Benefits

Just to update - I've decided to keep going to yoga for at least a month. I went for 7 days straight and I can honestly say, physically I've never felt better. Something about it has been kind of addictive to me.

Each session gets a little easier but it still really kicks my butt. I was reading about it earlier today and a calorie calculator computed that I burn 1067 calories in a 90 minute session. Crazy!

But I'm not only doing it for the physical benefits - I want mental and emotional strength as well. I think it will be a slow process but I'll get there. I'm willing to put in the time and effort, I believe the benefits will be worth it. 

This Ain't Your Mama's Yoga

Even though I hadn't even tried regular yoga I've decided to give Bikram Yoga a shot. Now for those of you who haven't heard of it (like me a few weeks ago) I'll give you the wikipedia definition.

Bikram Yoga, also known as Hot Yoga, is a style of yoga developed by Bikram Choudhury and a Los Angeles, California based company. Bikram Yoga is ideally practiced in a room heated to 105°F (40.5°C) with a humidity of 40%. Classes are guided by specific dialogue including 26 postures and two breathing exercises. Classes last approximately 90-minutes.

So now let me give you my definition... the hottest room you've ever been in times ten, contorting your body in ways you never thought were possible and sweating more than you can imagine.

I've been to three classes so far and the most difficult thing for me is trying not to pass out - seriously. I also have sore muscles where I didn't even know muscles exist.
I'm still undecided whether I like it or not. For one, it's time consuming - I'm used to working out for about half the time yoga takes. Also, I'm miserable the entire time but i figure I'm pretty miserable with any form of exercise really.

I'm hoping it'll be worth the suffering, time will tell I suppose - I'm trying it out for at least a week. The good news is after just three classes I already feel more energetic, less stressed and most importantly slimmer.

Brianna & Zach

I did the wedding photos on Saturday for my sister in law's daughter Brianna. This was my second time as an "official" wedding photographer but the first time I hadn't even considered doing it as a career. Note that I say "considered". I haven't decided if I have what it takes to do this for a living and actually require payment for it. I have a lot, a lot, a lot to learn. All I can say is thank goodness this one was outside and the weather cooperated.

I can see why wedding photographers charge so much to do weddings. It was 3 hours of stress and chaos but suprisingly educational.

I think I could learn to love it, we'll see I guess.

Here are a few of my favorites, let me know what you think and be honest now.

Happy Cinco de Mayo (a.k.a. Lilly's Birthday)

Before everyone assumes we are psycho the only reason we remember Lilly's birthday is because it is on Cinco de Mayo. It's her 4th in case you were curious.
So to celebrate I got her a big ass bone. Awesome.

She absolutely loves it. As I suspected. It may take her as much as a day to eat it all.

Oh and this...

This is for a certain someone who sent me a certain video of a lawnmower D.U.I.

Exhibit A.

Notice the right hand?

Horrific

My sweet little Lilly had a seizure the other day. So far it was an isolated occurrence and we are hoping it stays that way.

It was a normal afternoon, just sitting on the patio grilling out - Lilly was playing with her frisbee with her typical spaziness. All of a sudden we look over and she is trying to get up and can't, and it looked like she was choking. I immediately went into extreme panic. I tried to open her mouth to see if she was choking on something but her jaw was locked. I could feel that she was breathing out her nose so she wasn't choking - had to be a seizure. As panicked as we were we could see it in her eyes that she was extremely scared and we knew that we needed to keep her calm - the last thing she needed to see was me as a hysterical mess. Todd and I stood over her trying to sooth her, petting her and telling her it was OK. We were terrified and had NO idea what to do. My mind was racing - what should we do? Drive 40 minutes to the animal emergency room? Wait till it passes? It seemed like an eternity, reality - it lasted about 2 minutes. She slowly began to breath a little more regular and she started to regain her focus and react to us. Another minute or two passed and would you believe that dog picked up her frisbee and was ready to play.

Now it's OK to commence the breakdown. But instead, I pulled myself together and grabbed the laptop. I looked at every article on the entire Internet on dog seizures and I feel a little reassured. One article mentioned this can happen to dogs and may never happen again. As far as what caused it we may never know. Could have been overheated (she has been cooped up all winter and isn't in the best shape), could have gotten into something toxic (i.e. battery, golf ball casing, chemicals) or could have been a hypoglycemic attack or something else entirely. All I know is I never want it to happen again. (By the way - I also read never ever try to pry a dog's mouth open during a seizure, you will almost certainly get bit. Oops.)

It's seriously unnatural how much we (oh yes, Todd too) love this dog. I truly thought she was going to die right in front of me and it was the scariest two minutes of my life. Now every little squeak or sneeze from her I freak out. I'm sure my paranoia will pass.

I'm so glad she is OK and back to her normal energetic self. And now Todd has been calling her seizure head. So inappropriate. But that's us.

Slideshow

Hawaii from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

Make sure you turn up the volume :-)