I guess we have settled in!

Well, here we are, a full month after the Grand Opening at the end of May and I am still feeling like it was one of the best decisions I have made in a long time. I am getting booked up, I have more referrals coming into the practice daily and in general I am pretty happy with the move. The classes aren't quite filling up as of yet but am encouraged by the one or two folks that have shown up for the early wellness series classes and the 1st couple of Leadership Development modules, so I know that things will pick up more in September once everyone falls back into their routines.

I am deeply appreciative of my friends and family who have purchased the odd package here and there as I needed them to and are willing to help me get this sweet little center off the ground. Moving out of the house has done amazing things for my mental health and I am finding that I am able to leave the problems of the office at the office and when I go home I can just relax and enjoy being around my critters, my home, my yard and my garden. I also found out I only need to do maybe four loads of laundry per month!?! So little in fact, that I keep forgetting it in the dryer until I run out of work shirts, I can't wait to see how that affects my light and water bill, it has already dropped by about $30 and I am sure not that I am not doing 2 loads a day 5-6 days a week that it will probably come down a little bit more yet. That of course, is off set with needing to put more gas in the truck but I am pretty sure I am still coming out ahead on this one.

The one thing I didn't foresee was the lack of interest in the third room we have available?!? I mean it is a beautiful clinic with great parking and accessibility, access to personal and professional development classes and mentoring/coaching, room to host your own classes/workshops, a completely reasonable room rent and you get to work with me! What's not to love about it? We are not particular about the practice you offer as long as it is an allied health profession like yoga, physio, nutritionist, reflexologist, acupuncturist, massage therapist, counseling, etc. We want to offer our clients as many opportunities to take control of their health and wellness and are looking for someone to join us. We would also consider a room share agreement with a couple of new massage therapists who are looking to build their own practices with some guidance and mentoring, but I guess I need to let the universe do its thing and bring us the right person(s) to join the center. As you know, I am not known for my patience. If you know of anyone who might be looking for office space, send them our way!

In other news, the signage is finally underway and we are just waiting on the city approval to get it up on the building and on the digital sign. Ooof! I had no idea how expensive signage was, but worth it I am sure, as people will be able to find us a lot easier if we had a sign out front.

I was finally able to get up to the camper and get it opened for the season, but was somewhat surprised to realize that the next time I will be there is for Northern Lights Bluegrass Music Camp and Festival at which I will be taking my beginner guitar class from the amazing Eliza Doyle!!It has been a weird spring to be sure, since I usually open the camper in April but there was still a ton of snow on the ground then, then the May long weekend was miserable so it took until the 3rd week in June for me to finally get there and get it ready for the summer. In case you haven't been up North yet my god the Mosquitos are bloody rabid!!! If you are going, bring all the thermocells, deep woods off and mosquito coils you can find cause even with all that, they were still biting through my clothes!!! I hope it is a long warm fall or I am going to feel a bit pouty about missing the first couple of visits for the spring, which are usually somewhat bug less.

Well, my lovelies, that about all I have for you today thanks for all your support and kindness, we will talk again soon

A New Chapter Has begun...

Well, here I am on the last day of the first week in the new clinic and it all feels so correct, I am definitely in the right place at the right time. There is still a tiny bit of work left to do so that we can set up the reception area properly, start putting the workshop area together and prepare the third treatment room for its new tenant, but all in all it already feels like home.

Maybe it will feel like more of a drag come winter time, but so far this week has been quite peaceful and full of promise. I get to spend quiet mornings drinking my coffee and coming slowly back to the world, by the time I need to leave for the office I am caffeinated, showered, dressed and ready to face the world outside. I noticed about midway through the week that when I turn the key in the lock of the clinic at the end of the day, my brain kicks out of work mode and goes into downtime mode. What a glorious bonus for an overthinker like me!!

After so many years of blending my home and work life it is actually a blessing to be able to leave work at work and come home to relax and enjoy my home/pets/yard. Now that spring has finally hit, I am going to spend tomorrow cleaning up my yard and prepare it for the coming season. It sort of feels like that is what I am doing in all aspects of my life right now, cleaning things up and preparing to plant the new opportunities to nurture and grow into fully formed ideas and ways to help more people find what wellness means to them.

I am excited for what the next few months and years will reveal on this new path I am on, but am also so curious to see what the next surprise is going to be. As to be perfectly honest, I did not see this coming but here we are, and it has seems to have been one of the best decisions I have made for myself in awhile.

I had been struggling with my birthday number in Jan/Feb as I turned 59 on my birthday in March and I had gotten it into my head that I was getting "old" and was on the downhill slide. That is no longer a concept in my head anymore, as I might as well have turned 49 this year based on how I feel. I am invigorated, energized and brimming with potential these days and there is so much more opportunity to develop these all ideas further in this new space then I ever could have at home.

I guess 59 is when I finally hit my stride....Giddy Up, Fire Horse!! We have work to do....

Well, that escalated quickly!!

Hello My Dears!!

So, when last we chatted I was beginning to look around at different meeting spaces so I could host some regular programming and workshops. Well, that turned out to be a bit of a waste of time as most spaces were incredibly expensive or couldn't guarantee the regular programming dates that I was wanting to deliver. So, just out of curiosity I got in touch with a commercial real estate agent and he kindly took me through the ins and out of commercial leasing and took me around to a few properties so I could see for myself what was out there and for what price.

Sooooooo, long story short, I am opening a clinic!!!

This all came together so quickly and easily, I feel I have no choice but to follow the path that is being laid before my feet. One of my coaching clients wanted to come on as a silent partner in exchange for program development for her own strategic plan, then my sister wanted to join with her esthetics practice, and with my massage and consulting/coaching practices the idea of Foundations Health and Wellness was born.

Then the location fell into my lap. At first I actually dismissed it as it is located on 22nd St and Ave K and my eastside prejudice got in my way. There was something about it that kept calling to me to come see it however, so I finally did and dammit anyway if it wasn't absolutely perfect for what we needed!!

Top/3rd Floor, across the hall from a chiropractor, sharing the rest of the floor with other professionals. Three good sized treatment spaces, a good sized workshop area that can accommodate up to about 20 people depending on the workshop, a reception area, kitchenette and big windows facing North away from the traffic noise on 22nd St. All this for less than I would have paid for renting meeting rooms!!

As I have been mentioning this massive change to people over the last couple weeks, the response from my amazing community has been nothing short of miraculous to me. For example. I was talking with one of my artist friends about using the clinic walls as a a bit of a gallery for the many fantastic artists in my life so they can find new buyers for their talents, she said not only would she be happy to join in a program like this but that she would help coordinate it as well. so I guess we have an Art Director now!

It looks like the leasehold improvements will begin in the next couple of weeks, we are collecting up the furnishings and materials we need to create a comfortable and welcoming space for everyone and on the hunt to find the third person to take the last room...

So, watch this space for updates and plans for a Grand Opening Open House in the late spring/early summer.

Year of the Fire Horse indeed!!!