St. Augustine, Florida - Part 1

Come with us on our recent trip to St. Augustine in Florida!
I thought I'd better divide the photos into two posts or you'll be on overload... We found St. Augustine to be a beautiful little old town with interesting and friendly people. It was a little more commercial than we had expected, but the number of good restaurants truly surprised us!

It was also the weekend of the annual Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach and we saw beautiful, gleaming motorcycles and their proud owners everywhere! Many of them were escaping the cold and even snow in their home states for one more trip into summer!
And summer it was - our first two days in St. Augustine were so humid that I felt like I was melting every time I stepped outside. If I were one of those southern women who simply glows beautifully in hot and humid weather, I wouldn't mind. No, I sweat! And not particularly ladylike!
We arrived toward evening and took a stroll through the main streets of the historic town to find the Alehouse where we were going to have dinner. On the way, we saw some gorgeous houses and gardens, among them this community garden with an old well.
Look at this beautiful old wooden house.



At the Alehouse, a microbrewery, we had to sample all of their beers, which were quite good. I guess that's where I am a German at heart. Most women seem to prefer a glass of wine, whereas I'd always go for a good beer...
The birthday boy!
Daniel's oldest sister had given him this very cool tripod for his birthday. You can set it on flat surfaces, but also wrap it around things, which makes it perfect for traveling. We have a series of self-portraits going, where we hold out the camera at arms length and take a picture of ourselves, and this tripod will certainly help with that! Of course, Daniel couldn't resist goofing around with it...
Here one of our "traditional" self-portraits.
The next morning, we had delicious breakfast and went to the beach afterward. What a beach it was - the sand was white and fine like powdered sugar and it looked like we could walk on forever. The fun part was that you drive right onto the beach to park your car. I think it's the first time our little car has seen the ocean...
Big storms approaching from the west.
We then paid a visit to the lighthouse. The surrounding area was filled with the most gorgeous live oaks.















Now just a little comment on my last post about the Joy Diet. Several of you commented on how serious it is. It really isn't, especially for me. I think it would be much more serious and maybe distressing if I weren't already living my dream life. Anything else wonderful that happens for me is simply icing on the cake...

Plus, the book offers much more than I cover and is really quite fun. Most of what she talks about isn't new to me, so I focus in on the parts that give me something to think about. If you read the book, you'd probably focus on something completely different... I'm already having fun with this week's topic of taking risks!

OK, check back in tomorrow for the rest of the St. Augustine photos and then on Wednesday for more art and an award!!

The Joy Diet - Chapter 4 - Creativity

And we continue on the journey through The Joy Diet, hosted by Jamie Ridler...
When I first read the heading to this chapter, I thought: "Easy! I do creative things every day. I paint, I knit, I cook..." Well, after I read the chapter, I was at a loss as to what to say about it. It's less about being creative and more about finding one creative idea every day that will help us realize our desires.
I have to admit that I didn't work with it much this last week as my week was super full and we were out of town for a few days, but now I am ready to go with chapters 4 and 5 this week. They sort of go hand-in-hand anyway.
What I found most intriguing about chapter 4 was the part where we obsess on the people or groups we dislike the most and see how we can incorporate the traits we dislike into our repertoire to reach our goals.
Now that brought up some interesting stuff for me. What I really dislike in others, for example, is judgment without compassion, loud and obnoxious behavior, constant talking. Ok, none of those are behaviors I want to start cultivating in myself, but they revealed something about me that I've been aware of, but not really as an obstacle in reaching my goals.
I realized that I am often way too concerned about what others are thinking and how others are feeling. Where I don't like a lack of compassion, I sometimes have too much and I often feel responsible for others' emotional responses, forgetting that how we feel is always our own choice.
I also tend to be overly quiet and polite (as opposed to the loud and obnoxious behavior I dislike). It's the people pleaser in me. And my overly empathic side. There is much that even those close to me don't know because it's more peaceful for me to be the person I know they will be most comfortable with. Do you know what I mean?
It's easier being the person most know and are comfortable with, but if I am to realize one of the big dreams in my life (one I will tell you about eventually as it begins to unfold), that will no longer be possible.
Starting to paint this year and writing this blog were similar steps in allowing more of my true self to shine - and not just shine but do so in a public forum. The response was more than I could have ever dreamed of.
And then there's the constant talking that I don't like in others...well, sometimes I have an opportunity to speak and really say something that I know is important and can give a different perspective, but I keep quiet.
Most of the time because what I would have to say would disagree with what the other person is proclaiming. And there's the people pleaser again and my overly empathic self not wanting to upset the apple cart.
Add to that my discomfort with conflict, learned early on in my life, and I'd rather keep the peace, even though I have much to say that is of importance and sometimes even profound.
In a way I love that there's always more territory to uncover and become familiar with. We are never done learning about ourselves, are we?
This week we get to take risks in some action steps toward fulfilling our desires.

(All photos were taken on our weekend trip to St. Augustine, FL - more to come this week)

And even though I am quite the scaredy-cat, I will try to live this week with the heart of a lion - I am a leo after all...

Painting...

Well, for Daniel's birthday, I wanted to create a painting of us that actually looked like us - sort of. I think it turned out alright. It's definitely different trying to paint someone from "real life" rather than one of the women that just flow from my imagination. Daniel said he really liked it (isn't he sweet!?)! What do you think?

We did have a really good laugh about the attire I painted us in. We both thought we looked like we were playing doctor and nurse! Nothing wrong with that...

In the meantime, we are having a fantastic time in St. Augustine - just wait until you see some of the photos. Such a beautiful place!

Hope you are all doing well. I look forward to having time to visit all of your blogs later this weekend!!

Happy Birthday, Daniel!

Today is Daniel's birthday!
Can you believe that this handsome, young man is turning 50 today?! Neither one of us can...
So, today, this amazing man and I are going on a little trip to St. Augustine in Florida! We'll be back Saturday! Have a wonderful few days!!