let's get some ing

my roommate was out of town this weekend.  and just so you understand the enormity of this fact, let me preface by saying that my roommate and I pretty much do everything together.  in fact, we have fallen into calling each other "life partners" as of late for this very reason.  and spending two weeks in thailand and cambodia together just strengthened this fact.  if only she had sex eyes for me ;-) haha.  but, that's a whole different story!

so, returning to the point, she was out of town this weekend.  and, although I can honestly say i had a moment of "wait, you're going to be gone ALL weekend...?!" when she first told me, I also felt a bit of excitement over the fact that I was going to have the place to myself..."me time"...oh the delight!  it has been a while...

I wasn't sure exactly how i would fill my time, and can honestly say that i never really put much thought into organizing all the time I had.  unlike my past habits of needing to stay busy all the time, almost to the point of apprehension and fear of stillness, i made no plans, and just basically flowed through my weekend.

so, in true michelle form, here is how my weekend manifested:

• on friday, prior to leaving work, i had an "office meeting" which involved wine and venezuelan orange rum...needless to say, it was a very warm and giggly office meeting for me
• friday evening continued with a wonderful high school reunion at an awesome concert, and an introspective thought provoking interaction with a soft tshirt (yes, i am THAT into tshirts currently)
• 2 hours later, i found myself falling in love with my sister all over again at a random restaurant in who knows where chicago...with a freshly baked loaf of bread on the table...which i almost drooled on pretty much immediately
• among the activities, i also found time to purchase my favorite cereal (and minor obsession) lucky charms...and also shed myself of unneeded clothes and dance around my apartment with headphones on (i HIGHLY recommend this activity...probably the highlight of my weekend)
• saturday was an amazing earth focused day- I repotted plants with my ex-boyfriend (refreshingly normal and friendly, which is heart warming), taught an amazing yoga class to some newbies and regulars, and then soaked up my own yoga practice while overlooking the beautiful city
• sweaty and stretched out, i purchased a clean outfit so i could immediately ride to a neighborhood foreign to me and shared tapas and wine with some fellow yogis, all previously strangers to me...
• and what could top the night?  i then rode solo to a friend's place and listened to some old friends put on a live, intimate cello and piano concert...UMM, YESSSSS
• and an hour after that...fast forward to michelle AGAIN dancing in her apartment with headphones on- this time in leggings and a tank...oh yes, it was a killer dance party this time...please listen to ramona falls if you have not already done so...
• as a side note, saturday evening was also filled with some delicious late night snacks...within 15 hours of being "on my own", i had successfully eaten an entire box of lucky charms. stellar.
• and then sunday arrived...and i did taxes...and reminisced about my personal finances for a year that included starting two personal businesses as a yoga instructor and a lumi lovin entrepreneur...ran 8 miles in 70 degree weather (thank you chicago for this encouragement that winter MIGHT actually be over soon) and i rode my bike aimlessly until i found myself at devanti enoteca enjoying a quartino, delicious pasta and chocolate without a care in the world

all weekend, i lumi loved...and loved all that i found myself involved in :-)  i followed my intuition...and delighted in where it took me.  And as I settled into my sunday evening, and my roommate returned, i sank into bed reading my new book of choice "add more -ing to your life"...and realized my commitment to read and practice whatever this book brought my way had already begun before the words even reached my consciousness...what timing this universe had created!  as i found myself dancing the nights away by myself in my quiet apartment and loving all the random experiences I created in my weekend alone, i was already embodying the "-ing" i was set on exploring in a book...what a way to start :-)

so, if any of you are interested, this book is my latest commitment to myself...and as i read and blog about in in the future, feel free to follow along.  i'm sure my "me time" will continue to evolve from the delight of my past weekend into...who knows what...and i'm so excited to see what comes out of it!  i'm sure it will be a wonderful adventure, and i'd love to share it with you. 

let's get some -ing ;-)