I spent most of December and all of January on a sick leave. It felt surreal because from the outside, I looked just fine. The tennis elbow problem, which started off with the ganglion cyst on my right wrist, has now been felt on both arms. I've been to two different physiotherapists (PT) and I've gone back and forth to the doctor many times to get a sick leave. Not fun. The worst part of all was probably the thought of losing my job and not being able to recover fully. Yikes! What would I do, then? If I hated my job, the sick leave would probably make me feel relieved, but that is not the case at all since I still enjoy my job. So the stress of being out of work for a long time also weighed on my mind a lot.
I've discovered kinesio taping and ultrasound massage from two different PTs. Twice the first PT put on some kinesio tape on my arms (each time I asked her to do it on a different arm since I wanted to test the difference between that arm and the arm without any kinesio taping on). I've also received lots of pointers on how to keep a good posture and a neutral position for my wrists whenever I do anything. The second PT even managed to pinpoint what I must've done wrong to make my back (shoulder blades) become so tight. I've also received a series of stretching/strengthening exercises to do.
On the worst days, I couldn't even cook anything a bit more complicated without any throbbing pain afterwards. Since it was my first bout of tennis elbow, it took me lots of trials and errors to know what to do and what not to do. The second PT told me that what worked and what didn't work varied greatly from one person to another. No wonder! I felt at such a loss before I had my PT appointments.
Anyway, this week I started going back to work again. I'm thankful that my bosses are understanding and supportive and since I only work part-time, my work schedule is ideal for me. I still feel some pain (it varies depending on the activities I do) and I'm still using the kinesio tape (I've been learning how to put it myself through trial and errors), but I've stopped using the painkiller in the form of gel since it only masks the pain. I've learnt that it's handy to use some painkiller when the pain is too much or it makes me unable to rest well during the nights, but when the pain has subsided, it may be dangerous to keep using it as it only makes me feel that I'm much better already, whereas in actual fact it's not true.
I don't know how long it'll take until I feel no more pain from doing work/exercise. So far I've only done one shift and I had a little pain afterwards and the next day after I did some zumba (and the strengthening exercise routine), I felt more pain. I don't dare shovel the snow yet, so I feel bad for my husband since it's been snowing a lot again. But anyway, I feel more hopeful about healing after meeting the PTs.
Anyway, here are some photos I took during my walks (okay, the first photo is the exception LOL!). These days I rarely use my bulky camera to take photos as it's easier to take photos with my mobile he he...
1. Went aurora chasing two days after the previous post's big aurora, but that time the aurora wasn't as strong, so I couldn't capture the photos too well even though I had my camera and small tripod with me. However, I did manage to see reddish colour and I could see the progression of when the aurora started dancing right above the horizon before it moved further up to above my head. Here's a collage of the not-so-good photos (but at least you can see the crazy shapes the aurora can make).
2. Hubby managed to take a day off, so we went for a weekend trip to Levi and had a relaxing time there.
3. I've booked a massage for preparation to go back to work. Work is going to be super hectic during the first two weeks of the store being re-opened after the renovation, so I feel that I need a fit body for that.
4. I'm planning to send my mom to Finland next year for a visit and this thought is really exciting for me. The only thing we both need to secure first is a permission from our bosses to have the holiday at the same time as my mom's visit he he he...since she can't handle the cold, it has to be in summer.
5. Finding ginger candies at a supermarket in Levi. They're exactly like the ones I like from Indo, so even though they're expensive, I bought two packs of them HA HA HA HA...
P.S. Here's another one of the aurora photos taken with my camera (I don't have any wide lens, so can only capture bits and pieces).
One of the things we usually do on our holidays is find a good place to have a full body massage and this time when went to Malta at first we thought we'd just go downstairs to the spa section at our hotel. First I asked the receptionist if I had to book through them, but she told me to go downstairs and book straight from the masseuse/masseur. So I went down and there was only one person waiting there and he said that we had to book from the receptionist. How confusing! But anyway, since there was only one masseur, it wasn't ideal for us since we wanted to have the massage at the same time. There are plenty of small massage parlors around the hotel, so we thought we'd check out some of them. The first one we went to was actually closed when we tried to book (I like the fact that they often put a sign in front to let us know how many types of massages they offer and how much they cost), so we went to another one called Siam Wellness Centre.
The place was very very clean (I can't help adding this because the tiles were white and I couldn't even see any dirt anywhere) and they could take us all together for a massage and they even had one couple's room. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!! So we booked in advance, paid €5 booking fee and they gave us a piece of paper with their phone number in case we wanted to change the time or cancel. If we cancel or change the time by phoning or sending them SMS, we won't lose the €5 booking fee. Loving this system! :-D
We had two massage sessions there. The first time around I tried the relaxing massage. Very relaxing indeed, but it wasn't that satisfying because I was actually craving for something harder. Yep, my own mistake for not choosing the harder type LOL!!! I had actually wanted to try their new herbal massage, but the owner said that preparing the herbal balls took 20 minutes, so it wasn't possible. If I had known about this, I would have told her when we booked, but she said at that time that we didn't need to choose yet. So if you want to have a herbal massage, better tell them in advance that it's the kind of treatment that you want. Fortunately we did go back there, so I had a chance to try the herbal massage (this time I mentioned this right away when I booked).
