Low Country Boil and Other Adventures

Monday afternoon, in the middle of our relaxing, the owner of the Arbors (told you she was a lovely woman and you'd hear more about her) knocked on our door and asked if we were busy that evening. She told us she was planning to cook for all of us who were staying in the rentals - if we wanted to come.

Isn't that so nice?

So here's how it went.

While the cooking was underway, Khi stayed entertained by playing with all the great sand toys provided at the edge of the beach. I was invited to "shooball." (Shoot the ball.) I want you to notice the LOCATION of the ball, please. IN the basket. Captured forever!!
When he could be lured away from "shooball," he meticulously cooked with the sand. Love this kid. He's meticulous and he thinks cooking is a good time. LOVE HIM!!!

He did have to check out the real cooking - which was a low country boil. My friends Chris and Trudy have told me about these things but I'd never been to one. Ours had potatoes, corn, onion, and shrimp - and then they also grilled brats and chicken.

There was SO MUCH FOOD. Tons leftover! (And this was just given to us. We didn't have to pay for it on top of what we'd paid to stay there.)

Silas was riveted by the invitation.

Oh I forgot to mention they also had garlic bread and some very tasty watermelon. There were these little foil lined baskets and we could just fill up with whatever we wanted. Here's what I wanted.

Yep. That's a vegetable in there. Please make a note of it.

This was my first time to have to dig into a shrimp. I had to take the shell off and pull the little leggies off too. I was so NOT graceful but that was some GOOD shrimp. (It was cajun, so it was a sinus cleanser too...which was good, since I was sick!)

Someone loved watermelon.

This little lady in the blue jacket is Deanna, who was our hostess with the mostest. This is the area where they set up the food. She told us she does this about once a month and we just so happened to be there for this month's festivities!

Some of the people at dinner...

Eating outside at sunset - gorgeous.

And then I watched the sunset....oh man.

I could seriously do this every night. Want to join me??

Ahhhh......

They offered Khi a treat for being a good boy that day, and he was ALL OVER that. "Tweat! Tweat!" We piled in the car and drove to a little ice cream place a few blocks down the road. They had sixty flavors. Good night nurse. How to pick?

Khi ate his tweat from a cone with a sampler spoon. Genius.

Silas actually wasn't feeling well by this point, and while we were at the ice cream store, Megan got a call from the doctor. So we left in a hurry and I ate my tweat at home - cappuccino crunch ice cream.

And as my mother said while looking at my pictures, "And the evening and the morning were the third day, and it was good." :)

Exploring the Beach

Even though it was technically my third day in Florida, Monday was the first day I had the chance to explore the beach. I was itching to get out there and spend time on that thing.

Here's a game you can play with the Florida pictures...how many times is Bekah caught with coffee in her hands?
I took said coffee and headed outside to walk over this little rise:

To this beautiful sight!

It was overcast that morning but you can see the blue sky peeking through and the day did indeed prove to be absolutely gorgeous. We had no plans for the day, so I was excited to catch up on rest after two insanely busy days!

I took this little video my first morning on the beach. I was talking really quietly so I'm not sure you'll be able to hear what I'm saying. (I guess I was trying not to bother the nearest person 400 feet away???)


Everyone emerged for a while to walk on the beach. I l-o-v-e this picture of Ronda and Khi.

And here I am - wet britches and all. (I had to get my feet wet. And unfortunately it was a long pants kinda morning.)

We took our time getting ready that morning and then drove to Largo (isn't that in a Beach Boys song?) to get lunch at a Chick-Fil-A (YUM YUM!!!!) and go grocery shopping. When we came back to the cottage, I went straight to the beach to lay out in the sand.

I'm sparing you that picture.

You're welcome.

Ronda joined me to read for a while and then we walked about a mile down the beach...

There were so many shells - and I got to see my first jellyfish! Thankfully it was dead and we didn't have to recreate that scene from Friends!

Loved watching the water....

The birds were so funny. They weren't shy...and I had a little chat with them about NOT pooping on my head. Or anything else belonging to me.

They were just as beautiful in flight.

There were a few people out on the beach, but honestly it looked much like this for most of the week:

So so beautiful and so private.

God has always talked to me more on the water than anywhere else. And aside from just loving everything about the beach, I knew God was going to do some talking that week.

And boy did He ever.

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Sunday, as you know, was the start of evil Daylight Savings Time. (ICK.) Between trying to adjust from vacation and the loss of my precious hour of sleep, I spent a good chunk of the day in bed. Oops. But that was, of course, after I went to church and stopped by my parents' house for lunch. Mom wanted to see all 490 vacation pictures, so I loaded up the laptop and went for meatloaf and picture presentations. And when I arrived, I got to see their newest wall decor:

* Monday was re-entry to reality. I overslept for the second day in a row since the implementation of daylight savings. (Lovely.) My computer at work took a full 30 minutes to boot up completely; guess it was still on spring break. After work, there was the grocery shopping, the laundry, the unpacking...yep. Vacation is over. How I loved it while it lasted.

