and they said:

"...no one likes white backgrounds" when it comes to vintage sheets.

i think i may have found a listing on etsy, that proves this theory wrong:

low volume vintage sheet fq bundle

while i normally go for the brighter, bolder vintage sheets, for some reason, when i came across this listing, i fell in love. instantly. honestly, i *have* to have this bundle, but i just can't justify the cost: $45.00 for 21 vintage fat quarters! before i discovered going to the thrift store, and looking for *whole sheets* on my own, i'd have no problem spending that. but now? my whole outlook has changed. $45? do you know how many whole vintage sheets i can buy for that? but still. i keep finding myself looking for this listing every single day, wanting to know if it was sold or not. i still may just buy it, though, because i love it so much. sigh.

*but*, because i saw this low volume bundle, i've become obsessed with finding something to do with it. and now, i'm obsessed with this:

red pepper quilt's low volume baby quilt

this quilt is their tiffany quilt, modified. i bought the tiffany quilt pattern last year, in hopes of actually starting it - yeah right! - but never did (although i have all the fabric for it. go figure.). i love the look of the original tiffany quilt pattern - but i think i love this version even more so! i *have* to have one, and i think that the low volume vintage sheet bundle will be perfect for this. decisions, decisions...

bikram yoga challenge, days 11-14

day 14, class #11: sunday, april 28
south loop, 11:00 am

despite what i've always thought, earlier is not always better. sigh.

i woke up super early this morning...like 5:00 in the morning early. i was going to try and make it to the 8:00 class, but, by 6:30, i was getting bored and figured that i'd just take a nap for a little bit, and then go to class. wrong! i ended up sleeping for like 3 more hours...and ended up waking up at nearly 10. ugh. after looking at the schedules, i figured that i'd go to the 11:00 class at the south loop location this time, since i haven't been there before.

this studio, while definitely the nicest (and newest) of the three, is a studio for people who live within walking (or el) distance. the biggest turnoff? the $4.00/hour parking. thank you, city of chicago. i spent my entire class thinking, "i've got to skip the final savasana, because i've got to get to the shower before everyone else...before my meter runs out!" very distracting, to say the least.

the class was, well, meh. you know how they're always telling you to "be present" and "listen"...not to just be on autopilot? so what happens when you have an instructor who is on autopilot? i believe that it makes for an only so-so class. but that's just me.

in any case, temperature-wise, today's class was awesome. i think they've done something to keep the temperature somewhat regulated at this studio, which is nice. i tried my new kulae towel today, and found that i really prefer my manduka equa hot towels...they don't get as soggy.

i'm still 3 classes short of being 14 classes/14 days, but, i'm working on it. i've got to get caught up in the next few days!

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day 13, class #10: saturday, april 27
lincoln park, 4:30 pm

i've really got to get my butt in gear and get serious.

i had all intention to go to the 12:00 class today, but was soo hungry. so i made lunch and ate instead. *huge* mistake, because i end up putting myself like 4 hours behind, and end up driving to lincoln park in the middle of the it's-the-nicest-day-it's-been-so-far-and-every-single-person-is-out mess. getting to the studio was awful, to put it lightly.

i was super distracted during class today, as well. i think it started when i opened the door and got that yes-this-is-a-bikram-yoga-studio smell inmyface. it was seriously overwhelming today. that, coupled with these two girls in back of me, one of which kept on flapping her arms during the beginning of the class really got me distracted.

i was completely unfocused today. better luck next time.

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day 12, class #9: friday, april 26
wicker park, 6:00 pm

i've really got to start blogging right after i take class. because i seriously cannot remember anything from this particular day...other than i had to wait for this d@#%*(ck, with no regard to other drivers on the road, woman to not even pull over, stop in the middle of the street to drop someone off. i couldn't even pull around them. but, the worst part of it was, that before they even got out of the car, they had to have a conversation, kiss each other goodbye, and then, the girl, who was sitting in the back seat had to get out and then sit in the front seat. *you have got to be kidding me*. ugh.

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day 11, class #8: thursday, april 25
wicker park, 12:00 pm

apparently i actually made it to the 12:00 class, despite having to work the night before, and having a pretty busy shift, complete with two admissions.

today was the day that i felt that i could actually see some progress. my shoulders - even before, when i used to practice somewhat regularly - would never open up, and would just be painful. but, i can tell they're actually starting to open up now.

now, if they'd just slim down a little...but that's a different story. bah!

bikram yoga challenge, days 6-10

saturday, april 20

day #6: FAIL.

my excuses today: i was at the do it your own damn self craft show today, and had to work at 7 pm...until they called me, at 6 pm, that i was cancelled. go figure. could've made it to the 6:30 pm class but ugh...scheduling at my work sucks!

