Respite, Relax, & Rejuvenate

     Today, I wanted to talk about relaxation...how do you relax?  Do you take long walks?  Do you read a book?  Take a bubble bath?  Do some yoga?  Get a massage?  Drink some wine?  The reason I ask is, with our upcoming move it has been difficult to relax with all the list making, the kiddos (which the grandparents totally stepped up and offered to watch them for us, which is greatly appreciated), the paper work, the waiting, the doctor and dentist appointments, now the packing of all our stuff.  Usually, I like to bake when I get stressed or anxious.  But, lately we have been clearing out the kitchen of food to get ready for everything in it to be tossed, donated to a friend, or packed up.  Which leaves me with no flour, no sugar, no vanilla, no baking powder, no baking soda, no chocolate chips, not even salt.  Ah boo.
    So, I turned to my other go to method.  Can someone say PEDICURE?!  Ya, I love pedi's, don't you?  I don't know of any mommy, let alone a woman who would say "no" to having someone pamper them with a soothing foot soak, gentle hands trimming and filing your nails, massaging knots out, and beautifying their toes.  Heck, there are even men who love this.  For one, my dad!  Yep, you read it here!  My 6'5" giant of a man dad loves, and I mean LOVES pedicures.  Side note, when him and my mom go shopping at Walmart he sometimes excuses himself to go get one, leaving my mom to do the shopping.  Pretty funny huh?  I just wish one day he would come home with pink or purple toe nails, but he doesn't.  He sticks to the clear polish.  BOR-RING.  See, who can resist them?
     With that all said, I just wanted to share my latest spa experience I had just the other day at Duncan Noble Rejuvenating Spa.  Let me start by saying, if it weren't for my friend, Gaby, and her awesome goodbye gift with contained this little gem of a gift card to this place I wouldn't have even known about it.  Which is a shame, because EVERYONE should try out this place!  So today, I am spreading the word!

     With our Las Cruces days numbered and pretty much filled up with last minute errands, cleaning out the house, packing suitcases, dropping garage sale items off at my friend's house, and supervising the packing, I had to find a day for some "me time" ASAP! I called up Duncan Noble to schedule my appointment, which I was in luck because their nail technician, Bernise, was available later that day. The receptionist was very polite and prompt with calling me back to confirm my 5:00pm appointment.

     When I arrived the receptionist was sweet and personable, using my name to speak to me, then preceded to show me to pedicure room.  Before I even sat down, she offered me something to drink, which I just stuck to water, it was a pretty warm day.  Just as I sat down with my cool water, in comes Bernise carrying a tub of warm water filled with blue stones on the bottle.  She was almost magical.  Ok, maybe she wasn't or maybe it had just been too long since I was taken care of.  Moms are so busy, we sometimes forget we need take a few moments to respite, relax, and rejuvenate.
     She greets me with a "hello" and smile.  So pleasing to see a warm smile.  I take my sandals off and dip them into the blue colored water.  The perfect temperature.  
    We get to taking as she lets me soak my worn feet.  I have a bad habit of running around the house and something outside (as in the garage, but there's NO way I'm stepping in our yard full of Las Cruces' finest rocks) bare foot.  Which of course, isn't the best for your feet, oh well.  Anyways, we continue to talk as she begins her work on my right foot.  First taking off the polish, then filing the nails, cutting the cuticles, you know all the basic pedicure stuff.  Not once did she nick me or pull too hard on some skin.  Very delicate in her movements, which made this pedicure so relaxing.  Even when she went to do the heels, which can be a huge tickle moment.  Didn't tickle.  But she did make sure to leave no rough spots.  Very important.  I hate it when you get home and feel your feet, right after you had a pedi to discover your heels still have calluses.  Another boo.
     She continued onto the left foot.  We talked about my move, our kids, about Las Cruces, the military, places to eat...just random stuff.  Then she applied this all natural cooling foot mask, which made me look like I had HULK feet, and let me just relax a bit to let it dry.  She turned off the lights, and at one point I totally could of fallen asleep.  But I didn't, before I knew it she was carrying two steaming hot towels to wrap my feet it.  They were warm, but felt great.  She cleaned up my feet and was ready to get painting, but not before she gave me a great and much needed foot massage.

     During my session, the owner, Beth, stopped by welcoming me to her spa.  She was nice also and mentioned the spa has been open for 17 years!  Pretty cool.  We talked a little more about Germany and the kiddos before she had an appointment of her own.  She's a Medical Esthetic and Nurse Specialist who specializes in advanced skin care with Laser, Botox, and Dermal Fillers and you should totally check her out!  There's so many treatments available, from massages to wraps and scrubs, to a sauna, skin care, facial enhancements, nail care, hair removal, make-up, lash thickening, I just wish I had more time here in the Cruces to try another.
     When Bernise was finished my feet were beautiful again thanks to her and her magical hands!  I may be stretching it a bit, but really, aren't you so happy after getting a pedicure you didn't have to do yourself?  

    I thanked her for her wonderful services then drove back home to show off my pretty purple toes to the hubby, which I knew Little K. would totally love (she has a thing for purple these days).
     Well, that was just my experience.  One that I throughly enjoyed and am totally thankful for.  I hope my fellow Las Cruces friends will check it out too!