Yolo Date

Good Thursday morning!

The Gallery Pics are all about our date for this week. See details below!

RANDOMNESS #1 - Ahh. Another Top Ten List. I know you are thrilled... or bored. (As always, feel free to skip to the next section if you are bored. I'll never know!)

Top Ten Reasons I Love The Boy

10. Even though he's in his second year of college, he is still really good about calling me or Mikie every day... even if it is just to say goodnight.

9. On the weekends when Roxie falls asleep on the couch, he picks her up and takes her up to her bathroom, stands outside until she brushes her teeth and then steers her toward her bedroom before coming back downstairs to finish watching TV with Josh.

8. As of this writing, when he walks in the door and Roxie asks him the weekly questions ("Did you smoke?" "Did you drink?" "Did you go to any bad parties?"), he still answers them all with the word "no." (And after she smells him and all of his clothes in his traveling laundry basket, she feels pretty good about his answer.)

7. When he brings guys home for the weekend from college, he totally includes Josh.

6. He can sleep 17 or 18 hours straight. (I think he gets this from me.)

5. He still likes to go on family trips. He doesn't even ask where we're going. He just climbs in the Big Gold Van.

4. He loves school.

3. He loves the Marching Southerners.

2. He loves the Lord.

1. He SAYS he loves me and Mikie often (to our faces)... and after smelling him and all of his clothes in his traveling laundry basket, we feel pretty good about his declarations of love.

And as we always say when he drives off on Monday mornings, "You gotta love The Boy!"

RANDOMNESS #2 - It's a long story, but it was a LONG trip. Enjoy... or skip! Again, I'll never know.

SKIING ADVENTURE - PART 3

Skiing in a Blizzard Isn't For Sissies... and I Should Know Because I Am a Sissy

I finished my first day on the slopes exhausted, sore and more than a little discouraged. Nothing 17 hours of sleep wouldn't fix. I didn't go to the mandatory devotion group held the evening of the first day. I slept right through it. Several of my girlfriends said they tried to wake me, but I would just scream, "Sven! Sven! Is that you, Sven?" They said I never even opened my eyes, and the next day I woke up exactly in the same position I remembered going to bed... face down, sideways, across the foot of the bed, in the same clothes I had on the previous day under my ski bib.

I awoke rested, but very hungry and sore. I had skipped lunch and dinner the day before, but a hot shower and breakfast were awaiting me on this, Day Two, of my dream ski vacation. I assessed my body for bumps and bruises... only 23. Not too bad considering by most accounts I shouldn't have survived the first day on the slopes at all. I put on my ski clothes, and joined my friends in the lobby for breakfast.

They were different than me, telling stories of the various slopes they had conquered, how their skiing had improved as the day wore on, the wonderful dinner they had been served, and how blessed they had been by the testimony and worship music of our guest speaker the night before. It was like we were not on the same trip. I sat quietly... partly because I had nothing to add, and partly because I was trying to figure out how to make Day Two a better day than Day One. "Well, just getting out of the bed shows how brave I am," I told myself. "Not everyone lives through a day like yesterday, and still gets up with a smile and the courage to try again."

"Why do you look so serious, Belinda?" someone to my left asked. Oops! Forgot to make myself smile. Ow! Even my face was sore.

"No reason. Just trying to figure out where I want to start today," I answered. "Is anyone going back to the Green Slope we started on yesterday?" Two people answered yes. That was not good. I had learned one thing from Day One. The way I get from place to place on a pair of skis was not information I wanted people to take home to Alabama with them. "You two head on. I'll meet you at the bottom at the chair lift." Yeah, right.

Giving everyone a head start, I headed out the doors of the lobby. The weather was different. It was dark gray, very windy and much, much colder than the day before. I heard some people talking as they passed me "sideways walking" to the slopes. "We need to get in as much skiing today as we can since they're expecting all the snow this evening."

"We're getting MORE snow? How much more snow do we need?" I asked them.

