My Zen Zone

If you know me, You know that I am not svelt and lanky. I am fat. I can say that and smile because all of my other health parameters are excellent (cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.). I am also one of the least flexible people I know. In an attempt to lose some weight and gain some flexibility, I began taking a chair yoga class at North Port Yoga and Wellness in the beginning of May. I love it and have seen a change in my body. I have lost 5 pounds and, so far, kept it off.

Last week I was sad to find out that the chair yoga class was being changed to a gentle and restorative yoga class. After emailing back and forth with my yoga instructor and the studio owner and reading a Yoga Journal article about this practice, decided to give it a try.

When I arrived at the studio yesterday morning, my instructor, Martha, explained a little about what we would be doing. She immediately put my mind at ease and assisted me with the worst part of the practice, getting on the floor. After some stretches, we entered rest and digest and began the gentle postures. Propped up with bolsters, bricks, and blankets, Martha put me into 5 poses that I remained in for 5 to 10 minutes each. I could feel the stress and tension completely leave my body. It was blissful.

I’m looking forward to next weeks class.  Speaking of classes, how did I find this yoga class? My employer signed up with a company called Peerfit. Each month employees get 16 credits to use towards different physical fitness opportunities. Gyms and studios who participate have classes you can sign up for using your credits. That is how I found North Port Yoga and Wellness and I’m so glad I did.

Namaste.

Book lover Q & A

Book pet peeves

Bad editing. Bad fan fiction (Fifty Shades of Dreck anyone?). Books without a character to root for.

Perfect reading spot

ANY PLACE I CAN!

3 bookish confessions

I don’t read from the New York Times bestsellers list unless I have to.

I can’t get to sleep without reading.

I usually have 4 or more books being read simultaneously.

Last time you cried while reading a book

The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton. It is a must read.  I read it BEFORE it was on Oprah’s book list!

Number of books on your nightstand

None.  Just my Kindle.

Favorite reading snack

I don’t normally eat while I’m reading but I love a nice cup of coffee.

3 books you would recommend to anyone

Wonder by R. J. Palacio, The Shoemaker’s Wife by Andriana Trigiani, Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan (make sure you listen to the audiobook)

Picture of your favorite bookshelf

Since I mostly read on my Kindle…

IMG_1095

How much books mean to you in 3 words

Love my books!

Biggest reading secret

I love to read juvenile picture books out loud, with voices.

If you decide to participate, don’t forget to tag This {____}life so I can see your answers.

Review – Bring Me Back

Bring Me Back Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was given an advanced copy of Bring Me Back from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

WOW! A great psychological thriller/mystery. Where did Layla go? There has been no sign of her and no body has been found. Twelve years later, Finn is getting ready to marry Layla’s sister, Ellen. But wait, there are now signs that Layla may be alive. The book will keep you guessing right til the end.

Even though I had pretty much figured out what was happening, the twists and turns of the plot kept me on my toes. If you like a good psychological mystery without any gore, you should try Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris.

Thanks for reading.

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Review – The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton

I received an advanced copy of The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a gut-wrenching book. It’s hard to explain how a book about an innocent man’s time on death row was life affirming and hopeful, but Anthony Ray Hinton’s story is just that. I will be mentally and emotionally processing this book for the rest of my life. In a world where so many horrible things are happening, where there is so much hate, this book gave me hope and a lot to think about.

Review – When Life Gives You Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger

I was given an advanced copy of When Life Gives You Lululemons by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I read The Devil Wears Prada years ago when I was working in advertising. For someone who has worked in that kind of environment, the actions of Miranda Priestly were comical and way too close to home. Her 1st Assistant Emily was a character that I was very much familiar with. The take no prisoners, slightly sweet, mostly bitchy woman whom you never want to cross.

In When Life Gives You Lululemons, we find Emily relocated to LA and working as an image consultant to the rich and famous. You know, the ones who go around picking up after Britney Spears, Justin Beiber, Mel Gibson and try to fix whatever malarkey they have gotten into. When a younger, hipper image consultant starts stealing her best (aka worst offenders) clients, Emily doesn’t know what to do.

Enter Karolina Hartwell, the mega-supermodel wife of a Senator with presidential aspirations. When Karolina is falsely accused of drinking and driving with children in her car, the happy life she thought she had begins to unravel. While visiting her friend Miriam, Emily meets Karolina and decides to help her. While trying to get to the bottom of things, they find that the Senator is the one to set her up so that he can divorce her to advance his career.

Between unraveling the clues and trying to figure out how to deal with suburban Connecticut residents and their weird ways, Emily gets her “image consultant” mojo back.

I enjoyed the book but I believe I will never move to suburban Connecticut. Those people are crazy!

Hurricane stories

Excuse me for the non-reading related post, but I wanted to share some things I observed during Hurricane Irma.

  • Steak n Shake 17509 N Palms Village Pl, Tampa FL – We stopped a Steak n Shake around 4pm on Friday 9/8/17 to get some food on our way to TN.  The employee at the drive thru were so sweet, asking us how we were doing and even gave our dog, Buddy, a special treat – BACON!
  • Improvised (and illegal) gas canisters strapped to cars, like this.

 

  • It is a small world.
    • While waiting at the Tifton, GA Walmart to have our flat tire fixed, we met Diana, Diane, and John.  They live near us and they had a blow out on I-75 going 70 mpg.  They live right on the water and were concerned that they wouldn’t have a house to come back to.
    • While buying a sweatshirt at the Walmart, we ran into a woman and her two sons, who live in Cape Coral.
  • The tire center employees at the Tifton, GA Walmart were awesome.  They opened at 7am and had our tire replaced and we were on our way before 8am.  They were sympathetic and kind.
  • When you pack a suitcase in a hurry, you end up with:  3 pair of underpants, 1 pair of shorts filled with holes, a pair of flower printed pants and a none matching print shirt.
  • Driving North, we saw an impressive amount of National Guard vehicles, Utility trucks, and Ambulances.
  • The Waze app is awesome for driving somewhere unfamiliar.  It gets you around traffic jams.
  • The stress of watching a pending storm develop and tracking it for over a week is mind blowing.  Is it going East or West?  Who knows.

We watched the storms track for over a week.  We prepared, just in case the storm came our way. We were ready to stay, until it became a Cat. 5 and looked like it was coming directly at us.  We quickly threw some clothes in a suitcase, packed the car, grabbed the dog and cat, and evacuated.   We were headed to stay with family in TN until the storm cleared.  Normally an 11 hour drive, due to many circumstances, it took us 26 hours.  First, traffic was ridiculous.  Understandable since almost the entire state of Florida was trying to get the heck out of Dodge. After crossing into Georgia, we were exhausted and decided to stop to sleep a little. We ended up, at 1:30 in the morning, getting a flat tire. So, we put the spare on and parked at Walmart to wait for the tire center to open. Have you ever tried to sleep in a car with a dog and a cat? Tire changed by 7:30 the next morning and off we went.

Plan for next hurricane:
1. Plywood or storm shutters!!!!!!!
2.  Make a list of what needs to go into the suitcase in case we have to evacuate to prevent.
3. Don’t live in Florida.
4. Snacks for the road.  NO FOOD ANYWHERE!!!!!!

Hope you all made it through unscathed!