So you want to learn to surf?

It all starts out innocently enough. You get the idea to surf...just to try it out (and just for the record, this is the point I'm at, seeing as I have only been surfing a couple of times). But I have this dream. See, I've heard the more you do it, the better you get, and the more you like it. Finally, it gets to the point that when the waves are good, you're calling in sick to work or school and ditching life's responsibilities. Then it all depends on the waves. Good Waves = calling in sick to work, ETC. Finally, you lose your job. You get fired. You fail your classes. You move into a VW van, because you don't make enough money to live in a house/apartment. You go to Mexico, in your van, because it's cheaper to live, and the waves are better. It's a downward spiral, but you're the one who wants to surf. So, although I don't plan on giving up my possessions and moving to Mexico anytime soon, I am very interested in become a still-functioning-in-the-real-world surf bum. Details on my journey toward this goal coming soon.

"Discovering this idyllic place, we find ourselves filled with a yearning to linger here, where time stands still and beauty overwhelms."

Hot yoga is more than a trend.

Yoga, an ancient art form rooted in spirituality, has channeled to the forefront of culture through a resurging interest in esoteric new-age thinking. While most "new-age" trends are vacuous of any genuine philosophy, yoga is an exception. My new obsession is hot vinyasa yoga. Going through the poses, you're forced to let go of your need for control. It's a personal experience that puts you in touch with your self as you recognize your own limits and work to push beyond them. When used for personal health maintenance, Vinyasa Yoga is the ultimate cross training system, with low impact movement, aerobic, and muscle toning benefits. In class, you will literally sweat more than you ever have in your entire life in one 90 minute session. Every class repeats the same sequence with standing warm ups and proceeding through four vinyasa flows in 105 degrees and 60% humidity. So, why put yourself through such a hot challenge?

Immersing yourself in hot yoga practice is said to:

• release toxins
• improve flexibility and range of motion
• increase weight loss
• develop muscle tone
• build the immune system

Everything from stamina to skin appearance have been reported as improved among the faithful adherents to the discipline. Hot yoga additionally yields the benefit of increased metabolism, fat burning, and improved flexibility. This practice is about uniting the mind, body, and spirit for the purposes of greater health and wellness. Yoga in a warm room provides a unique challenge to the mind and body while rewarding the efforts with results more quickly than other modalities. Inches can disappear off your body with regular practice and tone will be developed. For the healthy participant, hot yoga is safe, fun, and effective while also being challenging, relaxing, and freeing. Adding heat not only has an impact on the work of the mind and body, but it requires the spirit to engage and provide the strength to endure.

(Before going to a hot yoga class, make sure you have drank LITERS of water! During the class continue hydration and end class with more H2O and some electrolytes)

Rainy Days

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby." - Langston Hughes

While I currently reside in the lovely city of Malibu, Calif., I am much more of a Pacific Northwest girl at heart when it comes to weather. For some, this concept is mindboggling--who doesn't like Malibu weather? Well, first of all, Malibu is not all it is hyped up to be. I am in sweats, boots, sweaters, and jackets more than I am in a bikini. Anyways, rainy days are my favorite. I love waking up to days when the sun is on vacation but living in Southern California my entire life has not blessed me with too many. So when the air is misty, or droplets patter against my room I like to savor every moment. I see it as a time to indulge in all the activities for which I couldn’t seem to find time for recently.

I think the following quote says it perfectly: "The best kind of rain, of course, is a cozy rain. This is the kind the anonymous medieval poet makes me remember, the rain that falls on a day when you'd just as soon stay in bed a little longer, write letters or read a good book by the fire, take early tea with hot scones and jam and look out the streaked window with complacency." - Susan Allen Toth, England For All Seasons

Catch up with friends. Turn on some Coldplay/John Mayer. Put on rubber boots and splash in puddles. Cuddle with my lovey. Make a cup of tea. Bake something delicious. Write a letter and send it via snail mail. Finally bust out that polka dot umbrella that has been hiding for months.

If we let it, cold, gloomy, sunless days have the opportunity to be magical.

"Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain."- Author Unknown

Big Movie Fun for a Not So Big Waistline or Budget

People go to the movies to escape their everyday lives. Typically, they don’t want to eat everyday food while they’re indulging their need to experience something out of the ordinary. Even with the health and fitness trends, you aren’t likely to find many concession stands serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on whole-wheat pitas, cottage cheese cups, or bowls of mixed vegetables. So indulge and just be smart about it!

When I snuggle down in my movie seat to watch my action flick or romantic comedy with a barrel sized popcorn bucket and gallon of Coke at my side, I possess movie euphoria. That is, until I realize I have just eaten and drank enough to feed a small country and spent $25 on "refreshments." So, I'm changing my ways. I'm making my movie addiction cheaper and healthier. To be just like me, all you need is a larger than normal purse and a desire to save money (and calories!) next time you treat yourself to the delightful experience that is movie-going.

