Baltimore City Teaching Residency

Thursday evening, I stopped at Ma Petite Shoe after visiting ReNew Organic Day Spa. The ReNew Spa Package was extraordinary.

My Dad loves chocolate, so Ma Petite Shoe (a.k.a Shoes and Chocolate) seemed like the perfect place to pick up a father's day present. After choosing a few decedent items for his gift basket, I started chatting with the young sales woman. Eventually the conversation turned to work and she told me about her acceptance into the Baltimore City Residency Program. In the fall she will begin teaching kindergarten at a Baltimore City School.

I was immediately interested and after grilling her more, the program still sounded fantastic. Baltimore City Schools has formed a partnership with Johns Hopkins and Notre Dame. If accepted into the program, residents participate in a four week intensive training in June or January before being placed full time as a classroom teacher. If working in a "high-needs" school, the teacher certification and Master of Education degree are fully subsidized. The next cohort will begin with training in January 2008. Needless to say, I looked into it.

I'll be at Baltimore Yoga Village after work today. I am going to take the Ahimsa Yoga class this evening, which BYC describes as "a flowing, intuitive and joyful practice that opens the heart and mind". After driving to Rochester, having a jammed packed weekend of visiting everyone we know, and driving home, I am relieved to be visiting BYV.

Maybe having a daily yoga and meditation routine in the morning would help me stay centered when I am away from home. I've felt myself go into a slump filled with negativity over the past few days.

I've also started a lacto-vegetarian diet. It's been about two weeks without meat and I don't miss it. My next step is to start cooking meals from my new Ayurvedic cookbook. One step at a time though. All this change and activity is wearing me out. When we arrived home Sunday night, I was overwhelmed by the housework that had piled up and our new family member- a tuxedo cat named Sweet Pea.

All day Monday I was fretting over cleaning, catching up with my online writing course, grocery shopping, and taking care of Sweet Pea. Then a co-worker gave me a lift home and reminded me "not to sweat the small stuff". Her advice struck a chord with me. I delegated shopping to my supportive fiance, decided to put my writing first and only cleaned the first floor of the house. I'm still tuckered out today, but I'm proud of my progress.

I know that yoga tonight will put me more on track and I'm excited about trying a new class. Until then...Namaste.

Baltimore Yoga Village, Kripalu, and Rochester, NY

It was wonderful to be back at Baltimore Yoga Village yesterday. Interesting and kind people are always walking through the door. Last night, I met a yoga teacher who is interested in starting a nonprofit. He holds a yoga class in addition to his other classes, that donates all of the profits to a charity. It only make sense to form a 501 c(3) that would be tax-exempt. I was thrilled to be able to share my knowledge of nonprofits and point him in the right direction (hopefully). The Foundation Center has a cooperating collection in Baltimore that holds free classes on nonprofit management, has helpful staff to answer questions and help with grant searching, and numerous other print and online resources. It just makes you feel good to know about people who are finding creative ways to support charitable causes.

This evening I am visiting ReNew Organic Day Spa. My thoughtful future step-mom gave me a ReFresh Spa package, which includes a Renew Classic Facial, a Therapeutic Massage and Ancient Hand Ritual, as my bridal shower gift. I can't wait!

Now that I've signed up for the Build Your Yoga Practice Program, I am meeting people who have visited Kripalu every time I turn around. At BYV, one of the instructors described Kripalu as "Yoga Heaven". I have also been told numerous times that the food is fantastic. This is another experience that fills me with joy every time I think of it. There are so many enriching new aspects of life that have trickled in over the past six months. I'm very thankful.

Another exciting gift is joining our family in a few days. A black tuxedo cat named Momma (we are trying to think of a new name for her) is coming home with us after our visit to Rochester, NY this weekend. My future sister-in-law contacted us after Momma visited her animal hospital from Habitat for Cats (which I didn't know existed before). I hope that Thomas adjusts well to his new friend.

I'll be back to write more next week. Until then, Namaste.