365-40 Blushing Buttercups

365-39 Honeysuckle vine

365*-38 Refreshing

365-37 Bears

365-36 Lone White Flower

365-35 After the rain....

365-34 Tiny reflections

Why did I wait so long?

My birthday was earlier this month and my oldest daughter gave me a gift certificate for a one hour massage. I have never in my life had a full body massage and  I so wish i had gotten the nerve to have one sooner. Boy was i missing out! I had always wanted one but was nervous about it due to the whole strip-down thing. Like a lot of women i have a lack of confidence and body hang-ups. Isn't it awful how we miss out on some great experiences because of hang-ups we push on ourselves for things that no one else pays anymind to. Sometimes we can get over them, many times we can't. In this case i was kind of forced out of my safe little box to try a new experience. All my nervousness had been for nothing - here is a recap for those of you curious to try, but also nervous of the unknown.
When i walked in to the store i was asked to fill out a form with a few questions such as if i had any injuries, taking any meds, under a doctors, care, what kind of work do you do, etc. This all helps the massage therapist know what type of treatment might be best for you and what parts of the body she may  need to focus on the most. In my case since i'm hunched over a computer most of the day at my job, she focused on my shoulders and lower back. The forms also confirm that at no time will those parts of the body in the swim suit zone be exposed.
My daughter had splurged and also added in an aromatherapy treatment. Once i had filled out the forms (2) i got to choose what scents i wanted. These would be mixed into the lotion that would be used during my massage. I had 7 choices and all sounded enticing but since i was a tad bit anxious about this experience i choose the anxiety aromatherapy. This featured lavender, chamomile and vetiver, citrus and clary sage and according to the brochure, promised to "promote a sense of inner peace and harmony while easing nervousness, irritability and apprehension."
Once that was done, i was shown into the "tranquility" room. A small waiting room with calming music, comfy chairs and a water fountain. It was very tranquil and wish i had one at home i could escape to when i want to just relax and read.

After a few minutes, Martha, my massage therapist came to get me. She introduced herself and was very pleasant all the while asking questions to help her gauge and confirm what i wanted out of the experience (knead out my shoulder knots and some relaxation). We came to the massage room which had dim lighting and the same calm music from the tranquility room. She told me to undress and get under the sheets face down and she would be back in 2 minutes. It felt funny undressing for something that was not a doctor appointment. Once Martha came back in she began to work her magic on my poor shoulders and back. It was so relaxing and before i knew it the hour was up! i didn't think it would go by as fast as it did and i was dissapointed when she said we were done.
In addition to the relaxation benefits there are additional health benefits as well to having a regular massage -

• Helps boost your immune system
• Helps relieves symptoms of PMS such as water retention and mood swings
• Helps reduce stress hormone levels
• Helps reduce blood pressure
• and more depending on your health and activities!

For anyone who has never had one it really is a must try experience. There are several chains out there (massage envy is one) that offer the service for a not too expensive price plus the convenience of night and/or weekend appointments. Massage schools also offer great deals (they have to practice on someone right?).  Step out of your comfort zone and give yourself this time of pampering. It will help you be in better mental and physical health to keep up with the demands of work and family! It is so worth it.

This Tuesday is for the Birds

Today is Tuesday and i don't feel i've accomplished much of anything this week. I've been off from work since last Friday. Taking a short "staycation". It was a dreary weekend - cloudy, chilly and rain. Today was the first time we have seen sunshine in the past few days. I've been trying to spruce up my garden and finish up some projects.

Some White Winged Doves have finally decided to come to my feeder that i put up last week. They seem to be having some difficulties as they are too big and my feeder is too small.They teeter and the birds lose their balance. They do love eating the seed that spills on the ground until our little dog runs out and chases them off. i managed to get some photos of them in the trees where they would fly to wait until the dog goes back in the house and they can go back down for more seed.

365-34

Later i took a walk to a nearby park. There were a couple of mom and older people taking what must be their regular morning walks. A couple of ducks were swimming along hoping someone would toss them a couple of pieces of bread. When we were younger, my mom would bring us to this same little area to feed the ducks. They never seem to get enough of the bread.

 I've lived in this suburb for 40 years now and not much has changed. And here it is almost at the end of my week and not much has changed around the house either. All the projects i wanted to get done are for the most part still undone. I will have to be super woman during the next 2 days and see what i can get accomplished. If i can get my files cleared out and everything else filed aways properly that will be a huge accomplishment. Then my sewing table will once more be my sewing table vs. my catch all table.

365-33 beckoning fountains

365-32 Bloomin Color

365-31 Tulip Woes

365-30 drink offering

Water caught in a tulip petal offers the perfect drink

365-29 Bluebonnets

These are newly planted in my garden.

