Beginning the Lenten Season

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. That means the beginning of a 40-day period (Lent) in which Christians traditionally refrain from eating meat (not including fish) on Fridays and some people decide to deny themselves of something as a form of penance to God. Many of us can remember the difficult time I went through when I gave up chocolate for Lent in high school. Although that did serve as an act of reverence to God (it is extremely difficult to do when you normally eat chocolate multiple times a day), I wanted to give up something this year that would be an even more surefire way for me to grow as a person and develop my faith.

So, I decided to give up watching T.V.

Yes, I know. 40 whole days without television. 46 including Sundays. Although I won't be watching any shows or movies at home, I will allow myself the opportunity to go see a movie at the theater if it so happens. Thinking back on my lifetime at all of the time I have spent watching T.V., it is really appalling to think about all the ways I could have used that time instead. I saw a commercial a while ago that mentioned the amount of time that Americans spend commuting to and from work in their lifetimes, and I was horrified. But really, I can do a lot more about my lifestyle choices at home than I can about my commute (in the short term). We'll just have to see how successful (or unsuccessful) I am!

These are some of the exciting things I hope to do instead of watching T.V. over the next two months:

• Spend time with my dog, family, and friends
• Clean the house
• Read my current book: Ethics for the New Millennium by the Dalai Lama
• Exercise more
• Brush up on Spanish and Japanese

• Read the New Testament of the Bible
• Pick up a new hobby
• Bake new kinds of desserts
• Do a better job of keeping in touch with old friends
•  Make lunches at night for work

And here is some interesting information from Wikipedia about Lent:

• Ash Wednesday gets it name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. Ashes were used in ancient times to express mourning.
• In the Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday is observed by fasting, abstinence from meat, and repentance—a day of contemplating one's transgressions.
• The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus (Easter).
• "Lent" initially simply meant spring (as in the German Lenz and Dutch lente) and derives from the Germanic root for long because in the spring the days visibly lengthen.

Photo of Pope Benedict: roblisameehan

Discount Websites

I think most people that know me well also know that I love a good deal. I can't remember the last time I bought some item of clothing that wasn't on sale or I didn't have a coupon for. My grocery list pretty much only consists of things that are on sale, and I've gotten to the point where I have the prices memorized for certain items -- I will not pay more than $2.50 for juice drinks (100% juice required). When it goes below $2, I tend to stock up.

Then, I found Groupon -- and all the related sites that offer great local deals on everything from restaurants, to salons/spas, to any kind of service or store you could think of. Many of the places are either a) businesses I already go to, b) places I was planning on trying out, or c) services I have been wanting but were price-prohibitive. That's really the trick to making purchases from those websites. If you didn't have a desire to make the purchase before the deal showed up, even if it is a wonderful deal, it's best just to not buy it. Some of the buys can be real money savers, but others can be just a bust. I've been keeping track of my ratings of most of these businesses I purchase a deal from (the ones that aren't online deals -- all listed on the map below), and my average rating of them is probably 3 or 3.5 stars out of 5 -- so really just about average.

I Heart Deals

What's this?

It can get annoying to feel compelled to check these e-mails daily, since many of the deals are only available for 24 hours -- but I find that only Groupon and LivingSocial are the ones that tend to have such strict time limitations. Below is a comprehensive list of the deal sites I get information from, so you can check them out if they are in your area:

• Groupon
• Living Social
• Homerun
• Eversave
• Specialicious
• TownHog
• KGB Deals
• OpenTable Spotlight

• What's the Deal
• Half Off DC
• DC Half Off
• Bloomspot
• BuyWithMe
• Tippr
• Deals for Deeds
• DealOn

A few other sites that have deals (but I consider to be in a different category than these deal sites) are Amazon's Gold Box Deals and Restaurant.com. Many times on Restaurant.com, you can get a $25 gift certificate to a restaurant for $2-3 (with certain restrictions, depending on the restaurant)! And they aren't available for just one day -- they are there all the time. If you were already planning on eating there, why not?!

Here are two current examples of why I like these deal sites:

-Two Fandango Movie Tickets for $9 from LivingSocial

• If you go to the movies (which most people do), and were planning on doing so between now and when you would have to use the deal by (June 6th), then it really only makes sense for you to get it. Fandango is available for so many theaters across the country, it's really not prohibitive for most people. And if three friends buy from your link, then your deal is free! That happened to me when they had an Amazon.com gift card deal, and I ended up getting a free $20 gift card!

-An IPL Photofacial in McLean, VA for $99 from Eversave

• I've really been wanting to get another photofacial that will improve the complexion of my skin like the one I had at Rejuvalase (but I will only pay $100 or less), and then this deal popped up -- plus, I get another $10 off because of the "refer a friend" discount. I'd never get this done for the regular $300 per session price, but I can swing $89 maybe 1-2 times a year.

I'll probably keep posting the most exciting deals from the deal websites as they pop up! Oh yeah, there is Lifebooker.com -- but that is specific to NYC and LA, so not applicable to me on a regular basis. If there are any websites I'm missing, please let me know. :)

Yelp Review: Hot Yoga Bikram Tysons

Hot Yoga Bikram Tysons (McLean, VA): 5 Stars

I had my first Bikram experience at this studio, and I love this place. If it weren't so inconvenient to get to from where I live and work, I would make this my home studio.

I had been thinking about trying Bikram yoga for a while: 90 minutes of yoga with 26 postures in a room heated to 105 degrees and 35% humidity. When I saw a deal on livingsocial to try out this studio at a great price, I knew it must have been fate! This place is the reason I am hooked on Bikram.

All of the instructors I have had at the studio were great (Stephanie, Ron, Cassandra, and Rana). They were very patient and encouraging when the workout got intense - but they understand that many people may need a break from the workout to just sit down. I will admit that my first class was very intense - at one point I lost my vision as if I were going to pass out - but I sat down and rested for a minute, and I was fine after that. It does take some time to adjust, though.

The Power Yoga classes that Cassandra teaches seemed the most similar to traditional yoga (just heated). The main yoga room was pretty sanitary (no weird smells), and the locker room is spacious. All of the people who work there seem pretty laid back and nice. The one thing I really appreciated most of all that my current studio doesn't have is a refreshing, cold lavender-scented hand towel for each student at the end of class.

I did hear a few people complain that it didn't feel quite as hot to them as other Bikram studios they had gone to, but I think that may be one thing that makes it even better for beginners. I noticed that sometimes the room would be hotter than others, but you'll definitely feel it! Bikram has helped with my flexibility, strength, and posture. I leave refreshed rather than exhausted. Both Bikram in general and this studio in particular are two things I would recommend without hesitation. I would recommend that all new students bring at least the following: bottle of water, yoga mat, towel, workout clothes (but not long pants).