Tag Archives: massage

Thoughts on a Thursday 11-21-2019

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I started my day with a glorious massage. I was still having problems from all the leaf mulching I did, even with pain gel and yoga, so it was especially appreciated today. My massage therapist, Lynn Moody, 479-629-7601, truly has a gift for finding sore spots and making them give in to her healing hands.

We’re having a Holiday Open House at Rags & Roses, the local shop where I’m sharing a booth with my friend, Carla.  The Open House is this coming Sunday from 1-5. The address is 100 North Main. There will be food, door prizes, photos with Santa, a musician who plays guitar, fiddle, and mandolin, plus all the nice things people are selling in the booths. I went today to make a contribution to the door prizes. Tomorrow I’m taking an assortment of the new wooden earrings I’ve made recently. They are for sale on ArtFire, too. If you would like to look at them, here they are – ArtFire.

We just had lunch and I’m about to head up to my art room to play. I’m planning to paint another journal, more note cards, a tote, and start more earrings – all with my Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze. I love that stuff!

It’s getting dark outside, looking like it’s about to pour. We’re supposed to get a lot of rain between now and the end of the day Friday, so it’s a great time to be inside.

Hope you are staying warm and dry, and that you have something to do that makes you smile.

 

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Thoughts on a Thursday 10-24-2019

Alma Maghakyan – LinkedIn – Imgend.com

I’m in awe of people who can create .gifs like this.  You can almost HEAR the rain!

I just came back from having a glorious massage by my therapist, Lynn Moody. She is so kind and caring, as well as a master at finding all the tight, sore spots, knots, etc. and making them go away. AHHHH! If you’re in the  Fort Smith/Greenwood/Hackett & surrounding area, call for an appointment. Her number is 479-629-7601. You’ll never stop thanking yourself.

I’m working on another wooden plaque using the Unicorn Spit stain/glaze. I think I’ll have it finished by the end of the day. I’ll take a pic to post here.

I will never be an exercise ‘enthusiast.’ I don’t look forward to it, and still have to be determined to make these sessions priorities on my daily to-do list. But I have to admit that I’m still shocked that my BODY told me it missed my exercise sessions on Monday, when our dogs got into a fight and my day was spent trying to tend to our smaller, elderly dog, Molly, instead of anything else. (She is stronger each day, is eating and drinking and able to go outside with me. Whew!) My BODY complained about my lack of exercise! I felt sore, stiff, and creaky Tuesday morning, and MUCH better after I did my NOW usual time of 35 minutes on the elliptical and 35 or so minutes of stretching yoga. So my attitude has changed from “SHOULD” to “NEED.” This is a sea change for me, and I’m pleased to recognize it.  So today is gloriously physical with massage, elliptical trainer, and yoga.

I’m looking for a good beef stew that fits my keto-macros needs and will be accepted by my husband, who truly loves traditional beef stew I’ve always made, full of potatoes, carrots, etc. I tried one recently while our son was still home. My husband ate one bowl, said, “hmmph” and wasn’t interested in eating more of it. Our son and I ate the rest, thinking it was really pretty good, but until I find one my HUSBAND determines is YUMMY, the hunt continues. I’ll get more serious about the hunt right away because our temperatures are dropping around here, and my husband is looking for comfort food.

I wish you a happy, healthy Thursday.

 

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Thoughts on a Thursday 9-26-2019

Animals | HowStuffWorks

We’re having a quiet, soft rain this morning. I can HEAR the flowers, grass, and trees saying, “Ahhhhhh”

Centre of Excellence

I am leaving for a massage as soon as I finish this post!  I’m REALLLLY looking forward to it. Lynn Moody, my massage therapist, is a true miracle worker.

Since it’s raining, I’ll concentrate on inside stuff today, plus my elliptical trainer and yoga.

I’ve been showing you gorgeous melted crayon art lately. I ordered two melting tools recently, and I’ve been watching YouTube demonstrations on different techniques. I’m like a kid at Christmas, waiting to be able to play with them in my art room!

I hope that YOUR day is relaxing and fun.

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Massage, Fish, and Tax Prep, Oh My!

