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Tuesday, January 29, 2008


A brief impression of my office. It will be finished by the end of the week! I'm off to take the National Exam this morning, thank you for all of your well wishes and prayers. Keep'em coming, so far they are working!

Happy Birthday to Kristyna tomorrow, we wish we could be there to help celebrate. Also, our thoughts are with you Kate as you make it through the end of your pregnancy. We can't wait to meet our new niece.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

I did it!

Whewwww! On Wednesday I drove to the state capital (Salem) and took my practical examination. I will not know the results for a week or so but I feel like I passed it. I will be stone cold shocked if I do not. So, one down one to go. On Tuesday I take me national exam which is in my opinion the easier of the two. This national exam is written, whereas the practical I just took was completely hands on. I had two proctors observing me and the third proctor was the client on the table that I was working on! This next exam is much less stressful as it is just me and a computer at a testing center:)

The massage studio is coming along in a most lovely fashion. I believe it is a positive sign when the universe places what you need in front of you. The paint I needed was supplied at no charge by a friend who just happened to have extra in a color I needed. My business partner Tele had extra shelves which worked perfect in our space. Yesterday we were feeling bummed out because all the rugs we looked at where very expensive, and then we found the perfect rug for $40! All of the coincidences encourage me along this path and give me faith that I am making the right decision. Soon (in the next 3-4 weeks) I will finally be completely licensed and accepting clients.

School is going well. I am taking my elective courses to round out my advanced program. These classes are a breath of fresh air compared to the core program I just completed. Being advanced massage courses we have a level of freedom to expand out skills and teach one another as well as learn from our professors. The more I study the more I realize that I too want to teach one day. I am taking small steps now to begin that process and am registering as a certified tutor and massage evaluator through my school. This means that I have a history of good academic performance and can tutor, as well as receive massage from current students that I then evaluate for their learning purposes. I feel this is a good place to start. Perhaps in a year or so I will start looking into the 'junior' schools in the area for teaching opportunities. I have found that if you start at these schools and teach there for awhile, then the larger more respected institutes (such as my school) are more interested in hiring you.

That's about it from here. Scott is doing well and still waiting to hear back from the union regarding the next go round for the apprenticeship program. Hope you are all doing well!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Cookies and Sadness

Tonight my family said goodbye to one of our most trusted companions. Our family dog Peaches passed away in the comforting safety of my parents. This is a sad night and the end to a very difficult week for my parents. My mom called a few hours ago with the news. Since then I have been crying, laughing, and baking. There are so many great memories when I think back: I laugh remembering the time Jeff woke up from a 'romantic' dream to realize the girl he was kissing was Peaches, or how when we adopted her we went to the pound to adopt a cat and came home with our new hyper family member (my dad was so mad, only to eventually fall head over heals in love with her).

So tonight I am baking. Whenever I am sad I bake Molasses cookies. They remind me of my earliest memories being in my great-grandmother's kitchen on the family farm. She made these wonderful saucer sized cookies from the barn molasses they used to feed the horses. I loved those cookies and the smell of them brings old and deep memories of comfort that reside in my very bones.



So tonight we say goodbye to our loved family member who was with us for 13 years. Thank you Peaches for loving us as much as we loved you. Here is your candle burning tonight in memory of you.




This candle is also burning tonight in memory of Dutchess the super kitty who is missed in all of her fluffy, shedding, lap warming beauty.

And thank you Jamie for your council regarding Peaches this week. We are forever grateful that you and Char are so kind with your advice, never acting bothered or put out when our far ranging questions come in from across the country regarding our four legged friends.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Hurrah it's the new year!


(Iverson, neighbor dog Jack, and Jelly hiking with me in the mountains where we found snow)



Goodbye 2007 hello 2008. Never before have I been so happy to say goodbye to a year. For all the wonderful moments of 2007 there was equally if not more struggle and personal change. In fact, looking back on '07 my impression is one of struggle. The intense personal growth manifested from this difficulty is in its own way very much welcomed and appreciated. I just wish the greater perspective was a bit easier to come by.

Along with the struggles of last year comes the excitement for this new one. Much of last year was spent "laying the groundwork" for our professional identities. It takes much work and patience to carve out a path of survival that is of nonconventional means. At times the corporate ladder looks comforting in its linear progression and then I snap out of it and remember the vision of my future. So here we are in 2008. I am testing for my certification in 2 weeks. I have rented an office in downtown Portland that is very affordable and very lovely (pictures to come soon). Scott is working in his chosen field and in a few short days reapplying to the electrician apprenticeship program. In the mean time he genuinely likes the company he is working for and our comprehensive health benefits kick in any day. Aside from being on the cusp of our chosen professions it is a huge relief just to have the energy we put into these areas flowing again, moving forward after feeling like it was blocked for so long.

2007 was also a year of coming to terms with the miscarriage and the new challenges of planning a family. This has been a rollercoaster revival in and of itself, one in which we are still sorting out. It was also a year of feeling far from home while attempting to open my heart and let it thaw to this lovely place we live. It is working and I am starting to think of it as home (only 2 years after we moved here!).

I've never been one for new years resolutions. In the spirit of looking forward to the possibilities of this year I am making not a resolution list, rather a list of intention. Areas in my life where I would like to bloom more fully. Areas where there is potential for growth. In this I hope to avoid the guilt that can come along with a "to do" list and kindly explore these areas to the best of my abilities.

~Learn to meditate and incorporate this on a daily bases in small, simple ways
~Do More Yoga plain and simple
~Blog more
~Write my own zine see link...
http://www.readingfrenzy.com/
~Welcome a child into our lives (fingers crossed, your positive thoughts and prayers would be much appreciated)
~Become a better listener to my friends and loved ones
~Garden with a riotous beauty
~Establish a relationship with a local rancher who practices sustainable ethical ranching. Buy our meat from said rancher
~Bake more, in particular learn to make bread by hand
~Sew more clothes. I want to know where my clothes came from and stop supporting factories in China and other places which abuse their labor source.....meaning human beings!
~Take a french class from the local community college


So, that's my list. It will be fascinating to look back on this in 12 months and see where I've landed. I hope all of you have had a safe and happy new year. Paul, if you read this happy belated birthday!!!!! Our thoughts are with you and all of our loved ones. Wish us luck in our most rainy and dreary of months here in the Pacific Northwest. If anyone has a time share in Hawaii or Mexico that they just happen to not want let us know (hahahaha)

In closing here is a photo of Ryan receiving is E4 on his ship probably in Japan or somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Congratulations RJ! We love you and it's so nice to see photos of you again.....send more!