Muay Thai and Tai Chi

An article hanging on the board at the school.

As you may know, I’m looking for a new place to train, and to that effect I’ve been trying lots of places to see where my new home will be.  I tried a Muay Thai place around the corner from me a few days ago.  My experience was colorful to say the least.

When I first arrived the secretary was completely vacant.  She seemed like she was either stoned, bored, or just didn’t care.  Right away I was turned off the place by this lack of a welcoming attitude.  She wasn’t helpful at all in helping me figure out where things like change rooms, washrooms, and waiting areas were.

The place itself was like a rough and tumble boxing gym, which is kind of what I expect since this is Thai boxing.  And it’s actually an atmosphere I enjoyed, so for me this was a plus.  The workout was simplistic, but effective,  and again I’m not necessarily one who cares about finesse in conditioning – as long as it get the job done I’m happy.  But the thing that turned me off was after that.  The art itself consists of very few moves.  It’s very much a hunched in, simple stance boxing art.  I’m not knocking boxing.  It’s cool and great to watch and definitely hard to master.  But it’s not what I’m looking for.  When you’re looking for art, you don’t oil painting, you don’t sign up for football.  It just wasn’t what I wanted.  Too much brute force, not enough creativity and complexity in movement.

Then on Saturday, I tried a Tai Chi school near me.  I’ve studied Tai Chi before. As a result I was skeptical of whether I would like a school that focused entirely on Tai Chi.  But I went.  The class was challenging in the mental and artistic respects.  I had complexity of movement but no brute force.  And frankly I need both.

I’m not a yoga lover simply because I need to kick and punch and be aggressive.  I need the endurance training and high energy conditioning that the martial arts provide.  And frankly, sometimes I just need to hit something.  So neither of these places would suffice in themselves.

The ideal would be to join both and get my fulfillment that way, but I have neither the time nor the money.   What I need is a place like I had before.  I place that provided more.  And everyday I’m angry about the betrayal that forced me to leave.

A Room With A Few…Ladies

Cardi – F21; Dress – Ruche; Belt – AE; Socks – MacGregor; Boots – Town Shoes.

This dress from Ruche is perhaps one of my favorite in my entire closet, and that’s saying alot considering how many I own.  But I love how easy it is to throw on and how feminine it makes me feel.   Plus, it’s wonderful because there’s lots of breathing room so on those days when you don’t feel up to scruff it’s very forgiving.  And the little tulips and the ruffles make me feel pretty!

I tried a Tai Chi class today *which I’ll be blogging about tomorrow* and afterwards headed over to a girlfriends house for a ladies tea party. 

Christine (left), and Victoria (right) our wonderful hostess.

My small plate of treats and cup of tea with the tray in the background.

I had a wonderful time snacking on delicious homemade goodies – gluten and sugar free too!  But I have to say the very best part was hanging out with the wonderful ladies who came.  It’s amazing to be in a roomful of such talented, smart, witty and caring ladies.  What a blessing!

Hat ‘o Glory

Husband was impressing me as you can tell.

Hat – F21; Cardi – H&M; Top – AE; Jeans – Guess; Loafers – Town Shoes.

Here’s an outfit I wore a few days ago for a nice little stroll around our neighborhood.  I haven’t had an opportunity to post it yet, and I didn’t want to leave it too long, you know? 

I love hats.  They’re my latest obsession, before that it was scarves and this season I seem to not be wearing many scarves.  I’m sure I’ll go back to them soon.  I tend to swing like a pendulum from on extreme to the other.  Soon, all my outfit posts will feature scarves!  Okay, maybe not all.

I’ve got a fun Saturday planned and I’ll share that with you all of course.  But for now, check out some more shots of my Posthuman shoot over here.

Happy Saturday!

P.S.  I’m so relieved that Baby’s fever broke and that now she’s sick but obviously getting better.  *breath of relief*

Baby In Her Pool

I love watching Baby play in her pool.  She splashes around and babbles and has a huge grin on her face the whole time! It’s possibly the greatest time imaginable. 

I’m such a cheesy mama!

Someone’s Written About Me!

Hey check me out over here today! Fragileheart has written a deliciously sweet entry about me.  She’s so wonderful with her words she makes me blush.

It secretly makes me jump with glee!

Okay, maybe not so secretly.
 Yay!

Blowing Raspberries

Glasses & Dress – F21; Flip Flops – Abercrombie&Fitch.

I love this dress for two reasons: one, it’s cotton and therefore breathes on a humid day, and two, it has a great pattern that hides all the food stains I get from Baby.  Oh and a third reason!  It has pockets – always good to throw in little things you need, like teething medication. 

And while we’re on the topic, why does teething have to be so darn hard and trying….for the parents I mean?  I’m not sleeping, and I spend the whole day carrying/holding/cuddling a sucky, whiny baby.  It’s rough I tell ya! 

And no, I can’t imagine it’s fun for her either.

True Story:  Baby latest favorite thing is to blow huge raspberries on my leg or arm.  She did it for five minutes straight yesterday, and afterwards my leg was soaking in drool.  Ahhh, the joys of parenthood:  drool soaked body parts.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEKK!!

This is what I found in between my patio doors this morning!  
The only reason I got a shot of it was because it was in between my patio doors – hence I had a thick glass door protecting me from it. 

Sometimes I’m A Little Weird

Glasses & Shoes – F21; Dress – AE; Earrings – Walmart; Belt – thrifted; Watch – gift from Husband.

Do you know what I love?  I love fatty protein shakes.  Weird, I know.  But I love making *soy-free, dairy-free* shakes with a huuuuuge dollop of almond or cashew butter.  It’s absolutely wonderful post run or after a Kung Fu training session.  And sometimes *perhaps today* I love to throw in some strong iced coffee into it and have it for breakfast.  It’s so thick and creamy and it perks me right up!

But enough about food.

Last night, I  had a rehearsal for Posthuman *read about that here* The above outfit was what I wore to said rehearsal *which is soooo not appropriate for the character I play, but whatever*  Anyway, it was hot and humid, and by the time I got to the bus stop *a two minute walk* the entire area around my belt was wet with sweat *gross!!*  So, for the duration of the bus and subway ride I removed the belt and hoped that things would air out.  They did, so I just kept the belt off.  And I forgot about it until we were just about to leave.  I probably looked a little weird pulling a belt out of my purse suddenly and putting it on.  But I wanted to wear it as soon as I remembered ’cause I thought it was cute!

Pardon My Blushing

You know Ruche is one of my favorite online shopping destinations, right?  Well, they have done something that makes me jump, clap and giggle like a little girl.  *yippeee!* Check out Ruche’s blog!  They feature some shots of a familiar lady!

Garden Walking

Yes, that’s bok choy in my hand.

Tearing off some parsley.
Shirt – Talula (thrifted); Skirt – Smart Set; Flip Flops – Abercrombie&Fitch.

It’s been really hot here lately, and though I’m not complaining, it is a little rough on Baby.  During the day she’s fine, but during the night she’s so hot she can’t sleep.  Which means that she cries.  Which means we can’t sleep.  That’s the only thing that I have a beef with in terms of the heat.

Any tips on staying cool?

It was so nice, that we decided to all go for a walk down the Humber River.  We didn’t get very far before Baby got fussy and we had to turn around; so in all, we were out for just over an hour.  But here’s some of what we did see:

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