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.

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!

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.