Awake

The Snow That Didn't Melt

Woke up this morning to the same snow that fell yesterday afternoon. After all it's 20 degrees and not likely to melt anytime soon. Today may mark the first time I've ever had to put chains on my little Saturn SL. I've been carrying chains in my trunk since 1998 but haven't ever put them on. (Although there was a time or two when I should have. Spontaneous trip to Sisters, anyone?)

Happy snow day.

The Snow Fell

We got a bit more snow this afternoon...I think probably 3 or 4 inches maybe.

I guess Ashland got a ton of snow today. Tomorrow should be interesting. Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon it will have melted. I have to drive into Ashland late Monday...

Overheard at 3355: Part Two

It's a snowy afternoon at 3355. Grandpa has stretched out for a nap. Amber has popped a movie into the DVD player in the front room. Forty-five minutes into the movie, Grandpa emerges from his nap and enters the living room, inquiring...

"What are you watching?"

"While You Were Sleeping."

"What are you watching?"

"While You Were Sleeping."

Pause.

"What's the name of the movie?"

"While You Were Sleeping."

Pause.

"Oh....Ohhh!"

Snow in the backyard

An invasion of tiny parachute flakes began early this afternoon. The snow has just begun to stick on the ground and the branches of the trees. This picture was taken of the backyard around quarter after three on Sunday afternoon.

Any snow in your backyard?

Announcing Chair Massage at First Friday at the "A" Street Arts Building

Just this morning I arranged to be at the "A" Street Arts Building for First Friday offering chair massage! "First Friday" is Ashland's gallery tour night (akin to Portland's First Thursdays). If you're in Ashland, the "A" Street Arts Building is on "A" Street and First across from the hardware store. I'm told there will be a Blues band there as well, so I'm sure it will be a great place to be on Friday, February 1st. I'll be offering chair massage in the upstairs hallway for $1/minute starting at 5pm. Hope to see some familiar faces (and meet new ones, too)!

Link: Amber Himes Massage, LLC

Like Dandelion Dust Movie Teaser Posted to Highwater Pictures Production Diary

Seth has created a promo video for the upcoming movie Like Dandelion Dust based on the novel by Karen Kingsbury.

Go check it out! Here's the link: Like Dandelion Dust Movie Teaser.

New Discovery: Nathan's Blog on Public Health, Human Rights and Faith

I've been a bit out of the blogging loop since my move this Fall but as you may have noticed, I'm getting back into the swing of things. I've just discovered my old friend Nathan's blog covering the very important (not to mention interesting) interdisciplinary topic of Public Health, Human Rights and Faith. I'm very excited to dive in to this blog and an area of study I am excited to explore.

Link: Public Health & Human Rights: Thoughts on Health, Rights and Faith.

More photos from Sunriver added

I've just uploaded (what I think) is the last batch of photos from Sunriver.

Enjoy!

Library of Congress photos now on Flickr

This past week, Flickr launched The Commons, a place for public-domain photos and the public's chance to help make those photos findable by the rest of the world. Flickr says:

You're invited to help describe photographs in the Library of Congress' collection on Flickr, by adding tags or leaving comments.

This is an amazing opportunity to be a part of making historical photos accessible to the masses. Browse the LOC's collection here and start tagging! (What are tags?)

New post on D'souza blog

There is a new article on Joseph D'souza's site entitled, "Racism blindness, cricket, and the Untouchables" which highlights recent events to illustrate the cruel reality of both caste and racism in India. A good quick read.

January 2008 Building Project Update Posted to Radical Connections Website

For you Villagers out there, just letting you know that the January 2008 Building Project Update has been posted to the Radical Connections website. My dad worked hard on this month's update which includes new schematic drawings and drawings of the exterior. Check it out!

January 2008 Building Project Update

Weekend focus on politics: Barack Obama on the Issue of Faith

This weekend I am looking into Barack Obama's views on faith and politics. To start, I will go to Barack's website and under "Issues," I will visit the "Faith" page:

www.barackobama.com/issues/faith/

On that page, I will click to "Watch the video" and continue watching the videos featuring Barack's view on faith. (The intro was good — looking forward to the Call to Renewal speech.)

