Laughter

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." ~e.e. cummings

I've been laughing a lot these days. A friend of mine turned me onto Laughter Yoga on the Phone. You call a phone number at certain times of the day for a live 20-minute laughter yoga session. Sometimes the moderators leads you in specific laughter exercises and sometimes they just laugh. They also have prerecorded sessions that you can listen to whenever. I like to call in when I'm driving to work. Traffic is just not a problem when you're in your car cracking up. I told my sister that I was doing laughter yoga a couple weeks ago and she just rolled her eyes.

Yesterday I was driving with my sister to run an errand. When I looked at the time and saw that it was 5 pm and a laughter yoga session was about to begin, I decided to call the number. "Hand me my phone." I told her. She grabbed my cell phone out of my purse and handed it to me. When we were stopped at a red light I dialed the number and entered in the code. She eyed me suspiciously. When the light turned green the laughter started on the car's blue tooth. "Oh you did not just call the laughter yoga people." I just smiled at her and started laughing. She rolled her eyes and started laughing at me. And her laughing made me laugh harder. Then she started listening to the silly exercises and that made her laugh harder. Of course that made me laugh harder. And we started doing the exercises and laughing, tears streaming down our faces. I was laughing so hard it was almost dangerous for me to be driving. But I needed that laugh. It felt so good.

The same friend who introduced me to laughter yoga sent me this little video: Bodhissatva in Metro. It's a great one if you need a laugh.

So in addition to laughing, I've been having fun in other ways. On Friday I had a girl's night with Katie. We went to Urth Cafe in Beverly Hills for a delicious dinner and then headed a couple doors down to Color Me Mine for some painting fun. I did a Dr. Seuss-themed mug and she did a little serving dish with an eye theme. It was a perfect little evening.

On Saturday I did my second Road Runner's long run -- we ended up running about 5 1/2 miles. I went into a faster group this week and I felt good. Today I was supposed to do some cross training, but I caught the cold that had already caught every other member of my family. All I could do was lie in bed. I've decided to take a break from my bed for some blogging and laughter yoga. They do say that laughter is the best medicine.

Discipline

"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment."  Jim Rohn I've been thinking a lot about discipline lately.  First, the marathon training is imposing some much-needed discipline on my life.  The fact that I've already signed up and paid for the race definitely helps with the motivation to get up and run.  I love how I feel after I've already started running, but I need the external pressure of the race to get me off my couch and finally rid myself of these last few pounds of baby weight.    Ali is also reminding me of discipline.  She's trying to stand unsupported.  She keeps trying and trying.  She'll stand for a second and then fell on her diapered bum.  We're delighted by her efforts and so is she.  Every time she falls, she cracks up and then gets right back up and tries again.  I guess what impresses me so much is not the discipline she's applying, as much as the fun she's having in the process -- even the falling down causes her giggles.  I'm trying to take a lesson from my little girl -- not only should I get back up after falling and try again, but I should laugh.

Pink Martini

Pink Martini was magnifique! I really only knew one song of theirs before going to the concert: Je Ne Veux Pas Travailler. They're such fantastic show men and women though, that it was still super enjoyable. They had a bunch of random guest singers, including Ari Shapiro (news correspondent on NPR), Emilio Delgado (plays Luis on Sesame Street), and some Malaysian super star who's name I've forgotten, and that made it just that much more charming. I think it was one of my favorite concerts that I've ever attended. I've attended many, so that's saying something. So, if you ever have the chance to see Pink Martini you really should! They've got the official Hip Girlz seal of approval. :)

Listening to their sassy, swinging world music also gave me the idea for a party. I do so love parties! I have all these martini glasses (gifts from the wedding, house warmings, etc) and we NEVER use them. I do like martinis (at least the sweet, girly ones like appletinis), but it's not something we drink at home very often... or ever, if I'm being honest. Anyway, I think it would be fun to have a martini party. We could dress very swanky, drink all sorts of yummy martinis, make use of my lovely glasses, and listen to Pink Martini. My birthday is coming up...

Marathons and Martinis

I've done it! At midnight last night, I signed up for the LA Marathon and for the LA Road Runners training group. My good friends Lars, Janet, and Kelli had already signed up and they talked me into it. I've been wanting to run a marathon forever. It's way up top on my "what to do before I die" list. I'd tried to train a couple years ago, but a little pregnancy got in my way. So this is the time ... March 21, 2010. Los Angeles Marathon, here I come.

This morning I had my first training run. I ran side-by-side with Kelli and we ran a nice and easy 4 miles. After that we dashed off to La Grand Orange for brunch. La Grand Orange is a relatively new brunch place (opened about 4 months ago) on Bicknell and Main Street. It's really cute. It has a fantastic patio and yummy, healthy food. Kelli had a divine looking breakfast burrito. I had oatmeal with raisins and almonds. My oatmeal could have been better, but everything else looked great. Anyway, I'm a little bummed that this place wasn't there when I lived two blocks away, but I'm psyched it's there now. I'm sure it will be a staple of our post-workout brunch circuit.

My sister called and said that her friend Denise has 2 extra tickets for us to see Pink Martini at the Hollywood Bowl tonight. I'm so excited. I love Pink Martini and I love the Hollywood Bowl. I was recently lamenting the fact that I'd gone through an entire summer and hadn't made it to a concert. Yeah for manifesting freebies!

Circle of Life

I'm having one of these "circle of life" days. This morning I went to my Uncle Raymond's funeral. Well, he's not really my uncle. He's my dad's first cousin. I don't know what kind of cousin that makes him to me, but he and my dad grew up together like brothers. They were raised in the same house. They were cuddled and spanked by the same hands. For all extensive purposes he's my uncle. Anyway, he was such a sweet man -- very gentle, quiet, caring. He actually reminds me a lot of my dad. I'm going to miss him, but I truly believe he's in a better place.

So that was my morning, but this evening I'm celebrating the Jewish New Year. It's a time of new beginnings in more ways than one. Three pregnant women are going to be there tonight. I'm holding my little girl right now and I'm feeling grateful. I'm grateful for my amazing uncles, aunts, parents. And I'm grateful for my amazing children, niece, nephew, and the new ones that are coming.

I missed this

I cannot believe how long it's been since I've posted.  My daughter is going to be 13 months old in just 2 days.  I'm working right now.  I've moved... back into my old house.  My stepdaughter entered high school.  Lots has happened over the past 13 months.  And yet, by not blogging, by not taking the time to write about the little things, it feels like it's been one big blur.

So between chasing my little one (she gets faster and faster), driving the older kids to school and practices, work, dinner, etc., I'm going to take the time to notice.  And I'm going to take the time to write.  I'm excited.

Ali at 1 year old