They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha Ha!

I met with my new therapist yesterday for the first time. I was a wee bit concerned that she might not like me, but that didn’t seem to be a problem and we got along like gang-busters.

You’ll recall that I was seeing someone last year… Janet. I can’t really recall if I went into it or not, but Janet is a Christian, as am I. But it seemed like her answer for everything was to ask, “How is your walk with God?” Now, I believe in prayer and I know that God can and does perform miracles. But I also think that he probably wouldn’t have led me to a therapist if the only advice I was going to receive was something I could get from my pastor, my deacon, my Christian mother, sister and friends. So, after she “released” me from my initial five free sessions, I just never went back!

Flash forward to now. My friend Ashley told me about her therapist and I’m like, I want to go to that person! So she gave me the contact info and I made an appointment. Last week, I had a day of appointments, including my first appointment with the new therapist, and I just took the day off for Rose (and her appointments, of course).

Anyway, my new psycho is Pat. We got along well, and I have high hopes for our success. My first assignment (and we all know Rose does NOT like homework), is to make a list, as I’m going through my daily life, of each moment where I feel contentment/happiness with whatever I’m doing, where food is not involved. For example, I probably shouldn’t list the enjoyment I get from biting the little head off of my Teddy Grahams. That would probably be bad on a variety of levels.

Knowing that I risk being yelled at again by my “fans” if I wait another month before I blog again, I decided to put my list in a blog and kill two birds with one blog. So here goes….

First, and honestly, this happened the Saturday before I met with Pat, but she said I could include it, so I’m going for it, I had to buy new shoes. I know! Every woman’s nightmare, right? But no, these were the shoes I wear when I’m walking. Back in May, I’d bought myself some Sketchers, the kind that are supposed to trim your butt and legs while you walk. I don’t know if that happened, although my butt does appear to be smaller, but I loved them because of the extra cushioning in them. After I bought them, my knees and hips didn’t hurt after walking, like it did in the other shoes. Also, in the other shoes, which were “Walking” shoes, I would get shin splints and that wasn’t a problem in these shoes. These shoes helped me lose 126 (new total) pounds, got me around London and, well, what little of Scotland that I saw. But they weren’t giving me the support I needed anymore and my knees and hips were aching after walking.  I'd worn them out!  Back to the Shoe Carnival went Rose!  But unfortunately, I couldn't get another pair of the exact same shoes.  I did get some that are very close, and am happy with them.  I just can't wait for these shoes to wear out!

B) I had an appointment to have my eyebrows waxed and I was going to get a manicure and pedicure, but then a few weeks ago (don’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before), I had some neck and shoulder pain and I went for a massage and it felt good and helped, so I switched the mani/pedi appointment to a half hour in the sauna and a massage. The reason for the sauna is that for me, the first 30 minutes of any massage are generally wasted because it takes me that long to relax. The poor masseuse told me to relax at least 5-6 times. And I really try! But she suggested that I try the sauna because the heat might help relax some of the muscles, making the time to relax into the massage less.

I said, “I’m hip!” and signed up for the sauna. Now, everyone who knows me, knows that Rose don’t like to sweat. I would have bet money, and I’m too cheap to be a betting woman, that I wouldn’t last 5 minutes, let alone 30 minutes, but I stayed for 25 minutes and it felt great. And during my massage, the masseuse only had to tell me to relax once and that was when she was pulling my neck muscles, and I’m sorry, but I’m never going to relax through that. I’m too afraid that my little head is going to pop like a big ol’ pimple!

All of that aside, I was the most relaxed after that massage. It was almost like I felt after being off of work for a month! There was nothing that could spoil my mood. I made the decision that since I’m saving money by not eating out as much anymore, I can afford the sauna and massage once a month. A little Rose time got put into my regular schedule.

3: I’ve been a “blonde” all of my life. In the beginning, it was all natural, then starting in my 20’s, it received some help from Garnier Nutrisse.. (#100 Extra Light Natural Blonde). It served to cover up the white hairs (our family gets white hair, not grey hair) and gave some color to my natural color which, I think of as a dull dishwater blonde, almost no color to it, like black and white TV… I don’t know, it’s hard to explain, but for those of you who followed me through the spring and summer of ‘09 when I revisited my natural hair color, you may understand. I’ve flirted with the idea of what I’d look like as a red head. But I just didn’t have the guts to make that leap. Then I thought about just darkening it to like a dark blonde or even a light brown.

I was at Target, and they had a little computer set up there to “help” you find the right hair color for you. Basically, you tell it what color your hair is and it tells you to go with something no more than 2 shades up or down. Really, the whole computer thingee was rather disappointing. So I left without any purchase, but later that day, I had to go to CVS to pick up a prescription and I bought me some “Dark Golden Blonde.” Now, I’d used Extra Light Golden Blonde in the past before hitting upon the Extra Light Natural Blonde. I don’t think I could have put it into words what the difference is, but there was one. So why did I got with Dark Golden Blonde instead of Dark Natural Blonde? That’s a good question. The answer is that the color on the box had more color to it. I did my hair. It turned out more red that I planned on, but that’s probably the “Golden” part at work. I have before and after pics, but be warned, the before one is eerily reminiscent of Nick Nolte’s mug shot  but that's what you get when you take your own picture in the mirror using your iphone.

And the after pic looks like it belongs in a school yearbook. 

I still forget that I did it and am shocked when I look at myself in the mirror, but everyone seems to like it and got used to it. I like it a lot. But when I had to go to the Federal Building for computer training and show my driver’s license, I’m like… that picture doesn’t look at all like me. Before, at least I had the blond hair going, but now… I just look like I may be related to that woman. We’ll be having to get a new driver’s license next. Which will be another happy event!

Finally, I went to the eye doctor for my annual eye exam. I haven’t had any problems with my distance vision (other than being horribly myopic), but, especially since I passed the big 4-0, I’ve been noticing issues with my near vision. I almost bought me a pair of purple cheaters at Burlington pre-Christmas that were on clearance, but Jennifer told me not to because if I started using them before I needed them, I’d never not need them. Well, it made sense to me. But they were purple and regret not getting them, but that’s neither here or there. Anyway, it was time to visit the eye doctor. First, I’m not sure why the eye doctor’s nurse took my blood pressure, but it was 116/67. I’m thinking Dr. Marienau and I may need to discuss the small amount of Atenolol that I’m still taking (not for BP, but as a preventative for migraines), because I’ve been noticing wooziness when I stand up quickly of late. Any who, Rose is feeling pretty good because the BP is healthy!

Then, Dr. Irwin comes in and looks at me like I’m a total stranger. Now, seriously, we see each other one time a year, so I wasn’t hoping for much of a reaction, but he didn’t disappoint me. The first words from his mouth were “They told me you were here, but I didn’t see you in the waiting area… I just didn’t recognize you!” It felt so good! Tee hee!

I said “Finally” after that last one because although there is one more, it’s a blog entry on its own. And I anticipate it being a whopper!