38... feels like 29.

that's our current weather...chill factor at those temperatures... ya, that's a new thing for me. but before i continue to talk about that, i want to share something with you:

i saw FOUR SNOWFLAKES today!!!!!! AWESOME!


*regains composure* okay. lets continue


let me say for the record that this is by far the coldest weather i have ever experienced in my life... and it's gonna get way colder... way colder.


i have to say, however, that i am handling this rather well. I finally found a way to overcome the iciest wind my body has ever been in the path of. The liner of my snow jacket is awesome (yes, the snow jacket that i got at a used gearsale!)... wind cannot get through it... now i just have to figure out how to keep my nose from icing over.


* * *


I am pretty sure that last night i was THE happiest girl in michigan...

It all started with a dream. Actually, it was a horrible nightmare that i will NEVER forget. The funny thing is that i didn't remember that i had the dream until i was sitting in class that morning and flashes of the dream made their way to my mind. What was this horrific nightmare? I was serving tennis ball after tennis ball, and every single one of them was going in to the net... i was getting so frustrated because EVERY serve was going in to the net... i just kept serving and serving and serving... and my form was all off... and serve after serve went in to the net... i was distraught when i remembered this nightmare in the middle of class, and i almost felt sick just thinking about it.


Like me, my father saw it as a desperate call out to go and hit a tennis ball. We discovered the MAC (michigan athletic club) online, and turns out they have sweet student rates, are located not even two minutes down the road from calvin, and has tons of sweet facilities... most importantly, 6 INDOOR TENNIS COURTS! so i immediately headed over there after lunch and signed up, and within minutes of signing up, i had my reservations with the ball machine at 9pm.


It was the strangest thing that 8:45pm, it was stinkin cold outside, raining/hailing, and i was packing my bag to go play tennis.


However, that wasn't as strange as the looks i got when i walked on to my court wearing heavy sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt. When i got dressed to go play tennis, all that occurred to me was that it was freezing cold outside, therefore, i must dress warm. what didn't occur to me was the indoor part of "indoor courts..." i have never played indoor before (unless you count that rainy day back home where i practiced my volleys against the wall of... i mean... uh, i don't know why there are a bunch of dirty smudge marks on the wall of my bedroom). so as the lady led me to the indoor courts (passing a ton of raquet ball rooms/courts, and even the same kind of thing for ping pong!!!) i was SUPER excited to finally play and use a ball machine... i was also realizing that it was kind of warm...


So we reach the indoor facility that has 6 courts and a track that goes around the courts, and immediately i am just bursting with excitement... dude, the smell of indoor courts, it's like rubber and then 1000 cans of new tennis balls being opened simultaneously... amazing. and the sound, the sound of tennis balls bouncing, being hit, and then echoing throughout the entire huge facility... and the sight of how huge this thing is, and realizing that it is covered, and no element of weather can prevent the joyous game of tennis being played under neath its roof... its just incredible!


so, at that point my first indoor experience began. i got the ball machine going (which is the same one that el dorado uses) and ran to the other side with what i imagine was a goofy looking grin, and hit my heart out.


i also sweat like crazy. i looked around at what everyone else was wearing... shorts and a tshirt. ya, i'll remember that next time.


anyway, it was awesome... i hit about 5 rounds of the ball machine, and then served a round too... i was a little nervous to hit that first serve because of my nightmare i had... but you know what? only ONE ball went in to the net (that does not mean the rest went in--i had a good share of ones that went went long or wide)...i was so glad to not be hitting them short.


to be out there hitting... it was amazing... it's such a great feeling to just jump right back in to it.


so this is my new tennis home for now. i look forward to many good times of hanging out with my friends the fuzzy yellow tennis ball and mr. machine.