​Lots of news this month!  Lots of changes, both big and small.  Mostly big, though, so we'll lead with that.

If you can't say something nice about someone . . .
". . . don't say anything at all," right?

​Although my mother (and my lawyer!) would both agree on that one, I'm going to go for the Alice Roosevelt Longworth route:

. . . sit right here by me.


My ***-*******, *****, ********* landlord, after stringing us along for several months and giving evasive answers to direct questions, finally announced a few weeks ago that he was kicking us out in favor of new tenants.  (Despite repeated requests for a lease, we've only ever been month-to-month.)

I managed to negotiate until November 30th, but he timed this particular bombshell to drop right before I went on vacation for two weeks, and I'm leaving again this Saturday for a week.  It looks like we have a new space lined up--right across the street, in fact.  However, with all of the crazy, I decided not to add another layer of stress, so I am rescheduling my client appreciation party.

Rescheduling, ahoy!
When:  Thursday, Dec 10, 5-7:30pm
Where:  New office!  I'll, um, share the details when I have them.

So--those are the two big things.  New office, rescheduled party.

But, so as not to leave you on a down note, I will share the results of another party--one from last week.

Yes!  The Best of the Boat awards ceremony was last Thursday, and I was completely chuffed to bring home 2nd place.  Ali Boehm, a dear friend and an awesome MT in her own right, was nipping at my heels in third place, so color me very pleased indeed.

For those who want to know how a woman who doesn't really do massage (so I've been told) managed to get first again, I don't know.  Of course, I have my suspicions, but I can see my lawyer giving me the stinkeye from here, so I'm just going to zip it.

My mother would be so . . . proud?  Well, at least she wouldn't roll her eyes and say "Oh, Erica!" in that exasperated tone I might have heard once or twice.

​In my absence, I expect all of you to be on your best behavior.
. . . Stop laughing.
Buuuuut . . . if any of you either a) figure out what the blanked-out asterisks stood for, or b) come up with something different that makes me laugh until I snort, then you'll get something nice.  Maybe a hug, maybe a high-five, maybe a few extra minutes on the table--maybe immortalized in a clever anecdote!  I'll come up with something.

Living one's truth

The magic of time-delayed posting means that while I am out at Burning Man, roasting my tuchus off and possibly getting swarmed by bugs (although reports are that they've just about disappeared by now), I can also be here.  With you.

Well, sort  of, anyway.  I'll take what I can get.

Cast your virtual vote!
Voting for Best of the Boat is going on RIGHT NOW!  But you only have a few more days--voting closes at midnight on September 4th!  I'm eligible for two categories:  best massage therapist and best spa. 

People wonder if these polls make a difference.  I'm here to say that they do.  Winning Best of the Boat in 2011 was just the boost my business needed.  It gave me enough visibility to keep the lights on, and then flourish and thrive.  Because of people like you, I've been able to follow my dreams and do what I love.

Now I'm here, to ask for your vote again.  It's not just me, this time.  This spring, I took a leap of faith and doubled my overhead to help two splendid young therapists gain some traction, get more hands-on experience, and hopefully be able to follow their dreams of a successful private practice some day.

Pay it forward, they say.  Be the change you want to see in the world.

I'm putting my money where my mouth is and stepping up to the plate.  Every single spa I've worked for in town has Done Things Wrong, from deliberate misclassification as an independent contractor to violating labor laws.  I aim to do things better than they were done by me, but I need your help.  We need that visibility again. 
  
 So cast your vote.  You don't have to live here in Steamboat to make a big difference in three people's lives.  Pass it on.

In my absence
I may be out of commission in the Big Dusty, but Mr. Kelly and Chelsea are still here, keeping the lights on and the tables warm.

My first day back in the office is Friday, September 11th, but I'm currently booked up for the next few days.  I don't really get going until about the 16th or so, and then I've got a few weekends where I'm back out of town again.

PLEASE NOTE:  I expect to be out of cell range and internet access until I get back to Boulder on the 10th.  If you need anything, please contact Mr. Kelly at 970.819.6403 or Chelsea at 970.215.5736.

Dusty hugs to all.

Let the shameless begging begin!
First and foremost, it's that time of year again.

