The Little Things

Many of you know that I work at a drug rehab center with at risk youth... I love my job, although it is extremely draining some days, it is increadibly rewarding on most. I was running a group Tuesday evening, and the theme and topic, although not determined before hand kept coming around to gratitude.

I was talking about how when we find things to be greatful for.... and are able to acknowlede things in life that we like.. more often than the things that we don't like... life is just a lot more pleasant. I think I tend to be a grump sometimes- because I forget to take time to remember the really great things in my life, and how blessed I am.

So I wanted to remind myself all that I have, all the things that I enjoy, and the small sometimes overlooked joys that I have in my life.

There are many...

I love to ride my bike... I have two, sometimes I can't decide which one to ride.
There is not many things better than riding my mountain bike up a gruling hill... to conquer it of course, thinking in the beginging- middle or even near the end that I might not make it, but finishing, and riding on.. I love to ride a trail near the University of Utah called the Bobsleds... It is perfect.. If you ride just before sundown, the sun lights up the valley in the most beautiful colors- you can see forever.. It always looks so amazing when the west mountains light up in pink and orange over the great salt lake... I always wish that I could pause time- and sit..... and watch... and listen... It is silent mostly- but still it is the greatest sound. I love to put headphones on my ears... with no music on so that I can hear my heart beat really hard, so that I can hear my breath...

This was one of the greatest bike trips ever.. We rode in moab.. I had to keep up with the boys.... considering I was the only girl.. This is Porccupine Rim.. It is amazing to ride..

I love my family... I think that I must have the greatest family around!" One great joy is being an Auntie.. I love these babies more than anything, to watch them grow and to see thier personalities develope has got to be one of the funniest, most memorable things.


I am greatful for good friends.. Brian and Jaime who cook me dinner far too often, and have really been there for me. I love their little Olivia. It is funny because Amber my sister has always called me Caca (as in... grose, or poop).. I hated it, but when Olivia got old enough to say my name... that too is what she called me.. I had to laugh, and this is when I accepted that my nick name was going to be Caca- Brian usually extends it out to Ma-caca or something, and even some of their friends know me as Caca, It is funny.. So Amber, I guess I am grateful for this too :)
For Sushi with Long Time friends and our get togethers like ol times...

For Lyle... I know it has been hard, still is hard, there has been a lot of stuff in our relationship.. But he is my best friend. He is a good person and reminds me everyday to be positive- he is funny too. I love him.. Althou I hate his job... he is quite dreamy when he comes home, looking rough and burley... :)

For being athletic- My new favorite right now is Muy Thai Boxing... My trainer kills me every Sunday...Dripping Sweat- but he makes me kick still...

The farmers market every Saturday morning. There is this sweet old farmer guy from Ogden that insists I eat his tomatoes because they are the best around. He claims that this is because the soil in Ogden is so much more pure and organic....hmm questionable, but they are good..
Caffe Espresso- I love this place.. Drive up coffee- they remember ehat I want each morning- not that my order ever changes but it maked you feel important and remembered


I am grateful that each and everytime I go up a set of stairs, I feel the urge or fear to run... I am grateful for this because it makes my giggle inside, and because it reminds me of the awsesome playful father that I have, who would chase me up the stairs threatening to tickle me.


The Boy... Bosko of course... he annoys everyone else, but I love him, he always knows how to cheer me up, and is the sweetest little (big) pup ever. He often violates anyone that is around by sticking his nose where it doesn't belong... it is funny...
It is easy to forget that "Life is good, really good.

It is

and I am grateful.

Do You Rememer

Mom and Dad...
do you remember30 years ago when you fell in love and decided to get married..
when you bought your first home and decided to settle down in Heber...
Mom and Dad do you remember taking us to hike in the Uintahs as a family or all of us laying in your bed.
teaching us to tie our shoes. read a book, and brush our teeth...
And do you remember ALWAYS giving us the BEST Christmas ever.

MOM- Do you remember....
Back to School Shopping from ten in the morning til the stores closed at night? We had so much fun..
or when we'd ride your bike every morning, me on back.. it was a bit wobbly in the begining but I loved it.
or when I'd come to aerobics with you and dance with you.
Mom, do you remember when we would make swedish pancakes together while your friend did her laundry in at our house?
or when you would roll my long hair in pink curlers each Saturday night.
When you would make me a bed on the couch when I was sick
you would stock the piano bench with everything I needed to get better.
Mom do you remember when you layed in your bed with me as I cried of a broken heart?
Laughing with me til tears came at your constant ability to say things backwards.
Baking cookies on Sundays, picking sweetpeas and putting them in vases
Filling the christmas tree with ornaments and decorating the living room..

I do mom... I remember.

