August 29, 2006:

I did it.  I'm done.  My Oregon Practical Board Exam was yesterday and I think I passed with flying colors.  I should get the results of my exam within a few weeks.  I'm sooooo exhausted though.  In fact, it's 4:00pm in the afternoon and I'm still in my pajamas.  (It's the cute blue moon/smiley face PJ's that Lisa bought for me in SF. heheh.)  I was out of the house by 5:50am Monday morning to drive down to Salem (capital of Oregon for you non-geography folks, hehe) to take the exam.  It was definitely a challenging exam because you basically had to demonstrate muscles origins/insertions/actions as well as muscle shortening/lengthing techniques to a group of massage therapists while they grade you on performance, knowledge and communication, and etc.  I get performance anxiety and I hate having to talk to groups of people, especially when I'm being graded for it.  I was done in a couple of hours and I walked out of the place feeling pretty confident.  Oh, and as a special treat for myself, I bought a dozen DUNKIN DONUTS and Munchkins to bring home and share with the family.  It's a big deal 'cuz the one and only DD in all of Oregon is alllll the way down in Salem.  As much as I love DD's, I'm not crazy enough to drive two hours there and back just for donuts.  So when I found out that the exam was being held in Salem, the first thing I did was google the addy of DD so I can pick up some on the way home. You know, cuz I'm cool like that.  In any event, once my license number has been issued to me, I can officially work as a licensed massage therapist.  I never knew it was such an intense and involved process but in the end, I'm looking forward to working again. 

***Update***  So I called that spa place that I interviewed with last month and I just found out that they hired someone for the last and final position _this past Saturday_.  There were tons of openings for LMT's at this brand new spa and I was hoping that there would be a few positions still available for me as soon as I was licensed.  I just missed it by a couple of days.  I'm kinda bummed now.  *Sigh*  Well, I know this is only a minor set-back and after taking a few days to decompress,  I'll be scouring the job postings next week once the boys are in school.  Oh, yes, the boys will be starting school September 5th.  It's already marked on my calendar, heheh.  We'll be going school shopping this week to make sure they're stylin' for the 1st day of school.  :-)

 

 

August 25, 2006:

Happy Birthday Annie!  Wish I could be in Boston to help you celebrate your bday!  Hope you crazy kids have an awesome weekend! :-)

 

August 17, 2006:

Sorry for the lack of updates... it's been a busy couple of weeks.  We took the boys camping again but this time we went and camped at Hood View near Mt. Hood.  It was so beautiful up there with all the trees, mountains, lakes and fresh air.  We're definitely coming back to this campground. (We've already scouted out campsite #37 for next year...) Here's a picture of the boys dangling their feet off a dock, overlooking Timothy Lake.  Can you see Mt. Hood off in the distance? 

Oh, and another thing, we celebrated Patrick's 8th birthday last Saturday!  He's officially 8 years old!  My little HuggyBear is getting so old! *sigh* We all had a great time at his birthday party and everything went off without a hitch.  Thanks to all who emailed, called and sent cards and stuff.  You guys made a little boy very happy!  This year, Patrick decided that he wanted to get a cookie-cake instead of the typical birthday cake.  The cookie-cake was a surprise hit with all the guests!  

And lastly other news... I passed my National Massage Exam!  Yay! One down, one more exam to go.  My Practical Board Exam is scheduled for the 28th of Aug.  I have about a week or so to study my butt off for this test.  When I pass this exam, I can be officially licensed as a massage therapist.   Go me!  Hopefully I'll have good news about a prospective job thingie next month.  *fingers-crossed*

 

 

August 8, 2006:

This is a picture of my cousin Lisa's "baby", Pennyroo. She is sooooo adorable!  I made that little red pillow for Lisa when she and I went down to San Francisco for a Girl's Only Weekend.  We had such a great time in SF!  Ahhh, memories!  :-) I'm so glad to see that she still has that little pillow.  I had made three pillows- a blue one for Patrick, a green one for Jarod and a red one for Lisa.  Every night, the boys stuck a little red sticker heart on their pillow *bedtime kiss from Mom* to count down the days until I returned from that trip.  It was the first trip I took sans chibbles.  Even though I had a blast, I missed them so much that I couldn't wait to get back home to them.  Now that they're older, I am so looking forward to my next Girl's Only Trip.  Suggestions, anyone???

August 4, 2006: