Some days you got it and some days you don't, Handstand365 Day 23

  Some days my balance is there and other days its non existant.  Granted I am still improving and I had a nice practice with my tree friend but I couldn't get any hang time out in the open yard.  I expected it though.  I have been cleaning and sorting all day and was kinda worn out and distracted.  I had to just accept after so many attempts that it just wasn't going to happen and be ok with that.

  Part of me wants to take a defeatist attitude but my better judgement was the "meh" part of me that rolled up my mat and went inside for a cuppa tea and some Star Trek.  Tomorrow will be better!

(in the picture, on the other side of the tree, I see a floating buddha leaning against the tree and sitting in Lotus with a bit of a cat face smelling a flower....)

Today was Day 23 of #handstand365.   I spent most of the afternoon by myself.  CRAZY!  I am hardly ever alone.  I don't mind being alone but its strange when I am usually surrounded by so many people in my own house every single day.   Lucky I like the spawn or it would be hard to deal.  I always miss the spawn and the superhero when they are gone.  

My soundtrack for the day sounded like this. 

Have an awesome Sunday!

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Angie Bee

Half Way There to my UnderArmour Whats Beautiful Goal and Day 22 of #handstand365

   Happy Dance, Happy Dance!  Today I held a handstand for 5 seconds!  I set my interval timer app on my phone to 1 second and it caught 5 frames of awesomeness!  I am really stoked.  There is definite progress both in my strength and balance but also my fear levels are way down.  That is a huge part of handstand or any inversions.  Such a challenge to work on tiny little incremental changes and not get frustrated.  I get down sometimes and frustrated when it seems like I have been working on something forever and it doesn't budge and then one day it comes.  I believe I can do this!  #Iwill do this!

 I am working on the Under Armour Whats Beautiful campaign with many of my other FitFluential peeps.  My personal goals are to do a handstand a day for 365 days as well as, hopefully, the shorter term goal of holding a handstand for 10 seconds.

  You can check out my profile and follow my progress here as well as sign up and challenge yourself to new heights!  There are also teams to join.  Its always fun to rock some goals with friends.   There are some incentives too with weekly featured profiles and swag bag winners.

  I have lots of friends racing this weekend.  

HAVE A BLAST LOVES!!!

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Angie Bee

Allergies Can Suck It! and #handstand365 Day 20

  As I write this I am not wanting to write this but I will keep it positive so as not to bum you out and spread my negativity around and to keep my blogging schedule up and running.  Truth is though, allergies can suck it!  There.  Thats where my negativity comes from.  Im a mouth breather damn it!!  I started feeling yucky yesterday and it just keeps getting worse.  My allergies don't typically last long in the spring so there is that.  I didn't start getting allergies until I had kids, the jerks haha!  I send out virtual hugs out to all my fellow allergy sufferers.   We will get through this!  I'm sleepy from taking benedryl but still can only breathe out of one side. 

  I recognize that it usually a trade off when it comes to beauty.  Spring flowers are lovely and my bees love them, yet the allergies are not so lovely.  Fireflies are out and will be missed when we move to Washington.  If you have never experienced catching fireflies on a warm midwestern summer night then you are most defiantly missing out.   The mosquitos that can be the size of a small flying dog, won't be missed.   

  Today was another hollowback handstand for #handstand365 Day 20.  I did more of a regular yoga practice this evening than what I have been doing for the last couple of days and was so tight and awkward.  I think its the heat and my allergies causing stress in my body and its not even that hot yet.    The heat does not agree with my body.   

  On a very positive note,   I started the Clean Program Cleanse yesterday.   There were some ingredients in the shakes or supplements, or both,  that my body needed as it makes me feel pretty great despite the whole allergy BS.  I waited to start the cleanse  during a time of year when I am less likely to get sick and would be less likely to have to stop the cleanse.   I was anticipating not feeling good on the cleanse for a few days or more but I felt great right after the first time taking the supplements and drinking the shakes.   

  Have you done the Clean Program Cleanse?   Have you done any cleanses?   Have a great Thursday!