sunday, april 21

day #7: FAIL.

i was so exhausted by the time i got off of work this morning, i had to go home and crawl into bed.

i woke up around 2 in the afternoon, and could have probably made it to the 2:30 class, but, i was just so doggone lazy.

goal: do better!

monday, april 22
day #8, class #5
wicker park, 8 pm

i haven't been to a bikram class that was *this packed* since i was in new york for a week.

i have no idea how many people were in attendance, but there were a ton. of course, i arrived justbeforeclasstarted and ended up squeezing in right next to the wall...and the thermostat. very disturbing, that thermostat. i kept checking it...hottest it registered was 107 degrees, but, it was a pleasant 107. ha!

tuesday, april 23
day #9, class #6
wicker park, 12 pm

what a difference a day makes. i think there were like 10 people in this afternoon's class. today's fail: dandayamana janushirasana - standing head to knee. i've got some massive lower back pain trying to reach my foot in this pose! keep working on it...

wednesday, april 24
day #10, class #7
wicker park, 10 am

so today's 1/3 into the challenge, and, i am 3 classes short. i hope to get back on schedule by this weekend, since i'll be off!

my tuladandasana - balancing stick pose - was very strong today, bilaterally. finally! i'm also making progress with supta vajrasana - fixed firm...at least my butt is able to touch the floor now, without my knees protesting in sheer pain!

gotta work tonight and tomorrow night, but i am hoping that i will have enough energy after work tomorrow morning to make it to class...we'll see...

bikram yoga challenge: days 3-5

day 3: FAIL.

i was on my way to the yoga studio after work, but i was so tired that i was falling asleep...not good! :(

went home and slept instead!

and, i found the most hilarious bikram yoga article today...

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day 4, class #3:

lincoln park, 8:15 pm

arrgh. i thought that there was a 5:30 pm class...but i guess they only have it mondays-wednesdays!

i was going to attend the 6:30 class, but had a bit of time to kill, so i went to the neighborhood wal-mart a block away, and followed that with t.j. maxx and bed bath & beyond. not a good idea.

man. i didn't stop until it was time to go to the 8:15 class...ha!

i was so hungry since i hadn't slept all day...so i had a handful of trail mix about 45 minutes prior to class. big mistake. HUGE. within the first breathing exercise, i was ready to stop...i felt nauseated and just sick to my stomach. but i pushed through, and made it through the whole class, but man...that handful of trail mix felt like i had just eaten thanksgiving dinner.

note to self: avoid even small, tiny snacks before class...stick to the no-eating-for-at-least-3-hours-prior-to-class guideline.

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day 5, class #4:

wicker park, 12:00 pm

a brief summary of my morning:

alarm goes off at 5:20 am, with the intention of going to the 6:00 class. alarm reset.

alarm goes off at 9:20, with the intention of going to the 10:00 class. alarm reset.

finally wake up without an alarm at 10:50, and make it to the 12:00 class.

it was really hot and really sweaty.

my lower back really, really hurt today for some reason.

other than that, very good class today though.

i'm getting scared because i'm already behind a class, and i definitely will not be able to make class tomorrow because of the do it your own damn self craft supply show that i'll be participating in tomorrow...eek. we'll see.

bikram yoga challenge, day 2

wicker park, 10:00 am (why don't they have an earlier class at this location?)

my butt hurts.

despite my *super crappy* sleep last night and being super achy, i was actually looking forward to and motivated to attend class this morning.

it was hot 'n sweaty, just how i like it! ha!

i guess i'm going to get a little card that gets star-stickered every time i go. how fun is that?

the real challenge will be tomorrow, since i'm working back-to-back 12's starting tonight.

but we'll see...

so it's been a while.

okay...maybe more than a while.

but i've been busy, i swear!

anyways. we're going to start this off (again) right. first things first. we'll get to the crafty stuff soon, i promise.

i am going to participate in a 30-day bikram yoga challenge.

i'm serious. i even started tonight.

i mean, i'm so serious that i even skipped going to the thrift store to go to class tonight. and it's 50% off day. you'll hear all about this later.

we'll see how long this lasts. it's perfect timing, though.

so here we go...

bikram yoga challenge, day 1:

wicker park studio, 8 pm

call me crazy, but, i thought that tonight's class was easy. maybe it's only because i've been to class like 4 times in over a year (and those 4 times have all happened within the past two weeks), but, it was easy. the room was swampy - yes, swampy - but, it wasn't particularly hot. the teacher kept on turning on the blower to bring in cool air, but, i found it to be distracting...probably more so because it was blowing on me! (and the other people in the back row.)

as it has been, supta vajrasana, fixed firm pose, has been impossible for me to even attempt. we'll see what happens.

day 1: success.

wish me luck! :)