massage: warm fuzzies

If you've spent 12 minutes with any normal person, you know how frustrating and stressful and annoying and monotonous and exhausting and hard they find their work. I want to tell you something I like about being a massage therapist:

I love being able to touch people. 

People I feel the most privileged to touch are the ones who don't have other people who make human contact with them. Generally, that means singles. Of which I am a part of that category, so perhaps I have extra empathy?

I get touched. I make people hug me, kiss me, hold my hand, cuddle, and love on me. I force them. I can be quite demanding. [Just for the sake of transparency, I get my touch from family and female friends, please see all previous "WHY AM I SINGLE?" whining posts to refer to my fear of men.] I rarely feel under-touched because it is one thing I pursue. I love being touched. I am aware and know how important it is to my vitality, but it can be easy to push aside and forget. I want everyone to remember and love it as much as I do.

Sometimes I have a client that I really dread. He has bad personal hygiene. She has smelly feet. He is incredibly negative. She wants to dictate every step of the massage.

Then I remember unconditional positive regard [more on that another time] and that these people are getting need goodness from me.

So, I change my mind.
-I think about how for many, I am the only person who touches them.
-I think about how much trust it takes to allow a stranger to knead your thighs, to support your head, to help relieve pain.
-I think about how to help them enjoy their experience, I want them to have a break from whatever struggle exists for them outside of my room at the spa.
-I think about how grateful I am for my gifts and ability to move and use my body in this way. [Sometimes being grateful for myself helps me be grateful and hopeful for other's.]
-And sometimes I think about cupcakes [#4] because it's hard to be annoyed when you're thinking about cupcakes.

I love being able to unapologetically, without worry, completely touch another human being. You know when you want to touch someone, but you're not sure if they're feeling awkward about it? Yeah, you don't get that when someone comes to you specifically for that purpose.

Usually people think, "I'm going to book a massage and they're going to help me relieve my stress." or "My back and shoulders hurt, so I thought I'd get a massage."
We can work with that, but I'm here to tell you: it's so much more than that.

In my personal experience, massage has given me more knowledge and awareness of my body. Massage helps my mental health. Massage makes my muscles feel longer and leaner. Massage helps me sleep. Massage lets me get out of my head and into my body to feel completely.

It's pretty freaking awesome to get to be a part of that for others.


love you people.

xoxo,
amy

you will probably not be surprised

On Sunday, I woke up.
I went out.
I made a quiche.
I visited friends.
We ate pizza.
We chatted and laughed.
I went home.
My head then hurt like...whoah.

Then it occurred to me: I had not had any caffeine on Sunday. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch.

Hi, my name is amy and I'm addicted to caffeine or I get a massive headache that no amount of peppermint oil [my usual headache insta-cure] will touch.

You're not surprised are you?
Why was I?

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Recently, I splurged and got a tall, non-fat pumpkin spice latte.

It was delicious.

And sweet. Oh, so sweet.

Too sweet actually. I didn't love it.

WHO AM I?!?! Pumpkin spice lattes have always been my jam.

I love the spices, the pumpkinyness, the sweetness, the creamy tastes of fall in my mouth.

Apparently, my pallet has changed. I've become a hard-core coffee girl. I like it dark. I like it slightly sweet. I like cream [but only if real half-and-half or milk is available--none of that powdered creamer crap]. I like it hot. I like it cold. I just like java.

So, after considering my budget and my love for French pressed coffee [if you don't French press you should] I made my own spicy, fall coffee beverage. Here's how I roll:

My French press is small, it's this one from Amazon and is perfect for about 2 mugs of coffee.

My water kettle is from Salvation Army: $3.58.

I love that it's green.

I measure the coffee, but I don't measure the spices. I like one scoop of grounds to 4 oz of water.

A sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Water in. Steep for 4 minutes. Press. Pour in mug which has sweetener and milk.

Drink. Savor. Fall in love with the spicy parts of fall.

Ahhhh.

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Hank hates that I'm in school.

