I just went back and read the blog I posted last January, when I was thrilled to have the opportunity to walk on the beach and search for sea glass in 17-below-zero-degree weather. Despite the fact that the sea glass was frozen to the beach and that I froze my ass off, I was able to dislodge a few pieces and had a great time doing it.

This year I experienced a completely different story, as I experienced near tropical weather for northeast Ohio, with a balmy 61-degree-high temperature on January 1, 2011. I took a long, leisurely stroll on the beach, enjoyed the intermittent sunshine, found a boatload of sea glass, and this time I didn’t need any special tools to wedge the frozen glass from the sand.

Check out my sea glass finds for the day—quite the haul compared to my 2010 New Year’s Day outing!

I know I was lucky to have such a beautiful day, so I savored every minute of it and again thought to myself, What a great way to start the year! I’m hoping that the freakishly warm weather we experienced was a sign that our winter will be short and sweet, and spring will be here before we know it (yeah, I’m delusional at times).

You can read more about my New Year’s Day experience at the Polar Plunge and my rainbow sighting over Lake Erie on The Daily Downward Dog.

Happy New Year!

Here in Ohio, we’ve had the white thing covered for quite a few weeks, with more snow in the forecast for Christmas Eve (woo hoo!). So, with that in mind, I’ll be taking my dreams the green Christmas route.  One without conspicuous consumption and recycle bins full of used holiday accoutrements.

Show your respect for Mother Earth and adopt a few new green traditions this year. To get you started, check out this list from Eartheasy with tips from how to shop and buy green, to recycling your wrapping paper and holiday cards. I’m happy to report that it is now officially cool to wrap your presents in used newspapers or the comics page (I’ve been doing this for years and never knew I was being green).

At Christmas and throughout the New Year, give a gift to the planet and everyone who lives on it by being ecologically conscious.

Wishing you a Green Christmas and an eco-friendly New Year!

Green Holiday Image by: Madhaven M

It’s been a while since I’ve said hello to those of you who are nice enough to stop by and check out MariaMedia. I’ve enjoyed meeting so many cool people and appreciate your continued support.

MariaMedia was formed to be a journal of my journey into my new professional life. It has been eight months since the blog launched, and when it started I was cranking out close to 10 blog posts a week! Wow, that was exhausting but therapeutic as I wrote about the things I’m passionate about and the media that matters to me.

One of my passions that brought so much joy into my life these past few years is yoga. MariaMedia started out with weekday daily yoga musings called the Daily Downward Dog that eventually morphed into its own Web site, The Daily Downward Dog. If you haven’t visited the D.D.D., please do. I’m really proud of the way it is turning out and the community of fellow yogis I’ve met and shared with.

In true Maria form I’m taking that passion for yoga one step further, and I have started yoga-teacher training. I want to share my love for yoga and how it has helped me heal my back pain and relieve stress. I’m not kidding myself; I’ll never teach a power yoga class, but I’m going to rock out with yoga for inflexible people who want to grow spiritually and feel amazing.

My yoga-teacher training classes meet one day a week and one weekend a month for the next six months, and I have to tell you I am loving this deep dive (ha ha, I always hated that word when I worked in Corporate America) into the wonderful world of yoga. I’ve always known that yoga is so much more than the physical poses, and it is really cool to start understanding the practice on a deeper level.

I love making up new words, and now I get to learn the meaning of all those Sanskrit words that are so fun to say, like “Sup-Ta Bad-dha Ko-Na-Sana” (Supta Baddha Konasana). I’ve never been good at science, so I have to admit, the yoga anatomy sessions are a bit overwhelming.

So, what does all this mean to you? Well, because I need to dedicate more time to my teacher training, I’m not going to kid myself that I can still keep up the pace of the blog postings I did in the past, and I definitely need to halt production of my Web series No Songs for Men (yeah, the money that used to pay for NSFM production is now paying for my yoga-teacher training tuition). You’ve probably already noticed that the postings have dwindled off a bit, but I promise to keep MariaMedia alive with occasional postings, and someday I’ll finish up the story of the Code Cherry gals when I have the time to keep the episodes cranking out on a regular schedule.