DAD- Do you remember...
You carried a heavy mattress up a huge hill when we were camping so you didn't have to sleep on the ground.. I was imressed at your strength.
Do you remember teching me to cast a fishing pole on deer creek bridge
or how to weave a worm on a hook?
Dad, do you remember hiking the Narrows, it was hard... but you believed in me, so I did it.
or the time that you cried after givign me a blessing when I had surgurey on my foot.. I felt your tear on my arm
but I didn't tell.
When you whipped me with a weed eater (on accident of course)
then hugged me on the stairs.
When we would have cereal together after you would come home from work late
or when you would wake me up for school by tickling my feet...
Do you remember your excitment after my marathon.
The look on your face motivated me to finish
You had tears then too.

Mom and Dad- Do you remember?
Cuz I remember.

These are only a few memories that I have of you both.... The list of good memories flooded my mind. My heart could not be more full when I think of you both. I am so happy, so lucky, and so grateful to be part of you.
Who you are, and parts of you that you shared with me has made me who I am..

I am happy.

You are amazing parents, individuals, and the key people in my life... I strive to be like you everyday.

Thank You, for starting all this.

Happy 30th Anniversary.

I love you...

More of China

My Legs were so sore after climbing the stairs to Huashan... So worth it.

YOGA... The chinese were taking pictures of us... they thought we were crazy!

Tiger's Leaping Gorge! 3 day hike.. Beautiful. We stayed with the locals at their Guest Houses.




Character
Kunming Temple


Huashan, climbing and climbing and climbing... I swore I would never do the stair stepper at the Gym again...

This little boy was peddling for money at 12:00 at night.. I was really sad.

The Great Wall

Good Week

It was a good week.. I love where I live. I love how close I am to the mountains... They are my playground.. We really are lucky.. It is funny because I used to say that there was no way that I would live my life in Utah.. I can't imagine being anywhere else.

Aunt Vicki and Phillip stayed with me for the evening, and we had a lot of fun. I took them into the mountains to climb and we went for a nice road ride. Philip was an amazing rider... He kicked my but on the hills, and I do not consider myself a beginner, I guess he is a pro..

It was nice to have family come to my house.. That doesn't happen often. It was really fun to share my passions and hobbies with them..

Love you guys.

Why do I ????

Ouch!!! I am sore.
China was not the best hing for my practice.
I tried Tai Chi- and stretced when I felt like it.
But I didn't do yoga much on my trip.
Back into the routine... I like it, being sore.
I like to breathe
to be
to teach
and to move.

So, that's why I do.

I was asked why I do yoga, and I had to take a moment to think about it.. I know that I do it because I like it.
That isn't just it.

I smile whenever I do it.. When I teach it, it fullfills me.
Yoga- it means to bring together, a union. It is a task at hand
but any task you wish for

Bringing me to find connection with my body and my mind.

but it doesn't always have to be the same
Tough- sweaty
Restoritive
Cleansing
Meditative- calming
Spiritual

I find that when I do yoga, I experience something.
Something that I want to hold onto always.
Like mastering my own mind. Leaving the past, the future and just being.

That is hard for me. It is hard for me everytime I do yoga.
Everytime I leave a class, or my personal practice.

But it is a glorious thing to strive for.
Today
Tomorrow
Always.

I think that I am more pleasant to be around when I do yoga
I am easier to laugh
Not so.... defiant
Flexible!

I am happy...

Happy to do Yoga!

China

I have only been home for one week, I try to reflect back on my trip but cannot seem to capture or put into words my exact experience. The most prominent thing left with me are the lessons I learned, how I felt at specific moments and the amount of gratitude that I gained for what I have. Visiting China has changed my life.

We started our trip on May 9th, 2008 in Beijing. We arrived in the rain.. It was humid and hot.. I was immediately grateful for where I live. The streets at home are cleaner, the air is easier to breathe, the pollution is less, the toilets are clean, more accessible and at home you didn’t have to risk peeing on your leg.

I was taken back by the culture… no one waits in line, drivers will run you over if you are crossing the streets even on your turn…. Everyone that drives honks their horn constantly to let the other drivers know exactly where they are and to warn them that they will be passing on the shoulder. There are just as many bikes as cars... they load them up full.

The lack of simple conveniences; toilet paper, hand soap, and chocolate that were available in China instantly humbled me, made me more grateful, compassionate and aware.

I became content and grateful for the real important things and the non-tangible things that generate happiness and contentment. Things like slowing down to take a walk, or having coffee with a close friend, playing games with children, praying and visiting a place of worship or most importantly accepting and enjoying the world that you live in because it is the most raw and real thing that you could ever feel.

I liked watching the groups of people old and young playing cards and soccer on the streets and in parks because these places are nicer than the dark alleys that they live behind. Many people in China have nothing, yet they hang on the streets, contentment on their faces because they know of nothing better, they do not covet… they are just happy with what they have.

