I succumbed to "25 Things About Dee"

Sometimes on email, or recently on Facebook, lists get sent around concerning things you might not know about the person who sent you the message. I kind of detest these things because usually they have stupid questions like, "What's your favourite colour?" or "Who do you think is most likely to respond back to you?" That's pathetic; however, I like it when the questions are inventive, or like in the most recent backlash of lists is Facebook's rampant "25 Things About Me" list, where you can make up your own list. Being a bit more of an outsideofthebox kind of gal, I got inspired by some other friends of mine who filled their list out with really interesting things about them, and so decided to write my own list of 25 Things About Dee: 1. I'd rather be naked than wear super-tight jeans. 2. I think I just got certified as a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Practitioner. 3. My logical mind comes from a strong line of mechanical Monties. 4. If I don't get outside at least once a day, I feel like I die just a little bit. 5. I frequent Steve-o-Reno's for a decaf coffee and a brownie more than I'd like to admit (but at least I bring my own stainless steel mug). 6. I've married a man who looks like my twin but with less hair. 7. I buy my husband children's books for presents so that we have a kick-ass library of fun kids books when we actually do pop out a little wee-kid one day. 8. Brian and I read these kids books together in bed before falling asleep. 9. I need twenty minutes of lounging in bed under the warm covers before I can even think about getting up. 10. My best friend, Sarah, has had that title since 1992. 11. I write Haiku's about bacon, and as birthday wishes for friends when I remember to. 12. I love the Halifax market on Saturday mornings between 8:00 and 9:00 AM, but if I get there later than that I definitely get 'market rage'. 13. I haven't owned a television in ten years. 14. If a television is on in a room, I cannot divert my eyes no matter how hard I try. 15. I am a photographer of nature, of small things, of people, and I used to sell my photos as greeting cards at the Halifax market back in 2004. 16. I love, LOVE movies. Good movies. 17. I got married in a park, with a keg of beer, a canoe, and 75 of our closest friends and family. 18. I secretly wish I could sing like Jen Grant. 19. Sometimes when I take other people's yoga classes, I get really resistant to their control over what I'm doing, so I do other things just to be doing something different. 20. I write about shit like #19 in my journal to try to understand the inner workings of Dee and how to grow into who I really am. 21. I say I hate lists like this, but I really like reading other people's answers. 22. My spare time is sucked up by jobs right now, and I can't wait to have more space to play, to paint, to run around, and do anything I desire. 23. I'm considering cropping my hair super short again because longer hair is too hard to manage, and I haven't used a hair dryer in three years, so I need my 'style' to be easy. 24. The food I buy and prepare now is completely different from what I ate ten years ago - I care about buying local, eating fresh food, and dropping the amount of flour and sugar and milk I ingest. I cook differently too, which is nice. 25. Sometimes I see myself in a window reflection and think, "Holy shit, I look really pretty today! Right on!"

Dee's Update to her Phoenix Rising Pals

It's near the completion date for the 8-month yoga therapy course I've been working on through Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. The group of us (approximately 30) about to finish have been sharing stories lately on email about how we're doing and what's been happening in our lives, in our practice. I thought I'd extend the sharing aspect of my email update here on my blog: My story, or update, appears to revolve around a little intention I wished for that seems to have come to fruition a little too strongly. Perhaps I don't need to ask for my wishes with the phrase "Pretty please with ice cream on top" added to the end (note to self). What did I ask for? Money. Er, well, more specifically, a job. A job that was more than a few hours a week so Brian and I could pay our mortgage and afford to eat sushi in a restaurant every once in a while. What did I get? Four jobs. Sheesh! Okay, now the next question is probably, "Why did you take all these jobs, Dee?" I ask myself that question a lot, and my answer comes from the fact that I was offered each job sequentially and these part-time jobs started to add up real nice resembling something like partitioned full-time work, and then in the end, after I had accepted these jobs, I got offered one more: a full-time job with Health Canada (a federal job with benefits that amount to more than just being able to eat sushi in a restaurant once in a while)... So, when you have four jobs, one of which is already a full-time job, and then you add Packet 4 to the mix, you get Productive Dee. I should actually rephrase that to, "PRODUCTIVE Dee." I told Karen that I have a new understanding of the phrase, "If you need something done, give it to a busy person." Now for a drum roll..... where's the drum roll? - oh yeah, this is email. [Insert drum roll here]: I'm almost done Packet 4. Yes, it's incredible, I know, but PRODUCTIVE Dee was pre-planning and basically gave'er (Canadian term for 'hauled ass', or 'worked really hard') in the two weeks prior to starting the fourth and full-time employment opportunity. It's surprising how many sessions I could squeeze into two weeks, and how many reports I could pump out. That makes the process sound rushed and potentially weak, but really, it was a great way to go very deeply and intensely into the process and I came out with some new awarenesses that I probably wouldn't have noticed if I had done these things in the slow, relaxed pace that I've been used to with my semi-retired style of living these past four years. The last question might be, "How long are you going to stretch yourself over these four jobs, Dee?" Not for long, that's for sure. I'm fully aware of the another well-known phrase, "Don't burn the candle at both ends." Each one of the part-time gigs drops off sometime within the next month or two, except teaching yoga and the full-time federal job. So, come April, I think I'll be in the position to offer some yoga therapy, take some time to enjoy my employment benefits, and go out for sushi lots. In the mean time, I find myself gliding along somewhat smoothly on my short-term heightened immune system - thanks equally to the stress of my situation and my yoga practice: paradoxical, and awesome. With love and warmth, Dee