Month: January 2017

Amore’ Reflexology

When my sister asked me to join her for an appointment for reflexology I was all in. I love a massage, any kind of massage.
When we arrived the woman who were leaving were in the lobby looking very relaxed, almost rubbery and they glided out the door with almost drunken smiles. Soon after we were led into a low lit room with soft nature music in the background.
This was a little different from a massage, you stay fully clothed (except your shoes), and your in the same room as a few others. You start in a huge recliner type chair with your feet submerged in warm water (which feels amazing). And then the masseuse/reflexologist starts their magic. It’s a combination of massage and stretches some your wondering how they contorted your body into, but each one the perfect compliment to the next or previous part of the massage. When they were done I was relaxed, energetic and my sinuses felt clear!
It was a one hour treatment with the cost only being $35.00! I have paid twice that for massages in the past and walked away disappointed. If I lived in Houston I would be at this place at least once a week.

* 4003 Bellaire Blvd. Ste. G
* Houston, TX 77025

Middle Seat Etiquette
I recently flew southwest airlines from San Antonio to Houston, It was the typical Southwest scenario, full flight, every seat taken, and Southwest does not have assigned seating.   Don and I were traveling together so I took the middle seat so he could sit on the aisle for more leg room. Don as always was the perfect travel companion, but sitting in the middle seat I was reminded that those in the middle seat will as always have the most unpleasant flight experience unless other flyers consider some brief rules of “middle seat etiquette”, because lets face it, middle seat flyers are people too.
Rule 1 – Arm space – Come on guys, you window person, you can lean on the wall, so why are you hogging the arm rest, plus YOU HAVE A WINDOW!. You on the aisle, okay, you have nothing to lean on, but you can lean toward the aisle (unless the service cart is coming), or you can get up whenever you want without bothering anyone, so give the middle seat the some armrest consideration, flyers.
Rule 2 – Leg Space – Southwest does have exceptionally tiny little seats with minimal space to put your legs, put the same rules apply as do with arm space. Don’t sit there with your legs spread wide open and your knees in front of the seat next to you. You know the middle seat cost just as much as your ticket. This is not your living room!
So share!
Rule 3 – Lights and Air – How much light does one person need glaring in their face. I hate it when people just want a little light so they adjust the light away, towards….the middle seat of course. The same with the air vent, my hair should not look like I am posing for a fashion magazine  or driving in a convertible while in flight.
Rule 4 – Be nice – well that goes for anyone in your tiny little flight row, remember we are all paying a small fortune for the privilege of sitting in that microscopic space together. So be kind to your fellow flyers. Don’t blast your music so high that it can be heard through your headphones, don’t point your offensive movies towards others in the row.  And if your going to bring food on board please dont ask for extra garlic or onions, and dont use that poor middle seat person as your garbage can when your done eating.
Be kind to those in the middle, because someday that middle seat may belong to you, and I promise karma sucks.

They say ignorance is bliss, and it was ignorance that allowed me to climb Koko Head in Hawaii two years ago.
Don heard from a coworker that sunrise from the top of Koko Head was a must see while on Oahu. We looked it up, and found that it was a medium difficulty level to climb. . I am not in the best of shape, but was ok with pushing myself for the promise of a beautiful sunrise. So on the second day of our vacation we were up at 4 am, following GPS instructions anxious for our sunrise adventure. We kept finding ourselves in a local neighborhood, after forty five minutes of “What is wrong with the GPS we realized we needed to drive through the neighborhood to reach the trailhead.
There was no moon and very dark when we arrived at the park. We could not see the top, only a strange shadowy shape cut against the stars.
Warning sign number one!
The trail was dark, it looked slightly daunting, but not so difficult. There were multiple warning signs at the bottom but we were too excited or maybe it was just too dark to notice them.
Warning sign number two!
We headed up the stairs, I started the climb with an excited run, “This is going to be a great workout.” I said, the darkness blinding me to just how far it was to the top.
What I had not know was that the “steps” were actually a train tracks built during World War II to haul people and equipment to the top. So these were not your typical stairs. The steps were actually one thousand and forty eight railroad ties, some of them were in bad shape. Broken, bent and dirty making the climb slippery and difficult. Hence the local nickname, “The 1,000 steps of doom”.

Warning sign number three!
It’s a good thing my flashlight only could see a few steps ahead of me, because if I had been able to see the steep climb I may have turned back. We had been warned that part of the climb was on a bridge and that some bees had taken up residence and since we were unable to see the drop underneath we opted for the alternate trip around through little gully on the side of the bridge.
Up up we climbed. If this were the Stairway to Heaven then the climb certainly was our purgatory to get there. As we climbed we were joined by many other would be adventurers, some who ran this daily as their work out, people of all ages were climbing this in hopes of seeing an amazing sunrise, to stay healthy or just as a personal challenge. The other hikers were encouraging us, “Your almost there!” they would tell me as they zoomed past me with their perfect bodies. Finally I could see the top, there were several people taking selfies with their best “Rocky” poses.
I was almost there I panted, I wondered if they had oxygen at the top as my lungs felt as though they were about to explode.
Don and I rested at the top before walking around to the the east side where the sun had just started peaking its head over the horizon. The views and the colors the sunrise made over the top were spectacular. All the pain from the climb was gone, as I realized the climb was worth the view.

We remained on top for nearly an hour, walking around taking in the multiple views from the top, it was so breathtaking that I never wanted to leave, plus part of me dreaded the climb down, which I knew was going to be painful.
Finally after realizing that we probably could not stay up there forever, I surrendered to starting the decent down. It was daylight now and looking down, I was amazed at the climb Don and I had made in the dark that morning. There were stairs towards the top were set at a near 90 degree angle. Well not really, it just felt like that. “We did that?” I asked Don, stalling while I tried to figure out how the heck we were going to get down without the ignorance of darkness on our side. No side rails, no even steps, just what seemed like miles of shaky tracks.
Down we climbed, when I got tired I sat down and slid down part of the trail (which actually was a bit fun).
At the bottom my legs felt like jello, I am sure others in the park must have thought I was intoxicated as I struggled to make my way to our car.
It took lots of Advil and stretching before my legs recovered, but now, finally, two years later, my legs are okay.
On our trip back to Hawaii this year I asked Don to go by the park so I could see Koko Head in the daylight to make sure I had not over exaggerated the climb. This time the thought of it seemed even more daunting. “We should get back in shape so we can climb it again our next trip.”
“Sure” Don said smiling, “I will let you take the lead on that one.”