B.Y.O.S. Bring Your Own Snacks. Pre-pop some 94% Fat Free, Light Butter popcorn in your microwave--you'll save a heck of a lot of calories and not feel deprived of the classic movie and popcorn pairing (savings: $7-$10). Hit up the nearest grocery store for a Diet Coke. At CVS, an ice cold Diet Coke will set you back no more than a buck fifty. Compare this to the $5-$7 they are now charging for some soda at most theaters and you'll be happy with your choice. This is a must. Not only will the following help keep your waist slim but they will also help keep your wallet thick. If you must have candy, and let's be honest, YOU MUST, indulge smartly. Junior Mints for example have less calories and fat that M&Ms and other all chocolate cnadies because of their mint filling. Buy them along with your Diet Coke at CVS for $1 versus the $3.75 you'll shell out at the concession stand. **WARNING: Movie theaters do not really approve of this whole B.Y.O.S. message...but with today's economy the way it is, and obesity on the rise, it's okay to break a few rules.

If you decide spur of the moment to catch a flick, or aren't a rule breaker, here's how to make smart choices when you're at the tempting concession stand.

Order a small popcorn without buttery topping or better still, a kid's size. Share with your neighbor, but don't get talked into the special deals or "combos". Don't get bamboozled by that bucket that reads "Free refills on large size." in big, bold letters, either. If you have to hold it with two hands, you've probably made the wrong choice. If you've just got to have candy, force yourself to ignore all candy bars (sigh) and remember what I said beofre. Choose the lesser evil like Junior Mints, Pepper Mint Patty, Gummy Bears, jelly beans and Tootsie Rolls.

Now ... don't even get me started on those super-sized sodas! Unless you're a diet soda fan, stick with buying bottled water. The overly-generous cup of soda has thousands of empty calories that will find their way to your waistline in no time.

So you've got your kiddie popcorn, your bottled water and a resolve to refrain from refills. What's left to do? Sit back, relax, enjoy the movie ... and your sense of pride at having stuck to your guns!

Pamplona, Spain & the Festival of San Fermin

Let's flashback and pretend its July and we are in Pamplona, Spain dressed head to toe in traditional white clothing with a simple red accents, about to witness The Festival of San Fermin, also known as the Running of the Bulls.

It’s six a.m. in Pamplona, the sky is turning from navy to pale blue with the approaching dawn, and the streets are already packed. In reality, many of the people who line the cobbled lanes of the old town have not been to bed yet (including myself).

Every year, roughly a million people flock to Iruña, as Pamplona is called in the native Basque language, for the festival of San Fermín. They join the native Navarros in an epic bacchanal that has taken place annually since 1591. The party kicked off with the echoing explosion of a rocket and will continue, uninterrupted, for eight days and nights.

Almost.

Around seven o’clock every morning, a calm (or utter exhaustion from the parties the night before) sweeps through the city as municipal workers set up thick wooden fences along a well trodden path that runs a half mile from holding pends in the northern part of the old town to the bull ring. Over the next hour, young men dressed like 99 percent of the people in the city this week--white pants, white shirt, red neckerchief, and red sash around the waist--gather in the street where, at eight o’clock sharp, they will run for their lives in front of six angry bulls. This is the encierro, the running of the bulls, which has been taking place since the 17th century, and remains one of the most thrilling spectacles in modern sport.

“Why do they run?” I ask the Italian man, holding a 40 ounce bottle of beer sitting next to me on the fence.

He simply replys “I don’t know."

At the time, I agree.

[Looking back, however, I realize just how built up the whole event gets. In reality, eighty percent of the guys on the street are irrelevant. They don’t feel it, they don’t live it. The hide behind more seasoned runner then go home and brag about how they "ran with the bulls." Mostly, they don’t even run in front of the bulls, they just stand to the side and watch the bulls pass. ]

The bulls pass us in a matter of seconds, rush through the streets and hang a hard right at the Curve of Estafeta ("Dead Man's Curve"). From there, it’s an all out sprint up Estafeta Street down into the bull ring. Among the hundreds of people in the street, maybe 30 actually put themselves in front of the bulls.

But what do I know about relevancy. Like a cowboy at a rodeo, I sat atop my spot on the fence. Safe. Protected. Too scared to even hop in the race. Sitting on the top timber of the inner of two fences I wait for the 8 a.m. rocket in front of the mob scene cranking their necks to get even the slightest view and think about just how lucky I am and just how cool of an experience witnessing the Festival of San Fermin actually is. The energy surges as the clock gets closer to 8. The street is so full, if everyone suddenly ran, you’d think they’d simply trip over each other and all stack up, waiting to be minced by angry bulls. The energy continues to build. Then it’s 8, and the sound of the rocket indicates that the bulls are running. The entire scramble takes about two and a half minutes. The adrenaline surges in the crowded street.

Though I was simply a bystander sharing those moments of sheer amazement as the bulls past, and the sheer exhaustion that accompanied staying up all night, I will never forget my 24hours in the city of Pamplona, Spain with my favorite person.