What A Week...

It has been a week. Some parts good, some parts not so good, and some parts down right exhausting. I knew this week was going to be hard so starting Sunday I had just about every minute of my week planned- that should have been my first clue the week was not going to go as planned.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were supposed to be packed full of clients- and they were. Monday and Tuesday went as planned (I was even able to fit in one of our dinner groups Monday night). Then Tuesday I started not to feel all that great. And by 1am Wednesday morning I was not doing well at all. So from about 2am to 4pm Steve and I were in a ER minor emergency clinic- I had a bad infection. We went to the new one in Rice Village- Elite Care. They were awesome. We were in and out in 45 minutes and there was a 24 hour Walgreens in the area, so I got to get all my meds in my body quickly- gotta love living in a big city. So Wednesday did not go as planned. I cancelled all my clients, but still went in to work on to big presentations I had later in the week. Thursday I spent 7 hours in a high school speaking on dating violence prevention. That day was a blur, between the infection and being on meds. I was just glad when the day was done.

Friday was a big day for me. I spoke at a conference at The Westin in the Galleria. This was a conference I had been preparing for since late spring. Over all it went well- taking into account I was still not feeling 100%.
There were over 1400 people at the conference and my topic was Parental Involvement in Dating Violence Prevention. They put me in one of the ball rooms- I knew there was no way I was going to be able to fill the thing up. I had between 50-75 people, pretty decent turn out. The presentation went well and the audience was very attentive and good conversations took place afterward. Sometimes I still can't believe I get to do what I do...
Friday night Steve and I were supposed to go camping. We had all our gear ready, our spot reserved and paid for at the camp sight, and pumped about leaving the city for a bit to spend time in God's beauty. But as luck would have it- a rain storm came through Houston Friday and Saturday. We were pretty bummed since we had been planning this for several weeks. So instead we spent the evening playing bridge with our friend from church. This group gets together every other Friday to play. We had not been in several months, so we decided to join in the fun and not go sit in a damp tent.
It was a nice evening and relaxing, which is what I needed. Saturday I crashed. I had been going non-stop all week and sick on top of that, so Saturday I slept in, ate a late breakfast, napped, watched some West Wing, napped, read, napped, eat some great Pei Wei, napped, and loved the rainy, cool weather. I have not had a day like that in a very long time.

This morning we had a table fellowship service at church and now I have been doing odd jobs around the house. The pumpkins have all been put up in preparation for Christmas decorations going up tomorrow evening. A kaluha cake had been made for our small group tonight. And I have made a dent in Christmas present wrapping. We will be heading to our community wide Thanksgiving service soon- I love those time of worship with local congregations. Enjoy your Sunday and happy Thanksgiving week...

New England: The Maine Post

So here it is- the last post from our adventures out in New England. We stayed at The Holland Inn in Bar Harbor, Maine. Bar Harbor is in Acadia National Park and it really is a jewel in Maine. The Holland Inn was a wonderful bed and breakfast, close to Main street were all the action in town takes place. We enjoyed wonderful, made from scratch breakfasts and our room was perfect for us.

