A Girly-Girl Afternoon and Eating Mindfully

Instead of meeting at Starbucks, my friend and I met at Capitol Nails for a pedi-mani afternoon. What a non-Buddhist way to gear up for eating mindfully with my meditation group later this evening.

It turns out that a nail salon is the perfect way to socialize and gossip with a friend. While the nail technicians converse in Vietnamese, you can talk about anything and everything with each other and with the other clients.

At one point Mai and Lan (although I’m not really sure those were their names) were advising us on toe color. We joked that they were probably saying to each other “Give the old woman the darker color” as they smiled at us and worked on our feet and legs.

I’ve never had such a complete pedicure. My technician even used a razor to take the calluses off my feet. Tonight they are baby soft.

We both opted for just a hint of nail color, choosing Opi’s “No Pre-Nup” shown above. It’s polish but just barely noticeable.

To continue a totally girly-girl afternoon we made our way to Union Station with shiny toes and nails to slowly sip mango margaritas, the perfect hot-summer drink.

As my friend headed home to deal with dogs, the clothes dryer, and the reality of life, I headed off to Starbucks for a cup of coffee (I know I said I wouldn’t, but...) so I could stay awake at meditation.

Since we never get a chance to really socialize during our silent meditation, we decided to have a potluck dinner tonight. After a half-hour sit, we put out a variety of vegetarian dishes on a low Korean table placed in the middle of our meditation cushions. There was quinoa bean salad, homemade salsa with chips, cold Korean noodles, a green salad, corn bread, and 3 types of tea.

After loading up our plates, we decided to eat in silence for 5 minutes. It’s amazing how much more you can taste when you aren’t talking. But then we learned all about each other’s busy lives as we continued to eat and chat.

Dessert was fruit with homemade yogurt and yummy banana bread. What a feast!

My toes will be bright for the rest of the summer. I’m sure the nail polish won’t be on as long, but it’s fun while it lasts! For at least a day or two I will think about my food as I take that first bite.