Gifts!

Of course, this time of year, most conversations you hear are buzzing with the word gift - in one form or another! This is the gift I want, this year I'm buying less gifts, I can't find the gifts I want to buy, I'm so far behind in purchasing gifts, and on and on and on. My friend and I were just discussing gifts yesterday, as I mailed her birthday gift to her one week after her birthday (I had good intentions - even bought the gifts early - but, alas didn't get around to going to the post office!). Anyway, we were saying how wonderfully fun it is to receive and give gifts. That when you absolutely LOVE a gift you receive, it's usually not because it's so rare, or so expensive, or so exquisite (although often gifts are), it's because the person who's giving the gift to you has purchased something that is so you - you know - it's something that personifies who you are or what you like. It's a statement about that friendship or relationship - it's reflective of the fact that you know that person so well. For example, my friend collects marbles. I love stones and found some stone marbles at a rock show. Probably about .75 to $1.00 a piece -  not real expensive. But she adored them. It spoke volumes of comfort and familiarity to her, having received something from me that reminded her of how well I know her. One of my customers just gave me a bead that is a penguin! She hit the jackpot there, since I make jewelry as a hobby, and I adore penguins! In fact, her comment to me was, "when I saw this, I just couldn't pass it up!" That's because she knows me so well, and this little bead reminded her of me. So this holiday season, I encourage us all, to not worry so much about spending a bunch of money or impressing all the others with our gifts at our get togethers, but rather to spend more time thinking about and appreciating the qualities about that person that make it fun to be in relationship with them in the first place - then purchase (or make) something that symbolizes that relationship and makes you think fondly of that person. 

Tis the season

Tis the season for...many things. I'm thinking lately not about your usual reason for saying that. I love Christmas and the holidays for soooooo many reasons, but right now I'm thinking about another season. In November we experienced the smallest full moon of 2012. On December 21st, we will experience the winter solstice (shortest day of sunlight of 2012). In the period between those two events, some people say we are advised  to be doing some reflection, if you will. Some preparation for a new year in our journey here on Earth. It has been suggested that this be a time of thinking and evaluating procedures and habits in your life - seeing if just because you've "always done it that way" is still the best way for you now. Are you doing anything just by force of habit that could be done a more efficient way? Or are you carrying some things with you along your journey that really don't serve you very well anymore? Well, I've been doing some evaluating myself during this period of time and I find that I, indeed, have been carrying some subconscious thought patterns and habits that no longer serve who I want to be in this new year. So I am making preparations to discard those things and let them fall by the wayside. Not that those ways of doing things haven't protected or served me well in the past - now it's just time to move on in another direction and those things would serve to hold me back, not encourage me on. Tis the season for .....so much! Take charge of who you are and where you want to go in the new year. Take a minute and reflect - remember, change your thinking, change your world!

11 Years!

A week or so ago marked 11 years for me in business as a massage therapist. Amazing! Time has flown by, and much has changed....and stayed the same. As I sit here, printing more Christmas gift certificates and brochures (and folding them), laundering sheets, checking my e-mails for any updates on appointments from patients, and thinking about my next facebook post to hopefully boost some activity, I realize I still do all the legwork (grunt work I call it) myself - just me and my printer and my old laptop - no fancy big printing company; my phone - no intricate phone system (no "press one to make an appointment"); passing the word about my business or specials via my mouth, my friends' and patients' mouths or a snail mail mailing - no bright and bold advertising or billboards announcing my information; and on and on. Eleven years later it's still basically me serving others because I love and believe in massage so completely. And that's kinda how I prefer it. Before you think I'm crazy, just let me say, I do realize the world has changed around me in the last 11 years. I do know there's internet and paper advertising available; I do know there's people who manage other people's businesses; I do know there's internet programs that allow the patient to schedule their own massages - I know advancement in procedure is out there and available for a price. However, I feel like massage is such a personal service and to incorporate some of those features would cause me to lose some one on one contact with my people. Isn't that, afterall, what "small business" is all about?

As I look back over the past 11 years, I am very thankful and feel much gratitude to be able to do work that I enjoy so much. Not everyone gets that opportunity in their lifetime and I feel very fortunate to be one who does. So Happy Anniversary, Soothing Moments Massage! Here's to many more years of success in assisting others on their journey to healthiness!

... because sometimes life makes you frazzled!

Tan man's birthday!

