Product & Service Spotlight: Epsom Salt Soak & Out-Call Massage Parties

Recently, I stumbled across an idea that inspired something new. The result: My free Epsom Salt Soak packets now include an inspirational message--think of it as the fortune cookie of massage. For over a year, I've been receiving Notes From The Universe and saving my favorite messages, so I've gone through those and printed out the ones that I thought would apply well for my clients to receive also. Take a packet home with you after your next massage.

Back to massage, in the past month, I've done more out-calls than I have in my whole 5 years as a LMT. Usually, I am such a creature of habit that I've never been very interested in doing out-calls, but this recent experience was a lot of fun. Two of the out-calls were with a group of friends--all out-of-towners--that were renting a house floating on the Willamette River. The change of scenery was actually quite nice, and has inspired me to promote more out-call parties. It's a bit of work loading, unloading, and resetting my massage equipment and supplies, so I do prefer to do parties of 2-6 massage recipients and charge a single $30 out-call fee that can be split among the recipients. 

Beyond the windows near the face cradle is the river.

I loved all the natural light in this house.

Invite me over for your next gathering with friends--alumni parties, bridal shower, baby shower, birthday, holiday, or just because! Please call me to plan your massage party--503-318-9626.

Recipe of the Month: Gobble Up Granola Snacks

The kids are back to school. This granola recipe is great to throw in lunch bags, or have as an after school snack. Lots of possibilities with this recipe too--let your kids pick which fruit, nut, cereal, or sweet-tooth addition they'd like.


Gobble Up Granola Snacks

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup (or honey)
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 
  

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the rice cereal, oats, and raisins. Set aside. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Combine the brown sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat just until boiling, then remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour over the cereal and oat mixture, and mix well.
3. Press into the prepared pan using the back of a large spoon. Allow to cool, then cut into squares.

Upcoming Events: Open House

Update on my study/mentor programs: I'm almost caught up with reading my massage magazines--chugging away impressively at a week and a half per magazine. Just 2 1/2 more magazines to read, then I'll be all caught up (until the next one arrives!). Once I'm caught up, I will be able to pore my attention into these programs. I feel confident that I can be ready to launch and begin really marketing for the study/mentor programs by the end of the year.

Ah, the end of the year. It is September now, so be careful--in the blink of an eye, it'll be January!

The tail end of this month marks my 5th anniversary as a licensed massage therapist. I've decided to celebrate by hosting an open house in the office on Saturday, October 8th from 9am-6pm. I plan on having a drawing for at least one free massage. Stop in and get one entry. Bring a friend with you (who is not an existing client of mine) and you both get two entries. Book a massage appointment within the month of October or buy a gift certificate and get another entry. If your friend books their first massage session with me within the month of October, they'll get 2 entries into the drawing. I'll have some light refreshments. This will be a great opportunity to ask any questions you might have about anything massage related, or specific to my business. Or just come in and peek at my new room!

Rumor has it we'll be having an acupuncturist joining the team at Heidi's soon--into my old room downstairs next to my new room. As I find out more information about that, I'll see if he'd like to participate in my open house event as well. 

Are you following me on Facebook? If not, you'll really want to start! As my clients from years past may remember, I had a pretty fantastic offer go out for Black Friday last year. I plan on running the same special (with minor provisions)--but I think I may only be announcing it on my Facebook Page this year--and that's why I'm emailing this post to everyone as well. I'd also love to have this blog be more of a back-and-forth between us, so your comments are always welcome and appreciated. Subscribe to my blog & follow me on Facebook now. You won't want to miss this!!

If the Black Friday tease isn't enough reason for you to follow me on Facebook, try this: I often post my same-day open appointments at $15 off. This is good news for those that aren't able to book in advance due to complicated/inconsistent/irregular schedules. There's often only a few hours' notice for these appointments, so you really have to keep your eye out.

A Dose of Inspiration: Just Do It

Sure, it's Nike's tagline, but it's a good one to remember anyway. Just do it.

How many times do you catch yourself daydreaming about the life you want to have? The new "thing" you have to have? The personal achievement that's just out of grasp? The experiences you want to have?

So...what's really stopping you? It's not impossible. Other people are doing and having those things too. Why aren't you? I'll tell you: You have to get past the "thinking" stage and move into the "action" phase. Stop making excuses. You deserve to have those things, so stop selling yourself short. What's in it for you in keeping yourself from it? How much better could your life be if you had that? 

Focus on that. Envision your life with this "thing." Looks good, doesn't it? Take a glance back at your life without it and notice the difference in your feelings between the two. Then, identify what's really stopping you. More than likely, you'll have to push yourself beyond your comfort zone to obtain this "thing," but, whatever it is, you can be assured it'll be worth it.

