Before...

We are getting close to beginning the renos at our new massage clinic, but I had to take some before pictures before we get started.

All of our individual clinic rooms come off of the common room.

Stay tuned for the after pictures coming soon.....

Weekend Goodness

It's been a good weekend. We have been spoiled with incredible weather, which has made for evenings filled with walks to Starbucks, games played in the park, times spent with friends around backyard fires roasting marshmallows while having good conversation. What more could we ask for during the last weekend of April???

 Who knew a ladybug could be so exciting???

One of the perks of not being able to work for last couple weeks and the next few weeks to come is that I have more time hanging out with some beautiful ladies...Kristy, Aimee, Hayley and Norah. In a few short weeks 2 of those ladies will be BC bound for the next few years, so Aimee and I are soaking up all the time we can with Kristy and Norah before they leave. I can't believe in less than 6 weeks we won't be able to see these 2 girls on a daily basis. Let's not go there yet. We still have 6 weeks!

My beautiful ladies.

One day last week, Norah I got to spend the whole day together while her mommy and daddy got some things done around the house. We had a blast, but boy is she a busy girl. I slept soooo well that night after a full day running around at the park and playing outside in the backyard.

Norah loves all things kitty and puppy. It's a good thing I have one of each and that my animals are so tolerant of children. Norah loved on those animals from the moment she got to my place, right up until we had to leave to go home. Hugs and kisses were given numerously throughout the day.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the week holds and more time spent with my girls. As long as the weather keeps up like it has been, I will be a very happy girl.

Stopping to Smell the Roses

Well, April has taken a slightly different twist than I had expected. A couple posts back I had said that I was wanting April to be less busy - to really sit back and enjoy life around me. Be careful what you wish for.

A couple weeks ago while watching Gavin for the day, I was taking his carseat out of my car when I felt a little twinge in my left wrist. I thought nothing of it and continued working for almost 2 weeks. By Easter weekend, my wrist was getting more and more painful and swollen. It was getting to the point where I could hardly bend my wrist at all. Last Tuesday, I finally decided to get things checked out, so I went to Pan Am to make sure things were ok. Well, it turns out they weren't. At that time, the doctor diagnosed me with having a TFCC cartilage tear. Essentially that means that the cartilage that is around my wrist bones has torn, thus allowing some of those bones to be unstable. The treatment: a wrist brace and no work for 10 days. I was not impressed as no work for me means no money. Because I am self-employed, I have no coverage, no disability, no workers comp, etc. 

I had a follow-up appointment yesterday with the same doctor at Pan Am and the news just keeps getting worse. It is quite possible that I have a stress fracture in my wrist due to overuse. This was not confirmed as he did not do a bone scan, but I have to go back and see him again in 2 weeks and we'll re-evaluate from there. So, I remain off work for the next month at least. The trouble with stress fractures is that if you don't let them heal fully, 6 months down the road you can end up with the same injury again and it becomes a chronic thing. I have decided that I can't allow this to be a chronic thing. I want to be able to massage for years down the road. So, in the meantime I am doing some physio and making sure my wrist gets a lot of rest. You don't realize how much you rely on your wrists until you can't use them for a time. So, I guess I am getting the rest I was needing, but it's just unfortunate that I had to be injured in order for that to happen. 

In other exciting news, as of this past Tuesday, I am officially a business owner. Three other therapists from where I work, along with myself have decided to branch out and start our own clinic. It has been an exciting few weeks as we have been making carpet decisions, choosing paint colors and getting the lease signed.

 Our new clinic is located on the corner of Nassau St and Pembina Hwy (beside the Deaf Centre) and we will be open starting June 1, 2010. It's a very exciting time.

This past weekend, my girls and I ventured down to Grand Forks for the weekend...Sans Kids. This was our first trip ever without having a nursing baby come along. Now, don't get me wrong, we all love those kids to bits, but there is something nice about not having to worry about scheduling in naps and feedings when we have some serious shopping to do.