Sunday we got up and after a great breakfast, we set out to hike Sargent Mountain. And boy was it a hike!! We traversed over several boulders as we hiked up the mountain.
Here we are at the start- not really knowing what we are about to get ourselves into...
And here we are at the top- and like all hard hikes, the summit was spectacular. Above you can see us at the top over looking the ocean. It was good to sit up there and just be for a while- God is good...
After our hike we headed to the Big Chicken Barn. This was an antique place I found online before we went to Maine and I knew we had to go if we got close enough. The antiques went on and on, as you can see in the above picture. All the upstairs was dedicated to books- Steve bought so many we had to have them shipped back!
If you are in the area and are a lover of antiques, this is a must! That night we rested and ate at a local place called Havana, it was just okay. That night we went to Acadia Improve. It was clean and so stinkin' funny. A great way to end the evening. It was pretty cold while we were in Bar Harbor. In fact, much of Maine was shutting down in preparation for the winter. We were there on the last week many things were open. What do they do during the winter?!
Monday morning we got up to another wonderful breakfast and then set out early to drive the Maine Coastal highway. I do not know what I was thinking, but it was not as pretty as I had imagined in my head. In fact, you could only see the coast in a couple places. Above was one of those places- in Camden, Maine.
In Camden we stopped for pictures and ate a famous Maine Lobster Roll. As you can see from the above picture they are huge! Steve and I both enjoyed one, then we headed on our way.
The last leg of our trip led us to this magnificent lighthouse- the Portland Head Light. It was a great time of day and all our pictures came out looking almost professional. We spent some good time walking around and taking in the beauty...
But it was very cold, so we did not linger too long, plus we were ready to get to our last bed and breakfast of the trip, The West End Inn. This was probably my favorite bed we slept in all trip, soooo comfy. And the breakfast began with dessert- how cool it that?! It was a lovely b&b tucked into a very trendy part of town.
The owner told us Portland was on it's way to being one of the best places to dine in the states and she was not exaggerating- we had a very hard time narrowing it down, but we settled on a place called Local 188. The majority of the ingredients were locally grown and all the parts to the meal came out separately, causing us to eat very slowly.
We start off with some great local wine and shared a couple tapas dishes- meatballs and fresh baked bread. Then it was on to the salads which were full of fresh, local goodness and then finally our main course- a stuffed squash. (Luci, I thought of you and M often throughout the meal- you both would have LOVED it!) We were there over two hours- it was good not to rush and enjoy. After dinner we headed to the movies and saw Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, cute movie.
Tuesday was our travel day back to Texas, but we still got to kill a couple hours in Portland before we headed to the airport. It was pretty rainy that morning so we spent time in some local book stores and then ended with the Portland Museum of Art. It was a beautiful museum, full of fabulous art.
And of course my favorite painter had a couple pieces of art there- Monet. We also got to see many local artist's pieces of work. It was well worth the time and money. And then it was on to the airport to drop off our little white car and get on the plane.
Leaving was very sad- we had such a great time! We had a short layover in New York and were home by 8:30 that night. After picking up our dog at Beverly's house (Thank you!!) we enjoyed a nice evening in our own bed and then it was off to work bright and early the next day!
We found many treasure on our 8 day trip- several Christmas books, Steve got a Dartmouth shirt, a Maine cookbook was a must, I found a Friendly Village cream for my china collection, and of course I picked up a couple pieces of Fiesta. We also got our Christmas ornament for the trip and a couple magnets. Now we are contemplating on how to get back up there for more vacation....

So there you have it, our New England Adventure. Thanks for hanging with me and I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Until the next trip....

Girls Reflecting Glory...

This weekend was spent at a girls conference here in Houston- Girls Reflecting Glory. The keynote was Shannon Ethridge, she did an outstanding job. The theme for the weekend was Truly Loved- what it means to really be loved by Christ. The first night was focused around relationships with God- mainly on being the bride of Christ. The second day was focused around us loving Christ- mind, body, and soul. Shannon's main specialty is healthy sexuality, so yes, sex was spoken about often throughout the weekend. And anyone who knows me very well and what I do for a living, knows I talk a lot about that subject as well. One of my specialties in counseling is teen sexuality. I worked in a pregnancy center before moving to Houston (pregnancy tests, STD test, and post abortive counseling). And now here in Houston I seem to have fallen into the same path (actually I believe it is more God leading me to this speciality). I have a huge passion when it comes to educating teens and young adults about healthy relationships and healthy sexuality- I public speak often around Houston on the subject. Needless to say I ate this weekend up. Plus the worship was WONDERFUL- thank you Katie H.

Over all I think the girls enjoyed the weekend. At times some of the subject material was challenging, but I could see them thinking and processing- nothing wrong with that. Plus I believe this will lead into conversation in the future. We also enjoyed a fabulous meal for lunch- wedding cake included- and we had the honor of writing some of our service men and women in Iraq. I also had a fabulous co-leader- Tricia, thank you, thank you, thank you. I could not have done the weekend with out her and the girls absolutely loved her!

Today I have rested and napped. We got to have lunch today with friends from Arizona- gotta love Fadi's. Enjoy the weekend ahead of you...

We Rolled Balls at Pins...

Sunday night we took our youth group bowling- it was a blast. This is the third year in a row we have taken our kids bowling- it is usually one of the activities in the fall. It is amazing to think we are in our third year here in Houston- time flies!

