At the moment, it's hard to explain, or analyze the situation. It's just happening, the process has begun, and it feels like it's spiraling faster and faster. The funny thing is, I've been actively asking for it, but when it started happening I got scared, overwhelmed and angry; all of a sudden my mind was refusing to accept the situation...Yet it's slowly settling in and I'm letting myself relax. Nothing particular is really happening, just another cycle of evolution, something that I wouldn't have been able to comprehend or accept just a couple of years ago. The fight to dissolve any confusions or disturbances. I realize this sounds like a crazy talk, but no, I'm not losing my mind. :)

Это цитата сообщения yoginya-Natalika Оригинальное сообщение

Аштанга Виньяса Йога (для начинающих). Видео.

Аштанга Виньяса Йога (для начинающих). На английском языке.

Don't have much time for rest lately, just realized why...Here's my after work schedule:

Monday 8-11 pm Tango Practica

Tuesday 5-6:30 Cardio/strength training
7-9 Meditation Circle


Wednesday 6-7:30 Yoga
8-9 Belly dancing


Thursday 7:30-9:30 Tango classes
10-12 Weekly latin dance parties

Friday Sometime between running errands squeezing in 1.5 hrs cardio/strength training


Saturday Either Milonga or Latin dancing


Sunday 5 mile outdoor run


It's all good though. :)

Just realized there are certain plans for every weekend till the end of August, which is great - local kinds of stuff...some parties, some classes, etc. Which means no traveling this whole time. What about Boston, Rhode Island and Finger Lakes wineries? I'll figure something out.

Every few weeks I have to travel somewhere on the weekends, especially in summers. It's just something I love and need to stay sane. And it's always nice to come back home. Am I a gypsy?

It all begun a couple of years ago, and in the past few months it started picking up intensity. I finally feel like I am into something, into realizing what I am, why I'm here and what I can do. You know, it's like you've suspected something for a long-long time, but it seemed so blurry, far-fetched and even crazy, and all of sudden, it's all so clear and you realize that it's all true and you haven't lost your mind over things, as you might have suspected. I got exhausted with all the petty things, dead-end relationships and so on. I'm not interested in participating in mundane habits that bring zero satisfaction. It's amazing how finally I'm starting to get in touch with my intuition, sometimes you just think of something, and it surfaces right in front of you. It's still a process, and I do get into a habit of diminishing my gut feeling, contemplating, rationalizing...So much conditioning, what do you expect? Those layers don't come off that easily. Yet I realize now that I am on a right track and am intensely grateful for my opportunities, and I have NOTHING to complain about. Let the journey continue...

Это цитата сообщения Iron-Orchid Оригинальное сообщение

...

Never lose a chance of saying a kind word. - the narrator of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1847 classic Vanity Fair

Never depend on immersion in another person for your personal growth. - Caitlin Thomas

Never lose sight of the fact that old age needs so little but needs that little so much. - Margaret Willour

Never go on trips with anyone you do not love. - Ernest Hemingway

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. - Margaret Mead

Never let the odds keep you from pursuing what you know in your heart you were meant to do. - Leroy Paige

Influx of exes in my life...Three of them are trying to grab a piece of me at the same time. Thanks, but no, thanks. One of them broke my heart really bad; a couple of years ago he was "the man of my life", seriously. It took me a full year to get over him, ugh. I like him, but those feelings are gone...Haven't experienced what I've experienced with him neither before or after. At this point I'm OK being friends( we have a lot in common, including the best sex ever), even friends with benefits...We both are unattached, so why not? While the other part of my life full of passion unravels...I'll just be enthusiastic about whatever the day brings my way.

Just realized that it's been a while since I've been in love...hmm, at least two years. So unlike me. Yet I'm perfectly fine with that.

Has anyone heard of or participated in Burning Man? Just found out about this wild experiment and am curious about it...

