A new thing

In the past few weeks things have been stirring in my life. I have been ask to help out at this cafe as an assistant volunteer coordinator. This particular cafe helps feed those who can't afford a meal. I have had a handful of experiences there already that have made me remember that this year is about seeking joy. When I get a chance to give a healthy, satisfying meal to a man who hasn't eaten in three days, something inside of me says thank you Jesus....thank you for providing for me, thank you that I get the chance to share my life with good people and thank you for opportunities to not focus on myself. And though I am still working at the Washington Park Grille and not teaching I am evaluating what I really want to do next. YES, getting a real job and paying down my debt and students loans sounds appealing, so does working real hard for the next 12 months so that I can travel for 6 months. So the question is, how can I do a little of both. Thoughts of moving home with my Mom has crossed my mind, but I just can't justify living in Niwot when my life is in Denver. So, the goal in the next couple of months is to figure out how I can live more cheaply than I am now and how I can make more money than I am now. Sounds like an easy equation but in all honesty I don't want to sacrifice my freedom....I want my cake and to eat too. Another thing that I am excited about is that I will be watching a coworkers son one day a week. I am real excited about this because Avon(the kiddo) is absolutely adorable and I get to help the mom and dad out(bonus!)

To say the last year has been great would be an absolute lie, but what I have learned about myself in the process has been invaluable.

Summer in the city is here and to say that this chick is excited is an understatement....it is positively my favorite time in Denver. I cannot wait to share my adventures with you. Stay dialed in.

A new thing is here,

APK

Brotherly Love...Adventures in

As most of you know I spent the last weekend in the city of Brotherly Love. I am happy to say that the love was felt, but I did not fall in love with any brothers. I spent the weekend in good conversation, good food and good old fashion fun. I went to Philadelphia to visit three of a my favorite people in the whole wide world: Amy and Caleb Nothwehr and Janelle Anema. I think a play by play of the weekend might leave you sleeping face down on your computer with drool covering your keyboard, so I will give you the highlights...bulleted(because I am being lazy)

-Dinner @ Earth, Manakeesh, and the Nothwehrs.

-Cheesesteaks @ Carmines @ Reading Station

-Watching "Grown Ups", the movie was not a highlight, but that we watched it(period)

-Cartwheels in the Constitutional Mall(belly laughs)

-NERTS(Z)

-Watching Amy/Cindy rock the soccer field

-Dios te Bendigas

-Continual Conversation with Janelle till 2 in the morning

-Girl talk Luncheon

-Mtg new peeps

-MATT WERTZ!!!!!!

I am thankful for the time that I got to spend with these people, I realized how much JOY that they bring me and the freedom that their friendship affords me. I am also thankful for the people that have taken care of them in my absence, I feel like a proud mama watching her children grown up and do the things that they are created to do.

I trust that the good Lord takes cares of us in specific ways and I got to see how He is doing that with my friends. Life is truly blessed when you can laugh about goobery singer/songwriters and get lost and end up in Jersey.

Wishing for more times like this,

APK

Girl, Interrupted..grrr.

Yoga...a break from reality and a destination that I so commonly crave. Corepower Yoga...expensive but totally worth the dolla dolla bills, especially on a Monday night with the gloriously sexy and nice yoga instructor. We will call him hot sexy yogapants(only because I don't want anyone to rat me out to him). Not only is Hot sexy yogapants everything his title claims but he is actually a pretty decent instructor. I enjoy going to his class for multiple reasons, first being HIM, second being that it is usually beginners who are learning and improving and lastly because I can come in whatever condition and work it out on the mat. That is why I love my Monday night. I must admit that I started going because a friend told me about Hot sexy yogapants, and I keep going because of him and the workout I get. I must also admit that sometimes he makes me very nervous and sometimes I giggle like a third grader with a crush when I see him in upward dog...((sigh))...nothing else to say about that. Let me get to the point of my story.

This Monday I had to work but I got off extremely early and was able to rush over and get in some mat time. Everything was going as normal, then I glanced over to my right and saw a little yogi(I think she was an instructor), I normally check out the crowd just to see if, duh, there are any other cute, sexy yoga men there. But as we are getting into the flow this little yogi keeps grabbing my attention, which, of course is not the point...but sister kept doing harder moves and bending like a fricken pretzel that I was starting to get competitive. Also, not the point. Let's get real here...if you rock at yoga you should be going to more advanced classes to get the most out of the practice, you should not be coming to beginning level classes to show off. I don't mind the advanced yogi dropping in to get back to basics but please don't be doing handstands to show off how cool you are. To say the least I was distracted, and I felt like telling this little yogi..."Go bend yourself in half in another class, please(trying to keep with the yoga spirit)", but I proceeded with the flow.

NOW: Some self realization:

My intention was to feel strong and I left feeling defeated. My problem, alas, lies in my need to compete with others and the need to do things well. So when I saw little yogi knocking it out of the park I got jealous that I wasn't rocking it. Instead of showing myself no judgment, I let myself get caught up with the things that I go to yoga to get freedom from...boo.

My behind is real sore because of the whole ordeal...maybe a reminder that it isn't about the B.S. that I made it about. Still giggled a butt, I mean a bit.

Interrupted, unintentionally

APK

Survival Skills

As a single woman in Denver, Colorado I have had to develop some survival skills, so that I don't become a victim. The skill that I like the most and use most frequently is the Single Woman Karate Kick. You must be wondering how this karate kick differs from the rest of the karate kicks in martial arts, well...frankly, the only difference it that SWKK only makes contact with inadament objects, such as doors and....mainly doors. The reason that this particular kick has been added to my repertoire of survival skills is that it allows for multiple levels of multitasking. Let me tell you how I get to utilize this skill. The scene goes as follows...