Me and my precious husband, I love this picture.
Briney and Sharetta, I love our youth...
Michael- great form (I think he got a strike on this one)
Right after I rolled a gutter ball (one of many for the night). In fact, you can see my orange ball at the end of the lane in the gutter.
E bowling with her daddy- she was precious bowling
My team for the night- Adriel, Gregory, Richard, and me .
Our whole group. Thanks to our small group for joining us for the night. Let's do it again next year!

On a side note- life in my neck of the woods is VERY busy right now- one of the reason's I have not blogged much over the last month. This last weekend I got certified in anger management. I am now a CART (certified anger resolution therapist). I will start running anger management groups after the new year. I am doing a lot of speaking in the schools on dating violence prevention and I will be presenting next week at a big conference on the importance of educating our youth on dating violence. And on top of all that I am still seeing my full load of clients. But life goes on... one crazy day after another. Hope everyone out there is doing well and getting ready for the holidays- bring on Thanksgiving!!!

New England: New Hampshire/Maine Post

Saturday morning we got up and left the Riverbank Motel. All over New England you could find these mom and pop places to stay. This particular motel was actually on a river and the older couple that owned the motel had their house attached to the front office. Overall our stay was pleasant and cheap- gotta love that.

Leaving the motel after a good nights rest...
The river outside our room, it really was gorgeous.
To start off the morning we grabbed some coffee and homemade baked goods and strolled around a local craft fair. Everyone was pretty interested in us being from Texas and all. It was pretty cold and rainy, so we did not linger too long.
Our drive that morning was out of this world. Above you can see a picture taken out the front window of our car as we are driving down the Kancamagus Highway or "The Kanc" as the locals call it. I think my mouth was opened the whole time we drove- I was in awe of all the color.
We stopped at a couple places along the highway to see and take pictures of the color. Above you will see a man painting. At many of the stops people were out painting, drawing, or taking professional pictures. Many were saying it was some of the best color they had seen in years- lucky us.
Wish you could see more of the color behind us in this picture, but I love this photo.
Color, color, color...
One of our stops included a small hike down to the Sabbaday Falls. We strolled down a path covered in leaves. I thought this bench was pretty inviting. Made me want to get a blanket, a warm cup of coffee, and people watch the rest of the day.
Sign on the way to the Falls...
Steve and I at the Falls. It was a pretty touristy stop on the Highway so we did not stay too long, but it sure was pretty.
And of course as we continued to drive we stopped at several antique stores. There were tons along the way- some were literally out in the middle of nowhere. We had fun browsing through all the old treasures.
And there were several houses like the one above on our route to Maine. Abandoned house just sitting there waiting to be explored. We did not go inside this house, but we did stop to take a couple pictures.
Our lunch for the day came from a hole in the wall diner. We were literally in the middle of nowhere. It took us almost two hours just to find a place to eat. We both had hamburgers has big as our heads- it was great!
After lunch we booked it to our finally destination of the night- Bar Harbor, Maine in Acadia National Park. We checked into our bed and breakfast- The Holland Inn. We stayed in the Beehive room- a quaint room off the first floor of the main house- we did not have to navigate stairs with our luggage- yeah!
Small bathroom- but great shower. I love showers that have high pressure in them- this one took the cake for the whole trip.
Where we ate breakfast each morning- her cooking was wonderful and unique. I had seconds every morning...
After getting settled into our room we headed downtown for dinner at Stewman's Lobster Pound. As many of you know lobster is one of my favorite foods and I had been waiting all trip for an authentic Maine lobster. I soaked in every moment of this meal...
Here Steve is getting ready to dive into the fresh, hot lobster. It was a wonderful meal- worth the wait. The rest of the night was dedicated to strolling around the downtown area (it was freezing!), drinking hot cocoa in our bed and breakfast living room, and planning the next days' events. Until next time...

We Were Bees...

Our church hosted our annual Treats from the Trunk this past Saturday night. It was a huge success. We had over 300 people come from church and the neighborhood. We had face painting, fresh popcorn, hot hotdogs, and all the candy you could ask for! And the Sargent family was in full costume- Hope was a honey bee and Steve and I were bee keepers. We were a huge hit- the kids LOVED Hope.

