Bartering is Cool !

I had the pleasure of working the Keep Austin Bizarre Christmas Bazaar this weekend with my Bf Tim.  He did really well selling his Twisted Tree Jewelry:)  I love hanging out a behind the booth at the festivities. I always meet the coolest, craziest folks. There was fire dancing, tons of hula hooping!, music, and lots of homemade goodies.  We even had a couple folks camping out on our living room floor last night!
On the first day of the bizarre I noticed this mozaic peice of art with the yellow rose. I went directly up to Mrs. Candace Beck and asked her if she would like to trade her peice for massage.  I told her to think it over and  I'll come back around on Monday to see if someone had bought it from her. Candace actually ended up coming to find me and we came to a fair agreement! I now own this beatiful peice of art for four hours of massage. What a beautiful thing to have something valuable to share with other people:)
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! I can't wait to go to Ohio and celebrate with everyone I love :)
ciao for now

Feeling like I need to restore

Today I feel like I need to recharge my battery.  I need some passion. I need a swift kick in the ass.  Will someone please tell me how a person like myself... can get herself so far down in the dumps?  Someone who is not okay with being in the dumps.  I am not okay with this!   Since when am I not happy? What the hell is going on? It's like  I am on a big ass wooden rollercoaster going a million miles an hour... so fast that I can't even catch up with my own thoughts. I don't have time to think about which way to turn becuase it's all just flying by.  One big blurry mess...up and down.... up and down. I want off!!! 
On a lighter note... It is time to change something. I need a break.  Some mental relief. Not sure what yet... I keep thinking about spending some time at like a yoga/meditation retreat.  No alcohol. No sleep deprevation. No work. No money! Nada.  Just peaceful time to catch up with my brain.  The problem is... responsibilities. I have an apartment to pay for. I have people that depend on me. (There I go again!)  I want to make this happen.

Sometimes I feel like I am already becoming this old woman...Where is the carefree self I used to know? I want her back! It's time to change. It is time to restore my temple.

I'm thankful for Laughing!

Thursday Tim and I  hosted our annual Orphan Thanksgiving potluck  for all of our friends who couldn't make it home for the holiday. What a blast. I feel so blessed to have been there. Everyone one was bursting with gratefulness and laughter.

The food was absolutley amazing! The fun was absolutley amazing! We played games, music, had too many drinks, and ate goodies all night long. I made my Mom's homeade chicken dumpling soup from scratch. Which I tried to make last year but the dumplings didn't turn out right. This year it was delicious. Tim made a Turduckin... if you can believe it. It is a Turkey stuffed with a duck and a chicken, with cranberry walnut stuffing all around it. I was so proud of him. It was definitley a work of art! and delicious as well

 

Everyone brought a different dish without it being coordinated. It's so amazing how it all came together.  Thank you Thank you Thank you! I still feel fulfilled from all of the smiles and laughing!



I am also grateful for my new baby neice Lyla Grace Chapin. She was born last night at 4:27 am. Still can't wait to come home to you guys!!! love love love

Strawberry Surprise

Our kitchen has needed a painting for a looong time. It has a neon green wall with nothing on it! I have been trying to get my sister to paint something for it, but she hasn't been inspired and neither have I.  Last time I tried to paint something it didn't turn out so well. But check out my strawberry! I am so excited! It's perfect for our kitchen and I don't have to stare at a blank wall anymore:)
I don't know what's going on... maybe it's the cooler weather or maybe I'm just finally feeling better, but it feels so good to be out of the slump i have been in.  I wrote a new song and now I'm painting. Maybe just what I needed was that visit from my Besty Sara!  It seems like the clouds have lifted ever since she was here in Austin.
Oh and I'm almost finished reading Middle Sex! Not sure how I feel about it yet... maybe the end will clear those feelings up. What a weird book.

Thinking of home

I wrote a song yesterday about waiting for Tim to finally marry me. It's funny because I don't know if I can really play it for him. Which sucks cause I think it's a pretty good bluegrass tune. Anyway, I was practicing it today and it just got me thinking about home and my vision of how things will be different when I go back. When in reality I will still be in the same position I am now. I am just so ready for the simple life I have envisioned for myself. Will it ever exist? Why can't it start now? What am I waiting for? I don't want to be fifty years old before I am living sustainably and actually enjoying every moment of my life. It's like my life can't really start until this pivotal moment. Until I can get a commitment, and start making real decisions. I don't want to wait anymore...IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY!

