Almost time

In less than one week I will be traveling to Bali for the workshop of a lifetime.  Surreal. Yep, surreal.

I am usually an extremely organized trip planner and packer.  The neurotic one that makes a folder with ridiculous amounts of information on the area, lodging, etc.  And now...I'm traveling further than I've ever been and I've done...well...not much of anything.

I don't feel rattled but rather have this desire to travel light and let the trip unfold.  I do acknowledge that at some point this week I am going to have to do something with these empty suitcases that are starring at me, I'm just not sure when ;)

And unfolding this journey is.  The original tickets for the trip were purchased through Travelocity four months ago.  One word of advice, NEVER do that. EVER! In a nut shell, they lost the connection in Korea and cancelled the tickets.  That left me and my travel buddy, Miriam, without tickets two weeks before our trip!  After an initial freakout, 7 hours on the phone with customer service (I use that term loosely) at Travelocity, a call to Chase Bank to dispute the charges so I could get the money back to rebook another flight (they wanted to wait 6 weeks to refund), we are now booked through another company. 

This is where it gets interesting or at least the trip will be.  Because we booked so last minute (thanks again Travelocity!) we are now leaving one day earlier and added 8 hours to an already crazy long trip resulting in a 38 hour journey one way and will now be traveling to locations such as Moscow Russia, Frankfurt Germany and Singapore in our quest to arrive in Bali...of course at a increased rate from our original ticket.  Again, thank you Travelocity.

What's that saying...it's not the destination, it's the journey?

And you know what?  It is the journey.  I've never had this much down time in my life.  I refuse to be frustrated by it and will embrace the gift hidden in this hot little mess and savor it.  Life is what you make it and this is champagne suffering.  I'm going to flippin' Bali! Oh my gosh, I'm actually going!

Subscribe to my blog if you are interested in updates along the way.  I plan to blog my way around the globe, taking  timeouts to be in the moment, spending time with amazing teachers and absorbing the magic that is Bali.

Peace.
Lorie

It's been a while...

Yeah, it's been a while since I blogged.  I think I blog in my head sometimes, does that count?

Anyway, it's been an amazing summer so far.  Full of high points and of course a few of those moments that slap you back to reality.  Reality checks are good, not enjoyable, but purposeful.

Highlights for the summer.  A getaway to Bimini.

My son asked if I was trapped in a Cornona commercial...well, duh!

And yes, it did wash it all away....

Of course, I returned as most of us do, and hit the ground running.

Lots of AMAZING stuff going on  right now!  The business is growing and growing and ugh, the business side of business is not nearly as much fun as attending a birth.  I know, I know.   I am grateful. I am blessed. I am tired.

Speaking of AMAZING....we co-sponsored the "Big Latch On" event for breastfeeding awareness yesterday.  Wow. Just wow, the number of families that came out and participated.  It was like an Amazing Births & Beyond reunion.  My heart was full.

Stacy & I at the ABB table!

BIG crowd for the latching. So awesome!

It has recently come to my attention that the Bali trip begins in 9 weeks! Holy smoke, when the trip was planned back in January, it felt like a lifetime away.  Not anymore.  Excitement for the workshop is building and final plans are being made. Whoo hoo, this is really happening! Total immersion birthing workshop in what I'm envisioning as one of the most beautiful places on earth...yeah, maybe a tad bit giddy ;)

Miriam and I have decided to do a little fundraiser for Bumi Sehat, Robin Lim's birth center in Bali.  Of course it will be ridiculously silly and hopefully do the trick and raise some funds.  Thank you to Tricia at Click.Capture.Create. Photography for capturing the images and to writer David Stebbins for lending his creative genius to the campaign.  ALL will be revealed this week.  Silly, yes. Ridiculous, but of course. Effective, please help us make it so for SUCH a worthwhile cause.

Here's your clue....curious now?  I REALLY HOPE SO ;)

Well, I'm off to go pull myself together to teach a HypnoBirthing Class this morning.  Stacy, the usual instructor is at a birth.  This has been the flavor of the last couple of months, so many births and lots of impromptu filling in.  It's honestly a wonderful feeling to sense so much energy coursing through the little birth house.

Life is good.  It really is.

Peace.
Lorie

It happened...

The morning  of Friday, June 22, 2012 started out with a flurry of activity!  Two first-time mamas were in labor, one was a homebirth in Jupiter and the other, our potential FIRST birth center birth.  The birth teams assembled, plans were made and we were all off to our respective positions.

Midwife Miriam, Allie and I headed to Jupiter to assess that mama with the hopes that we would be back before the birth center client gave birth.  It appeared to be neck and neck all day as we were updated of the happenings at the birth house.

SO...

at 5:05pm, the first baby was born at the Palms Birth House.  Please welcome baby Laine Jean!  It was a sweet, sweet birth and I would love to say that I was present, but alas, I cannot tell a lie ;)

The faces of joy!

Exactly two hours and 5 minutes later, beautiful Ruby Christina was sweetly born in her parents bed.

The birth team, including Lucy the pup!