I'll post my reflections here. But perhaps you would like to join the conversation? (Conversations are, after all, more interesting than typical blog pontifications, don't you agree?)

So I'll agree to read and watch the info Barack has provided and maybe you will too. Here's a question that I've been asked to explore—perhaps we could use it as a jumping off point for our discussion:

Is there room under Obama's umbrella for a evangelical conservative?

What do you think? I'll see you back here soon. ~Amber

Psych. Just the right amount of Silly and Awesome.

I've recently discovered the TV show, "Psych" on the USA channel. Very silly. Very awesome. The best part is that new episodes have started up again. Who knew that new episodes of anything could be found? Fridays are my favorite TV/TiVo day: Monk, Psych and Stargate Atlantis — and all three were new last night. Joy.

Just for fun...

Erin and Bernie's pictures of Sunriver get-together

My cousin Erin and hubby, Bernie, posted their pictures from our rendezvous at Sunriver the last week of December. Their Holiday Set is here and my favorites from the set are here. Plus, here are two highlights below. Enjoy!

Link on Flickr (originally posted by AsianESQ)

Link on Flickr (originally posted by AsianESQ)

Upcoming Massage CE Classes in Portland

The Institute of Advanced Bodywork in Portland, Oregon just announced their next series of continuing ed classes offered at their facility in SE Portland. Taught by Alli Longstreth, Maura Banks, and TJ Ford, these offerings make me wish 1) I still lived in Portland and 2) my business was cash-flowing a bit more. (Regardless, maybe it is time for a trip north.) TJ taught the Trigger Point class at East West College that I took last Spring. If you are a massage therapist in Portland looking for quality CE courses in Portland, I strongly recommend you check them out.

Link: Institute of Advanced Bodywork

Happy CE-ing.

Busy night of chair massage at the Ashland Family YMCA

Wednesday evening was a busy night for Amber Himes and Chair Massage in Ashland at the "Y". Usually I average about 3 massages per night. But Wednesday was crazy with a personal record of eight 15-minute sessions for six people! (Two of them with 30-minute massages!) That quite satisfactorily filled my 2-hours at the Ashland Family "Y". Providing chair massage at the Ashland Family YMCA has been a very enjoyable experience and I am looking forward to further positive experiences in the future.

Coloring inspires "pay it forward" random act of kindness?

It was another sunny (albeit cool) day in Ashland. I decided to treat myself to lunch at Zoey's Cafe across from the Ashland Springs Hotel downtown. They have a divine salad with blue cheese crumbles, seasoned chicken, candied walnuts and a vinaigrette dressing that I adore. I am quietly munching on my salad when a couple walks in and seats themselves in the booth directly in front of me. After a while I deduce that they are a honeymooning couple from Canada (cell phone conversation plus a fair bit of schmoopiness). I finish my salad and decide to finish coloring the "Control of Ion Channels by Membrane Potential" page in my Physiology Coloring Book while I finish my mug of Chai.

The couple move from the booth to the gelato counter to decide on two pints. Gelato in hand, they return to the booth to collect their belongings. I continue to "mind my own business" even though in reality I'm observing them to my own amusement. Coloring the depolarization early stage's Sodium ions rushing through the slow gate, I glance at my Chai and note with dismay that it is, at last, empty. The male half of the honeymooners goes to the counter to pay and they leave, leaving me to find the bright blue I selected for the ever-leaking Potassium ions. Several minutes later, my server approaches.

"You know the man who was sitting in front of you?"

"Yeah," I reply with curiosity.

"He wants to pay for another Chai. That is, he already paid for it. Do you want me to just apply it to your bill?"

"Wha?" I grinned incredulously. And with several more exchanges of bewildered amusement, she returns to say that when he was paying his own bill, he added, "Oh, and one more thing. That girl with the coloring book? I want to buy her another tea or whatever she's drinking."

