Massage is like getting a week vacation lying on the beach in one hour. If you find the right massage therapist for your needs, they can ease all your tension and relax even the most stubborn muscles. It is heaven.

I have been a massage therapist for over twelve years. I love helping people relax and even more enjoy helping them relieve their pain and feel their best. But do you know what I love the most? I love when it is my turn to get a massage!

​Usually I receive a massage every three to five weeks. The last several months, between pregnancy appointments and busy work schedules I have not been able to fit it in. But today is the day! 

I have reached the point of pregnancy when I cannot lay on my stomach, as it feels like a tender, jelly ball. And I can also not lay flat on my back because, according to my doctor, the baby now weighs enough to cut off the blood circulation. But this is not an issue because I know that my massage therapist, like myself, was trained in prenatal massage and knows a smorgasbord of side-lying and accommodating ways to help. I can't wait!

I'm grateful for massage. I'm grateful to be trained to help others through this process and I'm grateful to take the time to receive the benefits myself. I'm grateful to know a couple great massage therapists that I can trade with to find relief. And I'm grateful for the friendship that has developed. I'm grateful to pause in taking care of others in order to let someone take care of me. And I'm grateful for a wonderful husband that rubs my feet and neck in between my massages. 

Have you ever had a massage? What do you do to relax and loosen tight muscles? Did you know that sometimes headaches are caused from tight muscles?

May today bless you with time to take care of yourself. May you find some relaxation amidst your schedule. Have a beautiful day!

I love numbers. I have pretty much always loved numbers. I like to play with the clock and see if they can add or subtract to be the next number. I like to give meaning and symbolism to numbers I see repeated. But yesterday numbers had a whole different, special meaning.

Yesterday I had a doctor appointment for our little cashew. There were numbers like 4.6 inches and 3.5 ounces that were lovely to hear and imagine but honestly the imagery of an avocado was more helpful. But then there was one of my favorite numbers, the number I can hear not just with my ears but with my heart. Yesterday that number was 155. One hundred and fifty-five beats per minute of my little cashew's heart. 

It is not the first time I have gotten to hear this sound but every time it gives me pause. This is my child! It is the most beautiful sound. 

And as I listen this morning to the birds chirp outside and the hum of the refrigerator I cannot help but go back to yesterday and think of my favorite sound. The thu-wumps of this little miracle growing inside me is definitely the best chorus of all.

I'm grateful for the technology we have today to let mothers connect with their babies. I'm so grateful to hear the cashew's heartbeat and hear the usual acrobatics he or she is doing in there. I'm grateful that my husband can join me for these appointments and hear his child. I'm grateful for a healthy heartbeat and how it makes my own heart skip a beat at hearing this little miracle. I'm grateful to have managed to not cry at any of my appointments so far despite the barrage of hormones and beauty of this perfect sound. And I'm grateful for this process of motherhood.

Do you have a favorite sound? Do you have a favorite or lucky number? Or do you hear a number that has special meaning to you?

May today bless you with hearing the sweetest sounds. May you find joy in the little things. Have a beautiful day!

What better way to depict silliness than with a picture of my silly dog, Pippin! She is always right there to be silly with me... or without me, for that matter.

I woke up in a silly mood this morning with random songs floating through my head. My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean was one song that I started singing out of nowhere. I can't even tell you the last time I heard that song! And other random songs from childhood popped into my head as well. It gave me a good laugh at myself.

The brain is a funny thing. Random memories will pop up from the slightest triggers such as a smell. Then other times things will pop into my head for no apparent reason at all. Mostly, I just go with and get a chuckle along the way. 

This morning I am so grateful for the silliness. I'm grateful to start the day laughing. I'm grateful for the uplifting and healing properties of laughter. I'm grateful for the way memories can randomly pop into the present moment. And I'm grateful to celebrate the funny memories today. 

I'm grateful to be married to an equally silly and playful man. I'm grateful that even when we are not necessarily in the same space of playfulness we can still allow each other the space and celebrate with each other. And I'm grateful for his ability to do so many voices and accents that make me laugh.

When was the last time you felt silly or had a memory pop up from, seemingly, nowhere? When was the last time you laughed just to laugh?

​May today bless you with laughter and the freedom to be silly. May you find joy in these moments of play. Have a beautiful day!

Sometimes it rains on the parade and sometimes it snows on Easter. Life can hand us curveballs and has the ability to fall short or exceed our expectations. Sometimes it can feel like we have little control. But we control the most important aspect.

We have the power to control how we react. We have the power to control what we focus on. We have the power to choose how we will live with the new challenge or blessing that is presented to us.

