Cabo San Lucas, once again

Yes, I'm back in Cabo once again!  This is the second and last year I'm joining my friend Kelsey and her family, along with Karen, for a great week in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  Both years the trip has been the first week in Jan, which is awesome for some beginning-of-the-year reflection, as well as relaxation, daily workouts in their great facilities, etc.

The wonderful weather is especially appreciated this year as I watch the news of great storms and flooding in the by area. :(  Hope you all are surviving!

Here's one pic from last year.  For more pics frhe-om last year, see my Feb 2007 Xanga entry.  For more pics from THIS year, stay tuned, and I'll have them posted in a week or two.

(The view from the pool, with the pool in front, me and Karen in the lounge chairs, and the ocean in the back!)

J, N, K, S, S, M, M, E, A

I have just been thinking about how blessed I am to have people in my life, and with whom I've crossed paths in the past, that I really admire.  I'm thinking of a few in particular - people who are so encouraging to me even apart from any direct influence in my life, but just by knowing that they exist.  Their relationships with God - the way they just run after Him with reckless abandon... the way they yearn to know Him more and drink in His Word - these are so inspiring to me.  Thank you God, for these people whose love for you attracts me, inspires me to draw me closer to you.  I want to be Your hands and feet.  Mold me and use me.  Maybe one day I will be able to be the same encouragement for another.

Two awesome verses I found:

"'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,' declares the Lord." ~ Jeremiah 9:23-24

"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.  They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.  Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.  Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit." ~ Jeremiah 17:7-8

Travel Journal - Houseboating Family Reunion

Day 0 – Friday August 3rd

I stayed up late talking Thursday night, which I thoroughly enjoyed, although it made my sleep short.  God still gave me energy though – Friday was a crazy day!  It was the last day of work at camp, so the whole day we were both exhausted from 6 long weeks of work, and energized to be doing the lessons and cheers for the very last time.  After camp was over we went into MAJOR cleaning mode.  Camp was on a school campus, and the janitor was really strict about how clean it had to be.  We were literally on our hands and knees using little plastic forks to scrape clay off the sidewalks.  EVERYTHING had to be washed, vacuumed, cleaned-up.  We all worked together to get it done, but towards the end people started slacking, and it took way longer than it should have.  I was like a crazy cleaning woman – as soon as I finished one job I would wash my hands in the sink, only to see dished that needed to be washed.  I’d wash them, and then dry my hands, and while throwing the paper towel away, I’d notice the trash needed to be taken out.  I’d do that, and then turn around and see another job.  Others needed to be told what to do, which was a tad frustrating, but we eventually got through it.  I definitely did learn a lot from the experience of working at the camp, and I know the realizations I had, and the skills I gained, and the experience, will serve me well in the future.

We finished at 8:20 or so, and I was on such a high as I drove out of the parking lot, singing at the top of my voice to the music in my car!  I had to be careful to not speed, b/c my adrenaline was so high my foot got heavy…. :)  I made it to Real World too late for worship, but just in time for Bible study.  It was a great study, as always, but I might need to revisit it again on my own b/c I had a little bit of a hard time concentrating, what with everything on my mind.

Day 1 of vacation – Saturday August 4th

I woke up early, but underestimated time it would take to pack and the time it would take at the airport.  I kinda freaked out when the lines at SJC were 5 times longer than I’d ever seen them in my entire life.  Turned out the baggage line moved quickly, and I those of us who were willing to walk were escorted to a different security line which was quicker.  I sprinted to the gate (which happened to be at the complete opposite end of the terminal) and just made it just in time, because the plane was running a little late!  AND, my bags were even there when I got off the plan in Las Vegas!

My parents were waiting for me at the baggage claim, and it was so nice to see them.  We picked up Dan at their hotel, and drove to Page.  I was so genuinely excited to be reunited there with our extended family.  Although I hadn’t seen some of them in years, we were quickly back to our teasing, goofing-around, fun selves.

 We had the most amazing food for dinner.  We ate at this place where the menu items were expensive, and the amount of food on the plates was really small, but the food was so delicious.  Each bite was a real treat on the taste buds!

Now we’re about to load up the houseboat, and are watching the lightning!  It’s crazy cool!  And it’s warm!  Every time lightning strikes I gasp and get super excited, and my family thinks I’m strange because they see weather like this all the time.  It’s so beautiful and scary to see some lightning bolts stretch through the sky, and then see others generally light up the entire sky.  I am tired, but so happy to be here, and my mind is thinking about how amazing Earth is….

