Yoga is hard!

Ever since Little Man was about six months old, I've said that I need to start committing some time to be sacred to myself. You moms out there know what I'm talking about. We take care of everybody and everything else before we take care of ourselves. And, most days, there's little to no time left once everybody and everything else have been cared for.

There's a yoga studio in my town that I've heard great things about, and I've been saying for a while that I wanted to give it a try. For Mother's Day, hubby purchased me a five-class pass to give them a try. I know... such a sweetie!

I've done yoga before, but only in the form of DVDs in my basement, so I wasn't sure what to expect from a live class session. Here's what I learned...

Yoga is hard!

I attended a gentle beginners class, and I loved the gentle stretches, the calm of the space, and the opportunity to focus just on myself for a little while. But I really struggled with remembering to breathe, with controlling my breath, and with keeping my mind focused on the moment.

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I discovered that it's harder than I thought it would be to truly block out everything else and just focus on your body and your breath. I know now why it's called a yoga practice; it really does take dedicated attention and practice.

I also discovered that I felt lighter, calmer, and more focused the rest of that day. It was a refreshing feeling, and I want more of it.

I'm going to my second-ever yoga class tomorrow morning and I can't wait.

Do you practice yoga? What is your favorite practice? What are your best tips for blocking out the world and focusing on your breath?

Say Your Prayers

First, Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there. Our job is always a hard and tiring one, and often feels thankless, but it's the best job out there by far.

The topic of today's post is prayer. My children are at an age where church is boring for them or, in the case

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of Little Boy, they don't even understand what's going on. So we do our best to educate our children in the principles of our faith through our day-to-day lives. We give to charity, we count our blessings, we try to do kind works.

One of things we're trying to be more consistent about is saying prayers at bedtime. I feel it brings a certain calmness and serenity to the bedtime routine and, I hope, reminds my children that we are always being cared for and that we should carry our faith with us at all times and everywhere.

Since my wee ones are a bit young to make up their own prayers, though Little Girl does on occasion, we've chosen a regular "night-night prayer" that we say together every night. Perhaps you know this one, as well.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

Bless this bed I lie upon

Four corners to my bed

Four angels 'round my head

One to watch

One to pray

And one to keep all harm away

What is your or your family's favorite bedtime (or other) prayer? How do you work instill your faith in your children?

Miracles Do Happen

I've been witness to at least one miracle in my life; last night, I watched another unfold. The escape of Amanda Berry and the rescue of Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight is a story that shines light on the goodness of people (like Charles Ramsey) and the greatness of God in keeping these women alive and healthy. Thousands of prayers were answered last night. And hope resurged for the countless others in our world whose children have been missing.

In the days and weeks to come, I have no doubt that horrific details will emerge about the experiences these three women went through in that house.

But today, I thank God for this piece of wonderful and uplifting news. I lift these women, their families, and the little girl that Amanda Berry bore during her captivity up in prayer.

I hugged my daughter a bit longer and a bit tighter this morning. (And my son, too.) The people in our lives are the most precious gifts we'll ever be given.

Drum roll please....

My newly re-named and re-focused blog is here! After much thought, I have finally arrived at a name that embodies what I'm hoping to do and share here. My primary focus in blogging to focus my own mind on the things most important to me to live a better life.

That's why I'm now blogging under the title: Living the "More" Life

The "more" life is about sharing with you my tips, ideas and thoughts on living a life with more joy, laughter, fun, compassion, love, organization, faith, and more time for the things and people we love most. I hope to also be able to share the tips, ideas and thoughts of others as well.

As a working mom, I all-too-often feel as if I'm living the "just getting by" life. I suspect you know what I mean. And how I feel. So let's commit today to more consciously striving to live the "more" life.

For me, tonight, that means more love, as I'm off to go tuck my Little Girl into bed.

Names are hard

When my I was pregnant with my daughter, we had her name picked out before we even knew whether we were having a boy or girl.

When I was pregnant with my son, we bickered and quarreled over names until about the 7 1/2 month mark.

