I'm Still Musing About the Enormous Fall of 2017, My 56th Birthday Celebration at Niki's West, DIY, Tuesdays with Judith, Spending Time with RT AND Pinterest Stuff (Five Ways to Know if Something is From God)

Good Tuesday evening!

RANDOMNESS #1 - I Was Wrong! I'm Still Having Musings Regarding the Enormous Fall of 2017 - Actually, they aren't so much musings as another little story...

A spin-off, if you will.

Two weeks before I fell in the middle of the street in front of Gardendale's First Baptist Church, I inadvertently dropped a can of baked beans on my toe.

Specifically, the little toe on my left foot closest to the smallest piggy.

A day or two after it happened, I had a pedicure, and sure enough, my toenail was black.

My solution...

THREE coats of bright orange nail polish, and I was good to go.

Now flash forward to one week AFTER the Enormous Fall.

Three weeks had gone by since the can incident, and I was sitting in the pedicure chair once again...

But this time, I also had the scraped knee, elbows, ankle, wrists, etc., etc.

And I was sore.

Really, really sore.

I wouldn't have gone to the nail place at all except I wanted to do something fun with Roxie before she moved to Auburn.

Roxie was getting her manicure when they called me to a pedi-chair directly behind her.

When the pedicurist sat down to start, he couldn't help but notice all of my bandages.

"I can't have a normal pedicure today. No lotion. No scrubbing. No exfoliating. Just removal of old polish and addition of new polish," I told him.

He just stared at me.

"And I can't have the massage chair turned on for my relaxing pleasure," I added. "I'm pretty sure it would kill me."

Then I told him the entire story of the Enormous Fall of 2017.

When I finished, he looked down, picked up my left foot in both hands and ever-so-gently placed it on the stand. He started removing the old toenail polish, and then I remembered the black toenail.

"Oh, yes! And I dropped a can on the toe you're about to start working on. It is very black and very sore and very loose. What we're trying to do with that is just keep the black toenail, but I'll need three heavy coats of the bright orange nail polish... just like the last time I was here," I explained.

He sat back and just looked at my bandaged knees, ankles and yucky feet.

I was overcome with pity for him, and I decided to give him a way out.

"If I am just too gross to even be here, just say the word and I'll go home now."

That's when I heard a dull thud, thud, thud coming from the direction of Roxie's manicure chair. She had put her head down on the manicure table and was quietly and methodically beating her head against it.

One might have thought she had had enough of The Enchanting Belinda for one day.

It's hard to imagine, but Mike assures me it is possible.

The pedicurist didn't answer verbally, but he lowered his head and went to work.

He finished my toes and stood up. "Hot towels?" he asked.

Ahhh. Hot towels. I love the hot towels. I thought for a minute trying to figure out if the hot towels were indeed doable, and much to my pleasure, I could think of no reason they would harm me in any way, shape or form.

"Yes! Hot towels would be lovely!"

And they were.

My little black toenail fell off yesterday. It just gave up, and I don't blame it.

Not even a little bit.

I'm going to get a pedicure sometime this week, and while I am missing a toenail and I have seven big scars here and there, I don't feel as gross as I did three weeks ago.

Hey...

I might even let him turn the massage chair on HIGH because that's how good I'm feeling about my 56 year-old self right now.

That's right!

I said HIGH!

RANDOMNESS #2 - My 56th Birthday Family Celebration at Niki's West - I was very fortunate. Everyone was able to come and celebrate little ol' me.

I got my birthday wish!


Josh and Zac.


This is how Judith looks when she is working on sticker sheets at the restaurant.


And this is the smile you get when you ask her to smile before she is finished working on sticker sheets at the restaurant.


I bet you can guess this one.

This is the look you get when you interrupt Sawyer mid-meal.

I will try not to do that again.


Brad and Stephanie.


Melia and Austin.


Happy Little Man.


T.J., Katie and Bev.




I wasn't paying attention (even though people were trying to tell me), but Roxie took this picture and she is the only one NOT in the picture.

