Friday I took off from work to take advantage of Brad's birthday gift to me--a Day of Beauty, otherwise known as a Spa Day.

Theresa's is a small, no-frills, family-owned salon located right in Massapequa, only a few minutes from home. I did some racing around before my 11 AM appointment, including a mad dash to find a pair of flip-flops, which they want you to wear after you have your pedicure. I found a pair in a local dollar store, even though the Oriental gal there had no idea what flip-flops were. "Beach," I said hopelessly, but I ended up finding them myself, luckily.

I had a pair available to me from Freecycle, but they were in Hicksville. My original plan, to get my bloodwork done at HIP (in Hicksville), then get the flip flops offered by the woman located not far from there fell through when Dan called shortly after leaving for work to warn me that the roads were very icy, slippery and dangerous. I immediately made and eagerly drani a cup of coffee, which I was dying for, negating any chance of my going for my (fasting) blood tests.

I arrived at the salon at 11 and was immediately whisked into my hourlong facial. It was wonderful! To have a skilled esthetician working her hands skillfully over my face, rubbing God-knows-what into my skin, massaging the tired muscies--well, I know I fell asleep a couple of times, I was that relaxed. I caught myself snoring! She steamed my pores, forced out my pimples, made my face feel 20 again. Delightful!

Next, a very young, pregnant masseuse named Samantha worked on my full body massage, concentrating on my back, where four knots--two up top over my shoulderblades, two down below near my back surgery--caught her attention. She tried to work her knuckles over those areas, which hurt terribly, but I guess between my surgery and poor posture caused by growing big tits at a too-young age, there was little she could do to correct what years of neglect had screwed up.

They had me scheduled for a manicure/pedicure after that, but it was one o'clock and I was very hungry. I hadn't told them I had diabetes when I called for my appointment, my bad, but I really needed to eat, so I ran next door to the chicken place and ordered my promised "gourmet meal." The chicken caesar wrap was delicious, believe me, even though I probably should have ordered a side dish with it. I wasn't sure how much I could order, and was too timid to ask. The place was so busy, and everyone rushing around so much, plus I felt kind of guilty for messing with their schedule. I was lunching instead of getting the manny/peddy.

I chose a much darker nail polish this time around, maroon. It looks great on both my toe and fingernails. They couldn't put on the water massager because of a leak, but the nice lady massaged my legs and feet herself, pumiced off my rough skin, cut off my excess cuticles and in general treated my hands and feet like royalty.

A 20-something Russian gal with a knock-out figure (a guy there getting a man's day of beauty couldn't keep his lascivious eyes off her) washed my hair, applied some gunk to it, then set me up under the hair dryer to set it in. By this time, I was really tired, my head was hurting and I just wanted the experience to be over. A cup of coffee helped, but I think I needed more food.

Theresa's daughter, Jennifer, announced her pregnancy, the first grandchild in the family. Everyone, patrons and prospective grandparents alike, rejoiced. Caught up in the excitement, I hugged everyone. From what I gathered, this baby was a long time being conceived.

Theresa herself cut my hair (I had asked for the haircut when I made the appointment, but she didn't know about it), then blew it dry, a bit fancier than I wanted, but very nice. Last time Theresa cut my hair, it looked gorgeous, falling into place with very little brushing. It was an extra $15, but I felt it well worth the cost.

Finally, Russian gal applied a ton of makeup to my face, and let me tell you--I really looked great, and a little hookerish, in a good way. So much eye makeup, my eyes felt caked with the stuff!

This day of beauty lasted from 11-4:30, truly a long strech of hours. All the ladies said, "You should get your husband to take you someplace fancy, you look so beautiful!"

Believe it or not, Dan expected me to join him at the gym. AS IF! I wasn't going to mess up my gorgeous hair and makeup job by going into the pool and jacuzzi! He agreed the gym was out, and promised to come home and inspect his new, improved wife.

Dan, impressed, took a couple of photos of me so we would always remember how stunning I looked straight out of the salon. Then he escorted me to Sizzler, where, if I wasn't the prettiest woman in the place, I surely was the most heavily made-up. I got lots of second glances.

Love, Robin

I can't seem to stop myself from reading the pets section of Craigslist. I wish I could. Today there is a posting from someone who is about to lose his/her home and needs to immediately find homes for 12 cats and four dogs. This pour soul mentioned that these pets have been eating before he/she does, and she can't find them homes in a no kill shelter. Apparently some of the cats are 12 years old and at least one of the dogs is 18! What is going to happen? In my situation, I can't help by adopting any of these animals, and can only imagine the despair their owner feels.

