i love yoga.

there isn't anything i love more than the feeling after i have just finished a yoga class (okay there are things i love more...but this is in the top 10 for sure).  let me share with you, in no particular order, some of my reasons why i love yoga so much and think everyone should do it.
1. flexibility.  i am not a flexible person.  i have been doing yoga for four years, have gained much more flexbility than i could have ever imagined, yet i would not call myself limber or flexible.  and you don't have to be flexible to practice yoga.  don't let yoga journal fool you.
2. peace. in my practice my eyes are closed 90% of the time.  i shut out all the world as soon as i step on my mat.  all my cares are left in the parking lot and i can pick them up when i'm done with my practice (and some of my cares aren't cares at all when i'm done).  to help with this i create an intention for each yoga session i practice.  sometimes it's peace, other times it's a lengthy mantra i repeat to boost myself up.  i would be lying if i said yoga hasn't brought me to tears once or twice.  it's because of the peace i feel and the stress relief i get each time i practice.
3. greater spirituality.  in yoga i have been given the chance to really get connected with the inner me.  i feel the strength my spirit gives me.  i feel the comfort it brings to me in shavasana (my favorite yoga pose).  i feed my spirit as well as my physical needs when practicing yoga.

4. pain reliever.  yes, it's the only thing i know of that can cure any physical pain i'm in.

5. strength.  yoga is slow.  you hold poses for what can seem like an eternity.  sometimes you will feel muscles you didn't know you had shaking.  but after continuous practice, you are practicing the advance poses and thinking to yourself "holy crap...i'm strong!"
6. stress reliever.  see #2.
7. friendships.  aint nothing like sweating it out with a bunch of strangers.  but when you see those strangers almost daily you begin to form a bond with them.  you feel of their energy.  and you want to share your energy with them.  you cheer each other on when challenging poses are presented.  you share ideas and experiences with them.  i have learned a lot from the other yogis i practice with.
8. it's a hobby i share with my loved ones.  i have had the opportunity to practice yoga with some of the people i love the most.  that makes yoga that much more special to me.
*it's hard to feel of these benefits without good instructors.  i have been blessed to have some of the best yoga instructors.  claudette, kathy, brittany, kathy #2, and brad.  all local and non-commericalized.  they are fantastic and i highly recommend them to anyone who is beginning yoga.

**also, i found out over the weekend that pilates and yoga compliment each other.  i went to my early morning saturday pilates session and then an hour later practiced yoga.  i wanted to say some swears on sunday because every muscle was sore.  that's how i know it was a good workout!

locals first: soul and bones

while chris was in town we took him to try our favorite local bbq joint called soul & bones.  chris said he wanted "something roadhouse style" and since the roadhouse style bbq isn't my favorite (nor is it local) we told him to trust me and went here (i convinced him by tellling him i've never steared him wrong when it comes to food before so...).  he loved it!  what's not to love.  the atmosphere is southern (live band and lousiana inspried decor), and the food, either cajun (soul) or bbq (bones), is mouth-watering!  this is one place that gets me eating meat.  they just do it right!

 penny floor!

his best friend, chris

gordon and chris have been friends since junior high.  chris moved to st. george about a year or so before gordon and i were married.  they have still remained close and are best friends.

i love it when chris comes to town.  dating gordon for almost three years before we were married gave me the chance to get to know and love chris too.  he is one of the funniest people i know.  and even though the farting increases around my house when he comes to town, i love it when he's here.  he's one of the only people that can make gordon laugh so hard he cries.  they tell story after story, chris makes inappropriate comments, then i'm laughing so hard i'm crying!

he came up this weekend on his motorcycle.  he rode almost halfway here on dirt roads.  from st. george (he's practicing for some trip he's going on).  his stories about the ride up here were hilarious!

whenever chris is up here i always tell him i miss having him here and that he should move back.  he always says "i'm never moving back jessica, deal with it" in a chris kind of way that makes me laugh.  if gordon's other best friend moves to st. george we may contemplate moving there too.  we can't have both of them move away!  ...okay not really.  we love ogden too much.  (although when gordon said this to chris he said "you're not going to start crying are you"...it was funny)

i love him.

