Spring is in the air

After punking out on getting back into the pool for the past 3 days, I went this morning. Turns out I haven't forgotten as much as I thought I had. Cardiovascularly, I need to get better, but my strokes were pretty ok. I still can't swim all the way across the pool, but even the mean lifeguard (one of my excuses for not going back the past couple of days) didn't have anything to yell at me for this morning. It's quite funny to be at the YMCA at 6 am with all the elderly folks...and me.

As usual, I've got a few personal goals and projects in the works - I don't really set these things up for myself and not accomplish them, which I got to say is something I like about myself. Hell or high water, what I say I'm going to do, I do. So here's the lineup:

1. Re-train for running a 5K. I used this running plan back in 2007 to train and found it highly effective, so I'm doing it again. I hate running, which is ironic since I was on the track team in high school. But my sense is that every person should be able to run 3 miles - God forbid, an attacker is coming after me, I'd like to think I could run 3 miles to get away. He or she might not be able to, but I should. So anyways, I'm on week 3 of this plan.
   
2. Improve the flexibility of my hips and upper thighs - my massage therapist Meagan has told me that this area on me is too tight and will be painful someday when I get pregnant. So, I'm working on that through a new stretching plan, more yoga, and the addition of a new type of yoga - it's called Yin Yoga, and it's not movement-oriented. Rather, you hold each pose for 5 minutes. I have been dreading a class thinking how in the heck would I hold a pose for 5 minutes, but yesterday I went to my first class and it wasn't bad at all. I think Hasan and I will go on Sunday.
3. Reward the yoga with a yoga retreat :) Not sure when, possibly next Spring Break if my friend Meredith is going to come with me to Maya Tulum. That's where I've settled on going for this retreat...I mean, LOOK at it. How can you not want to do yoga there??? Wendy went there a couple of years back and loved it. I can't wait.
4. LEARN TO SWIM - My goal this year is to learn to swim. I'll deal with the fear of deep water thing later, but I've got to learn to swim laps. This is it. 2010 - I'm not leaving you without knowing how.
5. Become an Indian-American that knows how to cook Indian food. When I was in India, I realized that one of the few things that connects me to India is a love for the food, which is something I'd like to share with my kids someday. And I barely know garam masala from channa masala. Sad, but true. And my sister-in-law-to-be Ebonie keeps asking me to cook India food for Family Dinner on Sundays. So, in the spirit of Julie (of Julie & Julia fame), I'm going to make an India food dish per day. I do have Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Vegeterian Cooking cookbook to cook from, so I'll give it a try. Although the one or two recipes I tried from there I didn't love. I was in Borders the other day and thought to spend 35 bucks on Madhur Jaffrey's cookbook, which seemed so much easier and better, but I can't conscience spending 35 dollars on a cookbook when I have one at home I've used TWICE in 10 years. So let's give the Sahni book a try and if I really find it's no good, I can treat myself a new one.

This weekend Hasan and I are going to look at some places to have our wedding/brunch. It's supposed to rain - if so, we won't make it. But the places look pretty and seem in line with what we're thinking.

Our Roxie got spayed last week and I'm worried (Hasan is "concerned") that her wound site looks funny, so it's back to the vet we go today. I hope the vet says she's fine and can start running around again, because she and I are driving each other crazy cooped up in the office. Seriously, have you ever tried typing documents with a cat sitting on both of your forearms? I'll tell you what...my forearms are getting stronger!

All the more to swim faster with, I say!

It's back to work time. I just signed a new client on Monday - yay! Also had final interviews with that big company last Friday (haven't heard anything back and don't know if I'd take it) and an introductory interview with another big company that found me (not sure if I'd take that one either).

In other news, I talked to my niece Tanuja briefly this morning and asked her how to spell her name, something I taught her when I was there. She said "I don't know" and hung up the phone. Hmph.

Life is bountiful. As Hasan is fond of saying these days: from abundance, I get abundance, and abundance remains.

Ponder that.