Yoga and the Start of Something New.

Today marked the start of something new in my life.

I decided to attend a yoga class. I've  long wanted to try a formal yoga session, but I guess my reservations got the better of me. A few weeks back, I purchased a voucher for one-week unlimited sessions at around 70% off the market value.

Last week I started practicing sleep yoga to help me sleep better, and to be fair, it did work wonders for me. That was my sign to grab my butt off my bed and head out the door to go to the studio -- even though it's a 20-minute cab ride away from my apartment.

I've never tried yoga before. The closest thing I got to practicing it would probably be my stretching class when I was a freshman in college. I decided to leave my expectations and reservations out the door and just enjoy the experience.

The class was at 7:00 AM, I barely had sleep the night before, but I was up and about before the sun has risen. Yes, I was THAT excited... and scared shitless. ;)

I was the first one to arrive at the studio and then shortly after, the instructor arrived. I was amazed at how friendly and accommodating he was. We went to the same University, he graduated when I was just about to enter college. He also earned his Law degree in the same University. To cut the story short, he quit his law practice and started to focus full time on teaching yoga.

"Wow, you're doing what you love to do." I said.



He replied, "I always thought it's just a Hallmark greeting card -- If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life."

And then we started our session. 75 minutes has never felt so short. I didn't feel tired. I felt rejuvenated. Alive and stress-free.

I felt freedom, this could really be the start of something new.
 
*** I attended the Yoga Basics class of Marc at Beyond Yoga.

chocolate crinkles, version 2.

I couldn't get over the success of yesterday's baking attempt that I baked another batch using a different recipe.

The first batch of chocolate crinkles were all gone when I brought it to work, so I thought baking a bigger batch wouldn't hurt.

I was right all along. I brought 24 cookies and more than half of them were gone in less than an hour.

They must be utterly delicious.

Definitely. How can you go wrong with a sinful combination of dark chocolate and dark cocoa powder?

You cannot go wrong. I bet you that.

This batch came out more beautiful than yesterday's -- puffier, chewier and chocolatier. Can anything get better than that?
 

Aren’t they beautiful? 

 

chocolate crinkles, version 1.

When I was a little girl, spending summers in my Lolo and Lola’s (grandpa and grandma) house in Malaybalay, Bukidnon were a must. Summer vacations are never complete without the “mandatory” visit. It was like a routine, except that it wasn’t boring. We were always woken up at 6:00 am to have a steaming mug of Milo and my cousins and I would compete with each other as to who finishes first. Never minding if it would result to having scalded tongues. We would go back to sleep afterwards. When we’re finally awake, we play the usual “bahay-bahayan” or card games. If not, we intently watch Lolo Max play Solitaire. We always looked forward to reading the Sunday paper to solve the “Spot the Difference” puzzle. In the afternoon, we’d play patintero, bulan-bulan, tag, piko, tumbang-preso, luksong tinik, and jack stones with our neighbors. We also sneak out and take a bath in the nearest spring but we always make sure to be home before 5:00 PM lest Lolo would find out. Haha.

When Lolo got sicker because of his emphysema, he was brought to Cagayan de Oro so that there’s easier access to healthcare. My Mom’s sisters are doctors (plus one a nurse), after all. When that happened, summers in Malaybalay stopped, but we still spent it with Lolo and Lola. At that time, Lola was helping out one of my aunt’s businesses – a bakery. We also helped, we were the ones who gave the customers their orders and one of us was tasked to be the cashier (that’s one of my “dream jobs” when I was a kid!).

After a day at the bakery, I would always look forward to eating some of the breads and pastries we sell. One of my favorite items was chocolate crinkles. I really don’t know why, maybe because it looked so appealing?

When I started baking last year, one of my very first projects was baking chocolate crinkles… which failed big time. I haven’t tried baking it again until today. I was kind of hesitant to give it another try, but I thought, “If I can bake cupcakes with such ease, why can’t I try crinkles again?”

Try I did. And I am so glad it came out beautifully.