Clicking My Heels

There's no place like home,
There's no place like home,
There's no place like home.

I'm feeling a little homesick. Odd- considering I am at home, or rather my parent's house in Illinois. It was as cold as the south pole last week and then Boxing Day turned out to be like a day on the beach: 66 degrees. I spent the morning on the porch in my pajamas teaching my family various yoga positions.

Warrior 1....breathe....chair.....downward facing dog.....cobra.....breathe
It was lovely.

However, I can't deal with this inconsistency - the weather and the customs my family has chosen to disregard and abandon like church, health, friends.
Being here makes me want to go to home - Provo. My friends are there along with my work and school. My center of gravity is in Provo. I can safely make plans there and swing the pendulum far east or far west but still land safely in Provo in the arms of my friends.

I've switched my blog around a little bit and changed the picture. That is a picture I took in August on the way to the Pali lookout on Oahu. Notice how the smokey clouds hang low on the rifted cliff side. It is breathtaking. Waterfalls often form on this mountainside because of the way the ridges cut deep into the face of the mountain. When I'm asked where I am from, I respond with Hawaii. Although I can't go 'home' anymore to Hawaii, it still has a piece of my heart.

I get on a plane in about twelve hours heading for Salt Lake City. I can't wait. I have absolutely no hesitation with leaving my parent's house and going home to my roommates.

....child's pose....relax....breathe......

The First Christmas Sledders

Dear All,
Happy Snow of the Season!
The truth is I don't like the snow very much unless it is falling in heavy, thick chunks and I'm snuggled up to a fireplace or a man. But I'm learning to adapt. I love walking in the snow arm in arm with my roommates or sledding.
I went sledding for the first time early this morning.... say about 1 - 4 a.m. It was the most fun I could have in the misery of winter. I was with good friends who know how to have a good time. I wrote a poem about the whole experience:

Sledding is fun.
You can do it without the sun.
You can be anything you want-
a jockey or a jugant.
Don't forget your snowshoes,
your gloves, mittens, a sled or two,
pants to keep you warm and snug,
a snowbunny to hold you in a great big hug.
When you have all these things
you're ready for a Christmas slide.
Grip the handles on the side,
Don't look back or you may die.
You may realize some things on this ride:
1) that camels slip and slide
2) rolling picks up more speed
3) standing could very well make you bleed
4th and last on this winter adventure,
that friends become so forgiving
when you steamroll their limbs and almost cease their living.
But when you help each other stand
and prepare for the next jockey, 2 man,
you'll learn that lungs and throats never felt so raw
than when you flew down the hillside
in joyful awe.

'A camel' was the name of one our maneuvers on the sled. It consisted of someone on all fours and two people on their back. Yea we're dangerous.

Anyway, it was one of the funnest nights and I look forward to more of them.