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Angie Bee

The G+ chapter of my life and #handstand365 Day 21

  I can separate my life into chapters.   When I hear a song from my past it is referenced to a particular chapter.  Even social media goes in a chapter.   When I had baby Sammy it was all about Napster. There was the period of time when I first moved up here to Iowa when I was pregnant with Archimedes and was on MySpace.  I hadn't started blogging yet and hadn't started running again either.

  After he was born and Jaymon was able to travel to visit us in Iowa more often I discovered Facebook and also started running and blogging.  That is the last chapter or current chapter.  Now that we are ending the Iowa chapter I am also noticing that my blogging and social media preferences are changing as well.  

  I just discovered all the awesome new improvements to G+.  Until now I haven't done much with G+ but now I am intrigued and want to do hangouts and love the new layout etc.  I am still exploring it but frankly it makes Facebook seem like the old MySpace.   Granted I am pretty locked into facebook and have many great friends there and my Barefoot Angie Bee page  and of course all the friends from highschool but I am loving the new changes with G+.    I am loving changes lately in general.

  It seems fitting that these big improvements to G+  would start at the same time as our big life change starts.  I am doing more yoga than running, although I still adore running my tastes have changed, and we are moving 1800 miles away.  I love social media but want more depth and better control over how I consume media as well as how I document my life.   I wish that I could post to G+ from Instagram!   I also like that I am not seeing ads for irrelevant crap on G+!

  Here is my G+ link to my page.  Come check it out with me!   What social media platforms do you prefer?   Do you look at your life in chapters?

  Here is todays #handstand365 photo.  It was day 21. 

 

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Angie Bee

the star that fell from the sky and #handstand365 day 19

  Today was a day that I wished I would have taken more pictures and yet I was too busy playing with the boys to stop and take them.   Lots of big changes as far as the move goes.  We sold the trampoline today and my oldest spawn went out several hours later to jump on it and stood there for a few seconds staring at the empty spot before he remembered we had sold it.  The consolation is that we will get another one someday and in the mean time big adventures will be had.

  It was stupid hot today so we didn't play outside much until sunset.  I went out to practice handstands for about 15 minutes earlier in the day but came in right after that.  Too freakin hot and one of the reasons we are bailing on the midwest!   

  Milo, Archimedes, and Samson and I all practiced our handstands in the front yard as the sun was going down and the sky was that pretty peach and pink color that comes with early summer sunsets.  Sam and Milo were doing quite well as Archimedes ran around the yard.   They are both discovering that it feels good to be daring and try something new.   I loved watching the look on their faces when they would get closer and closer to balance.  They would surprise themselves.   I love that I can inspire them and I actually nailed a couple and impressed them.  Yes!  Mom brownie points! 

  While we were playing in the yard I bent over to do a handstand and found one of the boys' star beads from ages ago right between my hands.  I tossed it to Archimedes but he didn't see me toss it to him and he said "look a star fell down from the sky and landed in our yard!"  Of course I had to keep it.   It will be my souvenir from this place.   It's perfect and now my new favorite piece of jewelry!

  Today I worked on hollowback handstands for #handstand365.  Actually I worked on tuck, pike, stag, straight leg, and just playing around with bandhas but for the challenge I worked on hollowback.  Its one that scares me.   There are little weaknesses in my shoulders and I get stuck trying to go deeper. I was able to hold it for a long time though to work on relaxing and strengthening.   I want to be able to bring my butt down to where my shoulders are now and walk my hands out farther so there is a nice bendyness to my back.    Its getting there and the practicing is fun!

  I put in our 30 day notice on our duplex today.  Its official.  We are moving!!  PNW here we come!!

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Angie Bee

 

Sort of overwhelmed, Just Like Honey, and #handstand365 Day 18

   I gave away all of my house plants this evening.  I loved my plants!   The man that came to pick them up was the first one to reply to my Craigslist notice.   He is surprising his wife, who loves plants, and is out of town right now.    He said he also wants our old Festiva.  Craigslist is a trip!  