Everyone in our little family was present.

Everyone.


So I am just "super-imposing" one of The Chick.

She came all the way home from Auburn to take a picture?

I think NOT!


Pop with Little Man and Sawyer.

RANDOMNESS #3 - DIY - Part Two of my Birthday Celebration included going to DIY in Homewood to paint pottery with Courtney, Melia and Roxie.






I think the girls could do this once a month...

Easily.

RANDOMNESS #4 - Tuesdays with Judith - Tuesday has quickly become my most favorite day of the week.

Up until Judith, my favorite day of the week was Thursday. I can't really remember the "why" of that choice, but for as long as I can remember, I have loved Thursdays.

(It is going to bother me until I remember why I once loved Thursdays.)


We started this particular Tuesday with breakfast. Blueberries, peaches, peanut butter tortillas AND chocolate milk.

Judith wanted breakfast right away, so there wasn't much time to do anything with the curls. I put this bandana on her mid-bite, and it worked very well.


After breakfast, she decided to forego the bandana while we made Play-Doh Princess Cupcakes.


Two year-olds LOVE Play-Doh AND princesses, so this activity was a win-win for everyone.


Since our Splash Pad days are numbered (we have until September 30), we decided to have our Chick-Fil-A picnic there...

Again!

As you can see, the decision was made spur of the moment, and we played in the water without our bathing suit...




And it didn't slow us down even a little bit!


Daddy had some Birmingham business to take care of, so he showed up after Judith's nap just in time to help with her flower arranging skills.

(Please note Eunice in the background. Judith put her in time-out for some reason or other, and she stayed in the middle of the floor most of the day. I just wanted to make sure you knew that isn't her usual spot.)


It was a busy day, but an ever-so-fun day, too.

Tuesdays are like that now.

RANDOMNESS #5 - Spending Time with RT - This Little Man changes a little bit every single day, but two things stay the same...

That smile...








And those big blue eyes!

Pinterest Stuff

Five Ways to Know if Something is From God

1. PRAY - Begin with prayer. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It is.

Start by asking God to show you His specific will for you in this situation.

Pray that the Lord your God will show you what to do and where to go. Jeremiah 42:3

2. GLORIFY GOD - Ask yourself, "Does this glorify God?"

God will never guide you to do something that will not give Him glory.

Ask yourself, “Does this bless my relationship with my family? Does it make it possible for me to serve others? What will my attitude be if I do this?” Give yourself completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. Use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Romans 6:13

3. AGREE WITH SCRIPTURE - Does it agree with Scripture? God gave us His Word to show us His will. You and I can trust the counsel of the Bible.

You never have to ask God if it’s His will for you to embezzle from your employer or dish the latest dirty detail about your neighbor.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 2 Timothy 3:16

4. BE WILLING TO WAIT - Be patient. God’s will is worth the wait. Trust His timing. If something is God’s will, He will guide you while you wait and bring it to pass. Don’t rush it. When the timing is right, God will let you know.

Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

5. TRUST GOD TO ACCOMPLISH HIS WILL IN YOUR LIFE - God will fulfill His promises and accomplish His will for you. I’ll admit, I’ve gotten impatient at times. I want a clear answer, and I want it now! But I’ve learned I can watch and wait...

God will do what He says He will do, and He will accomplish His will.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20

Not everything in life is clear. There will be times when you will do all the above and still be uncertain about God’s direction for you.

That’s okay.

You can trust that if God wants something specific in your life, He will guide you to it.

If you’ve gone through the 5-step process and still have no clear answer, just keep moving. Make a choice. The good news is if you are trusting and glorifying God with your life, you can move ahead confidently.

NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA - Pinterest can be so much more than Slime Recipes and DIY Projects.

Don't get me wrong.

I love Slime Recipes and DIY Projects...

But those things do not compare to the wisdom shared in the above five steps.

Have a great Tuesday.

I hear it's the best day of the week.

Take care, and I will talk to you soon.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda