More of My Favorite Things - #5 Day Spa's!

On my 45th Birthday my daughter, Duana, took me for my first PEDICURE! I very well may have had my first manicure also. Being the mother of seven there wasn’t money in the budget to do such things let alone trying to find the time to get away from the family to do such a thing. I did enjoy it and it did become a regular seasonal thing. Pedicures can last at least 3 months so I’d go towards the end of spring and that would last till nearly the end of summer and I’d go again at that time. I tried the acrylic nails but when I would have them taken off I didn’t like the way my nails were left so thin. In March of 2007 for Bobby’s wedding Duana had introduced me to silk wrapping and I kept them up through Duana’s wedding that took place the end of June. With the kids getting older getting away for an hour or so was easier and since I started working money wasn’t so tight any longer.

Another way of being pampered was the massage my nephew and his wife gave me as a gift for catering their wedding. It was for Peaches & Cream in Glendora and that was the first full fledge massage I ever had.

I had a SPA Experience with my husband once a long time ago for our Anniversary and it gave you a little bit of everything in about an hour’s time. That probably was about 20 years ago. It was a place where men and women were split up so I basically went through it by myself. I remember going into the Sauna then I was taken into a hot tub filled with mineral water, showered off then was given a robe with some flavored water to sip while laying down on a wooden bench listening to soft music. I had an Edward G. Robinson experience which is a part of the movie in "Soylent Green" where he goes into this place and is laid on a bed to relax while watching a video with scenery of beautiful green grasses & flowers with this type of soft music playing and then he falls into a deep sleep never to awaken. If you have never seen this movie I encourage you to rent the dvd and watch it but it may hamper your ability to ever be able to enjoy a SPA Experience again!

 

 

In most recent years I have been to Cote d’Azur in Pasadena. I should clarify that I have been there twice. I was able to get a half-price discount so I tried it and absolutely loved it. I especially loved the hot stone treatment they give you. I took my mother since she needed to have a massage for medical reasons and this was her first ever experience too. She really enjoyed it too.



This past Mother's Day, my children went in together to buy me a gift certificate for Glen Ivy. I've had mixed emotions about this place. I had no idea what to expect. I know I have looked at their website before and read about the different things you can experience there but I never would have imagined in a million years that I would do The Mud Thing. People really put mud all over their bodies? REALLY? Well, let me tell you about my experience I had on Monday, June 20th.

 

The Friday before was Duana and Billy’s Birthdays so I had arranged to take Billy and his friends from school to go see “Green Lantern.” His brothers were available to join us too so it was a day spent with my boys. So on Monday I would be spending my day with my girls. Well, at least with Duana and Diana. Dawna had to work so she wasn’t able to join us. Diana and I left the house around 10am to pick up Duana. We stopped by Chick-Fil-A to get some breakfast then proceeded on our way to Glen Ivy in Corona. We took the same exit for Tom’s Farms so I knew when we were done we’d have to stop by there. When we arrived in the parking lot I was in total awe. We had to park in the overflow parking lot and as we were walking up the path I could see the line of people waiting to get in. We weren’t even up to the sign yet that read, “90 minute wait from this point.” Oh my goodness! Are you kidding me? After about 10 minutes a lady was walking by the line asking if anyone had appointments made. I said we did for 1:45pm. She said to follow her. She took us up toward the beginning of the line on the left side where there were about 10 people ahead of us. It didn’t take much time at all to reach the entrance and then we were taken to the locker room area to check in. While walking to that area the lady was showing us the different areas. We checked in and then put our things in the locker. By now it was about 11:45am so Duana suggested we start at the hot tub. We went to the covered one but it was full so we opted for the one that was in full sun. It did have a nice view of the hillside in the distance but being that it was a hot tub and the water was rather hot and we were in full sun we didn’t last long in there. We decided we would try the covered hot tub again and even though it was full we walked into it anyway. While standing in the center a few ladies did leave so we were able to sit at the edge and enjoy ourselves. We must have stayed there for at least 20 minutes. Next we would make our way to the wading pool but on the way we saw the sulpher tubs and thought we would wait for one to open up but they were full and other people were waiting to get in so we passed on those.

The wading pool wasn’t any better. All the rafts were taken so we walked over to the pool area but looking at the water it looked a bit murky with the various sunscreens people put on themselves. I kind of have a thing about stuff in pool water. I told the girls let’s just go sit at the edge of the wading area. We would at least have our feet in the water and it wasn’t long before someone asked if we would like their rafts to lie on. But of course! There we were, lying on the rafts with the chattering of people everywhere. Bumper to bumper in the wading pool, you could hear the pleasant music playing so we relaxed. Relax? We did the best we could.

