Kat’s Path

Hello to my long lost blog - well not really lost, but certainly neglected.  It’s hard to believe it’s been over 2 months since I posted anything.  I don’t even know where to begin!  I guess I’ll start where I left off.

My absence began with another shamanically induced journey in mid-November.  This one was different from any other experience I’ve had, and yet it was similar in some aspects.  This journey was enhanced by a small, chocolate heart affectionately referred to as chocoma.  The sweet, little treat I ingested that evening was a combination of chocolate, mushrooms, and ayahuasca.  Not what you typically find in a candy dish.  What I found interesting was the progression of the journey which began as a typical mushroom experience and later morphed into more of an ayahuasca experience. 

What I learned from my Shaman is the mushrooms soften and ease you into the ayahuasca experience, and the chocolate prevents your journey from becoming an exclusively inward one.  I found this to be true on both counts.  The message and experience I gained that evening was one of love, bonding, and a personal commitment to enhancing certain relationships in my life.

The next morning I left on a physical journey with Russ to Cabo San Lucas.  I had been to Cabo once before, but I forgot just how beautiful it is there.  We shared a wonderful week in a combination of ways; exploring, relaxing, and indulging at the beach.  We also went on a journey one night and ended up Nowhere.  It was a wonderfully romantic trip, and we were blessed with perfectly beautiful weather.

One day we had just arrived and started lounging at the beach, soaking up some sunshine and our first cocktails, when the bar began a game of name that tune and announced the winner would receive a bucket of beer.  Being the music lover that I am, this is my game and I know it.  I looked at Russ and said excitedly, “Honey, I’m winning you a bucket of beer!”  Russ had hardly finished his first beer from the first bucket he had ordered (before the game began) by the time I won a second bucket for him.  He had his work cut out for him that day as I don’t care for beer.  I tell this story not to say the highlight of the trip was a day of drinking at the beach (although we were in Cabo), but rather as an example of clear intent and the fact that I am indeed a winner. 

The following week was Thanksgiving, which brought out of town family and friends to the house.  Thanksgiving with the Petrones and the Hopkins is a grand affair with lots of love and appreciation to go around.  Before dinner we listened to a tribute of Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant.  It is the perfect Thanksgiving theme song, and those of us who took the lyrics to heart connected on a different level.  Everyone else was like, “Hey, can we eat yet?”

During December I gave two speeches and did another photo shoot with Tony.  Since my last post I gave one more speech in January, finished all of the requirements to earn my Advanced Leader Bronze award, and was elected as President of my Toastmasters club.  The shoot with Tony was the Victorian & Lace shoot.  Tony and I also did another shoot last weekend, the Red, Purple, & Black shoot.  Updating the photos in my online modeling portfolios is continuing to slowly creep up higher on my agenda, and I expect to post some new photos sometime within the next week.

Of course the end of December also brought some holiday parties, gatherings, and festivities.  Once I finished my shopping (and my speeches), I was able to relax and enjoy the season.  Russ and I spent a week in St. Louis with my family, which was wonderful.  My nieces are the most adorable things ever!  They are so fun to play with, and Santa was really good to me too.