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The Evolution Continues – What’s your Happy?

I’ll start off by saying that my first resolution for my 42nd year SHOULD have been “I’ll blog more”.  I’ve been letting my online transformation diary slide.  For the five people who read my posts, I’m sorry.  I’m also sorry that you’ll probably have to suffer with my transformation into my 43rd trip around the sun, because, well…Hulu.

So a recap on my amazing summer.  Last post reported an impending trip to Mexico, with my friend Amanda.  We had an AMAZING time.  We have both vowed we need to go back.  It turns out that amazing ideas happen in the Mexican sun drinking mimosas and Coronas.  I’m not going to lie, we were friggin’ brilliant (just ask us!).  I was also a crispy lobster when we came back, and that’s ok.  Part of being Scandinavian is still having tan lines in September.  Truth.

Then came June, when Amanda and I hit the road to join a thousand of our closest friends at Nile Supreme Session in Ohio.  I learned a few things:  Always road trip with Amanda, she’s awesome; Humidity really, really sucks; neither of those statements has anything to do with the profound lack of a coffee maker in our room until Amanda spent an hour in a valiant attempt to keep us awake in a week where we would desperately need it; The Millennium in Cincinnati needs more elevators; my friend Mary is super human and a force to be reckoned with; my counterparts across the country make me smile and laugh like no one else can, and I continue to be in awe of my friend Heather and her awesomeness.  Supreme Session Two did NOT bring injury (as did Supreme Session One), it only brought Joy.  Even with the humid.

July passed by quickly as I planned for another spontaneous surprise trip.  Unbeknownst to Mary, I was planning to kidnap her and take her to Vegas.  Remember what I said above about her being Superhuman?  You don’t know the half of it.  She is CONSTANTLY doing things for everyone else and never asks for anything in return. After watching her rock life beyond anything I’ve ever even seen her do before while we were at Supreme, I decided someone needed to take action and give her a relaxing weekend.  As word spread (this is the beauty of Nile – 30 people knew where we were going, and NO ONE told Mary!) it amazed me how much EVERYONE appreciated Mary, and several people sent along things to make Mary’s trip super special for her.

For 38 days prior to the trip, Mary received a hint a day – she knew we were going somewhere, but had no idea where.  Those 38 days were a huge part of the trip for me – as I formulated my hints, I got giddy about all the fun we’d have. I should also be clear:  Wednesdays were not hint days, they were Wenis Wednesdays.  (You knew Matthew Perry would show up somewhere, admit it.)

The day of the trip, my friend Heather met us at the airport to send us off and Mary found out about the surprise.  Many surprises for Mary continued – a “stupid mistake” on my part of scheduling our ride an hour later than I should meant that Amanda and Talia had enough time to land, find each other, and converge on us at the airport, champagne in hand.  The four of us had an amazing time – we saw a show, the Titanic exhibit (from which I got some awesome pictures from Amanda and Talia), we enjoyed some good food, Mary and I enjoyed some spa time, and we did a LOT of laughing and smiling.

I decided to treat myself to a new experience while I was in Vegas – at the spa, I got a Cocoa Butter treatment.  This hour long treatment involves a super hydration of your skin, then they wrap you in warm towels and give you a 20 minute scalp and shoulder massage, and leave you then to sit with your thoughts for a few minutes.

I swear to you that never in my mind prior to this event did it occur to me that cocoa butter would smell like chocolate, and that I would come out of this experience with my hair looking like Hades (from the cartoon Hercules) and I would smell like a warm brownie.  Not bad.  I will be repeating this in December.

So now here I am in September.  It’s back to school time here, which means back to work, back to blog, and back to doing things for me every once and a while.  This summer, although not intentionally productive, taught me something very important.  I found my happy.  My happy is making other people happy.  I will plan relentlessly to do so, I will do whatever it takes, and I WILL succeed.  And when I sit here and think about it, writing fits in there.  I like to think that I amuse the people who read this, which makes me happy…and hopefully you too.

So I spent an entire summer finding Happy.  Once you find happy, things start to fall into place.  My soul is quieter, my brain is focused.

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Evolution Day 3 – Bubble Bath ala Midlife Crisis

OK, so let me start this out by saying that I absolutely adore the women that work at the day spa I frequent.  Debbie, Caitlyn, Kimberlee, and Lien.  Four super human women, one happy place.  If you’re in Minnesota, go to The Mask.  Visit them.  Be happy.

That being said, I’d like to talk today about the evolution of the bubble bath in my life.  Let’s look at some snapshots in time:

5 years old:  Bathtime is a joy.  Mom puts bubbles in the bath and makes soap hairdos on me.  I come out squeaky clean and mom wraps me in a big towel and hug before sending me off to bed.

10 years old:  Bathtime is now my own, but I go grudgingly.  Why take a bath when you could be outside roughhousing, right?

21 years old:  Scheduled Thursday night time in the tub.  Candles, good bubble bath, and my razor, to make sure that your legs are shaved for the weekend, and whatever it may bring.  The bathroom door is open so I can watch Friends (Matthew Perry, Sigh…the man still makes me swoon…) and I have a glass of wine and relax -after all, when you’re 21, everything comes with liquor of some kind.

30 years old:  Long days at the office mean my bathtub is my haven.  My quiet spot.  The dog snoozes on the floor next to the tub, and I relax.  I also simultaneously wonder how the heck people read books in the tub and don’t get them wet, or freeze when the water gets cold.  Please feel free to share this secret with me if you know the answer.

42 years old:  What Fresh Hell is This?

Really.

Tonight, I took my first bath in…oh gosh, probably three years.  See, the bath tub is upstairs, and I live downstairs, and that’s just a lot of effort.  Dragging all my bath stuff upstairs, going back down stairs when I forget the towels, going back upstairs, drawing the bath, getting it just the right temperature, stopping getting the tub hot again, and finally getting in.  And that’s just the mental checklist.  Here’s how it really went.

I took a bath because I needed to shave my legs.  To say that there was a lot of work to be done is an understatement.  I pondered bringing the weed whacker into the bathroom, but decided against it, and opted for the 5 blade razor – time to bring out the big guns.  I drew the bath, threw a bath tablet in, and went downstairs to grab my towels, razor, shaving cream, and lotion.  I go back upstairs.  I reheat the bath.  I sigh, and get in the tub.

After settling in I realize that maybe I’m not as limber as I used to be.  Every woman knows that shaving your legs while in the tub is a job fit for a contortionist.  5 blades, shaving cream, and a slippery tub don’t exactly make for swan lake.

See, I’ve been going to my day spa and having my legs waxed for 5 years now.  It all started because I took a cruise, and did not enjoy the small shower and trying to shave my legs in it – so I had my legs waxed to avoid it all together.  And it was heaven.  Contrary to popular belief – it doesn’t hurt, and it doesn’t require contortion nearly as much as shaving.  But I haven’t had my legs waxed in a while, and a weekend away snuck up on me…hence, my foray into the tub.

Legs.  Legs everywhere.  And I’m sorry ladies who haven’t been there, but menopause means not being able to reach everywhere you want anymore.  Ok, that’s a lie.  You can’t reach anything.

After a good 15 minutes of the most awkward piece of my 42nd year, thus far, I then realized my experience was capped off by having forgotten my towel.  and I’m pretty sure my legs are striped now.

I’m going to Mexico at the end of the month with my friend Amanda.  And I’m going to the mask before hand.  Lesson. Learned.