catching up

Hi, hello, how are you?

Things have been busy round the compound. Plumbers in and out to give estimates for the never ending remodel. Lots of massagey-goodness: did a chair event at academie lafayette and met some wonderful people (bonjour enseignants), was asked to donate a massage and instruction class to a radio station auction, met the sweetest little baby boy, sam, for an instruction class with his mama and continuing to spa it up a bit.

Will be launching my website in the very near future. Quick peak at the logo above. Start thinking of your best haikus, there will be contests, prizes and hopefully a haiku mad-libs style generator on the site. Thank you, to my lovely husband who is so very talented. I know you are busy and I am so grateful you have taken the time to build me something so wonderful.

Saw Sex & the City last night with A. There may have been some tears -- from both of us. Yeah, I just outed you, my love. Allergies. Uh-huh, sure, we'll go with that. We then had some dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I would like to issue a public apology to our waiter. Yes, the conversation was a bit heavy -- as was the salad. But thanks for your time and nervous looks as you approached our table full of uneaten food. Enjoy the tip and we promise to never come back.

The small people are doing wonderfully. Riley is in his summer program and very excited to start 1st grade in August. Lola is crawling and getting her bottom two teeth! Pictures soon I promise.

That's it for today, my lovelies. Be well.

Up, up and away

Hello to my faithful readers, aka the Portland Hoyts. The new year is off to a good start. Made some resolutions, broke some resolutions. (The first of which being keeping up with this blog.)

My primary goal this year is to be more of an active participant in my own life. I often find that days upon weeks pass and I'm not present. I am there going through the motions but rarely experiencing them.

I also resolve to:
1. Spend more time creating -- whatever that might lead to
2. Spend more time having adventures, even if they are only found in trips to Target ;)
3. Be less critical and judgmental of others
4. Be open to learning new things (i.e, Reiki - maybe it's not just for wacked out old hippies)
5. Learn from the past and then let it go
7. Trust myself and have faith that I can make my business a success

On that note, it's a busy time around the Hoyt household. I am in the process of finishing school - while working full-time, raising two kids and trying to remember what my husband looks like.

As far as school is concerned, I will be very honest and say that I wasn't entirely sure that massage was for me. There are aspects of this business that suit me well and others that definitely do not. I am very grateful to the academy/universe/great river/whatever that I enrolled as an expectant mother. Being so involved in that process naturally lead me to pregnancy massage and later infant massage instruction.

I am going to be certified in infant massage instruction later next month -- can't wait! And have already started networking and marketing my concept of Zen & the Art of Mama Maintenance. The ultimate goal includes retail space and some ideas that friends are telling me to stop sharing so freely. The master plan has been set in motion and while it will be a difficult and exhausting road for a bit, I really trust that it is the right decision and will be such a good fit for us all.

The littles are doing well. Riley is thriving as a student - he is reading more and more and has a great affinity for numbers. He is learning to tell time and has just started Tae Kwon Do. I can already tell that it is going to do wonders for his self confidence! Right now he just enjoys "that yelling and punching".

Lola is getting bigger and learning new things every day. She is 3.5 months old currently and suffers from second child syndrome in that she has an empty baby book and pictures that only exist on flickr. Sorry, baby! On the development front, she has rolled over in both directions a couple of times, sits up on her own for about 6 seconds and will laugh at anything. She especially loves to have her hair brushed and will laugh like the two of you are sharing the funniest joke ever. Probably the best part of my day.

Progress is being made everywhere and we are all the better for it. Love to you all!