My first time having the herbal massage. I really liked it. The only thing that I had a little trouble with was my soles couldn't stand the heat of the herbal balls, so she had to wait for a little while before pressing the herbal balls on my soles he he he...I smelled like herbs when I got out. Lovely! R2 had the relaxing massage and the harder one and he loved them both. All in all, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this place! One of the best experiences we've had and if we ever go back to Malta, we won't hesitate going back there.
If you wonder why I've been quiet, it's because we just had our summer holiday and during that time, I wasn't online much. I had prepared some blog posts prior to leaving, scheduled at different dates so that this blog wasn't empty for too long. Yesterday we came back with a cold. Actually the cold had started already at the end of the trip, but it got worse when we arrived home. So trying to take it easy and rest before going back to work.
Here are some brief highlights of our Indo/Singapore trip:
1. When we booked our trip, we had no idea that it would coincide with F1 race in Singapore. So hubby was really excited about it, especially because I read that people could try on the race car simulator, though I didn't know whether one had to book beforehand or pay to try it on.
In one mall we found a Ferrari car simulator and saw the sign saying that one had to spend at least 250 SGD (€ 150) in the Ferrari merchandise store before one had a chance to try it on. Yikes! No way in hell were we going to pay that much just to try it on. No wonder there weren't a long line of people wanting to try it out.
Lucky for us, we went to another mall where they had two Renault car simulators and turned out anyone could try it for free (just for one lap). So I got hubby to sign up twice ha ha ha...actually anyone who had the best record could win a pass to go to a kind of after-party place, but we didn't care about that because we didn't have time to attend the party anyway. All that I wanted was for hubby to be able to try it.
The first time around was at around midday and before he tried it, there was a store worker taking photos of the contestants and right after he was done, he received a copy of the photo for free. There was also a free photo-printing booth next to it where people could take photos in front of an F1 race car for free. Here's the free photo that they gave us:
A few hours later after we had lunch at the mall, I dragged hubby back to the same place and asked the girl in charge if he could try it again and she said yes. Hubby was too shy to try it again, but I knew he wanted to try again, so I pushed him to sign up again ha ha...This time there was no photographer, so we were lucky to have come earlier when the photographer was there. :-D
2. One funny thing happened on our last day in Singapore. We went out in the morning, gave our room key to the receptionist, and when we got back in the afternoon, hubby said, "We would like our room key."
Apparently the receptionist heard wrong. She replied, "Oh, I'm so sorry, but our rooms are fully booked today."
Hubby was shocked, so he stared at her in confusion. He wondered if they had given our room to someone else or something like that. I told the receptionist, "We're here to get our room key. Room number XXX."
The girl blushed and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry. Here's your key." LOL LOL!!!!
3. A few people asked us if we had had kids and a few neighbours told me to "hurry up and make kids"
When I told hubby about it, he said, "You should have told them that your husband is your child." HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHH...Bless him! Imagine people's faces if I say such a thing to them he he he he he he he...
4. When we got back home and hubby was unpacking his backpack, he suddenly started laughing out loud as he took out an object. A pair of tongs. Yep, when he was packing to go to Indo/Sgp, he hadn't noticed that there was a pair of grilling tongs that he had used earlier to grill in Kelujärvi in the bag ha ha ha ha ha ha...
5. While browsing through stores in a mall, we spotted a winter wear shop and decided to go in. We found some good winter jackets at least half the price of similar ones in Finland and we found two that we liked, so we didn't hesitate to buy them. The shopkeeper said that they had a discount, but I wasn't sure how much, but even a small discount would make me happy enough.
Turned out the discount was 32%. Imagine that!!! I was shell-shocked and happy when I realized that we had saved SO MUCH money.
The price for my jacket was 159 SGD (about €95) and hubby's parka was 199 SGD (around €120). Total price: 358 SGD (around €215). Discount: 114.60 SGD (around €68). End price: 243.40 SGD (around €146).
€146 for two good winter jackets?!?!?!?! We couldn't believe our luck! :-D :-D :-D
6. I had a haircut in Indo in a beauty salon at a mall. The price for a haircut + wash and blow = 47,000 (€3.20). I think the cheapest haircut in this town is €18 - 22.
7. Cheap full-body massages in Bandung (ranging from €11-15 per person for a 1.5 hour full-body massage) and the one we had in Singapore was €48/person for a 1.5 hour full-body massage.