"They're expecting 7 to 8 more inches by tonight, if not more," they responded. Wow. That's a lot of snow. Of course, my first instinct was to ask someone where the nearest store was to buy milk and bread (that old Alabama snow training kicking in), but I knew I would never get there in time.

My plan was to go to the Bunny Slope one more time and watch the lesson from afar. Once there, I watched Earl teaching several children. Ahh. That's how you stop. I think I remember that part now. Oh, yeah. Turning. That will come in very handy. Okay. Okay. I think I have it now. Off to the Green Slope.

I stood at the top of the Green Slope. My skis were pointed to the opposite side from where I was standing. I pushed off and slowly skied sideways from Point A to Point B. I crossed my skis in the front, and stopped right before I headed into the forest. Success. I turned around and pointed my skis to the opposite side from where I was standing. I pushed off and slowly skied sideways from Point B to Point C. I crossed my skis in the front and stopped right before I headed onto the Black Slope. I think you get the picture. I had a plan and my plan was working. I wasn't necessarily having fun, and I didn't expect to reach the bottom of the Green Slope before midnight, but for me it was skiing.

About an hour into my expedition to the bottom of the Green Slope (I still hadn't fallen), it started to snow. Well, not actually snow. This stuff was harder than snow. It was harder than sleet. It was somewhat akin to mini-hail. I didn't care. I was finishing the Green Slope. When you get right down to it, what choice did I have? The mini-hail continued to fall and even at the snail's pace I was going, it stung and hurt when it hit my face. Head down, I continued on my quest.

Finally, I reached the bottom of the Green Slope. Again, no gold medals, but the sense of accomplishment was enormous. Visibility was getting worse and worse as the mini-hail had not gone away, but was now mixed with gigantic snowflakes. I started my sure-fire way of getting to where I wanted to be, and "sideways walked" over to the line for the chair lift. The line was much shorter today, and over the howling wind I heard people talking about the chair lift closing in just a little while because of the blizzard-like conditions. Wow! A real blizzard. And me at the bottom of the slope. I had no idea how to get up if the chair lift closed. I wished I had gone to the worship service the night before. The day before a blizzard on the slopes is not the time to be skipping worship services! I said a little prayer and waited my turn.

Conditions worsened, but the chair lift continued moving. I rode alone this time. I got on with no problem. (For some reason, sitting down in a chair was the only successful thing I did with regard to skiing.) I began to devise a plan for my dismount. And then it happened. The chair lift stopped. "Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Please, please, please help us get to the top," I prayed. And just as suddenly as it stopped, it started again. The weather was so bad now it felt like BBs hitting my face. I had learned a lesson from the day before, and I had put two dry washcloths in the top of my ski bib to rub my face off before I entered the hotel lobby (just in case something unladylike was frozen to the front of my face), so I reached inside my bib and got one to protect my face.

Big mistake. A few seconds later when I tried to remove it, I found it had frozen to my face like a tongue to a flagpole. Now I had a green washcloth frozen to my face from my nose down to my chin. I looked ridiculous. However, there was no time to worry about that. (And since we had determined there was no Sven in Snowshoe, West Virginia, my appearance meant very little to me. I had to survive.)

I was next to get off the chair lift. My head was clear. My body was ready. My washcloth frozen to the front of my face did not match my ski bib. (I know that really doesn't matter, but it bothers me now and it bothered me then!) I slid from the chair and not even attempting to ski down the icy hill, I used every bit of strength in my body to throw myself to the right. Success!!! No one had to kick me out of the way. And I had landed on my back... another plus! I just waited a few seconds and... yep, there he was. "Are you okay?" the ski patrol man asked.

"Yes, I am," I replied. "Just hoist me up under my arms like you do, and I'll be on my way!"

"You need to go straight to your hotel. They're closing the slopes in just a little while because of the blizzard."

"Not a problem. I'm on my way," I replied almost gleefully. I "sideways walked" all the way to the hotel and once through the lobby doors was thrilled to see no one from my group in sight. I disengaged from the skis, ran to the nearest public restroom and threw water on my face until the washcloth let go. Some minor damage here and there I noticed in the mirror, but all in all, most of the skin on my face was still there.

