On the Move
Lots going on in the Rough household.
The EXIT LAUGHING readings in L.A. were super fun (except for the fact that I ate too much cheese at the after party). I’ve got to start bringing my camera to these types of events.
Ron’s firm held its first (and what we think will be annual) company retreat, and I had a great time taking his boss’s wife and boss’s daughter (8 months pregnant!) paddle boarding. Thankfully the owner of Paddle or Pedal in Chesapeake Beach did have a camera.
The company president's adventurous wife led us to open waters.
Christy said, "Wee! The baby thinks paddle boarding is fun."
Me, enjoying my new favorite sport.
Ron and I are moving again (more on that later).
Ron’s firm is in the midst of making architectural plans to knock down his office wall (among a few other walls) and reconfigure the company’s space.
The stock market is as volatile as ever, making Ron’s job managing the investment portfolios rather challenging.
I’m working on writing XXXXXXX (more on that later).
And last but not least, my Book of the Month pick is Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses. Thank you to Meghan for suggesting it. I bought it for the plane ride home from L.A. When it comes to reading on a plane, here’s the deal: I take Dramamine for motion sickness. If I take half of a chewable tablet, I can usually stay awake for about 3/4 of the trip and read most of the time (writing is out of the question . . . I don’t understand how people work on laptops in those squishy seats with those silly tray tables). But no matter what, I have to . . . Have To . . . and I mean HAVE TO put down my book during the descent. Otherwise, well, you know those barf bags? I do.
Anyway, I had seen Poser in the bookstore many times before, but I never bought it because I was afraid it would be like, And I sat on my yoga mat and lengthened my spine, and then I reached my arms above my head, etc. Not at all. It’s about a writer who lives in Seattle and is trying to keep her marriage together and raise two kids (I’m particularly amused when she talks about her married-but-childless girlfriend). Right when the airplane started its descent into Washington, D.C., I hit the point in the book where the writer’s newborn baby boy, not yet a day old, burst his lung in the NICU because he was crying so hard for his mommy, and the nurses didn’t even bother to wake her up! Needless to say, I couldn’t put the book down at that point. Which didn’t bode well for me about 10 minutes later. I was thisclose to barfing up my American Airlines fruit and cheese plate (more cheese), but somehow I held everything down. Tonight, I’m looking forward to finishing the book that has been calling to me all day.
Fins
What a mild winter. It’s been sunny and almost warm not freezing. Still, when Ron mentioned he had to take a business trip to Florida, I packed my suitcase in two seconds flat and waited by the door. I haven’t been to Miami or SWFL since spring break trips with my parents and brothers, so I was curious to take in the sunshine state as an adult. Here are 11 personal thoughts about Florida:
Paddleboarding in Bunche Beach Preserve
- Paddleboarding is my new favorite sport. Loved the quiet ride through the mangrove forest in Bunche Beach Preserve. What a beautiful and unique world God has created.
- Ceviche is my new favorite dish (especially Fire & Ice at Ola). Also, I love grouper. Seafood Watch says grouper is a fish to avoid because of overfishing. Tried to stick to local red and black grouper (okay alternatives). Anyway, I ate so much fish I thought I would grow fins.
- Kelle Groom is my new favorite Florida writer (go read her heartbreaking work I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl).
- A morning run in Florida is relaxing, but deceiving. I felt like I got a better workout (so much sweat!), but I covered the same short distance.
- I finally found a city (Ft. Myers) where people drive exactly the same way I do… SLOW.
- All winter long in Northern Virginia, I will put my icy cold hands on Ron’s neck…or back…or arms. He’s like a space heater. I tell him that it must be so nice to live inside a warm body. The concept boggles my mind. In Florida, I was warm all the time. It was amazing. Lovely. A dream. I loved not being cold.
- I discovered sea hares – and I even held one. Such neat little critters. When they are underwater they look prickly, but it’s just a defense mechanism. Pick one up and it is soft, like a snail without a shell. I also encountered a cute frog.
- I could live in Florida.
- If I lived in Florida, I’d have to seriously invest in hair products. Between the wind and the humidity, my hair looked like the mangrove branches – a tangled mess.
- Ocean, ocean, Ocean
- Our big treat was visiting the Hendersons – family friends who adopted Ron and me for the day. We both admire their kind hearts and strong faith in God.
You don't have to stand up on a paddleboard, especially when floating under mangroves
Ribbit