thank you. no, thank YOU.

i was excited when i managed to turn moan-day around with a last-minute appointment for a facial at ambiance spa, located inside the claremont club. the club has been our go-to spot for reasonably priced spa treatments for quite a while, and i even had a gift card that still had a bit of cash on it. i had a super duper gorgeous volcano on my chin, and i hoped that a facial would help speed up the drying and healing process. hey, a girl can dream. plus, i couldn't remember the last time i'd had one and was beside myself with glee over the soothing, relaxing hour ahead.


after i busted out of the office at 12:30, i hopped onto the freeway and sped my happy ass eastbound, pulling into a parking spot just before my 1:00 appointment time.

my facialist, amy, appeared to escort me back into a treatment room, where i was given a super sexy gown to wear as i slid onto the wonderfully heated bed. i was so freaking excited to be there. hawt, huh?

my hour of bliss started with a lovely hand massage, and after slathering my paws with lots of moisturizing lotion, amy wrapped them in plastic and slid them into warm mitten-like thingys. she removed all of my makeup, and it gets fuzzy after that. i always try to stay awake during these things, but it's so damn hard when i'm so relaxed and comfortable. i did manage, but it was tough. heh.

that's not to say that i wasn't totally alert when she switched on the overhead light and started scanning my skin for crap to extract. i love and hate that part, because that shit hurts, but the results are so fantastic. and i was pleased to note that she didn't really find much to poke and prod. i'd mentioned the ginormous zit i was rocking on my chin (which is almost under my lower lip, so it's really not too visible, but still) and she worked on it, ending with a few zaps of some kind of scary tool that she claimed would kill any remaining bacteria in there. it didn't hurt, but it stung a little, and there was an odd smell in the air afterwards. yummy, huh?

as usual, that hour went by all too quickly, and i knew that the lovely scalp massage i was getting signaled the end. kind of like when you get a massage, and the masseuse has already rubbed down every body part and then runs her (i always get a female) hands down and along your entire body before murmuring "okay, you're all done." i hate that part so much. i could lay there for hours.


look at how to' up i was, all woozy and sans makeup. damn.

but as it turns out, i have more spa-ing to look forward to. the hub came home one day last week and asked me to check the calendar for an upcoming date in december. turns out that he's been invited by a client he worked with this year to a "thank you" dinner. but it's not just dinner. oh, no. we get to check in to a room at the gorgeous casa del mar hotel in santa monica:

we get to spend the night in one of their luxurious rooms and - here's the kicker - anything we want on property, including spa treatments, are on their dime.

[thud]

i pass out every time i think about it. i perused the spa services menu last night and i canNOT wait. 90 minute facial? okay. 90 minute massage? sure! 90 minute body scrub? well, if you insist.


even the idea of spending a night away from the bean for the first time isn't putting a damper on this for me. haha! i think a lot of that has to do with the fact that she can finally get through the night without me, and we'll be close enough that we can be home in an hour if need be. i know she'll be okay, though. i just hope i will. those spa treatments'll help, i'd say.


speaking of the bean, she's been making some really funny faces for me lately. here's one:

free entertainment, every day. gotta love it.