New Favorite Beverage

I have to take notice of the little positive things in my life right now because I'm p.m.s.-ing and if I allow myself to think too deeply or to analyze situations too much I sink into a big snarl of negativity. Soooo I'll post a blog about my new favorite beverage, Gerolsteiner, to be found at Trader Joes and some Jewel/Oscos. I normally hate carbonated beverages, but I love this sparkling mineral water from Germany! I'm sure that they've been selling it in the States for a while, but I discovered it for myself only because I thought the bottle was cool. It has a slightly heavier texture unlike most sparkling waters which seem to be sort of bright tasting. It also isn't TOO carbonated so my tummy can handle it. I slice some lemon into it, sit down at the computer after a long day and I'm in bliss!

Dave brought Harrison in the car to pick me up from class this evening, and had also bought me several bottles of Gerolsteiner and three lemons! What a good husband! Harry likes car rides and purred loudly all the way home.

I have new pink pajamas on, which are a gift from my Grandma Fakes and Hilda, and I'm all snuggly and ready to go to bed. I'm also reading another good book - -this one by Iris Murdoch called The Nice and the Good.

So you see the little things are all good. I have a roof over my head, Gerolsteiner, lemons, good cats, and comfy pajamas. No need to worry about work or money. No need to spend all my time pining for people and places that I miss. I have everything I need for the moment right here, right now.

Not So Sweet Home Part II

Back to Chicago after a long (actually seemed way too short) weekend in Alabama for the holiday. Had a fantastic time with my family - always do. It is a twelve hour drive, and Dave and I got there at about 7:30 Wednesday evening. Dad, Hilda and Grandma Fakes were sipping "capuccinos" on the back patio and greeted us as we pulled into the driveway. Moments later my brother, Nate arrived. The six of us sat around the dining room table watching Nate eat a bowl of pasta, laughing and taking pictures. Then we were off to early bed after a long day's worth of driving.

Thanksgiving Day was church at St. Mark's, my dad's parish, 10:00 a.m. It was a very small service, but I loved being in church with my family and watching my dad preach. He's such a good speaker and his message was very thoughtful and interesting. The sanctuary of the church is brand new and it was quite beautiful. I had seen it before, but hadn't had a chance to attend a service there. After church we headed home for an amazing dinner prepared by Hilda, my stepmom. We had the usual - turkey, corn, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry salad, and a choice of grandma's pumpkin or pecan pie for dessert. I didn't have any turkey, but had no problem filliing up on the rest! After lunch Dad, Nate and I hiked up a small mountain not far from where Dad lives. It was beautiful. We hiked for about 2 hours, and didn't make it all the way up, but were able to get some great exercise and enjoy the beauty.

Friday we did the requisite post-Thanksgiving Christmas shopping venture to the local mall in Huntsville. It wasn't too crowded, believe it or not, and we were actually able to get some good shopping in. We had leftovers for lunch after returning home. Dad and I then decided to take a walk through a nature preserve near his home. Friday night was videos and a game called Phase 10. Nate and Dave opted out of playing this one, but I had fun with Grandma Dad and Hilda.

Saturday involved more time with the fam., mostly at home, then a late dinner out. Dave and I left Huntsville at about 8:00 this morning, and got back at 8:00 this evening.

Having so many members of my family in one place is pure bliss for me. I'm not kidding. And now that I'm home I feel a gaping hole in my heart from being so far away from everyone once again.

Angry Forearms and Fingers!

The growth on my finger is indeed a ganglion cyst, likely caused by using a mouse every day, typing, and recently exacerbated by my work in massage. They used to be called Giddeon's cysts or something like that because people used to thwack them with a Bible to get rid of them. My teacher tried thwacking mine with Trevell's book on trigger points, but Trevell didn't do the trick. Next step? Wait until it gets bigger and try thwacking it again!

While I was typing my notes at work today my left forearm started spasming - very painful and puzzling because I haven't actually given a massage since last week, and it wasn't a very strenuous one. I guess all of these years of computer abuse have caught up with me! The angry muscle in question is called extensor carpi radialis longus and it's job is to extend and abduct the wrist. Ha! I have to know all of this stuff for next week's Anatomy final!

