A nice weekend

Hello Everyone!

it is Monday morning, and I am just having a pause from the morning activities. Owen was delayed from his morning nap by about a 1/2 hour...but he is sleeping now and Mom can relax a moment!

We had a good weekend, with a couple curve balls thrown in, just to make sure we were paying attention. Saturday morning, I went to my weekly yoga class. We found a Bikram yoga studio in Hoboken that we have been going to on a regular basis for the last 3 months. I have a favorite instuctor, Eddie, who is just the kind of teacher I imagine my friend Jeremy would be if he taught Bikram. Eddie has a wry sense of humor, but he is serious about order and discipline in the class. For people crazy enough to be committed to Bikram yoga in the first place, (90 minutes, 26 postures done in 2 sets in a 105 degree room) Eddie is the dream teacher. He pays attention to what people are doing, offers corrections when needed, and motivates students to push to their edge. He is a no-nonsense teacher for a no-nonsense yoga practice.

Our studio has decided to change their focus from being exclusively Bikram, to offering other types of yoga. But I believe that for a studio to call themselves a Bikram studio, they must practice it exclusively. So, now the Hoboken studio has changed their name, and the owner is encouraging the Bikram instructors to "mix it up" more, now that they are no longer officially a Bikram studio. Sigh. Eddie has a real issue with altering the routine, because he is trained to follow it...and any more would be excessive for the students to perform. Any less, an incomplete work-out. I don't think teachers like Eddie, who don't want to compromise the integrity of their instruction, will last much longer at that particular location...leaving committed Bikram enthusiast such as ourselves out in the cold. --ha, that made a good hot yoga joke, and I wasn't even trying for it--

Saturday afternoon, we met with our friends, Suzanne and Paul, for brunch in the Village. We sat outside and enjoyed the brisk air, and warm conversation. The four of us are discussing buying a two-family house together...because single family housing is just financially out of reach for all of us here in NYC, but a two family; we could make happen. Suzanne and Paul are looking for all of the same things that are important to us in a good home. We want a good neighborhood, close proximity to public transportation, and a washer and dryer in the basement. (Did I mention a rat-free basement yet?) Both Suzanne and Paul work in Manhattan, so a reasonable commute is a must. We all agreed to start looking in the Yonkers/Bronxville area, as the commute to Grand Central Station is just under 30 minutes! Chris's work offices are moving across to the east side of midtown Manhattan at the end of this year...so we are very interested in shortening his travel time when we move. From our current apartment, this office move is going to add another 20-25 minutes to Chris' hour-long trip from home to work.

On to the next rat story...

It was 9pm, and we were sitting watching a movie after Owen had gone to bed last night. We heard a most blood-curdling scream that sent both Chris and myself running to the back stairs. Our Landlady, Leslie, had just opened her back door to come face-to-face with a rat on the landing just above her door. When the motion light switched on, the rat went running past her, (over her feet) and down into the basement to take cover. Both were undoubtedly startled. When Chris went to see if Leslie was okay, she explained the event.

Chris and I were a little surprised by the story, since a contract had been left on our steps a week and a half ago, which seemed to indicate that an exterminator had been in to deal with the problem. Since I had volunteered to arrange the appointment with the pest control company while Leslie was out of town...she had left the paperwork upon her return, assuming that i was still going to schedule the appointment. Ahh...poor communication...so another 2 weeks have past, and our furry visitors have had more time to hunker down and get comfy...in our stuff. This morning, I put the call in, and I am glad to say that the problem is actually going to be taken care of by tomorrow afternoon. Or, starting tomorrow afternoon...

My piano beckons. I didn't even get to the story of Chris accidently running over a purse that was in the road outside our parked car...which punctured a hole right into one of our tires. Owen's nap this morning was delayed while I took our car to the tire service garage, and a kind employee drove us home so we wouldn't have to wait there while our car is being serviced for 2-3 hours. Owen and I are going to have to fend for ourselves to get back to the garage when the car is done...which may just require a cab ride. Our other option is taking a bus with Owen in the baby bjorn, while caring his carseat (so I can bring him home in our car!) but that sounds very cumbersome. We shall see. For now, the piano awaits.