5/19/2012

Stress Relief

Hey, GLIAS Readers!


I'm so, so excited to join the Get Lost in a Story gang!  Yesterday, Angi was kind enough to tell y'all about my upcoming novel and ask me some fun questions to break the ice and introduce me to y'all. I've been a GLIAS reader for a while myself, so, in a way, I feel like we're old friends.

My mission for today was to tell y'all more about me since I'll be popping in with interviews and so forth going forward. You've probably figured out at least one salient point--I'm a Southern girl. My liberal use of words like y'all and hey, and of course the setting for my novel give me away.

Also, clearly I'm a book lover. You have to be to write them, right? I'm the poster child for getting lost in a story. If I'm not being transported to someone else's world via novel, I'm playing with my imaginary friends and creating my own.

Beyond those two things, I struggled with what to share--how to tell y'all all about me without telling you my life story, which might alternately sedate and dismay you. I settled on telling you how I handle stress. You can tell plenty about a person by her coping mechanisms.

Here's a great way to relax when you're in that moment just before running through the streets of your hometown wearing nothing but your mamma's pearls, a wide-brimmed hat, and argyle socks, with a bullhorn, ranting about the senseless slaughter of artichokes for party dip, or howling that the Christmas trees won't fit in the bathroom.

I am so there--or I was, yesterday. This helped. It will help you, too, when you're on the brink, I promise.

Go into the bathroom. Turn off all the lights and light a few candles. Start your bath, running the water a little warmer than you normally might. Pour in half a bottle of your favorite bubble bath--lavender scented is great for this. Some Lancôme Aroma Calm bath oil is also nice. Throw in a fizz ball. The more products you put in the tub, the better.

Get the champagne bucket and start a bottle chilling by the side of the tub. Now, I have a reputation with certain parties--read, Jim, The Husband--of ALWAYS preferring the most expensive of everything. He swears I can spot the highest priced anything at fifty paces. This is blatant mischaracterization, naturally. But I am particular and can spot quality. I digress.

While I've had pricey French champagne which I enjoyed, Korbel Brut (yes, I know technically it's not Champagne) is my personal favorite. This is an anomaly, as it usually goes for around nine bucks a bottle at Costco.

If you've already had more than two glasses of wine, use Pellegrino instead of Korbel.

Crank up iTunes and make yourself a playlist of twenty songs that appeal. Resist the urge to fret over which songs to pick. Don't sit there and try to make the perfect Bathtub Playlist, and don't choose more than twenty. Remember, your bath water is running.

Transfer the new playlist to your iPod shuffle. The shuffle is best for bathtub use, as it's easily clipped to your bath pillow. If you don't have a bath pillow, roll up a towel and clip the shuffle to it. Lock the bathroom door and climb into the water. Pour yourself a glass of bubbly, pop the earphones in, and turn on the iPod and the jets.

Your bath additives, activated by the jets, will soon make mountains of bubbles, beyond which you cannot see. Close your eyes and sip the icy bubbly. When you start to feel too warm, hold your champagne flute over your face and turn it upside down, dousing your face, neck, and chest. Pour another glass.

Periodically peek at the mountain of bubbles. Just before they spill out into the floor, pull the plug on the tub. When the water level drops enough, turn on the cold water. This will keep the bubbles at a safe level.

Continue alternately sipping the champagne and pouring it on yourself until you feel human again.

After you get out of the tub, blow out the candles and go straight to bed. Sleep until you feel like getting up.

Disclaimer: Please do not try this at home if you cannot do it without drowning, scalding yourself, or experiencing an irreversible past-life regression.

Y'all come see me tomorrow and I'll tell you all about finding a publishing home for my debut novel, LOWCOUNTRY BOIL.

Thanks so much for the warm welcome to Get Lost in a Story! I look forward to getting lost in a great many together. Please come visit me on the web anytime--I'd love to hear from you!

Website: http://www.susanmboyerbooks.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/susanmboyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Susanmboyerbooks
Pinterest:   http://pinterest.com/susanmboyer/

Be sure to click the website link and sign up for my newsletter to be entered in a drawing for a free e-Book (your choice) or a $15 gift card. I promise you will hear from me only when I have something important to say--like I have a new book coming out.

Have a great Saturday!

Susan


23 comments:

  1. Great post Susan. I think I might have to put your suggestion to the test this weekend. I can always claim its research.

    Good luck with GLIAS, they sound like a great bunch to wander around with.

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  2. Thanks Karen! Absolutely, you should say it's research. :)

    And yes, indeed, they are are great bunch to wander around with!

    Have a great weekend!

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  3. Hi Susan!
    Welcome to my brand new GLIAS sister! Isn't it exciting to be on board with the amazing ladies here? I'm sorry I was gone for your first intro yesterday--just read it and you sound like such a fun person. As for your bath therapy? Hoo-wee, baby, do you sound like THE authority. I'm a bath nut, so I get that part for sure, but I'm adding the bubbly next time for sure. (Pouring it over yourself? Jeepers, I nearly swooned at the thought!)

