KANANAD IS HER NAME, PAIN IS HER GAME

Such a lovely day.  It was all about me which is exactly how my Fridays off should be :)
Mother's Day is right around the corner, my birthday just happened, Carly graduates on Sunday, so I simply had to go and get some spa services.  My first appointment was with a non-English speaking, super nice man for a manicure/pedicure.  Usually the language barrier isn't a problem, since I just turn the massage chair on and close my eyes (mostly for the pedi) OR I watch tv (and today it was a great hour of "Let's Make A Deal".  I did choose the right curtain and boxes at times).  But I had to discuss my ugly big toe with him.  Same toe that I have had to discuss with the other pedicurist there, only then (in March the two times I visited this salon), the toe wasn't quite as ugly.  I dropped a rather large spice jar on my big toe over the Christmas holidays.  It has slowly been breaking, peeling, flaking, turning colors, and I won't go on, but it just doesn't look quite right.  It isn't all there (yes, I have sought professional help).  After he smiled and asked for help in the translation (he should be taking English as a second language perhaps, like I am going to take Spanish all over again?), we were on our way to a pretty lavender color.  BUT again, he pointed to a shorter nail (most of the others had just started to grow out), asked if I wanted a "cut down" and I said, "just file them to make them shapelier".  How that translated into "cut all my nails to the quick", I will never know!  Oh well, it's not like I can keep long nails at work.  For what can be seen of the color, they do look better.  More on this color later though.

Had to get some grocery shopping in, because I am going to try a new recipe for dinner.  Wish me luck!  I stalk the Pinterest pages, and I pin lots of recipes, but I haven't tried very many.  Maybe once Carly is home for a while, she will make some of my recipes for me while I am slaving away at work.  Oh, and while Ray is slaving away, too.

I know I looked this pretty while getting my massage.  I forgot the flower for my hair!

Final errand was to have a massage.  I feel like I am in Panama where we have been told to only expect to do two or three things MAYBE during the day.  Errands don't get accomplished quickly, apparently.  I think I might have posted a while ago that I had given Ray a gift card THREE YEARS ago on Valentine's Day after a ton of snow had dropped in Virginia that winter, and he wisely and finally re-gifted it back to me this past Valentine's Day.  This is where Kananad comes into the story.  I, after thirty years of dental hygiene services, at times get pain (annoying muscular pain but nothing Ibuprofen can't handle) in my lower back, and it radiates around the hip and down the front of my leg.  It pops up not too often which is good.  But when it comes along, it is very bothersome.  I needed the muscles popped out (when my knots around my shoulder blades are "popped" and broken up, I always envision popping peas out of a pod.  Pop, pop, pop--no, I don't usually fall asleep on the table, because I am taking it all in and breathing really hard when she gets to those bigger, badder muscles aka gluteus maximus!).  She was fabulous!  Things were done I have never had done before (still talking about massages here now).  I have had my stomach massaged only once, but I have been asked--not her.  Got right to it.  Since my right hip, pelvis, thigh, and that major gluteus muscles were all pitching a fit (twitching and trying to collapse under her elbow), she managed to massage around my stomach, and there you have it--no pain!  She gave me exercises to try, told me how to walk correctly, how to sit and move a lot at work, and gave me delicious cold water--I was exhausted and parched!  What a workout!  Painfree for the most part lasted a whole two hours though.  I need off the couch, off the computer and to go do some stretches! Or start dinner. I was thinking, as usual since I can't just rest during my massage, that when in Panama I may elicit the use of a chiropractor.  I have connections through Clyde and Terry.  Maybe the chiropractor can adjust the heck out of my whole body and get those muscles back in shape, since leaning over a patient won't be happening anymore!

Not me, and the pain is on the right side

In all fairness though, Ray is doing what he loves best.  He went to work, sat in traffic for only ninety minutes today (he left at 1:30), and he is now napping.

 Back to the color of my nails...what to do, what to do.  My anal retentiveness tells me to polish over them, but--what's the problem?  I have a pretty lavender color, but my pretty dress is all fuchsia   So wrong!

Lavender on my nails

The flower color in my dress.

Tomorrow we are off to Williamsburg to see Carly and her boyfriend, have a fabulous celebratory dinner, and on Sunday, she graduates.  She saw all A's on her "report card" as a graduate student and is going to go places!  Whether I screw up my mani/pedi or not, Happy Mother's Day to me!