First Press of the Flesh

Merry Meet,


I have been so busy…I am glad we have a minute to sit…would you like some pomegranate juice over ice?? Okay, I am ready, put your feet up and I will fill you in…

Massage has been awesome…clients have been helping me plot my trip and bringing in information…if you did not know I have the best clients in the whole world…the energy has been so great it over flows everywhere…my license renewal came in the mail…I feel bad that so very many could not afford to renew…I am thankful my parents believe in me that they would help me through this renewal process as the Dept of Health has made it so hard for Massage Therapists…did you know I have to take more continuing education than a nurse…kind of blows the mind when you think about it

School is going…I just keep reminding myself I will soon have a degree and I can get through this…it is not a hard subject, the teacher is…we will just say some teachers could teach you about dirt and have you excited to learn about it…while others make you want to smack someone with a wet noodle…anyone got a noodle?

American Boudica Publishing is still on hiatus at the moment…Chris has been MIA due to problems with his Virgin phone service…

In the Circle we had a waterside prayer session…it was beautiful and an attendance of 20 was the biggest we have seen in person…I feel a sense of community rather than government will get us back to work

The Sunshine Paddle has been a lot of work…my muscles are sore from working out…I have also been filling out a ton of sponsorship requests…I have also written letters to the Shark Lab, USF and the Audubon to see if they want any data collected while I am out there…I got to meet up with the Girl Scout Counsel of West Central Florida today at their HQ...it is a neat building…I will meet with Tami Longaberger next week;)

When I was MUCH younger, I was a brownie and then a girl scout. When my daughters were younger, no troops were really available to them (they were USN Sea Cadets out of Tampa). After meeting with 2 young women today, I feel the program has gone through a revamping so to speak…I was so VERY IMPRESSED…I know many of you have not enrolled your girls, as at one point the program seemed to be all about cookie sales…one young lady sat and explained what was available now to the young ladies of the area (camping, swimming, kayaking, etc…), it warmed my heart to see what the program has become...Juliette Gordon Low would be proud…I had no idea how much it had changed or that so much was available again…if you have a daughter, check out your area and get her enrolled (it is not the same as 4H and does not give the same lessons- it would be great if they could do both)…if you do not have a daughter, buy a box of cookies and kill 2 birds with one stone…a young woman raised with a good sense of self and self esteem is FAR less likely to get beat…the very sweet women left me feeling better about the future…it sounds like they will try to pull a kayak day off;)

The animals get a little upset with me doing so much research…Chole shredded a book I had gotten for my daughter…when Quintus is ready for me, he throws himself across my feet with a loud sigh…with so much rain, they have not been allowed out much… it has been fun to watch Chole play in the puddles when they do go out

With so much rain the flowers are giving great fall color and each bloom looks more spectacular than the last…mowing is back to every 3 days…our fig has set fruit…I had never seen a natural long stemmed rose until this year…blooming happy this year

Do you have an mp3 player you like, that is easy 2 use, with lots of storage??? My friend Tim is helping me find one I can take with me on the kayak…I do not want apple as they can be a pain in the posterior…also looking for a dependable tablet…please message me your thoughts

Well my child, I need to study...I have to take my midterm tomorrow...I also need to work on more logistics for the trip too...lol...channeling my inner Capt. Phil...sleep is for the dead;)

Blessed Be,

D

What did Santa bring you?

Merry Meet,

What did Santa bring you (other than me;)…it has been nice to have a few days off…pull up a chair…I will get the cocoa and you grab the Yahtzee game off the shelf…yes, it is Peter Gabriel on the cd player…

My haul for Christmas was great…Tristan gave me a car…mom got me shirts, Longaberger dishes, silverware, sox and bras…dad gave me money…Dansir got me a bottle of wine and York peppermint patties…the clients got me cookies and hockey tickets…my friends gave me candles for the massage room…dale played came over and played board games with me…I made out like a bandit

Walter made me breakfast…he gave me a pedicure…he made the holiday dinner…very cool

All of my clients got a gift this year…I won on a lotto ticket and was able to share the blessing with them…I was happy to be able to do it...

Chris and I have been enjoying our down time…family is the most important thing

In the Circle of Boudica…several people donated their time and money…we helped 15 families in 6 countries total...not only with the meal, but also presents for the kids…thank you for being so generous during such economic times…in our prayer group this week was people of many faiths…goes to show it is not important who you call God…the important part is to call…

The weather here for Christmas was a balmy 78f…today it hovered are 55f with rain...brrr…we needed the rain…maybe my lawn will come back…at the moment, it is the brownest it has been in 10 years…next week I will start to pull up all grass that has died so I do not have a thick thatch…

What lessons did I learn in 2010 you ask…be VERY careful of all the new electronic gadgets with a cameras or microphones…hold fast to your beliefs…when you second guess yourself you were usually right in the first place…I don’t have time to be on a one way street (yes, with this I mean relationships)…to laugh is better exercise than going to the gym…there is life after children…there are many more lessons, but it is late…

How was your Christmas…did you get everything you wanted…do you remember when I used to wake the kids around 4 in the morning…I would start making the Christmas calls as soon as the kids were done…lol…this year I did not make most calls till last night or today