Since I'm sure that my readers are just oh so fascinated with all of my somatic concerns I'll be sure to address them all again in the near future.

Blah blah blah blah

Funny how I can go from inspired to bored in the blink of a weekend. Floating on cloud nine with my ginger tea on Saturday, and then struggling to keep my head above water (mood wise) with the same ginger tea plus a lemon peel tonight (even had some Gerolsteiner water and a few extra Altoids prior to the tea AND watched one of my favorite TV shows, Transgeneration.) It could be a blah blah Monday thing, but I suspect it has more to do with the fact that I'm just one helluva moody son (daughter) of a gun.

My bank pissed me off today, work was blah, and I discovered a rather alarming growth (?) the size of a lentil but hard as a pebble right below the first knuckle of my right index finger (palm side). It's too deep to be a callous or something skin-related so I'm not really sure what the hell it is. An alien? Shit man.

I talk about a lot of personal stuff in my blog, but I can't help but focus on selfish things when it seems sometimes, when I look outward, that the world is going to shit. I'm not big on political rants - I'd rather keep those to myself or between Dave and I - but man this country/world is f--ed up in SO many ways! I try not to think too much about global issues too because local community-based and individual concerns have my attention and energy at my job. It is hard enough not to sink into despair when I ponder those issues alone too long.

Anyway, to make a long story short I'm reading an excellent book by Ken Midkiff called The Meat We Eat. It is about factory farms - basically where all of our meat, dairy and eggs come from. I've been semi-aware of the nastiness of these places, but I've never had a book quite open my eyes like this one has. Is the book contributing to my depression this evening?? No, I don't think so, but it might not help either. I'm almost finished with it, and I can't wait to pass it along to my Dad who I think will enjoy it. Well, it isn't to be enjoyed exactly, but it is definitely a must read for anyone concerned about the food that they dump down their gullet on a daily basis.

So that's my Monday story. I wish I had something more interesting to talk about, but like I said I'm rather uninspired this eve. I'll go to bed soon and finish the book.

Girlfriends and New Hair

It isn't often these days that I'm able to spend time with my girlfriends. With work, school, marriage and cats there are few hours left in the week for da girls. I was fortunate enough to be able to pin one of them down today - Leah, who has become a very dear friend of mine these past few months. (Access Leah's blog through my links section). We had coffee at Metropolis in Edgewater, went to an incredible bookstore called Left of Center, which is right next door to Metropolis, and went shopping in Andersonville. I officially started my Christmas shopping, and bought for my sister-in-law who is expecting. Among the places we went in Andersonville were Surrender, Paper Trail, and Alamo Shoes. My did we have fun!!! Nothin' like shoe shopping in Andersonville on a Saturday with a good girlfriend!

I was also able to show off my new haircut - a short blonde shag that hangs down past my eyebrows. My stylist, Billy, gave me a very cute cut. I've been dying to get my curls chopped because frankly a curly blonde bob just isn't ME anymore. I LOVE my short hair!!! I think it suits me perfectly, and makes clothes look better on me somehow. I think most curly heads would agree - you either ARE your curls, or you choose to NOT be your curls. They are so dominating! I'm choosing to be more face than hair, and furthermore, more personality and authenticity than a wanna-be girly girl.63333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333 - That 6 and those threes were just contributed by my darling Harrison, the cat.

Now I'm drinking ginger tea, listening to the rain and VH1 Classic Rock on TV. Ahhh. What a nice weekend!

Good Strokes

After every massage we give in student clinic our clients fill out an evaluation form rating our massage, the pressure we used, our degree of professionalism, the atmosphere of the clinic, etc. I had one client today and my first two hour long massage. I felt really "on" today. My body mechanics were good, I remembered new techniques we've learned in Massage II class, and I had a great client who was very kind and easy to talk to, and just happened to be a massage therapist himself. It is a bit intimidating working on other massage therapists, but also good because they tend to be the best, most patient clients. I saw my evaluation when it was over and I got all 10's with exclamation points afterwards. The comments said something to the effect of "Cara is a very talented massage therapist! I thoroughly enjoyed my session." Those weren't the exact comments, but I can never remember anything verbatim. It definitely gave me warm fuzzies though.

