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Ten Things of Thankful: One Last Vacation Before Work

 

The setting sun is shown through a Celebrity Eclipse life preserver

As I mentioned in my last post, John has taken a job that will last for about a year and we will be relocating temporarily to California. However, before this job offer came, we had booked a cruise to Cabo San Lucas, so I spent the last week practicing "living in the moment"--which is not easy for a planner like me, especially when we have an upcoming out-of-state move! But I am definitely not complaining, and I was certainly glad John had the chance to relax before beginning his new job. 

As relaxation week is over, I'll jump right into the Ten Things of Thankful list:

1. I'm thankful that on the way to port, we got to visit with our daughter and grandchildren.

2. I'm thankful we got to stay in the rental house that we will be living in shortly. It's even better than we realized from the online photos.

3. As an example of #2, I'm thankful the house has an installed doggy door leading to a small fenced yard. Drexel will be able to access the yard anytime. Other examples are the house is shaded by lots of trees and there are hiking trails just behind the house. It's so peaceful there, which makes the move so much easier.

4. I'm thankful that even though the cruise ship had a software problem with their propulsion system which meant we arrived late to Cabo San Lucas and missed a snorkeling excursion, the ship was in port overnight and we still got to go kayaking and snorkeling the next day. 

John and I pause from paddling the kayak to pose for a photo


John and I smile for the camera after snorkeling. Can you see where our snorkel face masks were?

5. I'm thankful for our health. Even though we were the oldest couple on the kayaking/snorkeling excursion, we had no problem keeping up--at least in the kayaks. The "youngsters" did help us set up our phones to receive airdropped photos, though. 😊

6. I'm thankful for new experiences. We cruised with Celebrity for the first time, and one of the activities onboard was glass blowing. We both tried it and had a blast! I felt a little bit like a preschooler or kindergartener doing a project with adult help, but just like a child, I also am very proud of my creation! Thanks to instructor Kayla, my vase looks like a vase. And no one was hurt!



Instructor Kayla looks on as I turn my glass vase in the hot oven. (I'm doing this part all by myself!) 
Instructor Kayla carefully holds my hot vase as we both smile for the camera 


Instructor Mitchell and John with John's glass vase

7. Speaking of new experiences, have you ever heard of a silent disco? I'm thankful for a couple at breakfast one morning who suggested we go to the onboard silent disco that evening. How it works is that everyone has a pair of headphones and there is a switch so each person can choose from three different channels of music. Everyone dances to the music on their headphones, but not everyone is listening to the same channel. Neither John nor I would be labeled as enthusiastic dancers, but we both had a lot of fun at the silent disco. I'll attempt to post a video that John took, but I'm not sure it is going to work.  Most of the participants were listening to the same channel (green) at the time, and many were singing along, so it wasn't exactly silent, but hopefully you can get the idea. 


8. I'm thankful for reliable transportation. Remember the days when odometers would "roll over" to 0 again after 99,999? Not anymore!

Our odometer hit the 200,000 mark on our drive back from California
9. I'm thankful for church. Though we'll be in a different congregation soon, no matter where we are, church is familiar and constant. 

10. I'm thankful for John. We definitely have adventures together! 

What are you thankful for today? Leave a comment, and go to the Ten Things of Thankful blog to read the other entries!








Comments

  1. messymimiNovember 12, 2023 at 7:42 PM

    I'm so glad you went and had a good time. You are in my prayers for a safe, easy move and a fun year, then a happy return "home."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiNovember 13, 2023 at 7:14 PM

      Thank you! Prayers are always appreciated! :-)

      Delete
  2. Dyanne @ I Want BacksiesNovember 12, 2023 at 7:49 PM

    I know the vacation came at a bad time as far as planning the move, but how wonderful to have one at a stressful time. Love the snorkel faces! And your vase is lovely. What an impressive endeavor! I assure you, I will not be attempting that with my preschoolers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiNovember 13, 2023 at 7:16 PM

      No, it's definitely not a preschool project; I just felt like a child who was "helping" the teacher. :-) I'm glad we got to have a vacation, especially before John starts working again.

      Delete

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