After settling in this sweet family, we headed back to the birth house to meet our "first family" and tie up the loose ends of the day.  It was quite a day!  Two sweet births = One terrific day!

**Giggle of the day was provided by our office girl, Angie.  She went to Midwife Miriam's car to retrieve a stamp pad for the babies foot prints and returned with a placenta.  I think her expression pretty much sums up how she felt about the discovery!

 I think she likes it??

**Lesson of the day was provided by the universe.  You are EXACTLY where you are supposed to be. Period :)


Anyway....so, it's official!  We are open for business at the birth house.  Thank you to Laine's parents who trusted us with their special delivery.  May there be MANY more babies to be born in our little house. 

Peace.

Mission Accomplished!

It's all a little surreal right now.  Actually a lot.

The Palms Birth House has been recommended for license as a birth center.  (oh gosh, I'm crying again...)

The analogy of birth is and was very much relevant to this whole process. Kind of ironic, huh?!

First of all, it has taken 9 months (yes, we started LAST August!)

Secondly, the inspection process was very much like a LABOR.  A very long, challenging labor.  One where we needed support, lots of support.  The care provider/aka our one dimensional inspector was not a great fit for us.   (If this were an actual OB/Midwife, we would have ran. Ran Fast. Ran to another provider with a similar view point.)  We did the best we could with the hand we were dealt.  Kinda like an OP baby lol.  You know that if you can just work with it, be patient, it will be okay.  That fighting the process will not get you the results you are looking for.  To give you an idea of what we were dealing with..."This is an inspection, NOT a discussion..." yes, this was our inspectors mantra. (remember...this is the same inspector that failed us the first time!)

As the day went on (5 hrs) we were literally breathing and pacing...a few tears were shed...we fought the desire to escape and just forget about it....our confidence was shaken and then bolstered...and then....

We gave birth to the ONLY birth center in Palm Beach County.

And she is beautiful.

And more tears were shed. Lots of them.

Time to celebrate...and fix our makeup ;)

Thank you. Simply thank you to all of you who supported us from conception to birth.  Thank you to my amazing husband who gave up his entire summer last year to create something beautiful at "our little house"...thank you to my parents and ALL of the people who came and painted, planted and gave of their time and money to be part of our vision.  Thank you to all of you (and you know who you are) that doula'd us thru our labor via texting and facebook.  Thank you Rivkah for my favorite quote of the day during our labor..."if you can build it, you can birth it"....thank you Beatriz for the holy water...luckily no one burst into flames, including our inspector ;)

Peeks at the journey....

Painting...and painting...and painting last summer.

Thank you honey...I love your support of my dreams!

Thank you Stephanie for adorning our walls with your talent and spirit!

Zak man-ing up with a beer to go with the pink paint!

 

Thank you Michael for your talent and humor!

Construction Yoga...there's always time for yoga ;)

 We are excited about the future of this little birth house and the option now available to families in Palm Beach County.  The women of Amazing Births & Beyond and the Palms Birth House are grateful for the continued support of us both professionally and personally. Eternally grateful.

Peace and Gratitude.

We love you.  We honestly do.

Work and Play in NYC

Once again Vivian and I are teaching the HypnoBirthing Practitioner training in New York.  Once I get here, I am reminded why I really love this particular training location.

First of all NYC is awesome, exhausting, delicious and kooky.  On our first full day here we tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to hail a cab during rush hour.  My feminine ego took a hit when the cab finally stopped for us and then darted around us to grab a business man instead of Vivian and I.  Ouch, that hurt lol.  My ego was salved last night on the sidewalk when Vivian and I were trying to figure out how to get to a particular restaurant and a sharp dressed man stopped and assisted us.  Thank you...that was nice and needed ;)

Secondly, we always seem to manifest a large group of amazing women for these particular trainings.  Our venue this time is the Open Center NYC.  I cannot say enough about this wonderful place and the staff members here.  What a mecca of holistic trainings and lectures.  Our current group consist of 22 enthusiastic women who are going to be incredible agents of change in the birthing world.  I am so inspired to see the sincere concern that these women have for current birthing practices and their burning desire to change those practices in their communities.  Wow. Simply wow.

Back at the birth house it was nice to see that it was business as usual.

Does this really need a caption??

After our training, we stumbled upon a Rebecca Minkoff sample sale and went a little crazy...or at least Vivian did lol!  I somehow contained myself to only one purchase that I LOVE!

Insane...REALLY insane mob!

After our shopping adventure, we ventured out in search of Moroccan food.  We took a shot in the dark and hit the mark! We dined at Cafe Mogador in the East Village.  The Tagines were AMAZING...spicy, sweet and very savory and the Ginger Martini was beyond explanation and had a very unexpected flavor in a yummy way. 

Of course we had to have dessert!

Moroccan Mint Tea finished the meal

It was a very full day and after dinner we took our very satisfied and weary selves back to our apartment on the Upper West Side (thank you OPEN Center for the accommodations) and called it a day. 

Tomorrow, another adventure!

Peace.