After another 30 minutes it was time for The Mud Thing. Club Mud I should say. I think as a young girl I made mud pies once. Now I was going to be rubbing this mud all over my body. REALLY? I should call it Red Clay Mud. Is there really a difference in Mud? I saw the Mud pool but I do have a thing about murky water so there was no way I would get into that pool of mud! Good thing they have an area where they bring out a pile of mud you can grab by the handful and rub it all over yourself. Am I really going to do this? I started with my feet and worked my way up. Diana rubbed it on my back then the girls helped each other rubbing the mud on their backs. My Indian blood is coming out in me. I’m of Navajo decent and they do have a rather red tint to their skin so I was getting in touch with the Indian in me. The last part to do would be my face. I am really doing this. Good Lord! Now we are to allow the mud to dry. We went into the hot room to try and let it dry but it wasn’t drying on the girls’ skin. We went back outside so after about 10 or 15 minutes it was dry enough to start brushing it off. Diana brushed it off my back and I started on my arms. I kept rubbing and rubbing but it didn’t appear to be coming off! I thought to myself, “This is supposed to be fun?” It’s NOT coming off! Diana was explaining to me that this is exfoliating my skin. I could feel the tiny grains in it and it was hurting a little trying to brush it off. The girls had already started washing off in the shower so I went over their way and waited till they were done. All I could imagine was trying to wash this off and just looking muddy. It was washing off pretty easily. Now was the moment of truth. I stepped under the shower and started washing it off. Oh my goodness! I couldn’t believe what I was feeling! My skin, it was so soft! Wow! Our phrase of the day was, “We’re going to look like a baby!” If you haven’t seen the Wal-mart commercial of the little girls smearing cream all over their grandpa’s face you need to look it up on YouTube! I was astonished although I it did look like I rubbed off my tan that I had.

Now it was time for The Grotto. This was our saving grace that we were able to get into  Glen Ivy since we had an appointment set. This is probably one of the least expensive services you can do and if it helps get you through the line quicker by all means, do it! None of us had been through this experience so this was something new for all of us to try. It was explained to us what the process would be. We would go down the elevator to start at the first station. We were painted with this mixture of shea butter, aloe vera and coconut oil. It was on heavy. In the next room we would sit there and just rub the mixture all over our body. It was very slippery and if you rub it on the bottoms of your feet walk very carefully as on the ground can slide easily. We were to be there for no longer than 10 minutes. At that point we went into the next room where we would shower off al the cream. This made our skin feel even softer. Truly amazing! The last room is where we would sit as long as we liked sipping on hot tea or cold water. They also gave us a crisp green apple to munch on. We were all feeling so relaxed.

Now it was time for lunch. The food is so delicious at their restaurant. I think we had the Goat Cheese and Pear Salad and the Margherita Pizza that the 3 of us shared. They serve you so much food so you would be smart to share whatever you order. It was all so good! We took our time. By now we determined that we would be staying until they closed. We took our time eating and then we went and found a place to lounge.

Around 4pm Diana wanted to go to the Sauna. I followed her and once she walked into the Sauna she realized that wasn’t where she wanted to go. I followed her around until she found where it was she wanted to go. It was the indoor Roman Bath she wanted to go in. I joined her so we stayed until 5pm. We had to wait a bit for shower stalls to open. I had thought of waiting until I got home to bathe but then thought again that it would be nice to go home feeling so nice and soft and squeaky clean! The shower stalls have shampoo, conditioner and body soap. It felt so good. There is also an area where you can use the hair dryer and put on your makeup. By 6pm we were done!

We took a few pictures by the entrance before we left. This really was my first true Day Spa Experience. Would I do it again? Of course! Would I do it soon? No. This is something to look forward to once maybe twice a year. It will probably be at least 6 months before I felt I needed to do this to peel off a couple layers of skin. From what I understand you can get in free for your birthday. My birthday is in a couple weeks so I may not do this again till next year. If my kids get me another gift certificate for Glen Ivy I will hold on to it. I’ll come for my birthday and then I’ll use my certificate the following January. It would be fun to try this experience in the Wintertime. Everyone should try this at least once in their lifetime!

On the way back we did stop at Tom’s Farms. I bought rhubarb, strawberries and mangos. They were delicious! On the way home I received a text from Duane letting me know he had a board meeting to attend. I was already in bed by the time he came home. He wanted to hear about my day. I gave him all the details like I did here. We were laying in bed while I told him the story and I could tell he was starting to doze off. I finished my story and we just laid there. I finally had to say to him, “Aren’t you going to feel my skin and see how soft I am?!” I may wish I looked like a baby but I am so glad I am a woman. What is that song Shania Twain sings? “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” REALLY!

 

¹² Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. Esther 2:12 NIV

I experienced just a day. I can’t imagine a whole year!