CSFT Seminar

I took a seminar with GSF Bess in Cerebral Spinal Fluid Technique this past weekend. You can read about it here. I had taken it a few years ago before I became a massage therapist. It was an easier class to take this time because there was a more hands-on approach & less information to have to assimilate. However, while I can appreciate this work, I see it through my Brimhall Goggles and it seems s-l-o-w and tedious. Lots of steps involved and I just think I prefer percussors & lasers. I'm sure practitioners who are proficient at it get miracles, just as all healing modalities produce their own miracles. I don't think it's a technique that I want to devote time to mastering. As always, it's not just the class you're taking, but the whole experience of it. It was a pretty awesome weekend, but I'm waiting to write anything else until I can upload some photos to go along with the narrative. I was back in my old stomping grounds of Shepherdstown, WV. One of my favourite places. I was able to get a visit in with my dear Miss Ruthie. She makes my heart SMILE. And I'll end with a BIG THANK YOU to Susan for her kind hospitality.

It would be funny if it weren't sad

GSF Kristina sent this to me last night, so I had to share. I just learned how to embed Youtube videos but it's been disabled. So here's a link. Tina Fey is hysterical as Sarah Palin. What makes this so funny (and sad) is that she is so accurate. These are 2 back-to-back clips with SNL's parody and then the real Katie Couric interview. Yikes.

GSF Bess & I are taking a massage therapy class together this weekend, so I won't be blogging until Monday. But I will have tales to tell when I get back. In the meantime, Margot Potter has created a new blog, with a craftier focus. Check it out if you're crafty or aspire to be. She's creative, smart, & wickedly funny.

Until Monday, then. Adieu. Parce que je blog mais pas quand je ne blog pas.* How's that for some kickin' franglais? ;-) H.

*Because I blog except when I don't.

Yummy Pumpkins

Today's post was inspired by Duchess Dreams. She has a pumpkin cookie recipe on her blog. Last year, my friend Bess told me she had tried a pumpkin recipe and in the end, it just ended up tasting like sweet potato. I love sweet potatoes, so I thought I'd give it a go. Thus began my love affair with pumpkins. They are so versatile--they can go savory or sweet.

Here's what I do:
Cut the pumpkin in chunks and put on a cookie sheet. Cover with aluminum foil to keep it consistent. Bake at 350 for an hour or so.

You can eat it like you'd eat acorn squash: mashed with butter & a dash of salt.
I scoop out the flesh and put it in a big bowl & use a hand blender to smooth it out.

• Add it to pancakes or muffins
• For kids, you can use it in macaroni & cheese for added nutrition & fiber. They'll never know.
• Pumpkin soup--lots of varieties: savory with basil, garlic, etc. Cream of pumpkin soup. You can also make it as a soup base to make veggie soup, chicken soup, etc. My favourite pumpkin soup is adding curry for a spicy Indian theme.
• You can also go sweet: cinnamon, honey, butter
• Serve it chilled, like a custard

Pumpkins are an easy & nutritious addition to your repertoire!

At the pumpkin patch (also with a corn maze!) they had these goats. How cool that they have a house they can climb on.
King of the Castle.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

Yesterday GSF Bess & I scoured through a bin of postcards at an antique shop. Bess found this one sent in 1961. Love the bathing caps! It was to Mrs. Ernest Martin of Brooklyn, NY. & says:

Dear Ann: Hope I have not sent duplicate cards. This is the view from my porch. Enjoying every minute and working hard to keep below 140 lbs. Madge

Yes, of course made me think of another Madge. Have a swell weekend, everyone!

Can't talk now--just go to my blog!

I know I can't be the only blogger with this sentiment, right? haha So anyway, here's what's going on:

This is my new CD, Virtual Massage. And this is the story behind how it came about:

My friend Lena was my first massage client here in my new home. After she left, I was on the phone to John and I said, "I wish I had another body to work on." And he said his shoulder was bothering him and what would I do to alleviate the pain. I told him I'd start with his traps and work into levator...and being the auditory person he is, he said, Tell me as if you're giving a massage in real time. So I did, without the anatomical nerd-talk. At the same time I did some distance Reiki and at the end of it, he felt better and said, "I think you have something here. Write a script." He came up with the name Virtual Massage AND did the post-production (he made my voice sound like velvet!) AND designed the CD for me. John was my willing guinea pig as we worked through the script together and he gave me advice on how to make it even better. On the final reading, he fell asleep (the ultimate success!) and I hung up the phone after I was finished. He phoned ten minutes later saying, "I think you're ready to go into the studio." High praise coming from "America's-Best-Known-Hypnotherapist."

I also wanted feedback from a fellow massage therapist, so I read it to my GSF Bess. She said, "That was fantastic! I feel like I've just had a massage and a half!" High praise coming from my favourite massage therapist! The night before I went into the studio, I read it for XM Radio Guy, who is familiar with my healing work and my Healing Labyrinth Path CD. And he said, "That was amazing." THANK YOU!!!

I'm also excited because I have background music on this CD. And not just any music, but my favourite music when I'm giving a massage: Chesapeake Bay: Reflections of Beauty, by Mike Zampi. He let me use the whole CD just like I would in a massage session. THANKS, Mike!

In addition to the new CD, I've written a new website with Homestead--so easy! Not as complicated or labyrinth-beautiful as Healing Labyrinth Path that my friend Val did...but I did it! Techno-tardo moi! It's not official yet--I have to get my domain name, halichambers.com pointed to it (Oh, the tribbles with Stargate..Hehhhh....) Anyway, in the spirit of the Holliday season, I am going to have a drawing. If you go to the new site and subscribe to my newsletter, I'll put your name in the hat to receive a complimentary Virtual Massage CD. There will be 3 lucky winners and I'll do the drawing on the third day of Christmas (next Friday, Dec. 28th). First newsletter will announce the winners and have some homemade spa recipes for relaxing into the new year. Mmmm...yummy....