Appreciate Where You Are

I'm ready to move...or go on another vacation!  I have forgotten what the sun looks like and my feet are beginning to web together.  The sidewalks are blackish green, moldy and super slippery.  I haven't played golf in a very long time, the only exercise I've been able to get has been done indoors, my hair resembles a Brillo pad and I'm running out of ways to entertain myself indoors!  Can you tell?  I know some of you are up north and it is not golf season but have you seen the sun or a blue sky in the past 2 weeks?  What do they look like?  Can you send pictures? 

Days and days of this....

Speaking of pictures, I resorted to organizing my many photo albums in the study today.  They are now in chronological order.  No idea why it has taken me 8 years to come up with that clever system!  They must have been in some order originally but through the years and flood preparation measures they have gotten quite disorganized.  I just had to look through some many of the albums while I organized and I gotta say....what a great life it's been!  A few questionable hair and fashion choices but they all made sense at the time.

Looking back through the years I have also come to the radical conclusion that I wish I would have appreciated my youth more!  I should have appreciated the body I had... when I had it.  Why was I always so critical of myself?  Why did I always think I needed to lose weight?  If 40 year old Lisa could have seen herself through 60 year old Lisa's eyes she would have been so much happier with her body, her smile, her smooth skin, her bright eyes and all the other things that she took for granted.  Damn!  I say this to myself as much as to anyone out there criticizing themselves.  We all do it!  Why?!  We should really appreciate ourselves more.  To quote one of my sisters, "We will never again be as young as we are today!"  I need to keep reminding myself that 70 year old Lisa is going to look back some day at 60 year old Lisa and say, "I was so young then!" 

Smile for the pictures...you will never be this young again and you look fabulous!   Oh, and if the sun is shining where you are, give thanks and go play outside... I would!
This has been your rainy day public service announcement.

What Makes You Smile?

There have been years we have gone to Park City for our annual ski trip and arrived to brown grass and slushy slopes.  One year TJ threatened to bring his golf clubs when he saw the balmy forecast.  This year no golf clubs were needed...only skis.

Winter golf clubs!

Being the weather nerd that I am, I kept track of the snowfall before our trip.  Things were looking very promising, there was a substantial base and regular new snowfall.   I had high hopes for some amazing skiing!  There are some skiers who love knee deep powder, I am not one of them!  I like my ski slopes nicely groomed with maybe an inch or two of fresh snow on top of them.  I'm very picky wimpy when it comes to skiing.  Deep powder is work if you ask me and even more challenging when you are skiing through a blizzard. 

One of the days we chose not to ski in the knee deep powder,
we watched the professionals instead!

To say we had epic snow may be an understatement.  It snowed over 50 inches the week we were there!  I wondered if we would ever see the sun but on day four it finally showed its face!  Nothing better than blue skies and plenty "groomed" slopes! It was an epic trip if you like snow!

My kind of skiing!  

The other thing that has made me smile lately happens every Friday morning.  It is just as good as waking up and seeing groomed slopes and blue skies.  It is taking Logan to swimming lessons.  I have never seen a more infectious smile in my life than the one he sports during swimming lessons.  He can come out of the water sputtering and gasping for breath but there is a huge smile on his face when he does.  The kid LOVES the water!  I have no idea if he is the next Michael Phelps or the next Jacques Cousteau but he is very close to mastering rolling from front to back and back to front in the water.   He has shown definite improvement over the last few months and never...not once...has he ever hesitated to get into the pool or do whatever the coach asks.  It is a joy to watch him.   *This paragraph is brought to you by a proud grandmother.

Sheer joy!

Smiling halfway under water...

Smiling while others are swimming...

Smiling when listening....

Still smiling!  I think he likes it!

What is it that makes you smile like this?  Do it!