold {day 8} my adventures have been more mindful rather than bodily of late. i’m reading an entertaining, not great novel that’s letting me escape, and i’m watching major t.v. {love my law & order reruns.}

how is your week fairing m’loves? do you have the tickle for wander like me? what part of the globe is currently calling your name?

wishing you a most beautiful weekend, see you on the other side of sunday.

love,

katie

No CommentsBooks, Travel, video

clean slate

January 2, 2013

a new year, a fresh start! it’s a great time to rethink and shake up how you care for your skin. as the seasons change, your stress shifts, your diet waxes on and off, and the weather plays naughty with the dewiness of your face.

how about starting with a new cleanser? cleansers are so much more than soap these days. they’re anti-aging, hydrating and soothing as well. here are some of my favorite washes: all with various attributes and virtues; one is sure to be your online love match. 
tata

tata harper refreshing cleanser is a perfect new year’s addition to your skin care regimen. rich with the powerful pomegranate anti-oxidants, this cleanser is non-foaming so it’s ideal for sensitive skin. neroli essential oils help balance the skin, and pink french clay deeply cleanse beneath the skin’s surface. i’m addicted to this eco-friendly, toxin free line.

juice

i recently purchased simply pure chamomile cleanser from juice, and loved this lightly foamed gel wash. made with organic aloe, passionfruit and white tea, this was a great face wash post, sweaty spin class. i definitely felt like it got my skin squeaky clean without the tight, dry feeling that some gel cleansers leave your face with.

arganwhen i really need to get the grime and grit off, we’re talking lady of the night makeup face, i bring out the cleansing oil. i know it sounds like an oxymoron to use oil on your face to clean, but this stuff really does do the job well. josie maran’s argan cleansing oil degreases that ick off. and NO! you will not breakout. argan oil actually has anti-bacterial properties and definitely makes you the opposite of oily. in fact, if you have dry skin you may want to skip argan oil.

jurlique

for dry skin, jurlique’s replenishing foaming cleanser is awesome for restoring moisture within the skin. marshmallow and viola help retain hydration, and rose & honeysuckle work as gentle exfoliators. skin is left baby soft. 

all of these products are vegan friendly, and lack nasty ingredients that interfere with hormones and resist certain bacterias. 

here’s to keeping it clean m’loves. 

1 CommentBeauty

hello lover!

January 1, 2013

boone

eyes pop open like two lightbulbs in a brightness burning contest.

january greets me with air effervescent; champagne bubbled oxygen boozes my already lushy brain. 

may i have this dance for the rest of my life?

sugar pours from my pockets, i can’t contain the sweet. beasts follow in tow, licking up candied traces of good fortune. 

song in my ear. an aria of sunrise and slate clean. 

gone is the techno sludge punk of yore: cochlea shattering, thumb sucking, bitter barbies carping over cards dealt and paths taken.

i see glitter with eyes shut. 

the disco ball and i spin with or without a d.j.

i will survive

may i have this dance for the rest of my life?

*photo taken 8am 1/1/2013

 

No Commentsbeasts, iphone camera, ramblings

shall we?

December 31, 2012

in the words of nicki minaj, “let’s do this one more time.”poollet us corral our memories and musings for the year passed. for me, a pasture full of wild horses, rabid dogs, sweet baby kittens, and gentle lambs-all penned together on a neurotic, happy, we-feed-our-feelings, working farm.

i can’t remember if it was last year when i stopped making resolutions. my 1999 goal for more water intake and less use of the f-word seems to have only worked with opposite fervor with each yearly re-commitment.

fuck that.

studiowhile i’m beaver eager to show mr. 2012 to the door, i feel like i could use a little nap first before ms. 2013 and i put our nikes in the starting blocks.

already she’s ready to see the town, and i still haven’t changed the linens from my last houseguest.

slow down ms. new year, i’m never getting these hours get back, i intend to savor each second and say “farewell” properly.