  

After that we went shopping at the grocery store, and let me tell you – it was quite an experience!  Aunt Amy did a great job making the menu, and the shopping list, and organized all the items to buy on one mega list, divided into categories based on general location in the grocery store.  We split up the huge list and all grabbed a shopping cart, and went at it!  Just try to picture eight or NINE shopping carts full of food!  The receipt was 4 feet long!!  The shopping was a bit insane, but quite comedic and therefore quite fun.

After we loaded up all the food on the houseboat (fitting it into all the tiny compartments), we spent the night on the houseboat – but inside, as the sleeping bags we set up on top of the boat got wet with the rain when the wind picked up!  The weather forecast for this week is really strange.  It’s supposed to storm every day, either in the late afternoon, or at night.  We vote for the late afternoon one, so that we can sleep on the top deck overnight.  We’ll see if the weather complies….

Day 2 – Sunday August 5th

We left the dock and traveled on the boat today.  Some people woke up early to go fishing, but I was NOT one of them.  Even though the boat rocks back and forth, sleeping in is heaven, especially since I only got 5 hours of sleep each of the two previous nights.

After the houseboat pushed off of the dock, we traveled a ways to a different area of the lake.  While traveling I talked with uncle Steve on the front deck of the boat.  I really enjoyed conversing with him.  He’s a doctor, and he’s going to move to a new house on the beach in Washington.  He has a great world-view.  He’s at a place where he loves his work but no longer needs to work, and can think about what he really wants to do with his wife now that they’re still young.

We beached the boat, and after sunscreening up (actually, perhaps too soon after applying), I grabbed a little pool raft and floated on the lake.  It was my first time in the lake.  Now, often the water is so cold you loose your breath as you inch in.  But this water in the lake was almost not cold enough!  You do want it to be cold enough to cool you down.

Floating was heaven.  Seriously… I kept thinking life couldn’t be better.  My aunt and girl cousins were also out on rafts of various shapes and sizes, and we all floated together and girl-talked.

After a while my brother came by on his newly-purchased jet ski (kinda a random purchase for him), and I grabbed his life vest and took a try myself.  It was hard to control it at first, but I love a good challenge.  Once you get up on it it’s thrilling.  Then when I’d had enough of the jet ski I drove over to our speed boat, my dad took the jet ski, and I jumped in the boat.  I skied on a single ski, and then double skis, and then let go of the rope just in time to land right next to the houseboat.

Then I decided I’d been in the water long enough.  I headed to the top of the houseboat, where I grabbed a book and chatted with Grandpa.  Then other cousins came and we played Catch-Phrase (one of my favorite games).  Then the dinner bell rang (literally – it’s on the front deck of the boat), and we came down to a great dinner of Sloppy Joes.  Over dinner I chatted with uncle Keith – the funny one, who’s awesome.  Hopefully we’ll get to talk more later too.

Then there was a STORM!  It was crazy how quickly it came in.  It was quite an adventure, with everyone moving about, closing windows, making sure everything was tied down so the wind couldn’t blow it away.  We had to move our speed boat because the waves were really knocking it around!

Then one of my cousins, Casey, showed me her photo album of her trip to Germany, where she visited her boyfriend.  Lots of good girl-talk.  I can’t believe how old she’s getting….  Haha, I feel like an old person, thinking, ‘I remember you when you were this tall…”.  Good music came on and I danced with Casey, then on the deck with Grandpa, and then with Mom.  Great slow songs are coming out of the system radio now… we’re singing along….  Music really moves me.  I can’t do justice explaining it….  I think the desire to dance does need to be a non-negotiable for me in looking for a husband!  I just love it!  He doesn’t have to already know how to dance, but needs to be willing to learn a little.

I’m now sitting on the couch, reading a book of my mom’s entitled, “Managing Your Mind.”  I’m sorry, but I love these kinds of books.  Sure, many people call them “self-help” with a negative implication, but I think many of them are great.  They’re inspiring.  They make you feel like you have power over your life, and give you skills that can be helpful.

Day 3 – Monday August 6th

Today is Mom and Dad’s 30^th wedding anniversary!  Kinda cool.  We started the morning by looking for uncle Keith’s glasses.  Apparently Dad had knocked them off the night before when they were repositioning the speed boat in the storm, but they were prescription, and worth looking for.  Unfortunately didn’t find them.

Then the houseboat was un-beached, and Jen and Casey and adults went water skiing in the speed boat.  Despite having had hip surgery and a recent knee replacement surgery, our 79-year-old grandpa got up on skis!  Not many people can say that their grandpa can still ski!  We were all very proud of him – and also very glad that he got up, because if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been happy!  Many people on the boat got up on two skis, including myself, and I cut across the wake the entire time, which was fun!  I feel really comfortable on two skis.  Then I put one ski back in the boat and single skied.  I’m pretty good at getting up on one, but not confident going outside the wake at all.  I’ll see if I want to work on that….

