Mardi Gras

Catch & Release

Community /

Mardi Gras BeadsSo maybe you were at the Mardi Gras parade last weekend and ended up taking a bag full of beads home. Now that bag is sitting next to the door or still in your car and you don’t know what to do with them?

Bring them to Harvest Moon Massage Therapy!

I’ll take care of getting them to Decatur High School’s Developmental Program for recycling. You get them out of your life and Decatur High’s Developmental Program gets job training and a little bit of extra money from re-sale.

It’s a win, Win, WIN!

Here’s more information about the Carnegie Carnival’s Catch & Release program. And the article in the Decatur Daily.

C & R logo

♥

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur’s only master Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapist!

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Mardi Gras Special!

Community /

MardiGrasCreweMany of you probably have already seen that I am on a Mardi Gras Crewe here in Decatur, AL. I’m a charter member of Crewe O’ Ye Crooked Goat, aka Pirate Crewe and you can find us over here if you’re interested in becoming part of our crewe or just like all things piratey.

Anyway, I always try to do a special around Mardi Gras because it’s fun, but this year the stakes are being raised.

Recently, the Carnegie Carnival parlayed with Decatur High School Developmental Program and began a proper recycling program for all the Mardi Gras beads that are flung about during the parades. The developmental center will wash, sort, and re-bundle all the beads collected and then put them back into circulation for next year’s celebration. All proceeds from the recycling program will benefit the developmental program. Win! Win! Win!

Last year you’ll remember we were an informal collection point for Mardi Gras beads after the parade. As of today, we are now an OFFICIAL Carnegie Carnival collection point for beads that will be recycled through the developmental program.

So, without further ado…

Bring in a fistful of Mardi Gras beads to recycle and you will receive $10 off your massage.

This offer is good one per customer and runs from February 14th – March 31st.

Want to get in on the fun? Carnegie Carnival Mardi Gras schedule is here! Hope to see you at the parade on February 14th!

Or you could just become a pirate and join our Crewe! Ask me how.

It’s so easy a PIRATE could do it!

 #MyDecaturAL

♥

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Only Bamboo Fusion Therapist!

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What Are You Doing Saturday Night?

Business & Marketing for Massage /

Pirate GCsWant to go to a party?

I won’t be there, I’ve got that pesky final training and exam for Manual Lymph Drainage, but there’s going to be a band of pirates partying over in Decatur.

The party is actually for a good cause. Our pirate crewe (Crewe O’ Ye Crooked Goat) has nominated the very talented chef Jake Reed (of Albany Bistro) for (Pirate) King of Mardi Gras 2015. The party will be part, party with the Pirates and part silent auction.

Come have your picture made with a real pirate, experience the Crate O’ Shame, grub n’ grog, and bid on some very interesting items. Two of which will be the lovely gift certificates for massage from the Lady of the Harvest Moon aka me!

Details on where and when are over here on Facebook. If you don’t Facebook, leave a comment and I’ll get you more information.

♥

mardigras-Sharon2 Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy!

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Upcoming Events at Harvest Moon Massage Therapy

Business & Marketing for Massage /

List

So I was just looking at my calendar and trying to figure out how to get all of this information out to my public. I figured the easiest way (for me) would be to list it all out for you. You know how I like a good list, so here goes. Hope to see you at some of these events!

February 22nd – Jake for King!

As many of you know I am heavily involved in the Carnegie Carnival as a member of the Crewe O’ Ye Crooked Goat. This year we have nominated the fine and wonderful Jake Reed for next year’s Carnival King. We are sponsoring a fund raiser and silent auction to help Jake win. Come on out and party with the pirates!

February 22nd & 23rd – MLD Certification Finals

Unfortunately I won’t be at the Pirate Party and Fundraiser because I’ll be in Birmingham completing my Manual Lymph Drainage certification course. I am regretting missing the party, but am so excited about finally earning my certification for MLD!

March 1st – Mardi Gras Parade!

Arrrrr… long live Crewe O’ Ye Crooked Goat! If you are anywhere in north Alabama, you really should come see the spectacle! We are defending our first place parade trophy this year and we hear the competition is outdoing themselves. Of course, they haven’t seen our float yet. ARrrrrr!!!

March 14th -16th – AMTA Alabama Board Retreat

Including the word “retreat” is probably the biggest misnomer in history here. It’s really just a two and a half -day long meeting for the Board of Directors to strategize and plan the upcoming year’s activities. Can you say, sore rear end?

March 22nd – Grand Opening Celebration!

The Grand Opening Celebration for our beautiful, new space! We’ll have hors d’ oeuvres and some kind of beverage for you as you see the new place, meet and visit with all our providers. Tiny gifts and maybe even a door prize or two may be involved.

April 5th – Partner Massage Class

The very first Partner Massage Class will be held at Harvest Moon Massage Therapy & Reflexology. RSVP today as space is limited and I expect this class to fill quickly!

So that concludes the list of upcoming activities. In the meantime I’m taking appointments and working to get all the finishing details into the new space. We are still looking for someone to rent our third room. So if you know someone, now would be a great time to let them know we have a lovely space for them to rent. The sooner we get a third, the better.

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Raiding a Bar With a Band of Pirates

1 Comment / Massage PSAs /

Shortly after Mardi Gras and the big parade I was talking with a friend of mine who came to last year’s parade and hung around for the after-party. Last year there was no formal Krewe Party so we made it up as we went along and ended up in the bar side of a local Italian restaurant.

In the conversation he mentioned that he had a lot of fun, “Raiding a bar with a band of pirates,” and that night had fulfilled something that he didn’t even know was on his bucket list.

