The Rest Of The Story...

And now….THE REST OF THE STORY…
(continued from yesterday's post...read that one first :-) Although each and every aspect of my last post is quite factual…it was actually a little more “complex” than the picture I have painted you. Here is the rest of the story…

The morning of our departure had arrived…too early I might add, after getting only about 90 minutes of sleep before the alarm awoke me to reality. Please don’t write me about what a dumb idea it was to stay up until 3:00 a.m. the night before a getaway with my DH. I won’t bore you with all the details of why I only got 1 ½ hours of sleep the night before our trip, but let’s just say preparations for this trip and the following trip to Ohio took much longer than anticipated. I was mad at myself for not having my act together (www.flylady.com style), and not accomplishing all the things I wanted before leaving on our 3 weeks of upcoming travels. At least I was proud of myself for pulling life together enough to be packed and ready to leave at 5:30 a.m. to accompany DH on the drive to Galveston. I came SO close to staying behind to complete my pre-travel “TO DO LIST”. I also felt badly that we had to wake up Erin & Micah at 6:00 a.m. so we could drop off our two geriatric dogs for them to watch while we were traveling. You can’t leave a 15 year old, three-legged, diaper wearing dog with just anyone you know. Anyways, that task should have been taken care of the night before. We made the trip to Galveston without event and got checked in to our room in a timely manner. Brad was required to go directly to his first meeting of the day, so I settled in for my first day alone in our hotel room. I noticed our “own private balcony, offering a magnificent, unobscured view of the Gulf of Mexico” was not exactly a correct evaluation of our particular room. Had we been located a few floors higher, I’m sure the description would have been accurate. Our balcony, on the other hand, actually overlooked the roof of the hotel entryway. If you looked off to the right, the only thing you could see was the roof and the larger-than-life air conditioning system for the hotel. Off to the left, beyond the roofline and a row of palm trees, we could indeed catch a glimpse of the Gulf of Mexico and the sky line. As for the “private balcony” part…I decided I didn’t particularly enjoy having a rather steady stream of male workers walking around on the roof directly outside our balcony doors most of the morning, so I closed the curtains. So much for our “magnificent view”. Now remember, we were preparing to be out of town for three weeks, so one of the things I needed to make sure that I had completed was to pay every bill that was due or would be due while we were gone. In order to accomplish this noble task, I had brought a pile of bills, bank statements, insurance stuff, lap-top computer, calculator and whatever else I could catch up on from this remote location. I spent the morning sitting on the bed surrounded by paperwork. I would, from time to time, flip on the TV to see what diversions it had to offer. If I wasn’t depressed before, I certainly had reason to become so after watching report after report on a senseless mass murder at an Amish school house in PA. My heart ached for those families faced with such tragedy. A bright spot in my day was when Brad popped in for a few minutes after lunch to say “hi”. I made the mistake of asking if he had eaten lunch yet, after which I received a tantalizing description of the oriental cuisine he had previously enjoyed. Since all I had eaten that morning was a rice cake spread with peanut butter, (a cost cutting effort on my part) I decided it was time for a break and a trip out to find something decent to eat. I’ve never been one to enjoy eating alone in a restaurant (it feels so lonely), so I resigned myself to drive through a local McDonald’s to pick up something to appease my growing hunger. Big mistake. Being in Galveston, I was craving sea food…so I ordered the fish filet meal deal. To be honest, at times I have actually enjoyed a McDonald’s fish sandwich; however, this was not one of those times. The sandwich was cold and dried out and the French fries didn’t fare much better. I returned to our hotel room regretting my decision to “treat” myself to an outing. I placed myself back on the bed to faithfully continue working through my piles of paperwork, with intermittent breaks for seeing if there was anything of value to watch on TV. Since we don’t watch TV at home, I thought this might be a fun diversion to my task at hand of completing unfinished paperwork. It was not the fun diversion I was hoping for. Late afternoon Brad arrived back in our room with enough time for us to enjoy a short walk along the beach before he headed back for his next session. Although Brad had told me the first night he would be tied up with work, I kept thinking we would be able to catch dinner together and take a late night stroll along the sea wall upon his return. In reality, he didn’t get back to our room until around 8pm, at which time he informed me they had provided a nice steak dinner for them during the evening session. Furthermore, to add insult to injury, he said they had scheduled a dinner outing for everyone the following night and he thought I might be able to attend. Never mind that I was holding out that evening as our one night in Galveston where we could enjoy a romantic date alone. Then he made the mistake of asking me if I had had fun that day. I’m afraid “fun” wasn’t in my vocabulary to describe my experiences of the day. I was operating on very little sleep, I had eaten only a peanut butter rice cake and dried up fish sandwich all day so I was hungry. I was also feeling rather cooped up in our hotel room and frustrated that it had taken so much time that day to work through my large pile of backlogged paperwork......and basically having a pitty party. No, “fun” was not how I would describe the events of my day. It was at that time that I decided maybe I needed an attitude check and a good night’s sleep. The day ended with prayers for a better day tomorrow.
We got out of bed around 6:30 a.m. and headed for the beach with camera equipment in tow. Since Brad had to be at his first session at 7:30, I ended up dropping him back by the conference center/resort and returning to the beach by myself. Although I had missed the sun rise by about ten minutes, I was still able to catch some great shots and spend about an hour capturing different highlights of God’s creation.

