ode to my love

me and trev, March 2012

happy Valentine's day!!! i know it's been a while since i've written so i wanted to write a few words about the one i love the most. you've heard about Trevor in many of my previous posts and on this day it's fitting that i tell you just how much that love means to me and my world.

best friend forever, my dear Brooke

we always hear about "the One" and how "you'll just know" when you find him (or her). when i first met Trev i knew he was something special, so we took it slow. part of the beauty of finding the one person you love the most is the romance, the spark and the special connection you share. when i first felt that spark i knew i didn't want to screw it up, so i made sure to always be on my best behavior. time went on, we grew closer, and ultimately we discovered just how deep our love was.

once you are comfortable with someone it can definitely be hard to maintain the romance and spark, so we always try and make a point of doing it. even if it means doing a small favor for your partner, or maybe a big surprise, romantic dinner, there's always an opportunity for romance. to this day, we do not let the other person use the bathroom in front of the other. even when we are camping. it's the one sacred thing we have left!! it's different for everyone and that just happens to be one way we keep the spark alive.

my nephew Emmett, who always makes me smile

i hope that everyone finds the people in their world who truly make them happy, feel special, feel loved and supported, without question. maybe its your best friend, your partner or your dog, but we all have someone in our life that just makes everything better. love to all.  xoxo

a new year

well, 2012 has ended and the world has not. we are still alive and kickin' indeed. i'm not really one for new year's resolutions, but as a practicing yogini i believe in reflecting on the year that has passed and setting intentions for the year ahead. i recommend this practice to anyone, especially those who may be at a crossroads in their life, or are searching for some clarity in this crazy world.

Betty Paige wishes you a super resourceful and
successful new year!!

for more ideas about goal-setting, clarity, intentions and general emotional health, check out this amazing website:
www.mindbodygreen.com

enjoy and be well in 2013!!!

holidaze, travel and sanity

this week we are in the midst of the annual holiday season. Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and the New year co-exist during the month of December and give us a good reason to get together (being with the ones you love shouldn't be reserved for a few days out of the year, however). this year we traveled to Wisconsin to be with my family for Thanksgiving, so we made the even longer trek to Michigan to be with Trevor's family for Christmas. after working so many years at the ski resorts and not having a "real" Christmas, this one's been a doozy!

we drove about 11 hours to get to Northern Michigan (a very beautiful, quaint place on the north shore of Lake Michigan) and have been making the rounds to see family members and friends, all while trying to enjoy our first holiday season together. to maintain our sanity, we make sure to do a few things:

1. don't burn yourself out. I REPEAT: DO NOT BURN YOURSELF OUT. this is crucial to maintaining your cool when faced with any potentially embarrassing or offensive situation. give yourself time and space to cool off so you can be on your best behavior with everyone around you. even your servers and retail workers who are spending time away from their loved ones to work (speaking as an experienced server, of course).

2. travel with your necessities. we always make sure to pack healthy snacks for the road so we don't have to eat gas station crap while traveling. this has saved us many times and we pack a small cooler and/or grocery bag with food that will help us maintain our sanity. i also always pack a box of assorted teas, since i have my own preferences.

3. indulge, but don't OVERindulge. it's the holidays, there are sweets everywhere and lots of meals to share with family. it's certainly OK to indulge, but i try to at least limit myself somewhat. reward yourself for all those yoga classes and days at the gym!!

4. always stay POSITIVE. we all have people in our lives who challenge us. it is always important to stay positive, but especially during a time when you are surrounded by family, some of whom may be the very people who challenge us most. family gatherings can be overwhelming, so be sure to take time for yourself when you need to re-charge and see the bright side again. your family loves you!


...and with that, i wish you well during this busy but joyful time. i'm off to enjoy my organic peppermint tea that helps with digestion (see numbers 2 and 3 above) and take some time for myself with a good book. Happy Holidaze!!

crafting is art

in the past year, my love for my own art and creativity has grown immensely. through my creativity i find an inner calm (also found through my yoga practice) and i feel accomplished for making something new.

a taste of my workspace

though i do use some new materials like chain and leather that is harder to find in large quantities recycled, i prefer to use recycled beads, pendants, pieces and parts for my jewelry. this has become popular in the past few years as we try to be more resourceful, and it's called 'upcycling.' i've posted about upcycling before, and lately i've only collected more and more pieces to use and make new again.

