life! and introducing betsy's book club of one.

sorry it's been so quiet for the past few weeks, faithful readers (all four of you). i've just been super busy with many important things, like:

baltimore girls weekend

"but what's our ROI for lifting you up?" answer: shots

cool kids (though so are the others who are missing)

stop going on vacation and hang with me, food-giver.

BIG kitties at the bronx zoo

dumbo!

nothing says summer like sneaking in beers to yankee stadium

pre-pride america drinks!

40 oz to freedom.

so yeah, basically i've been boozing with friends for the past two weeks. and if i'm not doing that, i'm chilling with bud man so he doesn't try to eat me in my sleep. so that's the update on where i've been because it obviously hasn't been behind a keyboard writing to you.

when i first started this blog, i was going to work on some self-improvement, which i am still trying for, despite my total backslide on keeping a tidy apartment and running schedule. but i have been continuing to go to hot yoga and the last class i didn't have to sit down or stop ONCE so at least i have that going for me.

but, i shouldn't just be improving myself in the physical sense. my brain needs some work too - especially with all the drinking that i do. (see above photos for obvious evidence). so i've decided to get my brain some much needed boost this  summer - and rest of the year - with betsy's book club of one.

what is this "betsy's book club of one" you may be asking yourselves. well, it's basically me trying to read at least one book a month, and preferably something with a little bit of substance. think more franzen, less berenstain bears. and yes, i'm using the words "at least" in my description.

i have always loved reading, probably because it's in my blood. seriously, my mom (hi mom!) is a librarian. for real, her twitter handle is @lauralibrary16 (follow her! and me @yournewbff). i used to fall asleep as a child with a book perched upon my face. i read "ahead of grade level" about things that just started making sense to me a few years ago. but for some reason, i haven't had as much fervor for it lately as i had in the past. it's probably the fall out from taking last year to read the entire "song of ice and fire" series to date. those are the game of thrones books for all you who didn't know.

don't get me wrong, the books were amazing, but they are LONG. like thousands of pages. and detailed. with a million characters. reading them is a commitment. it took me 9 months to read all 5 books (i did squeeze a few others in there as well), but coming down from that can be rough. my brain needed some time to process all the conspiracy theories and ideas, so i just found myself diving back into the books a month or two ago. and it's been great.

i recently read and would recommend:

• yonahlossee riding camp for girls by anton discalfani: a coming of age story set during the depression. more scandalous that i was planning on, and i mean that in a good way
• sharp objects by gillian flynn: loved gone girl, so had to give her earlier stuff a try. super twisted and gave me a visceral reaction. if you're into thrillers that are fucked up, def read this one.
• six years by harlan coben: i heard that hugh jackman was going to play the lead in the movie version so naturally i had to read the source material. easy read with a good story basis. 
• the marriage plot by jeffrey eugenides: so i LOVED the virgin suicides but have never gotten past page 73 of middlesex, which apparently is blasphemy. i was heading out of town to visit family in alabama and needed a plane read, so when i saw this on the shelf at my local public library (have you joined yours yet?), i figured might as well give it a go. and guess what, it was super engulfing. don't get me wrong, there were some issues with the novel, but overall i was into it. and i felt well-read for the first time in a while.

so when i went to return the marriage plot and pick up my next novel, i noticed freedom by jonathan franzen sitting on the shelf.  just like middlesex, the corrections is a book that has plagued me with the pick up and put down syndrome. apparently it's the best book ever, but i haven't made it there yet. BUT, if leslie knope wants to discuss a book (season 3 "the fight" i.e. snake juice and bringer of this gem: http://drunkronswanson.com/) enough, it must be good enough for me too. so i picked it up and crossed my fingers. and again, it has so far been worth it.

so thus, i am going to take my goodreads list of books that i've always wanted to read and combine it with the "bests" books of the past few years lists that i always see and try to make a dent in them. and after i read each book, i'll come here and tell you my thoughts and feelings, as if i'm back in my old book club. and then if you have read the book too, you can comment and we can interact. cool? cool.

i'm still only 1/3rd of the way done with freedom, so this will be the july book. not sure what august is going to be, but there's a chance it'll be grapes of wrath by john steinbeck. it's on my book bucket list and there will be plenty of saturdays in central park for me to get going on it.

got recommendations? send them my way, i rarely turn a good book down. unless it's on top of my face when i'm too lazy to get out of bed to turn off the light.

hot stuff baby this evening

as i mentioned in my last post, i made my triumphant return to hot yoga this week. and by triumphant, i mean awkward, sweaty and not very graceful return.

i used to be an avid hot yoga fan when i lived in florida. i went at least once a week to this cute little studio in delray beach where the vibe was do what you can and be happy with yourself. and against most odds, i did and i was. in fact, i actually got kind of good. i could do standing head to knee in a 105 degree room without falling over. which let me tell you, is a BIG FUCKING DEAL. plus, i found this like weird, inner spirituality whatever thing, which is so not normally my style. seriously. my religious views on Facebook? "clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose."

