Happy Thanksgiving/A Little Christmas Shopping

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!

I'm not going to presume that just because a day has been declared the day of thankfulness that all of you are swelling with profuse thanks today. I've had some years when I would have dearly welcomed a one-day hibernation until this day passed. It was too hard to pretend to be all happy and thankful when life was hard, and I don't even like Thanksgiving food, to boot!

So if today is that day for you, if your heart is heavy for whatever reason, I send a little bloggery hug your way today. It's okay to not be okay. It's okay to struggle to be thankful. It's okay to know you have a million things you should be thankful for, but somehow you can only focus on what brings hurt.

But can I encourage you to find a moment sometime today when you sit until you think of one thing you are thankful for? Genuinely, legitimately thankful for? And then give thanks. It may not change everything, but it might just bring a measure of joy that you hadn't known was still inside you.

I know I told you this last week, but it bears repeating: I am thankful for all of you. You travel this way {some of you every day} to check in on the latest in our world. You love us. You encourage us. You welcome us into your lives with your comments or your own blogs, and I am thankful for you.

Someone else I'm thankful for on this day is the guy who has come to make an annual Christmas shopping trip way more fun than it should be. {Also...every day. He makes every day more fun than it should be.}

But anyway, yes, we did our Christmas shopping last Saturday. We awakened to the first snow flurries of the year, which seemed very appropriate for a Christmas shopping day. It was actually a pretty miserable weather day for driving around and running through parking lots and hauling packages, but that didn't seem to stop the greater population of Indiana from venturing forth to all the stores.

We started with a breakfast date, because everyone knows you can't shop on an empty stomach:

We concluded we looked terrible. TERRIBLE. But then again, it was early.

I was a bit ridiculous with my organization. I had made out lists of everyone we needed to shop for, and I had the whole thing sticky-noted and color coded and hole-punched! I took some ribbing from fellow customers and workers alike, but I stand by my system!

Ryan takes his shopping seriously:

We knocked out a lot of our list that morning {those stories are on the podcast if you missed it}, and then we stopped for a little lunch and blew back to our car:

You should have seen Ryan's hair.

We did more shopping, and at the end of our push/shove through an overcrowded Costco, I told Ryan I just needed a cookie. JUST GET ME A COOKIE.

{Also: somebody get me some lipstick!}

We had the best little date in the back corner of the Panera. Fresh brew and a snacklet.

I was thankful for the cookie, too, by the way.

Ryan, thanks for a fun day out, for dropping me off/picking me up at the doors and carrying the bags. You are a great shopping partner! :)

And thanks for all you do every day. I am so thankful for you! :)

Pumpkin Bread

So....Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Just a little PSA in case you forgot. And of course, Thanksgiving is the holiday of all things turkey. And cranberry. And sweet potato. And pumpkin. Maybe pumpkin pie isn't your thing. {Texture issues, anyone??} But maybe you do love the pumpkin flavor, and you need something different to try to get your pumpkin flavor without the texture issues.

If so, I'd like you to meet pumpkin bread.

It's the perfect side dish. Or dessert. Or breakfast. Or appetizer. Or snack. Or gift.

Also, don't you hate it when you get ready to make pumpkin anything, and you realize you are out of pumpkin pie spice? And let's face it: this close to a major eating holiday, you do not want to drive to the store park on the back forty, traipse inside to the back of the store, and stand in a 30 minute line to buy the tiniest bottle ever of high-priced spice. You just don't.

That's why today's recipe is a two-for-one special. Delicious bread and how to make your own pumpkin pie spice.

I have blogged about the pumpkin bread before, but I thought it was time to update the pictures and make it a little more Shafferland-y, and this time, I'm adding the spice recipe, too.

I made this a couple of weeks ago for Ryan's work buddies. I took brunch to the hospital for all of them, and this was the "dessert" of the brunch. They cleaned it right up! It's delicious when warm with some butter melted on top. And while we're talking about butter, I should forewarn you that this is NOT one of my healthy dishes. This is just a good comfort food that should be eaten in great moderation. :) Sometimes fall just requires a good comfort dish void of a calorie count. Amen?

Pumpkin Bread
 * 3 cups sugar
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 4 eggs
* 1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin
* 3 1/2 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (see below)
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 cup water
In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil and eggs. Add pumpkin and mix well. Combine dry ingredients; add to the pumpkin mixture alternately with water. Pour into two well-sprayed loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Cut into slices, serve and enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Spice

* 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon allspice
* 1/2 teaspoon cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix well and store in an airtight container.

A Few Tips:

* Again, yes, I know this is not anywhere NEAR clean eating. Yes, I know you could find a healthier version. But this one is delicious, and every now and then a girl just needs comfort sweet bread.

* You could try subbing some baking Splenda for some of the sugar, but I will tell you that I made some zucchini bread not long ago, where I did just that, and after a couple of days, the bread was bitter and terrible. It tasted great when it was first baked. So experiment at your own risk!

* You could also try swapping out some of the oil for applesauce, but I haven't tried that, so I don't know how much it would alter the taste or texture.