    Thanks for an awesome post -- can't wait to read your story tomorrow! Welcome!

    PS- Will you be in Anaheim come July?

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    1. Hi Liz! Thank you so much for the warm welcome! Yes, it is SO exciting to be a part of this group! Glad you like my bath ideas. I have absolutely done that, and highly recommend it--so much cheaper than therapy.

      Yes, I'll be in Anaheim--looking forward to seeing you there!

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  4. LOL--I love this, Susan!!

    And if I had time to pick all the Lego pieces and tufts of dog hair out of our tub, and convince my kids not to knock on the bathroom door for at least half an hour, I'd try it!

    Anyway, it was relaxing just to read about!

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    1. Elisa, that's the great thing about the earbubs and the noise of the tub jets--you can't hear the kids knocking on the door. :)

      Thanks so much--I'm so glad you liked it!

      Have a great Saturday!

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  5. Oh my goodness, I LOVE THE HAT!!! And I need more info on the artichoke dip thing.

    I've been at a soccer game all morning, (& going back this afternoon) so I'm taking you up on that bath. People standing downwind of me would agree. And I hope to have a copy of LOWCOUNTRY BOIL to read while I'm soaking.

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    1. Thank you, Larissa! The artichoke dip thing is more a metaphor for losing your grip and going stark raving mad. I've never actually gone ranting about artichoke dip per se. :)

      Enjoy that bath. As soon as I get a copy, you'll have one, too. :) Coming soon to a bathtub near you...

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  6. Sounds lovely, Susan. Someday--maybe when I hit that Big Book Contract--I'll have the bathroom with the non-functioning bathtub remodeled! Meanwhile, I have to be content with a shower. It's terrible what you ignore when you live alone.

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    1. Oh, Kay! I feel just awful for you. I can't imagine getting by without my tub. I'm crossing my fingers for that Big Book Contract soon. :)

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  7. Wow, sounds divine. I can't quite picture this happening in my chaotic house, but ... a girl can dream, right??? :)

    Your new book sounds like a kick, Susan! Can't wait!

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    1. Thanks, Laurie! You can do it--just lock the door. :) Move something in front of it if necessary...

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  8. Hi Susan,
    The image of a woman running down the street with a bullhorn and nothing but pearls on...well, now, that's a sure-fired way of starting a book :) Love it.
    A jacuzzi running with bubble bath is a sight to see...ah...if you survive the bubbles. Probably a Disclaimer here to NOT run the jets, just enjoy the water :) Sounds wonderful and relaxing. I can smell the aroma and feel my muscles easing in the warm, steamy water.


    Jean

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    1. Hi Jean--thanks so much for coming by. Glad you liked the pearls and bullhorn. :)

      I love watching the bubbles tower above me. The trick is to know when to pull the plug--or turn off the jets. :)

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  9. Welcome to GLIAS, Susan! I meant to come by yesterday, but time got away from me. So glad you're joining us!

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  10. Hi Alexa! Thanks so much for stopping by to welcome me to the group! Have a great weekend!!

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  11. Nice advice, Susan. I love your hat and scarf. Us southerners really know how to accessorize!

    Maggie

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    1. Thanks, Maggie! Indeed. Our mammas teach us the art of accessorizing from the cradle. :)

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  12. Champagne facials: a mandatory indulgence for every woman. I think I’ll buy a bottle or three after I click “POST.” Not to mention, everything’s better under mounds of lavender-scented foam. ;-D

    This reminds me of the SCWW Conference. That was lavender bubble bath in our Escape-the-Madness Baskets, wasn’t it? I seem to remember your mention of a bubble avalanche the night of the banquet? Where Sugar had to pull off a last-minute rescue? (tee hee, snicker, snort)

    Ahh, the things (that YOU got us into and) we (you and me…not to mention Sugar, Bob, Vicki, John, Marcia, and half the population of Weddington) survived. It’s been a wild ride! And it’s only just begun.

    I’m buying stock in lavender bubble bath and Korbel.

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    1. Ha! Funny you should mention that...I've just been writing about it. Check out Sunday's post, which I accidentally posted early. :)

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  13. For a much too brief period of my life, I had one of those soaker tubs with the jets. Ah, good times. But I never thought to get this extravagant. (We didn't even have iPods in those days. Oh, the horror!)

    This might be the best advice I've ever read. Can't wait to read the journey to publication tomorrow!

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  14. Love the bubble and bubbly suggestions. However, I need some type of governor on my tub. To jumpstart the bubble-making process, I once mixed foam bath products using the tub jets. Big mistake. During bath prep, I stepped away for a moment, only to return to an entire bathroom filled with suds. (Can't remember if I had indulged in something alcoholic in the bath prep stage... More than likely....)

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  15. Gladys, I always use some sort of bubble product. You must have tarried over your playlist. Try setting an alarm, depending on how big your tub is and how long it takes to fill. :)

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