Let's talk about yoga.

Recently I've been feeling like a troll. No not in my looks. You know, poor posture, super short, crackly bones, lack of flexibility. I've decided to fix those problems, or at least attempt to. OK so I can't fix the short factor but I can at least try to have better posture and be able to touch my toes. So I started going yoga. I've done yoga in the past but it never really stuck. I'm not sure if it will stick this time but I did get a deal at a fancy studio (30 days for $40 unlimited classes) so I feel obligated to give it a month. Here's my experience so far:

• Day 1: I took the free class at Lululemon. It was incredibly crowded. I was no more than 15 inches away on each side from almost hitting someone, no matter what pose. This made for an extremely interesting downward dog position for all parties. I'll let your mind go where it will on this one. Needless to say, the class was great but the experience wasn't exactly relaxing. Post day 1 I was extremely sore. I thought I was in shape, but it turns out I'm not.
• On day 2 I would try for a real yoga studio. I used this thing called "the internet" (I heard Al Gore invented it) to search for a well known highly rated yoga studio. I found one in downtown San Jose. I found this second class to be much less crowded and also incredibly tough. I left feeling energized and exhausted all at the same time. I suppose you might call the feeling "zen."
• Day 3 (today): The instructor informed us that we would be working our "hips" in class. I wasn't exactly sure what this meant. Would we be dancing? Lord knows my dance moves need improvement so I was intrigued. We did not dance though. No my poor hips endured 1.5 hours of stretching. I call this torture. Holy hell. I can't say I enjoyed it, but wow I think I'm starting to understand why yoga is a workout.

All in all, I'm going to use up my 30 days and see where that takes me. Maybe it's a new hobby or maybe I'll just be incredibly flexible after this month and then go back to hardly being able to touch my toes.

Hey blog...I'm sorry

Dear blog,

I'm sorry for neglecting you. I know it's been a while. Since yesterday was Ash Wednesday, I've decided that I'm going to give up neglecting you for the next 40 days. Let's see if I can be a good Catholic.

My first topic at hand is very fitting...shoes. I recently received a pair of shoes that I ordered from Shoemint. Shoemint is Rachel Bilson's line of shoes. She teamed with Steve Madden to create a subscription shoe service. For those of you who don't know, I love Rachel Bilson. I have what is commonly referred to as a "girl crush" on her. Her style is fabulous. She's beautiful. Not to mention her hair. But I digress...back to Shoemint. I had wonderful expectations for Shoemint. They look amazing on the website and by gosh...a monthly subscription to shoes, why not?

So far I'm less than impressed with my first purchase. Upon opening the box of what I expected to be the "perfect black pump," I viewed what was nothing more than a semi-cheap (yet still cute) pair of shoes. After 8 hours of wear around my office I found them almost unbearable to wear. I also found them to scuff easily. They were also a smidge too big and therefore I almost it several times walking up and down the stairs...ok just walking in general. This I cannot necessarily blame on the shoes since I have walking problems in general.

I may however be able to salvage my first purchase with a pair of Dr. Scholls insoles. Those things can work wonders. Overall though, I think I'll maybe give Shoemint another month (OK I already accidentally got charged for another month) and then I'll be canceling my membership. Sorry Rachel, your beauty can't save you here.