{mass-ahh-zh}

michaels sells these huge bling bling decorations. my bling bling mania continues. :) this one is totally clear but reflects the colors surrounding it. so pretty! :)
the cover i made for my massage therapy binder.
yep, i'm a massage therapist by training. due to my fibromyalgia i can't work as a massage therapist anymore. i really miss it at times. i loved relaxing people and helping them feel better.

massage has so many health benefits!
massage = mass-ahh-zh

i still can't believe some of the anatomy we had to study during the massage course. we learned about everything. it was very intense study. fun! i loved learning about our bodies. i can't believe that some people believe our universe just happened "accidentally". it's like believing that if i'd pour out the pieces of a 5000 piece puzzle on the floor and they'd magically fall into place and make the puzzle. i gained so much respect for our bodies during my study. my faith in God increased even more.

:)

:)

i collected massage related cartoons.
the reason why i've been thinking about massage is that even though i'm a massage therapist, i still sometimes forget about the benefits of massage. i've been paying for my nature walk with majorly sore legs. i finally remembered that "hey, how about massaging my legs!" we have this really good, powerful massager. i spent almost an hour massaging my legs and back with it and it sure helped. i have got to remember to massage myself more often!

if you have never had a massage, you're missing out.

just a warning: make sure you find a therapist you like. they all massage differently and some even too roughly. you need to feel comfortable with the therapist and if it hurts like crazy during the massage or afterwards, they're doing something wrong. unless you decide to see a rolfer but that's another story. :)
gotta love massage!
then...

i was reading our church magazine when i had breakfast and something really touched me. the article mentioned the first world war and the 1918 flu pandemic. some stats:

70 million men from all over the world took up arms.

there were over 30 million military casualties, including 9 million dead, half of whom have no known graves.

worldwide, the death toll (of the flu pandemic) was staggering: at least 50 million people died.

sometimes we take our peace for granted and also think nothing of the flu. it's easy to feel that with our modern medicine we'll be safe and well taken care of. i think we need to be humble and be thankful when things are well. life is such a fragile thing.

someone i know just got pneumonia from h1n1 flu.

today i'm going to go and get vaccinated.