I made it to my room, showered and changed and ate lunch with the group. Our leader came up and announced, "I have some bad news. Because of the blizzard, there's a very good chance we won't be able to ski tomorrow."

"Oh, no," I groaned along with the rest of the group. Inside I was clapping and jumping and thrilled.

I knew then and there skiing would never be for me. But I had tried, and kind of succeeded. And that's what makes life exciting, isn't it? To at least try. Step out of our box every now and again and take a deep breath. Take the plunge. Not trying is the sad part.

I will ride every ride at an amusement park (more than once). I have played football (tackle when I was a kid), basketball and volleyball. I like to bowl. I jump on the trampoline now at age 47. I want to swim with the dolphins, snorkel, parasail and zip line before I'm 90. Yes, not trying is the sad part. And I may be a "sissy" because I'm not great at any of the sports I listed, but I'm a "sissy" that skied in a blizzard many years ago... and survived!

DISCLAIMER: Know now that I will never go sky diving or bungee jumping. And if that makes me more of a sissy than the above, so be it!

Blog Linkage - I've got some good stuff today. You'll be able to read it in no time at all.

1. Go to eighteen25 under My Blog List. Scroll down, down, down to the post entitled "You Gotta See This" dated January 28. If you want ideas for some cute, cute homemade Valentine's Day Cards, this is the place to be! On your way down, read the other posts, too. This website has tons of good ideas ALL the time.

2. Go to www.andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com. This is a blog about a family with four kiddos. They are adopting a little girl, Elsa, from Ethiopia which will make them a beautiful family of seven very, very soon. I thought it would be fun to keep up with them and their adoption, but after reading the blog for a few days, I have found it is fun to keep up with them... period. Beautiful pictures, beautiful kids... great blog. For your first visit, scroll down to the post entitled "A Yes Day" dated February 1. I thought it was a great idea because, for some reason, the word "no" just comes out of a mom's mouth so much more often than the word "yes." "A Yes Day" looks like a fun way to get out of that rut!

Yolo Date

As the cupcakes in The Gallery indicate, there's a new eatery in town. It is called Yolo Dessert Bar, and it is a fun place to take a date. They serve specialty cupcakes (several flavors each day), gelato (Italian ice cream which is so rich) and they have a yogurt bar much like Yogurt Mountain with all the toppings.

Oh... my... word! It is so good.

I wanted to try a pistachio cupcake because they were just so pretty (mint green in color), but that goes against the diabetes thing... and the weight thing... and the "I'm going to try Roxie's caramel gelato" thing.

Yolo's is located at Colonial Brookwood Mall across from Brio's. They have seating inside and out. Everything is robin's egg blue and white. Very clean, very hip.

Plan a date today with one of your children to visit Yolo's for a dessert date. If there are other siblings at home, let your date pick out a special cupcake for each sibling (AND MOM). They will wrap them in individual boxes with gossamer ribbon. It will be a lovely gift for all.

A special thanks to the lovely Melia for posting her Yolo finding on Facebook. Loved it!

Have a blessed Thursday. I sent Austin an e-mail this morning saying, "Today is National Text Your Siblings Day. Just thought you would want to know." He e-mailed me asking, "Is that for real?" I told him yes, and he believed me.

While Austin is pretty good about keeping in touch with Roxie and Josh during the week, and vice versa, it wouldn't hurt them to have a specific day of the week they always check in with each other. It's a good habit for them to learn now, so when they are adults, they'll keep that VERY important sibling connection.

My almost 90 year-old grandmother has a brother who has called all the siblings regularly for years to check on them. I think this is a WONDERFUL way for college kids to stay a part of their younger siblings' lives. Very important!

Friday's post will have a little Randomness and Weekend Happenings. We've had long posts this week, so I'll give you a break before the weekend.

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

Sincerely,

The Enchanting and Long-Winded Belinda