Nemacolin

Peter and I got an awesome deal for a 2 nights stay at Nemacolin so we decided to make the trip! We figured if we were ever going to go, then this would be the time since we got a great price. The downside is that many of the winter activities were over and the spring/summer ones hadn't started yet. We looked online, though, and saw that there was still plenty to do.

This was the view from our balcony on one side...

..and this was the view on the other. As you can see, there were grey skies when we arrived. Unfortunately, it didn't change much during our weekend. We didn't let that stop us from having a good time though. :)

Apparently mini golf is not in high demand on cold and windy evenings. Good for us because they just opened the course and we could play for free!

The course was quite beautiful and had several tricky holes.

I think this was before I started winning because Peter's still smiling here...

There were a lot of water features throughout this course.

My ball is green and on the course. Peter's is yellow and in the water. :( This is when things really started going downhill for him, haha.

We played 2 games of mini golf and I won both times! It's really just dumb luck for me because I just drop the ball and give it a whack. It drives Peter crazy!

After mini golfing, we explored as much as we could. We found a rock climbing wall, off-roading excursion, a ropes course, some mansions that we drove past, a closed clubhouse, and other great stuff.

We retired to our room for the evening since it had gotten dark and too cold to be outside. We ordered some room service and hit the sack early.

The next morning we had breakfast at the Autumn Restaurant. Peter had a Farmer's Omelet which he said was delicious and I had a Blueberry Muffin with a Bowl of Berries. Both were quite yummy!

Then we explored some of the inside lobbies, etc. They were all beautiful.

Then we drove all around the grounds and looked at the golf course, etc.

We also visited the Auto Toy Store with a bunch old cars and motorcycles.

They even had this old gas pump, too.

This was a petting zoo, but because of the gloomy weather, no one was out there so we couldn't get in. It was pretty funny because as we got out of the car, all of the animals approached the fence and started making lots of noise. They must be well acquainted with people. :)

The Wildside opened at 11 so we spent 2 hours there before lunch. We played pool. I lost miserably.

We played video games and ski ball and laughed like two kids as we tried to beat each other with each game.

We even went bowling and I started with a strike! Just like mini golf - dumb luck!

I actually won! I am pretty sure this is the first time I've won against Peter in bowling. :)

We saw this cool water garden on our way to lunch. It was so peaceful and quiet. We had lunch at The Tavern and then went back to our room for a nap. I rarely nap these days, but slept for over an hour and it was glorious. I have to remember more often that vacations are to catch up on sleep and rest, too.

The sun actually came out in the evening so we decided to drive around again to look at the animals and other outdoor areas.

I can't believe they have zebra, lions, bears, and buffalo at Nemacolin. We didn't see any of the bears or lions, though. :(

We did get to see the zebras and buffalo, though. :)

Happy to have the sun out, no matter how brief it was!

That evening brought more rain and eventually the power went out. Peter and I just settled in to watch a movie and 30 seconds into it and there was a total blackout. The power flickered at different points throughout the day, but this time it was out for good. We went to the lobby where they were handing out glow sticks and there were candles lit everywhere. Some places had more light than others and our room actually had one light that worked. After about an hour, we decided that we were just going to call it a night since they didn't anticipate the power to be restored until after midnight.

Sunday morning we at breakfast at Autumn again and then went for one more round of free mini golf. This time Peter won! There was a crazy family who let the kids run throughout the course like a bunch of wild banchees so it was difficult to actually play without a kid running through the course we were on or having them hit balls and move ours, etc. Kind of frustrating but oh well. We then checked out, spent the last of our tokens at the Wild Side, and headed for home. We stopped at Panera for lunch and Peter even let me go into Target for a bit!

By the time we were home, my allergies were driving me nuts so I took another nap. So sad to be feeling crummy, but thankful for a fun weekend away with my hunny. :) Tomorrow starts another crazy week, but I'm thankful for this weekend.

One Thousand Gifts - loving this book!

This book that I'm reading is just amazing. I'm only a few chapters in, but it's quickly becoming one of my favorite books for my own spiritual growth. It's about living fully right where you are, which is so what I need in my life right now. Instead of looking forward to when I'm debt free, or having kids, or whatever, I need to be living fully in the here and now. I don't want to miss something that's happening now because I'm busy waiting on the future. My next breath isn't guaranteed let alone my next week, month, or year.

Ann Voskamp describes how part of living a full life is being thankful for everything and finding joy in all circumstances. This is especially challenging for me since a large part of my life (work) is so completely opposite of that. But I'm trying to find small moments of joy throughout my days at work and fill my evenings and weekends with things that are good for my soul. I believe that God has me where I am for a reason and I may not ever understand why, but I do have to trust Him.

I'll leave you with some of my favorite quotes that have really spoken to my heart:

page 54:

God is in the details; God is in the moment. God is in all that blurs by in a life - even hurts in a life.

page 55:

This is the whole of the secret learning? I confess, even after all that I've seen and tasted and touched, I do scoff. I yearn for the stuff of saints, the hard language, the fluency of thanksgiving in all, even the ugliest and most heartbreaking. I want the very fullest life.

pages 55-56:

This is why I had never really learned the language of "thanks in all things"! Though pastors preached t, I still came home and griped on. I had never practiced. Practiced until it became the second nature, the first skin. Practice is the hardest part of learning, and training is the essence of transformation. Practice, practice, practice. Hammer. Hammer. Hammer. This training might prove to be the hardest in m life. It just might save my life.

page 57:

Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped. God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy.

It is true, I never stop wanting to learn the hard eucharisteo for the deathbeds and dark skies and the prodigal sons. But I accept this is the way to begin, and all hard things come in due time and with practice. Yet now wisps of cheese tell me gentle that this is the first secret step into eucharisteo's miracle. Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant--a seed--this pants the giant miracle. The miracle of eucharisteo, like the Last Supper, is in the eating of crumbs, the swallowing down one mouthful. Do not disdain the small. The whole of the life--even the hard--is made up of the minute parts, and if I miss the infinitesimals, I miss the whole. These are new language lessons, and I live them out. There is a way to live the big of giving thanks in all things. It is this: to give thanks in this one small thing. The moments will add up.

I, too, had read it often, the oft-quoted verse: "And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20). And I, too, would nod and say straight-faced, "I'm thankful for everything." But in this counting gifts, to one thousand, more, I discover that slapping a sloppy brush of thanksgiving over everything in my life leaves me deeply thankful for very few things in my life. A lifetime of sermons on "thanks in all things" and the shelves sagging with books on these things and I testify: life-changing gratitude does not fasten to a life unless nailed through with one very specific ail at a time.

page 58:

How does it save the world to reject unabashed joy when it is joy that saves us? Rejecting joy to stand in solidarity with the suffering doesn't rescue the suffering. The converse does. The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world. When we lay the soil of our hard lives open to the rain of grace and let joy penetrate our cracked and dry places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices, life grows. How can this not be the best thing for the world? For us?

page 64:

Oh yes, I know you, the busyness of your life leaving little room for the source of your life.

Sewing Something New

So tonight I decided to attempt sewing something new: a skirt...with pockets. For some reason things like zippers and pockets sound scary. They're actually quite simple. The pockets were even easier than my first attempt at zippers.

The whole thing took me about 2 hours. I'm pleased with the end result, but feel like it might be a bit too wide. I could always take it in, but that would mean redoing the whole thing basically since it has pockets. I'll wear it this weekend and see if it bothers me or not.

The pattern is great and I love the black in it so it's easy to pair with things I already have.

This one is a bit blurry, but I wanted to show the pockets. I love pockets. Especially with skirts and dresses.

Joann is having their 25% off (entire purchase, including sale items!) Friends and Family Event this weekend. I was already planning on going for a few miscellaneous craft supplies, and now I think I'll need to get some fabrics for more skirts! :)