It was on the beach that I made a conscious decision to change my negative attitude and decided to work towards feeling productive and enjoying my beautiful surroundings. I loaded up my camera equipment in our van and headed back to the hotel. From there I grabbed a book and walked next door to the IHOP restaurant where I ordered a wonderful breakfast. I was still outside of my comfort zone to sit at a table by myself at a restaurant, but I had a nice view out the window and was able to read a few chapters in the book I had brought with me. After lingering over my food and book, I returned to our hotel room and settled in for the day. I finished up my paperwork and did some research on the computer that I had been delaying. I had intended to complete the job of editing wedding pictures I had recently taken at a dear friend’s wedding. It became apparent that I would be unable to tackle that task due to the limitations of the laptop computer I was using. That was very disappointing, but I continued to keep my attitude in check so I wouldn’t become frustrated. Brad arrived to pick me up at 5:30 so we could head on over to the chartered bus that was taking the group to dinner that evening. Although sitting at a table full of men who were discussing oil related business talk wasn’t my idea of a romantic date out, I focused on being thankful that we were provided with such a nice dinner at no cost to us, and that we were together. The remainder of our time in Galveston was uneventful and I was could once again appreciate the ministry of the Holy Spirit in my life and the privilege to call upon Him when I need a fresh approach to my expectations

.

Views along Galveston beach...Gulf Of Mexico, October 2006

That Tricky "E" Word

How often have you looked forward to something with excitement and high hopes only to find that your romantic dreams met a different reality? It happens to all of us… it’s the “e” word… Expectations. Take our recent trip out of town for instance. I would like to wax eloquent about the unbridled bliss of having a few days away from home to enjoy a change of pace and a large amount of quality time with my husband, or so I thought. Instead, I’m staring at the title of my blog, Candid Reflections, and am reminded that I have promised a frank and honest evaluation of life as I see it. (Hmmm…is it too late to change my blog name to: “Diane’s Fakey Facts”?) See, I’d rather not admit that I became rather ill-tempered about what I perceived as an unmet expectation surrounding our little “getaway”. Make no mistake, I knew this was a business trip I was accompanying my husband on and that he would be rather tied up a large portion of the time. But we had both thought my job would be to relax, take in a few local sites, do a little shopping….or "whatever I wanted…gosh!!" So, when several people asked me if I had “fun” accompanying Brad on this recent business trip, truth was… what I had was an attitude problem. I thought I’d tell you about our “getaway” in stages. Today you get the picture perfect, Norman Rockwell, Polly Anna version. However, stay tuned for….the rest of the story.