Then there is an elderly man whose son is appealing for someone to adopt his dad's dog. The dog's owner has fallen three times in the past month and can no longer take care of his pet. This dog is very attached to his owner. Will anyone else want to take on an animal in this situation?

I know, I'm a bleeding heart when it comes to animals, that's obvious from the ongoing content of my blog. When I read about the ugly reptiles awaiting Steve Irwin's "Crikey!" appearance for them on Rainbow Bridge, the deluge of my tears was enormous. There aren't enough anti-depressants in the world to stem the tide of such tears, believe me!

A homeless man living behind a laundromat was beaten up and his van--his only home containing all his possessions--set on fire. The poor guy suffered second and third degree burns over much of his body. I hope he survives. According to the article I read, he's a nice guy and well-liked, and the circumstances surrounding his becoming homeless are sad and unusual. Why would anyone do such a thing to a man like that? I guess the same kind of people who would murder a puppy for the fun of it (I read an article about this a few weeks ago and will not go into details because it makes me feel so sick and angry).

I'll tell you what I wish: That a giant, mysterious force in the shape of a hand would simply reach down from the sky and pluck such cruel, miserable bastards from the earth and draw them skyward until exposure to the sun kills them, each and every black-hearted one of them.

Leave only the good, the kind, the generous behind to exist together in sweetness and harmony. There would be no need for cops, lawyers, judges, DA's--imagine it!

Love, Robin

How weird it's been, weather-wise, so warm for the season, but all that is coming to an end. By the time we awaken tomorrow morning, it will be bitterly cold, in the teens, temps-wise, and we poor saps who have been wearing spring jackets many days this crazy winter are going to be freezing our cojones off--even those of us who don't have cojones to begin with!

I know, I sound slightly nuts. Nuts? Cojones? Freeze 'em off if you've got 'em, folks! LOL!

All I know is, I've been enjoying the unseasonably warm weather and have been wishing it would stick around. Dolphins have been hanging around Long Island and dying here for some strange reason, despite our efforts to lure them out into deeper water and save their lives. What gives with that? What does it all mean? Is it a portent, an omen of terrible things to come?

Will the genuinely freezing weather finally heading our way restore the balance of the eco-system, save the precious dolphins, save the cheerleader, save the world? Damn, I hope so, because if I'm going to be spending more on oil and trying to keep my chattering teeth from cracking, I want some good to come out of it.

How did I spend my three-day (entirely rainy) weekend, you ask? I went to the gym yesterday about 3:30. I wanted to go earlier, but had hopes that Brad, who had the day off from school, might accompany me, so I waited for him to wake up--which he didn't do until 12:30! I woke up to have coffee with Dan at 6 AM and stayed up! I went to Wal-Mart and brought a butt-load of change to the a bank where they don't charge you a fee to turn it into paper money. I was stunned when they handed me nearly $55. I knew it was a lot, but had no idea it was that much. It sure adds up! They give you a chance to guess how much it is; if you're within $1.99, you can win a prize. I guessed $45, but at $10 off, I lost.

After Brad awakened, I treated him to lunch at Boston Market. He had a chicken meal, I had a turkey meal, and even with a coupon, it was nearly $20. I don't know; the food isn't that good or plentiful, but it still added up. The point is, I love spending time with my son.

We took him and Ali out to the diner Saturday, which was nice, and she even walked downstairs with both Bugsy and Snaps waiting, instead of shoved outside. I pressed the button on the smoke detector (the only noise guaranteed to frighten Bugsy), but it didn't sound immediately, and he got in a few nibbles on poor Ali's foot before being scared away. She was terrified, but I have to give her props; she kept on going. We're trying negative reinforcement with Bugsy and that smoke detector sound, and so far, it seems to be working. When he hears it, he retreats from whatever he's doing, so we make sure it sounds when he's doing something BAD, a habit we really want to break him of.

I remember taking naps Saturday and Sunday, and enjoying them. Other than that, I don't remember anything special about any of the three days other than that I loved not going to work. I have a strong feeling I'm going to get into retirement very nicely.

Love, Robin

Staying for overtime again. Not relishing it, either, because we don't have what the mailers need--empty trailers--and I'm catching flak for it. If women ran this place, it would be so much better!