* I did use brown eggs and wheat flour. Does that even really matter with that much oil, egg, and sugar? Probably not, but let me live in my delusion.

* I really do love to make up several loaves of quick bread and keep them in the freezer for times when I need a last minute snack or dessert for something - or a gift for someone.

* Ryan loves quick bread for a snack or for breakfast, so I try to make some for him now and then, since he's so good to be a great sport about all the clean eating dishes every other day of the week.

* I found a little container at the dollar store that is about the size of a spice container, and I use that to store whatever leftover spice mix I have. You could also use an old pumpkin pie spice container if you have one.

Craft Night at the Garage!

Podcast Tuesday!!!


We've got stories from Christmas shopping and some Thanksgiving "Would You Rather" fun to share with you this week. Enjoy!

Click here to listen.

Last month, my friend Amber hosted a craft night for her birthday. I mentioned in my "What I Learned in October" post that I really had a great time, and I miss nights like that. I even said I might do a night like that. You know. Sometime. Whenever.

But in the spirit of our Tuesdays at the Table gatherings, I decided to toss out the "someday" and just pick a date and send some invitations. I was terrified, actually, because things like this bring out the junior high in me like nothing else. What if I plan a party and no one comes? {I know I'm not the only one who stresses over that.} But I decided to be brave and do it anyway.

I wrote the invitation on the chalkboard in the garage and texted it to a handful of girls that I thought might be interested.

I knew it was last minute and a very busy time of year, but I thought it might be helpful for them to get away from home for an evening, work on some things for Christmas, or finish up some other craft they never seemed to get done at home. I asked everyone to bring a snack to share and told them they could come late or leave early if they needed to, but the garage would be open from 5-11 p.m. If they wanted dinner, they were welcome to bring something for themselves, but the provided food would just be snacks to share. Low-key and easy.

{Ryan even offered to wrap gifts for anyone who had presents purchased that they didn't want to wrap. I don't think anyone had shopped yet - but I was impressed by his offer!}

The day of the party, I changed the chalkboards out to welcome the guests and display the menu. {I just added the food as each person brought something.}

We borrowed a few tables and set them up around the garage so everyone had plenty of space to work.

I didn't ask the girls if I could use their pictures, so I won't, but we had the best time just hanging out and working on projects. I ended up having four girls come over {and one brought her daughter}, and they were busy! A couple of them worked on a wreath, one made some Pinterest projects, and one worked on lettering some art for a sign. I scrapbooked. :)

And Ryan? He had his own table and project: fixing an extension cord he cut in two with some hedge trimmers. Yes. You heard me right.

And then he kind of forgot to pay attention to what he was doing and he put two matching plug ends on the cord. Whoopsie.

I wore my Christmas shirt, which, incidentally, I forgot I had on earlier that day when I went to the bank, and I got some very interesting looks from a gentleman in the parking lot.

Despite the utter DOWNPOUR happening outside all during the party, and the fact that most people got soaked going in and out, we had a very fun night. The snacks were delicious, the company was fun, and I think we all got a decent amount of work accomplished.

I'd love to do it again sometime. The space is perfect for it, and it's a bonus that Ryan brings his own crafts and joins us! :)

Christmas Gift Ideas!

Hey everyone! Welcome to Black Friday week! :) Last year, I had some requests to share ideas for gifts, but it was already so close to the Christmas season that I didn't have time to really give it the thought I wanted to. This year I worked ahead! I've been compiling this list for most of the year. Hope you find some fun ideas. I've tried to make it broad in subject matter and in price range, because I know the budgets and people you shop for are probably quite varied!

For Those Who Have Everything:
* New Pictures. Parents, grandparents, and others who have everything they need always want updated family photos for their frames. Hire a photographer {or barter with a friend who happens to be good at taking pictures} and give new family photos for Christmas. And if you really want to score with parents/grandparents, offer a photo session itself as a gift for the whole extended family.
* Photo Books. If you like to scrapbook {digital books do count!!} and have time to do so, put together a little photo book of the family gatherings, special parties, or even just snapshots of daily life.{Bonus: Picaboo, the site I use to make ALL our photo books, is running a 12 days of Christmas special right now with new deals every single day. Shutterfly, the site I use upon occasion for other photo gifts, usually runs a lot of sales around this time of year. Actually most photo sites do, so check out your favorites!}
* Photo Calendar. I promise not every gift on this list will involve pictures, but they do tend to make great gift components! You can make photo calendars on various sites online, and most sites let you add birthdays, anniversaries and other important days right into the calendar before it's printed. And if you hobby in photography, use your own beautiful pictures of scenery {or whatever you photograph} to make calendars for friends who might enjoy that more than people pictures.
* A Day Out. If you need a gift for someone who doesn't have the need or room for more stuff, offer the gift of your time. Plan a special outing for you {or your family} with your recipient. A meal out, a movie, a play, some shopping...whatever would bring joy. You do the driving and the paying for whatever the day entails. Memory-making can be a wonderful gift!
* A Donation In Their Name. Not everyone would embrace this, but for those who have it all and would rather give to someone in need, offer a donation to an organization they love and let them know you helped in their name. {And if they are ridiculously opposed to recognition, you can keep it anonymous to the organization, but at least let the person know the funds went to a good cause!}

Jewelry.
 * Origami Owl. Hands down, the most complimented piece of jewelry I wear is an Origami Owl locket my mother-in-law gave me a couple of years ago for my birthday. It goes with everything, dressy or casual, and she filled it with charms representing what she sees in me, which was as much of a gift as the locket itself. {This is a consultant-based company, so you'll need to find one to order.}
* MudLove. Based in Indiana, this company makes unique pottery jewelry and donates some of the proceeds of each sale toward clean water projects in Africa. I own 4 pieces of MudLove jewelry and one of their mugs, and I love them. Plus, you know, it's for a great cause!

 Warm Fuzzies: 
* Electric Throw. I know, I know. Everyone buys a throw blanket for a gift when they don't know what else to get. But a couple of years ago, my mother-in-law got me this Sunbeam electric throw blanket, and I adore it. {Although the price is high online, you can usually find this in a store on a good sale. I've looked.} It's a must-have for cold people or cold climates - or couples who cannot agree on temperature. The cold half can use this!
* Scarf with Pockets. A few years ago, I happened upon one of these in a store and bought it for a friend. She told me last winter it was one of the best gifts I ever gave her. Who knew? The link above is to an Etsy shop that I just sort of found, so I have no knowledge of the seller, but it gives you an idea of what I'm talking about. {If you are crafty, you can make it yourself!} The scarf is long and warm with big pockets at the end, so you can slip your phone or keys into it or just keep your hands warm while you're out! Great for teachers who have recess duty, crossing guards, outlet mall shoppers, those with dogs who have to go out, etc!
* Coffee Cozie. A couple of years ago, my sister gave me a crocheted coffee cozie {because, well, DUH!} and it has been one of the best gifts! I keep it in my purse at all times and use it as an extra insulator when the cardboard wraps are not enough, and I always use it with frappes, because they don't give you a wrap for that, and those things sweat! I also wrap my spare camera lens in it when I have to carry it in my purse and it has no protection Great little gift! {Link is to an Etsy shop I found - no knowledge of seller.}

For the Kids:
* Snowman Kit. You can make your own version of this if you don't want to purchase one, but this is fun for kids in snowy climates: a snowman kit! All you do is add snow! A fun little non-electronic gift to get kids out and having fun when the snow comes! {Kids in warm climates can use it on sand snowmen!}
* Road Trip Binder/Bag. I blogged about this a while back, but this is a fun idea for making something for kids to play with in the car {whether on long trips or shorter runs} that doesn't involve a movie or electronics. It can also be fairly cost-effective if you're on a budget. 
* Quality Books. I am OBVIOUSLY a huge reader and when I was a kid, 90% of my Christmas list every year was books. True story. There are many options for quality books you can gift, but I'll use this opportunity to put in a shameless plug for my RIDICULOUSLY talented friend, Brent Vernon, who has written and illustrated some kids' books. I love them! {Says the overgrown child.}


Food:
* Introduce a new place. Sure, people love to get gift cards to their standard favorite places, and offering that to them shows that you pay attention to what they enjoy. But if you have uncovered a new place, especially if it's a little local dive, that you think someone might love, give them a reason to go! Offer a gift card along with a suggestion or two of what you love there. {Ryan's step-mom did this for my birthday when I moved to Kokomo...her favorites at all the local coffee shops, and gift cards to each one. BEST GIFT.}
* Meals on wheels. If you're buying for someone who is older or can't drive or is facing an upcoming surgery or anything along those lines, research what sorts of food delivery/meals on wheels options are available and give a gift card to that. It will be highly practical and well-loved. This is also great for people who are nervous Nellies about winter driving {ME!!!}, because I hear we're in for a fun winter in the Midwest!
* Food of the month coupon. If you are good at baking, why not give a gift to someone that allows them to enjoy your treats year round? Gift them {fill in the blank} along with a note that they can expect a refill every month on the 25th or something along those lines. It also gives you a great excuse to see them regularly!
* Box of pantry staples. When I was single, my mom always gave me a big box of pantry staples at Christmas. Bag of flour, some chocolate chips, single serving pasta kits, laundry detergent...just a smattering of things she'd pick up throughout the year on sales to give to me. It was a HUGE help in the winter months of big bills. This is a great idea for a college student, single person, or anyone struggling to make ends meet.

Subscriptions or Services:
*Amazon Prime. This might be over your budget, but if you're buying a big gift for someone, I hear this is a great idea. My sister actually received this as a gift and loved it. In addition to fast, free shipping, she has access to all kinds of goodies she didn't have before. {This also works well as a gift for the people who have everything and don't need more clutter...but they like to shop on Amazon for regular-need purchases.}
*Bulk Store Membership/Gift Card. We received a gift card to Costco earlier this year, and since we don't have a membership there, the gift card was our ticket in the door. It was so handy to be able to get some things we needed in bigger quantities. If you know someone enjoys shopping at a membership bulk item store like Costco or Sam's, gifting that fee would be great! {Note: Ryan also found a KILLER deal for a Sam's membership through Groupon. So don't think that such things are out of your budget even if they are on a regular basis. Groupon can really come through!}
*Housecleaning. Whether your recipient is a new parent, about to have surgery, travels a lot, or just deserves a break, gifting a service like this can be a sweet respite from mundane work! Or along the same lines...paying for some snow removal, lawn care, or other such help can be a big treat or a big financial relief!
* Massages and manicures. Whether it's something they already do regularly or something you want to treat them to, getting a gift card for a haircut, a massage, a manicure, or some other form of pampering is a great idea.

