Beautiful Beaches

Today I finished working a little earlier than I had planned...at least the part of my work that I have to drive around to do.  So, I treated myself to a little time at the beach...once I realized that it was only two miles away from my hotel.  I have never seen the beaches on the west coast of Florida before today.  It was really beautiful.  The water was green and there were more waves than I am used to on the coast of  South Carolina.  The down side is that there were lots of shells so it was a little hard to walk barefoot.

I saw this very interesting house along the beach.  It certainly was unusual.  I am only assuming that it was built to stand against hurricanes.  I have seen houses that were built to withstand the weather before, but this one was really pretty.

I read in a book recently that God's creation is not primarily functional; it is primarily BEAUTIFUL!  I always feel like God is telling me how much He loves me when I see the beauty of nature; the tide rolling up on the beach, the mountains, a waterfall...so many beautiful sights and sounds that speak to us of God's great love!  I am always amazed that anyone can look at all of the wonders of nature and still not believe in the God who created it all.

I am grateful for a job that allows me to sneak in little moments like these along the way.  But now I must get back to those parts of work that I can complete in my hotel room (e-mails, completing a few reports...exciting stuff like that)  And tomorrow....I head home!

The pros and cons of travelling for work

As I sit in a hotel room in Florida....again....I am thinking of how much I would rather be home.  I am very thankful for my job and I am certainly not complaining about needing to travel...I actually rather enjoy it...but at the same time I am thinking about home and the little things that I miss when I am away.  So here are some of the things that I miss when I am travelling away from home for work.....................

1.  I miss my family...Gene,the kids...everyone.  It's not that I see them all everyday; but I do love knowing that they are nearby.

2.  I miss my chair.  It is never really comfortable in a hotel room, no matter how nice it may be.

3.  I miss eating dinner with my family.  I am not a fan of eating alone in a hotel room...with plastic utensils and a towel on my lap.

4.  I miss being able to just walk outside if I want to...to water the flowers, chat with Gene in the garage, whatever.  I do make time to walk around and stretch my legs while travelling...but it's just not the same.

5.  I miss the DVR (I know...I am spoiled but I do enjoy being able to pause, rewind, record a show and watch it while skipping over commercials)

6.  I miss my own bed...with my own pillows...and my fans (yes that is plural)

7.  I miss being able to control the temperature.  No matter how many times I adjust the thermostat in a hotel room I just can't get it quite right.

8.  And...most of all...I miss Gene rubbing my back while I am going to sleep.  Like I said...I am SPOILED!

But, not to sound all negative, here are a few things I enjoy about travelling for work:

1.  I like seeing different places, pretty scenery and all that.  Tomorrow I will see one of the prettiest places...the skyline of St Petersburg as you cross the bridge coming into the city.  It is really beautiful; especially at sunset.

2.  I enjoy meeting nice people.  It is good to know that there are nice people every where you go IF you look for them.

3.  I actually enjoy the time driving alone.  I find a good book on CD to be relaxing and in between those I DO like rocking out to some good music.  Yes, I am one of those crazy people you see "car-dancing" down the highway...which I would NOT do if someone else was in the car.  I really enjoy worship music when I leave out early in the morning.

4.  I like capuccino and the only time I get it is when I head out early in the morning for a long drive.  By the way...not the good stuff that you spend a fortune for at Starbucks.  I like the cheap stuff you get at the local gas station :o)

5.  And the thing that I like MOST about travelling for work....drumroll please....IS GOING HOME!! :O)