cross

farewell to should have’s, could have’s, would have’s, if only i had had the right outfit, enough confidence, and a million dollars in the bank. hello to “hell yes!”

farewell to fatigue, hello to sidewalk skipping with the fury four legged beasts. 

farewell to saying “yes” when i really need to sleep instead.

farewell to the cell phone when i’m with my hunkiest {he should always get my undivided attention.}

farewell to double standards. both those i set for others, and those set on me. 

farewell to separation, hello to unification; we’re all pretty much fighting the same battle, just in different combat boots, with different artillery, and sometimes with a different looking enemy. but if you look around it’s all one big trench we’re living in. let’s love love each other, ok?

farewell to fear.

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i leave you with one of my favorite songs of 2012: the thrill by miguel. i think it’s the perfect song for tonight m’loves:

gimme more! gimme more!!

and i, can’t wait,

and i, can’t wait,

 it’s the thrill i feel my heart beat race

 and i, can’t wait, can’t wait.

turn it up loud. i love you guys. be safe tonight.

love,

katie

 

 

 

 

 

1 Commentmusic, ramblings, video

man down…..

December 28, 2012

powderyesterday morning, in a second position turn out, amid a room full of lithe, breathy, lululemon’d beauties pulsing, squeezing, scooping, and tucking their limbs into lengthened, toned, swan-like knockouts; i noticed the already icy cold room get even chillier, and the lights begin to flicker and change colors.

simultaneously, something in my stomach, a hyper-active, adderall addicted alien or caged, mixed-martial arts fighter perhaps, was trying to break free from the confines of my wannabe pulled in, contracted, and soon to be vomitous abdomen.

santaoh the joys of the stomach flu. suddenly you’re the only one in the universe who has ever been sick, and you’re convinced you are the sickest you’ve ever been in your entire life. 

it’s always when i’m on my bathroom floor, trying to repress heaves and hallucinations, that my catholic upbringing suddenly returns, causing me to question my sins {bloody marys on christmas eve} and god’s retribution {fever and chills.}

talk about a giant lump of coal in my stocking.

25525487164i’m lying low today, still on the mend, resting up for the weekend. 

i want to be as strong as possible for my last classes of the year. 

they are typically my most favorite, most fun of the year; the energy is always off the charts. i hope i see some of you in them. i’m even subbing a special new year’s eve cycle class on monday morning. come play!

what about you m’loves? are you staying healthy? what are your plans for this final twenty-twelve weekend happy?

see you on the other side of sunday.

love,

katie 

3 CommentsChristmas, coreplay, fitness, Happy Weekend, health, Spin Class

life in the fast lane……

December 27, 2012

car

thanksgiving: ✔

christmas: ✔

new years?

come to mama boys; let’s get this show on the road.

i’ve been in the fast lane to 2013 since june, practically indifferent to various turnpikes and exits promising adventure and hoopla.

my music is loud and the beat is hard. an old, black t-shirt with ripped off sleeves kind of tune, where my dark hair whips side to side in the untamed winter air, and my equally dark, black boots stomp around, romping madly and wildly as i offer up my own version of tribute to the gods and goddesses of prosperity, misfortune, and good skin.

won’t you join me in a jitterbug?

barber

tall spines, shoulder’s down, eyes ahead, color within the lines.

this feels cozy and safe to me.

rules were made to be…..followed.

i wear those words like an o.j. simpson glove. they fit like second skin.

it’s fine if some think i’m a mundane, trite, farm-raised trout.

i’m on a crusade to glamorize the boring.

and i have the hunkiest partner in my jihad.

car

sure i talk a big game, like i’m speeding down the highway to next year. but we all really know i hate to drive, and never go over 70 mph.

i may say that my eyes are only on the prize, and you better not get in my way, i won’t even stop for a flat tire or crossing kitten in my path,…..but when shove comes to kick you down, if you need soup or an ear to bend,  i’m here to lick wounds, bandage hearts, and pom pom the fabulous.

so while i’m anxious to ring in the new year, i’m just as happy to have a dance party, with you, here, today.

thursday divine to you m’loves.