And Last, But Not Least...
I'm not a fan of tooting my own horn, but I am really thankful to have had the opportunity to publish two books (so far) in my lifetime, and I happen to think they would make great gifts!

* My Advent devotional, His Advent: Still His Greatest Gift turns six years old this year, and I love it that so many of my friends and family continue to use it as a family reading every year. And many have given it to their friends and family for Christmas gifts. It's written as a daily reading for December, and you still have almost 10 days before December arrives, so if you want to purchase it soon, it should arrive in time to begin on December 1!  {Kindle and Paperback editions are available on Amazon.}
* And my brand new book that just released this year, Be Still: Learning to Know He is God, is another book that can be used as a daily reading or can be read straight through as a story. I am excited about this little book and the impact it's been making on the people who have shared their reading experiences with me. It's available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback, and if you're local, I have several copies that I could get to you directly to save you shipping!



Those are my ideas! Hope you've found something that sparks a little help for you, but please feel free to add your own ideas in the comments! {Whether they are gifts you received that were creative and useful or gifts you gave that you want to share....tell us!}

The Shafferland Shuffle

* I think we tried ALL the seasons this week, starting with our first real, beautiful frost last Sunday morning. Ryan took pictures of it all on his own! {A thousand husbandly points!} We got our first red cups of the season, and I replaced all the pictures in our living room wall collage, using the new ones we had taken this fall. Add about 29 pages of scrapping to that and it was a full Sunday!

* Monday was the same busy day Monday always is, but I had the added bonus of a whole new crop of Hallmark Christmas movies to watch, because I remembered there are TWO Hallmark channels! WOO HOO!!!!! In the afternoon, I had a fun treat: my friend Elisa came all the way from Fort Wayne to visit me and see our new house! Loved that! :) And that night, we saw the first of this week's spectacular moon viewing!

* Just as I was about to fix lunch on Tuesday, Ryan texted and asked if I was up for a lunch out at Wendy's. Don't have to twist my arm! I'll take a surprise, impromptu lunch date! :) We had Bible study that night and ran some errands while we were out, which included a trip to Lowe's...should we get this TWELVE HUNDRED DOLLAR lawn ornament?? And that night we contacted Fitbit about replacing mine...because I didn't think the taped together version would hold much longer. They were so great about replacing it!

* You already read about  my "interesting" Wednesday, when Starbucks was out of all the drinks I wanted, I almost put diesel in the car, and all kinds of crazy things happened. BUT! It was also the day all our Christmas cards arrived in the mail! YAY!! I am excited: ready to start addressing! Ryan found the latest update on Sonic when he was out and about, and he even pitched in to help work on the office wreath by being the official spray-painter! What a good work sport he is!

* After 2 days of working on website creation, I needed movies and naps! My brain was so tired by the end of Thursday, I couldn't think at all. Ryan came home from work and did what we hope is the final mowing for this year, and I went for a run/walk to clear my head. Gorgeous sunset and PERFECT running weather!

* Friday night, we had a first here in Shafferland: craft night hosted in the garage! It was sort of a random last-minute idea, but I invited a handful of girls over (most were Ryan's co-workers) to just have fun. Bring a snack, bring a craft, and come hang out for the evening! LITERALLY in the hour they arrived, the weather switched to winter, and we had a sudden temperature drop and horrible thunderstorms with tons of wind and rain, but we were cozy and warm little crafters in the garage!

* And yesterday, Ryan and I spent the entire day together - Christmas shopping! Yes, it's true! He had a day off work, so we headed to Indianapolis to shop and enjoy a whole day of fun {in the wind, rain and snow} together! We also had dinner at his cousins' house, which was a fun way to end the day! The only one unhappy was Braeya, who did not approve of our absence!

The Saturday Six

One.

Source

Our first year of marriage...well, to be fair, our first MONTH of marriage...included our first time to get a live Christmas tree. Ever. In our lives. About ten days before Christmas, we trekked to a little tree farm about an hour and a half from home, chose a half-priced lopsided leftover from the picked-over farm, took it home, named it Chuck, and that was our first live tree experience. So it's a little different for the 94 foot, 14 ton tree that was transplanted into Rockefeller Center for this Christmas. But HOW COOL to see how they do it! Check it out!


Two.

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And speaking of Christmas, if you're in this general area and looking for some fun things to see during the holiday season, The Adventure Mom blog has compiled a list of things to try in Cincinnati. Ryan and I went there for our first birthday getaway, but after reading this list, I may have to put it back in contention for a future anniversary getaway. Some great stuff here! Perfect long weekend getaway destination for Midwestern folks!