Thanks again for your continued support, and, please, if you are spiritual in any way, send me a little love and encouragement as I go through my yoga-teacher training. This has been a fun journey so far, and I can’t wait to see where my passion for yoga takes me next.

I love the colors of the sunset, but I have to admit that this time of year, they have some fierce competition from the beautiful colors of the fall foliage. I live within walking distance to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, so it’s easy for me to take a break during my day to sneak out and take in the changing colors as they unfold. Like the sunset, there is a new episode every day as the canvas of colors and density of leaves drastically changes.

So, to mix things up today, instead of sunset pictures, I thought I would share some of the pictures I took last fall. Unfortunately, my camera cannot capture the crisp fall air, the smell in the air, and the sound of crunching leaves beneath my feet, but a few cows and a flowing river make up for it (sort of!).

These trees and horses hang out at Hale Farm & Village in Bath, Ohio.

These beauties were taken in Peninsula, along the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Check out the sun glistening through the trees and on the water.

This is my favorite fall foliage scenic view spot for sweeping panoramic views of the Cuyahoga Valley from the Ledges at Virginia Kendall Park.

And then the fat lady sings, and we’re forced to look at naked trees for the next six months. Ugh, this time of year really is bittersweet. It is so beautiful for a few weeks, and then we are robbed of all our green leaves, the green grass turns brown, and the skies in northeast Ohio turn gray! In this case it really isn’t a fat lady, but an obese, ugly, old man winter who is singing the blues. I can only wish for a few more Indian summer days to sustain me through the coming months.

Well, another sunset season is coming to an end for me, and I have to say that it makes me a little melancholy. From the months of April through October, the rotation of the Earth and the sun are perfectly aligned, so I get to see the sun drop into Lake Erie on a regular basis. It’s getting cooler, so I can’t sit outside in shorts and enjoy nature’s free light show anymore, but I’m still venturing out with a few extra layers and snapping up lots of pictures while I can.

It has been a great season of sunsets, and I took the time recently to click through all the pictures I took to pick out a few favorites. As I was doing so, I marveled at how different the script is every night, with the colors of the sky and the water all different shades from the rainbow and the sometimes not-so-subtle nuances of the clouds for added dimension. The soundtrack can vary too, with either wind, waves, or calm waters.

So, I thought I would share some of the rainbow colors of the summer 2010 sunset season.

This photo was taken on August 12. I love the hazy, lazy, fuzzy, pink sky and the shimmery silver-blue color of the water. It was hot this day, but the water looked very cool.

On June 28 the sky lit up in a deep orange and gold that was amazing.

This was the romantic purple haze and sultry pink sunset from July 8. I love the colors of the sun sparkling off the surface of the water. The cloud formation at the horizon added just the right amount of flair to the occasion.

On September 26 the sunset started out pretty tame.

And then the clouds put on a little fireworks show of their own.

The clouds really deserve a Best Supporting Actress award this year, as they provided lots of drama and, in this case, they were channeling rays of light from the heavens. This picture is from July 18.

When I heralded the beginning of sunset season this year, I thought it would be interesting to count the number of hours I logged watching the sunset. I totally forgot to do this, but I did count the number of pictures I took, and there were over 300. I’m going to savor these last few weeks of sunset season, but this winter when I’m cold and missing my sunset, I’ll have plenty of beautiful pictures to cheer me up. I’ll also be saving up to buy a new camera so I can take even better pictures next year.

If you want to see more of my Lake Erie 2010 Sunset Series photos search the Sunsets & Sea glass category on MariaMedia.