After several freezes and an Easter morning snow, I am focusing on my daffodils and tulips. They are my inspiration. They may droop in the cold and wet but each afternoon they perk right back up as the sun warms them again. What a beautiful symbolism to witness! 

For my part I am calling the daffodils hope and the tulips love. And both are strong and resilient. Today I focus my gratitude on their beautiful symbolism and on the beauty of the reflection of these gifts in my life.

I'm grateful for my pretty yellow daffodils that always bring the hope of Spring. I'm grateful for the white tulips gracing my garden for the first time. I'm grateful for their hardiness in this yo-yo weather. I'm grateful for the symbolism I see in their resilience. I'm grateful to focus on gratitude, love, and hope. I'm grateful for all the love I feel from my amazing family and friends. I'm grateful for my caring husband and my sweet, cuddly dogs. I'm grateful for the baby growing inside me. And I'm grateful for the beauty around and within me.

What are you grateful for today? What are your favorite symbols of strength, love, and hope? 

May today bless you with renewed love for life. May you find your strength within your own attitude and perspectives. Have a beautiful day!

Allowing isn't about giving up. It is about giving the space to let happen what needs to happen. Today, I am practicing allowing and with that, I am holding positive energy and intentions to know that whatever does happen is for a reason.

After staying up late watching my husband's team play for March Madness I was extremely tired, even after the third alarm. I did a calendar scan in my head and realized an extra twenty minutes in bed would't disrupt my schedule. Even without being able to fall asleep, those twenty extra minutes of allowance made a difference. 

I came downstairs and my blog website was acting up. I stared at it for a moment and then went and got a bowl of cereal. When I returned and tried again it was up and running just fine. Another allowance offered me the opportunity to stay positive. 

As I sat down to type my dogs decided it was time to go potty. This is an allowance that is extremely important. Walking outside I saw that the nearly full moon was still lingering above the trees. It occurred to me that even with the sun rising there is an allowance for the moon to linger as long as it's cycle dictates. Allowing... and with that, today's lesson presented itself for me. And I am a willing student.

I'm grateful to allow myself extra time in my morning process. I'm grateful that my schedule today supports this allowance as well. I'm grateful to maintain a positive and calm energy as everything works in its own time today. I'm grateful for a bowl of cereal and the ability to hide the taste of the prenatal vitamin with it. I'm grateful to provide water to my body and allow it to nourish me however I may need. And I'm grateful to go with the flow and embrace today's theme today as I find support both in my choices and in nature.

What allowances can you give yourself today? How can you keep positive energy and a positive attitude throughout the day? 

May today bless you with patience and positive supports. May your allowances lift you up and support you. Have a beautiful day and weekend!

Sometimes as a dog mom the best I can do is my best guess. I try to read their clues and meet their needs as I decipher them. This time there are a lot of possible clues but all of them fall in the grey area.

Pippin, my nine year old Gordon Setter mix, had surgery last month and after a couple rough days seemed to have a smooth recovery. Last night when I got home she was whimpering and just not her playful self. I knew something was especially off when my husband said he had to call her to come eat dinner. That is just not Pippin!

My first guess is the standard with a dog her age, pain. I know she has some arthritic pain sometimes in her legs and she had opportunities the last couple days to have aggravated it. But pain medicine did not seem to bring her relief last night. So the mystery continues as I notice other clues to this puzzle and do my best to help her feel better.

I'm grateful to have doggie pain killers on hand for her. I'm grateful to be tuned in so I can recognize some of her signs of distress. I'm grateful to have a couple more ideas to try and I'm grateful for the hope they will help her feel better. I'm grateful for her patience and cuddles as we try to figure this out. And I'm grateful to know that if needed there is a vet to solve anything I cannot on my own. I'm grateful for all the loving prayers she is receiving in this process because I know that the positive energy helps.

When have you made due with your best guess? How do you ask for help when the best guess doesn't work?
We all have moments of needing help and I haven't met anyone yet that is an expert at everything. 

May today bless Pippin with health and healing. May we all reach for the help we need without judgement and may we accept that our best guess is sometimes the best we can do in that moment. Have a beautiful day!

I haven't talked about the moon cycles in a while. Partly this is because I have taken a hiatus from recording the full and new moon meditations that I used to do monthly on youtube. In that quiet break, I celebrated the "going within" energy of the new moon. I celebrated Winter and this break with introspection. 

Now I am opening to the Full Moon and its energy once again. The first Full Moon of the Spring is one of my favorites of the year. It casts its light on the new growth of flowers and makes the new buds and leaves in the trees dancing shadows. It is a time of celebration for me. It is a time to wake from my long winter slumber.