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My day started super-nicely with a massage by my massage therapist, Lynn Moody. She’s absolutely the best. She tackles an old lady with lots of aches and creaky bones and I emerge smiling and relaxed. I just wish I could afford to have massages more often!

My Aquarium Club

My poor fish are swimming around in cloudy water, so on my list, as soon as I finish this post, is to go vacuum out their tank, change the decor, and get them back into a clean, fresh tank.

Get It Back Campaign

Most of the rest of the day will be spent continuing our tax preparation. I’m making good progress. Today is medical stuff and extraneous things, and then I’ll be on the finish line, adding my information to the booklet our CPA provides. I’m hoping I’ll be finished with everything, waiting on our info from Schwab, by the end of the week.

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Progress of a Sort

BOOMSbeat-YouTube_MrFunnyMals

I have a good start on the ‘reboot’ of my low carb eating and exercise plan now.  I’ve been good for a week now, even managing to lose a bit of weight when we went out to eat. I lost 3 lb this week. My totals are: a loss of 17 lbs and 10.5 inches. I’m still playing catch-up and re-lose from my ‘stumble-and-splat’ when I was concentrating on my husband’s need for low or no sugar, rather than paying attention to that AND low carbs. Lesson finally learned.  I’ve also learned that just working hard isn’t a good substitute for actual exercise.

I’m finding some low carb recipes that are real winners lately. My husband is requesting that I include them on the menus for the week! I’m trying to post – if not the entire recipe – at least the link to it. (One lady asked me very nicely to only give the link to the recipe on her website, rather than posting the whole thing with credit, so I’ll comply.) You can find some of them under two categories here: “Cooking/Canning/Recipes/Low Carb” and “Cooking/Recipes/Low Carb Lifestyle.”

One thing that is really helping me keep my head on straight on how many carbs and calories I’m eating is the MyFitnessPal.com website.  This has the best database of foods I have found. On other websites, you have to list each ingredient in a recipe in order to get a total carb count. I just don’t have the patience for that. On this website, you type in what you hope to find already listed. If it isn’t there, you can add it, all on one short form and then click to share it with others or not. This is really great. They also have a reasonable exercise database. You can record what you did and the number or reps or time you spent. I’m trying to stay under 40 carbs and 1200 calories per day. I can change what I’m planning to fix for dinner so that I stay on track. I like that a lot.

For exercise, I’m on my elliptical trainer in the garage most days. I also do careful stretching via yoga, concentrating on trying to convince this old body to RELAX. After all the work I’ve been doing cleaning out my house and working in the yard lately, I find this takes longer and longer. I just hold a pose – breathing into it until I feel my muscles ‘give’ and I’m comfortable. This is helping me feel better. Today I had extra help with that because I enjoyed a wonderful massage! My therapist, Lynn, really listens and does all she can to help me. Today we discovered that most of my sore muscles were on my right side – I guess from all the hauling of Mel’s Mix to the garden. I’ll have to concentrate on carrying the basket left-handed and see if that helps. :0)  If you live in the Greenwood area, you can contact Lynn Moody at 479-629-7601 or via email at lynnmoody42@yahoo.com. I’m so lucky to have found her.

I feel good that I’m again on the way to getting the lard off and feeling better.

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Brrr!

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We’ve had two pit bulls and they’ve been the best pets, so when I see a cute pic of a pit, I just melt into a puddle.

We bought quilted “coats” for our pit, Bambi, and Molly a couple of years ago. They look cute, but the dogs didn’t seem to like them much, even though they weren’t restrictive in any way. Amber is finally not panting when she comes in. This seems to be the weather she loves. They go out as many times as they want during the day. At night they sleep in the utility room – Amber on one side of the gate and Molly on the other – so both can rest.

It got down to 29 degrees F last night/this morning. I had the lettuce covered with a sheet, but it was looking a bit stressed when I uncovered it this morning. The high is supposed to be 38 today, so I’m hoping that the sun will make the difference in keeping the poor lettuce going.  I’ll look at it this afternoon to see if I can harvest some of it today.