Today is my youngest son's birthday. He turned 26 years old today. I wish I had more time and knowledge and was more electronically savvy so I could show you cute pictures of him when he was little. Suffice it to say that I, like most mothers I know, cannot actually embrace the fact that my youngest child is really no longer a child, but a grown man with a beard and everything! What does that make me? An old woman? But I digress and refuse to go there tonight. Let me just spend these few minutes telling you some things about my Tan man (as we have called him affectionately for years) that are very special and make me especially fond of him. Tan man is very sensitive. He cares about people and their feelings. So much so that he went to great links for 17 years to ensure that I didn't find out that he really didn't like nutcrackers - that the whole thing had been a misunderstanding and the boxes and boxes of nutcrackers that had been collected over the years for him actually held no value for him and could be discarded. Loaded with a great sense of humor, he brings calmness to many situations. He's always loved to read and loves books, currently devouring Crossroads, the newest book penned by favorite author, William Paul Young. He is a wonderful massage therapist and one of the smartest people I know. Great with kids, I know he will make a wonderful father some day. When he was young, he was very quiet, conversing with literally almost no one. He didn't speak to his kindergarten teacher until well into the second semester that year, not even telling her he was left handed when she tried to make him write with his right hand. He hoodwinked me into taking a lawyer to dinner (for his 6th birthday), tried to force me to buy Rogaine for him (at age 6), and cheated at Uno every time he got the chance. He has brought so much joy and laughter to my life and the lives of his siblings. Our lives are much enriched because you are in them, Tan man, and we are very thankful to God for giving you to us. May this next year be your best one yet.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Yep! It happened. Despite the debockery (sp??) of the day after Thanksgiving where Mother Nature froze out our annual tree picking out adventure, yesterday Tanner and Amanda came by and took me to Talbot's to get my tree. Now if you've ever gone on one of these tree finding adventures with Tanner (or if you know Tanner or even remotely know anything about Tanner), you know we were gone 4 minutes longer than it takes to drive from my house to Talbot's Tree Farm and back. Plus 1 minute to throw it in the back of my car! lol! Tanner's very decisive when it comes to Christmas trees. May I say, my living room smells fantabulous, as my tree awaits it's destiny of being decorated. It's very crooked. However, Tanner assures me he can create the illusion of straightness once the branches have relaxed, by manipulating the way the tree trunk is situated in the tree stand. Time will tell. Here's a couple of pictures to photo document that this happened. On a side note, one of my customers told me recently that she was talking with her granddaughter about baking Christmas cookies with her when she was young. The granddaughter (now a grown woman in her 30's) vehemently proclaimed that she didn't remember ever baking cookies with the grandma. The grandma hates to bake, but did so to make memories with the granddaughter. The moral of the story? Always photo document what you do as one day you may need proof that you did it! ha!

Cookie Day 2012

It was our annual cookie day! I also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE cookie day! This year I ordered myself an early Christmas present of ceramic penguin measuring cups and spoons. They arrived today - 1 week late for cookie day - oh well! Anyway, I love all the fun, the chaos of the activity, the hustle and bustle of people working, talking, laughing, eating. It makes my house feel alive and it makes me feel like I'm a part of and connected to something bigger than myself. I always make a huge, I mean huge, roaster of chilli (it's a tradition now and you already know how I feel about traditions) for us to all eat for lunch. We invite our "boys" to come join us for lunch and test taste the cookies. Each year there's different cookies, different people, but in the end, I think a good time is had by all. This year we had a handful of  younger bakers who enjoyed trying their hands at doing some baking. They're the ones we took pictures of of because they were so cute. The beneficiaries of these cookies you ask? Well, each person brings some containers to take some home. Mine end up as a tray for the office for the rental community where I live, and a box for my mail lady. Otherwise, I eat them. My kids eat them. My customers eat them. We all love them. Life's short so eat more cookies and have more fun.

Traditions

See what happens? You get busy and stay away for awhile, and they change everything! Whew! Seems like everytime I log in to Google to post here, they've changed things. Ok - I'll try to adapt! lol!

Traditions - aren't they wonderful? They're reliable, they're comforting, they're stable and responsible. They make us feel like we belong, like we're a part of something. This time of year makes me think so much about traditions. My little family (my kids and I) have had held traditions in high regard for alot of years (or at least I have and they have let me think they enjoy them, too!). For instance we ALWAYS get my Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving. We ALWAYS get a real, live Christmas tree. We ALWAYS celebrate our Christmas together the Saturday after Christmas day. We ALWAYS make homemade eggrolls and peach pies for our Christmas celebration. We ALWAYS get a new game as a family present for Christmas to play at our celebration. And on, and on, and on. These are things that make us look forward to getting together - the familiarity of it all makes us feel a sense of belonging. I'm sure your family has things that you ALWAYS do, too, which you consider traditions. However, as comforting and familiar as traditions can be, change is inevitable, and our traditions, although somewhat sacred to us, are not exempt from the blowing winds of change. It's how we react to that change that determines whether or not the feelings of comfort and belonging surrounding our traditions survive or go by the wayside. For example, this year, on the day after Thanksgiving, it was 32 degrees outside and the wind was blowing leaves past my window faster than I could count them. I have two new grandchildren born this calendar year, so the decision had to be made that it was not wise to take the little ones out and get my tree. Sure, I was disappointed - not only because it's always a fun time for us (not to mention a great photo opp!) but also because I am now faced with the practical dilemma of when and how to get a tree! But, no one griped, no one complained, no one threw a fit (I guess we're all too old and mature for that now, eh?). But we still came together, ate our Thanksgiving dinner, played games and laughed and visited. No tree, but good food and fun and laughter. After all, isn't that what our traditions encourage? Quality time spent together. Is this the end of my Christmas tree finding Friday after Thanksgiving adventure? Who knows. We'll see what next year brings. Sometimes traditions have an expiration date and the winds of change blow their candle out. Some are only set aside to be picked back up the next time, with the sidestep of a deviation taken in everyone's stride. Only time will tell. And, on the flipside of that coin, I'm sure we'll be coming up with new adventures that will soon become traditions for us, too. 

Take time this holiday season to think of the things you consider traditions and what they mean to you. If you can't think of any, start some. Trust me, when you look back later, traditions help to make fabulous memories.