December Dare Count

To date,
Dares received: 26  
Dares completed: 17

1. Create a blog
2. Wake up everyday and smile and stretch
3. Get highlights
4. Relax and sample new adventures (on the cheap)
5. Go to a drag show
6. Complete this puzzle
7. Fund-raiser walk
8. Paint a portrait of someone I love(d)
9. Read a fiction classic of at least 300 pages
10. Become a raw food believer for one week
11. Visit my parents in Bellingham
12. Join Match.com for one month 
13. Volunteer with a cause you believe in but gets you out of your comfort zone
14. Say hello to strangers
15.  Run a 10K
16.  Visit the geographic center of the US
17. Take a mud bath trip with my sister
    

Dares busted: 2

1. Visit Wenmiao/The Ghost Market in Shanghai 
2. Dance on the Bund with a local Shanghainese

Dare on Deck:

1. Get 100 people to say thank you
2. Streak nude (you'll see)
   

More Gosh Darned Reflections

53/54 weeks ago, my life underwent a major change. I admitted to myself the man with whom I wanted to partner my life was not the man with whom I was in a 4+ year relationship. I have been devastated before, but not in love and not at a time in my life when I was mature enough to know I had to use the experience as a catalyst, rather than a road block. 

Throughout the year, I have had an exciting list of dares to work my way though. All have been monumental in some degree for me, and all have helped me heal over the year. It’s been a year, people! 
But, it’s not over yet…

Amazing things have happened in my life and the lives of my friends and family in 2010. I am fortunate that I got to be present for all of it. While I still have a few dares left, I feel really good about where I am. I, in no way, thought I would be able to feel this positive a year ago. I can only thank y'all for that. Thank you for your tireless support, well-timed laughs and creative brainstorming. 
You rock! 

Happy New Year!

Take a mud bath with me (Karen Courtney)

Well, hello, yes! This sounds amazing, right?  I've never even done a spa day before, so I was excited to try this out. My sister knew the place she wanted to go - Indian Springs Resort and Spa in Calistoga, CA. She gave me a quick run through of all the steps to the mud bath process. Thank you, Karen, for not letting me walk in blind!

What is it like?

1. Strip down in the locker room and get into your plush, green robe
2. Sip cucumber infused water
3. Enter the mud bath room and lose our robe
4. Climb into a giant tub of hot, black mud with the assistance of Maria
5. Since you don't sink in the mud, lay on top of the mud naked, while Maria scoops up mud and covers you up
6. Lay in the mud for 12-15 minutes
7. Briefly wash off
8. Enter a hot water tub for 12-15 minutes
9. Sip cucumber infused water
10. Enter the sauna for desired length
11. Sip cucumber infused water
12. Get wrapped in a sheet
13. Lay in a private room with cucumbers and a cool washcloth over my eyes
14. Take a final shower... still public
15. Return to locker room the change
16. Sip more cucumber water

What did I think? 

Um... positives first...

• The staff was awesome
• It was a completely calming environment

All right, what am I holding back...

• I might be claustrophobic. I might have been fighting back some panic as my head was slipping off the pillow and the pressure of the mud on my chest seemed overwhelming (think La Brea Tarpit). 
• Also, it was hot, hot, hot. At one point, I was able to wiggle my foot out of the mud because I was so hot, but then Maria came by and plopped a big splat of mud back on top (sigh). 
• I would have preferred to have a private shower at some point. Yes, ladies, there was mud everywhere! I just don't shower the same when there is a room of people milling about around me.  

It seems many of my family that have taken a mud bath share my claustrophobic feeling, but I am lucky that they did not share this with me until after my mud bath; I got to have my own, uninfluenced experience. I'm really happy that I got to try it and share the experience with my sister.

Thanks Karen!