Yup.

I felt pretty nauseous after my crossfit workout, and then I realized that I'd done two yoga classes and a workout, and at 1pm in the afternoon I still hadn't eaten or drank anything. Stopped into the Asian Supermarket in Pleasantville and treated myself to some Vegetable Pho. MmMmMm Good! 

Whoa. Been having a challenging couple of days. Aside from being physically exhausted, I have been emotionally exhausted as well. My truck was dying, my Dad has been out of it, and my mom has been sick. And Mom being sick is what threw me off. She's like (as one fellow friend/reader once said) Elmers glue around here - holding us all together. So when she was crying the other day and defeated, well - it shook me a bit. I taught two yoga classes this morning and left feeling powerful and amazing. I got done a list of things that needed doing, and even bought myself a new car, a Toyota Prius. Damn, I feel like a Yuppie. But the gas mileage is much much much MUCH better than my Toyota Tacomas was, that's for SURE. I even managed to squeeze in a (much-needed) session with Dr.Adonis and a short CrossFit workout with Chris Paisley. Came home and made my family some dinner, cleaned up the house, picked tomatoes from the garden, and have some design work and yoga planning to do before getting some sleep. Thanks to all of my students who keep me inspired and filled up with love and light - and thanks to all of our family and friends who have been helping out so much with my Dad. 

Beep Beep. I'm a yuppie. 

Asia Love.

I've been really homesick for my 50 liter backpack and my adventures. Today though I got a little dose of Asia, and it gave me a lil pep in my step. I got to speak some Chinese ("xie xie"), Vietnamese ("kha moun"), and Thai ("sabai de kha") at the Asian supermarket in pleasantville. I picked up some of my favorite Asian fruits, Mangosteens and Dragonfruit, and scored some chive blossoms for a soup I want to make. Aside from the fruit selection, one of the things I adored about Asia was there ability to incorporate anything and everything into pastries (or as they'd say, "bun"). My mom loves red beans, so I grabbed her a Red Bean Bun and a Sesame Ball (which is stuffed with sweetened red bean paste). The adventure to the Asian supermarket wasn't quite as great as being back in Asia, but it was fun to be surrounded by the foreign familiarities. My Chinese wasn't good enough to ask "Where is the tamarind paste", but it was well enough to say 'Thank You', which brought a smile to the cashiers face. And the market is only 30minutes away, as opposed to 30 hours worth of airtime...but being with my family on the holidays...? Priceless. And now I'm going to go enjoy my mangosteen and day dream about Indonesia....

This is a mangosteen.

You slice around the outside hard shell (like you would an avocado, then remove the white center. Enjoy the pods, but beware, some have seeds. This is sweet and tart and tangy and delicious.

This is a dragonfruit. The texture (and even the taste) are similar to a kiwi. Best way to enjoy? Drizzle some lime over it!!