Shred and Refresh -Day 1

10 days, 5 ski resorts, 4 friends, 1 Subaru, 2445 miles. The goal is simply this: shred pow; refresh the body and spirit.

Wednesday before last, I hitch-hiked onto my Uncle Phil and his daughter Lauren's dad-daughter ski-day on Mt Shasta. Shout-out to a wonderful and ever so generous family! On the drive home, U. Phil commented on how a day on the mountain does so much more for his spirit then a day in church. I couldn't agree more. When I'm outdoors, my whole being is engaged in worship of my incredible God. This is not to say that worshiping God in the traditional setting with other believers is inferior (in fact, God calls us to do that); however, I do believe that we often overlook other ways of worship. With this in mind, I'm looking forward to a beautiful and completely revitalizing 10 days. God is One. He is the Creator of all things good. And I am going to immerse myself in this truth and revel in His glory. Body, heart and soul.

And because He's so freakin awesome, read this: "He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes. He casts forth His ice as fragments; who can stand before His cold? ...He does not delight in the strength of the horse; he does not take pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord favors those who fear Him. Those who wait for His lovingkindness." Excerpt taken from Psalm 147.

Today is day one. Prep day. My gear is strewn about the house, upstairs, downstairs, across the garage floor, on the dining room table, even draped from the chandelier. I'm so glad I took half of yesterday to thoroughly clean my house! heh. My roommate watched as I dumped an arm full of soft-shells, skin layers, wool socks and gloves in the middle of the living room and slid sideways out the door mumbling something about needing to go work-out. Know: this is not because I have a lot of gear; this is simply rule #1 of organizing: make a BIG mess. Now would be an appropriate time to pity those that will be sharing a small four door car with me for the next week plus.

Advice of the day: a good music mix is essential on prep day. How to make waxing skis interesting? Mix it with a few well-placed dance moves to Michael Jackson's "Beat it." It has the same effect as singing karaoke into your broom handle on house-cleaning day.

Lesson of the day: make certain that your leather gloves are completely dry prior to water-proofing. Did I really think sealing in the moisture was a good idea? I'm only hoping that having completely waterproof hands will be as warm as having waterproof gloves.