Where'd You Go, 2019?

pc: @katieiredalee

To say I've been neglectful of this blog over the past year would be a massive understatement.

Somehow I got down to single digit posts in 2019... only 7 posts all year! And there was so much I wanted to write about! I didn't get to post as much as I wanted about our wedding, my yoga teacher training, about another summer spent with Groundswell or, especially, about being pregnant...

The year just flew by and so far 2020 isn't much different. Take this post for example... usually I get my annual recaps up in the first week of the month. Yet here we are, more than halfway into January. I'll blame it on pregnancy brain while I still can. ;)

This year I want to get back to writing and connecting here more, especially as I start new chapters in my life, becoming both a mother and an entrepreneur this year. I have a (great) feeling this will be a wild start to this next decade and I can't wait for all of it.

But before I kick off all of the exciting adventures ahead, I do want to make sure I jot down a proper recap and farewell to 2019. So here goes...

Soul Work

Earlier today, Ryan saw me reading and working and jokingly asked me if I was doing homework (it's a joke only because I'm not in school anymore - finally!). Without a second thought, I told him that I was doing Soul Work, a phrase that felt indulgent and hokey and worthy of an eye roll (or five). But also... accurate.

It's what I've been immersed in for the past month or so coming into this, my "butterfly" year. There's not really a structure or a point or a goal for it. It's just what I feel like spending almost all of my free time on lately. I've been super introspective and in my own little world for weeks: reading, journaling, listening, planning, dreaming.

Here's what Soul Work is shaping up to mean for the month of March:

• Finishing reading The Desire Map and identifying my "core desired feelings"
• Finishing listening to The Fire Starter Sessions and completing the worksheets
• Fully participating in The Salty Club: cooking the recipes, doing the workouts, following the journaling prompts
• Meditating by the ocean, spending time enjoying it up close or getting in it at least once each day
• Running or yoga once a day
• Drinking more water
• Outlining content for my book
• Spending more zen time in my little nook in our office

I'm curious to see if there are other people doing Soul Work this season and what that means for them. If you're reading something awesome or listening to a great podcast, let me know!

Good Intentions

Rumor has it that it's already February, huh?

Something tells me that's the way things are going to go in 2018. Between wedding planning and work and this weird rate of warp speed that life seems to be moving at in my thirties, I can already tell this year is going to be a blur. I know that some years are just meant to be that way. But after two years that I'd actually rather forget, I want to remember this one.

To do that? I have to get a little more intentional than I was last year.

Last year, in 2017, in my personal life my goal was to not have goals. Just flow or be still. I needed to force myself to not do anything. To be aimless for a while.

But I am not an aimless person by nature. I am a stress and achievement addict, a productivity junkie. Granted, it's a habit that I am actively and aggressively trying to break, but I know that there's a happy medium. Something between relaxed and productive, between flowing and planning, between apathy and anxiety.

I woke up this morning with a new determination to work on finding that balance this year.

A few weeks ago, we did a vision boarding exercise at work. Mine came out more or less how every vision or mood or inspiration board has come out for me since I was a kid. There are constants: fitness, the ocean, surfing, bright colors, fun, art, food and the outdoors. All of which I want more of in 2018.

So, even though it's one month into the new year already (shhhh), I'd like to set some intentions for this year:

• Protect the Ocean: Towards the end of 2017, I started to find a renewed sense of purpose, a mission around ocean conservation. It started with a surfing program and continued through beach doing clean-ups and watching documentaries. I was so driven towards environmental action and animal protection as a kid and I lost that part of myself in my 20s. It feels really, really good to get it back. This year, I want to focus even more on reducing waste, being more mindful about how my lifestyle choices impact the environment, educating myself more on my purchases, and choosing the planet over convenience. 

• Don't Be Sorry, Be Better: I've written my fair share of apology texts and spent days of my life feeling bad for things I've said or done. I need to focus on ways that I can be better instead of sorry. 

• "Remember When You Wanted What You Currently Have": This is a quote that I see pop up from time to time and it has never been more relevant than this year. There are years where we have everything we could ever want. Those times are fleeting and I think this year is going to be one of them. And since it won't be that way forever, I want to make sure I am savoring every bit of it. 

• Stay the Course: I want to continue studying A Course in Miracles and growing from what I learn in my studies. I notice that when I distance myself from studying the Course, it's because I want to do something that doesn't really align with its teachings. Which should be the first sign that something is awry and there is a lesson to be learned. (And if I want to sound like a real crazy hippie, I'd share that I am becoming of the belief that the Course is the true path to ending emotional legacies, which means that I have be intentional about creating time for it.)