 Every good road trip needs Starbucks.

We did do a decent amount of shopping, but it was also a weekend to spend time together as friends before Graham and Kristy embark on a new adventure as a family to BC. Conversations were good - some filled with tears - all good tears and lots and lots of laughter. Evenings were spent playing games, watching cake shows (thanks for putting up with my never ending desire to watch cake decorating shows girls) and eating lots and lots of ice cream. We discovered that Ben & Jerry's ice cream is only $2.50 in the states. We definitely ate our share. 

our loot after a day of shopping. Pretty impressive.

April 1st marked Aimee's 26th birthday, so we thought it would be fun to celebrate Aimee and the lovely friend that she is by taking her out for a belated birthday supper when we were in the states. Her pick...The Greenmill. It was very yummy.

Cheers for awesome friends and delicious drinks.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I LOVE these ladies. I could not have asked for better friends in my life. You ladies are a blessing to ME.

So.....that's been a little bit of what has been going on in April so far and the month is only half over.

Aces of Cakes

I love to make and decorate cakes. Just in case you didn't know that about me. Last week Thursday I got to spend the day hanging out with 2 very cool girls. They are the most creative 7 and 5 year old I have ever met. As I was thinking what I was going to do with them for a whole day, I immediately thought of decorating cakes. How much more fun does it get? Seriously. 

Ella and Sophie were natural talents. It took no time at all to explain how to work with fondant, how to dye it, how to roll it out, how to properly ice a cake. They just got it. That made my job that much easier, which meant we could just enjoy decorating. Here are some pictures from our day:

Working with fondant is not for the weak of hands.

Ella's final creation.

Sophie's masterpiece

By the end of the day, we were our own Ace of Cakes. Duff, watch out!!!

Thanks Ella and Sophie for a fabulous day. It's definitely a day that needs repeating again soon.

He Has Risen Indeed

I had every good intention in actually writing this post on Easter Sunday, but alas, having a nap won over blogging. Sorry. What can I say, I love my naps. 

This lent season, it has been my desire to spend more quiet time with Jesus. It's a theme that has been appearing over and over the past few months, so I figured it would probably be wise to pay attention. Sitting in silence before God and just acknowledging His nearness to me has been a truly life-giving experience. I think I'm finally getting this relationship thing with Jesus. It's starting to make sense what a real relationship with Jesus genuinely looks like. It's not a one way street where I come to His throne with request upon request, but rather it's communicating back and forth - making space in my own prayer time and life for God to speak.

I wish I could say that I have heard the voice of God numerous times, but rather, there have only been a few nudges (don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with nudges). The nudges though, have been moments that have caused me to step back in awe at the fact that the God of everything would choose to speak to ME. What a humbling experience. The words God has left me with have been ones that have been daunting and a little scary at times. There have been days when I have asked God, 

"Really??? You want me to do what????" 

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what these words and conversations with God mean just yet, but I am trusting that as time goes on and as I continually seek out God's presence and voice in my life, that His words will become clear to me. 

What freedom it is to know that because of what Christ did on the cross, I have the incredible, undeserving privilege to be in relationship with Him. Because of the cross, I am worthy enough for God to speak bits of wisdom and truth into my life. We no longer need curtains and priests to separate us from the most Holy of Holies. Instead, we can enter that place, just as we are, and boldly approach the throne of God. What joy and freedom that is!

Easter weekend was filled with moments to myself and with God. It was filled with lots of sleep (which was long overdue), time with friends and, of course, Easter egg hunts. Who says people over the age of 20 can't enjoy a good egg hunt??? That is exactly what my cousins, siblings and I did Sunday evening at my Grandma's.

 We needed a designated starting line to get the hunt started - we are an extremely competitive bunch!

Let the Hunt Begin...

 May the reality of the Risen Christ be very apparent to you in the weeks and months to come!

The Glory of it All