I started laughing because I had never actually considered one, that we were a “band of pirates” and two, that we “raided” places. But that’s exactly what happened that night. A gnarly-looking band of foul-mouthed pirates took over a bar and spent the evening drinking and carousing. Just what you would expect them to do.

Which is so far from what I do in my real life that it is shocking that I was even a part of it. But they say that clothes really do make the man and apparently putting on the coat and hat and sword really do make the pirate.

Since the conversation I have thought back to him saying that it fulfilled something he didn’t even know was on his bucket list. And after processing the superficial meaning of the conversation and continuing to come back to it, it has occurred to me that this is what life is about.

Being open to the things that you don’t even know are on your bucket list. Living life wide open and experiencing it as it happens and loving it. Good, bad, and ugly, just take it, live it, and love it.

I’ve been talking about fun stuff, but as I’m aging I’m also learning an appreciation for the tougher things, the painful things and learning to be thankful for all the times I’ve come through, good and bad. Because it gives me experience to draw from and confidence that next time perhaps it won’t be so hard or painful. And thankful for the practice of living life now so next time it gets bad I won’t despair.

I guess what I’m ultimately trying to say is that along with enjoying the journey, just be open to what life brings you. Or as those gnarly pirates might say, “Storm and plunder, baby!”

♥

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Ashi-Thai Massage

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Sailing Through Mardi Gras

Massage PSAs /

KreweOYeCrookedGoat-MardiGras2013All I have to say about this year’s Mardi Gras parade is, Wow!

Okay, you knew I couldn’t just say, wow, and leave it at that. Wow! OMG! I still can’t believe how much fun that was! {Doing the funky chicken dance…} Okay, whew, calming down a little bit now.

We had a good time. Check that, we had a great time!

There’s nothing like spending time with your friends working toward a common goal. Even if the goal is something really weird like building a pirate ship on a trailer then dressing up in thrift store finds and running around clashing plastic swords with each other.

Until Sunday I didn’t realize how crappy the start of this year has been for me. Issues with my other job, a couple of unexpected deaths and some niggling family issues that just won’t go away have combined to bring me down in these dreary, rainy days that are typical for southeastern U.S. winter weather. And as usual I smile and soldier on employing the ‘fake it til you make it’ mentality until I’m so far into a trench I can’t see the sun anymore.

Mardi Gras was a good excuse to kick my hermitey self in the butt and get around friends. And no matter how sad or crappy I was feeling when I got to a work session, by the time I left, I was glad I went. My friends (new and old) always have a way of lifting my spirits just enough. Whether they’re feeding me tasks to do and leaving me alone or we’re all hauling on a rope to pull a mast upright, it helps.

And then seeing the finished product and getting to take our awesome, hard, and creative work and put it out on the street to entertain the masses. Seeing those little kids’ face’s light up at real, live pirates, it did something for me. Watching the delight wash over the adults when they realized we were for real and that ship wasn’t just cardboard and spit, but actual wood and nails and canvas. It cracked something open in my heart just a little bit.

And I think that’s what I’m trying to write about today. How getting out of my head and doing something with others and for others and just being open to letting life in instead of shutting everything out helps to start healing something I didn’t consciously realize was broken. Perhaps my instinct to shut down, hunker down and feed my turtle should be an indicator in the future that I need some time with friends. Perhaps…

Thank goodness for my crazy, artistic friends who envision these nutty things for us to do. I’m not sure what I would do without them. For sure this life would be a lot less fun.

P.S. – We won the trophy for 1st place for our float. Pictures over here, if you’re interested.

P.S.S. – Only two of my clients made a spectacle of themselves. Lucky them! I hope they’re not giving up massage for Lent…

♥

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Fijian Barefoot Massage Massage

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Do You Mardi Gras?

1 Comment / Specials /
Photo Courtesy of Julie Ankrom, AOBT Extraordinaire
Photo Courtesy of Julie Ankrom, AOBT Extraordinaire

Yes it’s a verb, Mardi Gras, it’s something we do anyway. Fat Tuesday in translation or Tuesday Fat if you want to get super specific. I’m just here for the good time so I don’t care what you call it. But let’s get to it, shall we.

The reason I’m writing about Mardi Gras here on the 2nd of February is because I want to invite you to a parade! Now if you’re wondering what parades and massages have in common, not a lot unless you slap a massage table and a set of portable bars on a float and have your therapist do a bit of Ashi as you stream past thousands of possibly drunk and definitely jealous individuals. Maybe not such a grand recipe for personal safety.

Of course, after the parade, that’s when massage comes in. All those folks dancing and prancing their way down 2nd to Bank and on to Church, they’re going to be needing a massage. I should hand out cards.

Anyway, on to the invitation.

When: February 9th @ 6pm

Where: Decatur, Alabama beginning at 2nd and Gordon and traveling to Bank and Church

Why: Because it’s tons of fun, lots of throws and I’m going to be on Krewe O’ Ye Crooked Goat again this year. Check out the Carnegie Carnival website for more details on all the activities and beneficiaries of our event!

And because I’m shamelessly promoting myself today. If you make a spectacle of yourself and I catch you doing it, I’ll give you a gift on the spot. I haven’t actually decided what the gift will be, but I guarantee it will have something to do with massage and that you will like it. I probably need to decide on a code word so I don’t just walk up to random folks who are celebrating a bit too rambunctiously. How about, “Are you my massage therapist?” Yes, that will do. Ask me if I’m your massage therapist at the Mardi Gras parade and you receive a gift.

♥

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Ashi-Thai Massage

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