Buddha

I've been so interested in Buddhism and have finally found a meet up group that teaches new beginners like myself and I have found it so fascinating thus far. I've been doing some reading and have attended my first meet up which meets every other Friday for lessons and mediation. I enjoy hearing and studying the philosophy of it all. I am a Christian but am always open to listen and understand other peoples way of thinking and believing.

I'm going to Thailand in December for 10 days and want to learn more about their culture and religion before I go. I don't know much yet but it definitely has my attention and I look forward to leaning much more.

Meditation! Wow, why haven't I been doing this a long time ago? I've been doing it but I guess I didn't realize it. Sometimes when I swim or run I lose myself and think of absolutely nothing! Now I know why I feel so refreshed and recharged afterwards! I know it has to do with the physical part but the mental is just as important as well. My first real sit down meditation was this past Friday with my new teacher and I did better than I thought. I did drift a few times but that is expected when learning how to meditate. If you have seen the movie or read the book "Eat, Pray, Love" then you will know what I'm talking about. The part where she is learning to meditate and her mind is all over the place, well I knew for sure that would be me. I never thought I could sit still for one much less think of nothing.

I had my meditation pillow and lit my candle this evening and did two sessions all on my own. The first session was 6 minutes long which I was shocked and the second was 5 minutes long. When I was done, I felt so relaxed, refreshed and very peaceful. This is a practice that will continue to grow with me along with my yoga practice. I encourage everyone to try and sit still for a few moments and try to think of absolutely nothing! Try it, quite challenging but so worth it! Oh and you don't need a special pillow either!

August 2010-September 2010

I can't believe it's almost two months since I have written. There have been many events in the past two months. I am still enjoying Washington very much and never thought I would see such beautiful trees. The trees here are huge and the mountains just leave me speechless. The weather in so nice and cool although coming from Hawaii after three years, 65 degrees is still chilly for me. I'm sure I will adjust!

Brian came home after a month long deployment August 15Th. He took some time off and we really enjoyed ourselves. We hiked Wallace Falls and saw some beautiful waterfalls that just took your breath away. We jumped on the ferry from Anacortes to Lopez island where we enjoyed an awesome bike ride of just over 30 miles. It was great riding with him again, it has been quite some time since our last ride which was in Hawaii, March to be exact. We really enjoyed our time being together because we new it would soon come to an end.



After about a week that Brian was home he reported back to the ship and Mom came into town for four days. She and I had a wonderful time together and crammed so many things into so little time. We drove to Leavenworth, German town 2 hours East of me and was such an awesome drive. The leaves were actually starting to change a bit and we drove along and through the mountains with a river running by. I too took her on the ferry from Anacortes but we went to San Juan instead. We had lunch first in Friday Harbor and then drove around the island seeing the lavender farm, sat and watched the ocean while the cool breeze blew in our face, stopped by a small little winery for some tastes and finally ended up back in Friday Harbor for dinner. We also went to Seattle and walked around Pike's Market, viewing all the beautiful flowers, fresh produce, fresh seafood and much much more. We also found a small park and sat there for a few moments and took in all the fresh air and the beautiful bright sunshine in our faces! All good things must come to an end and then she left back to Texas.






I signed up for a hot yoga, 10 sessions for 10 dollars. It wasn't a bad deal at all and has been a very interesting experience. The first day I went I had to sit down almost the entire time. The competitive self in me was not liking this at all but the yoga side of me said to just relax and stretch while I sat there. There is a good reason why it's called hot yoga, when entering the room it is 95 degrees in there. It feels like a sauna almost. Then you begin to do yoga poses, stretching and standing postures. It may sound easy but it really isn't unless you are really good in heat. My first visit was also at 9:30 in the morning so I was most likely a bit dehydrated. I've been back a total of five times and the last four I've gone to the evening class and have completed all the classes, well almost!

I've entered a few races such as the Cougar Mountain Half Marathon Trail Run and the Iron Girl 10K. The trail run was pretty tough but was a total blast. Yes, I'm sick that way. The harder it is the better I feel but to an extent. It took me 3.5 hours to complete it but the trail was challenging and fun the entire time well except for the up hill parts! The 10K was a nice run, it was around a nice lake near Seattle. It was overcast and we thought we were going to be soaked afterwards but not one drop! I was 42 seconds slower than my fasted 10K. That's okay because I like to run for fun and not to competitive as I am in triathlons.