• Let Go without Letting Yourself Go: Somewhere along the line I confused letting go with letting myself go. I let go of fears about my health and Lynch Syndrome by just letting go of taking care of my health at all. I let go of people's opinions about me and somehow this manifested in letting go of the way I showed up. I don't want to do this anymore. It's time to put some effort into my appearance all the while making sure that I'm doing it for me and not someone else's opinion of me or what I should look like. 

• W.A.I.T.: The most important acronym for me these days: Why Am I Talking? I really need to work on this one this year. Work on listening more, interrupting less, being mindful of why I'm saying whatever I'm saying. Is is because I want to control something? So someone will like me or think I'm smart? Paying more attention to why I'm saying whatever I'm saying feels key.

Let's do this 2018.

Party Pants

Peacock Harem Pants in Ruby Sangria via One Tribe Apparel

From the streets to the beach to yoga to bed... I have basically been living in these harem pants. 

Honestly, I think harem pants may be the greatest fashion trend to have ever happened to me: they're cute, they're comfortable, they have a thick cinched waistband to hide my belly, and I basically never have to take them off because they are functional in every situation I find myself in: sleeping, working out, hanging out, and going out. 

One Tribe Apparel is the company behind this pair, which I love because their design has a pocket. They have a lot of other gorgeous patterns, like their Plume Peacock pattern in Teal or Black, their Black and Red Peacock pants or the Dolphin Honey Hive style, none of which break the bank at only $28 dollars a pair. 

All of One Tribe Apparel's products are sourced and made in Thailand by local artisans who are paid fair wages. And with every purchase, they donate $1 to the Elephant Nature Park in Chang Mai, Thailand, which rescues and cares for elephants and other endangered animals. 

I've test driven these party pants for almost 5 months now and they are still crushing it, despite how much I wear them. They will get a little pill-y if you toss them in the dryer, so I recommend air drying them after you wash them, but aside from that they're super low maintenance. And with one size fits most sizing, they're a pretty safe bet for any gift giving you may have coming up... 

Party on!

Baby Break A Sweat: January 2016 Workout Recap

I want to be very clear: it's not a resolution.

It's just a decision that from here on out, I am going to be active for at least 30 minutes everyday. Just 30 minutes of movement. Preferably spent running, strength training or doing yoga.

But you know what else counts? Walking around for 30 minutes straight shopping while you're on vacation. Catching up with your best on a five mile walk along some of the most beautiful coastline in the world. Or even just the thirty minutes it takes to walk the mile and a half to your friends' house so that you can Uber to the bar.

Whatever it is, I'll take it. Just a minimum of 30 minutes a day of movement. That's all.

Which! If you add it up, is just one week a year!

The One Week Workout. Coming to a clickbait article near you! (Just kidding, but yeah probably I will most definitely do a recap with that title when the year is over).

It's manageable. Most days I can find some way to move for 30 minutes, so it doesn't make me feel like I've completely failed if I couldn't go for a run or get to a class. Which in turn doesn't send me into a self-pitying pizza spiral. And on the two days this month that I couldn't bring myself to move for 30 seconds let alone 30 minutes (thanks alcohol!), I took some comfort in the fact that I definitely worked out for more than 30 minutes most days.

With one month down, I'm looking forward to adding a fun new theme or challenge to each month going forward. This month, starting this weekend, I'll be doing another round of the Fast Metabolism Diet in conjunction with my workouts. I can't wait to share my progress as the year continues!