No Commentsfriends, HH

merry merry

December 24, 2012

 happy christmas eve to you my darlings!

are the stockings stuffed? is the tinsel hung? did you remember the milk for santa’s cookies?

cats

hunkiest and i have been doing our best to get in the holiday spirit. our santa in residence has turned the house into a bonafide winter wonderland. the last time i counted we had 8 christmas trees and enough twinkle lights to light the disneyland parade.

don’t think i haven’t had thoughts of building my own float for the house, complete with disney princess costume, for my own princess parade.

yes, priscilla, you can ride my float. whatever? mooch. 

merryfrom the bottom of my heart, and the top of my float,

MERRY CHRISTMAS M’LOVES!!!

love,

katie

2 Commentsbeasts, Christmas, Family, HH

cup o’ katie

December 21, 2012

i made it.

i’m here.

my vienna sausages, 12 packs of ensure {strawberry milkshake flavored} and solar operated radios/flashlights/toilets/tents/clarisonics-because it’s important to have clear pores during the apocolypse, all went to waste.

smokerat 3:12am, california time, 26,000 years of predictions, 26,000 years of human experience, with all of its strife and jubilation, wars, births, inventions, catastrophes, leaders, heros, gurus, octomoms, tyrants, and kardashians; culminated into one, tiny blip of a clock change: a speck in the scheme in the dust cloud of humanity.

tick/TOCK…..

POOF!

tigeri confess i was using this new mayan filofax purchase as a symbol within my own life: i had intentions of waking up with a more open, more forgiving heart, full of loving-kindness and altruistic urges; more what i believe ann curry is like when she arises each morning all dewy and angelic {beautiful skin and higher status on delta airlines included.}

it did not happen.

so much for expectation. rather than burping beams of loving-kindess, i was firebreathing daggers of bitter-rancor, and just over all pissed off.

i was on the hunt to rampage: seeking out drywall i could throw my elbow through, flower beds i could stomp my santa boots around in, or sleeping babies i could make cry. the grinch was officially in town.

pattii couldn’t get on my phone fast enough. furiously texting my guru in gratitude, i confessed my absolute embarrassment at how my best laid plans for enlightenment and growth had taken a giant 180 turn onto vitriolic avenue, knocking down the handicap safety cones and puppies on the sidewalk just for spite.

kids

how did this happen? how could i go to bed with the plan to wake up in land of abundance and thanks, where i exhale grace and peaceful light, and instead find myself swimming through my own stupid, useless resentments, spitting venom rather than appreciation. 

my guru in residence believes that my anger is pure passion, and that it’s my job to use it as power, rather than bring me down. i HATE anger. it’s not a color that i wear well. it totally washes out my eyes, and i don’t have any shoes to go with it.

eyes

i don’t really have any answers. i know that by the time i arrived at the gym to teach my classes, my cup was full again. by the time we were 30 minutes into my spin class tears were dripping down mine and many other of my fellow riders’ faces as we honored the conneticut governor’s request for a moment commemorating the 26 lives lost in last week’s massacre.

hello mr. perspective. how i’ve missed you. 

cigar

it is late in the afternoon. my cheeks are sore from all of the smiles i could not suppress. i have cried many times today. not so much from sadness, but at the sheer magnitude of humans and their being-NESS. tears were shed because over a stranger’s story of survival, the happiness for a friend’s victory, and the optimism of another friend’s text who predicts an extraordinary 2013.

my cup is full with love.

but it also still brims full with parts anger, fire, joy, heartbreak and indebtedness. indebtedness to every experience, big and small, painful and exhilirating that has occurred in my life to let me ride these unexpected and unplanned mornings into the loveliest of afternoons and evenings.

good evening to you m’loves.

wishing you peace and love and the happiest of weekends.

see you on the other side of sunday. 

love,

katie 

2 Commentsramblings, Spin Class