Beach Day!
Celebrating this guy.
And indulging this girl...
And letting me play...
Celebrating this guy.
And indulging this girl...
And letting me play...
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Where We're at With Summer's End
Summer isn't exactly over yet, but it does seem to be winding down, and I am beginning to gird myself up for the Long Dreary Season. I have to say, though, Portland does such a wonderful job of providing opportunity to celebrate summer to the fullest, that I feel like I've had a good go of it, and maybe I can welcome Fall a little more easily.
Summer with the Mullins family is all about birthdays. Mine was a week after Amelia's, and it was interesting to turn thirty after she turned three. I had one day of celebration per decade! On the day before, we had a wonderful breakfast downtown and did a little shopping with some money for clothes I received. After I got home and was about to go to work, I found out that I must be allergic to crab-- I was violently ill for the next few hours, and will probably still turn green if anyone says "Dungeness Crab Benedict" to me again. Oh, well-- at least it wasn't my real birthday yet! The next day, we finally took a trip to the coast. I love the beach have had this ache in my soul to be near the water, and I still can't figure out why it took us two years to drive the two hours to get there. That was a lot of fun, and it was super exciting for Amelia to see the ocean for the first time. She was shivering and purple, and but still wanted to go in the water, look for seaweed and "make a sandyman." (I guess castles aren't really her thing.)
And, finally, I had a birthday party. Joy hosted, and it was out our house. We had about ten ladies over for some great food and drinks outside, and it was a lot of fun. Birthday parties don't happen every year for grownups, and it was a lot of fun to do it up a little for a big number like 30.
And we're not done yet--Jeff's birthday is on Wednesday, and we will got to the beach again for his big day. Then, we're having some friends over on Friday for a special dinner for him-- fun week!
What else?.... Well, it seems like things have changed a lot since the very beginning of summer, when we were hoping to get the heck out of here and go to Italy for a couple of years. One major high point is that my business is beginning to pick up and (hopefully) take off. I have been transitioning out of doing a lot of deep tissue and more orthopedic work, into more cranio-sacral therapy and helping people through emotional issues being held within the body. I wasn't sure how to make the change, exactly, but it is happening! I keep getting referrals for CST, and I love the work I am doing. It has been incredibly fulfilling for me, as well as energizing. I have also been devoting a lot of time to the business end of things, and although I don't enjoy that much, I have slowly been making some important headway. Hopefully I can direct you to a website soon!
Another positive for me is that I've begun hosting monthly "Ladies Nights." OK, so I've only had two, including my birthday party, but so far, so good and we have another one coming up here in two weeks. It has been a very very long time since I have been able to spend much time with other women, and I am so happy to also help make it happen for them as well. On a similar note, I have developed a couple of significant friendships with other female massage therapists who are seeking to help other women heal from emotional issues. It has been so wonderful and encouraging for me to find other people to talk to that share the same heart in their work, and of course wonderful too to be able to trade bodywork with them!
Although we have had a lot of fun things to do all summer, Amelia has really been missing preschool. (Me too!) Her social needs are much too great for me to meet, and it's incredibly inconvenient that she just doesn't like kids. She is used to adults and (understandably) prefers them, so even going to the park can be a big dud, since she won't play on the equipment if there are other children using it. Her ideal day would involve going from restaurant to store to bakery to grownup gathering.... Not happening! So, she has spent most of the last couple of months seriously disgruntled as we work on playing independently and being reasonably content at home. We are so thankful that her preschool is giving us a very generous financial aid package this year, and J's parents are contributing the rest. She has done so well there, and it is perfect to have a very organized, quiet, predictable setting for her to socialize with other (older) children in. Whew!
All of these items and more add up to a good year to come in Portland. It was looking a little bleak there for a while, and it is amazing how much can change in such a short time. Want to hear something ironic? Jeff was just offered a job in Naples, Italy. Starting in November. It has been rather painful to come to a decision on the offer (and what a generous offer it was!) but we are going to say put for another year or so. Maybe next year we'll go overseas and live out that European dream, but we'd like to really give it another go here, and see what happens. So far, so good!