OK, I'm going to stop here for now and tell you more about our trip later. :-)
Before going on our trip to Tenerife, I was browsing online to find massage places. There is a massage place above our hotel gym, but it's impossible to have all three of us to have a massage there at the same time. At first I found a spa place in a four or five star hotel, but when I asked about their massage offers, they said that they only accepted hotel guests, so if we want to have a massage there, we have to pay the price for a hotel room (price includes breakfast and dinner), but then it'd cost way too much, so I kept on searching and found Aroma Thai Massage Spa.
I couldn't find any prices on their website, so I went to their Facebook page (the one that you can click above) and asked them about their list of massage and their prices via Facebook PM. They replied very quickly and any question asked were answered promptly. So I made the bookings for three of us for a 1,5 hour aromatherapy massage (€60/person). We had had traditional Thai massage before, but I didn't think my MIL could handle such a massage, so I chose aromatherapy instead he he...
Here's the front view of the massage place. It's very easy to find.
We actually found it already the first day we went downtown. It didn't look big, but turned out it was very cozy inside. Plus they had two adjacent rooms that could be combined for me and my husband (they just needed to open the rolling door). Very convenient! I didn't expect that at all.
We arrived at the spa about 20 minutes earlier, then we were guided to the second floor to wait before our massage sessions started. They served us some fruits and tea right away and then they gave us forms to fill in. Here are some photos of the waiting room upstairs.
After my MIL filled in the forms (actually we helped her because it was all in English), they took time to discuss it because she has had plenty of surgeries.
Then we had our massage in dark and quiet rooms. It was very relaxing - a blend of strong and soft strokes. I actually assumed it'd be a bit more noisy because the place was in downtown, but it wasn't. I also liked the fact that they had a nice shower in each massage room (so my husband and I used different ones). Here's the photo of our adjoining rooms:
Here is a cozy corner outside the massage rooms:
After the massage, we were served more tea. :-)
I'd rate the whole spa experience as 3.9/5 - the best massage experience is (unfortunately) still the one in Singapore years ago (even if the place was nothing as good as this one), followed closely by the one in Bali when we had our honeymoon.
For those of you who'll ever visit Puerto de la Cruz, I recommend Aroma Thai Massage Spa for their massage, spa ambience, price range, hospitality, and the responsive marketing manager in Facebook. Thanks for helping us have this spa experience, Paola! :-)
1. Had a lovely Indian head massage for free because MIL bought me a voucher for that as a Christmas gift. Bless her and the masseuse!
2. Walking back home from the massage with stars twinkling above me and snow particles twinkling below my feet. Dark blue sky in the background and snowy trees. This is such a beautiful place!
3. Making this dessert, though I modified the recipe a little. :-D
4. Watching this brilliant ice skating performance:
5. Watching some beautiful sky when the temperature was cold outside (the purplish photos were taken on Sat at -27'C and the pinkish sky photos were taken on Sunday at -30'C).
6. Compiling four video clips into one:
1. A mute customer tried to have a conversation with me again. He showed me some paintings (which I think he did himself) and I held up two thumbs. He's always smiling at me friendly, so it's always nice to meet him. :-D
2. Had a small accident on my bike yesterday - slid on a patch of ice and bumped my right knee, but FORTUNATELY it wasn't any worse than that! No broken bones or whatsoever. Phew!
3. Meeting some friends by accident and being able to chit-chat with them for a while and catch up with them. :-D
4. After hubby had such a long day of work, I was thinking of giving him a back massage in sauna ('coz I had a free day today), but then he gave me a foot massage instead! BLESS YOU, babe!
5. #4 made me even more enthusiastic in giving him the back massage. :-D
6. Despite the onset of a cold, at least this time I manage to sleep well during the night. I sure do hope it won't turn out any worse, though.
glitter-graphics.com
OK, let's carry on with the holiday pics again, shall we?
In Heviz we went to Aiyara Thai Massage 'coz we're both crazy about massages.We went there twice actually ha ha...the first time we tried the traditional Thai massage without really knowing what it was like (the other times we had massages, we had only tried oil massages and Balinese massage as well as deep tissue massage), so we were in for a little surprise when we found out what it was like. They really worked on your sore spots using their arms as well as gravity and their feet, as well. However, afterwards we felt REALLY relaxed and there were no more sore spots whatsoever, even on the soles of our feet.
The second time around, we tried oil massage and it was nice and relaxing, but I think that they are better at traditional Thai massages because we've had better oil massages. Still it was worth it, though he he...The best part of Aiyara Thai Massage was that the owners spoke English very well. In fact, the guy who works there was VERY friendly without being nosy, so it was really a pleasure to talk to him. :-D
Anyway, here are some pics of the Centrum in Heviz.
