My Favorite Things Date

Good Thursday morning!

WE DID IT! Exactly ONE THOUSAND HITS in one month! Not 999. Not 1,001. Exactly 1,000! And the month isn't over yet. As I stated before, the new goal for the year (October 2009 through October 2010) will be 2,000 hits a month. We'll see. We'll see.

The Gallery picture is of Miss Roxie at her volleyball game. You may notice her expression is a little different from the Monday night picture. That would be because WE WON!!! We beat Briarwood AND Pleasant Grove. Roxie and her teammates were awesome... what little I saw of the games. You see I wore sandals, and I couldn't take my eyes off my feet most of the time!

PROJECT 365 - I appreciate all of the positive comments I received concerning my feet. The pedicure itself was unbelievable. I am now officially hooked. On the other hand, the massage chair I sat in the entire time I was having my pedicure was also wonderful... until it went into "shake it, but don't break it" mode. Everything on me was jiggling... and as every self-respecting 48 year-old knows, jiggling is bad. Jiggling is very bad.

I also think it's just a little sad when someone asks you what your best feature is and you have to say low blood pressure and feet. (And I have to tell you... I have stared at my feet ALL day long, and they are truly lovely. I don't like to brag, but I was looking around Gardendale today, and I didn't see any prettier feet. For everyone who goes to church with me, I will not be wearing shoes Sunday so you can take a gander for yourself.)

Weekend Family Fun

Bass Pro Shops - There's a lot of fun scheduled at the outdoor store that the whole family can enjoy. Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World's 51 shops will be offering a Family Fun Weekend September 5 through 7. It is completely free. Kids can challenge mom or dad to a radio remote control car race Saturday, Sunday and Monday from noon until 6:00 p.m.

You can also take part in any of the other free activities such as the paintball cage or bean bag toss and win fun prizes.

One winner will be selected from each store location as the first prize winner and receive a Coleman Roadtrip LXE Grill, two Coleman Blue Deck chairs, one Coleman Canopy and one 50-quart wheeled cooler with a retail value of $595. Not bad, huh?

For more information, visit their website at www.bassproshop.com and click on the Family Fun Weekend pop-up.

Topic of the Week - 40 IS THE NEW 30... AND OTHER STUPID MYTHS

Well, my 47th year had a lot to live up to. In reality, all I wanted was the MOST uneventful year in my life thus far. But alas and alack, it was not to be.

If you recall, I had a "freckle" removed from underneath my tongue in July. Everything went well. They gave me plenty of anesthesia. They gave me plenty of drugs to take at home. After two weeks, my stitch had disappeared and all was well with the spot under my tongue.

However, a couple of weeks after I received the "all clear" sign from my tongue doctor, I noticed a clear blister-like bump where the freckle had been. No biggie. I kept gargling with salt water and it stayed the same for a little while. Then it began to grow... and grow... and grow. That's when I came to the unsettling conclusion I was indeed growing another tongue.

Also during this time, I was dealing with the upcoming departure of my eldest son, Austin, and it took every single waking moment I had to watch him eat, drink, breathe, etc. I didn't have time to have surgery to remove a second tongue. I just didn't.

After Austin left, I spent three solid weeks in the "depths of despair." Again, no time for second tongue removal surgery.

But this week, it became apparent something had to be done, so I went to my tongue doctor for a consultation.

"Hmmm. That's odd. What is that?" he asked.

"I don't know, but if you'll give me a few pills to fix it, I'll be on my way," I responded.

"Well, we can't just leave it there. We'll have to do something."

"Like what?" I asked cautiously.

"I'm going to put a topical numbing agent on it and prick it with a needle to see if it will go away. Nurse, get me an 18-gauge needle, please," he responded.

If you have known me for only one second, you know I do not like topical numbing agents. I like full-blown anesthesia. Always have, always will. Also, I did not like the number 18 used to describe the needle he was going to be poking my second tongue with. That's a big number. That's probably going to be a big needle.

He put the Q-tip in my mouth with the numbing agent on it and stuck he head back in the door a few minutes later. "Can you still feel your tongue?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," I lied. I needed more numbing time.

Five minutes later, he came in, picked up the 18-gauge needle and poked my second tongue. "Hmmm. That's odd. It doesn't seem to want to go away," he said. "Tell you what. Let's wait a couple of months and see what happens."

That's it? I could have a third and fourth tongue by then! We're just going to let the thing grow and take over my mouth! These are things I thought, but what I actually said was, "Okay."

I had my ticket validated and off I went. We'll see what happens, and I'll definitely keep you updated on the blog. This story alone will probably get me another 1,000 readers in the next two months!

So the 47th year of my life will be aptly named "The Year My Baby Grew Up and Moved Away to College and My Heart Broke Into a Million Pieces and Nothing Will Ever Be Good Again."

And just between you and me, I'm very afraid the 48th year of my life will be entitled "The Year I Grew a Second Tongue... and Had My First Hot Flash!"

(Don't worry. If I have one, I will take a picture and post it under Project 365!) That's me... always looking on the bright side!

My Favorite Things Date

Think, think, think. As a person, what are your favorite things to do? Where do you enjoy going for fun? What's your favorite restaurant? Where do you go to unwind or relax? When you've answered all of these questions, plan a special, one-of-kind date between you and one of your kids. This is what I would do.

1. Tell the child to be ready to leave the house at 9:30 a.m.

2. We would have brunch at Klingler's European Bakery in Vestavia. (Brunch is my favorite meal of the day. It just seems a little more special and celebratory.)

3. I would have the child a gift bag in the van, and ask him/her to remove an envelope marked number 1. Inside the envelope would be the name of my favorite book of the Bible. I would explain why it was my favorite book, and ask them about their favorite book.

4. After brunch, we would get in the big gold van and I would ask the child to remove an envelope marked with a big number 2. Inside this envelope would be the name of my favorite book and movie. I would explain why those were my favorites, and ask them what their favorites were.

5. We would arrive at our next destination... The Botanical Gardens. This is my favorite place in Birmingham to just "be." We would walk around the gardens talking, talking, talking. I would ask them about their favorite place.

6. As we walked and talked (depending on the child), I would take pictures because that is my MOST favorite thing in the whole world to do. (If the child hates having pictures taken, I would take only one or two.) Again, I would ask them what was their MOST favorite thing to do in the whole world.

7. Back in the big gold van, there would be a gift wrapped in the bottom of the bag marked with a number 3. Inside the gift box would be my favorite scented candle (for a girl) or my favorite candy bar (for a boy). What is their favorite?

8. One more envelope in the bag marked with a number 4 should be opened. Written on a piece of paper in the envelope would be my favorite Bible verse. I would then tell them why it was my favorite... and ask the now familiar question, "What is your favorite?"

The date itself is not very expensive, takes only a little planning and gives you an opportunity to share the things you enjoy with your child. It lets them know you a little more as a "person," and not just a "mom" or a "dad."

It goes without saying, make this date your own. Have some fun one fall Saturday morning coming up... just you and one of your kiddos. Mark it in pen on your calendar because it is IMPORTANT... just like tongue doctor visits!

Have the best Thursday ever. Tomorrow we'll have Weekend Happenings, more books to add to your collection, more pictures in Project 365, etc., etc. It will be a great blog day, I am sure.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda

P.S. Thank you for helping me reach my goal. I hope you'll be there to help me celebrate 2,000 hits a month as well!