I know because he has been the ultimate attention whore.

Why aren't you paying attention to meeeeeee???

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Someday I'm going to take pictures with my big-girl camera. And then I'm going to actually upload them onto my computer. And THEN I'm going to use them in a blog post.

Someday.

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love you people.
xoxo,
amy

Phone Pics

alternate title: Things I Would Instagram in September the month without IG.

It's Saturday night. I'm at my usual place in my usual spot. I definitely saw an employee open the door on a customer tonight. People of the world, why wouldn't you lock the door to the one-holer bathroom? Why? Why? WHYYYYYY? It always reminds me of that awkward time I did the same to the man at the random rest stop in Ohio. I'm never using the bathroom in OH again.**

Pictures from the week:

I painted my nails...twice.

This is the bridge I walk across to get to my class.

My life. Yes, I just started collecting stars. Yes, I should be a gold-card member months ago. I've always had a cash-only rule with coffee.

Text books have a way of making me feel really good about myself...

Megan recommended this to me, so I'm going to try it out.

This is my Becky. Do you know where your Becky is?

Hanklin and I took a nap today, it was awesome.

I'm feeling better. Thanks for all your love.

xoxo,
amy


**I am aware that at some point I will most likely have to use the bathroom and will inevitably be in Ohio and I will use it.

Is it Friday yet?

I'm going to talk about girly things--sorry men and my brother--and I'm going to use my favorite curse word. Probably repeatedly.

I just went home to get a cardigan before I went to Starbucks where it is usually cold. 

Then I left without my cardigan.

Shit.

Not turning around now because they close at 10 and I have to study and I have things I want to say to the world that revolves around me.<---This is the world of blog. Sorry. I don't really want or need it to revolve around me but sometimes it's going to. That time is now.

This has been my week:

• Last weekend was amazeballs. Like, for reals. I don't even want to tell you about it because if I talk about it it may disappear or not be quite as awesome in my words as it was in real life. Let's just say it involved some of my favorite people, laughter, a slumber party, sharing, laughing, loving. Then I realized that between classes and moving to Indy next year my relationship with these women was going to change and then I had a headache for the rest of the day because of crying. 

• I had a quiz on Monday. My studying was limited due to weekend festivities [don't regret one bit] and the headache. My performance was shite. [Do we feel better about shit or shite?]

• My body has been all out of whack for awhile now. Giving too much bodywork, not receiving enough. Or really...any. Needless to say this week [hooray shitty week!] every muscle decided to be sore. Not sore enough to really warrant anything major, but sore like I'm coming down with the flu. [I'm not coming down with the flu, I promise.]

• Part of the out of whack stuff is that I'm not sleeping well. Stress and me makes for bad sleep. 

• I had an exam for my math class. I hate online classes. Officially. 

• Then I started my period. [At least I had my diva cup!]

• Then I rushed to work to get to a 2:00 massage. Except the 2:00 massage started at 3:00, so I was early, but I'd crammed food into my body [yummy, healthy food but I hate being rushed] and then had the up down feelings of prep and wait. 

• Oh and I broke the massage table in my room at work.

• Then I ate half a pan of sugar in the form of these. SO bad. SO good. So bad....I'm not eating my feelings. I'm eating sugar shit. 

• Then I went to Starbucks where it's chilly and I don't have a cardigan to study for the second exam I have this week. 

• And next Tuesday I will have another exam. Did I mention that I'm only taking TWO classes? Why so much in the span of 10 days? and the quiz and two of the exams are in THE SAME CLASS/LAB. Did you make this schedule? Do you hate learning? Yes I have anger in my heart right now.

• I will say this: my boobs look good. If I'm vain about anything in my physical appearance it's definitely my boobs. 

My plan:

• Pray about it. If Jesus can't help me, who can?

• Make a schedule. Live by the schedule.

• Include free and fun time in said schedule.

• Include time to blog in schedule. 

• Sleep. It's important. Especially for you grouchy-butt. [The you here is me, I'm talking to myself.]

• Build a budget. Live by the budget. 

