Tag Archives: self care

Adjusting the Sails

Hey, y’all! It’s Wellness Wednesday, so let’s get to it.

2020 seems determined to teach me some serious lessons. I am consistently being taught that my normal methods for attacking any problem are not going to work in 2020…and so I need to rethink every strategy I’ve ever used in my life. Whatever, 2020…I’m so over you at this point.

The truth is…I’m sad. I am still sad over having to leave my job, even though I took a package to save my benefits and wasn’t just arbitrarily shown the door. It still hurts to be away from the absolute best job I’ve ever had and all the amazing people that made it a great place to work. With my head, I want to move on…I want to push forward, but my heart is not making it possible. My heart is broken and my motivation and focus is just not where it needs to be for much of anything.

I had planned on an organized approach to all the plans I’ve made now that I have some time to myself. That’s what I always do. It has not worked, nor has it felt like the right thing to do as I go about trying to focus on the tasks at hand. I thought a week and a half was an appropriate amount of time to let myself do whatever I wanted before I planned out all my days and headed towards my new goals. It’s not. My heart just isn’t in much of it. My heart is still heavy and I am torn between pushing myself to move forward or letting myself have a little more time to grieve.

What’s the answer? At this point, I’m not sure – but I have a new approach to try, so that’s what I’m going to do. This week and next, I plan to stick to the same goals and plans…but give myself more time. I will not be as regimented as I thought I should be. So here’s an update of where I am in my wellness plans and what I intend to do over the next week:

  • I’ve lost 4 quarantine pounds this week.
  • I struggle with motivation in taking my morning walk and doing yoga every morning, so I’m changing that from daily to every other day…at least until I feel motivated to do more.
  • I struggle with wanting to eat junk food all day. I haven’t given in to that, but I think it will be helpful to me to go on a protein shake only regimen for a few days next week.
  • I haven’t even begun to tackle the insomnia issue, except for beginning to reduce my caffeine intake. I’m starting to feel like might be smarter to just tackle the Ambien detox sooner rather than later. I haven’t made up my mind yet.
  • I still struggle with practicing meditation as much as I wanted to.
  • My creative goals, which I haven’t even shared the details of yet, are pushing at me constantly…and my energy is drawn to those projects first. I feel like I should allow that to happen, which is why the idea of doing the Ambien detox earlier also appeals to me.

I feel like this is a rather underwhelming Wellness Wednesday post, but can we just take a minute to acknowledge those 4 pounds I lost? It feels good to see that number on the scale creeping back down to where it should be.

For me, in order to move forward with any kind of purposeful momentum, my head and my heart need to be in sync. They’re not right now. And no matter how many motivational memes I read or post on Facebook, my head and my heart are still not aligned. So I must adjust my sails and be content with gently coasting around the sea right now…until I’m ready for a stronger current.

This next week will be more about not heaping a long list of expectations on myself and more about making smaller changes. Later this week, I’ll be back with an update on ALL the plans I’ve been making…but today is Wellness Wednesday, so we’re talking about that project and no others.

I do plan to blow up the dam that’s been keeping my creativity at bay for years. That will certainly be interesting, so stay tuned…and be kind to yourself today. You deserve it.

Facials are made of 100% awesome

A while back, I shared on my Facebook fan page that a local, well-established plastic surgeon had offered to give me a free hydra facial if I’d like to try it. I was instantly intrigued, not only because I’ve never had a facial before but also because I’d never EVER heard of a hydra facial.

I’ve always wanted a facial, I just never seem to have time. Plus, you’re letting someone mess with your face…which requires a huge amount of trust. I only let my eye doctor get that close to me and, occasionally, the very un-customer servicey chicks at the local nail salon who smear hot wax on my Chewbacca brows while shouting at each other in another language without backing away from my ears.

When I think about the screamy, waxing, un-customer servicey chicks having a go at the skin on my face I get a little freaked. It’s a level of fear akin to what one might feel if they actually read the calories on the movie popcorn they ate last Friday. (Don’t do it. Everyone deserves a treat once in awhile. Just go for a couple extra long walks or something.)

Now you see why I had to say yes when Anderson Plastic Surgery and MedSpa reached out and made me this pretty damn generous offer. Uh…hydra facial? Sign me up! So I’m here to share my experience with you, both the expected and the unexpected. Ready?

First of all, it’s a plastic surgeon’s office. I expected a regular waiting room and front desk situation, like I encounter when I have a cold or go for my (shudder) well woman thing. Not the case here. I stepped through the door and hello….what is that fabulous smell?