After several retellings of the tale back at the salon, the general deduction is that this was, in fact, a "pay it forward" moment. You know what I'm talking about. It's when you do something for someone in advance of their kindness, instead of in return of it. Likely inspired by the movie, Pay It Forward or perhaps by this recent news story of Starbucks customers paying for the coffee of the person behind them.

Evidently my mission is clear. It's now my turn to pay it forward to someone else. What a crazy and kind world we live in. Who knew?

Happy paying it forward.

Happy Birthday, Jackie!

Though I am in Ashland and Jackie is in Seattle, this is the face I imagine Jackie displaying if I were to be there on her birthday! (What a happy soul!)

Happy Birthday, my sweet and talented sister-in-law!

NEED magazine office burglarized

About a half-hour ago I (along with all NEED subscribers) received an e-mail saying that the NEED office was burglarized. All equipment was stolen and critical systems (phone lines, security, etc) were vandalized. I am shocked and saddened by this news. If anything, it underscores the importance of their work. Please lift up in prayer the editors and staff at NEED magazine as they press on with their mission to spread hope by communicating the just, compassionate, and healing acts of individuals and groups around the globe.

If you haven't subscribed to NEED, you are missing out on news of hope and justice. In a world where bad news is the only news, this magazine is a must-read for individuals who serve or support those in service to the poor world-wide.

Link: More about NEED magazine.

Pictures posted of Christmas at Sunriver

I believe I neglected to mention that I've posted a slew of pictures from our stay at Sunriver, December 23-27 of 2007. Here they are! (And there are more coming too!)

Link: Christmas at Sunriver

It looks like a forest (and it is); but its really just my backyard.

Got a bit of snow this morning. Just a dusting on the valley floor (where I live) but showcased on the trees of the surrounding hills was a fresh blanket. Nothing like Sunriver over Christmas, but nice on my day off. It melted mid-afternoon. I hope tomorrow will be uneventful in the weather arena; I have 10 am appointment in Ashland and I definitely want to retain my long-standing record of never putting chains on my car. Any snow for you?

My crochet projects

Just uploaded a sampling of the crochet projects I've recently completed and/or are currently tackling. Enjoy! Amber's Crochet Projects

Overheard in the living room at 3355

Grandpa: "That's an ugly looking dog."
Me: "I think it's a cougar."
---
After seeing a shot of the WSU mascot while watching the Washington State Cougars play the Washington Huskies women's basketball match Friday night after pizza.

It's a New Year

The impact of any particular date on the calendar is determined by one's beliefs about that date, as subtle, ingrained, or overt they might be. For me, January 1st sounded like the slamming of a book followed by a defiant, "Well, then!" to which my sheepish response was, "I guess it's time to get down to business."

I don't know who slammed the book (maybe it was God) or who said "Well, then!" (maybe it was me) but I am quite convinced that it truly is time to get down to business and I'm quite glad of the turning of the calendar in this instance and its book-end effect on my consciousness.

I've moved on, moved down, moved far enough along to finally realize I've got a new life to attend to, one involving an odd mix of setting and characters, a play that no one would believe without knowing me, of course. A massage therapist and former web developer who moved to southern Oregon to start her practice and realized quickly that to pay the bills the former web developer would have to become a formal web developer and thus Sleepyhead City Web Works LLC was born.

It's January 2nd. I've finally restored my laptop to general health and am installing the last critical bits I need to use it as a dynamic web server. It's still sort of a holiday at the salon (very very slow today) and I'm at a neighborhood coffee shop, chicken burrito down the hatch and a half-inch of Mexican mocha remaining in the glass mug they gave me "for here." I'm about 2 minutes away from getting PHP 5 installed and then I'll be ready to "get down to business." Again.

Tonight is chair massage at the Ashland Family YMCA. The new year also brings a new day at the 'Y'. I'll be there every week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 5-7. It's one of my new favorite places to be and now with an employee benefit free membership, part of "getting down to business" will include a bit of fitness as well.

Now to get down to it. Persevere, commit, excel. Those will be the words for this year. My heart swells with the prospect of claiming those words and seeing them transform into realities of character and action.

Happy New Year.