Massage Issues

Today Molly and I went to Massage Envy so that we can get caught up with our prepaid massages. All went well, and I think I left with fewer knots in my neck. I'm always glad I went, since it is quite relaxing. However, it is not completely without a few stresses, which I thought I would share with you - just in case they are your stresses, and might keep you from experiencing the peace and tranquility from having a stranger knead and pound on your nekkid body.

The Clothing Issue - will I get my clothes off and my body under the covers before dude (or dudette) comes in? How does he/she know when I'm done anyway? And did I get my raggedy undies covered up with my regular clothes so dude won't see how really big my granny panties are?

The Most Recent Meal Issue - Did the beans fully digest and therefore divest themselves of their odorous abilities? Ohmigosh - are those my intestines he/she is kneading? Ohmigosh - is that a gas bubble? Are these sheets capable of masking the possibly inevitable?

The Masseuse's Brain Issue - What is he/she really thinking? Is he attempting to locate a knotted muscle through the the mounds of fleshy fat? Is she wondering if the table will support a woman of my size? Is he just making this up as he goes?

The Sleep Issue - Did I fall asleep? Did I snore? Did I drool? Did he/she say something while I was asleep? Can I go back to sleep now?

By the end of the hour, my issues (along with my tight muscles) are all worked out. I don't care if I've fallen asleep, or my underdrawers have fallen on the floor, or the beans have done their magic. I'm rested and refreshed and ready for a new week.

Now if I can just figure out my issue with how much/how/when to tip the dude ...

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Today's blessings: BK breakfast with Sam, Lindley, and Molly; spending the day with Lindley; an hour with Jason at Massage Envy; taking Steve to the airport

The Best Reason To Be Home

A little tambourine plus a little Lindley makes a great day!

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Today's blessings: Lunch with Steve, Sam, Lynnette, and Lindley; unpacking a little from vacation

Shuggah

That has been pretty much the mainstay of my food intake for the past week. I've been on vacation, and apparently a sugar diet has been a staple. We needn't get into the details - let's just say that while I generally don't eat a lot of ice cream, I will if it is microwaved a few seconds to make it soft. And I don't eat cotton candy - unless it's on the kitchen counter of the resort condo. And I can stay away from cookies - unless they're warm from the oven and it's far from home.

Okay, so it's all one big ball of flimsy excuses. Sure, I could have bought carrot sticks instead of cookie dough, but I wasn't on grocery store duty. Sure, I could have not partaken of the bad food, but there were no carrot sticks to eat. So I ate the food available - every sugary bite.

Today we drove back from Florida and I continued my wicked ways. Let's just say Laffy Taffy and Cheetoes were in the front seat with me. Then there were the cinnamon rolls from IKEA. I probably consumed even more, but I don't remember due to the sugar naps that occurred during the trip.

But there is hope on the horizon. Upon our return to Nashville, we went to Molly's for dinner. She had prepared this white stuff that I thought was cotton candy but she said was mashed potatoes. What I thought was fudge was actually roast beef. The corn in question was not of the candy variety, but apparently stuff grown on a farm. And the green things were not licorice but something called beans. My body seemed to breathe a sigh of relief seeing it on my plate.

I figure tomorrow all this intake of sugar will probably bottom out and I will be spending the day passed out on the couch. But apparently at the candy, cookie, and ice cream store they also sell veggies and fruits. I'm hoping to purchase some of that stuff tomorrow during the sugar detox that will be going on.

I just hope I can recover before my return to butt camp on Monday morning. That's when the sugar is really going to hit the fan!!

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Today's blessings: Home again; dinner at Molly's; ATL IKEA success

A Whale of a Day

Today could be entitled, "Perfection - Not - AGAIN!" since today's foray into my "make it" projects was a total and utter disaster. It was so bad that I had to scrap the project and try to salvage it into a new project - which will have to wait until my return home, since we are planning to leave tomorrow. Anyhow, since that post would be pretty much a rehash of the previous two days, luckily I had other goings-on going on today.