Our cute honey bee. She really was so stinkin' cute...
And Hope matched some of the trick or treaters- here she is with a fellow bee
Whitney did a great job painting faces...
Feeding the masses...
Our family pictures- we had so much fun being honey makers.

We had a great night. Sorry there are not more pictures- blogger is giving me some grief. Stay tuned more pictures and story from our trip up north coming soon.

New England: The Vermont/New Hampshire Post

What a lovely surprise it was to get on my blog last week and realize my sweet husband had blogged a travel entry for me- I loved reading about that day through his eyes. Before moving onto the next day of our trip I do want to highlight The Woodstocker Inn- our room was out of this world! It is by far the most unique bed and breakfast we have ever stayed at. Click on the blue lettering above and you will get a good idea of the place- we were in the Westminster Room.

We were met by the owners when we arrived- a couple from England- very nice and warm. You could not wear shoes in the house so we were instructed where to place our shoes and where to find our house slippers. In our room we were greeted with music playing and a dog dish full of candy- there were candy bars all over the house.
Our bed was HUGE and SOOOOOO comfortable.

The bathroom was my favorite part. Here you can see our sinks and shower.

And here is my favorite part- the tubs that sat under a sky light. In my glorious bubble bath that night I got to look out and see all the stars- I want one in my house now...

The sinks were fun-shaped and had lots of lotions and smell-goodies waiting for us to use. This was definitely our splurge for the week in terms of lodging and in my opinion it was well worth it- I mean come on, it is one of the top 10 bed and breakfasts in the world! Plus we got an authentic English breakfast the next morning- blood pudding and all. I would defiantly go back if I were in the area. But now I must move on with the trip.

After we left the Woodstocker Inn we headed east toward New Hampshire. Now we had seen some color, but I think it was just a taste of what was to come. Quechee Gorge was the first place where we saw unbelievable color. As you can see from the above picture, there was a river at the bottom.
Color was everywhere. It was a little overwhelming because I had never seen anything like that- and we wanted more. So we took a short, impromptu hike down to the bottom of the gorge.

Us at the bottom- we are actually standing in the river on some rocks- it was pretty low.
And here I am taking in the color before we got in the car and headed to our next destination: Dartmouth in Hanover in New Hampshire.
Gorgeous campus. We walked around briefly, but it was pretty chilly and rainy so not too many pictures of the campus. We walked through the campus center and then headed to the main street off the campus.
And of course we spent some good time in a used bookstore. I got several holiday books to put out for Christmas- I think we spent almost an hour browsing and taking in the books. We ate lunch at Lou's- a landmark in Hanover- Steve had a yummy chicken/cranberry wrap and I had a black bean/pumpkin quesadilla- it was good eatin'!!! After lunch we browsed a couple more shops- I got a North Face hat to keep my head warm- it got colder each day of the trip.
And then it was back on the road, as you can see, Hanover is the place to be, especially on a Friday afternoon. Our final stop was Lincoln, New Hampshire for the night, and that is where we were heading when we stumbled upon an apple orchard. Since it was apple season we stopped to do some picking!
But first I wanted to stop by the pumpkin patch for a pic- we were in New England after all...

On our way to the Orchard...

And picking the first apple...

What a pretty apple....

And now enjoying the freshly picked apple. We did not linger, we were on our way to Cannon Mountain- we wanted to take tram to the top, we made it just in time for the last tram of the day- lucky us...
The ride up the tram- again, unbelievable color...

But not for long, about 3/4 of the way up it was totally foggy- and freezing!! This was all we could see from the top. They said that it is rare to get to the top and be able to see- it usually has zero visibility.

High up and cold...

Our tram

Standing outside at the top- very windy and I need more clothing on!

Our trip down- again, lots and lots of color...

And we got to sign our name on the visitor board- people from all over the world had been there that day- can you find our name? After the tram it was off to the motel for the evening (more on that in the next post). It was cold and rainy outside so we took it easy that night.

We had Thai food (which was really good) and spent the evening at the motel watching movies on the TV- great way to end a great day. Thanks for hanging with me that post- we did a lot in one day. Stay tuned, more to come!!!