Road Trip

So, I've decided to run away this weekend. I'm going to Miami. I'll be leaving tomorrow morning and driving down with two of my girlfriends, Kelly & Summer. Kelly has a doctor's appointment there and wants some company so we're roadtripping down and coming back on Monday night. This is just what I need right now! I'm going to just enjoy time with my girls and relax, shop, eat, and recharge (by sleeping during the drive). Don't worry; we will be safe & smart. Kelly's boyfriend Warren felt much better knowing that I was tagging along since that meant there would be three of us instead of just two. I'll post pics when I get back...

Fish

The fishing trip on Sunday was so much fun! I think I found a new hobby that could very well rival Triathlon training - We'll just call it "Crosstraining"... Judah put us on all the good spots and made it a really great trip. Summer and Melanie were tearing it up, catching fish after fish after fish. You should have seen the envy and confusion in the eyes of the other fisherpeople. I'm already planning my next trip out and plotting who the lucky people will be who get to come with. Mahi Mahi was my favorite to fish for - they are so fun to watch just under the surface and you can see right when you hook them.

Other news: Robert and I are OVER - no turning back, no more chances, just over. I'm pretty relieved and realize that God just provided a huge door for me to get out of the situation and all of my silly excuses. I have a problem with seeing so much potential in people that I never really give them the chance or challenge them to reach it and I treat them as though they already have. I wish him the best but have no desire to communicate with him going forward.

Canoe Trip

Saturday I went canoeing with some kids from the Pandhandle Network. We went down the Econfina River which is so beautiful! There were all these crystal clear spring pools and blue lagoons... I can't believe we've never done that during one of our family deals. Didn't see a single snake the whole way. I really didn't know anyone else who came, which was a nice change. I'm still making friends out here, but haven't established a good group yet. Seems like people out here just party and gossip alot. Hmmm...

Tour de 30A

Andrew, Me and Amber

Girl Power!

Andrew & I at the end of the ride
Winners drink Mimosas apparently. Who knew?

Chad, Amber, Me, Kristen, and Andrew @ Seaside



Madison eating keys & looking cute

Amber just loved her!

Andrew hula hooping on Fonville Hill @ Alys Beach

Me & Emily
Hula Queen of the Hill

Caliza Pool tour
Almost half way there!
Chad Amber
The group crossing at Watercolor
Chad with his shirt off. He's like Matthew McConahay - he just won't keep his shirt on...


Andrew

The Waco Ramblers at Red Bar
Ready, set, go
Todd Kristen & Amber
Andrew

So, we had so so so much fun on Saturday doing the first Tour de 30A! I think we'll do it once a month and hopefully will be able to rope some more people into coming along. We started at the west end of 30A and went all the way to the east end and back. Andrew, Amber & I are the only ones who did the full 40 miles, but we had 4 others who did significant portions of the ride with us: Chad, Kristen, Emily & Todd.

It was a beautiful day and we had a much-needed tail wind on the way back. When we stopped at Seaside for some refreshments, Charis joined us with the youngest three for a bit, which was alot of fun. I love showing them off to my friends and explaining why I'm hesitant to have kids of my own, because I'm afraid they won't be as cute as Charis'. The group was definately entertained by Brady and Mauri, but Madison kind of stole the show. Chad sat there in awe and asked Charis, "How do you do it?!" Happy Mother's Day, Charis! :)

Finally

After several races and dozens of awful pictures that I never want to post, someone finally took a decent one of me during a triathlon. Thank you, mystery photographer!

Other news: After a week of house/dog sitting in Rosemary Beach, I'm back in my own place. It seems smaller somehow. Hmmm... I guess staying in a 3000 sq.ft. house with hot tub, movie room, vaulted ceilings, massage chair, etc. kind of spoiled me. But I am thankful that I have my own bed back. When I crawled under my covers last night, I let out a deep sigh of relief. I love my bed! It was good to be able to make some fun money (yes, I took all of it shopping) and I actually have some good referrals out there now for other easy side jobs like that.

Big plans tomorrow: A bunch of us are meeting at the West intersection of 30A and 98 to ride our bikes to the other end of 30A and back (40 miles). I am expecting 7-10 people to show up, which is a good group for being so last minute. We are going to dilly dally just enough to stop for lunch, some beach time, and refreshments along the way. I'm just looking forward to being outside all day after a long week at work.


Deep Musings of late: I’ve been reading this book called Journey of Desire that is opening my heart to realize that I have been suppressing a lot of my feelings, desires, dreams, passions, frustrations, etc. for most of my life. I try to stay so calm and keep everyone in my life happy and make them feel good about themselves. After all, I am the peacemaker, the glue that holds it all together. Right? But I’m seeing that some of that is simply a control issue. I don’t want to get my hopes up. I set my expectations low because I don’t want to be disappointed yet I allow people to expect so much from me. I never want to ask too much yet I give everything. I want to be as easy-going and low maintenance as possible so that no one ever feels uncomfortable, at the total sacrifice of my own peace. Because I rarely express how deeply I’m hurt by rejection, neglect, & carelessness, the people I care about never realize how I feel, and that causes me to resent them for not seeing it. I know that it’s important to Forgive, but I think I’ve lived my life with a gross misunderstanding of what that really means. I haven't figured it all out yet, but I'm on my way.