There's so much in a name. It's a reflection of who we are, an embodiment of our souls and our spirits.

It's for these same reasons that I'm struggling to come up with a new name for my blog. The current name, Grab the Ring, just doesn't speak to me anymore. It's not a reflection of my purpose or my spirit. Problem is, all the names I'm coming up with that I feel do reflect my new focus and purpose are already taken. Grumble.

I want this blog to be about all my different journeys - as a parent, as a spouse, as a spiritual person, as a woman, as a writer, as a creative, etc. Maybe I'm thinking about it too much.

How did you come up with the name of your blog?

Every Day in May Challenge

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My friend Elisha recently wrote about her decision to tackle the Every Day in May Challenge. In a nutshell, the Every Day in May challenge is built around the premise that habits take approximately four weeks of consistent application to build or break and become, more or less, a permanent part of your life.

I love it when I read something that moves me and encourages me to think. I have lots of habits that I would like to build - personal development habits, healthy eating habits, exercise habits, crafty habits, etc. But what should be the ONE habit that I should focus on in May?

Ever since having Little Man, I've been struggling to incorporate physical activity into my day. And since I sit at a desk all day at work, this also means that I'm struggling to lose the rest of my baby weight. I still have 15 pounds of baby weight, plus the 30-ish pounds I was already overweight to begin with. And, with summer approaching, I want to get out and do more with my children and husband.


After reading Elisha's post a couple of times and thinking for a few days about something that would be realistic and reasonable for me to commit to every day, I've finally settled on something that I think will help me address several of the things I'd like to see change in my life.

Every Day in May, I commit to walking 5,000 steps.

I know, I know. The experts recommend 10,000. But I just don't think I can commit to that every day.

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I sit at a desk all day at work, remember? 5,000 is smaller; it's a more comfortable starting point. I'm going clip on my pedometer and make sure it reads at least 5,000 before my head hits the pillow each night.

The most obvious benefit is that this goal will get me moving more frequently. But I'm hoping it will also help me improve other areas of my life as well.

When I'm feeling tired or unfocused at work, I'll go take a walk around the block. That'll give me another couple hundred steps and hopefully make me more productive at work.

After dinner, my whole family can go play in the yard, take a bike ride, or walk to the park. More steps and more time together as a family.

I'm excited for this challenge.

If you could change one thing in May, what would it be? Will you join me in this Every Day in May Challenge?

If you choose to join in, please also join the Facebook group for some support and accountability. And, of course, I'll be checking in here with my progress.

I'm Back!

As I wrote in my last post from oh-so-long-ago, I'd made the freeing decision of being okay with the

Like a phoenix, from the ashes I rise! (Artwork credit)

realization that the time was not right for me yet to start my own business venture. At the time, I intended to keep writing here about other things. But I found that, in accepting the freedom to walk away from my business plan, I also accepted the freedom to focus only on myself and my family for a while. And it's a good thing I did. I've needed this time; adjusting to life as a family of four has been a much bigger task than I expected.

But I've been reading a lot lately, both blogs and books, and I find myself with twitching fingers and an active mind with things to say. This isn't the first time this has happened in the last year, but I've kept myself from blogging out of a concern that my random thoughts and posts would cause my blog to have an "inconsistent voice". (Apparently, one thing I've read too much of is advice about how to be a "successful blogger".)

But I need an outlet for my voice, a place to share my thoughts and ideas and to engage in discussion and dialogue with others. So here I am again, in my little corner of the blogosphere, to share my thoughts, dreams, ideas, and opinions.

I don't really know what I'll be blogging about, but it's sure to contain a fair amount of thought and reflection on parenting while being a working mom, the journey to a healthy lifestyle and finding inner peace with my body image, the road to financial freedom and independence, pursuing my creative dreams and goals, and whatever else strikes my fancy.

To that end, I've also decided that "Grabbing the Brass Ring" is not reflective of my new purpose for being here. I welcome any and all suggestions for a new name for my blog. And I promise that I'll see you all again, sooner rather than later!