What Was I Thinking?

I have been hearing a lot of buzz lately about Bikram yoga and decided it sounded worth a try. I was somehow able to convince two of my friends from school to come with me and try it out. One had already gone and was excited to return and the other was a bit nervous, as was I. Now, if you are not familiar with Bikram yoga it is a series of 26 poses done in silence in an extremely hot room. 106 degrees to be exact. Seriously, I am not making that up. I read the thermostat.

You are encouraged to drink a gallon or more of water prior to beginning class. Also, not to eat at least 2 hours beforehand. I now know this is to prevent you from vomiting all over the studio and interrupting the flow of the poses. Tight fitting clothing should be worn and absolutely no jewelry, makeup, or shoes allowed! There are very strict rules at this center and don't even try to mess with the front desk woman (who also happens to be the owner and teacher). This woman is fierce! She also locks the door at exactly 5:30. This was rather unfortunate as my friend arrived at 5:31 and was locked out of class. She had to turn around and drive an hour home. A- If I had seen you I would have unlocked the door for you. Even if the teacher would have killed me in front of everyone!

All of these things should have clued me in that this was unlike any yoga class I had ever tried. As soon as we opened the doors we were hit with a wave of heat. There are literally heaters blasting hot air in every corner of the room. We started sweating instantly and tried to follow along as best we could. Being that the room is 106 degrees you can't help but sweat just a bit but the one time I made the mistake of reaching for my towel I was immediately yelled at in front of the class-- no fidgeting, no moving, don't touch anything. I wanted to ask if throwing up was allowed since some of the moves made me incredibly nauseous. There were a few times I had to sit on my legs Japanese style and focus on my breathing. And thank goodness the teacher didn't see me the times I was looking around the room because she yelled at someone else to lock eyes with themselves in the mirror-- no turning, no looking at other people.

After the class (1.5 hours to be exact) fans are turned on and you stay in resting pose for as long as it takes for your heart beat to slow down. I probably could have stayed there all night long. I left class absolutely dripping wet and totally disgusting. When I got home my neighbors actually asked me if I went swimming! I have mixed reviews about this sauna yoga. I think I liked it, minus the wanting to puke part, and I do feel really good now typing away on the computer. So maybe the second time is the clincher and why some people go every single day and can do moves I have only seen in the circus! I guess we shall see...

Oh How Quickly They Catch On...

The other day my students and I were sitting in circle time getting ready to go home. I was explaining to them about their homework folders and how they need to bring it back to school every day. Since this would be the first time they would be doing so, I mentioned to the class that if they brought back their folder they would get a special prize. One little boy raised his hand and we proceeded to have this conversation...

"Boys and girls since this is the first day you will take your folder home when you bring it back tomorrow I will have a special treat for you."
Student (7 going on 35)- "Mrs. Hamilton, that is what we do to my dog."
Me- a little confused- "What do you mean?"
Too smart for his own good- "We give her a treat when she does something good. Like when she pees outside I get to give her a cookie!"
Me- laughing inside at this analogy- "Well...ok...it is helpful to reward good behavior!"

I was just cracking up inside at how much insight this little one has. I had never compared training students to get into their routine and know what is expected to praising and training a dog but how similar they are in the end! And yes, every student brought their folder in the very next day and were absolutely thrilled to get a big sticker for their name tag! It's just the little things in life after a conversation like that to help remind me that they are still so young!

Take that France!

I am not usually one to hoot and holler at the TV but I couldn't help myself as Linc and I watched the final seconds of the men's 4x100 race from Sunday (played back on DVR sans commercials of course!). The team consisted of Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak, Garrett Weber-Gale, and Cullen Jones. What an impressive group of swimmers and an outstanding push to show just who rules the pool in Beijing!

Alain Bernard of France talked a big game before heading into the race stating "The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here for." But, in a matter of 3 minutes 8.24 seconds this man lost his 100-meter world record and the relay gold to Lezak. Bernard broke down in tears in the pool and later in the interview area.

I hope you were able to watch this amazing race as team USA managed to crush France's hopes of gold by a mere 0.08 seconds. It was absolutely incredible to see how excited those guys were and I felt a huge rush of pride for our athletes. If you missed it, look up the you tube video so you can see just how fantastic these guys are and how they were able to turn the negative comments from other teams into the inspiration they needed to push that much harder! Unbelievable! GO TEAM USA! =)

One down...189 left to go!

Wow...what a whirlwind day. And boy did it go by fast! I am finally sitting down for the first time since 7am and I just want to crumble from how exhausted I am. Everything is tired, my whole body aches. Even my cheeks hurt from smiling so much today!

School started with a little nervous butterflies on my end (and I am sure for the students too). I didn't know what to expect. They are always so different on open house night in front of their parents. All in all, I would say I have a pretty good group. A few shy kids that took a few hours to warm up, and a few that are a bit too chatty already, but if today was any indication of how the school year will go then I am in for a smooth ride!

I was really surprised how much I missed by babies from last year. I saw them all over the building today and they would rush up and give me hugs, even the third and fourth time. Nice to know they walked away still liking me! My newbies have big shoes to fill with such a great group from before. Anyway, despite being physically wiped out I am pretty excited for the school year. We have a really great group of teachers too which helps!

One day down...only 189 more to go!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

Well, school starts tomorrow bright and early and I am not ready to go back yet. What an amazing summer it has been! Linc and I started with a trip to Orlando over Labor Day weekend to visit Kris and Ryan. Even though I had to leave to finish up post planning we still had a great time! After school officially ended we headed to Kiawah for our anniversary and a week at the condo. It was great to see Cole and relax on the beach, go to water aerobics, and hang out with the family.

June was really busy for me and after a few days at the lake Alex and I flew up to Cape Cod for Kristin's bachelorette extravaganza! We spent time with bridesmaids and cousins and had a great time site seeing. Straight from their I took a bus to Holderness, New Hampshire were Linc and I spent a week at Rockywald. We celebrated our engagement anniversary, Fourth of July, and the engagement of Linc's cousin Sara. Her poor fiance Davo didn't know what he got himself into! Lincoln and I also placed 3rd out of sixteen teams in the camp wide tennis tournament! It inspired us to both join teams for the fall and keep playing.

July was pretty mellow and we were able to get a lot of house work done. My mom came to paint and we finished decorating the dining room and kitchen. I am so happy with how it turned out! We also got to spend time at the lake on the new pontoon boat and enjoyed lounging at little rock for hours! I was also able to catch up on a bit of scrap booking and made the most of my Jazzercise membership! Now as I am preparing for my first day back to work in two months I am so thankful for the time off. I had such a great summer and now there is so much to look forward to =)

2+ Years Overdue!

Well, the actual website was impossible to keep up with, so let's see how I do with a blog! Lots has happened in the last two years of married life- moving to and from California, getting our dogs, buying our first house, career changes, wow! It has been a bit of a whirlwind but quite an adventure at the same time. The first two years of marriage have been wonderful and we can't wait to see what else is in store for us!

Lincoln and I are now living in a beautiful house in Cumming. He works from home and recently sold his first website. I am teaching second grade in Roswell and school actually begins tomorrow. We both have joined ALTA teams for the fall and can't wait to begin practice. Other than that, we have been enjoying each other's company, doing a bit of traveling, and working on the house with help from my parents. Thanks for checking in to see how we're doing and hopefully there will be much more updates and exciting things to blog about in the near future!