Mystery Revealed – Part 4
Yesterday, July 30th, was our actual anniversary. We have officially been married for 25 years. Amazing. This whole trip has been amazing, so you're probably wondering what incredible things happened on the actual day. Well, I think I can safely say that it was a little different that what Kevin had originally planned.First of all, he had arranged for a private tour of six homes that had belonged to celebrities of yore...Doris Day, Bing Crosby and the like. Now, he knew that this would've been just the thing to float my boat, as I am CRAZY about old movies and anything having to do with that era in history. There are people that are living in these houses now, and they are contracted...
Mystery Revealed – Part 3
We made it a little further down Hwy. 1, to be greeted by this:Lovely Carmel! Our final destination for the rest of the week! We are cosy in our beautiful, Asian-themed room at the Tradewinds Inn:This picture doesn't do the view justice - you can see the hills and the water perfectly!Yesterday, Kevin told me that the theme for the day was "pictures". For "Picture Day", we were to both take our cameras and shoot as many pictures as possible, of any and everything. We spent most of the day walking up and down Ocean Avenue, shooting pictures of everything from architectural details, to plants, to oceanscapes, to each other. When we finished, we had 174 pictures between us and some really...
Mystery Revealed – Part 2
Today found us on the road again, continuing south on beautiful Highway 1 to Monterey Bay. I couldn't tell if I'd just forgotten how beautiful the state of California is, or if everything just seems more beautiful when viewed through the lens of deeply felt contentment. Certainly, that is a possibility as far as I'm concerned today.We wandered through the renowned Monterey Aquarium, enjoyed a nice lunch and took a leisurely stroll through the shops on Cannery Row. Then, my sweet man took me to our accommodations for the evening. Lord have mercy on my swooning soul!Here is a visual tour of Old Monterey Inn:It's a beautiful place. It was a cool evening, so we decided to stay in and enjoy...
Mystery Revealed – Part 1
Day one on the great "mystery trip" commenced early yesterday morning and found me on the other side of the country in the late afternoon. My first stop? That's right...San Francisco! But that's not where we stayed. We got our rental car and headed south on Highway 1 toward Santa Cruz. It was a beautiful drive ending at a place that I've always thought of as a little bit of paradise. This is where yesterday's journey ended: Beautiful, isn't it? This is the backyard garden of our Aunt Norma and Uncle Roger.Now, you might think it a little odd that my husband would start out mystery anniversary trip with a stop at our relatives, but it really isn't. Not when you understand that this couple...
Sacrifice of Praise
Have I mentioned a time or two (or twenty) that I am a people-pleaser? I know I'm not alone in this malady, because I've met a LOT of you during my lifetime! But, as I recently told a friend, people-pleasing is not just about pleasing people. It's about the kudos you GET from other people whom you please. Even though most of us find great joy in doing special things for and serving others, there is the underlying hope that those people will think we're sweet and talented and special. We want to be liked and held in high esteem. Face it - we want "all eyes on me"; we want to be praised.I read two scriptures in the last couple of days that have been rolling around in my mind. They are:But...