last week gordon and i were called to meet with a member of our stake presidency.  i was more nervous than gordon, even though the appointment was for him.  our bishopric was released the previous sunday and there were service callings to be filled.  we went in, my nerves were right, and gordon accepted a new church calling.  he told him that he wasn't thrilled about this new calling, expressed some "this is going to suck" feelings out loud, and then asked who he would be serving with.  the member of the stake presidency told him that he was the new bishop.  we were both taken back and gordon was a bit embarrassed at the comments he had just made (as truthful as they were...he didn't regret telling him).  i was also a bit excited.  i've never really cared about who the bishop is, but with the calling i serve in i am forced to care.  so this news put my cares at ease.
on sunday gordon was set apart for this new calling.  and i was a bucket of tears.  why?  because i love him.  i love him for being willing to do this.  i love him for being worthy to do this.  i love him for being an example to me and not complaining each second about doing this.  

i just love him. 

and as he stood and others sustained him, i loved him that much more. 

and when he was given a blessing and set apart to do this i was so proud of him.  that man, my husband.  who supports me and i will support him.

even though he's "just a secretary" (his words, not mine), i could see him going through all the emotions i went through (and am still going through).  the feelings of inadequacy, that this is not for me.  but his blessing was sincere and i know he's not alone in this.

gordon's parents and little brother, matt, and matt's wife, jenny, came to support him. matt and jenny are also in our ward. this was the first time they have come to a meeting. i loved having the two of them in our congregation. i pray they felt something and will come again. matt would be an awesome young men's leader (he could fill his brother's spot).

another reason i love him...he shares his toys.

sister time: rummage sale at the community gardens

my sister is seven years older than me.  when i was little i wanted nothing more than to be like her.  i wanted to look like her, dress like her, have my hair the same as hers.  all the things little sisters do to copy their big sisters i did.  we were never really close growing up.  don't get me wrong, we loved each other and were close in a way that you can be when your that different in age.  but now...my sister is one of my best friends.  we talk practically every day.  and hang out at least once a week.

on saturday we got a taste of what summer will bring:  hot days and rummage sales!  we spent the afternoon at a local community garden checking out all the good rummage they had for sale (which wasn't much...we should have went earlier!).  all the proceeds from that day went to the tears foundation so we wanted to donate somehow to the cause.  so we got sister tattoos.  henna tattoos.  they are long-lasting yet temporary.  and, in my opinion, very pretty.

now days my sister and i don't mind having something that's the same.  i'm no the longer the pesky little sister (at least i don't think i am...) so it's okay to do and have the same things.  it's fun.  and it's done all in the name of sisterhood!

conversations with the mister.

while we were driving we passed one of gordon's co-workers who had an amazing mustache at the time.

mrs: i want you to have a mustache.
mister: it pains me that i cannot provide that kind of facial hair for you.
mrs: (speachless and laughing so hard!)

if gordon was to ever have a man crush it would be on a man with amazing facial hair.

he loves a good beard.

i love a good mustache.

my favorite thing to be called...darlin.

but only by my mister.  if that's not you then please don't call me it.

love my buenobueno ring.  to date, it's my favorite of the mister's gifts.

our favorite little man.

he makes sunday dinners that much more exciting.

we couldn't help but laugh so hard each time we made silly faces.

we love you little man.

thanks for being so fun and sweet.

holi festival of colors in the big city.

from the top to the bottom...

location: krishna temple in slc

we did a little booth browsing.

we walked around the temple grounds and saw a lot of these statues.

and we became targets as we entered the festival grounds because of our fresh white tees.  jenny was the first to get colored.

and from then on it was beautiful!

before the first color toss we walked around and were painted with beautiful colors by other festival goers.  the colors are non-toxic and do not harm the environment.  they are also scented.  they smelt lovely!

and then the first color toss came.  we wore masks so we could be in the middle of all the gorgeousness and still breath.

the aroma around us was amazing.

and before we left we had to partake in the indian food.  vege curry.  yum!

the last photo is of us right before we left.  all that was left white was our smiles!

we've decided we're making the trek to the real festival colors in spanish fork next year.

holi festival of colors...you are a new tradition.  welcome to the pack!



visitors.

during gordon's recovery he had quite a few visitors.

i think it's safe to say our favorite of these visitors was the little man and baby k.

