Soul Runnings

Hi Friends! Again, I apologize for my long absence.  No excuses. No shame. Just busy trying to find balance in this life. I've been quite successful about regular gym workouts. My goal is daily workouts. Mostly in the gym.  I am currently on Day 127!   I must say, if I skip a day of exercise, I feel miserable.   However, for all of my effort, I had not lost any weight!  Granted, I have become a tad more shapely.  Here are some pictures along my journey. The first one  was taken 02/07/2022 with my son. It was our 8th day of working out together. The second one was taken 09/07/2022.   The third was taken on 09/23/2022 after about a week of preparing most of my meals at home. And being pretty strict about no dairy, focusing on grains, veggies, fruits, legumes and Indian spices. At last, the scale moved a few pounds downward.   I am attempting at long last to follow the Ayurvedic principles of dieting.  It's not a fad. It...

 Hi Friends! I'm back. In a much timelier manner than usual!  I have a few more short stories featuring the "Zma in the Hood" today.  But first, the return of the "D" word.  Depression has been a companion of mine my whole life. He comes and goes. I've learned to accept it. This morning I woke up feeling blue, struggling with depression and anxiety. I know the feeling well:  It starts in my head. A low level throbbing around my temples. Then it radiates to my eyes. I feel tears "behind my eyes". Then the sensation travels to my gut. I feel queasy and uneasy. My pulse usually quickens. I am short of breath. But behind it all, is that empty, achy cavernous feeling around my heart. How's that for a description of depression? Well, that is how it feels to me at least.  This morning while I was airing out the apartment, trying to cool it off enough for an afternoon of teaching, I could feel it coming on strong. It actually started last night. A bit ...

 Hello Friends! Yet again I must apologize for my absence. There are times when I just cannot form meaningful words. I just keep putting one foot in front of the other.  In my experience, eventually the fog clears. And just now, it has started to lift.  So here I am!  Where do I begin?  Perhaps, as I usually do. Just start typing as see what comes up! I am sitting outside my humble little abode right at this very moment. It is 10:11 p.m. It is currently 84 degrees fahrenheit.  We are in the midst of a heat weave.  The high was 97 today.  The low is only expected to reach 66 degrees. Tomorrow and Friday the forecast is 101 degrees.  But come Monday, the temps will descent into normal Portland readings.  Hopefully we'll even get a smidgeon of rain! I'm not really complaining though.  I am a bit of a rebel, if you haven't noticed.  I rarely complain about the rain.  I get a bit snooty or in German: "Ich bin  hochnäsig", ...

 Hello Again Friends! What a beautiful morning, on this last day of May, 2022! It happens to also be my man's birthday!  I feel positive energy in the air.  Perhaps it is the sun's warm rays warming my little herb garden on my front patio.  I was overjoyed this morning as I opened the curtains and the windows to let in some fresh air. I peered out at my neighbor's cheerful red rose, and I spotted new sprouts in my herb garden!  I potted them a few weeks ago and do a happy dance every time I see a little sprout poke his nose out. At this point, my thyme, dill and cilantro has sprouted. I was worried with all the rain that they might not come up. There is not enough sun on my windowsill, so I put them outside.  I am thrilled to see they have survived, even a few of them! I started my morning with a strawberry/mango/pineapple/coconut milk with flax seed and collagen smoothie. Then I did my morning Qi Gong and a bit of hooping.  I have to admit I slept in,...

 Hello Friends! I am finally sitting down to post on my blog after a bit of an absence. I am having a real, live, actual day off today! Today is Memorial Day. I purposefully did not plan anything for today.  I was feeling overwhelmed with my schedule and expectations that I put upon myself.  I am at the tail end of recital season - which I LOVE - but I put my whole self into. This year I held 4 in person piano student recitals, and one virtual recital. They were all glorious!  But after performance I have a bit of the blues.  Which is probably mostly related to exhaustion, but partially coming back down to earth.   Right now, I just need to slow down and breathe, be in the present and reconnect with my peaceful center.  I am sitting at my little table in front of the window. I have the curtains and the windows open. Aside from the fact that this is known as "not the best neighborhood", I find it very peaceful to have the breeze flowing.  The ...

 Hi Friends! Today was Day 58 at the gym!  Almost 58 consecutive days, with a few days off for rest and recovery. I am ready to start working harder!  I am feeling much better than I was a few weeks ago, when I felt that just getting through my daily life was a chore.   My asthma is still giving me grief, but has improved. I was able to renew my steroid inhaler which I am going to pick up tomorrow. My eating habits still need tweaking, as usual. But I am proud to announce that I have not eaten any cheese balls since the cheese ball incident! I have not weighed myself recently, a little nervous about that.  I am working on getting back to intermittent fasting, but have eased my eating window. I now eat between 10 am and 8 pm most days. I am again focusing on whole foods, especially vegetables. I begin each day with a smoothie which includes some kind of frozen fruit, flax seed meal, collagen, and nondairy milk. I feel like I glowing from inside! My breakfast...

 Dear Friends: It's been awhile! But I am back. Wiping away tears, but I am here.  I had a hard time leaving my living room today. Amber Heard finally took the stand to give her testimony.  It moved me. Even though I have been "Team Johnny" from the beginning of their trial.  I am a little bit embarrassed to admit how fascinated I am with this whole case. And how much I have learned about myself, especially relating to interpersonal relationships, mostly of the romantic kind. But there it is. I'm hooked.  I have adored Johnny Depp, or perhaps I should say I am a big fan of his public persona.  I recognize him as a very talented actor, intelligent, and a bit of a bad boy.   His "performance" in court has seemed to reflect who I believe he is. I did not want to believe he was abusive.  Yet he was obviously entrenched in substance abuse.  I shuddered a bit when his team painted the picture of Amber, his ex-wife as a woman with histrionic, b...