Celebrate good times

I had such plans of posting every single day this week and here it is, Thursday.  So much for that little goal.  It's all good though because now that Nicole Bitchy (me.  I hate being sick and I really hate winter) has left the building, it's time to talk about the good things that are going on in this little life of mine.  Namely,

Our flowers survived!

The day after it snowed, it was sunny and warm and the snow was gone - completely gone and the little flowers made it!  I took Sofia and Maya out for a walk, and flowers were poking their heads out all over the neighborhood.  Maybe Spring heard me and decided to get her shit together, because you know, Spring listens to me.

Also, check it out!

The kitchen is finally done!

When we raised the cabinets, we added a strip of cherry to the top and pine crown molding.

That crown molding turned out to the bane of my existence.

You know me, I'm good friends with my paintbrush and I had zero problems getting up on a ladder and staining the cherry and the crown molding.  We had the stain matched to the cabinets, I sanded everything and got to staining.  Except the crown didn't take the stain - at all. I put one coat on and there was absolutely no change.  I knew something wasn't right, so we called in a painter and it took him nearly a week to get the stain right.  He had to take it back to the store, make it darker, leave it on for extra time, wipe it off just right, and do all kinds of other things that I definitely did not have time to do. 

But it's finally done!  For real this time, and it looks so good!

You can't even tell it's different wood.  

Never mind the mess on the counter - one of these days I'll get to properly arranging things.

I pride myself on doing house stuff by myself, but this one was definitely a job for the pros.

I'm just glad it's done, just in time for Sofia's birthday.

Oh yeah.  It's happening.

Last year, I was a total nutjob planning her birthday.  This year?  Not so much.  I'm not stressing about a thing - not even the fact that it's in two weeks and I have nothing.  Nada.  I mean, the decorations are on the way and I have ideas about what I want, but no other purchases have been made.  The second birthday is definitely not going to be the production that the first birthday was.  It's still going to be cool and I'm still going to go all out, but I'm nowhere near as stressed this time around.  I'm not even stressed about her cake!  Because you know, I'm a cake-making pro this time.

Okay fine.  Semi-pro?

I just checked UPS tracking and the decorations are due to arrive tomorrow, which means I need to get my butt in gear with this party-planning business.  I need food and drinks for about 20 people, that doesn't have dairy, artificial food coloring and is mostly, if not all, organic.  I have three mom friends here and two of them have children with major food sensitivities.  I want to be mindful of that and do the best that I can to keep their kids from feeling left out.  We'll see what happens!

This is not my kid.  Duh.

However, this picture is a representation of something major.  Something ground-breaking.  Something I was certain was never ever going to happen to me.

Sofia is sleeping through the night.  Consistently.  Aaaaahhhhh! (that's the angels singing.)

She's been teething and has been stuffed up, but still she sleeps!  It's a downright miracle y'all.  And it just happened.  One night, out of nowhere, she went to bed at 8 and didn't wake up until 6 in the morning.  I've been lulled into that false sense of security before and I knew better than to get my hopes up, but then she did it again.  And I was like yeah sure right, two nights in a row means she's going to be a demon child and not sleep at all for the third night.  But then she did.  She slept a fourth and fifth night, until Two. Flippin. Weeks went by with her sleeping through the night the entire time.  

It's beautiful.  It's amazing.  I'm rested and I love it.  Which means I need to hurry up and get pregnant again before I get too used to sleeping so much.

I saved the best one for last.

Also, this is the picture I printed for my binder when I was in 

yoga teacher training all those years ago.  It's kinda special to me.

Most of you already know I'm insanely passionate about yoga.  It's my peace, my therapy, my church.  I am happiest when I'm on my mat and I feel incredibly fulfilled when I get the privilege of teaching class.  I had to kiss a few frogs and go to some really out-there yoga classes when I first arrived here, but I finally found an amazing instructor and we were in talks about me getting back to teaching.  She wanted me to get CPR certified, so I did that.  She wanted me to teach her a class to get a feel for my ability and style, so I did that too.  I was super nervous and more than a little rusty, as I haven't taught for nearly two years.  But it's in my soul and I pulled it off and she was impressed.  But the biggest obstacle were the students.  I had to win them over and it was going to be a tough sell.  

Yoga students, while open and accepting, can be fiercely loyal to their teacher to the detriment of the new guy, which would be me.  I've taken several classes with Linda, the main instructor, and I saw how devoted her students were, and with good reason - she's amazing, full out.  I took just one class and I was hooked.  Her technique is strong, her adjustments are totally on point and I felt happy and spent at the end of class - just the way I like it.  I wanted to be on her team.

Last week, I got my chance.  I got the email - Linda wanted me to sub for her on Friday morning.  My heart started pounding with excitement - this was it!  This is my chance!  If I did a good job, I'd be in and I'd get to start teaching again!  There was only one problem - I was deathly ill.  I was too stuffed up to breathe, I was coughing non-stop and my body hurt so bad - I was in bad shape, but there was no way I could say no.  You don't get a second chance to make a first impression and I was worried that if I said no to this chance, there wouldn't be another one.  That was last Wednesday.

Thursday night I was standing in the kitchen, bawling over the sink.  My frickin' hair hurt, my body ached and I felt so terrible.  I hadn't had any time to prepare and I knew I was going to blow it.  They were going to hate me and they were going to tell Linda to never let me teach ever again.  I was beside myself and it was too late to back out and just tell her I was too sick to teach.

I was a ball of nerves Friday morning.  I had no sequence prepared and I was just going to have go off of my gut and try and teach these hard-core yoga people without coughing up a lung.  I wanted nothing more than to curl up and die, but I had to make it through.  I was fiddling with the stereo when the students started arriving.  I could feel the disappointment that I wasn't their beloved instructor, but I was determined to win them over, deathbed or not.  9:15 came, and it was time to start class.

Good morning everyone, I'm Desiree!  Thank you so much for coming and if you would please, find a seated cross-legged position on your mats...

My music didn't work, I forgot a couple of poses, but I found my groove and before I knew it, class had ended.  And they clapped for me, you guys!  Yoga people aren't rude and won't generally tell you to your face that you suck; they'll just politely gather their things and never come back.  If you're lucky, maybe one or two people will thank you for class.  If you're really lucky, you get a little round of applause at the end of class, and I got a round of applause!  I was walking on air when I left the gym that day!  

And then I went home to crawl in bed and pray to die.

I taught again this morning and I feel the yoga mojo coming back and it feels good!  I'm hoping to get a few regular classes soon and I'll be a bona fide yoga teacher again!

Things are good in my world right now, and it's really important that I celebrate them and enjoy them because when they're not, it's helps to remember these good times.  And now, to leave you with my new favorite picture:

We went to my friend's house for another photoshoot, this time for Easter and with live bunnies who were beyond adorable.  It was so much fun to take pictures of all the kids and I'm totally looking forward to what other ideas we can come up with for our baby models.

This was her Easter picture last year that we took at the mall, that cost me a million dollars.

Our homemade one was just as good and much more fun.

Also, when the F did my kid turn into a kid?

I was not consulted about this and I do not approve.