Appreciating Week 16

Definitely the big news this week is that I passed my exam! I am absolutely thrilled. Though I have been coaching for several years now, I feel so proud to say that I am officially Jamie CPCC. To be a coach, certification is not necessary, but it really hones your skills and provides a standard that clients can feel comfortable with when hiring you. In many ways this whole week has been spent celebrating this accomplishment. Thank you everyone who sent me encouraging words about the exam!

Sunday: We don't generally celebrate Easter in our household (though any excuse for chocolate is fine by me) but this year we had Mom over for dinner. Mom helped both Shannon and I get ahead in our 101 Things in 1001 Days list. For me, having her over did the trick. Shannon has on her list that she'll try 5 new foods. So Mom brought over fresh lychees, an Asian pear and the mangosteens pictured above. I've never even seen them before. It was a lot of fun to cut into them and see what was inside. They are tasty and sweet inside with a little bit of tang. Thanks, Mom!

Monday: The shopping to prep for Holland continues. Of course, the highlight of the day is something I will not be taking with me - this pink suede coat. This picture doesn't do it justice. It fits me like a dream and is exactly the direction that my wardrobe is going. A picture of it on would have been better but I'm still in my pyjamas, hehe.

Tuesday: The big day. This is the day I got the letter from CTI that I had passed. It was so funny because I had promised myself to have champagne chilling in the fridge and during the day I thought, Hmm, I better pick up that champagne. And my examiner had asked me to call him when I got the results. And today I thought, Hmm, it would be perfect if I found out today because I'm home tomorrow and can make that call. When I got home and opened the mailbox I knew it would be there, and I was right! I didn't stop smiling for 24 hours!

Justin & I went out to this local tapas restaurant, Relish. I have to admit that I took this picture from their website because in the excitement I forgot my camera. We were so thrilled when this restaurant opened in our 'hood because the area directly around us is pretty devoid of spots to stop in for a nice bite or a glass of wine. We had a fabulous time laughing, celebrating, drinking an extraordinary bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile that apparently you can only get from a special distributer (dang!) and sampling food from gnocchi to warm olives to teriyaki chicken skewers. It was an awesome way to celebrate.

Wednesday: We actually opened the champagne to celebrate. This year I decided to take a bit of a new approach to my life. I'm quite a planner, organizer, a goal-setting kind of person. I realized that I was doing so much of the planning I wasn't leaving any room for the Universe to work her magic. So for 2006, I have decided to open myself up to possibilities. Today when an amazing opportunity came my way, I knew it was in part due to this change. I'll be sure to share more as things happen.

Thursday: I had my haircut at the Aveda Academy. This is such a great deal. For $30 a student who is in the last stages of their training cuts your hair. It is done under the supervision of an instructor. I've had some excellent haircuts by students at Aveda. I understand that they have locations like this throughout North America. And yes, I left with conditioner - that's one more thing off my 101 list. Yay!

Friday: You may remember that last Friday Shannon and I went on a mission in a neighbourhood we love to find her a place to live. She fell in love with a third-floor apartment in a magnificent old house, and the good news is she got it! We dropped off first and last, and the landlord was nice enough to let us into the apartment again. Shannon took a bazillion pictures, and we talked about colour for the rest of the night!

It's been an incredible week full of excitement and celebration. As a result I didn't post as much as I would like to. And the 21-Day Challenge is over with I think only one post about it from me. Ah, well, it got me started on my art journal and I have kept it every single day! I'm so glad to have a chance to recap the week and catch up with you all!