Long, long time ago...sometime during the late summer or early fall of 2001 I was nearing the end of my exciting adventure with the Work and Travel. Oh, the best time of my life...No worries, no thoughts about future, no major responsibilities, just taking it a day at a time. I was working in a hotel in beautiful Lake Placid, NY, where this guy was staying for a couple of days. I forgot why he approached me, probably the accent and stuff(well, the usual); so we got talking, and talking, and talking...I believe there was some sort of a mutual attraction, whether physical, emotional, cultural, or intellectual. Or simple curiosity? But I had never dwelled on that. Then it was time for him to go back home, to NYC. Since my stay in the country was temporary(that's what I believed then, lol), I didn't have a home phone or a cell phone, so he suggested we exchange e-mail addresses instead, and so we did. We did share a few e-mails, then I started dating my now ex-husband, and the communication with this charming guy from NYC somehow just fizzled out. Life went on, picking up speed by the minute, and soon I forgot about him, deleting his e-mail address eventually. But I would never forget his name, it had such a musical sound to it. Since then I've thought of him randomly, whenever word "piazza" came up, since that word would forever be associated with him in my brain. There were no recent occurrences. Till a few nights ago...I was doing something online with the TV on the background(and I rarely turn TV on while at home, I'm more of a movies and books kinda girl), it was HBO and I just randomly glanced up, when my eyes caught the name on the bottom, Vincent Piazza; I looked up and saw HIM, at an opening of a new HBO show. It just hit me! So the next thing I do, is google him up, and there he was...Actor Vincent Piazza. My first though was that it was someone else, because he never mentioned acting back then when we met. But I guess he turned into acting in 2005 when his hockey career at Villanova came to an abrupt end only after a year due to recurring shoulder injury. Since then he's been in a few indie movies, some shows, a couple of appearances on The Sopranos, and now he's playing Lucky Luciano in the new biopic HBO series directed by Martin Scorsese called "Boardwalk Empire". I'm surprised...he's just so natural at this, so talented. After watching an interview with Vincent, I was pleased to see the same humble charm, humor...he still seems to be grounded and down to earth. And I believe the chances are he'll stay that way regardless of all this new coming fame. Random people in our lives...
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OK, I have a question...which European country is the most favorable for a week long visit in February? I'm hoping for some mild weather...

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Wow, it's been 3 months since my last post here. What can I say, 2010 has been a heck of a year so far...Discovered many things for myself and about myself. Looking forward to the rest of the year...with arms wide open.
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It's 65 F. It's March 17th. And for the first time since the winter 5K, I went running outdoors. I could hardly wait till the work day was over, since I already set my mind for the run, and the breeze coming from a slightly open window was forcing the spring sensation onto me. Nice run along the Mohawk river; geese and ducks are courting and coupling, those birds amaze me. I stopped for a few minutes to observe them, it's interesting how they stay close to each other and make cute sounds...so devoted and non-dramatic. I would love to have a partnership like that. :) Anyways, I've been staying off the treadmill for the past few weeks, and relying on other forms of cardio, since after the first mile on the treadmill, I would get an unbearable pain in the front shin area of both legs; it would get so bad, that I had to stop and walk. Nothing like that happens on elliptical or any other cardio machines. I suspect I might have either stress fractures(from daily 5mi runs earlier on) or just some overtightened underdeveloped muscles(which is more likely). Thus, I was emotionally prepared for the pain. It did start coming on aroung the 3/4 of a mile and I walked next 1/4; then I got into a stride and the next 4 miles went so smoothly, I had no desire to stop; the propelling power was fantastic. Yay! I'm back on track, and it's time to build up the stamina for the upcoming 5Ks.

I got an e-mail from my friend yesterday saying that a russian band Mumiy Troll was performing at a local club in Saratoga Springs, NY that same night. I thought he was kidding, cause my friend likes to look things up online and then play practical jokes on people. But then I followed the link and found out that they were actually invited by the EQX radiostation and were sponsored by Absolut. So, it was real and...free of charge. Needless to say, I agreed to go see them without hesitation. It was a fun night, I was standing right in front of the low profile stage (if I stretched over, I would've been able to give the guys hugs) dancing, yelling out the lyrics of "Девочка", "Утекай", "Медведица", "Владивосток 2000" and other older hits. It was way too much fun, the band has still got it and Ilya Lagutenko is even crazier with his new haircut. When I woke up this morning, my right ear was still ringing. I haven't had that much fun even during last tour of Coldplay, so...it was unexpectedly amazingly good times! I just realized that they've been touring North America for the past year on and off, now they are playing in LA this Sunday, then Festival in Mexico and back home to Russia. I am so very glad I had this opportunity to see them live here, they are simply fantastic! Already want them to come back...
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Это цитата сообщения self-made Оригинальное сообщение

Шоколадно-вишневый торт



Коллега Димы испекла этот торт и принесла ему кусок на работу. Ему так понравилось, что он взял у нее рецепт и упросил меня испечь (типа, пока не работаешь, пока время есть - пеки :) Торт этот легко печь и он очень вкусный, если вы любите сочетание шоколада и вишни. Причем он легкий, нежирный и не слишком сладкий. Так что берите на заметку.

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Дальше рецепт...