so when i moved to nyc almost 3.5 years ago, i was eager to find a studio so i could continue to find my weekly release. however, i found NOTHING i liked. i go to hot yoga to find peace while getting fit, but i like the option to swig water if i feel like i'm going to pass out. call me old fashioned. i got flat out yelled at in one class, which definitely did not help me harness my inner chi. it left a bad taste in my mouth and i hadn't returned since. but lately i've been missing it.

when i saw a gilt city deal for two months of unlimited hot yoga right before i was heading into 3 days of pure debauchery at governor's ball, i immediately went to the yelp reviews for the studio to see if it would be a little more "hippie-like" of a studio so that i could take full advantage. luckily all the reviews seemed positive and mentioned how it was a great place for beginners to get used to bikram, which is exactly what i needed. combined with the fact that it's only a couple blocks up the street from my office, there was no way i was turning this deal down.

on wednesday i packed up my yogi towel, mat and sweat-proof clothes into my boys don't like funny girls tote and headed to work to proceed to drink about a gallon and a half of water. because if there is one thing you must do before going to hot yoga, it's HYDRATE. seriously, you're going to sweat out half your body weight. get some water up in that bitch. i planned to go to the 8pm class since i had read that the 6pm post work class can get really busy, and i figured some space for my first time back on the mat would be a good idea.

i arrived early to check in and sign my life away (if you die, you can't sue the studio. fun fact) and got ready to sweat my metaphorical balls off. the staff was nice enough to tell me a good spot for an almost beginner like me that would be near a window, which is not as warm as the center of the room, and mentioned that they are not yoga nazis and encourage people to hydrate if they need to.

i set up my mat and got down to shavasana (yep, had to google how to spell it), which i forgot how much i loved. any exercise that encourages you to lay on a mat with your wrists up and toes pointed out is okay by me. after 15 minutes of relaxing, class got going. there were actually a lot of beginners in my class and the teacher made sure to welcome us all and let us know our goal today was to acclimate to the heat and not leave the room. as for poses, do what you can, but don't worry about not being the best. drink water if you need to. lay down if you're over heated. just listen to your body. basically, everything i wanted to hear. love.

i wish i could say that full on muscle memory took over and i killed the class, but that would be a bold face lie. i struggled with a lot of poses that used to be easy for me (i.e. standing head to knee and rabbit pose) and couldn't even get my foot into my hands like i used to for some other poses. but it wasn't a total failure. i can still do triangle pose with the best of them. and while i did need to drink water often, i only laid down once when the heat got to be a bit much, which i think is totally a success considering the first time i ever did bikram i spent half the class laying on the ground. and no - i'm not just talking about the 13 poses you do on the floor. another perk of this studio? they have a beautiful outdoor space that they open up for students after class to cool down and enjoy the fresh air.

all in all, i consider it a successful first venture back into the world of bikram. i'm getting ready to head to my next class soon and can't wait until i'm back to my former one-legged standing status.

barefoot and boozed up

oh man. i don't think i can accurately put into words my hippie experience this last weekend at governor's ball.   but i will somehow try.

to give you some background, i have always identified as a halfway hippie. kind of into the whole mellow, music-loving,  non-shoe-wearing vibe, but i like showering, having a stable government and fine leather goods.


naturally, a music festival has always been on my list of things to do. but i don't think that i'm ready to go full on coachella or bonnaroo or basically anything that requires camping or people that are really dressed like this:

what is it with hippies and hula hoops?

which is why gov's ball was the natural fit: 3 days of music but located just 4 short miles from my cozy apartment. done and done.

if any of you live in the nyc area, and i think almost all of you do, you would know that friday was a monsoon in nyc. most people would've thought to themselves, well, i have 2 more days of show so stay home and dry and get ready for the next two days.

i am not most people. and luckily, neither is my dear friend silvia. we put on our festival gear and braved the extreme amount of rain and mud all three days. barefoot. i can honestly say that i have pretty much communed with nature at this point, and i'm okay with it. some pictures to prove my point:

ponchos and facepaint

day 1 & 2 feet for the most part

grumpy cat wasn't into the weather

day 3 with special guest star nicole. look at the ground. no grass.

day 3 feet. nicole wasn't going full hippie.

but i sure as hell did.

so yeah, it was three days of lots of food and LOTS of booze. i literally packed a fifth of vodka in my bra in my purse every day. so needless to say i am in need of a cleanse. which is why i'm heading to hot yoga for the first time in almost 4 years tonight. because i'm pretty sure it's the only thing right now that can possibly get the last of the booze and dirt out of my system. i'll be back tomorrow (since this post took me yesterday and today to write. my brain didn't work monday so i don't count that as a part of the process) to keep you posted on how my body reacted after so long away.

spoiler alert? probably not well.