As someone who is self-employed, I've come to get comfortable with continually stretching my comfort zone, and it's really quite thrilling. Sure, I have times where it catches me off-guard and I wonder what in the world I'm doing, but then it comes back--that daydream--and I remember that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. So I smile.

This post was somehow inspired by my first float from Barton to Carver on the Clackamas River this past weekend. There were SO many other people doing the same thing, that I really got the feeling as if we were all fleeing or evacuating the land. Being on a time restraint made the experience a little stressful instead of relaxing, but the experience of doing it made it worthwhile anyway. I wish I had had a waterproof camera so I could show you how the river and parking lots (and any other open spaces!) looked with such a flood of people there.

Product & Service Spotlight: Spa Treatment Closeout!

In the next month or two, I plan on phasing out the spa-section of my treatment menu. These services are underutilized, and, as mentioned in previous blog posts, my business is beginning to take a new direction into mentoring.

I've never been a real girly-girl, so the spa-aspect doesn't quite captivate me personally. My initial excitement in expanding my menu in that way was that it would allow me to bring in revenue without being as physically demanding as massage. Without my heart in it, I don't feel I've marketed it well, the economy may have an implication as well, preventing consumers from enjoying these kinds of services.

What I will hold onto will be the body butters (honey and mango) that can be added on during a massage, the aloe foot & callus rub, the aloe moisture cream, the aloe heat creme, and possibly the aloe body wash and lavender spa bath. Gift bags will still be available at this point, and I will also continue to provide the Detox Relaxation Bath packs for purchase.

Any samples on hand, excluding those mentioned above, can be taken with you at no charge as you come in for your regular massage appointments, while supplies last. Samples of the above mentioned products will be available for $1 each, or as otherwise labeled. 

Recipe of the Month: Smoothies!

One of our family favorites, especially in the summertime when there's so much fresh fruit around and a cool treat sounds so good, is making smoothies.

While we usually just throw in whatever's in the house--blueberries are always in the freezer, bananas, pears, peaches, melon, strawberries, raspberries, apple, yogurt, ice, and with more adventure maybe some carrot or celery--here's a link with 23 smoothie recipes to give you more ideas. 

Enjoy, and stay cool now that summer is finally beginning to appear! Tell me which recipes from the link above or your own personal creations you like best. We could always use more variety.

Upcoming Events

I'm still fine-tuning my time management, as you can see. It's been too long since my last post once again, but I tell you now, I just set a recurring appointment for myself to get in here and write something once a week. My apologies for missing a few this summer. 

Our CD of the month for August is another of Gary Jess'. The album is Northwest Trilogy. If you recall, I have another CD from Gary Jess featuring piano work. This one also has piano, and to be very honest, I think I like the other CD better. There's a track on this one that reminds me of the Doogie Howser intro, in a minor, gentle way. It did inspire me to watch an episode on Hulu today though! Love those blasts from the past. :)

Room Update: I have transitioned into my new room--yay! The only left to do is get my certificates hung on the wall. I have an open wall that is waiting for some beautiful piece of art to go on. I initially was drawn to panel-type sconces in the Partylite catalog, but wound up changing my mind about them. 

Speaking of Partylite, I finally got my show to close and am anxiously waiting for all my new things to come in. I forgot to order one of their seasonings (yes, if you didn't know, they're carrying a small food line now too!) that my hostess prepared into a dip for our party. She didn't mention that it was a Partylite item (we devoured my Blueberry Buckle instead), though that may have encouraged more sales if she had. I don't have the catalog in front of me now, but I think it was some kind of Buffalo-Blue Cheese seasoning mix that she added to equal parts mayo and sour cream. SO good! Fortunately, I do have lots of leftover hostess credit coming my way in the form of product certificates, so I will be able to order some soon enough. No, I'm not a consultant myself, so if you ever find yourself with access to placing a Partylite order, I do highly recommend ordering that seasoning. It has a little zing to it, but not too much. Delish. Consider this plug my recipe of the month for last month in lieu of a full post for it. ;)

My study and mentor programs are slowly creeping along in progress. Very slowly. I am starting from the ground up here, and have just made a crucial decision on how to structure this, so that's been helpful. There's so much information to cover, I didn't know where to start with it all at first. It may be several months before I can comfortably launch it as a means of generating income for me. 

PS--Remember to put on sunscreen on these gorgeously sunny days we've been getting! A client of mine recommends Mexitan organic sunscreen. I haven't tried it yet, but it comes with such high regard from her, that I feel confident in sharing it with you.