The receptionist greeted me very promptly by name, letting me know I was expected and making me feel quite welcome. She handed me a few forms to complete. Meanwhile, I’m looking all over for the source of this fabulous smell.  What is it? Where is it coming from? Is it Scentsy? Candles? Are they selling it? Can I buy some? Where, where, where?

I’ll tell you later. 🙂

Oh, and the lobby is very nicely decorated and comfortable…but not pretentious like the oral surgeon I had to see once. Dude had a ginormous aquarium in his waiting room that had to cost half the national debt. Nothing says “I care about my patients” more than displaying a ridiculously expensive thing like that for all to see. Seriously, it’s like…oh THIS is why my co-pay is so high. Not the case with Anderson Plastics. Nice place, tastefully decorated. Pleasing to the eye and definitely the nose.

Before long, my aesthetician arrived in the lobby to greet me. Jana. Perfect skin, of course. I felt like I was staring too much, but I couldn’t help it y’all! Her skin is gorgeous. So Jana took me back to the room where the magic happens. Yay! My first facial. And not just any facial, a HYDRA facial. Because I’m fancy.

I admit I was a little tense. I wasn’t sure if anything would hurt or if I’d have any kind of reaction, although I don’t have sensitive skin so I was pretty sure everything would be fine. But you know me, right? I could win a free bean bag chair and break my leg walking to the car with it.

Jana very sweetly explained what a hydra facial is, which you can learn about by clicking here. Once I was comfortable, she started by putting some freshly steamed towels on my face. AH HA!!!! There’s that smell!

Turns out, they scent their towels in essential oils every day. Last Friday was lemongrass day and it was fan-freak’in-tastic. So refreshing! I’ve been curious about essential oils ever since my friend Lauren showed up at our last Game of Thrones binge with a handbag full of miscellaneous vials. Seriously, it looked like she had Professor Snape’s entire potions closet in her damn handbag (which was overstuffed again…ahem!!!). She’s going to sass me back for that. Trust me. Back to Jana and the hydra facial…

Jana made a series of passes over my face with whatever heavenly wand she uses to extract dirt and impurities – but since I’ve never had any kind of facial before I’m pretty sure she was pulling frogs and small dust bunnies out of there. She’s way too nice to say.

Every pass was gentle and pain free. She did have to get a few blackheads out, but that was just pressure and it was over. No pain. The final pass was to treat my skin with anti-oxidants.

If you’re local to the DFW area, Jana is probably one of the sweetest people you will ever meet in your entire life. I expected all the face touching and scrubbing that was going on. I didn’t expect the gentle, very positive reminders about the importance of self-care. During the entire process, Jana was very informative about what she was doing. She always told me what she was going to do before she did it. But she also layered in positive affirmations and meditations that reminded me of some things I tend to forget. Namely, me.

awesome

I get so busy in my day-to-day life that I forget how important it is to take good care of myself. And Jana wasn’t giving me some half-hidden message like “Hey, come back and spend money here”. She was reminding me to care for me. And I so appreciated it.

Towards the end, she massaged some peppermint oil on the back of my neck and told me that it would feel cool on my skin when the air hit it. And here’s what really made me smile about Jana: she told me that whenever I smelled that peppermint oil I should remember that there is only one me…and that there is no one like me. And that I am special.

That is something I did not expect from a facial…hydra or any other kind. How wonderful!

By the time she walked me back out to the lobby, I felt like I was walking on some sort of peppermint scented happy cloud. The entire experience was fabulous. I was refreshed, relaxed, and honestly wishing I could just put on my Star Wars jammies and go to bed early.

Jana also gave me a lovely gift bag with cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen in it…which is all amazing. I’ve been using it instead of my normal skin care products and it leaves my skin feeling actually clean, without any manufactured crud on it.

Oh, and my skin? Honestly, at my age I didn’t expect to see much of a difference…but I feel a difference. My skin is firmer. It feels like it has more substance to it, if that makes sense. It feels more youthful. If I had to guess, I’d say it was from the hydration pass but I’d be guessing. Maybe you can ask Jana when you go for your appointment. It is absolutely and totally worth it – probably in a few ways you won’t even expect.

Oh, and they also have a GREAT blog. I was pretty impressed with this post on the dangers of Botox parties and Dr. Anderson’s creative (and safe) alternative to this growing trend.

You can follow Anderson Plastics on a variety of social media channels, including Twitter,  Facebook, Pinterest (God help me…) and Instagram…so watch for special deals because the hydra facial is amazing. They also have a YouTube channel!

Many, many thanks to Dr. Anderson and his team (especially Jana) for such a wonderful experience!

 


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