Yep, you got that right:  time for the annual Best of the Boat survey!  This is the 5th year of the survey's incarnation, and boy, do I have a horse in the race.  I've taken the first place slot twice (including the inaugural year!), second place once, and hit third last year, even while grief-stricken and overcome with the impending loss of my little dog, my beloved companion for 16 years.

And now?  Now I'm back, from outer space, and I will survive.  (With apologies to Gloria Gaynor for making such a hash out of her song lyrics.)

But I need your help.  So, please, go here and vote for me in the "Professionals" section.

Pretty please?

(And here's a first!  Heartfire Massage is even listed as a spa in the community section.  Wouldn't that be cool to place in?)

Okay, okay, enough with that for now. Expect more in the future.

Tri, tri again!
It may be hard to remember with the Pro Challenge bearing down on us, but Sunday is the Steamboat Triathlon at Lake Catamount.

Once again, Chelsea and Mr. Kelly will be providing free massage to the participants, and once again, we'll have some nifty swag for the racers.

So if you would like more exercise (and perhaps a little less competition!) than fighting the Pro Challenge crowds, c'mon out and get your tri on!

Truly transcendent monks
A couple of months ago, my friend the impeccable Jennie Lay sent out a call, asking for people to come feed the Drepung Loseling monks a meal when they came to the library to do the sand painting.  I volunteered to take care of lunch their last day, and as a special surprise, I even brought in my massage chair!  I figured that what with being bent over all week, their backs could use a little work.  Boy, was I right!

It was delightful how pleased they were.  I may even have stored up a little karma in my favor.  One can hope, right?


Speaking of good karma . . .

In a fairly recent and definitely unexpected turn of events, I'll be heading off to Burning Man at the end of August and gone for a couple of weeks.  For those not familiar with it, Burning Man is a week-long arts festival held in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, outside the small town of Gerlach.  All kinds of art are there:  music, dance, sculpture--and some things that people may not first consider when they think of when think of art, like cooking, massage, and so on.

It's been ten years since I've been, and the population has doubled in size.  I expect to be doing a lot of "back in my day" or "the last time I went," as well as waving a stick and telling those damn kids to get off my playa.

That's okay.  They'd probably think it was performance art.

Adieu for now!
The time has come for me to bid you fond farewell, as I finish cooking and getting ready to haul my gear to Boulder this weekend so it can be trucked out to the desert in time.  

Unsurprisingly, this is pretty much what I've looked like over the last week.

So, yeah.  Getting on that right now.

Be well, and I hope to see you soon.

Sneaky little hobbitses.
They thought they could take the precious, did they?  We wants it.  We needs it.  Must have the precious!

Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration.  But hey, who doesn't love a good Gollum every now and then?

What's NOT an exaggeration is that voting for Best of the Boat is happening NOW RIGHT NOW. 

In the past, it's taken place from late December to late January or so, with winners announced in March.  For some reason, it got pushed back until NOW.  Usually, we get a heads-up that this is happening, but I guess they decided to keep us on our toes this year.

I'll bet you know where I'm going with this.
And no, you're not wrong.

YES, PLEASE VOTE FOR ME! 
You have from NOW until August 20th!

I've come in first two out of the last three years, and it is entirely due to my badass clients voting for Team Heartfire.  I'd love to continue the tradition; I'm not particularly competitive overall (hush, Dad!), but I am in this case.

How to make go
1.  Simply go to www.bestoftheboat.com (or follow any of the links above; they all go to the same place).
2.  Log in (or create an account if you don't have one).
3.  Vote!  You can skip directly to page 3 (Professionals) if you don't want to wade through the whole damn thing.

Extra bonus points if:
. . . you vote for Steamboat Independent Spa under the "best spa" category (bottom of page 2, Business & Community)
. . . you vote for Fireside Catering under the "best catering service" category (page 6, Dining)
. . . you forward this info on to your friends and they vote!  Please note:  you don't have to live in Steamboat in order to participate in the voting.

Thank you all so, so much!

Also--one quick non-BotB note:  for those of you coming for sessions in the near future, please note that construction is going on at the intersection of Hwy 40 and Hilltop Drive.  I don't know how bad it's going to be, but make sure to leave extra travel time in order to negotiate the potential traffic.

Happy summer!
Be well, and I hope to see you soon.

E.