More snow!

I am going to start calling this my snow blog. For the third time this fall/winter we have gotten snow. I am truly amazed. It snowed last night and then froze over night. I was sick so I didn't go out into it. I just now stepped outside to see how it looked and if it was thawing. This house tends to be in the shadows and although the other side of the street is pretty thawed (sidewalks) my side is still icy. I guess I will need to put out some sand if it doesn't thaw soon. Wouldn't want the mail man to fall down my stairs.

It is supposed to stay clear but very cold at night here in Seattle the next week. I hope it thaws out soon. Before night fall or I may have a weeks worth of frozen snow on my sidewalk!

I have been sick for over a week. Last Monday I came home all achy and ill feeling. I went to bed early and spent the next week nursing one humdinger of a cold. By Friday I thought I had beaten it.

My head was still stuffy on Saturday when I went to a Korean Spa. I figured that the heat rooms would clear up the last of the stuffy! (More on the spa a little later in this blog). However after a wonderful time at the spa I came home and started feeling icky again. My throat hurt, my sinus' was raging and I generally felt like I had been run over by a truck. Sunday morning I woke up feeling achy again and under the weather. By Sunday night I was much worse. My throat seemed to be hurting so bad that I could hardly swallow.

Then I realized that the last time I had a sinus infection it had also been accompanied by an ear infection and the pain I was feeling was an ear ache. So I started to use my naturopathic remedies to try and make things feel better. On Monday I went in to the ND and indeed had a sinus infection with lots of fluid on my ear. So she added a Chinese medicine, (the same one that worked the last time) and advised that I keep up the other naturopathic things I had started.

I have been off work for two days and it feels so weird. I rarely take a day off when sick. But I was really run down and pretty sick so this is probably good for me, no matter how strange it feels.

The Korean Spa

On Saturday I used a gift certificate for the Olympus spa for women. Oh my goddess, think Roman baths, so decadent. You check in and they hand you a cotton robe and funny little hair cap. You get a locker key for you items later in the locker room, you shoes are checked in at the entrance.

Then you enter the spa. You undress completely and put on the robe and hair cap. Then you have access to all these heated rooms. I chose the sand room. A hot room, 140 degrees, that has canvas over the heated sand. The lights are low, there is the sound of waves and pillows for your head on the floor. You lay down and position your body into the canvassed sand. hmmmm, so relaxing and the heat just seems to relax each muscle.

I had scheduled a body scrub and a body moisturizer. So the instructions said to soak for at least 30 minutes in the hot pools, either 97 or 104 degree. They have several pool spas, one is at 60 degrees. I entered the spa room, put my robe into the cubby, yes, you go in nude. However you don't feel too weird as everyone is nude with the exception of the silly caps. You really quit feeling self conscious after a few minutes.

I tried the 104 pool first whooeee hot. After about 15 minutes I got out and opted for the 97 degree pool, which felt oh so much cooler. You can also get out and use a mug wort rinse. It is mug wort heated water that you pour over your body. hmmm feels great.

After 30 minutes a woman called my number. She told me to wash my hair, all products are provided by the way. So I went and washed my hair. She came and got me and put me on a massage table. Basically arranging my body like I was a mannequin. Feet here, arms here etc. Then she poured wonderfully hot water over me and commenced to scrub with a scrubby pad. More rinse water, more scrubbing. Roll to one side, roll to other, lay on your stomach. Never have I been so clean!!! Then she had me go to the dry sauna, after a few minutes she came and got me. Then she coated my body with olive oil, milk and honey. On my face she put a cucumber mask. The scrub and the moisturizing treatment also feels like a massage at times. Afterward they tell you not to bathe or shower that day and to drink lots of water. My skin felt like baby skin all fresh pink, soft and glowing.

I will probably return, who can resist such pampering for long. Definitely worth the money (even though this time it was a gift certificate), I am willing to put out the moola for another such experience!