Oh my! The introductory class was booked up months ago, but because of the weather related cancellations, I got in the last minute. I've been curious about Zumba Fitness for a while now, just couldn't fing any local classes that would fit my work schedule. It was SO MUCH FUN! The instructor herself is Cuban, so all the moves were pretty natural to her, it was exciting just to watch her and you couldn't help but move your body to the beat! I think I have blisters deveoloping on the soles of my feet after today's non-stop one hour hot latino dance class! But I am not complaining. She's giving classes at local YMCA, and I'm not a member there. But I so want to do this at least a couple of times a month...Agh...I'll figure it out somehow. If you haven't tried this workout yet, I highly recommend. Especially if you love to move your hips...seductively. LOL Caliente!!!
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I am really happy right now. And I am not taking it for granted. Also, I do not expect anything any longer, because thus I am doing my best at avoiding disappointments; I prefer to be surprised instead - and mostly, they were pleasant surprises. It's easy to please me...and he knows it, yet he goes out of his way to surround me with the best experiences ever. We don't spend much time together, but everytime we do, it's amazing and I enjoy every second of it. I don't know how he ended up in my life, but whatever forces brought him, I am grateful to. I have resisted this whole thing for a while now, and my analytical mind was fighting with the strong intuition continuosly, because I could not bring myself to believe that people like him existed, that they were real. He barged into my life when I was at my weakest, and within weeks I realized(once again) who I truly am and how much I've put my life on hold trying to conform. I've abandoned my own self, and was fighting hard to get it back. I am thankful for every conversation we've had, silly or not - they've impacted me in a very personal way and I am happy again to be living this life while being true to
myself. The curiosity and zest for everything around me are back here again, and I am not giving it up! It would be great if we progressed into something deep and be there for each other for many years to come, but for whatever time we have together I would always be thankful...xo

Это цитата сообщения AL_SHAMSI Оригинальное сообщение

Очень просто. Я покупаю паф-пейстри готовое лоу фэт, оно квадратиками идёт, пеку их по рецепту - они оч.сильно поднимаются, так что делю каждый выпеченный квадратик ещё на 2 половинки. Крем-убийство, т.к. нужна водяная баня, НО я нашла лёгкий путь : литр молока в глубокой посудине отправляю в майкровейв и на хай пауэр - сильно разогреть, между тем в блендере взбиваю 3 яйца,4 ст.л. муки, 1,5 ст.сахара, ванильку и 1ст. молока, потом плесни туда по горячее молоко из посудины(чтобы не свернулись яйца), выливай всё в посудину, хорошо размешай, накрой крышкой и опять на хай-пауэр на 3 минуты, потом достать/размешать/поставить обратно - повтори 3-4 раза, пока масса хорошо не загустеет, остуди немного и взбей с маслом ( я взбиваю именно в горячеватом виде, тогда масло не сворачивается, масла 200г). Вот и всё - собрать "квадратики"в торт или пирожные, я ещё грецкие орехи добавляю. Ямми! Никто-никогда (Даже моя Мама) не просёк мой трик - все думают, что я целый день у плиты мешу тесто :)))) Торт получается 1:1 по вкусу с нашим из детства!

After losing the New Year's Eve game to me with the score of 3:2, Stu insisted that he wanted to challenge me again last night. Obviously, I had nothing to lose, and I loved playing heads on with him the last time, so...we played. This time around Stu was very patient, following every sensible poker rule. I was getting playfully frustrated that he would not raise the pot, he would just keep folding, which is a basic rule of poiker, when you don't think your hand is good enough. I was just having fun. :) Stu ended up losing again. 4:0. I don't think he ever wants to play me again, saying I've been having a good hand every time. Yeah, sure! ;) He even folded up the table and moved it out of the living room. Men VS Women. :)

Now he's planning a good size tournamnet with 16 people and 2 tables the week before Superbowl. With a $30 buy-in. Hmm, that should be interesting. Since I've started palying 2 months ago, I've only participated in 2 tournaments, consisisting of 9-10 people each, and the buy-in was only $10; so I was willing to pay that amount for a fun game, with no expectations of winning; I did OK, coming 3d and 4th, but I do need to work on my endurance, after about 3-4 hrs of playing I get physically exhausted and just want to get out, therefore I start playing carelessly on purpose and normally end up giving away all of my chipssoon after. :) I'm actually starting to think, that I might join in this tournament, even though I still believe that $30 is a bit pricey for this excruciating form of fun, haha. But I definitely do need to build up my endurance till then. We'll see.
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