We had lunch, and the second crew to go out on the speed boat explored through narrow canyons.  The cousins played Hearts, a favorite card game.  Dan successfully shot the moon once, and so did I!  Casey played on the Ski-doo, and I floated with Mom on rafts.

We had great fresh fish for dinner, along with steak….  Aunt Amy really did do an excellent job planning the menu.  After dinner the cousins went on the boat by themselves.  The girl cousins got up on skis.  I wake boarded, and I got up the first time!  I even went outside the wake a number of times, although I dropped the line each time before attempting to get back inside the wake.  I’m definitely gonna work on this, and am getting over my fear (the last time I went outside the wake on a wakeboard I smacked the water with my face, which wasn’t fun).  Dan and Kris wakeboarded and put us all do shame – Dan does these incredible jumps!  I was happy to be able to drive the boat for him.

When we got back we bathed in the lake – yeah for clean hair!  Then we had the most delicious dessert ever – seriously.  It was made with German chocolate cake mix, half of cake on bottom, then layer of melted caramel, then layer of chocolate chips, then second half of cake mixture.  It was so rich and gooey.  I was in heaven.  Could life get any better?

I humored my artistic side by coloring.  I decided to use crayons to draw the skirt and legs of a female dancer, and then wrote all sorts of words associated with dancing all around – like music, connection, styling, musicality, fun flirting, rhythm, improvising….  Tried to capture a little bit on paper about what I like about dancing.  Then I joined a group on the top of the houseboat watching stars.  We picked out constellations, saw the milky Way in between the clouds….  Gorgeous.  There were fireworks too, shot off of other random houseboats.  Others played Hand and Foot, a family favorite card game.  I slept on top for the first time, but I didn’t sleep well as there was LOUD music playing from another houseboat.

Blues

So last night I went Blues dancing at Alberto's for the first time, and I had SOOO much fun.  Blues is now one of my new favorite dances!! :)  I don’t know why, but I definitely admit I was a little scared of it at first.  I really enjoy swing and salsa and ballroom, but blues was uncharted territory.  Yet I learned that blues is great because there’s no basic, and you just have to move and react with your partner.  At first this intimidated me - what if I didn't want to move in the way my lead was telling me to?  What if I didn't know what to do as a follow for a basic step?  But it's SO great!  My previous dance background helped a ton - hearing the rhythm, knowing about musicality, knowing how to follow and connect with your partner....

My favorite part was the social mixer, and also the birthday/out-of-towner/first-timer(ME) dance.  Those of us who fell in to those categories got to go out on the dance floor, and others form a circle around you.  You start with one partner, and then others cut in!  SO much fun!  So first I'm dancing with one guy, and then another cuts in, and then two more try to cut it, but only one wins... haha!  Super cool.

My plans for substitute teaching for the summer kinda fell through, so today I applied to work at a camp over the summer.  I also am going to go fill out an application tomorrow to teach at Arthur Murray Dance Studios... which would be WAY cool....  We'll see!

Who should you spend the rest of your life with?

Author Unknown

With the divorce rate over 50%, too many are apparently making a serious mistake in deciding whom to spend the rest of their life with. To avoid becoming a "statistic," try to internalize 10 insights. 

1. You pick the wrong person because you expect him/her to change after you're married. The classic mistake. Never marry potential. The golden rule is, if you can't be happy with the person the way he or she is now, don't get married. As a colleague of mine so wisely put it, "You actually can expect people to change after their married...for the worst!" So when it comes to the other person's spirituality, character, personal hygiene, communication skills, and personal habits, make sure you can live with these as they are now.

2. You pick the wrong person because you focus more on chemistry than on character. Chemistry ignites the fire, but good character keeps it burning. Beware of the "I'm in love" syndrome. "I'm in love” often means, "I'm in lust." Attraction is there, but have you carefully checked out this person's character? Here are four characteristics to definitely check for:

a. Kindness: Does this person enjoy giving pleasure to other people? How does s/he treat people s/he doesn't have to be nice to? Does s/he do volunteer work? Give to charity?

b. Responsibility: Can I depend on this person to do what s/he says? Does s/he follow through on commitments?

c. Happiness: Does this person like him/herself? Does s/he enjoy life? Is s/he emotionally stable?  Then ask yourself: Do I want to be more like this person? Do I want to have a child with this person? Would I like my child to turnout like him or her?

d. Humility: Does this person believe that "doing the right thing" is more important than personal comfort?