I had a glorious massage this morning!  I bundled up in a new jacket (one that is quilted, but very light and warm) plus a new white knitted hat with a pom pom on top.  My wonderful massage therapist is a friend, as well as therapist, so we exchange gifts at Christmas time. She gave us a beautiful assortment of nuts (since we can eat that with our low carb lifestyle) plus a gift certificate to the restaurant we go to each week for Lunch Bunch!

I’m very lucky to have such a kind, caring friend who is able to find sore places I didn’t even realize I had and make them go away. I look forward to my massage all month, knowing that I’ll feel pampered and wonderful – ready to tackle what life has to offer.

Have a fun, warm day!

 

 

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Filed under Amazing Animals, Family, Mother Nature

Good Thursday Morning

Once a month I have a wonderful massage. I look forward to the next one just as soon as the one I’ve had is finished. My massage therapist is the best. Lynn Moody has the Town Square Day Spa in Greenwood, Arkansas. If you’re in the area, the spa address is 320 South Coker Street in Greenwood. Her phone number is 479-629-7601 and her email is lynnmoody42@yahoo.com.  If you’re not in the area, I’m sorry. You’re missing a really class act.  She listens, she cares, she is an expert at helping you when you hurt, and makes you feel absolutely relaxed and good if you’re just needing a good massage. She is worth her weight in gold.

I used to feel massage was an expensive luxury. If the bottom fell out of the world, I would have to give it up, but otherwise, it’s high on my list of wonderful things to do for myself. I feel good. My attitude is so much better. It definitely keeps me healthier. If you’re wavering about the whole idea of massage, my suggestion is to dive in and prepare to love it.

 

When I came home, my husband was in the ‘check-off-stuff-on-the-get-ready-for-winter list’ mood.  We decided to change the tires on the truck – from the regular tires to our snow tires. We do this ourselves in the shop. When we bought the Honda Ridgeline truck in 2006, we bought 4 extra wheels and 4 snow tires. We had the tires mounted on the wheels and stored them in the garage. Today we did the change in about 45 minutes from start to finish. We both get a lot of exercise, and we save money not having to pay someone else to do the tire change. We’ll change back to the regular tires in mid-March.  About half of the time was moving stuff in the shop so that we could drive the truck inside, and then putting things back to rights when the tires were on and the truck was outside again. We did about the best we’ve ever done. No yelling, no injuries, no tears, no problems with equipment not working, no surprises. YES!

This afternoon we have our geothermal guy coming out to check our equipment to make sure all is good for the fall and winter. We had a geothermal heat and air system installed retroactively in 2010 and signed a contract with Air-Pro Heating & Air Conditioning Incorporated to come out in the spring and then again in the fall to be sure things are working as they should.  This is a great company. The men are knowledgeable, know exactly what to check for, and are very nice, as an added bonus. If you need anyone to come and help with problems, their phone number is 479-646-9699, and their address is 9109 Zero St., For Smith AR 72903.  They can fix any problems they find and you feel safe after they finish looking at things.

A great morning and a good day. Great weather, too!

I’m planning to make us some lunch and then see if I can do any good with our push-around weed whacker this afternoon. My husband has running that out of gas for the winter on his to-do list, too…

Have a wonderful day!

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A Nice Thursday

Today has been a really nice day.

The weather is a bit warm, but not enough that we’ve had to close up and turn on the a/c. Doors and windows open are a wonderful change, and the ceiling fans make it very comfortable.

I told you about the deer I saw on the way to my massage. My massage was particularly luxurious today because my back stopped hurting. I didn’t have to consciously try to relax into the massage. I could just ENJOY. AHHHHHH! Thank you, Lynn.

I have a list as long as my arm of things that need my attention. I let a lot of them slide while I was hurting, and so I’m trying to take a few each day until I’m reasonably caught up again.

 

The aquarium water looked  a bit murky, so I siphoned out 3/4 of the water, wiped the inside of the tank, then replaced the water with treated water that has been breathing and aging for several weeks. I changed the filter and turned everything back on. The fish seemed happy with my attention.