January 2016

• 1st - Ran 2.60 miles 
• 2nd - 32 Minute Core x 20 Vinyasa Flow with Rachel Brathen on oneOeight.tv
• 3rd - Ran 2.52 miles
• 4th - 30 Minute Primal Yoga Vinyasa Flow with Liz Arch on oneOeight.tv
• 5th - Ran 2.54 miles
• 6th - 30 Minute Happy Hips and Heart Yoga Class with Stephanie Birch on oneOeight.tv
• 7th - 32 Minute Core x 20 Vinyasa Flow with Rachel Brathen on oneOeight.tv
• 8th - Ran 3.21 miles
• 9th - Ran 3.42 miles
• 10th - 30 Minute Morning Wakeup Vinyasa Flow with Stephen Bickle on oneOeight.tv
• 11th - 46 Minute Yin Love Yoga Class with Rachel Brathen on oneOeight.tv
• 12th - Ran 4.20 miles
• 13th - 20 Minute Morning Yoga Flow with Coral Brown on oneOeight.tv and 15 Minute Tone It Up KettleBooty Workout
• 14th - Ran 3 miles
• 15th - Walked 3 miles around Sayulita
• 16th - 60 Minute surf lesson with Lunazul Surf School
• 17th - 75 Minute Vinyasa Morning Flow at Moon Shala in Sayulita with Leah Nicole Tisdale
• 18th - 20 Minute Go To Flow with Coral Brown on oneOeight.tv and 15 Minute Tone It Up KettleBooty Workout
• 19th - 30 Minute Happy Hips and Heart Yoga Class with Stephanie Birch on oneOeight.tv
• 20th - Ran 2.45 miles
• 21st - Ran 3.01 miles
• 22nd - Ran 2.33 miles
• 23rd - Walked 1.5 miles to our friends Des and Ian's house
• 24th - REST DAY. 
• 25th - Ran 3.43 miles
• 26th - 32 Minute Core x 20 Vinyasa Flow with Rachel Brathen on oneOeight.tv
• 27th - Ran 3.07 miles
• 28th - Ran 3.15 miles
• 29th - Ran 2.52 miles
• 30th - Walked 5 miles along Sunset Cliffs and back 
• 31st - REST DAY. 

Total January Running Mileage: 41.5 miles
Completed Daily Workouts: 29/31 days

Sayulita Mermaid Yogis Retreat: Part IV

And just like that, a whole year has passed since I took off on a yoga retreat with a group of girls I'd never met before. A year ago yesterday, I was on a flight back to San Diego from Puerto Vallarta, smiling to myself as I thought about the amazing week I'd just spent in Sayulita.

Today, as we get further and further into the fall season, I'm already trying to figure out my next trip back to Mexico. But before I do, I want to wrap up the recap from the trip I already took. Writing the recaps from the trip have let me hold onto it beyond that final plane ride home. Over the past year, I've found myself inspired to write them on rainy days, when I need a little dose of sunshine in my life.

It's not raining today but after a night of howling winds and a blustery morning, I could not have been craving Sayulita's sunny skies and warm waters any more than I am now.

Sayulita Mermaid Yogis Retreat: Part III

Where did August even come from?

I'm pretty sure that yesterday I was stoked about kicking off summer on Memorial Day weekend and somehow here we are, at the beginning of the end of my favorite season.

Sure, in San Diego it seems like we have an endless summer... and we sorta do. But I have 20+ years of East Coast seasons baked into my circadian rhythm. I can't help but feel like August is an endcap. Actually, I just saw a perfect description on Instagram this morning: August is like the Sunday of summer.

As of right now, I have yet to plan any end of summer activities and it's making me antsy. The only thing I have decided to do this month is participate in the #MermaidYogas yoga challenge on Instagram, even though I have a lot of catching up to do already! One of the prizes is the gorgeous Glide Lotus SUP Board... I'd say winning one of those puppies would be a pretty epic way to round out summer.

But in the meantime, the challenge is a nice way to stay connected with a fantastic group of merbabes who I first got acquainted with last November, when I went on a retreat with the founders of the Mermaid Yogis movement: Amelia of Stoked Yogi, Mandy of Zen Girl Chronicles and Janalyn of Horizon Light Productions.

Starting the challenge and seeing a bunch of these chicas at the One Love Movement yoga event on Saturday made me miss our adventures in Sayu and I remembered for the millionth time that I really needed to finish recapping our retreat on this blog. Plus, all of these wonderful women have just announced different retreats coming up this fall. So if you're thinking about going on your first yoga retreat, take this as a glowing endorsement for some of my favorite mermaids around!

Aerial Yoga at Trilogy Sanctuary

While I was hanging upside down this morning, my aerial yoga instructor at Trilogy Sanctuary talked about stories, namely the ones we tell ourselves. Stories like "I could never do that" and "I'm not ___ enough." She reiterated a message that's really become a mantra for me this year: stories that we tell ourselves are just that. They're just stories.

I've spent a lot of time disproving my stories over the past few months. Stories like, "I can't swim" or "I'm not good enough at yoga to go on a yoga retreat." In fact, I created a whole list of stuff that I wanted to do before my 30th birthday next year, many of which are attempting to rewrite my stories.

One of which was a little story that went something like: "I could never do aerial yoga."

Wanderlust 108 San Diego: A Mindful Triathalon

I'm not going to lie: I've loved telling people that I did a triathalon this weekend. This "joke" is extremely troubling to me because it means that I have inherited my dad's sense of humor and that is just terrible (sorry, Dad).