To make things even better I had a C4 client this morning tell me, "They ought to pay you more. I really like you and you really help me." (Of course she knows nothing about how much I make, but she's a smart lady!) This is a person who has been having a terribly hard time of it lately and I think I did a good job with her. This made me feel good also.

I talked to one of my teachers today about my thoughts of wanting to stay at C4 after I graduate from massage therapy school. He suggested that I work part-time doing out calls or just working in a spa or something. He said that I could make a bit of money doing that. Another fellow student said that a chiropractor friend of his just moved to Chicago and is looking for MT's. He said he could probably hook me up too. All kinds of possibilities...

I'm interested in getting more into craniosacral therapy and myofascial release where massage can be incorporated a bit with talk therapy and dealing with emotions. That is what I'm all about. Sounds like a great combo. It'll be exciting to see what happens after school.

Another Nite at Kitty Moon

A fun time! My husband has been playing bass with my singer/songwriter friend, Ollie Davidson (who also happens to be the adoptions counselor at Tree House), and they participated in a benefit concert last night for hurricane survivors. (See the Old Dog Music link on the right side of my blog.) I had a fantastic time and it was wonderful to hear Ollie play yet again and exciting to hear Dave with him! I'm so proud of my husband who in addition to being a fantastic pianist/keyboardist, is quite an awesome bass player. Excuse the bragging, but I don't get to hear him play very often - especially bass. And he's WAY too humble about his abilities.

It turns out that I might be a part of an art benefit in January with the same organization, Compassionista Productions (which my friend Jenny founded). We talked with Ollie about it last night. I was very flattered to be asked to participate and nervous and excited at the same time. It has been a long time since I've gone public with my art (the last time was a bit of a bummer), and to be able to do it for a good cause is something, needless to say, that is right up my alley. I've been pining for the opportunity to do more art anyway, and this would be the perfect excuse for me to make the time to do it.

So a great weekend has been had, and I'm fortunate to be able to exercise my spirituality by contributing to useful causes through art (something we will be doing more of). This is how God is served. Through action. Through intention and honest good will. Through art and music and being kind to people and animals.

Fairly Happy Day/Week/Life

Why do I have to post such emotion-ridden words? Its either up or down, happy or sad, isn't it? Because I'm an emotionally driven person who feels a TON about everthing!! And I'm proud of it! I'm always after the deeper meaning of things whether I'm walking home after having locked my keys in the car, wondering why Douglas Fur picked ME to go home with, pondering my recent fascination with and joy over obtaining a new cell phone, or attending an agency-wide staff appreciation event for C4.

The event was at Navy Pier on a boat called the Spirit of Chicago. We had a long meeting with breakfast first, then we got on the boat, ate lunch and enjoyed the beautiful weather. This is my sixth Staff Appreciation Event with C4. They do something different every year. For some reason I was so HAPPY to be among the good people I work with today, all having fun and enjoying the boat ride and each other. Can you believe my co-workers and I actually really really like each other??? Hey, I don't think many people can say that! I remember past staff events when I thought to myself, "Why am I still here? Why haven't I gone back to school yet? Why do I put up with these people?" Well after having been away from C4 for about a year, then returning I KNOW why I'm still there, why I chose to go back to school for something other than social work, why I "put up" with these people. I LOVE MY JOB. Always did. Always let others convince me that I shouldn't, that I don't get paid enough, that I haven't followed my "calling", that I'm in the "misery industry", that I SHOULD SHOULD SHOULD go get my masters or quit and do art full time. Well, I've tried those things and they aren't all that. They aren't what I really want or need out of life or a career. I'm not saying that I'm going to commit to C4 for the rest of my life or anything, I'm just saying that I do really important work and I'm happy NOW.

So I feel fortunate, blessed, and proud of myself for making the decision to go back this year. It is perfect for me now, and I couldn't think of anywhere I'd rather be at this moment. I'm currently enjoying yet another weekend off. Oh how I missed having weekends off when I wasn't at C4! So as far as my last post about how I dislike Sundays goes I have one thing to say about that - p.m.s.. And that is all over now!