 

Since our temperatures are supposed to get more fall like early next week, I finally took the time to scrub out Amber’s kiddie pool. I had emptied it and left it upside down, but then hurt my back, so it was not only yucky, it had been rained on so there was a small lake weighing down the BACK of the pool. I scrubbed it with a broom and Simple Green, then hosed it out, turned it over, and scrubbed the back. I carried it around to the garage and put it between my counter and my elliptical trainer until I bring it out again next Spring.

I harvested two tomatoes from the planter on the east end of the house. I still have no idea if the two new tomato plants will do well or not. I’ll need to remove the old plants soon.

I still have two things on my list for today –

  • I learned that taking the planter tray of seedlings out onto the deck to get more sun and maybe some rain was a disaster, so I’ll clean up the planter and put it away.
  • Amber has developed a fun new hobby – digging! We dug out our two Rio Samba bushes recently in preparation for planting new ones early next spring. We’re also using some of the soil in the brick planters to fill mole, Molly, and Amber holes in the yard before replenishing the planters with fresh potting mix. Amber found them and has had a GREAT time digging in the planters. She comes to the door, looking innocent and sweet, with a black nose, mouth, and front feet. I’ve had to get a washcloth and towels to clean her up before I can let her back into the house with us. I haven’t been able to catch her doing it yet; but when I do, I’ll have to warn her, and then zap her if the warning isn’t enough.

I hope you’ve been having a fun day, too. I can’t wait for the nice, cool, fall weather!!

 

 

 

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Birthday Celebration Redux

Happy Birthday – Pinterest

 

LAST Friday my husband took me to dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants. We had a glorious NON-low-carb, decadent dinner PLUS I had a big delicious piece of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I received birthday cards and lots of well wishes from my friends. I even bought several necklaces to enjoy. It was a very happy celebration.

TODAY my good, long-time friends, Kay and Linda of Lunch Bunch, celebrated my birthday. I received some really pretty birthday cards, nice presents, and they bought lunch for my husband and me!

This afternoon I get a massage. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

After I made sure I didn’t have to add ANOTHER year to my already-impressive age, I totally relaxed and enjoyed feeling special.

I’ve had quite a bit of love, attention, and nice gifts in the past several days. I could get USED to a celebration every Friday….

ClipArtKid

 

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Riches and Roadrunners

Friends at Lunch - Pinterest

Friends at Lunch – Pinterest

I’m feeling rich today. It started with Lunch Bunch – a group of friends that my husband and I enjoy every Friday at the Pizza Barn in Greenwood, Arkansas. I don’t know how many years we’ve been doing this. The group started with just three of us – three ladies having lunch. The group has gotten larger, and then smaller over the years, but my husband became an official “Lunch Bunch Member “several years ago. It’s a great time to catch up on what has been going on. We give comfort when needed, and share laughs a lot.

We did our errands and came home. I noticed this as we drove into the garage –

 

Purple Iris

Purple Iris

We have beautiful iris, some of which bloom twice each year, but I don’t remember any blooming in February before….

 

Daffodils

Daffodils

This bunch of daffodils was blooming in the back yard, close to the place where our land stops being a yard and begins being woods.

 

riches-roadrunner-factzoo-com

FactZoo.com

While I was taking pictures, a roadrunner came into sight. (I couldn’t act fast enough to capture a picture, but the one above gives you an idea.)  He would run a few steps, then stop, His tail would come up and his head would come up. He would hold the pose a few seconds and then put his head and tail down and run a few more steps. He did this wonderful dance all the way across my line of vision as I held my breath.

 

riches-spinachsprouts

The spinach seeds are sprouting! These are the seeds that I soaked in water for 30 minutes before planting. I don’t know if the sprouts will continue to grow, or if I’ll have something to plant, but I’m excited that I finally got some sprouts!

And finally – I’m feeling rich because I’m going for a massage today.

 

My wonderful massage therapist fell and broke her arm badly last year. She has had to have three surgeries since then. She faces a fourth surgery in the near future to hopefully get things finally back to normal with no pain. She is now giving one massage a day and I lucked into an appointment for this afternoon.  My body is already sighing in anticipation!!!

What a rich lady I am!

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