Sharon Young

Good morning peoples!

I haven't been around much lately because mu husband and I have been going through some big changes.

For personal and financial reasons, we decided to leave Bonita Springs, Florida and move back to the Philadelphia, Pa area.

I won't go back into the guts of why. Truth be told, it really doesn't matter. It is what it is. God has a plan and we need to do the best that we can do. Roll with the punches, right? (If you are so inclined, you can read about it here.)

The biggest changes have been for me. At this time, I am not pursuing my Real Estate license here in Pa. I have decided to go back to the mortgage industry. That's where I came from.

I would like to introduce my DH, John Young. We have been married for 33 years now! And yes... we are happy! Praise God for the good things in life. (But I digress)

John has been a loan officer and broker for 20 years now. He has always been the type to do what was best for the client and not to "get a loan". Being the type of person (maybe a bit of a romantic) he is, he is specializing in Reverse Mortgages. John has a talent for working with seniors, and really feels good about helping them. A few times, he was able to get folks out of bad situations and allow them to save their homes and improve their lifestyle.

But that's not what this post is about. That can be for later.

I am now working with John's company, Ivy League Mortgage. It has been quite a culture shock the last few months, adjusting to a different lifestyle, not to mention the COLD! But I am blessed that the people we are working with, are a group that we have known and worked with (at various times) for many years. They have all been in the mortgage industry FOREVER, and are simply the best at what they do! We couldn't be working with a better group of people!

So, even though most of my posts tend to "fluffy" ... such as pictures of sunsets and clouds in beautiful Bonita Springs, Florida ... from now on, they will be "unfluffy" pictures of Bucks County Pa. ;-) Such as the one above. Oh ... and some mortgage stuff once in awhile!

BTW ... what's the opposite of 'fluffy"?

Mondays skies are full of grace ... the grace of God!

I know, you *must* be sick of me by now. So if you can't take beautiful skies... then quickly look away! Click fast and move on!

I believe I could come up with a better blog, but to me, there is nothing better than this daily gift from God!

So those of you who like a good sunset and sky, then please enjoy. I like to think of it as a gift. Like a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates to all my friends here at Active Rain. It's my way of waving hello.

And remember, these are SOOC! Seriously. You will see telephone poles and power lines and mud puddles, because I did not touch these photos.

Does this not look like the sky is literally on fire!?

Photos by Sharon Young

It rained off and on all day in Bonita Springs, Florida. But in the end, the skies in Florida never disappoint me. Just in time for some amazing clouds, the rain gives up and the big black storm clouds start to dissipate and move off. It literally looks like a present being unwrapped. You can see all the bright beautiful blue behind the black as it pulls back and exposes the beautiful evening sky.

I will NEVER get tired of this. I take pictures just about every night. It has become a habit and part of my routine. I download them to the computer and can't believe they look like this SOOC. I am by NO MEANS a great picture taker.... so all the credit and glory goes where it belongs .... with God! Thank you.

The Cloud Lady

Personally, this never gets boring for me. I'm guessing that there are a lot of people out there that don't mind seeing my same old...same old sunset and cloud pictures. Am I right? Last night was a combination of sun, black clouds, white clouds and rain all at the same time. It was amazing. I didn't have my camera. Bad me .....Enjoy!

I was doing some cleaning and I found pictures of St Maartin when my husband and I took our one and only trip outside the U.S. Wow... I need to clean more often. This was the trip of a lifetime.

The island of St Maartin in the Caribbean is only 37 square miles with 37 beaches and divided into two separate governments. The south side is owned by the Dutch and the north side owned by the French. St Maartin is the Dutch spelling and St Martin is the French spelling. My husband and I stayed on the Dutch side. English is spoken everywhere and they love American money. This makes it a very easy place to visit.

Each side is equally beautiful but yet has it's own uniqueness. It is an amazing place. The natives are extremely friendly and truly have the "no problem" attitude!

St Maartin is quite the party island and open to nudity. Most beaches there are topless and quite a few are completely clothing optional. After the initial shock, it becomes very normal and not a big deal. When in Rome .... ;-)

Shopping along Front St in Philipsburg is a dream come true. It is one of the few duty free ports and a very popular stop for the cruise ships. Front St is a narrow stone street with jewelry stores galore!

Driving in St Maartin was quite an experience! They drive on the same side as Americans, but there is only one stop light on the island (I believe) and very few actual stop signs. There is quite a bit of traffic. There are a lot of hills and cliffs and the cars are tiny. Imagine coming to a four way intersection and no one has a stop sign! They drive like maniacs! There is much yelling and horn blowing ... but... the funny thing is ... they are yelling "Hello" and "Good Day"! I have never seen anyone almost smash into you and then wave and smile. It's just the way it is. LOL

My favorite part of the island is without a doubt ... the beaches! There is no end to the choice of beaches and each one is just a bit different and attracting various types of people. Some of the more popular ones include:

• Orient Beach
• Mullet Bay
• Cupecoy (my fav)
• Maho Bay (with the Sunset Beach Bar) where you can lay in the flight path of 747's landing at the airport right behind you. The plane will literally be yards away from you. Quite an experience!
• Simpson Bay
• Red Beach

So, here are some of the pictures that I have. And I promise you ... it really does look like this. The colors are really that blue! Enjoy and maybe set the tone for some relaxing this weekend!

They keep a clean beach!

There was a naked guy in one of the chairs, but I thought it would be a good thing to take him out. ;-0

What a way to have morning coffee huh?

This last picture is from St-Maartin.com and yes...the planes really do get that close!