I Feel Pretty! Oh So Pretty! (OK I don't, but I like the song!)

It's been weeks and weeks since I've had a "day of beauty." Before I went to teach at a writers conference in Elizabethtown last week, I colored my hair (and LOVE it!). But my hair...really needed shaped up. I don't know WHY I kept putting off making an appointment. I guess I hate trying to find someone new. And I hate taking the time to go. And I hate spending the money. And I'm afraid they'll mess it up. That's a lot of ANDS!

Then there's my crusty feet, arthritic bone spurs and stubby toes. Not exactly model feet for sandal-wearing! It's summer for goodness sake. I needed a pedicure! I'm not so good at giving myself "the works" because I have that spinal cord implant that looks sort of like a metal tape measure in my belly. Not great for bending over longterm.

So, today I went to a new spa salon in town called Bella Amici. I had a nice relaxing shampoo in a comfy reclining chair, a careful layered haircut, a style, then some thinning shears, and hair product. After that, it was over to the spa table-to have my eyebrows waxed.

The finishing touch was the spa pedicure. She spent an hour on my feet! The best part was the girlfriend-style conversation that happened the whole time. And my favorite radio station was playing in the background.

I was there for almost 2.5 hours, and the "spa experience" only cost $56! That's not bad for all I had done. Cheaper than what I found in Northern Kentucky, for certain! I WILL go back!

I came home entirely relaxed. I needed that in the WORST way. So glad I decided to splurge.

Oh-and we had some excitement at the salon while I was there. When the stylist cut my hair, I noticed five young teen boys playing with bottle rockets and firecrackers right by my van! I said something to my beautician, and she said something to another gal, who went and got the owner of the shop! The owner opened the door and yelled at the boys, "you are too close to my customers cars with those firecrackers. You need to move!"

Just at that moment a police car comes into sight. The leader of the pack yells to the owner, "Did you call the cops?!"

The owner denied calling (we didn't!). But next think we knew, two police officers and two car, are out front and one of the officers is giving a stern lecture to the boys. They split up and went their separate ways. But one kid stayed behind and jumped in a van in the lot. Then we realized he was the child of one of the ladies in the tanning booth. Ru-ro for the owner. What if the kid tells the mom that the owner called the cops on them (even though she didn't). So, the owner then had to tell the customer what happened when she came out of the booth. It was a little awkward, but still...No kid should have firecrackers of any kind in the city limits, let alone in a parking lot full of cars! That's a no-brainer!

After all the excitement of my spa day, I headed for home.

Home, with a meal of meatloaf made with onions and red bell pepper and half a bagel crumbed up and milk and egg and ground beef chuck. Topped with ketchup and sorghum syrup stirred together. Baked until crunchy on the outside and moist inside. Also had a stir fry of yellow squash, fresh tomato, red bell pepper, and onion. Also had some rolls hot from the oven. And the crowning glory was the ten cent corn on the cob that was TO DIE FOR! It was sweet and just right-not too crunchy and not too mushy. Oh-and for dessert I made a concoction. First I put together cubed angel food cake and sliced fresh peaches. Then I boiled water, put in diet peach flavored jello, with diet Sundrop rather than cold water. This mixture went over the cake and peaches. I let this set up and served it with light cool-whip. YUMMO!

I'm going to rest well tonight after such an indulgent day!

Can You Go Back?

Last weekend Russ and I traveled up to our old stomping grounds to attend his family reunion. Can you say ROAD TRIP?! We were something like 7 hours on the road with Jazzy, the Boston Terrier cruiser. On the way, we stopped at Lamberts, the "throwed roll" place. YUMMO!

Then, we veered off course to stop in Louisiana, Missouri. Russ and I were both born in that town, grew up there, and became the cliche' of the late 70s when we met as high school sweethearts. For this road trip we wanted to see the Mississippi River. You just can't take the river out of a river-town kid. I remember my dad letting us get Dairy Queen treats and driving us to the river to watch the boats, barges, and fishermen go by. On this trip to the river, since we had no kids in tow, we took our Jazzy to see how she would react. She very cautiously walked up to the water,and every time the water would lap up onto the edge, she'd back away like she had seen a ghost. Then she would creep back to river, curiosity getting the best of her, only to get scared by the next splash of water—water that smelled like fish and mud. Thirsty, her tastes ran more for the bottled water in the car than the stinky Mississippi River. Silly girl!

While walking the Riverfront, I saw a gentleman working outside a building. I wondered who he was. Then it dawned on me that any middle-aged person in this town was probably someone I went to school with. Oh yeah! I wasn't 18 anymore. I left the town at that age and still felt I was that age when I returned. These people who looked like my parents were really my classmates. Am I really that old? I'm actually OLDER than my mom was when I left Louisiana. I was tripping on this trip down memory lane!

The town itself looked cleaner and quainter than I remember seeing a few years ago. It was no longer MY town, but it looked like a place where I'd go antiquing. Would I find remnants of MY childhood in the antique shops?

When Did I Become Middle Aged?

Yesterday I noticed a boy running across the road. I laughed because he looked like he was running across hot coals. I first thought, "boys are so awkward at that age—and goofy too!" Then I looked down. He was barefoot! Asphalt on a 93 degree sunny day probably did feel a LOT like hot coals! I laughed again and said, "what a stupid kid, to go barefoot on such a hot surface."

Then came the groan. Almost like the V-8 commercial's bop on the forehead, I remembered my own childhood summertime barefoot antics. My soles became so calloused they developed almost a Teflon coating. I could walk barefoot on any surface. Of course, the rough shards of glass brought me crying back home for my mom to make all-better.

I loved that time in my life. Not a care in the world. It didn't matter how I looked. It only mattered that I embraced life with gusto.

Somewhere along the way,I changed. Now there are rules and regs to living life. To being just "so."

When did I hit middle-age and how can I bring back some of that summertime carefree living?

Maybe chasing fireflies at night and making glow-in-the-dark jewelry will be a start. Wish me luck!

Unfortunately, the next time I find my childhood again, I'll be in Depends and live in the imaginary world of senility. While I still have my mind, I pray I can embrace that childhood spirit once more!