How did this happen? How did the world find out about my passion for sea glass? It seems like everyone is looking for the colorful frosted pieces of glass that wash up along the shores of the beach. On my local beaches I used to be the only one walking along the beach, head down, searching for the precious gems. Now, I see a stream of people walking down the beach, searching for these special pieces of art created by nature. It’s enough to make me want to get up before dawn just so I get the first stab at the beach.

I can’t blame them; I think looking for sea glass is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable hobbies I’ve ever had. Who doesn’t like to be outdoors, walking on a beach, hearing the sound of the surf, and finding hidden treasures…for free?

If you collect sea glass, you know that it gets in your blood. You have to do it and live to do it whenever you can. In the summer I’ve been known to go out and comb the beach several times per day. I even went out in search of some gems on the shores of Lake Erie in January, when it was a few degrees above zero and the few shards of glass I did find were frozen to the beach. I think I might be obsessed.

Today I went to an art show and met another collector who was selling sea glass jewelry. I could have talked to this person for hours (well, I sort of did) about the best beaches to find it, what our best finds were, what online groups he belongs to, and how to find black sea glass on the beach.

We both talked about the fact that each year it seems like the amount of glass we find is starting to dwindle. This can be attributed to the fact that more plastic bottles are being produced and more people are out their hunting for it.

Even though it pains me to encourage others to pick up the passion, I have to share the love.If you are interested in picking up my hobby, here are a few great books I would recommend.

Pure Sea Glass: Discovering Nature’s Vanishing Gems by Richard LaMotte

Sea Glass Hunter’s Handbook by C.S. Lambert. This woman has written a few books on the topic and is very passionate about her hobby.

Want to read a really great novel that has sea glass as the central theme? I would highly recommend Anita Shreve’s Sea Glass.

Can’t get to the beach this winter? When you are having withdrawal, I suggest you get this calendar so you can dream about your next sea glass hunt.

Sea Glass 2011 Calendar

You can also join the legion of people around the world that already know the secret on this online forum for Sea Glass Lovers.

Love the frosty stuff? Please let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

Trudie Styler is a lucky lady! Not only is she married to one of the hottest rock musicians, she looks fabulous in her mid-fifties, lives in this incredible villa in Tuscany, and gets to practice yoga with her husband, Sting! She also happens to be a pretty cool lady who is an organic farmer, does a lot of great work as a human rights activist, and promotes green practices.

I’ve always wanted to do celebrity yoga, so I couldn’t resist picking up her Warrior Yoga DVD. I plopped in this DVD about a week ago while my sister was visiting, and we both jumped on our yoga mats to enjoy a yoga workout and a little voyeuristic journey into Trudie Stylers’s yoga world. We both were also holding out hope that we would get to see a few shots of the tantra-tastic Sting as part of the package and we weren’t disappointed.

Yoga Workouts

The yoga workouts on the DVD consist of one 45-minute yoga workout with Trudie Styler and her fitness guru, James D’Silva, and a shortened 25-minute express version. The two go through an organic flow of yoga postures, with James’s calling the shots and providing wonderful verbal clues with his incredibly calming voice. The video was shot at Trudie and Sting’s beautiful, ecofriendly Tuscan villa, II Palagio, with the rich acoustic guitar sounds of Sting playing “Fields of Gold” and other music from his Songs from the Labyrinth CD in the background.

My first impression was that I really liked the flow that James put together. It was different than anything I’ve done before because he takes you through a long sequence of poses on one side before moving to the other side. I recommend you watch the video first before trying it, as there were a few poses I’d never experienced, and his version of mountain is different than what we practice here at my villa in Ohio. There are a few challenging areas in the flow, and I wish that James had provided some variations to the poses for people who are new to yoga (and for inflexible people like me).

One variation that James brought to the table was brining the hands down from above to your head, to your lips, and to your heart and then moving the hands out forward in an offering. The flow seemed more meaningful as my hands grazed past my head and lips and I felt my heart press out of my chest.

My sister and I were amazed that neither Trudie nor James broke out in a sweat during the workout. It must have been cold that day in Tuscany, because the two of us were sweating like crazy. This is a total-body-strengthening yoga practice, with plenty of time spent holding positions, so you will be challenged.