Three.

A few days ago, when I blogged about our best purchases of the past year, I included my Fitbit, which Ryan gave me for a birthday present earlier this year. Not long ago, the band on it bubbled up and one side broke free from the mechanism. Thankfully I was asleep when it finally gave way, and I didn't lose it! Earlier this week, we got online and chatted with customer service at Fitbit. They answered quickly, resolved the issue, and put a new Fitbit in the mail to me. {And they no longer make the model I had, so they replaced it with the newest comparable version.} HUGE KUDOS to them for providing a painless fix! Looking forward to wearing a regular Fitbit - not one held together by tape! 

Four.

Source

Still unsettled on your Thanksgiving menu? Need healthy options? Not surprisingly, I'm going to send you straight over to Katie Farrell at Dashing Dish, who has compiled THIRTY (yes, THIRTY!) secretly healthy Thanksgiving menu options. Sometimes the search for the recipe is more exhausting than making it, so this should save you time and exhaustion! :)  

Five.

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Anyone gearing up to decorate for Christmas in the next week or so? I am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Sorry for the overuse of exclamation points, but I just really, really love decorating for Christmas!) Anyway, sometimes it helps to get a little inspiration, so here's a Christmas home tour for you. This is from last year, but Christmas is Christmas, so I don't think it's all bad to recycle last year's home tour. I found multiple inspirations within it. Hope you do, too! :)  

Six.

Source

Before I launch in to my book review this week, I'll confess I had a huge struggle with this book. Rhythms of Rest by Shelly Miller initially caught my eye, because I have a tender place on my soul for the topic of Sabbath rest.


My parents were very careful to set apart the Sabbath day and keep it holy, and in the years that have followed leaving their household, I have spent much time on this issue, figuring out how it works for me and how I want to be intentional to do it. Since getting married, Ryan and I have finally found our best Sunday practices, and I feel our bodies and souls are healthier because of our choices to abstain from all work (and as much social activity as possible) and truly rest on Sundays.

I always enjoy reading what others have learned about Sabbath rest, and that's why I wanted to read this book. And for the first half of it, I found the writing to be captivating, but (and I have never said this about a book before) the presentation of the book itself was off-putting to me. It's not a terribly long book - just over 200 pages, actually - but there was so much text on a page, and the font was such that I felt worn out just picking up the book (on rest!!) to read. It baffled me, because I've read hundreds of books and have never struggled with the font, the words on a page, or anything else. It was very strange. And very probable that it's just unique to me, but I still feel I must admit it.

Then, about halfway through the book, I started struggling with the book itself. Shelly is a good writer, and I enjoyed her thoughts (and even underlined a fair number of things I agreed with). But I felt confused, because it seemed like sometimes her writing style was very lyrical and poetic - almost like Ann Voskamp's - and then other times, I felt like I was reading a cross between her journal and her inbox, while she shared conversational stories from her ministry and actual email conversations with people who read her blog.

The stylistic jumping back and forth eventually lost me. I also saw themes pop up throughout the book but never found their full-circle or resolution moments. Maybe they were there, but I was so lost in all my struggles with the book that I just failed to find them. I'm not sure.

I do think she had some great points throughout the book, even in the final chapters, when I felt lost and confused on the whole, and I underlined several things that I think are worth remembering. But the book, both the literal book, and the jumping around in writing style, confused me. I really wish I would have loved it more. I wanted to! But this just wasn't a fit for me.

* Bethany House sent a complimentary copy of this book to me. All opinions are my own. *

Helpppppppppppppppppppp!

Now that I have your attention...

It's really not as bad as all that. I promise. Nothing's wrong. {This can ONLY be said thanks to the genius of the team of folks who decided to make diesel fuel nozzles too big for gasoline cars. I have a feeling I would still be in tears, otherwise. See yesterday's blog if you're confused.}

But two days of working on the website building adventures have left me craving creative outlets that my mind can actually handle. You know: things like baking cookies and scrapbooking and, of course, writing.

So my writery little brain has a project whirling within it, and I need help! Input, actually. Ideas.

And who better to ask than all of you!

So if you're interested in helping me, you're welcome to leave your thoughts in the comments or {if they're long or you'd rather not be that public about them} you can email me at readingrebekah at yahoo dot com.

Here is my question, and it divides into a thousand little sub-points at your discretion:

What are/were your favorite Christmas traditions and why do/did you love them so?

By sub-points, I mean:


* It doesn't matter if you're single, married, widowed, divorced, young, old, male or female. If you have a favorite, I'd love to hear it.

* Your tradition(s) can be about anything. Recipes, service projects, decorations, events, church, Santa, family, friends, parties, presents, Advent calendars, books, plays, musicals, concerts, movies, shopping, baking, trips, cards, photos...literally anything.

* You can be as vague or detailed as you want. If you just have a quick sentence, I'll take it. If you have a typed, two-page, single-spaced short story, I'll take it. No right or wrong. (I first typed "write or wrong." Ha! See what I did there?)

* If you can't think of anything today, but in two weeks, when Christmas is fully underway, something pops in your beautiful little brain, you can still share it. I don't need this by the end of business today, by any means.