* Brace yourselves. Tuesday I did my first ever March Madness bracket - all by myself. I know. It shocks the soul. I was recruited to be in Phats' bracket contest. What ever has become of me?
Tuesday night I also experienced another first in Bekahland...I made five 9x13 coffeecakes in one night. Someone from my church is in charge of the kitchen at a women's retreat this weekend and asked if I'd be willing to make these for one of the breakfasts. Fun challenge!


* Wednesday I got to have lunch with an old friend from college. He was a very faithful prayer warrior for me during my desert and happened to be in town, so we grabbed lunch. And - I was so excited to notice this bit of beauty taking place in the yard:
It's true! Spring is coming!

* I have a little photo essay for you to cover my life on Thursday. I had to go to McConn for this: (Caramel macchiato freeze - my new favorite frozen drink. Oh. My. Word.) And I needed it because this was the temperature IN OUR OFFICE:
But it was okay because it was beautiful outside and I was able to exercise out there in the breeze and under the sun! That redeemed the day.

* Friday was Kaegan's belated birthday party. Since I missed his actual birthday, my house-sitter threw him a party on his real birthday. But I wanted to celebrate with him too! So we partied. I was so proud of him...he fought for his treat. His little sister tends to bully him out of treats and then after two seconds she loses interest and walks away, but he's already gone. But this time he got right in there and chowed down and made her wait. After ten years, he's growing up!

* Saturday was blissfully fun. I tried a new recipe - which was SO GOOD. Cinnamon bun pancakes. You'll see them soon. Olivia and I tried to have our weekly phone call, but we had connection issues so we Skyped instead. Why haven't we done THAT before!? Went to get my nails done. My nail lady just got back from a trade show, where she got ideas for new Shellac colors. She said I'm her only client willing to try the crazy stuff. (Seriously?!?! I'M the adventurous one???) Check this out:

After the nail-palooza I went to the mall to scope for an Easter dress (ALWAYS a drama to find something that fits) and walked out with the first dress I tried on. I did pay for it.
Books I'm Reading: Sparkling Gems from the Greek continues, and I read more in When Love Ends and the Ice Cream Carton is Empty. Really enjoying what I'm learning from that book! It continues to affirm that I did something right in this past year!
Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: I loved Thursday evening, which was a pivotal night in the post-desert journey. As I sat and reflected on the past year and all it meant for me, both good and bad, I just became overwhelmed with love for the Lord. I went into my bedroom, plugged into my ipod and just sang worship song after worship song. By the end of the night, I was in tears (good tears). Loved it.
Update on Last Week's Goals: The Florida scrapbook is trucking right along! I have 23 pages done already. I spent part of the week just journaling the details so I have them for the book, when I get to the appropriate pages. And God has reminded me over and over of my Lenten theme, and I'm just resting in it. Feel very peaceful.
Goals for the Coming Week: I want to switch my closets this week. Time to put away the sweaters and bring out the summer stuff. I know we probably still have some cold days ahead but I'm over the sweater scene. O-ver. I am also ready to get out the Easter decorations and bring some spring to this house!

Our Digs

Before I go on into the week and all that took place, I wanted to share with you where we stayed! Ronda found this place through an online hunt and it seriously could not have been more perfect!

We stayed at The Arbors on Indian Rocks Beach which is just about a half hour from the Tampa airport. It was right on the most LOVELY beach that was pretty private and had GORGEOUS white sand. So pretty.

The owner, Deanna, who manages the place along with her son, Bill, was as hospitable as could be. More on that later. There is a little string of cottages, but we stayed in one called the Angler. It was a little 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom (tiny but darling!) place. I took a bunch of pictures of it, but to switch things up this blog post, I thought I'd post the video tour I took. (I intended to upoad the video directly but it would not work, so I had to put it on YouTube. Good grief.)

Please note that I am in my jammies at this taping and therefore look hideous. Please do not yell at me for the (two) times I said "yuck" in reference to myself. My self-esteem is not in jeopardy. I am nicer to myself after getting ready. :)

Enjoy!

Oh - and seriously if you ever go to this part of Florida, I highly HIGHLY recommend this place. It was just as precious and restful as can be.

OH! - and one other thing. I don't work for the Blair Witch Project. I'm just new at video.

Chorale Concert

Remember the original reason FOR the Florida vacation?

Ahhh yes. To hear Jonathan sing with Chorale. Would have gone a LOT better for me if I'd been feeling well! I lasted through about three songs before the very warm church (temps definitely were for the snow birds and not for the Bekah!) got the best of me and I had to listen to the rest of it from the foyer.



