Christmas in August

My husband has been quite a good gift giver through the years. This past Christmas, he gave me a “Stress Management” Spa Day at a local ABQ spa. In the grand irony of life, I have had way too much going on during 2008 to take advantage of any “Stress Management.”

Since I am currently a lady of leisure (break from school and a few days off work), I went to the spa today to have my stress managed. I was there from nine this morning until four this afternoon. That’s seven full hours of stress reduction. I do feel quite relaxed now and slathered in more creams than I knew existed.

First, I started with a poppy seed scrub, followed by a shower that had spouts from every imaginable angle – like a warm rain shower. That led to a soak in the world’s coolest bathtub filled with essential minerals and trace elements (or something like that). This was followed by a ninety-minute stone massage, a yummy lunch, a “Fountain of Youth” facial and a lavender aromatherapy pedicure.

My Personal Highlights: *The tub was amazing with high jets, low jets, a waterfall and enough room for about six of me. If I had a tub like that in my house, I would NEVER leave it, I honestly thought about whether I could work from that tub on a laptop. *I am pretty sure I received five foot massages today. *The stone massage was completely different from any massage I’ve received and I don’t really know how to feel now that my “chakras are balanced,” but it was amazing and I was SO relaxed at the end of that ninety minutes. I can honestly say nothing entered my mind during the massage and I haven’t experienced “stillness” like that in years. *I was treated like a pseudo-celebrity as I was escorted from place to place, brought ice water on a regular schedule and had my delivered lunch set up and ready for me when I finished my massage.

Since I really like to stretch my birthday out as much as possible, I am considering today the official kick-off of the festivities. We head to Denver on Saturday for Jack Johnson at Red Rocks and I know that this will be a wonderful start the final year of my twenties. (Gulp, “Fountain of Youth” treatments may become the norm.)