It has been a year to remember…feeling safe now…I have refound many of my friends…I made the dean’s list…I made high priestess…my second book is now on the market…I have retained all my clients that are above ground…I helped clean up an oil spill…my parents are still with me…I have a great husband…good kids…I got a cool car….hmmmmm…I have received more than Warren Buffet owns…I feel very fortunate…

Pure Air Spritzer

1/2 tsp Bergamot Essential oil

1/2 tsp Eucalyptus Essential oil

1/2 tsp Lavender Essential oil

2oz pure distilled water

2oz vodka (acts as a preservative)



Put the essential oils in a 4 oz Spritzer bottle and fill with vodka and water. Shake and use as often as you like. You can vary the amounts of oils to get the right scent for you. These three essential oils are said to kill hundreds of airborne viruses and bacteria. Just spray your home, office, hospital room, class room etc and enjoy the difference.



New Year’s Blessing

This Feast I shall leave on my doorstep all night. In my window one candle shall burn bright, To help my loved ones find their way As they travel this eve, and this night, until day. Bless my offering, both Lady and Lord Of breads and fruits, greens and gourd.

I am glad you had a good holiday…I too am tired…thank you for stopping by…I enjoyed the game…may you be blessed

D

North Carolina to Florida ROAD TRIP 11/2010

Yes, I know I look tired…I am glad you came by…check out my new ride…it is a 1995 Maxima…it is my Birthday/Yule present from my daughter…made me feel quite pimp

Mom and Auntie dropped me at Tampa International at 630 am and it was about 75f…I walked up to security…damb near had to get naked before they let me through as my underwire kept setting off the machine…got to the check in…sat down, waited and started reading ‘Bushido, The Way of the Samurai’ (great book)…I got on the plane (window seat) and was going to continue reading when this young man sat beside me…he was chatting to me at 100 mph…suddenly 6 rows up and back were in the conversation…the flight seemed to pass quickly

Landing at Raleigh/Durham at 10am was beautiful and only 42f…brr…you can only smoke 50’ away from the building so out I treck to the taxi stand…I was froze…Tris arrived in her shiny new SUV…it is very cool…she did well

We stopped to see my Erin…though she only had a few minutes…I got to see her at work…pride welled up in my heart…my girls are grown up and working hard…the sign at her work was so cute…I had to take a pic

Tris then took me down to camp Lejune (2 hrs away) by her job and I got to meet her chief…really nice guy…we stopped at her house and I changed clothes (I should have grabbed my jacket)…she took me to pick up the car she was giving me…I am more than a little chocked up about that…then I got to meet her friend Heather…very sweet young woman…then she took me to The Melting Pot (about an hour away) and Heather went with us…on the way my sinuses started to blow up…I had not about being in fall up North…I was so sick…Tris had stop into 3 places to find Nyquil…the 2 ladies were great about it…originally I felt like the wet rag on the party…they were so great, even though I was sick, I was laughing…we dropped Heather off and I followed her to her house…I got to meet her roommate and the dogs…nice woman with 2 very beautiful dogs…both were very well mannered…I had an awful time sleeping without my animals…I got up ay 530am, took a shower and Tris walked me to the car…it was 38f and I was missing Florida…by 630am I was gassed up and on the road…as I started down the road…I began to cry, my baby was now a woman…my heart welled with pride…it was worth every drink I poured, toilet I scrubbed, table I waited on…she is honest, loyal, works hard, thinks for herself…can any mother ask for more…feeling quite blessed…suddenly I hear this pop sound…I pull off the road to find I have a flat…I don’t have triple A, but do have some road thing with the insurance…only I can not reach Dansir or Walter to find out what it is…I am out in the country…no exit for the last 20 miles and no sign of one a head…no cell signal…I stayed calm and went to the trunk praying for a good spare…I got the jack and put it in place…it must have been a funny scene to see me jumping up and down on the tire iron…I could not get the nuts to budge…I am not 20 anymore…guys just don’t pull over to help anymore…lol…I felt so frustrated…just then a sweet man who worked for Wawa came to the rescue of this old woman…as he changed my tire, he told me storied of his time at war in Vietnam…we got the doughnut on and off I went…I felt thankful for the blessing of help…I got gas and checked the air at the next exit…my friend called and told me not to let anything happen to the doughnut and I could fix it when I got to him…still in South Carolina…a pothole from hell took out the doughnut…I managed to get off the exit…I was very lucky that a wonderful policeman came to my aide…I was very lucky that the town of Yemassee was quiet while I got my tire fixed…his K9 went by the name of Sampson…very beautiful animal…they mostly patrol I95 for drugs…as we all know police make me nervous…if more were like that gentleman I would feel differently…I got back on the road…the father south I drove the warmer it got…Georgia was covered in construction all the way down I95…the Florida line…Yea…I stopped at a friends and he bought me dinner…I had not stopped to eat all day…finally at 1045pm I pulled in the yard

A few notes…I saw more police on the roads in every state than I ever have…in all my years of running the coast, I have never seen so few trucks…most were either Walmart or the post office...Billy Joel's Piano Man comes on the radio way too much…I did enjoy the flame colors of fall around North Carolina

I am tired and must sleep as my body is recovering from 2 days of travel…goodnight

Blessed Be,

D