The past few months over here have been very hectic, full of new experiences and change in the best kind of way.

Between April and May Joe and I attended two weddings, moved in together, made solo trips to the Midwest for family commitments (I got to attend my little brother’s college graduation from the University of Dayton!), we got to visit with and entertain both my mother and my cousin Mary, all while plotting career transitions. It was a long and exciting two months that didn’t leave too much time for blogging, but a lot of time for experiencing.

Most importantly, I love our new home!

I may post more photos but we successfully moved into our two bedroom townhouse in the Mar Vista neighborhood of LA and so far I love it. We have a patio my mom helped me pull together when she visited, a big kitchen full of new appliances, a washer and dryer in unit (!!), and plenty of room for Izzy and Rudy who are now blended.

I also started a small garden on the patio. I bought basil and mint that had already started growing and started a rosemary plant and a spinach plant from seeds. So far everything is thriving. The spinach is really growing. The rosemary has a bit more of a ways to go. I’d like to add a few more plants. I don’t want to get too out of hand because I want to be able to use the plants as I grow them and not be overly wasteful. I also have some flowers, potted succulents and a lavender plant (my favorite scent).

The townhouse itself is great, but the person and animals I live with make everything perfect. Never in my adult life have I felt this “at home”.

I’m not sure Izzy and Rudy agree. Both of them had lived with the other species before we made the big move and they had also met each other before. On the day of the move Rudy went to day care to tire him out and get him out of the way. Izzy moved in first and had some time to get the lay of the land before Rudy came home. So far they mostly seem suspect of each other. Izzy could run the show if she wanted to but mostly she hangs back and watches Rudy. They spend a lot of time side by side but not interacting. I’m sure this will change over time and we’ve had to train both of them to live with each other. Izzy was trying to eat Rudy’s food, Rudy was eating Izzy’s food and digging around her cat box but I think we mostly have figured out how to stop that behavior.

Moving and having my own kitchen again has lead to a cooking renaissance. I’ve been working from home for the past few weeks so I have more time to devote to meal prep and I have to say I’ve been knocking it out of the park food-wise. More recipes will return to the blog!

In other news: I haven’t run in over a month!

After the LA Marathon it was painfully clear that I needed a break. I love running, I know I’ll run another marathon and I have plenty of running goals but after 2 marathons in 5 months it just wasn’t fun anymore. My body felt stiff and out of whack and I missed other forms of exercise. For my last month in Manhattan Beach I bought a groupon to Green Yogi on Highland Ave. I attended several classes there and overall loved the studio and the teachers. The staff was friendly, helpful and welcoming and I knew I would only be in Manhattan for one month so this worked perfectly. I kept running during March and April mostly because of THE VIEW:

I mean really? Just so ugly I can barely stand to look at it.

The moving month and the two weeks after were insanely hectic. I just tried to push through the final burst of activities. Once my schedule opened up and I was working from home I signed up for a $30 for 30 days deal at Yoga Salt, a new studio on Lincoln in Marina del Rey. I’ll admit, I was initially attracted to the $30 deal which is pretty unheard of in LA where a month of unlimited yoga usually runs $90 and up. However, I researched the studio and bit more and was very pleasantly surprised. It just opened last March and was founded by Tamal Dodge. I took Tamal’s class when I was going to the Yoga Collective several years ago and I really enjoyed his classes. They were very physically challenging, focusing on correct form for planks and strength building, but Tamal also focuses on mediation. This is clearly the template for the classes I’ve taken thus far at Yoga Salt.

I just finished my 30 days and I managed to take 12 classes. I can feel my arms growing stronger and my hips are much looser and happier than they were a month ago. I’ve taken three of the instructors and I’ve really liked all of them. I also love the impact that yoga has had on my mind. After 10 years of practicing various forms of yoga (from vinyasa to bikram) I’m finally getting the hang of focusing on my breath and letting my mind shut off, which can be tough for a type a personality. I’m getting stronger and I’ve dropped the 5 ish lbs of marathon weight I put on but mentally I’ve reaped the benefits as well.

I plan to at least keep practicing at Yoga Salt for the next month or so. I will eventually return to running but for now I’m all yoga with a few trips to the Culver City pool mixed in for fun. It’s summer. I feel like trips to the public pool should be mandatory. I was thinking I may try to train for the Long Beach half but right now I’m more motivated and focused by trying to hold arm balances and I’m more than ok with that for now.

That’s about it for now. I’m off to cheer for the US in the world cup! Who else is watching?