The worst and yet most inspiring yoga class

I missed my yoga class Tuesday morning because I could not get out of bed, and I have been feeling guilty about it until this morning. It turns out the normal instructor is out of town this week and we have a substitute teacher... hehe Our usual teacher does a Vinyasa flow style, which is pretty fast paced and I LOVE IT! Today was... interesting... to say the least. We started of on our knees for about 5 min... massaging our feet and rubbing our knees, and I'm thinking "when is class going to start?"... this is how the practice proceeded for the next 3o minutes... slow movements and her asking "what do you want to do now?" and I'm thinking "uh... you're the teacher...", until suddenly it turns into a freestyle movement class. She says " Let's just... move our bodies" I'm like "What?" and we start doing the crazy hippie dance right in the middle of the coffee shop where I do yoga. I was like you have got to be kidding me!!! :) Although class was a bit strange this morning the substitute reminded me of my old reiki/belly dancing instructor, and from that, somehow I am seeing things in a different light. On Tuesday I got a email from my boss saying that I have to sign up for a prenatal massage class by the end of the week, and I was not happy about it. I'm like, really, in November? I have so many other things I need to spend my money on right now... plane tickets, gifts, and whatever else the holiday season brings. I asked her if it could wait until after the holidays and she said no... I was pissed. But after this morning's yoga class I am more willing spend the money and learn something new. In fact, I am excited and inspired to learn prenatal massage. So all in all I am grateful for my weird eccentric yoga instructor this morning. Yay!

Late Bloomers

My mother is an amazing gardener, and both Grandmothers as well. Regardless, my thumb is not so green. Last Summer I planted a raised bed, and it was a complete flop. I planted peppers, tomatoes, herbs, garlic, and it just didn't work. I blamed it on the soil and shade :) This year I decided to try pots. I got a few tomatoes, but for some reason before they would ripen they would get rotten, my rosemary is brown, and my melon is deceased. To my surprise, I now have a bloom and large tomato! It's November... a little late, but I'll take what I can get:) Maybe my thumb is not so brown...maybe more of an olive color:)hehe

Lavendar Clay Masquerade

Here in Austin there is a great little place called the Herb Bar. I go there frequently for teas and tinctures. It's the cutest little place ever. A little brick building all covered in Ivy with all of your natural cures. While my Best Friend Sara was in town visiting this week we decided to go check out some stuff for her allergy problem. I have been trying to talk her in to using the neti pot, it works amazingly for me whenever I feel a cold coming on, or have allergy symptoms. While we were there I also talked to someone about my acne issue. She gave me a lavender clay mask to try for 8 to 10 days in a row. I'm mixing it with Lavender Hydrosol. She said that it will completely change my skin! I am excited to see the results. Today is my second day. It feels really nice. I was using a bentonite clay mask before which is supposed to be really good, but she said that bentonite might be a little harsh for my skin type. I Hope she is right. I have had so much advice, and I've tried so many natural products on my face. I'll let you know how things turn out.

My first Attempt at Blogging

Today I (Erika) am starting a blog... I'm not really sure where I am going with this yet, but I think it will be good for me to pass the time while I am so far away from home. I moved to Austin, Tx a couple of years ago from Columbus, Ohio with my boyfriend. We met when I was a sophomore in College. We have a really great meeting story by the way... maybe I will share later on. The point is, that when we met 6 years ago he was on his way to Austin to live closer to his sister Kat. Also, becuase Austin really is a great city to live in. Instead he decided to stay in Ohio with me while I finished school, and then a couple of years after that. Now here we are in Austin... Since I have lived here I have finished Massage Therapy School, and now I do that professionally... which leads to the ultimate issue. I want to go home! Unfortunatley it is not that easy for someone that does massage therapy for a living to just pick up and move to another state. Licensing is different in every state! So now my anxiety about home is starting to get the best of me... I have to wait until next June to take a test in Ohio to see if I can pass and get my license to practice there. The moral of the story is ... I am not feeling much like a healer these days... my mind is focused only on one thing, and that is... "when do I get to see my family next?". I hope this blog can be a positive and inspiring outlet for me to overcome the weirdness that I am going through right now... It's kind of like having someone to talk to:)