The express is a condensed version of the 45-minute workout—perfect for a quick yoga fix—and it will make you break a sweat. I’m going to use this in the morning when I only have a few minutes to get my back stretched and my body moving.

The only real issue I have with this DVD is that the workout did not include a savasana session, but I do have an insider’s tip for you. After you finish the workout, go ahead and lie down in savasana. The DVD will move to the menu page, and Sting is singing a mellow version of “Message in a Bottle” in the background. It made the perfect soothing accompaniment to my own self-guided savasana.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Guided Meditation with Trudie

When we did the DVD and saw that it featured a meditation session with Trudie Styler, my sister and I both got excited about the opportunity to om with Trudie. Imagine our disappointment when the meditation session was Trudie sitting in a field of lavender, with James’ voice leading us through the meditation. Well, actually—no offense to James—it was really nice.

A few days later I checked out James’ meditation sequence and was delighted to find that Trudie was offering up the guided journey as he sat in the field of lavender. In her lovely English accent, she had me breathing in rays of sunlight and breathing out into the depths of the ocean. It was an incredible meditative journey, and, Trudie, thank you. I did find my inner peace! I’ll be going to this DVD often for my daily meditation—shanti.

But Wait, There’s More!

The bonus tracks on this DVD are really cool. There is an interview with Trudie, James, and also one from Sting. The interviews give you a nice peek into the making of the videos and Trudie and Sting’s core beliefs about exercise, living a healthy lifestyle, and their involvement with the Rainforest Foundation and the UNICEF Ecuador Water Project (a portion of sales from this DVD go to this organization).

I love what Trudie has to say about giving yourself the gift of exercise. “We’re given one body in this life. It’s our precious vehicle, it needs maintenance, and it needs to be empowered.”

You also get a glimpse into the making of Sting’s album If on a Winter’s Night. In a couple of the interview shots, Sting has a beard, which I didn’t care for (looks a little too Grizzly Adams for me), but don’t worry, there are also shots of the clean-shaven Sting we all love, and the CD sounds pretty amazing too.

The DVD does a good job of selling the other workout DVDs that Trudie and James did together. I’m especially curious about the Sculpt & Tone Ballet DVD, as I’d really like to visit the inner ballerina in me, and the Cardio Dance Flow and Pilates workouts look like a lot of fun. James is a classically trained dancer from the Royal Ballet, so I’m thinking the dance elements have got to be good.

I highly recommend Trudie Styler’s Warrior Yoga DVD. It left my sister and me feeling invigorated, centered, and fully present as we got the added bonus of hanging out with Trudie and Sting for the afternoon.

Summer is not over, summer is not over… That is the mantra I keep repeating! If you are a northeast Ohioan desperate to latch on to outdoor activities before we get locked up inside for the winter months, I’ve got a great way to get outdoors, listen to music, try a tasty mojito, and catch the sunset over Lake Erie.

The Third Thursday Music, Flowers & a Sunset event in historic downtown Vermilion, Ohio, has become extremely popular, and the last one of the year is coming up on September 16, from 6:30 p.m. until sunset. Where else can you roam the streets and hear a Goth punk band on one corner, walk a little farther down the street and hear an alternative rock band, and proceed to the downtown square to see G-Force an all-girl pop-rock band singing their hearts out? These gals can rock!

As you stroll around the beautiful sites of downtown Vermilion, the Vermilion River, and Lake Erie, you’ll enjoy a musical mash-up of over 12 different musical groups and solo artists from just about every musical genre and it’s absolutely FREE.

I love the fact that Vermilion has provided a venue for so many young artists to show off their talents.

If you are thirsty, you can turn the evening into a mini pub crawl by popping into Touché at Chez Francois for one of their Thursday-night lime-drink specials—can you say margaritas and mojitos?—or stop into Rudy’s Bar and Grill for a cold draft beer.