 3. You pick the wrong person because the man doesn't understand what a woman needs most. Men and women have unique emotional needs, and more often than not, it is the man who just doesn't get it. Jewish tradition places the onus on the man to understand the emotional needs of the woman and to satisfy them. The unique need of a woman is to be loved - to feel that she is the most important person in her husband's life. The husband needs to give her consistent, quality attention. This is most apparent in Judaism's approach to sexual intimacy. The Torah obligates the husband to meet the sexual needs of his wife. Sexual intimacy is always on the woman's terms. Men are goal oriented especially when it comes to this area. As a wise woman once pointed out, "Men have two speeds: on and off." Women are experience-oriented. When a man is able to switch gears and become more experience-oriented, he will discover what makes his wife very happy. Then the man forgets about his own needs and focuses on giving his wife.

4. You choose the wrong person because you do not share common life goals and priorities.  There are three basic ways we connect with another person: a) Have chemistry and compatibility, b) Share common interests, c) Share common life goals. Make sure you share a deeper level of connection that sharing life goals provide.  After marriage, the two of you will either grow together or grow apart. To avoid growing apart, you must figure out what you're living for while you are single - and then find someone who has come to the same conclusion as you. This is the true definition of a soul mate. A soul mate is a goal mate . . . two people who ultimately share the same understanding of life's purpose and therefore share the same priorities, values and goals.

5. You choose the wrong person because you get involved sexually too quickly. Sexual involvement before the commitment of marriage can be a big problem because it often precludes a fully honest exploration of important issues. Sexual involvement tends to cloud one's mind. And a clouded mind is not inclined to make good decisions. It is not necessary to "test drive" in order to find out if a couple are sexually compatible. If you do your homework and make sure you are intellectually and emotionally compatible, you don't have to worry about sexual compatibility. Of all the studies on divorce, sexual incompatibility is never cited as a main reason why people divorce.

6. You pick the wrong person because you do not have deeper emotional connection. To evaluate whether you have a deeper emotional connection or not, ask: "Do I respect and admire this person?" This does not mean, "Am I impressed by this person?" A Mercedes impresses us. We do not respect someone because they own a Mercedes. You should be impressed by qualities of creativity, loyalty, determination, etc. Also ask, "Do I trust this person?" This also means, "Is he/she emotionally stable? Do I feel I can rely on him/her?" 

7. You pick the wrong person because you choose some one with whom you don't feel emotionally safe. Ask yourself the following questions: Do I feel calm, peaceful and relaxed with this person? Can I fully be myself and express myself with this person? Does this person make me feel good about myself? Do you have a really close friend who does make you feel this way? Make sure the person you marry makes you feel the same way! Are you afraid of this person in any way? You should not feel you need to monitor what you say because you are afraid of how the other person will view it. If you're afraid to express your feelings and opinions openly, there's a problem with the relationship. Another aspect of feeling safe is that you don't feel the other person is trying to control you. Controlling behaviors are a sign of an abusive person. Be on the look out for someone who is always trying to change you. There is a big difference between "controlling" and "making suggestions." A suggestion is made for your benefit, and given in love.

8. You pick the wrong person because you don't put everything on the table. Anything that bothers you about the relationship must be brought up for discussion. Bringing up the uncomfortable stuff is the only way to evaluate how well the two of you communicate, negotiate, and work together. Over the course of a lifetime, difficulties will inevitably arise. You need to know now, before making a commitment: Can you resolve your differences and find compromises that work for both of you? Never be afraid to let the person know what bothers you. This is also a way for you to test how vulnerable you can be with this person. If you can't be vulnerable, you can't be intimate. The two go hand in hand. 

9. You pick the wrong person because you use the relationship to escape from personal problems and unhappiness. If you are unhappy and single, you'll probably be unhappy and married, too. Marriage does not fix personal, psychological and emotional problems. If anything, marriage will exacerbate them. If you are not happy with yourself and your life, take responsibility to fix it now while you are single. You'll feel better and your future spouse will thank you.

10. You pick the wrong person because he/she is involved in a triangle. To be "triangulated" means a person is emotionally dependent on someone or something else while trying to develop another relationship. A person who hasn't separated from his or her parents is a classic example of triangulation. People can also be triangulated with things as well, such as work, drugs, Internet, hobbies, sports or money. Be careful that you and your partner are free of triangles. The person caught in a triangle cannot be fully emotionally available to you. You'll not be their number one priority. And that's not basis for a marriage.