• CLEAN YOUR APARTMENT. LIVE IN CLEAN APARTMENT. Did I mention that I decided this week to rearrange my apartment? I thought my outer chaos needed to reflect the inner.

• Get massages. I have 3 scheduled between now and Sept. 25. I need to get my body back to at least 80% rather than the 12.5% I've been feeling. 
• Dear anterior neck muscles, please cooperate. Love, amy 

• Boobs: keep it classy. 

Basically, I am a 4-year-old who needs intense structure to be functional. And to be kind to others. Today I noticed that I didn't even want to be nice, so thought I probably needed to institute some change.

Thank you, lovelies, for letting the world revolve around me for a few minutes. 

xoxo,

amy

I forgot to mention the herpe. I got one of those this week too.

*sigh*

I love the way the rain smells. What brilliance to create something to nourish our earth that smells so good.

A favorite song by Priscilla Ahn.

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I miss Instagram. I can't help it. I can check facebook and my email and everything else on the computer, but Instagram? The visual update of my friends and people I stalk, I miss it.

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Tonight I'm going for pizza with Kate and I'm excited. a)to see her face [it's been weeks] and b)to eat pizza.

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I've been debating what I want to do for my birthday. It's a big one. I should do something special...except I don't actually care about my birthday. I just don't. I can't help it. My thoughts so far:

• take a day off work? [I don't have class on Wednesday and my bday is on a Wednesday]
• go to IKEA?
• go to Canada? [don't take my actual bday, but a Friday or Monday, maybe over Fall break?]
• sleep in, lounge around all day, set up skyping times to talk to friends, be lazy
• go to Chicago and visit the day spa/nakey spa that I got a groupon for? 

Do you have any ideas? I'm open.


thatisall.

this week's mani

I'm avoiding right now.

What am I avoiding?

Statistics.

Or more specifically how to figure out what the "homework" is for said statistics class. Has anyone taken an online class? I feel like this should be laid out in the EASIEST WAY POSSIBLE since we're getting everything online, but noooooooo: I can't figure out the homework.

Ugh.

It's things like this that make people convinced that they aren't smart when really it's unclear communication. I despise bad communication.

Also, blackboard was new when I was in college. That was a year or 7 ago and now it's different and another means of confusing communication.

Blarg.

Yes, I'm whiny. I told you I was avoiding maths. The truth is that I love math with all my little, tiny heart.
I love things that are concrete.
I love right answers.
And I had a torrid love affair in high school with augmented matrixes. Yeah, I said it. Me and augmented matrixes sitting in a tree, solving for x,y, and z.

Boom.

You know how people get in trouble for texting in class? Well when I was in HS texting didn't exist--it was the 90s and early 00s. But people got in trouble for playing games on their graphing calculators [how cool is that?!?!]. On MY graphing calculator I would create my augmented matrix and then spend my time solving it. Then I would get in trouble for "playing" on my graphing calculator. I was so cool.

My nails look like this:

Inspired by this pinterest pin.

How do you feel about math? Have you taken an online class? How did it go? 

**I thought you may like to know that I figured out how to do my homework. It cost me $85.50. Booo. 

(29+1)x(90/3)

[Did you get my math joke? Did ya? Did ya?]

I make impulsive decisions.

I was driving up to the lake yesterday and I thought "I think I'm going to go a month without any of the extra-special stuff on my phone."

So I am.

Starting this morning. I logged out of all my favorite apps and moved things away from my homescreen. KEEP TEMPTATION AT BAY! 

For the month of September...all THIRTY DAYS:

Only talking and texting. 

No facebook. 

No instagram. 

No pinterest. 

No ecards. 

No RSS reader. 

No safari.

No email.

No nothin' special. 

I may use Google Maps if the need arises. 

I'll also probably use the camera, you never know when a moment needs to be documented! 

Why would I do such a thing?!?! Because it was a 30x30 goal to go a month without my phone, but that was poorly received so I'm modifying.

So...here's my number, call me maybe?