I know this is short and sweet and terribly unbloggery of me, but I thank you in advance for any ideas you're willing to share. Thanks for helping a website-design-weary writer-girl find an outlet for her poor brain!

Here's My White Flag, Wednesday

Squint hard: do you see it? The white flag?

It's me. Surrendering to yesterday. It wins. I lose. Bring me a blankey and let me take a nap.

But despite the fact that clearly Wednesday was out to get me, it has provided blog fodder for today, and for that...I thank it.

My main goal for yesterday was to work on a website design. I'll tell you more about it when there's actually something to tell, but I'm working on a website {aside from this one} to use in my writing and speaking.

Back when I was in college and was new to the internet {WOW. I am old.}, I enrolled in a class to learn about web stuff and design and all that. I dropped out after a week. Only class I ever quit in college. And now I remember why. I am creative, but my brain does not bend the way of code and plugins and widgets. It just doesn't. I'd prepared as best I could, watching a two hour YouTube tutorial and taking ten pages of handwritten notes to walk me through the setup.

And God bless that YouTube guy, because without his step-by-step instructions, I never would have made it. But halfway through the thing, I found a box that would not go away on the site, no matter what I did. And nowhere in ten pages of notes had this guy addressed that box. And in multiple Google searches, I found no workable answers for the problem.

Swallowing my pride, I contacted the IT guy at the station, confessed my utter embarrassment at crawling back a year and a half post-employment to ask a question, divulged my dilemma, and hit send.

And got his out-of-office auto-reply. Because of course.

It seemed like a good time to take a break and run a quick errand. Clear my head, perhaps. It just so happened that my errand took me right past Starbucks. And it just so happened that yesterday was my double star day. That seemed proof enough for me that I deserved a latte. Enjoy the following conversation.

Barista: May I help you?
Bekah: Yes! I'll take a caramel brulee latte.
Barista: We're out of those.
Bekah: No problem! I'll take a chestnut praline latte.
Barista. We're out of those.
Bekah: What DO you have?
Barista: From the holiday menu? Peppermint.
Bekah: I hate peppermint. Can you make a skinny caramel macchiato?
Barista: Yes.

So I took my third choice drink and went home.

I had just taken off my shoes and put my purse away when my phone buzzed with a text from Ryan.

Can you get gas? Just got the notification that it's going up.

Put my shoes back on and retrieved my purse.

I should interject to say that when I commuted, I filled up my gas tank three times a week. I could pump gas in my SLEEP. {And on some early mornings, I think I did.} But when we got married, Ryan told me one of the ways he wanted to show his love to me was by filling up the gas tanks. He hated for me to stand out in the elements when he could do it. No arguments here. I will let you fill up my love AND gas tanks by being the designated fueler of the family. So it's been a good long while since I had to put gas in the car.

Of course the lines had started to form at the station, but I managed to get in quickly {AND had pulled up on the correct side AND managed to wrestle the stubborn cap off the tank}. I got out my card and stared at the pump. There were two places for cards. Where did mine go? Figured it out, and right about then, I realized a guy had pulled up behind me and I could only imagine what he was thinking as he watched me stare at that pump as though it was my first day to know about fuel. As I moved toward the correct card receptacle, I realized I didn't know which way the strip was supposed to go, so I fumbled around and got it put in. Answered the 10 question quiz required, hit the octane of my choice, grabbed the nozzle and....

...it would not go in the car. I jammed it around for a while before realizing....I had the diesel nozzle.

Oh good grief. I did not even make eye contact with the guy in the truck behind me. And I could only hope he was not posting me to Facebook right about then. "Look at this idiot woman trying to pump gas!" {I sure would have been tempted to post me to Facebook. Just sayin'.}

Finally pumped the gas, got my car put back together and high-tailed it out of there before the lines got worse. {I've seen that place be a near death trap in gas-is-going-up situations.}

I went home, only to find that UPS was making a delivery and had my driveway blocked. I wasn't the least bit mad about that because HELLO!!! UPS IS THERE!! PRESENTS HAVE ARRIVED! But while I waited, I sort of held up traffic on the whole road, so I'm guessing I was not the most popular driver in town.

After reading for a bit, I surrendered to a nap, and when Ryan got home that evening, he offered to take me to Wendy's for a Frosty. {This is a surefire way to fix any day, just in case you ever need to know.}

My view from the drive-thru pretty much crowned the day. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all:

Linking up with Tamar!

Just Thankful

Thanksgiving rolls around next week, and speaking of rolls...anyone looking forward to indulging in one of those during the holiday meal? My mom is a great roll-maker, and not surprisingly, it's one of the gifts I did not inherit from her. That...and pie making...and candy making. It's all very sad. So whenever she makes a batch of rolls, I like to save a carb up and have one. They're worth it.

But even though we're still a week away from Thanksgiving, it's not too early to be thankful, and I thought today would be a great day to do just that here on the blog!

A few things I'm thankful for...in no particular order:

* This house and the journey to get here. When I think that ten months ago, we had not even stepped foot on the property, and now it feels like we've always lived here, I think that calls for some major gratitude. Everything about finding the house, purchasing it, renovating it, settling into it, and now enjoying it brings about a major swell of joy in my heart.

