Little Tent on the Prairie

more butterflies!
glass sculpture "Blue Planet" $1000
riding a giant pig and frog at the art museum with my friend= priceless
apparently pigs are in style here
Brooks playin the flute
Luke playing the melodica
our little campsite
sunset over the prairie


a strange lumpy green fruit i discovered
me and Brooks' mom


a very candid horse picture
Brooks and i in the "indian settlement"
takin care of business with that indian rake
Clydesdales are huge!


it feels as though a shifting of sorts has taken place. last week i finally started teaching my yoga classes twice a week, and although i only had 3 people in each class, they really loved it and felt good, and i felt really good teaching, so it was a success. I think i've finally made it past the yoga teaching anxiety hump! only took a year....yes, i have been teaching on and off for a year now! but now i don't have that nervous feeling every single class i teach, i just feel good and open to all the possibilities.
i quit Starbucks too. it just wasn't worth it to me, and i want to teach more yoga classes and focus on that while i have the chance and don't have to pay rent. plus my friend Brooks from San Diego and her mom stopped by for a day while traveling from Massachusetts to Oregon, and spending time with her was more important to me! so i just called out and quit, and man does it feel good. that was just not right for me. after less than a week i was so tired and felt like i never wanted to go back ever again! that's a bad sign...so i'm free!
we checked out the Lafayette museum of art, which was pretty small but still fun, and discovered some awesome used book stores with tons of beads and crystals and fun stuff. then we went camping on the prairie, as they call it. it was so nice to spend a night out of the house and under the stars and the orange moon, like a big tangerine slice in the sky. we explored some trails through the tall grass at sunset, saw tons of birds and butterflies, and played with our array of instruments by the fire. it feels so funny when someone you only have seen in a certain place, comes to a place you never expected to be together, like its an out of place situation. its kind of fun. it definitely made me miss everyone even more though to see one of my friends again. it made us want to initiate some new plans and get moving again. we are pondering the idea of getting some seasonal work in Colorado for awhile, before going back to San Diego. Or i would still like to go spend some time in Oregon and northern California too. so, not sure what's in store next quite yet, still working on completing out phase here, and building on my yoga teaching skills while i've got the chance. but we are certainly looking forward again. the desire to expand even more is creeping under my skin once more, urging me to continue to open my eyes to more and more new and wonderful things each day.

The Adventures of Indiana Kristen!

don't i look like i'm in my natural environment?
this reminds me of the humpback mural in san diego. humpack, orca, san diego, indianapolis, what's the difference really? its all melting together...
lots of fun murals and art on buildings here
can i eat this? or climb on it?
oooh pretty
this is my nest i built
love the dancing lizard on the bowl from mayan people! why arent our dishes like this?

golden wave! reminds me of that door way at big sur. pout.
note the tiny person at the bottom! coolest escalator ever
out of the countless virgins de guadalupes i've seen...i enjoyed this one. maybe thats because its shiny
definitely got some ideas for painting my house
the famous sculpture
i found the only organic coffee shop in indianapolis!
pondering the art from my rustic wooden chair
european "sunken" garden?
oooh!
watch out its spikey!
ahhh!
flamingo flower!
some of the endless types of orchids



papaya tree! want.
cacao tree with a Endangered Species chocolate sign! hey im eating some right now!
huge leaf
whoa close up butterfly interaction!

enjoying moments with the butterflies


downtown shot

so we FINALLY got out of the small town of Lafayette (well i guess Purdue is here, but no students right now) and went down to Indianapolis. i dont know why we havent been there yet, other than lack of adequate funding. i looked up some places to go online and planned out a good day of wandering and exploring. first we went to a conservatory that had all these amazing tropical plants, i was so happy there! we saw alot of plants we used to be around all the time in california too. i miss you palm trees and aloe plants! we also happened to be there for the last days of the butterfly exhibit! theres a whole room of flowers and tons of butterflies fluttering all over the place, and a special little greenhouse in there with more butterflies and flowers. so awesome! they were flying around us in all directions, everywhere we turned. definitely a mood enhancer. i was giggling with joy. i think the other people thought i was crazy. i mean, what do you do when a butterfly flies up in your face? anyways, its amazing how uplifting and inspiring plants are, especially exotic tropical ones.
then we went to the only organic coffee shop in the city, which was hard to find, but i was determined to make it happen. so we met some cool people there and had some yummy coffee, gluten free cookies, and a tofu salad sandwich. next we went to the Museum of Art, which is always a fun free thing to do. i havent been to a new art museum in awhile, and i just love being in places with awesome architecture. its just so much more exciting to experience your body in space when it is shaped creatively. saw some art and stuff, checked out the gardens there, and then we were a little worn out already. you must remember, we have been in a 2 bedroom apartment with 6 people for some time now, so this was overwhelming for the senses, you see. so much stimulation! i loved it!
so then we drove by luke's old house from when his family lived here and checked out a park he used to go to as a kid, with lots of trails and over 1000 species of trees, all listed on the map you get. pretty cool!
next we went to a town called Broadripple just outside the city, apparently this is where its at. all the cool people i guess, and healthfood stores, and delicious thai food, all of which we experienced. we had some famous blueberry goat cheese pie from a cafe called the Three Sisters. pretty yummy! overall success.

it was SO good to get out of town. my bubble had started to shrink, you know, where your world consists of the few places you go, and you start to forget there's a whole world out there. the down side is, bringing back this awareness made me get the itch again. i wanna go places! i want all those things out there! i want to see and do more! i am now slightly discontent with being stuck. i know i know, ive been growing and learning and blah blah blah but man i just want to get back out there! i was enjoying my alone time, but now im craving meeting people again. atleast its motivation. luke is pretty grumpy about not being in california, so i guess we are working on getting out of here soonish. of course, then theres things like a guy at the store telling us the native american legend that all who pass through here are destined to die here, and a guy at luke's job telling him about a man who made predictions of the future here in indiana, so far all of which have been true, and he said that indiana will be safe from apocolypse. makes ya wonder, is there a much bigger reason we are here than we even think? maybe so, but we both definitely lost some sleep over that one.....but i dunno, the truth is, i dont think i'd make it through the winter here. i detest the cold. especially when it makes you stuck inside because of snow...

today i finally got a call from starbucks, telling me im starting work thursday. so i guess thats good. im slightly ashamed to be working for such a corporation, but whatever. you do what you gotta do. havent started teaching yoga yet, but we are working on getting some mats there so i can make it happen. also attempting to write the cookbook, but it sure is alot more difficult to organize than i had imagined...
conclusion: i want to be somewhere tropical.