I am grateful for the return of a friend that has been gone for a year and grateful that he has re-started the full moon celebrations at the park. I'm grateful to celebrate this full moon energy. I'm grateful for the nearly full moon last night and the way it lit the clouds surrounding it. I'm grateful for the beauty I see in these simple cycles. I'm grateful to be reawakening to this energy support. And I'm grateful to be shifting my own energy as we move into spring.

Do you ever take time to gaze at the moon? Which moon phases are your favorite? Do you notice a change in your energy near the full moon?

May today bless you with renewed energy and a full heart. Have a beautiful day!

I have had vivid, interactive dreams for as long as I can remember. It goes in cycles, like everything else, as far as the topic or the level of interaction needed. But with this pregnancy they have become move vivid, if that was even possible, yet they seem harder to navigate.

Many refer to it as lucid dreaming when a person can change the dream or the outcome of what is happening in that space. For me it is more navigation or interacting. I still want the message. I don't want to avoid the scary things that may be coming, I simply want to be able to navigate them and diffuse the situation as it comes and as it shifts. 

For whatever reason my dreams right now tend to lean toward what is commonly referred to as nightmares. Yet I have been struggling with navigating and diffusing them. I have set intentions but mostly I just wake before I interact. 

Last night was a breakthrough night. I don't know if it was the oil combination I used before bed or just the extra level of exhaustion that kept me asleep instead of waking but I navigated. I finally got to see some dreams through until their end and assist in facing the fears of "my family". It was very satisfying.

I'm grateful to wake satisfied and rested. I'm grateful to navigate those dreams and hopefully those to come. I'm grateful for lucid dreaming and interactions in dream space that teach me so much. I'm grateful for the conversations, meditation, and oils that helped me overcome this minor obstacle. I'm grateful for the beautiful Spring day waiting outside for me. I'm grateful to move forward navigating both dream and reality with confidence.

Do you ever interact with your dreams? Is there a dream that you have repeatedly that you haven't quite figure out? 

May today bless you with confidence and passion. May you navigate your world with love and grace. Have a beautiful day!


​One thing I truly enjoy is helping people interpret their dreams. If you are interested in this service, please email me at ReyofGratitude@gmail.com.

I woke up with music on my tongue today. What a glorious way to start a Monday! I don't know if it was waking up to the theme song of Firefly (the alarm tone) or the following conversation of music with my husband, but I have been humming all morning.

The funny thing is I keep finding myself humming and singing, " Singing in the Rain" and then being extra grateful that it is not raining outside today. And in the back of my mind I just keep thinking, the baby now has ears and can hear things like my voice. 

I don't know if it is true or not but I read a study several years ago that said if you sing to your children frequently, even if out of tune, it will help them to train their ears to be able to harmonize and sing in tune better. Has anyone else heard this? I personally love this study because it gives me an extra excuse to sing and not feel embarrassed if I'm out of tune. Haha!

Today I am grateful for it being a Conscious Cup morning and I'm grateful for the larger group I have signed up today for our monthly chat. I'm grateful for music, especially happy music. I'm grateful to be in the mood to hum around the house. I'm grateful for the breakfast casserole cooking in the oven and for the delicious aroma it is sending out. I'm grateful to hear the birds singing along with me and I'm grateful the baby growing in my belly can enjoy this musical morning as well.

What are you grateful for today? What songs uplift your morning? How can you kick off your Monday on a high note?

May today bless you with music to support you and people to dance with you. Have a beautiful day!

This weekend is the Spring Equinox. It has been a beautiful week of sunshine and warmth and now today it will be much chillier and rainy. I will admit when I first saw the forecast this morning I was disappointed because I do love the warm, sunny days of Spring. But the more I think about it the more I think this is a beautiful symbol for washing away the Winter and any old energies that need cleared out.

Today is possibly one of the most important Spring showers as it cleanses the earth and the energy. It provides space and nourishment for Spring to come in with its full glory. And I cannot deny that I love the rhythmic sound of the rain pattering the roof and deck as I work. 

I'm grateful for this change in mindset from my initial reaction. I'm grateful to see the beauty and opportunity in this gift. I'm grateful for the gentle sound of rain outside and to be listening, peaceful and dry from within my home. I'm grateful for the cleansing and nourishment taking place physically outside and symbolically within me. Welcome rain, I am grateful. I am grateful for this moment. And I am grateful that despite being active my body is sinking in as if in meditation.

What are you ready to clear away to allow Spring energy space to bloom? How can you celebrate today? How will you celebrate the Spring Equinox, honoring another season coming into fruition?

May today and this weekend bless you with cleansing and new sense of lightness. May you feel this new season and new cycle starting with love and abundance. Have a beautiful day and weekend!