* Our new city. I wasn't scared about moving to a new city, but I was curious how the transition would go, since I'd lived my entire adult life in Marion. But it's been such a blessing to be closer to our family, to be able to be involved in helping them when they need something, being able to be included in things that we were too far away to be part of before. This place suits us.

* Those who carry the baton. This year we said farewell to the Bekah-mobile and to our first home together. While we try not to be overly sentimental, those things did matter to us, and in both cases, we passed the baton to people who understood the love and care we had put into them and promised to carry that on. And we've heard that both are thriving under new ownership, and that makes us happy.

* Our new church. We have begun attending a church closer to home, and while it was hard to leave the place where we worshiped for the last 3.5 years, we've begun to settle in to our new church home. We're starting to learn names, we've found a seat to call ours, and we've been welcomed and embraced already, which is a huge answer to prayer.

* Phoebe. Since I still haven't convinced Ryan that Shafferland needs a dog, I'm grateful for Phoebe. We get to watch her semi-regularly, and she is such a fun little girl. We love how excited she gets when she sees us, we love how she adores cuddling, and Ryan particularly loves what he calls "joint custody." All the fun without the expense. Maybe that's why he sees no need for a dog of our own...

* New opportunities. This year brought about a host of new opportunities for me. Speaking in new places, writing new material, freelance work, podcasting, working from home, chasing dreams, releasing a new book...WOW! What's not to be thankful for there??

* Tuesdays at the Table. This little idea we conjured up and threw into motion at the end of the year has been such a blessing to us. We have loved actually having time to open our home and welcome in friends and family, and my goodness - do we ever have a growing list of people yet to invite! {And if you want to come visit, give us a holler!}

* Great friends. From those who pitched in to help us with all the aspects of moving, to those who have included us in their happenings this year, to those who keep in touch even though we may live a great distance apart, I'm reminded that we both have many wonderful friends. That is a huge blessing!

* You. Hanging out with you every day when you come to visit is a complete joy. I look forward to talking with you in the comments, hearing your stories, and sharing with you. THANK YOU for coming over so regularly and allowing us to be part of your days!

* Ryan. I can't close out a list (and this is by no means a complete list of what we're thankful for) without including Ryan. I am thankful for how hard he works to provide for us, how he supports me in my dreams and makes me feel like I'm making a difference in our home, and how he shows his love in a million ways. I'm thankful for the dreams we've conjured up for the future and for all the exciting things yet to come!

So that's a few thoughts from my head...now it's your turn! What are you pausing to be thankful for this week?

It's a Podcast-versary!!!

Can you believe it? Today we release episode 52 of Spill the Beans!

One whole year has passed since we started this fun little project we produce every week, and I wanted to spend today throwing a little blog-birthday party for our podcast! {And oh how I would dearly love to have a whole cake for the occasion too, but alas, it's not in the eating plan for today.}

Before I start the party, here is the 52nd episode for your listening pleasure!

Click here to listen.

Spill the Beans was born after I'd turned in my resignation at WBCL. Ryan and I loved radio so much and while we knew leaving was right, we hated to think of never having the opportunity to banter on air like we'd done upon occasion there. So we consulted with my friend Craig, who is quite knowledgeable about such things, and he wrote out a list of every piece of equipment we would need to start our podcast.

Ryan did the research online and purchased it all, and then Craig {BLESS HIS HEART!!!} sat down and created a video tutorial for me to show me how to hook everything up and how to use the editing software. I watched the video, took careful notes, and began practicing all the recording and editing. It felt like my first week at the station all over again!

Craig {are you seeing a theme here? Craig is the genius force behind it all!!} also created and recorded our opening and closing music, and my friend Ron {another station genius} provided the music for the middle of the podcast.

That was how, a year ago, Ryan and I sat down {very nervously, I might add} at our dining room table, and began to record. I haven't gone back to listen to that first episode lately, but I can imagine all the fear is right out there in front, and our scripted beginnings sound just like that: scripted.

We've found our groove in this past year, and this is one of the many things that I love doing together with Ryan. He makes podcasting fun!

Thanks for listening along with us for the past year, and we're planning to plow right into a second year starting next week. It'll be fun! :)

I also wanted to let you know that for those of you who have asked for daily editions {ahem...you know who you are}...well, you're still not going to completely receive your wish, but I do have some good news for you!

I've been given the opportunity to start doing a little interviewing again, like I did back at the station, and I'm excited to do more of it. I missed that, too! So starting next week, there will be occasional additional podcasts called The Conversation Cafe, featuring interviews with a variety of people. Ryan isn't joining me for this one {at least usually} but I'll be there with new friends to share with you!

Thanks so much for joining us for podcast fun each week. You brighten our days when you share what you love about Spill the Beans!

{And by all means - if you happen upon some cake today, EAT IT in honor of this auspicious occasion. I thank you for it.}

Fancy Dinner Dates

Ryan and I are not fancy kind of people. {Do I really need to explain this to you? Probably not.} Our eating out experience is more on the Subway/Wendy's level, with occasional splurges at Red Robin and Applebee's. We're not well-versed in multiple forks and courses. And we're okay with that!