 I feel sort of overwhelmed now.  The house is much bleaker and empty feeling even though there is so much stuff left.  The plants made it cozy.  The whole moving thing seems real now.  It was an experiment to see how fast stuff would go on Craigslist and wow did they go fast.  

  Today was an awesome handstand day.    It was the first day to try a Stag Leg Handstand.  Much easier to balance.  I was told that but had not had the guts to try it until today.   I have to say it again, the key to handstand is having an exit strategy.   Its really nice to try something new and not crash over backwards.  It makes me want to shake my fist in the air and yell "Take that Fear!"   I may have actually done that a time or two........ :)

  The man that picked up the plants reminded me of Bill Murray.  I love the movie Lost in Translation.  Its one of my favorites.  I have also always adored the song Just Like Honey which was part of the soundtrack.   It seemed fitting. 

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Angie Bee

Willie Nelson's On the Road Again and #handstand365 Day 17

  When I was a very little girl I remember my mother singing Willie Nelson's song On the Road Again while on our way to visit my grandparents in Santa Rosa, California where I was born and grew up.  I remember driving down the road in Northern California watching the pattern of the grape vines in the vineyards and seeing mountains and trees go by with this song on the radio.  We made a weekly shopping trip to Santa Rosa and I think she might have sung On the Road again every single time we started our little trip.  She had a song like a personal soundtrack for every situation it seemed.  I remember being amazed at how many songs she knew and how each one seemed perfect for the moment when she would sing them.  Like she had s witty comment but in song form. 

  She likes many kinds of music from Willie Nelson to the Doors to CCR to The Rolling Stones.  One of her standbys was Love You Like a Rock by Paul Simon.   It was one of her ways that she told us she loved us was singing the melody of that song.  I remember her cleaning the house listening to the Stones or singing an Oakridge Boys song while making lunch. 

   I am estranged from my mother but I have come to a place where I can deeply appreciate some things that she did.   She always had a song to sing and we had music playing often.  She placed importance on being a wife and a mother and often told us that that was what she wanted to be when she grew up and she did what she dreamed of.  It has helped me to appreciate the choices I have made to be a wife and a mother.  

  She valued her relationships and she imparted that on me and I am grateful.  She was always there for us when we were little as she was a stay at home mom.  Even though she often didn't feel well, she has MS, she was always there to listen and take time to pay attention to us.   Being a parent, this is not always easy to stop what you are doing to be present with a child but I don't remember a time where she didn't stop what she was doing and listen. 
  
  I have loved Willie Nelson since I was a little girl and I love that he is 80 years old and still makin music with his friends, on his old well loved looking guitar, as well as being an activist and humanist.   He also has 7 children!   

  Now that my family is planning a big move to Washington this song comes to mind as we plan and prepare.   It occurs to me that this is a random sort of post but I thought it was interesting that I would hear two references to this song in one morning after having forgotten about it for a very long time.   I don't like to pass up noticing, appreciating, and contemplating multiple random seeming references like that.  

  As far as my mother is concerned,  like I said, we are estranged but for my own heart,  personal growth,  and well being I like to go over the things that I appreciate about her from time to time.   For a long time I was angry and hurt.  Now I see things more balanced and mellow.   It eases my own feelings of disappointment in how things have turned out between us to think about the positive memories.    My heart has healed enough to appreciate the fond memories.   Just like my childhood, it seems as though the soundtrack keeps on going.  Thanks for that Karen. 

  When we get in the van to drive away from Des Moines and on to new adventures I think I might just sing this song.  

 

Today was Day 17 of the #handstand365 challenge.  As  a FitFluential Ambassador I am taking part in the Under Armour  Whats Beautiful Campaign.  My goals are to do a handstand a day for one year and to hold a handstand for 10 seconds.   I have set up my profile page and put my handstand challenges on my page daily.  Follow along and Come and join me here! 

What do you say "I Will" to?  What challenges are you giving yourself?

Have a fabulous week and be awesome!!!

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Cheers,

Angie Bee