365-28 striped beauty

365-27

Texas Stadium is no more

Well this famous landmark is now literally dust. The local tv stations have been going on for weeks about the upcoming implosion of this famous landmark. I had not planned on getting up at the crack of dawn to watch the live telecast. It is (or was) after all just a building. I figured a lot of guys probably would. Explosions and such seem to be their thing. 
But i woke up at 6 a.m. The parking lot was going to open at 2 a.m. to  let people in (at $25 a carload) who wanted to watch the event up close and personal. Definitely not going to do that. But since i was awake i figured  might as well get up and see it on tv.
Many memories there and not just of Dallas Cowboy games. I personally had only attended a few events there. My freshman year of high school our football team made district playoffs and the game was held in Texas Stadium. I begged my parents to let me go with a friend and miracle of miracles they said yes. We drove down in her yellow camaro and it was so cool to watch our team play on the same field as the Dallas Cowboys. We lost, but it was still cool. Three years later at this same stadium i walked across a stage on the 50 year yard line to receive my diploma at the graduation ceremony.
i was also lucky enough to attend a couple of Dallas Cowboy games there FREE. i won tickets on two separate occasions through a local radio station and we had great seats. That was fun and exciting too. There were also numerous times that my kids and i worked at a hot dog stand there to help raise funds for their high school band. that was not so fun, but it was for a good cause.

And of course so many other games and events that were televised. In a matter of two minutes it all came crashing down. I could hear the fireworks and the actual 'demise' of the stadium at my house which is about 15 miles away. Plans are now for this area to be a very modern and large area for business and shopping and also most likely townhomes, condos, etc. The old and no longer useful now makes way for modern development.

Yes the building is now a pile of rubble and dust and soon to be totally gone, but the memories will live forever.

In the lower left corner of the above postcard you can see Texas Stadium as it once was in all its glory.

365-26 Black and White

It's follow friday!

Hope i'm doing this right. I've not done a Friday Follow before but excited to find new blogs and new friends.




       

365-25 Greeting the morning sunlight

365-24 furry friend

This little guy is so cute~!

365-23 Buzz Buzz

I had heard that bees were becoming scarce which does not bode well for our eco system. I was glad to see this one visiting my plants.

New Stage to Come

So many of the blogs I’ve come across lately have had to do with young mother’s just starting their families and all that entails with babies. Some have to do with older school age children and a whole new set of experiences. How great to have been able to have this network of women back in the day when my kids were little to compare notes and chat with each other on what’s normal and what might need some extra attention. I am now at the brink of a new stage in my life. My kids are all in college (although still living at home) and my body is now officially into the peri-menopause stage. Let’s just say I’m not liking this stage ONE BIT!


I’ve always been lucky in that I’d never had severe cramping, pms or other heavy duty side effects of Mother Nature’s monthly visits. Now all of sudden I’m getting the cramping, the hot flashes and to make it truly official irregular periods. I just had one a couple of weeks ago and now here we go again!!

I had done some gardening yesterday and thought the back ache was from all the work I’d done in the yard. At first I was a little worried thinking something else might be wrong so I googled and came across a site that gives all the symptoms and that was one of them. I’ve always been regular as a clock and could plan around them, looks like no longer. My doctor says I could have a hysterectomy and have the whole mess over and done with but that would be major surgery and six weeks of recuperating – no thanks.

Although this is an inconvenience, its tolerable and I think I’ll (literally) just sweat it out and hope this for me will be a short run. The site does say though that all this could last a few months or a few years!! I’ve been feeling the hot flashes already since last year so hopefully I don’t have too much longer to go. Even though I’m in my late 40s (48 this Friday!) I’m so ready to get on to the next stage and be free and happy go lucky from mother nature’s inconvenient and meddle some visits (just like some family members huh?).

Another symptom that is really affecting me is the memory loss – earlier today I was having the hardest time trying to remember ‘calamari’. It was on the tip of my tongue but for the life of me I could not remember the name of that seafood! Very frustrating. Even more so when it has to do with work projects.

I guess I should go visit everybody’s fave doctor (I guess it is when you are trying to or in the process of having babies) – my gyn/ob and make sure everything checks out ok. I haven’t been in a couple of years because at my last visit they added another procedure (again due to the age factor). I now get to have a rectal exam too. I have found that all that Lamaze training has come in handy during the gyno visits.

Well all you young ‘uns enjoy and everyone else, I know you feel my pain. I would appreciate any helpful tips or insights.

365-22 - Bubbles!

I love how the bubbles came out in this photo and i can't wait to learn more on how to edit in Photoshop elelments so that i can remove the background images.

365-21 Expression

The interpretation on the expression below is in the eye of the beholder. could it be contentment -  melancholy - contemplation - serenity - peace - at prayer .....

365-21

If you knew this was a photo of a statue of the Virgin Mary, how would that influence your interpretation of her expression?

365-20 Bulbs aplenty

This unique lamp is made up of large christmas light bulbs -

365-19 Little critter

After several tries, i was finally able to get a pretty good close up shot of this elusive little bugger.