Below is the stage for bands 'coz of the upcoming St. Stephen's Day. The two "towers" on the far right are the entrance to Heviz Thermal Lake. On the left side of the pic is the bus stop.
Wine and food stalls outside Heviz Thermal Lake. Unfortunately right after St. Stephen's Day was over, they were all gone. :-(
Some pics of downtown Heviz:
We went to that cafe to eat some cakes (actually I bought some cakes, R2 had coffee and ice-cream) he he he...The cakes are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! :-D
Here are two pics of me on two different occasions, eating two different types of cakes ha ha...And yeah, we sat on the exact same table 'coz R2 insisted on it HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...
And here's R2 with his HUGE kiwi ice-cream. Unfortunately I don't remember anymore how much they cost, but I don't recall them being too expensive, though he he...so they must be decently priced. :-D
And we tried Kürtőskalács or "Chimney Cake" or "Stove Cake" for the first time in Heviz. Turned out it was more expensive than the ones sold in Keszthely. The one in Heviz costs 600 HUF (€ 2,2) whereas the one in Keszthely costs 450 HUF (€ 1,7).
Here's a pic of us resting and enjoying the shade near Heviz Thermal Lake. The lake is surrounded by some shady parks.
Last pic of the day...some cute looking bottles sold in a souvenir shop in Heviz. There are SO many more souvenir shops in Heviz compared to downtown Keszthely. Each of us found a pair of rather cheap jeans there in Heviz, so if you want to go shopping, then Heviz is a good place to start. :-D
Before I continue showing you more pics, I forgot to add these two highlights in Budapest:
1. ISIS Day Spa.
We're both VERY satisfied with the spa experience. We chose a couple's package for two people (1.5 hours - Cleopatra bath plus 60 minute massage). After walking around EVERYWHERE for a few days, our feet were in need for some relaxation he he...
From the front, the place looked small, but it was very cosy inside (and VERY clean too!!!). In the beginning we had to fill in a form first (allergies, etc.) 'coz it was our first visit there. And we also had to choose which one of us wanted a masseur - I chose a masseuse, whereas R2 chose the masseur. The Cleopatra hot bath was very relaxing and we got to choose our own drinks (R2 chose wine) ha ha...
The massage was similar to our spa experience in Bali, though (unfortunately) the BEST massage experience (not spa experience 'coz the massage wasn't done in a real spa) we ever had was in Singapore. Remember the "triple price" lady??? (click on the link to read it if you haven't read it yet)
Anyway, we felt so relaxed and our bodies felt (plus our feet) MUCH lighter after the bath and massage. It was just SPLENDID. The only thing I thought the place could do better is cover up the window of our massage room to make it darker. We were there at around 1 pm, so the sun was shining so brightly inside and I felt that I'd feel more relaxed if the place was "darker" (like the spa in Bali or in Bandung where they closed the blinds and turn on some candles).
But all in all I'd recommend this spa. Definitely. :-D
Our probably worst massage experience was in Rhodes 'coz their massage wasn't that good, though the spa was the loveliest ever and the price included rain shower and steam bath and sauna, but I prefer getting better massages than being in fancy spas that don't provide too satisfying massages.
2. Treehugger Dan's Bookstore and Cafe.
In the hotel we stayed in, they had this magazine filled with different lists of restaurants, bookstores, etc. and I noticed this used English bookstore (click on the link above). We went to the one in Csengery Street. There were SO many books there and I would have bought more than two, but we still wanted to look around other places and I didn't want to burden R2's back with more weight (he was the one who carried a backpack) 'coz he also bought one book. And as you know, books aren't exactly that light to carry, esp. if they're thick ones.
I bought two English novels. Each one cost 900 HUF (around €3.3). Many of the used books are still in very good shape, so I really enjoy browsing there. If I ever go back to Budapest (I think we may just go back there again someday), I'll make sure I go back to that store, as well ha ha ha ha ha ha...
OK that's all for now. I'm pretty tired now so I'm gonna rest and relax. Take care, people!!!
1. Enlightenment, enlightenment, enlightenment and the peace of mind as its result.
2. About a month ago or so, hubby said that I mumbled Finnish words in my sleep. :-D
3. Talking to my Mom via Skype. Always nice to chat with her.
4. Double family birthday party (MIL's and R2's) last Friday where we talked and played cards until 3.30 am.
5. VERY delicious cake that MIL bought and served us.
6. Riding bikes to and from MIL's place side by side with R2.
7. Giving back massage as one of R2's birthday gifts.
8. Reading funny jokes.
9. Walking down memory lane by listening to old songs in youtube and rereading old comics.
10. Enjoying the warmth of the sun while cleaning up the snow from the yard.
11. Seeing the squirrel in front of MIL's apartement on Saturday - this time it has gotten bigger and chubbier!!! :-D
