Adventures In Dogsitting, Take 2!

Yep, more sitting of fuzzy beasts...this time, the wonderful Naya and Kuma, belonging to Dan and Jill! The humans are off at conventions for 2 weeks, so I am here watching puppies and enjoying time alone. 

Before I get to all that, though, I have to tell you all about the weekend. I did close to 700 minutes of chair massage, including the after-party. We were CRAZY BUSY. And that's not even including the fact I had a second therapist with me all weekend, and Kelly for a bit, and the fact that she and two other therapists were even busier at Planet Comic Con. 

I was very happy being where we were, too...our booth was right behind the booth of Nene Thomas! If you don't know who she is, look her up...you've probably seen her beautiful artwork before. About 4 years ago, my grandmother bought me a throw by Nene (Flamenco Faery) for Yule, and it's still hanging over my curtains. So, I had to buy some art from her. I bought two large prints, a medium print, and a few postcard size prints. And then, to top it off, because Sarah (the other therapist) and I had bought a bunch of stuff, and because we'd both been so sweet, while we were all tearing down, she gave both of us a free print!! I was so excited!!! It isn't often I get to meet an artist who's work I've admired for so long, so I add that experience to the short list of really great meetings :D

I left Kansas City early Monday morning, and drove straight here to let the dogs out (to answer the old question...yea, it was me :P ). They were very happy to see me, and I got puppy kisses and even lovingly nommed by a Kuma :) 

Honestly, this job has been a billion times easier than the last time I dogsat. Oz was very sweet, but also extremely skittish. He'd shake and pee at loud sounds, and didn't play or act like a dog much at all. My friend Kristin and I decided he was more like a giant bunny. But these two, they're dogs. They play, they romp, and, while they sit up and pay attention if I make a loud noise, it doesn't phase them. They're crazy easy to take care of and love, even with giving Kuma his meds every morning and evening. 

But these two weeks aren't just about taking care of them. They're also about taking care of myself. I've let my weight and health slip for far too long, and I'm taking this opportunity where I have the equipment I prefer and the alone time to jump-start a remedy to that. I've been working out everyday, eating less, and, starting today, will be meditating everyday as well. So far, I've already lost 4lbs, and I feel like I'm beginning to feel better.

Plus, I get to watch a TON of movies! I'm designing my own personal movie nights, pairing movies I've seen with ones I haven't that fit together. Today was my Disney Princess day. First, Sleeping Beauty, then Anastasia (I know, that's 20th Century Fox, but meh), then Brave, then....FROZEN!!!! :D My poor vocal chords are unhappy with me from all the singing along, but I don't care. It was a very good day. 

Now to go let in the fuzzies for the night, and rest my voice for the future...planning on doing a Phantom/Les Miserables night, and a Repo/Sweeney Todd/Labyrinth night before my vacation is over :)

Corsets, Cold Meds, and Chair Massage

First off, I have to say how freaking happy I am that the weather has started to warm here in Iowa. We've had temps up in the low 50's, and, while at the end of summer, that's not great, at the end of winter, it's wonderful. I can walk outside in a t-shirt and skirt now, and that's awesome.

But, I'll be leaving for even warmer weather this weekend. I'm heading to Kansas City, KS tomorrow for Naka-Con, an anime convention held in Overland Park. It's forecasted to be in the 70's until Sunday there. Yay!!!

I'll be staying with and working under my good friend Kelly Lewis, who runs a chair massage booth at conventions. As I have my own chair, she's invited me to come do some massage at the con, and to stay with her for the weekend.

Here's a tip for any massage therapists out there, and this I got from Kelly: When you're doing chair massage at an event or a con, wear a corset. Not kidding. I was amazed last year when I did this with her, just how much it helped with both posture and keeping everything from hurting. Without the corset, chair massage is never comfortable. You're half bent over, trying to push with your arms from a position where you don't have all that much leverage. Wearing a corset keeps your back straight...it's basically a back brace, only more awesome.

Speaking of corsets...I get to wear a couple new ones this time round. I've been wanting an underbust corset for a long time..and a couple weeks ago, my AWESOME friend Kristin decided to get me a late Yule present :) So, we looked around online, and wound up back at www.corset-deal.com, which is where we've both gotten our best corsets before. Browsing around, I found they had a category of Buy-One-Get-One-Free, so I looked through there. I found a beautiful blue-brocade waist-training underbust, and a silver one just like it...so she bought them for me!

I'll also get to wear some other new gear at con: my new Fenris Firar Official Pack Member t-shirt and wrist bands!!! They were the awesome perks I got for donating to my best friends' indie-go-go fund. Most of you probably already know Samurai Dan and Jillian, aka Dan and Jill Coglan, but if you don't, you should go look them up, 'cause they're awesome. (Do I say "awesome" a lot? ;) )

I'm super excited for the weekend....apart from the fact that I'll be doing all this with a cold. Now, normally when I get a cold, I spend 4 or 5 days dragging myself around the house, chugging NyQuil and sleeping as much as possible. But I can't do that this weekend. Gotta work. So, instead, DayQuil and allergy meds, lots of hot tea with honey, and plenty of tissues on hand. I'm already a few days in, so I'm past being contagious.

It's going to be a very interesting, but very fun weekend. And, if you happen to be going to Naka, stop by and get yourself a massage!