Under Arm Waxing -- OW!

So yesterday was my summer shearing, aka, the annual spring underarm waxing. I am now silky smooth under both arms but, as with anything in life worth having, there's always a price to pay.

In case you've never experienced the nirvana that is an underarm waxing, here's a little insider glimpse based on yesterday's visit.

The first thing you need to know is that you can't just show up for a waxing. The hair has to grow out first, which is usually a 10-day process. The hair must be long enough so the waxing paper will adhere to it and yank it out from the root. So I've been walking around in long-sleeved shirts and arms clamped to my sides for the past two weeks. I can't stand the growing out process. Grosses me out. But such is the price for beauty...

I enter the salon and recline face up on a table. Shirt off, jog bra on, at the technicians request I raise my right arm above my head and bend it at a 90 degree angle so I'm laying on my palm. Then I take my left hand and hold taut the skin under the arm as the technician takes a tongue depressor, dips it into hot lava wax (or what feels like lava wax, anyway), then spreads the wax on my skin, coating all hair.  Then she takes what feels like a cardboard-y paper towel and pats it into the wax, really smooshing it in so it sticks. Then with nothing more than a cheerful, "Ready?" she grabs the end of the wax paper and rips the paper away, taking half my skin with her.

Well, not really. But it feels like it. It's actually a burning sensation, like someone is holding lit matches under your arm. The pain fades quickly, within seconds, but while it's there, it's intense.  It's a little glimpse into how I might handle torture. (Note: Tell me nothing. I'll crack instantly.)

You might think you're done, but no. That just covered a section of hair. She applies wax and rips 1-2 more times before moving to the next side. Then tweezers are used to remove any stubborn hairs that withstood the molten lava treatment. A dash of lotion on each pit and I'm out the door and on my way.

The sad part is, I want more of this treatment. I've had a bikini wax but I think I passed out from the pain, so I don't recall much. If I had money to burn, I'd do electrolysis. You know, the treatment where they electrocute the hair on your body ? Yeah, I want that. I'll mock those who get Botox, but bring on high voltage shocks that fry follicles dead on the spot. That's good stuff.

All of this so I don't have to spend 45 seconds each morning shaving under my arms. But I may also be shaping human evolution. Enough of us females (and heck, males) keep removing hair from our body, sooner or later Mother Nature will cue in and just stop giving it to us.

Social evolutionizer (and vain hair freak)--that's me.

Daily Must Do's

I am a list maker. Whether it's for the grocery store, chores, or work-related items to tackle for the day, I make a list to make sure nothing is forgotten or overlooked or--gasp!--not attended to.

Along with this, there are certain daily habits I aim to cultivate. Things or actions that are important to me and that I want to make sure get done every single day on top of whatever might be on the list of the moment. The problem is, there are only so many hours in the day, I appear to have a limited amount of willpower upon which to call, and the list keeps growing.

For example, my current list of "daily must do's" reads as follows:

• Meditate
• Morning pages - handwrite 3 pages about anything first thing in the morning.
• 8 Minute Workout - This is weight training from George Cruz's book by the same title. I'm trying to get myself into the habit of working with weights now, so that when my running schedule picks up again, the habit is fully formed.
• Write 1,000 new words EACH & EVERY DAY on a new YA novel I'm working on.  The "each and every day" part must be stressed or else I'll do the "I'll write my 1,000 words tomorrow" trick and suddenly it's Friday and I owe myself 7,000 words!
• Stretch. Especially that right hamstring which still appears to be tightening instead of loosening.
• Drink 8 glasses of water (or thereabouts).
• Play with cats.

The almost daily activities include:

• Run - 5x/week
• Yoga - Would prefer 3x/week, but I've been doing two.
• Cook - 4x/week

There is more I'd like to add to the weekly list, such as a certain amount of time to spent outdoors, reading, focusing on marketing work, straightening the house, connecting with family/friends, etc.

When I look at my main list, it doesn't look bad at all. It's only 2-3 hours, depending on how long the 1,000 words take. So it just shouldn't be that hard to fit in. But somehow when I add in e-mail and work and runs and showering and phone calls and errands... things get set to the side.

I'm not really complaining. I love my life and the freedom that comes with it. That's probably part of my problem. I know I have "all day" to get stuff done and time just slips away. Plus, there is the teeniest-tiniest chance that I may be too regimented in my approach to life. (But just a tiny chance...)

What about you all? Any "must do's" on your daily list?

Vote Today

Today is the North Carolina primary. We're not used to our vote actually counting (a May 6th primary? Come on.) and the state is all a flutter. Blair and I were at the polls at 6:30, when they opened, and there was actually a short line--almost unheard of in our tiny community. There were a couple of young girls in front of us, voting in their first election.  Good for them.

I'm amazed at the number of women who don't vote.  Who feel like their voice doesn't matter in the least and no one will listen to what they need or what they want. There are more women than men in this country. If we would just grab hold of the reins and get serious about making our voices heard, think of the changes we could enact.  As a small example, it still just absolutely floors me that some health insurance will cover Viagra prescriptions but not birth control. Are you freaking kidding me?? Tell me that's not a male-dominated decision.

Anyway, this post isn't a political rant. It's just to say that Democrat or Republican or Independent, we all ought to exercise our right--our privledge--to vote.

I'll wear my "I Voted" sticker with pride today.

Unable to Focus

For almost a week now, I've been unable to settle in and focus on any one task. Whether it's brushing my teeth or working on an article, I kind of float around the task at hand, diving in and out like a seagull dipping into the ocean to snag a fish and then flying away, only to return for a repeat attempt two minutes later.

I feel jittery. It can't be caffeine--I don't drink it. I'm not feeling stressed or nervous. I'm just off in la-la land and, frankly, it's annoying. I sit down to work on something and pop up to put clothes in the washer. Sit down, oops! Forgot to get coffee. Sit down, check e-mail, then up to pet the cats. Sit down, finally work on article. Phone rings. Ignore it, but get up to get more coffee, change laundry, and put on music. Sit down, thumb through a book and wonder if I'm on the right path to accomplishing my goals. Get up to check hair in mirror (I'm letting it grow out long and curly and it's taking up quite a bit of space these days.) And just on and on and on...

Getting ready for bed last night, I walked in and out of the bathroom no less then 7 times. That's ridiculous. I can't even settle in and read. Nothing holds my attention and I have... not quite a headache, but more what feels like could be the start of a headache.

I'm monitoring my TV time and trying (trying) to cut back on how often I check e-mail. I think so much of what I do in life, like TV and e-mail, is cut up into tiny little sections that the brain rebels when it's presented with a task that requires a long stretch of undivided attention. I'm retraining it to PAY ATTENTION.

And now that I've managed to sit still for the six minutes it took to write this blog, I'm freaking out. Calm on the exterior, doing the cha-cha inside. Let's hope an hour on the treadmill will take care of that.

Happy hump day.