Not in the mood to imbibe? The downtown Vermilion restaurants are all open and ready to serve you anything from pizza to perch. Everyone who attends Third Thursday in Vermilion is required to eat at least one ice cream cone, and a great place to get a cone and your very own caricature is at Granny Joe’s Ice Creamatorium.

There is a really cool vibe behind Woodstock, a pizza shop located right downtown. Be sure to walk around back for a band playing Grateful Dead-type music, hula hoop artists, and last month there was a gathering of vintage VW vans.

While you are roaming the streets, you can also shop for chocolate, candles, and surfboards, check out the Great Lakes Maritime Museum (it’s open from 5 to 8 p.m. and is free on Third Thursday), and an art show at the Main Street building. If you have not picked up on this yet, get there early so you don’t miss out on anything. If you look around in the shops, there are schedules and a map to let you know where all the activities are planned.

The grand finale of the evening is the sunset, so be sure to walk down to the Main Street Beach to catch one of my favorite daily outdoor art shows—the sun setting over Lake Erie. It’s even more beautiful to watch while being serenaded by a band playing on the boardwalk at the beach!

Sunset in Vermilion, Ohio

This list of top Rules for Writers was copied from Erica Jong’s official Web site. I’m on a little bit of an Erica Jong roll, as she was our Woman Who Rocks on September 2.

Erica, I hope you don’t mind that I’m sharing your writing rules. These rules are just too much fun and such good advice that I really wanted to share them. By the way, you don’t have to be writing a novel for this to apply; it can go for any kind of writing.

Erica’s 20 Rules for Writers

1. Have faith, not cynicism

2. Dare to dream

3. Take your mind off publication

4. Write for joy

5. Get the reader to turn the page

6. Forget politics (let your real politics shine through)

7. Forget intellect

8. Forget ego

9. Be a beginner

10. Accept change

11. Don’t think your mind needs altering

12. Don’t expect approval for telling the truth—

(Parents, politicians, colleagues, friends, etc.)

13. Use everything

14. Remember that writing is heroism

15. Let sex (the body, the physical world) in!

16. Forget critics

17. Tell your truth, not the world’s

18. Remember to be earthbound

19. Remember to be wild!

20. Write for the child (in yourself and others)

There are no rules

Erica Jong

Thanks, Erica, for daring me to dream. I’m going to print these out and tape them to my wall as I continue to write my Web novel, No Songs for Men. I promise to be wild and to write for joy, and the part about being a beginner will not be an issue!

Because there are no rules for writers, do you have any good tips or suggestions for writing? If so, please share in a comment below.

Image: abcdz2000

Check out the Women Rock category at the Cool Stuff Shoppe for great books, DVDs and merchandise from the Women Who Rock at MariaMedia. Thank you for clicking on the ads when you visit to help fund this site!

“Do your work with your whole heart, and you will succeed—there’s so little competition.” —Author Unknown

“The Labor Movement; the folks who brought you the weekend.” —From a bumper sticker, 1995

“Sometimes it’s important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.” —Douglas Pagels

Well, it’s time for another glorious national three-day weekend. This holiday weekend is always a little bittersweet because it heralds the end of summer and the time to buckle down and get back to school. I hope the forecasted cold front that is expected to hit Ohio is not a harbinger of the dreaded cold weather to come. It’s not officially fall until September 22, and I want to fully savor these last 19 days of summer. I’m not ready to start wearing socks and turning on my mattress heater just yet, and, dammit, I will wear white after Labor Day!

Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880s. The original plan was that it should be observed and celebrated with a street parade to show “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of each community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. Ha ha…I love that description.

I don’t think I’ll be making any parades this weekend, but you can bet I’ll be seeking out some recreation and amusement! To take us all out on a high note, here’s my favorite ’80s weekend anthem—sing it, Loverboy…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Come on, baby, let’s go! You gotta love a rocker in tight red leather pants. Hope you have an amazing Labor Day weekend.