so close, so faraway

Some of you may have noticed that i re-implemented the Gold Stars For Grown-ups program a little while back.
I didn't point it out at the time, just added it to the side as a carrot for me to get back on track doing the things that need done.
Things that i really don't want to do.
Like laundry.
Or taking out the trash.
Or ab crunches.
Mostly i am happy with how it is going, but when i just updated the ticker i realized that i am ONE star short of earning a reward.
ONE
gah...
Really? One star?
Almost as exasperating as looking for my camera doo-hickey or discovering that the mouse snacked on a jar candle.

Come on now, Niki.

Massage is waiting for you.

Do the @#$%^ laundry!

needle-phobia? Not here.

In 2011 i set a goal for myself that i would achieve maximum blood donation at the Red Cross.
You can donate every 58 days, which means that i would need to donate six times in a year.
I was restricted from donating for almost a year because of being sick, so in my head i told myself that if i hit maximum donation it would mean that i was truly well again.
I did it, baby!
This week was my sixth donation in 12 months.
I think we can call that fear of needles that i used to have gone, gone, gone.
And, i think that we can call me no longer endocrinely challenged.
And, i believe that i owe myself 10 shiny Gold Stars.
Now, i just have to keep it up since maximum blood donation is on my 40 while I'm 40 list, as well.
Have you given blood lately?  It's a new year; Donate Life, people.

(graphic from Oregon Pacific Chapter website)

what is hawaiian for "frickin' awesome"?

Last time i reached my Gold Star for Grown-ups goal i decided to try a different massage; gotta keep up the trying new things, ya know.
Lomi Lomi is a technique based on ancient Hawaiian healing rituals.
The folks at Massage Associates took a trip last year to Hawaii to get trained and certified in it and i figured that now was as good a time as any to try it.
From the outset you can tell that this is different from the standard Swedish massage because instead of working the body in top half and bottom half, the massage is divided into right side and left side. Also, the oil is different. For Lomi Lomi, they use a more expensive coconut oil. You can feel the difference in the quality on your skin and the smell is yummy. I really dislike fake coconut smell - it kinda makes me gag - but this is not that phoney-baloney, suntanning-oil, car-deodorizer nasty smell; rather, it smells like my kitchen when i make coconut candy.
It is almost impossible to describe Lomi Lomi: there is a lot of rocking and long sweeping motions, but there is also really small knuckle work in circles, arm swings, and this cool leg throwing thing. It fluctuates between slow and vigorous. Immediately i could feel the tension being worked away, but also i could feel my skin warming up and blood rushing to whatever muscles Lynn was working on.
Generally after a massage i am super relaxed and kind of a puddle, like a sleepy kitten who wants to curl up in the sun and nap. After the Lomi Lomi i felt relaxed, but energized. Yes, it seems like an oxymoron, but its true. I stood up and felt wide awake and ready to take on the world. I went to the library, grocery shopping, made dinner, cleaned out my pocketbook, finished a mending project that has been haunting me for weeks and balanced my checkbook - and this is after working all day.
I felt GREAT!
 Lomi Lomi at Massage Associates is only a little more expensive than Swedish massage ($10, i think) and it is totally worth it. Though Swedish will always be my regular massage of choice, i think Lomi Lomi will become my special treat massage.
You should go try it and see for yourself how something can be both relaxing and invigorating at the same time.
It's sorta mind-blowing.

Gold Stars for Grown-ups

I didn't go back to WTMD today.
I didn't make it to Red Cross, either.
 Instead i did laundry and sorted through storage boxes in the sun room. As i was moving box #563 it occured to me that being an adult kinda blows.
I mean, kids get gold stars in school and rewards for good grades. Sometimes you'd get extra allowance for taking on more chores. I remember George saying on her blog that Gaz earned her first Barbie by conquering potty training. Little kids even get prizes in their cereal.
Where are my gold stars?
Where are my prizes, people?
Adults are expected to do everything right all the time just because they are suppose to. We work our jobs and serve our communities and care for our families and maintain our homes because that is what you do in civilized society.
Now i know some people would say that being an adult gives you the right to buy whatever you want, whenever you want. Perhaps it is the deeply ingrained Protestant work ethic speaking, but buying myself something cool just because i want it seems pretty indulgent. Plus, you have to HAVE the money to buy stuff, right? In my monthly budget i give myself a personal allowance for movies or jewelry or gummi worms or what have you, but trust me, it is a small amount that i consider to be preventative maintenance for my mental health.
What i am talking about here is something you have to earn, something that is a reward for doing the things you might not really want to do. I'm not talking about things you do to be a functioning human like being sure your socks match, making your bed or flossing and i'm not talking about the things you do to be a better person like writing your grandparents, tipping the pizza man or donating at the Red Cross.
No, i'm talking about getting up early to do crunches every fricking morning before you get in the shower or remembering to bring the recycling home from work so that it doesn't barricade your desk or swiffering under the bed to get the ginormous dust bunnies instead of just cleaning the floor around the bed.
Well sometimes i don't feel like taking the trash out.
Sometimes i want to just throw away my yogurt containers instead of rinsing them for recycling.
Sometimes i want to tell civilized society to bite me.
That's right society; i'm talking to you - bite me!
But of course, i wouldn't really do that.
That is not the Niki way.
So i have hit upon the solution : gold stars for grown-ups. Not actual gold stars, mind you; i like gold stars as much as i like glitter ponies, but i am talking about something a bit more substantial. Over the summer i got massages on a pretty regular basis as part of my life reset/ stress detox regiment. But now that i am back in my real life there is little time and even littler funds for such extravagances. It is the perfect carrot to dangle on a stick in front of my inner 6-year old. I have devised a reward system that allows me a massage for every 150 points earned. I wanted the system to be reasonable and attainable, but not ridiculously easy, so it should take between 6 weeks and 2 months to reach the goal. That is enough time to save the money for the massage and really have to work at the goal, but not so long that i get disheartened.
This is totally doable.
It is important to do the right thing because it IS the right thing, but sometimes you gotta reward yourself a little, too. Now i just need to find a gold star goal widget for the blog. I'm off to sort, shred and recycle junk mail, people. (worth one point)