Young woman has entirely too much clothing for one individual, thus she is able to put off doing laundry for multiple weeks. In her infinite wisdom she has divided her clothes up in the various different loads and loaded them into the basket AND laundry bag(yes kids it takes two carrying devices) and proceeds to head out the door to the laundry mat. In her arsenal of tricks she holds the Single Woman Karate Kick, but as she has already used her brain(another survival skill...use of brain, not popular with attracting the shallow men but is a must for survival, sorry boys this one is a smart cookie) to prop open the door she must carry the weight or her wardrobe speedily to her car. Shoot dang, the door is closed and alas she must drop the loads of dirty clothing on the ground, she was desperately hoping to avoid this situation. Once the clothing is safe in the coche(Spanish for car) she drives the five blocks to encounter another stitch in which she might become a victim, but then again our heroine has something else up her sleeve. As she approaches the front door of the laundry mat she performs the "Lean against the wall with laundry basket between, using one arm to swing the door wide open then wedge body in between door and wall as to create the opening to enter", which she performed with elegance and grace that the Russian Judges gave her a 10. As time slowly passed and our leading lady wrote another blog and facestalked, the laundry got clean and folded. The only thing left to do is to pack up the fresh smelling clothes and head home. If you thought our favorite woman had made it home without travail you would be mistaken...there was one more obstacle in her way...THE FRONT DOOR. For many years the front door has posed a problem for single women carrying more than they should all over the world. This stitch is the exact reason the Single Woman Karate Kick was created...so our most lovely lady prepares with the "Lean against the wall, using one arm to swing the door wide open then wedge body in between door and wall as to create the opening to enter", after unlocking the door she steadies herself and "FWAPOW" the right leg contacts the front door with ease to let our young lady in her apartment with as much ease as can be allowed with such a heavy load. Once the SWKK has performed and clothes are safely put away the Single lady rejoices that her tasks have been completed without her becoming a victim...of what you might ask...a victim of falling laundry baskets or the having to put them down to open the door.

Most days I never have to use the SWKK(can also be used when carrying groceries), and if I were ever attacked by an actual person I would be hopeless, but it has served me well and I envision it will serve me well when I have a family too.

Till the next adventure.

Just call me the Karate Kid,

APK

now i actually have to go pick up my laundry and head home. thanks for reading.

Running on Empty

I was trying to think of a song title that aptly describes my new foray into the wide world of running. running on empty seemed the most appropriate, only because I never want to go running, and thus it always seems hard to muster the energy. Nevertheless, I am getting it done, however, slowly.

Soooo, I have this goal of running the Bolder Boulder in under 70 mins, it calculates out to about 11 1/2 minute miles, so I ventured out on the streets of Denver on Monday for 70 mins...4 mins of which I think were actually spent running(no exaggeration). Am I frustrated with myself and my being utterly out of shape...you betcha. You might wonder how a physical education teacher might be so out of shape...well the answer my good friends is: LAZINESS. I hate running and it makes my body hurt, but I do think it has some benefit. So in my attempt to get in shape I am going to train to run the Bolder Boulder and I am purchasing a Corepower Yoga pass for the next three months. I don't want to confuse you by allowing you to think that I am focused on weight loss, because I am not, I just want my body to feel energetic, healthy and strong...if weight loss coincides with that endeavor, great. In the past few years I have wanted to deemphasize the focus on my body image and focus on being healthy. With that said I haven't weighed myself in 2 years...good or bad, and for that I am thankful because I have been able to pay attention to how I feel rather than what the scale says. Amen to that.

As I say these things out loud, I am looking for people to encourage me in these pursuits, as well as, help me combat the laziness that so easily creeps into my life.

Peace, love, and body aches and pains

APKiller

Rolling into the Deep

As some of you might know I love music and I derive much happiness from it. Lately I have been listening to old school favorites like Warren g's Regulators and I also have been listening to some new stuff...in particular Adele's Rolling into the Deep. I have found this song and its video very cathartic, it is a song that I can bump real loud and sing my heart out or sit quietly while I let the base and drums roll their beautiful rhythm over me. This song has brought me much joy since my friends Ozzy and B-Nasty introduced it to me. And as I sit in my local Dazbog while they throw some old school hip hop my way(snoop, bone thugs, and the like) I am thankful that people have the gift of song...because it brings dance, relief, release, redemption, grace and sets pace for my life. Thank you people of the musical breed, you have given a broken woman healing.

Please enjoy the following video and be moved to movement, physical or of the heart.

Peace, love and Beats,

APK

Reader Rabbit

Yesterday I picked up one of my old favorite books, The Red Tent, primarily because the other book I was reading sucked. I needed a distraction from the horrible writing and impossibly hard to understand plot and dove into the world of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob....it is biblical fiction and I RUV it. It took me 7 hours to read the entire book, four hours before work and three hours after work. It inspired me to finish this other book, not even worth mentioning because it was so bad. So in the past two days, instead of getting my pasty self outside in the glorious weather, I spent hours in my bed reading. I think I might have to take a break for the time being and put myself out there in the land of the living. I am however taking suggestions for epic tales to read during my upcoming trips to Philly and California.

In other news I have decided to run the Bolder Boulder with some friends, and thus begins my training for the 10k, I am in need of a slow running partner to keep me honest. My goal is to run the race in under 70 mins, so begins the journey. Have I told you that I hate running, I really do, but I need a goal, something to chase after(pun most definitely intended).

Peace, love and reading,

APK