First Annual Winter Shopping & Pampering Food Drive

On Saturday, November 21 Reconnecting hosted its first ever Winter Shopping and Pampering Food Drive; and, as much as that might have been a tongue twister, the success will be allowing many taste-buds - and bellies, for that matter - in need to have a better holiday this season.

The event cost Four (4) canned goods to enter and provided the guests with a meal of Sloppy Joes, Buffalo Chicken Dip, Grapes & Strawberries, Carrots & Broccoli and drinks.

The guests also got to buy unique Christmas gifts from Mary Kay, Watkins, Pampered Chef, Party Lite, a local wood craft booth and/or a primitive craft-maker booth.

And, of course, Massage Therapy, Paraffin Dip, and Reflexology pamperings were offered the whole day, making this Shopping Experience far superior over Black Friday, hands down.

Not only was it alot of fun, but we collected 73 goods and nearly $100 for Clarion's Food Bank!!

Thank you to all who came out and made this such a success; and, hopefully we'll see all of you next year.

Massage for Soldiers

Whether or not you agree with the war overseas, one thing stands true for us all: We are grateful for the brave ones who are sent there and thankful when they return.
Recently, men and woman returned in this and surrounding counties and will spend the next few months reacquainting themselves with family, and hopefully an atmosphere of peace and balance.
Among all the things family could do for their returned loved ones, scheduling a professional massage should definitely be on the list. Although many are aware of using massage to relax a little bit, there are those who are unaware of the many benefits that go far beyond pampering the body.
Various massage techniques can be used to help break down tension within muscles that have become programmed to stay tense in anticipation and can re-learn how to relax. Massage can also help with the release of endorphins, our body’s ‘feel-good’ hormone, as well as assist the body’s production of serotonin, a hormone that’s crucial to keep balanced in those suffering from depression.
Additionally, giving the body a chance to relax in a near meditative state can assist receivers in getting better REM sleep, the phase of sleep when the body rests as well as heals itself from daily activities. Best of all, the relaxed response a body has following a massage can last 2, 3, and sometimes as long as 4 days afterwards.
Because I believe whole-heartedly in the benefits of massage, I’ll be offering free half-hour massages to soldiers who’ve just returned, with the option of upgrading to an hour for a small fee from now until November 30, 2009. Just call (814) 226-5151 for more details.

Reconnecting Mini-Retreat

Every year, my massage association Associated Massage & Bodywork Professionals (ABMP) sponsors Everybody Deserves a Massage Week, requesting massage therapists to not only spend some time educating their community about massage but also finding a way to give back.

This was the first year I was able to contribute and, apparently, decided to do it big. For the first time since I've been in business, Reconnecting hosted a Charity Event: Reconnecting Mini-Retreat, with all the proceeds benefiting Charitable Deeds in Clarion.

The Mini-Retreat offered three pamperings for $25 with choices between Hypno-meditation, chair massage, reflexology, and Mary Kay Satin Hands and paraffin dip. Along with the Mary Kay booth, we also had a Pampered Chef consultant, purse party booth, and Young Living Essential oils.

Everybody who offered some sort of service also participated in the Chinese auction which included gift certificates for massage or reflexology, a Dolce and Gabanna hand bag, a Pampered Chef Mandolin, a flower arrangement from Flowers and Bows, among other items.

All in all, it was a fun day for me, vendors and volunteers, and visitors, who all walked away with a bag containing information from just about every business who participated and a few vouchers for future services.

I think I'm safe in saying it was a success as I report gifting Charitable Deeds $362 solely from this event!

And, because it was so much fun, there's talk of doing something before Christmas this winter . . . only time will tell.

Roll-On, Deep Relief, Roll-On

A few weeks ago I was fighting a cold. You know the kind: you wake up in the morning with a dry throat and spend the day hoping it doesn't turn into anything, only to learn by the end of the day that all that hoping would have been better spent on world peace.

This time, something as simple as a dry throat became so much more as it clogged the sinuses and created the sensation of an elephant sitting on my face, an elephant that starts kicking and stomping every time I attempt to bend over.

The problem with my colds is that it doesn't end there, my colds always travel to my weakest area - my ears.

I proceeded with my usual cold treatment of drinking extra water, Eucalyptus Globulus slathered over my neck and throat, and wish for more sleep. Oh, and maybe some cursing towards modern medicine for not figuring out how to actually cure the common cold.

Then I got my monthly Young Living order and even though I'd forgotten what new thing I'd decided to try, I was excited to see one of their new roll-on essentials oils blends - Deep Relief. It's actually formulated specifically to help with muscle relief because of the essential oil combination it contains (including peppermint, balsam fir, wintergreen and more); but, I figured it couldn't  hurt to put it on my neck along the area of Eustachian tubes in hopes things would start draining better than it had in a few days.

Immediately, I felt my congestion loosen and the pressure in my face relieve a little bit.

I can't say that it made my cold go by faster, but I can definately guarantee that it made it a little more bearable. And, it was nice taking off the cap and actually just rolling the oil onto my neck without having to worry about what might still linger on my hands after each time I used it.

Along with the cold symptom relief, it's also come in pretty handy warding off possible tension headaches after a long day of massaging.

It's safe to say it's another oil I'll make sure I never run out of.

Welcome, Katrina

A new year often spurs changes. Some changes are a result of things we didn't like of the previous year and we don't want to re-experience; other changes are just a way of moving forward.

One change Reconnecting will be experiencing is of the latter, a movement forward:

There were a handful of days during the last few months of 2008 I noticed a significant increase in business for which I could have used a little bit of help. After much thought, I decided it would be a good idea to contract another therapist to help with the occasional overflow of clients as well as assist with the increasing request of couples and/or friends coming together for a massage.

And, much as it always happens when we're accept-ant of change, I met Katrina who recently finished school and was looking for a place to build her own clientele.

Katrina graduated from CUP's Venango Campus 600 hour Massage Therapy Certification program in August of 2008.

Although she is currently an employee at a local care-giving business, she also offers massage on an on-call basis at the Clarion River Lodge in Cooks Forest. She's anxious to start building a regular clientele at Reconnecting and has already started seeing a few clients of her own as well as helped with a few couples/friends massages. All the clients that Katrina gains from her own hard work at advertising or from Reconnecting's overflow of business will remain her clients as long as she's contracted with Reconnecting (additionally, all clients already seen by Donna will continue to be considered her clients and only seen by her).


Katrina has a strong technique and a passion to learn through teaching and experience. She's not fully sure of where she wants massage to take her in life; but she's considering additional training in massage for Cancer patients.

If you've already seen Katrina for a massage and enjoyed it or felt better afterwards, don't forget to reschedule. And, don't forget to tell your friends and family.