Today I went to Sea World.

If you know me at all, you know that Disney World is my main thing when I come to Orlando. We stay there, we eat there, we party there - well, you get the idea. Although I always think about going to Sea World, I don't. Even the few times we have stayed off Disney property and within walking distance to Sea World, I find reasons not to go. Even though I want to.

Well, this visit we are once again staying within walking distance to Sea World. I planned to go to Sea World at some point this week, and decided today was going to be it (which was handy, since we are leaving tomorrow). This morning I set out on foot while Steve set out via car to play golf (which just happens to be at the resort where we are staying).

The walk over wasn't too hard, if you don't count plodding along where there was no sidewalk (note to resort owners - if you want people to walk to CVS down the street, please construct a sidewalk - nobody wants to walk on the three feet of sidewalk, then cross over the 4-lane street to walk on that sidewalk, then cross back over the street to get to CVS). I managed to find my way down this street and that and wound up in the parking lot at Sea World.

I wasn't sure where the entrance was. I'm used to a bus taking me to the exact entrance of whatever park I'm attending. As I entered the parking lot, a security dude in a golf cart stopped. I asked him where the entrance was, and he promptly drove me over across the huge parking lot and deposited me at the entrance. Star #1 for Sea World. I bought my ticket (annual pass, because it was only $20 more than a one-day admission and gets me in for the next 15 months) and went in. Admission deal = Star #2 for Sea World.

Upon my entrance, I saw that Starbucks furnishes their coffee - Star #3. As I strolled along, I saw a Dippin Dots kiosk - need I say that makes Star #4? I consulted the park map and saw that I was in time for the Shamu show (my main reason for loving Sea World). I manage to find my way to Shamu Stadium, and since it was lunchtime, started looking for something to eat.

Unfortunately, this is the only downer of the day - trying to find a burger. Apparently in this section of the park, there were no burger stands. Adding insult to injury is that fact that Sea World only sells - gag - Pepsi products. I decided to go sit in the stadium, when I discovered that hot dogs and hot pretzels are sold there. So, I ate and was ready for the Shamu show.

It was everything I had hoped for (especially since it had been 20+ years since the last time I saw it). Although the trainers are no longer in the water with the whales, it was still pretty cool.

After the show, I wandered around, saw the sharks and dolphins, and headed back to the resort (unfortunately there was no friendly golf cart driver). Since I am an annual passholder, I figured I will be returning during future trips (which would be in December, February, May, and June - so far).

So, that was my day - good things all around and a great way to end this vacation!

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Today's blessings: walk to Sea World, driver at Sea World, Shamu Show; packing up

Perfection - Not - Take Two

So today in my quest to finish those projects mentioned yesterday, I made several huge mistakes. They were so huge it would appear that the projects were destined for the landfill. But I regrouped and redid and finished. The finished product is less than stellar, and I'm really going to have to consider whether the project in question will be a gift or remain in my possession - for purposes to be determined at a later date.

So what did I learn from this particular experience? Read on:

1. "Hope" is not a synonym for "Preparation." Sure, it was a project that I had done before. But hoping that it would just come together without measuring and re-measureing and measuring some more resulted in a somewhat awkward result.

2. Speed in assembly does not result in a superior finish. I whipped through this project in record time - if only I could translate that into my jogging. Anyhow, by the time I thought I was finished, I realized that I was going to have to re-do the whole thing, because I had put it together incorrectly.

3. Good ideas are just that - good ideas. All that is needed to make a good result is good preparation, good procedure, good thinking, and good timing. Oh, and good measuring.

So, in conclusion, I finished the project and learned many lessons in the process. Will it make a difference with my next project? Probably not!

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Today's blessings: Outlet mall-ing and First Watch with Steve; "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" movie while project-ing; Lindley updates via BSC; Wolfgang Puck's with Steve