100% upcycled earrings made with
hoops, glass beads and chain

i'm still listing pieces on my etsy and hope to soon show my work to a larger audience through a trunk show and networking. if i can reach even a few people and share my art, that is based on making old things new again, i will be happy. check it out and spread the word! my pieces are for anyone and everyone, but mostly for us betties everywhere.

yoga is my church

as some of you know, i am a strong advocate for the practice of yoga and its physical and emotional health benefits. i've been practicing yoga for 10 years, and i started doing it at home. i had gone to a few classes here and there, and when i was living in Chicago i began my home practice. i had a tiny little TV with the built-in VCR, and i watched Rodney Yee's videos (if you don't know about Rodney Yee, Google him. he wears awesome tiny black yoga shorts that always made me giggle.). it was a great way to start my home yoga practice, in a comfortable, non-competitive environment.

when i first moved to Minneapolis in 2006, i practiced and studied yoga with my teacher Ben Vincent, from One Yoga. as i delved deeper into my practice, i learned more and more about myself and the practice of yoga itself. it is manifested in different ways for different people, and we all have different abilities. i rarely practiced at home, since the studio was a half block from my apartment. in Truckee, i became close to my friend and teacher Ann Marie Sheridan, who now owns Namaste studio and utilizes a similar teaching style to Ben. this consistency in teaching improved my practice and my understanding of yoga. as some of you read previously, i found a great spot at my most recent house in Truckee to practice, outside in the backyard among giant pine trees. it was magnificent.

Warrior 1 pose

now i am back in Minneapolis getting ready for grad school in a few weeks and my yoga practice has become grounding for me, during a time of readjustment and new beginnings. i'm living with my parents (you can laugh but its FREE) and they have an awesome Midwestern rec-room, multi-purpose basement. with a huge space sometimes used for the grandkids' playspace, i am also able to use it as a yoga space when i want to practice at home. this week i am house and dogsitting for my sister while she and the family are in Seattle, and once again i was able to find a small space to lay my mat. she has a massive walk-in closet (filled with lawyer-y clothes, amazing vintage pieces and tons of beautiful shoes) with a small wood floor space just big enough for my mat and some standing poses.

Tree pose - a practice in balance

some of you are probably thinking, "how the heck can i practice at home if i'm not that 'good' at yoga?" well first of all, there's no such thing as being 'good' or not at yoga. it is a practice and should be viewed that way. i may be able to do advanced poses, but i don't think of myself as being 'good' at it. it may be easier to begin a home practice after you become more familiar with poses and are not fearful of injuring yourself. for beginners, i recommend attending at least a few classes to gain some ideas about what their home practice could look like, and to learn proper alignment for those poses.

you may also be wondering how you can cultivate a home practice if you are not a trained teacher. how will you know which poses to do and when? for me, this is the beauty of the home practice. i generally don't start my home practice with a specific idea for the poses i'll do, but i naturally fall into a routine that i've gotten used to through different classes and teachers. if i start to feel lost as to what to do next, i take a minute to breathe deeply and check in with how my body feels. this will usually tell me what i'd like to do. sometimes i only practice for 20-30 minutes, other times i practice for an hour or more at home. without a specific agenda in mind, the home practice allows me to be fully aware of my body's needs, and to practice without any distractions.

i encourage everyone to consider a home practice of yoga and/or meditation at either a regularly scheduled time or sporadically. everyone's needs are different. for more ideas about poses and a home practice, check out these online resources:

10 tips for practicing yoga at home
Yoga for beginners at home (video)
A home practice

big sister b-day

today i MUST post in honor of my beautiful, amazing big sister Erin, as she has been a great influence on me that i am so grateful for, in countless ways. Erin has always been a super resourceful Betty; i remember her teaching herself to make brownies from scratch while still in high school. today, Erin is a mother to my nephews Emmett and Abel and a wife to her hubby Dwight. on top of her domestic duties and resourcefulness, my sister is an attorney in Minneapolis (the good kind of attorney). i couldn't be more proud to call Erin my big sister, among other positive things: yogini, mother, wife, daughter, lawyer, writer and friend. happy birthday Erin, i love you and can't wait to be home with you again. 

