MY BLOG HAS MOVED!

I have officially made the move from Blogger to Wordpress. Please find my new blog posts here:
http://findingblissinenchantment.wordpress.com/

Updates and Blog Moves

For it being the short month of February, this month is seriously dragging. That usually happens when you have a lot to look forward to so I thought it was about time for an update. I am so so close to finishing school now. I have a little over two months to go (my graduation date is April 26th!) and I can't wait to be done and to have my evenings back. School has been fun, but I feel ready to start working and earning some money doing this thing that I love and the closer it gets to becoming a reality, the more excited I get! 

I'm a little more than halfway done with my Reflexology classes. At first, I hated these classes because it's pretty painful having someone hone in on the sensitive spots on your feet, but we've started to just do pieces of Reflexology in with a more full body treatment now, instead of doing just an hour on our feet alone. I like this much better and it's how I've been incorporating Reflexology into my treatments in the clinic. 

This is a little different from the reflexology chart we use at school, but oh so pretty!

We just started Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which I have been dying to learn all year long. They truly save the best for last at my school. So far we've learned a little bit on tongue diagnosis and pulse readings. We've learned about the different Yin and Yang organs according to the elements in TCM and how to balance them, pull out negative or stagnant energy, and pump in clean energy. We're going to learn the meridian based acupressure points. And probably a whole bunch of other stuff I can't even wrap my head around at this point. 

Clinic is going well. I am pretty close to reaching my required hours. I will for sure be done with them by the end of March so anything I do after that will be extra. The most I've done in a day so far is four treatments. I might try five in a day but I don't think I'd want to do much more than that as I hope to not burn myself or my thumbs/hands/arms out too quickly after I graduate. Oh! And tonight is pretty much my last night of learning in Anatomy and Physiology. After tonight, we'll just have some reviews and exams and although those are of course a huge deal, I am just so excited to be finished learning all of this really complex stuff that goes on in our bodies. I mean it's interesting, it's just a lot to take in and I won't miss anything about it except for my amazing A&P teacher, Adonna. 

Other stuff I am looking forward to: a trip to Colorado Springs in a little over a week to visit one of my best friends, Courtney; a birthday weekend trip up to Taos for the Taos Shortz Festival with Dominic (who's now in L.A. for a couple months so I spend all my free time missing him like crazy); a possible trip out to L.A. to visit Dom and also one of my other besties, Allie; and a probable short trip up to Washington to see friends and family (I will let everyone up there know my plans once I make them). 

And regarding the "Blog Moves" in this post title. I am seriously thinking of moving on over to Wordpress. I hear good things and I've been hearing bad things about Blogger. I figure I should make the move soon so I will of course post a new link here once I sort all that out. Hopefully all ten or so of you regular readers can make the move with me. Until then, look for more book reviews in the near future. I'm currently taking my sweet time reading "Whip Smart" and "Blood River," both non-fiction and fascinating reads so far.  

Alisonrt25's #CBR5 Review #1: River God by Wilbur Smith

River God tells the story of an ancient Egyptian royal family, their exodus from Egypt during a war, and their eventual return, all through the eyes of a eunuch slave named Taita. The novel spans nearly 50-60 years and centers around Taita's unrequited love for his owner, Lostris, for whom he would do anything to please. Lostris's happiness is found in her undying love for Tanus, a great warrior, and Taita's best friend. Taita goes to great lengths to unite these two lovers, even though they could never be together publicly, because of Lostris's status as royalty. Illegitimate children are born, battles are fought, and several great tragedies occur throughout the course of the novel, but the love of these three friends is what sustains them time and time again.

Wilbur Smith draws upon history in his writing and paints a picture with such detail that I felt transported to ancient Egypt as I read. I found myself impressed by the resiliency of the characters because it would take them years to travel only 100 miles and, while on their exodus south of Egypt, they had to learn to survive off of land they weren't familiar with, including hunting animals they had never seen. It was truly a time of survival of the fittest in every aspect of their lives and I thoroughly enjoyed the seemingly accurate depiction of the time period.

However, the heart of the novel lies in it's narrator, Taita. Despite being a slave, he is one of the most respected people in Egypt and all who meet him, value his gifts. He's a doctor, a foreseer, a craftsman, a tutor, and a confidante among royalty. His ambition and loyalty are admirable and his life story is remarkable. I would highly suggest giving this novel a read, if only to be transported into Taita's world, for just a little while.

This post was written as part of Pajiba's Cannonball Read 5:
http://cannonballread5.wordpress.com/.