But sometimes it's fun to get all dressed up and do the fancy dinner date thing. Just for something new and different, right?

Over the past couple of months, I've done some freelance writing work for a non-profit company based out of Huntington {about an hour from us}. They just finished celebrating their 50th year, and they wanted to compile a book of stories featuring people whose lives had been impacted by their services. They presented the book at their annual dinner and invited Ryan and me to be part of the evening so we could see a bit more what they're about and to celebrate the release of the book!

Ryan rearranged his schedule to get out of work a little early, and we made a date night out of the adventure!

It was a full suit-and-tie adventure! {Does this mean it was even fancier than our wedding? He didn't wear a suit to our wedding.}

I had to borrow a dress, and my friend Kari came to the rescue with a handful of lovely options. I picked this one:

We meant to get a full length picture while we were actually AT the dinner, but it was too busy to do that, so this was the best we got with full length. {Thank you, selfie stick.}

Isn't he so handsome????

The dinner took place at a location that often hosts weddings, so we got to enjoy this lovely piece! {And it reminded me of Cassie's wedding and the chandelier she had hanging in the reception hall!}

 {Sorry about the guy's head in the corner. He jumped right in there at the last minute!}

Found our table and even though we didn't know anyone else sitting there for most of the evening, we enjoyed hearing their stories. {It is so helpful that Ryan is GREAT at making small talk with complete strangers!}

Dinner was HUGE! No, I did not eat all of it.

And the cake. Can we talk about the cake!?!?! I mean look at this thing!

It was so delicious, but Ryan said he'd never seen me find a cake that bested me. It was true. I couldn't finish it. I hate even admitting that in print.

After dinner, we listened to their program, which honored many people who are part of their family, both from employee and client sides. It was really touching to hear all the stories! {Got a little teary eyed a few times!}

And best of all, I got to see my friend Sheryl, who did a great job making the evening all that it was, and I got to see one of the ladies from the last retreat I did! She and her family were there, and it was good to hear how she was doing!

As we left, we got a copy of the book, and this was fun to see!

It was really late by the time we got home, but it was a fun and memorable evening, and we were grateful to be included as part of it!

The Shafferland Shuffle

(Before we start peeking at the week, I wanted to let you know that the Ann Voskamp giveaway pack goes toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo: ASHLEY FEEMSTER!!!! I will email you, Ashley! Congratulations!)

* You would think that last Sunday would have been the happiest day of the year for me, what with the time change and all...but man, was I ever in a weird funk all day. I was not a fan!!! The day started well, though, with a leisurely breakfast together and church. We went to lunch with some people from the church we've been attending {which I think we can safely officially call "our new church} and that was fun! I love making new friends! It was such a pretty day that we took a walk that afternoon and wrapped up the night with podcasting!

* Monday was an equally lovely day. I am still reveling in all the beautiful, natural light we get in our house! :) Ryan had to run some errands after work, so I asked him to stop and get TP for us...and apparently he is expecting a digestive catastrophe to hit our house! :) He had to go back to work late at night to finish his notes, so I went with him and walked on the treadmill and watched Hallmark movies while he worked.

* Tuesday was election day, and since we'd already voted, it was just a Tuesday for us. We chose to spend our evening together with friends, hosting a Tuesdays at the Table taco night, and it was such fun. I'm thankful for chances to welcome people into our home. It is my happy place. After they left, we had to run to the store for butter so I could make a dessert for a carry-in at Ryan's work the next day, and I learned that apples sure look different from what they used to! LOL!

* Wednesday was writing day, and I had no intentions of leaving my jammies OR my laptop all day. And it worked that way until late afternoon when I found out we needed to go to a viewing that night. Whoopsie. I threw on blingy jewelry, tried to rock the pony, and hoped it would pass the test. And I was so emotionally spent from writing that when we got home, Ryan took over assembling our dinner, and I do believe it tasted even better because he did it.

* Thursday I baked pumpkin snickerdoodles for my friend Sheryl's birthday, and then that night, Ryan and I had a midweek date at a fancy dinner. I'll tell you more about it next week, but I borrowed a dress and Ryan pulled the full suit and tie out of the garment bag, and we had a great time at our dinner!

* Friday, Ryan was so busy at work that he didn't have time to come home for lunch, so I took lunch to him! We ordered a pizza that night, waited the appropriate time, went to get it, and found out the place was so behind, the pizza had just gone into the oven. So we came home, waited some more and went back. Ask me how excited I was to (literally) hang out in a dark alley while Ryan went in to wait for the pizza!! EEK!! Must have been a good pizza. He and Braeya both conked right out after dinner!

* Yesterday was CRAZY!! Started out early with  a trip to Sam's Club for a Christmas present. We had no idea it was like their Black Friday, and when we arrived 15 minutes before they opened, the line was already down to the end of the building. WHAT?!?!?? Ryan worked most of the day and then we had lots of errands to run, including a trip to see our dear Phoebe AND a birthday party for one of our friends. WHEW!