Summer isn't exactly over yet, but it does seem to be winding down, and I am beginning to gird myself up for the Long Dreary Season. I have to say, though, Portland does such a wonderful job of providing opportunity to celebrate summer to the fullest, that I feel like I've had a good go of it, and maybe I can welcome Fall a little more easily.
Summer with the Mullins family is all about birthdays. Mine was a week after Amelia's, and it was interesting to turn thirty after she turned three. I had one day of celebration per decade! On the day before, we had a wonderful breakfast downtown and did a little shopping with some money for clothes I received. After I got home and was about to go to work, I found out that I must be allergic to crab-- I was violently ill for the next few hours, and will probably still turn green if anyone says "Dungeness Crab Benedict" to me again. Oh, well-- at least it wasn't my real birthday yet! The next day, we finally took a trip to the coast. I love the beach have had this ache in my soul to be near the water, and I still can't figure out why it took us two years to drive the two hours to get there. That was a lot of fun, and it was super exciting for Amelia to see the ocean for the first time. She was shivering and purple, and but still wanted to go in the water, look for seaweed and "make a sandyman." (I guess castles aren't really her thing.)
And, finally, I had a birthday party. Joy hosted, and it was out our house. We had about ten ladies over for some great food and drinks outside, and it was a lot of fun. Birthday parties don't happen every year for grownups, and it was a lot of fun to do it up a little for a big number like 30.
And we're not done yet--Jeff's birthday is on Wednesday, and we will got to the beach again for his big day. Then, we're having some friends over on Friday for a special dinner for him-- fun week!
What else?.... Well, it seems like things have changed a lot since the very beginning of summer, when we were hoping to get the heck out of here and go to Italy for a couple of years. One major high point is that my business is beginning to pick up and (hopefully) take off. I have been transitioning out of doing a lot of deep tissue and more orthopedic work, into more cranio-sacral therapy and helping people through emotional issues being held within the body. I wasn't sure how to make the change, exactly, but it is happening! I keep getting referrals for CST, and I love the work I am doing. It has been incredibly fulfilling for me, as well as energizing. I have also been devoting a lot of time to the business end of things, and although I don't enjoy that much, I have slowly been making some important headway. Hopefully I can direct you to a website soon!
Another positive for me is that I've begun hosting monthly "Ladies Nights." OK, so I've only had two, including my birthday party, but so far, so good and we have another one coming up here in two weeks. It has been a very very long time since I have been able to spend much time with other women, and I am so happy to also help make it happen for them as well. On a similar note, I have developed a couple of significant friendships with other female massage therapists who are seeking to help other women heal from emotional issues. It has been so wonderful and encouraging for me to find other people to talk to that share the same heart in their work, and of course wonderful too to be able to trade bodywork with them!
Although we have had a lot of fun things to do all summer, Amelia has really been missing preschool. (Me too!) Her social needs are much too great for me to meet, and it's incredibly inconvenient that she just doesn't like kids. She is used to adults and (understandably) prefers them, so even going to the park can be a big dud, since she won't play on the equipment if there are other children using it. Her ideal day would involve going from restaurant to store to bakery to grownup gathering.... Not happening! So, she has spent most of the last couple of months seriously disgruntled as we work on playing independently and being reasonably content at home. We are so thankful that her preschool is giving us a very generous financial aid package this year, and J's parents are contributing the rest. She has done so well there, and it is perfect to have a very organized, quiet, predictable setting for her to socialize with other (older) children in. Whew!
All of these items and more add up to a good year to come in Portland. It was looking a little bleak there for a while, and it is amazing how much can change in such a short time. Want to hear something ironic? Jeff was just offered a job in Naples, Italy. Starting in November. It has been rather painful to come to a decision on the offer (and what a generous offer it was!) but we are going to say put for another year or so. Maybe next year we'll go overseas and live out that European dream, but we'd like to really give it another go here, and see what happens. So far, so good!
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