Emmett and Abel, ages 2 and 2 days

Erin and I in Tahoe, 2010

a home practice

as a devout yogini, i make an effort to practice with my teacher at her studio at least twice a week. i pay about $10 for each class, which is actually a really good price for a class with Ann Marie (check out her studio website, namastetruckee.com. although the price is right, i felt the need to continue my yoga practice at home at least one more time a week. last week i discovered that our large kitchen was a great spot, though i then had some foot traffic from my roommates while i was practicing (hard to avoid). yesterday when i woke up at 9am i knew it would already be too hot to go for a run so i found a spot in our backyard where i could set up my yoga mat for a one-hour home practice. we have a spot in the yard with a few chairs and flat space, like so:

this way, i had no distractions and was able to practice yoga outside among the sequoia and pine trees. if you have the space outside or inside your home, even if a temporary setup, i highly recommend finding the time for a home practice. yoga and meditation have been invaluable to my well-being and if you have any interest in starting a home practice, i suggest checking out yogajournal.com for helpful tips and poses to practice at home. i'd like to especially thank my big sister Erin for introducing me to yoga almost a decade ago. through this shared love we have grown even closer and physically and emotionally healthier. thank you Erin, i love you!!!

upcycling

lately this term 'upcycling' has become more and more popular, as artists, designers and consumers alike are recognizing the importance of recycling and reusing, even when it comes to our clothes and jewelry. i have been crafting a lot of earrings, headchains and hair pieces almost entirely from old jewelry pieces. long necklaces make a great base for a head chain, secured using either wrapped wire or jump rings. a few weeks ago i salvaged about 50 raw turquoise beads from a dismembered rosary at Trevor's old house. here's a pic of my recycled beads box:

my trips to the thrift stores have been great for collecting materials to be re-worked, re-designed and upcycled. this is a headchain i made the other day from an old necklace chain and a necklace pendant:

the Etsy marketplace is a great place to find crafted jewelry and art from recycled materials. if you don't know Etsy, i highly recommend you check it out!! for more photos and ideas of recycled material crafts, follow me on Instagram @sakioto.

musings on sustainability and self-reliance

this past Memorial Day weekend i spent in southern California with about 15,000 other people for a music, yoga and art festival. the experience was fantastic and a great way to open the summer festival season. every festival requires a certain amount of preparation and self-reliance, and Lightning in a Bottle was no different. in 2008 i attended my first Burning Man, a festival based on two main principles: radical self-expression and radical self-reliance. since that first time i have learned what to bring and how to enjoy my time at the festival without being burdened to worry about anyone else.

here's a photo from Burning Man that shows the harsh desert environment and a little bit of the art that can be seen out there. for more information and thoughts about the Burn and Black Rock City, check out www.burningman.org. maybe it is a lot for me to expect that everybody be self-sufficient, however i believe that any adult who is willing and able to attend a festival should be able to fend for themselves. this past weekend i learned that this is not the case and there are many festival attendees who cannot function like this. thankfully, i have been able to learn from every festival i go to, both about myself and about what is necessary to have a good experience. having been able to do this, i am able to draw on my own knowledge and resources to have a good time and be fully prepared. i believe in self-sustainability and resourcefulness, in all matters of my life. if someone is unable to do the same for themselves at a festival, i will not be that generous. we all have to learn to take care of ourselves and sometimes we have to learn that the hard way. onward to preparation for the Bounce Festival in less than 3 weeks!!

the importance of sanctuary

this is my summer to enjoy in Tahoe before heading back to grad school in August in Minnesota. that said, i am working as little as possible and doing as many fun and interesting things as i can. besides the cute bedroom i share with Trev, our new house has given me the space for another sanctuary: the Creation Station. a place to take apart things, re-design and re-assemble anything from jewelry to headdresses to tops and belts. here's what i'm talkin about:

not only do i have all my crafting and costume materials in one place (and semi-organized) but i've set up some small speakers for my iPod. this way, i get to hang out away from the world and dive completely into the task at hand and my artistic endeavors. i know how important this is to my sanity while not working, and to the encouragement of my creativity. if you can make a spot for yourself, whether an entire room or a small tabletop, i can pretty much guarantee you will see benefits, both in your creative and emotional selves (which are ultimately related). for more on the importance of creativity, sanctuary and family, check out my sister's website, chaiwolfman.com