In Which I See “The Wall”, 500 Birds, and Some Awesome Readers!
On January 8, my hubby and I flew from Ontario, where it is COLD, to Phoenix, where it is NOT.
We were very happy!
For the last year or so we’ve been living in our RV for 3-4 weeks at a time, a few times a year. Last September we drove through from our home all the way down to Phoenix, with a detour to the upper peninsula of Michigan. Then we left our RV in storage in Phoenix and flew home, until we picked her up again this month (She’s a her because the model is a Minnie Winnie and we call her Winnie for short).
We drove to California where it rained for a week, but I managed to get a ton of work done while sitting in the RV! It’s kind of fun. I work during the day, and Keith goes for lots of walks and bird watches, and then I make dinner and we play this strategy game at night together on his computer while I knit.
So it’s very low key and super relaxing.
I also gave my Girl Talk twice–once in Anaheim and once in Arlington (last night in fact!). It’s a great night when I talk sex & marriage and do an anonymous Q&A, and it’s always so much fun and informative for the women who come!
In Anaheim my long time reader and supporter Amber came, armed with chocolate after I posted on Facebook that we had forgotten to buy it at the grocery store–and it was too hard to drive our RV in Los Angeles to go back and get some! So she rescued me.
And didn’t they make the stage awesome for the event?
And I had some great meetups with people, too!
Jaime from Simply Rooted Calligraphy won dinner with me in a contest I did a little while back, and I was finally able to deliver when I was in her neck of the woods. A friend of hers (plus the friend’s absolutely adorable baby) came, and we had a lovely chat about shift work and babies and job opportunities and lots of stuff.
And we went to an amazing restaurant called True Food that was ever so yummy.
Then I also had the awesome opportunity to meet Denis Merkas from the MELT Massage Course. Denis has been an online friend for a while, and has graciously sponsored my marriage newsletter. He and his wife create a great product of online teaching videos where couples can learn to give each other amazing massages (the videos work, trust me!). Anyway, one of the things that he was telling me is that he’s gotten feedback that he never even thought of before. So many women have written saying, “I was abused in the past and I get jumpy when my husband touches me. But being able to give and receive a massage I feel is really healing.” So neat!
He stopped by our RV and though it was cramped, we had a great talk.
Then Pam and Bill Farrel, from Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti fame, also came by, and we dreamed of maybe putting on a marriage cruise sometime!
The most fun part for Keith, of course, is the birding. We’re big birdwatchers, and California and Arizona and Texas have birds that we just don’t get in Canada. So he figures he saw 27 new species this trip, bringing his total to 548. And he has pictures of 508. In fact, here is his 500th bird species picture:
And here he is taking that 500th picture:
We had to track that Costa’s hummingbird all over the garden, because the first time he missed the picture! But it was very rewarding. (If you want to see the other pics Keith took this trip, you can check out his Flickr account!)
Michelle, who hosted the event in Anaheim, and her husband are great birdwatchers, too, and they and their kids took us out on the Martin Luther King holiday to some of the preservation areas.
We saw a Hutton’s Vireo, which was a first for everyone (if any of you out there are interested!)
In total, over the trip, we drove about 1,500 miles Keith figures. Some of the driving really felt isolated! There was NOTHING driving through New Mexico. We finally stopped for lunch in a town where almost everything was boarded up. The restaurant looked a little scary, but it was actually quite good food!
And driving through El Paso I looked out the passenger window and thought, “wow, that neighbourhood is a little run down.” And then I noticed The Wall! It was about 15 feet from us, and I can now say that I’ve seen the non-tourist side of Mexico.
Tomorrow we’re leaving the RV in Dallas and flying back to Canada, before rejoining it in late March. We’ll be in the Texas area for 3 weeks then, so if any other churches are interested in either hosting a Girl Talk or in hosting a couples event, either I could speak or both of us could speak! Just email Tammy and she’ll send you lots more information.
Right now I’m off to Edmonton to speak at Breakforth, Canada’s largest Christian conference. I’m giving my sex talk (Yay!), but I’m also talking about porn kills intimacy and what churches can do to support marriages (Hint: it’s not about supporting marriages. It’s about getting healthy people).
And then I’m back home, where I’m putting the finishing touches on my Boost Your Libido course, which will launch February 9. And those on my newsletter list will get a chance to preorder it and get some goodies next week, too!
So that’s what I’ve been doing for the last few weeks! Keith and I have lived in an RV that’s about 25 feet long, and we haven’t killed each other, and we’ve actually had quite a bit of fun. And I look forward to doing it all again in March!
What’s #1 at To Love, Honor and Vacuum?
This week in the Tops, let’s look at our relationship with our hubbys. What are some of the great things about the relationship and where can we work on it? Where can we speak into our husband’s life and help enhance his spiritual journey?
#1 Post on the Blog: The Thrill Of Bringing Out The Best In Your Spouse
#2 on the Blog Overall: 50 Most Important Scripture Verses To Memorize
#1 from Facebook: My Husband Doesn’t Let Me Have Any Money
#2 from Pinterest: 25 Marriage Tips
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