I (sadly) did not take my camera with me upon my hasty exit, so this is the only picture I got of the Chorale singing in Ft. Myers. Jonathan is the second guy from the left there in the middle.



You know you're in a retirement community when you're standing by the back door of the church and a nurse comes in to get someone from the congregation for her 7:30 medication dosage! LOL!!


Anyway, here are some other pictures of the night. Megan and Jonathan, post-concert, along with Silas and Khi. Khi had been talking about "John'n" all day. He was so excited to see him!

Jonathan with the sweet friends who treated us to lunch. Love them!!!

After the concert, Jonathan spent a long LONG time talking to his family and friends, and Khi was just really not a fan of all that waiting. He and I made countless trips to the parking lot to look for "chucks." (Trucks.) Everything is a truck. Bus = chuck. Golf cart = chuck. Car = chuck. So we saw a lot of chucks.

In between chuck sightings, we may or may not have done a little...ahem...dancing...in the back of the church. Hey. Whatever keeps them occupied. He was cracking me up with his moves. Think Bill Cosby...but faster.

I know I always talk about A Mighty Fortress, which is my FAVORITE Chorale song, but I thought I'd share a couple others with you this time.

This is the Africa song. (This is also not the full Chorale...but it's the only rendition of it I could find on YouTube.) It's not a religious song at all. I believe it was made popular by Toto, which to me, is a dog that flew out of Kansas, but to the rest of you, it may have musical meaning. I also believe Straight No Chaser has done this song. (I only know David Phelps has NOT done this one.) I don't really understand the words...but I am posting it because I love what they do at the beginning. Super cool.


And my good friend of a song....Betelehemu. My roommate, Jenny, used to practice the claps to this song in our room. To be honest, this song scares me to death, but it's cool in a frightening sort of way. I don't speak this language, so I have no idea what it says either, but it's fun to watch. They did this one in the round on this tour and I didn't like it in the round. Loses the effect of what you'll get to see here. (This is from '06 I think.)

Sundays in Florida

* I'm the blogger today over on the Intentional Journey and I shared about a lesson God taught me on the beach in Florida. Head over and check it out! Link on left. *


Sundays in Florida....are bliss.

I woke up a little extra early so I could go out to the beach for my morning devos:
However...it began to sprinkle as soon as I got out there, so I came back up close to our cottage to a little gazebo and settled in at the table with my journal and my Bible. The only thing missing - a cup of coffee. (Perilous way to start the day.)

I eventually came inside and got ready for church. And while Ronda and Megan finished getting ready and got Khi ready...I snuggled with Mr. Silas.

Let the record show, we did stop at a McDonald's so I could get some liquid gold. (I think I'd scared them both with the talk of how evil I get without coffee...)

And then we set out on the great open road with a destination of Venice. (Florida. Not across-the-pond-Venice.) I should stop here and say that the friends of Ronda's that we originally planned to stay with live in Venice. After Megan, Khi and Silas joined the trip, we changed our plans and got a cottage so we could make a big mess with no worries. (And we did!) But we still wanted to spend time with those friends, so we began the trip by going to church with them. Check out this bridge we crossed!!

Good thing I'm not as scared of bridges as I used to be! But man was that ever up there!

The church we visited was the Church of the Nazarene and it was just a lovely place, full of welcoming snow-birds. I loved the time of worship - we even sang He is Here...one of my faves.

Just in case you forgot that gorgeous view I had...

After church I became acquainted with some of Florida's OTHER inhabitants. Shiver.

Ronda's friends were, in a word, delightful. They hugged me on the spot. I love that. They made me feel absolutely part of the family and even took me out to dinner. (Twice.) After church that morning, they wanted to treat us to lunch at one of their favorite Mexican restaurants. Check out what it's called! (This will only mean something to Marion-ites.)

It was a GORGEOUS day - perfect temp, perfect breeze, perfect sunshine. SWEET. The restaurant was at this little courtyard, so while we waited for our food, we enjoyed the beautiful day.

This is Khi with "Pappy" as he called him right off the bat. They had the best time running around looking for those creepy little lizardy things. Shiver again.

Oh how I miss flowers. Can't wait to plant some!

Oh I'm sorry - did I forget to mention we ate outside? Heaven, heaven, heaven. Chicken quesadilla (heavy on the cheese) and a sweet tea. Oh yes.

After lunch, we got in the car and headed even farther south to Ft. Myers, where Jonathan's Chorale concert was held. Seemed like we'd just eaten lunch when we stopped at some relatives' of Ronda's to eat dinner. I actually wasn't feeling well by that point. (Two days of non-stop moving, weird eating schedules, little sleep, and really varying temperatures began to catch up with me.) So rather than eating, I walked around their little community and tried to cool off and calm down. By the time we got in the car to head to the concert, I felt REALLY sick. Poor Ronda had the air blasting on me, freezing out the entire car, and I was praying for some sort of serious mercy!!