If you know me, you know this is my idea of funny because I only started learning how to swim last year and the last time I tried to ride a bike I crashed it into a telephone pole. True story. So, no it wasn't a triathalon in the standard sense. This was what they call "a mindful triathalon": a 5K, 90 minutes of yoga and a 15 minute meditation. These are things I can do without injuring myself or dying.

Sayulita Mermaid Yogis Retreat: Part II

For most of the country, May is a welcome reprieve from months of horrendous weather. But in San Diego, it's actually the start of our cloudy season. May Gray and June Gloom are aptly titled after the marine layer that typically descends upon us right when most people are celebrating the start of summer.

I know right? Boo hoo, we get a month or two of partly cloudy weather. Poor San Diego.

But I'm not one to shy away from complaining about the weather. It's part of the reason I moved here: I was unbearable to listen to when I lived on the east coast.

During the first week of May, I tried to suck it up, but it's legit bumming me out now. The morning that I started this post was no different: clouds, wind and rain. I wore a sweater and my winter jacket to work. Sweater weather? It just sends me tearing for photos and memories of warmer times with far lighter (and fewer) clothes.

Which is what prompted me to write the second part of my Sayulita yoga retreat recap oh... only six or seven months after it happened. Ironically enough, I left off right when things were getting not-so-sunny in Mexico. But rainy Sayulita is still blissfully tropical... and I'll take warm and rainy over cold and cloudy any day.

Happy-U Namaste Yoga Studio

It took me a few minutes to figure out how to start this post about Happy-U Namaste Yoga Studio in Ocean Beach. Because, I mean, if we were face-to-face? I would probably start off with a big, happy sigh. A sigh of relief really. Because I think I finally found the place where I am most comfortable practicing yoga.

Sayulita Mermaid Yogis Retreat: Part I

This past November, I did something crazy.

That's how it felt at the time: crazy. Crazy to go on a yoga retreat when I wasn't that great at yoga. Crazy to spend a week in the jungle with girls I'd never met before. Crazy to spend so much money on a vacation to a place I'd already visited nine months earlier. Crazy to spend that much time away from Ryan and the dogs, crazy to sign up for so many water activities when I had only just learned to swim. Crazy.

But it wasn't crazy. Not even a little bit. In fact, it was one of the smartest, refreshing, and inspiring things I've ever done. And if I could go back to that drunken night in August at the bar with my friend Anjali, and have her encourage me to sign up all over again, I wouldn't change a thing.

I first learned about the trip on a blog written by a girl named Mandy. I'd followed Mandy's blog for years and never met her or taken her yoga classes even though she lived and taught in San Diego. Last summer, I read her post about an upcoming retreat in Sayulita and it sounded amazing: one week of yoga, SUP and surf in Mexico. I thought about it and thought about it and when I finally took the plunge and reserved my spot, I couldn't believe it.

And then, all of a sudden, it was November 8th, and I was about to get on a plane for Mexico.

Adobe Falls

A couple of weeks ago, when I saw a picture on Instagram of a crazy, graffitied waterfall I assumed it had to be somewhere else, anywhere other than San Diego. After all, no one had ever mentioned an awesome waterfall in the middle of the city to me before, and you'd think that'd be something people talked about. So I googled Adobe Falls, which is what the picture was hashtagged, and whole-heartedly expected it to be located elsewhere. 

As it turned out, "elsewhere" was a 15 minute drive from my house. 

Sayulita Life: Hotel Villas Sayulita & Health Center

pc: Angel

When I left Sayulita after a week's stay earlier this year, I had no idea when I'd be back. And I definitely didn't think I'd end up spending another week there only 9 months later.

But that's exactly where I found myself two Saturdays ago: on the first day of a week-long yoga retreat right in Sayulita.

I've spent the past week back at home sorting through photos and organizing my reflections from that trip into posts. And I'm so excited to share all of them. Starting with the gorgeous hotel that was our home for 8 days,

When Ryan and I went to Sayulita for our Valentine's Day vacation, we split our time between two hotels: Petit Hotel Hafa, right in the heart of town, and Playa Escondida, a resort that was a 10 minute drive from the town. And honestly, there were things about each place that we liked and things that we thought could have been better.

For instance, at Hafa, the bustle of the town (and that damn gas truck) woke us up at the crack of dawn each morning, with no regard for our hangovers. And though Escondida had that relaxing resort feel, it was inconveniently far from town when we needed to head in for something.

This time, during the week of the retreat, I stayed at the beautiful Villas Sayulita & Health Center, and honestly? This hotel combined the best of both worlds.