...even if it felt like a whirlwind came through our house.

they kept their uncle smiling and laughing.



easter 2012.

we had our annual easter dying contest with gordon's family.  my lace egg didn't turn out the way i had planned, but we all won a prize anyway (gordon's mom never leaves anyone out).
we ate traditional easter dinner twice...once with gordon's family, once with my mom.
we had a bbq where we hunted for eggs (over 500 of them!) and had bunny hop races (i came in second!) with my dad.  i love these photos from that day.  my aunt debi always has something planned for the little kids (she's been "the fun aunt" as long as i can remember!).  they all follow her around waiting for the fun to follow, which is always does.  i told her she can never stop this.  i want our kids to follow her around and have all the fun too!

a girls dinner date.

4/4/12

rovali's italian restaurant

dinner with my girls from college (minus shelli...dang over achiever grad school student!)

our group is growing.  little miss j joined us

...with two more little ones to join us by the end of the year (so excited for you katherine & keri)!

a recovery birthday.

during his recovery, gordon celebrated his 26th birthday.  since our original plans were cancelled (we were going to moab!) we made the best of it (with the help of others) and celebrated at home.  gordon's co-workers brought him happy birthday balloons with some treats to entertain him while he recovered at home.  per the birthday boy's request we ordered thai food take out and finished watching the fourth season of dexter.  and my mom brought by a double the cookie dough milk shake for his dessert.  on sunday we celebrated with gordon's family and his cake master sister, mel, made him a delicious mint chocolate birthday cake.  the little man helped blow out the candles of course.  he makes birthday time that much more fun with his love of singing happy birthday, birthday balloons, and help opening presents.

gordon got what he always wanted for his birthday gift too.  a new (and replacement) wedding ring!  okay, it was a selfish gift but he liked it none-the-less.  i made sure to get him other things he wanted off his wish list too so he wasn't too disappointed. 

all and all i think he would tell you he had a good birthday.

seven and a half weeks we wish never happened

the mister of mine woke up january 29th in pain.  lower back pain.  he figured he was tight from snowboarding the day before.  i led him in some yoga stretches.  he said they made him feel worse.  he figured it would go away as the day went on.

it didn't.

he went on with his life as normally as he could.

it got worse.

he went to our family doctor.  he said he probably strained his muscles snowboarding.  he was prescribed muscles relaxers, and told to heat and ice it.

his low back pain got better.  however, the pain shifted and began radiating down his leg.  sciatic nerve pain he was told.

so he went to a chiropractor.  who told him he could fix him.  on his second visit (with no improvement) that same chiropracter told him there was nothing he could do. 

back to our family doctor...who prescribed physical therapy to see if they can diagnosis want was wrong.

they couldn't.  but they gave him some exercises to do at home that should help.

they didn't.

it got worse.

seven and a half weeks is a long time to be in pain.  and this husband of mine is not one to whine or complain.  he rarely did even though he was in pain 24/7.

an mri was done which showed severe bulging discs.  L4 and L5.

we were referred to a neurosurgeon.

then enters dr. clyde.  the man that saved us!  we met with him for an hour.  the first half of the appointment he educated us on what was wrong and options to fix it.  the last half was spent answering our questions.

surgery was performed 2 days after this appointment.

everything went as planned and gordon is recovery as he should be.  in a month's time he should be pretty close to the man he was before he woke up in pain january 29th.

good thing too.  we're going to new york in 7 weeks!