Although I instantly felt bad for the living situation of the people in China; skyscraping apartments rising above the street front stores that were only accessed through dark dirty alley ways, with windows covered by bars and spaces that were barely enough for one shared between 5… I was also envious of their contentment.

I realized quickly that it is not money or possession that brings happiness, but yet is a means of instant gratification- comfortable survival and convenient distraction. A distraction from being easily satisfied and from realizing what is true.

China is beautiful and true! The places that I saw and the mountains I climbed only allowed me to get away long enough to ponder and learn of me, who I am, where I am at in my life and what I can change to become better happier and more content.

We traveled all through China- South to North… 24 hour sleeper buses, trains and planes. The travel at times was really tiring and draining, but all worth it as the adventures got greater and more surreal.

In Beijing walking only 5 miles of the thousand on the Great Wall was truly the most incredible thing.. The Wall stretched for as long as I could see among the most beautiful mountains… it was peaceful and mind blowing; how could this exist. We were 5 out of the 15 people on the wall that day…. I cried and smiled of its beauty.











Beijing was also the home of the Forbidden City. The temples were huge, and beautiful.


From Beijing we traveled to Xian, where we were able to backpack to the top of Huashan. An old Taoist temple ground. The temples were built on the very top of the steepest mountains that I have ever seen… I do not know how they were built, but they were built in an incredible place… The stairs to the top were scary. Carved out of the mountain,
straight up and down, guided by a chain. We stayed at the top in a hostel, only to wake to the most inspiring sunrise and peaceful morning.

We then went to Tigers Leaping Gorge, which we spent three days hiking. We stayed with families in their guesthouses and ate with them. These families are the hardest workers that I have ever seen. They work dawn to dust in the rice fields, carrying things that seem far to heavy to be on anyone’s back. The mountains that they live in were so incredible. They were huge, most of the time the tops of the mountains were disguised by the clouds.

Guilin and Yangshou were the first villages that I went to where I could actually see blue skies. The streets were quaint and small. The people liked us here, and wanted to talk to us in order to practice their English. We saw the Chinese orchestra… that was nonetheless an interesting experience.. The old men were the cutest people in the world, although they were very grumpy.
In Guilin we were chased by a very angry monkey that just happened to be in a public park. . . . I may have peed my pants from both fear and laughter.Yangshou had mountains that looked like they were straight out of a Dr. Suess book…
I could not wrap my mind around how they looked like they did.. We had a local women take us into some caves, that we got to by hopping onto small, wobbly bamboo rafts and chains that guided you up pounding waterfalls. She insisted that we swim in a huge mud pit, and was trying to convince us that the mud was good for our skin.

Although I kind of believed her about the skin thing, I could not get over what might be living in the mud. As soon as I stepped in the mud, I swear things started slivering over my legs. I had to grin and bear it…. Everyone else was.
Our local friend took us to her house and cooked us the best food that I had eaten during my whole time in China (this was our fourth week out of six in this country).

Yangshou was my favorite place.. Unfortunately it rained so much that it flooded and we were only able to spend two days there.

Hong Kong was HUGE.. I felt like I was in New York.

It was Urban, and very fast pace… We stayed in the most ghetto hostel that I swear was run by the mafia.

They still served strange food here…. Like horse penis and chicken feet, but it was still an incredible place to be… I shopped far too much and filled my pack to the point of misery.

We took a break from constant travel on a small Island with beautiful beaches called Sanya.
It ended up being a Russian vacation destination, which made a whole new cultural experience. It was really fun, except that I was in bed for three days with food poisoning.


Shanghai was the future China., and the place in which I obtained an extra bag, an even larger backpack and my first Starbucks Frappacino.. It was so so so delicious. This city modeled Chicago and L.A, and had really fun dance clubs and hostels. It was the last city that we visited before our trip home, and an excellent way to end the trip.

Overall, The food was not really great in China… I did like the street vendor food, and all the corn on the cob. They also had the greatest grilled veggies ever. I didn’t eat much there, mostly because it is not uncommon for there to be dog, monkey, snake or pig blood soup on the menu, and our changes of eating this only increased when the menu was ONLY in Chinese.




We saw Pandas, huge spiders, poop in the streets…. People pooping in the streets, rich people, poor people, poverty beyond any that I have ever known, temples, cute old people, beautiful children , and strange… extra long dogs..
My eyes were open to a whole new world. I loved this adventure and hoe to have many more. We met people from all over the world who were traveling to find answers…. Peace, love, comfort and adventure. Good people, not so good people, but regardless all that I saw added to the one of the top experiences of my life.

Six weeks was plenty of time in China.. I wish that I could have been more of a help to this country during my time there. Unfortunately our plans to help build a school fell through due to the earthquake and the strict restrictions that were put on tourist.

Six weeks later, I am happy to be home. I shopped traveled and loved all of China.. I missed my family immensely and am so grateful for their love and support.