Do You Know?

Why is it that my face is so oily but the rest of my skin is so dry? This is so frustrating!

Guess Who Needs Footcare?

Even Santa Claus needs his toenails cut and filed down to a more reasonable thickness! Even Santa Claus has fungus nails! I got to meet him the other day. And he is just as nice as he appears in all his movies. So tell your kids, Santa Claus is real - Sista Insane cleaned his feet.

Being Where I Should Be

It's comforting. It's adventurous. Sometimes scary. Sometimes overwhelming. And frustrating. It's most definitely crazy. It's living life one day at a time, sometimes moment by moment. It's praying in the morning - "God, help me to know you're beside me today." It's the humble acceptance of a mistake made and taking responsibility. It's quiet determination. And preserving dignity, both the patient's and my own. It's the recognition of something learned, a task that was accomplished successfully. It's sensing God's love and peace all the while tears stream down my face and the thought of "quiting" skitters through my mind. It's the self awareness that not only acknowledges my faults, but is well aware of my assets.

This is where I should be. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not in twenty years ... but as of now, I am where God wants me. He'll take care of the rest.

My Valentine's Gift

I've asked my hubby for specific reasons on why he loves me (I'm so egotistical). I've been after him for quite some time now. I don't doubt my hubby's love for me- he's put up with me for almost 11 years now. And anybody who can live with me for that long must either love me lots, has no other option, or is more insane than even I am.

It's like pulling teeth though, getting specific reasons out of him. He's not one to talk about emotions, or reasons for them. And I don't like making people talk about things if it makes them uncomfortable. So I don't nag him - since that's not nice. Which means that I haven't received too many specific reasons.

But the question is valid. What in the world would make a man love me? I'm not humble. I don't struggle with self-esteem issues (remember, I think I'm pretty cool enough to be my own best friend). Even so, a girl wants to know. Because I honestly don't know.

I arrived home around 8pm that night of the 3 hr. car drive. Hubby had my card waiting - a valentine's day card. I had forgotten valentine's day was coming up. I was thinking about President's day. He couldn't wait for me to open it! The card itself was funny, but on the inside was a long list of reasons why he loves me, and he even wrote "... with more to come". His list shocked me! I didn't think he could come up with so many reasons - and then write that there were more to come! It is one of the most sweetest cards he's ever given me. And I have them all.

I've got a good man.

Ski Trip

We managed to make it out of York County and into Potter County, although the insides of our stomachs were starting to digest themselves in an attempt to appease our hunger. Upon our arrival, after we explored our Chateaux, these cute Aflac ducks came to greet us. Some sported afros; Aflac Afros. Do you see the one with the greying afro? The kids dubbed him "Einstein".

Our house was a big beautiful 5 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath home with a frozen pond and snow covered trails that meandered through the 6 acre property. To view the interior and exterior photos of this property, click HERE.

Of Course the kids absolutely loved the ducks, but I'm not sure the ducks took too kindly to them, although it was obvious these ducks were used to attention!

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of us skiing. But to view Ski Denton's website, click HERE. If you search through the photo gallery, you'll see a couple pictures of Little Miss (the cute little girl dressed all in pink) from 3 years ago. And yes, that manish woman beside Little Miss is indeed me - I don't look cute in knit hats.

Hurricane EE impressed his daddy and I this year. He skied down the bunny hill (well, half of it) all by himself and some easy trail (I have yet to memorize the trail names, even though I've been skiing exclusively there for 12 years) in which he had to overcome his fear of chair lifts.

Little Miss once again took ski wee lessons with her twin cousin (they were born 6 months a part). This was a 3 hr. lesson, or should have been had they not spent an hour eating lunch. After lunch, Little Miss spotted the tube hill and asked her teacher if they could ride those. No no, No-No. Focus.

I was nervous about skiing this year. I debated if I even wanted to get a lift ticket. My last experience (the year before last) was not too successful for some reason. And why should I spend the money on something that I really am not looking forward to so much? But I bought a 4 hr. lift ticket, and I "boarded" the pamalift. As I reached the top of the bunny hill, my heart started pumping hard. I stayed at the top of the hill for a while, just looking down. I was so scared. This is somewhat unusual for me - although I am a cautious skier, I'm not usually too fearful. "Risky" activities cause more anxiety now than ever before. Activities like driving in the rain (would have been driving in the snow too, but my 3 hr. drive home from work cured me of that), riding on the back of hubby's motorcycle (for obvious reasons), digging tunnels in snow banks 8 ft. high (reader might remember my clausterphobic tendencies), and now, apparently, skiing. But I did it, I started down the hill, slowly. And I got back on the pamalift and did it again. And again. And again. And as each time became successful, I got more and more comfortable. But that first ride down was a doosey - I tried not to cry but couldn't overcome the emotion completely. I could easily imagine a hideous wipe-out in which my legs would be tangled up at odd angles and I'd be transported by the "meat wagon" to the first aid place, and then by ambulance to Cole hospital. I didn't want to leave the bunny hill where all the other beginners were. I felt a kinship towards them!

It snowed off and on throughout the weekend. It was beautiful. We watched the Olympics in the evenings. We used the pellet stove in the living room which created a cozy atomosphere. The kids played on the pond. I read more from that massive book, The Kindly Ones. We played poker. I almost won! But someone told me once that 2nd place is the first loser. I always thought that at least I was first at something.

Check out the video of the aflac afro ducks!

Craziness

Who's ready for Spring? This was fun, but it's time for some sun and warmth. It isn't quite halfway through February yet - and we get snows in March.

We're hoping to leave for the North tomorrow morning. But the roads surrounding us are closed at this point in time. It should make for an adventurous journey in getting to our point of rendezvous. Who knew getting out of York county would be so treacherous?

I'm sure you have similar pictures of this incredible February snow. If you had a blog, you could post them :)

Looks cozy, doesn't it? But I'll be happy to leave it tomorrow morning for our ski trip in Coudersport.