A few months ago my dear husband invited me to accompany him on a business outing to Galveston, Texas. He let me know that the conference he would be attending was booked at one of the nicest resorts in the area. Brad knew I had so much fun last time I joined him (last May we went to Orlando) and thought this would be another chance for me to “get away” and do whatever I wanted for a few days… a real “just pamper yourself” type vacation. His thoughtful desire to provide this change of pace for me is so appreciated!! Although he would be tied up during the day in meetings, it stood to reason that we would have our evenings together for romantic dinners and long moonlit walks on the beach. Sounded good to me!! The great part was the four star resort and all of his expenses would be paid for by the company…so we only had to cover my food. Finally the day had arrived for our little excursion. Upon arrival at our resort, we could quickly see this was indeed one of the nicer accommodations we have enjoyed. This beautiful hotel was located along the Galveston seawall and each room was reported to have its “own private balcony, offering a magnificent, unobscured view of the Gulf of Mexico.”

Brad felt, from a business standpoint, the time during his conference was very profitable. He was able to enjoy a lot of good food, a relaxed atmosphere with work associates, an afternoon of golfing with “the guys”, plus some nice company perks and gifts. And to top it off, his wife was waiting for him when he returned to his hotel room each night! I was enjoying the change of scenery as well, having a break from the routine of home base, living in clean and beautifully appointed accommodations and landscape, and having a maid to clean up after us! I especially enjoyed spending several hours down on the beach with my camera chasing the sunrise, waves and seagulls with my lens. After one such photo session, I headed over to a local IHOP and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast…made to my exact order…while lingering over the pages of the book I am currently reading. Eating out has always been such a treat for me. I love enjoying good food and fellowship and then being able to just walk away without having to clean up the mess made by preparing such a meal. Our second evening there Brad let me know spouses were invited to a company sponsored outing for dinner. We traveled by chartered bus to an area by the harbor called “The Strand”, well known for great restaurants and lots of neat shops to visit. His company had reserved a large room at a wonderful seafood restaurant that overlooked the pier. We enjoyed a buffet with an endless supply of fresh seafood; shrimp cocktail (my favorite!!), gumbo, fish, crab, etc…, salads, twice baked potatoes, chicken dishes, prime rib, and a delectable assortment of desserts. Upon returning to our hotel room we noticed that the maid had been in to prepare the room for our return. The bed linens were turned down, chocolates placed on our pillows and a fluffy terrycloth spa type bathrobe was waiting on the bed. Yes, this has truly been a fun, relaxing change of pace. Our last day in Galveston, Brad was through with business by noon. We packed up and headed back to the harbor area of town and ate lunch at a quaint little Middle Eastern café before heading back home. Once again I was thankful for an opportunity to take time away from our routines, to stop and admire God’s creation and share a new setting with my dear husband.

Frugal Friday-Kettle Corn Recipe

We have finally returned from our three weeks of traveling and I'm getting back into the swing of things here at home. We had a great time with family, but it's always nice to get back to our own routines. :-) While visiting family in Ohio, we had two occasions to travel into Amish country and enjoy the area and drink in the wonderful fall surroundings. Both times we purchased a bag of Kettle Corn and quickly became hooked! Upon returning home I have experimented with a few recipes and family vote says this one is the winner! Fast, easy and MUCH cheaper than what they charge at fairs and events...enjoy!!!

Kettle Corn

3 Tablespoons corn oil
3 Tablespoons white sugar (may use brown...we liked white better)
1/2 teaspoon salt (MOL to taste)
1/2 cup unpopped corn

Place oil, sugar and salt into heavy pan** and heat almost to boiling...stirring all the while. Work fast as it doesn't take long on a high heat setting. Pour in the 1/2 cup popcorn kernels and stir constantly. Remove from heat as soon as you don't hear any more popping and pour into a large bowl. Let cool a few minutes (the sugar makes this treat very hot right off the stove). Enjoy!!

**We have a 5 quart stainless steel stove top popper with a hand turned stirring arm. (Purchased from Target - Back To Basics brand name.) We make popcorn several times a week and LOVE this popper as it turns out big fluffy consistently wonderful popcorn with very few, if any kernels left. I buy the cheapest store brand popcorn from Wal Mart .88 cents a bag and get perfect results. I know I sound like a sales pitch for this popper... but it really does make a difference. The popcorn we produce in our regular stove top pan isn't as nice as what we get using this heavy duty stainless steel popper with a thick base. Christmas is coming up...ask for one as a gift. (That's how I received this popper last year from DH :-) Be sure to get the heavy duty stainless steel version...they carry a cheaper style, but I think much of our success comes from the make-up of this heavy gauge steel.