Wow, another three-day weekend! Weird thing is, I keep forgetting about it. That's unusual for me. Usually, I'm frothing at the bit for opportunities to not go to work. When the alarm went off this morning, I seriously considered just going back to sleep. Five AM is such a unpersonly (why ungodly?) hour to awaken. All I wanted was to return to sweet slumber, but instead, I peed, pulled Bugsy over my shoulder (little brat always digs his back heels in, making it almost impossible), took him downstairs with great difficulty, my back hurting, unlocked the back door, walked outside, and placed him on the ground. "Go make," I ordered. He gave me a baleful look and walked off, probably thinking, "BITCH! She drags me from a warm bed and dumps me out in the cold. I wonder how she'd like it if I did that to HER?"

LMAO!

Last night, all my TV shows were back on with new shows. It was delightful to watch SMALLVILLE and SUPERNATURAL again. I DVR'd all the ABC shows--UGLY BETTY, GREY'S ANATOMY and MEN IN TREES. When I get home, I'll relax and watch those--my reward for the stress and extra time I've spent here this week! When Dan gets home, we'll eat an inexpensive dinner out. See? It's the little things that make me happy. I don't need to be rich (although, don't get me wrong, I'd love a shot at it). I enjoy coming home to my dogs, to my messy house, to my modest TV set and the shows I have waiting for me that I can watch without sitting through the blasted commercials.

Hey, check out Self in the City, where I had a little bitty ditty published today.

http://www.selfinthecity.com/sc/tell.aspx?id=62

Hope you enjoy it--it's a true story about my writing career!

Some factoids about me:

I had my tonsils out when I was three. I still remember the molding on the white wall next to me at the hospital; I kept tracing it with my fingers.

My mother told me she was washing pajamas in the kitchen sink when she learned that her 27 year old brother had succumbed to leukemia.

As a kid, I loved going to restaurants that had sugar cubes. I unwrapped and ate them by the dozens. No wonder I have diabetes today!

My brother Steve taught me the alphabet before I ever started school, so I was way ahead of my classmates when I did.

If it weren't for Steve, I never would have passed my Algebra regents.
He essentially taught me the entire course in a single weekend before I took the exam.

I was excellent at foreign languages. I took 5 years of French and 3 of Spanish. Since I've never used them, I lost them, sorry to say.

My teeth are more fillings than enamel. Once, as a kid, I had 11 cavities. I'm grateful Brad inherited Dan's much better teeth.

I dislike driving and wish I could be chauffeured everywhere. Driving Miss Robin--yeah!!

I had back surgery when I was 20 to remove one and a half slipped discs from my lower back. It hasn't stopped hurting me since.

I have been a fan of rock 'n' roll since I can remember. I used to lie in bed with my little transistor radio and listen to all the old DJ's on the AM dial. I like some of the music Brad listens to, but I'm more of a 60's, 70's, and 80's gal!

I used to go to discos to meet guys!

Enjoy your weekend!

Love, Robin

With John R on vacation, I worked overtime yesterday. Today, Charlie is taking the OT so I can go home regular time, or at least stop at the gym, then go home to let my dogs out. Sigh. It's been tough here. Everyone wants empty trailers, but we don't have any, and since I want to make everyone happy, I hate having to tell mailers they can't have what they want. It's frustrating, and the way the supervisors in Dispatch behave, pisses me off, too! They don't give a shit, and while I'd like to feel the same way, I just can't!

We celebrated our Plant Manager's 50th birthday yesterday with delicious sandwiches, cake, roses, and a wine fridge as a gift. Gaby is a lovely woman, but she actually has depended on Gary and bought his act, so I don't have much respect for her people-reading skills. He's an idiot and a bully, but he's sweet-talked her into looking past his horrible record of getting kicked out of the past few offices where he's worked and the allegations of physical abuse from more than just a few people. It just doesn't make HER look good, trusting him as she does.

John C left and they replaced him with Betty, a woman who seems capable of ACTING kind, but not actually BEING kind, plus John had such a terrific sense of humor, which Betty sorely lacks. She's also already alienated Connie--very unwise! So we lose Mike Simpson and get Gary D, lose John C and get Betty, lose Bobby and get Clyde--trade in three winners for three losers! The fires of joy in our office, which used to be fanned so high, have died, feel as if they will never again flare back up, not even a little. So sad--so cold.

Nancy and her husband are planning another trip away, which means I stay with their menagerie again. I don't mind, but it's going to be March, with unreliable weather, and I don't want to have to worry about slogging back and forth in snow. Also, will Dan and Brad have trouble getting Bugsy out again with me gone? He's got to learn that I can't always be there and he must obey the male members of the family!

I'm enjoying MARLEY AND ME very much thus far. What a special dog! A crazy dog! A dog made for love.

Love, Robin