A blog of thoughts by Kristi Finch

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Taking the Plunge

Remember how I recently got my Open Water Diving Certification?  Well, I just got to use it for the first time!  It was bit of an impromptu (and quick) trip, but it felt great to put my certification to use!  Here's a a play-by-play of my Key West diving adventure!



I met up with a couple friends on the way to the Keys, but before hitting the road, we stopped to make some new friends in the Everglades.  This one is named Jackson.

A well-timed dinner stop in Key Largo along with outdoor seating made for a beautiful welcome to our brief visit to the islands.

We got up at 3am to walk down to the beach to watch the lunar eclipse, aka the Blood Moon.

Our first day there we spent hanging around the island, enjoying some beach time and soaking in the sun!

We rented scooters to ride around the island for the day.  I may have nearly killed myself learning how to drive it, but once I got the hang of it, it was a good time.

Another sunset dinner, this time on the pier.  Can't go wrong with views like this one.


A little Key Lime pie for dessert.  We may have tried as many different Key Lime pies as possible.  I believe my total was 6.


We were up bright and early the next day for our diving adventure, only after a delicious cuban breakfast and coffee.

It's time to go!  After a 40 minute boat ride, we were out at the reef ready to jump in.

Getting in and out of a wet suit may be the hardest part of diving.


I was a little excited.  Also, flippers are favorite.

And so our diving fun began!

Flag = divers in the water!  Apparently, there is also a reef shark that lives in those waters.  I didn't see her, and I can't quite decide if I'm glad about that or a little disappointed.

After diving, we enjoyed a little more pool time before it was time to pack up and go home.


Dear Key West, thanks for a fun, quick trip and my first ocean dive!





Tuesday, April 08, 2014

Birthday Blues

I had a birthday yesterday.  I'm officially older now.  I have had more mixed emotions about this birthday than I have about any other birthday before.  I wasn't looking forward to it so much.  But then it happened (as it was bound to all along).  And afterward, when I was crawling into bed last night, I was glad it happened.  Despite my not-so-much-looking-forward-to-it, it turned out to be a lovely day (if you don't count the weather that was cold, rainy, and miserable) filled with people I love.  It was a good reminder that even when I'm not excited about things, they might not turn out to be so bad, and they might even turn out to be good.  Yesterday, a bunch of wonderful little things added up to make a wonderfully lovely day.  

So instead of birthday blues, my day turned into a not-so-blue day because of all the people who made me feel special.  And what's most special is that the people who made me feel special yesterday on my special day are the same people who make me feel special everyday.  Good things aren't only stored up for birthdays; I get them all year long!

Yes, I may be older now.  But I think it was worth it.

And did I mention there was cake??

  

Tuesday, April 01, 2014

April Showers

Happy April!

I don't do April Fool's Day, so sorry to disappoint.  Nothing funny or clever here this morning!

It's hard to believe 2014 is already a quarter over, but I am looking forward to this month for several reasons including but not limited to:

  • It's my birthday month.
  • I'm going to become a legit aunt this month.
  • It's getting warm and that means spring.
  • April showers bring May flowers.
  • I like flowers.
  • I've decided to read the whole New Testament this month.
I realize it's not such a huge feat, but I'm really looking forward to it.  My Bible reading has been lacking focus for the past couple months, so I decided to do something to kick start me into a better routine.  

There are 260 chapters in the New Testament, so I'm reading 9 chapters each day except Sundays when I'll read 7.  That will leave me with only 7 chapters on the last day of April, too.  

Today's chapters (Matthew 1-9) were full of rich teaching (This section includes the sermon on the mount), and this was one of the verses that stood out most to me.


I'd love to hear about how you like to read the Bible and if you have some kind of plan that you use.  Would you share your ideas with me?  I have a kind of short attention span; I like to try different things, so I'd love your suggestions!

Bring on the April showers in anticipation of May's flowers!