Big Daddy Weave

Lest you think I'm dead or something...I'm not. I know it's 9:00 in the morning and a blog post has yet to appear, but y'all...yesterday was NUTS. I left work just a bit early to grab some food and head over to the Big Daddy Weave concert....and I got home at 12:20 in the morning. POOPED. So this morning I slept in for the first time since New Year's Day, and it. has. been. glorious. Ryan is making us omelets for breakfast while I chat with you!!!

So I thought I'd tell you about the concert! :)

Last night was a 3-for-1 with concerts. Citizen Way, Chris August, and Big Daddy Weave. I'd never seen any of them before, and after meeting part of the groups...I'll tell you I was highly impressed with what a saw. What a great, laid-back, down-to-earth bunch of guys!!

Here they are in the Meet and Greet before the show...answering all kinds of questions!

 Ron Schneeman was the MC for the night...and so he, Ross and I went backstage {Ross and I threw fling rings...and yes, I threw one into a speaker. Good night, Irene.} Actually, let me tell you about that. Mike Weaver, who IS Big Daddy Weave, walked out to the stage with us but there's a possibility I didn't realize that's who he was. So he saw the fling rings in my hand and said "You going to throw those?" I said, "Not well. If you're around when I do, you might duck." So he caught my throw into the speaker and said to me {while I was still throwing} "You're not supposed to hit stuff!" I shot back, "I told you I was terrible!" Then I realized that's who he was. Classic Bekah.

SO anyway...we all had our picture taken with the Big Daddy. Ron had an extra guest in his photo...Cathy, the very freaky stuffed bobcat.

 I elected just to do a regular picture. Sans stuffed wildlife.

 While we were talking with the Big Daddy, we missed most of Citizen Way's part of the concert - including their current radio single, which I LOVE love love - Should've Been Me. If you haven't seen it, you should watch it.


But we did catch their last song...and they were very good in concert!!

This is Ben from Citizen Way. He came over to our table to introduce himself and thank us for our radio work. That was very nice! The Citizen Way guys' great aunt Juanita lives around the area and she was there loving every minute of this day. We loved great aunt Juanita!!

 

Chris August was up next...and he did a great job too.

He sang some of his classics, like 7X70 and his newest, Restore.

My friend Sheryl Glancy and I hung out in the lobby for most of the concert - love her!

And then Big Daddy Weave took the stage! I so appreciated how worshipful he kept the evening.

And the people seemed to love it too!

He closed out with their newest hit - Redeemed.

And then as people left, he sang worship song after worship song...Bless the Lord oh My Soul, The Revelation Song...and so many more.

Ryan didn't get to come with me to this one - the timing of it on a Friday night just didn't make that practical - and I missed him SO MUCH. I got to meet several of you who said you love to hang out here at Bekah's Bits and read about life in Shafferland...THANK YOU for coming out of lurk-ville long enough to tell me that! We're so glad you love to read about our sometimes-crazy life. We're so glad our story gives you hope. We're so glad our vulnerable moments provide something for you to relate to. Thanks for loving us!!!

Something smells awfully good - I have a feeling breakfast is almost ready. Better close out for now. Love you all!!

The Photoless Date

I take a fair amount of {hopefully} good-natured teasing about the amount of photos I take. So I would like you to know that today I am telling you about a date we went on...and I have no photos.

Read: NO PHOTOS.

Shut the front door.

But I tell you about this date anyway, because I. Loved. It. So.

It is my annual tradition to buy a new dress at Easter. It's just one of those things I never let go of after I grew up. {Though some may argue I have yet to grow up.} Every year it's the same thing. I pick out a bunch of dresses online, show you, get your thoughts, and then whenever a skinny day arrives, I gather my courage, tour as many stores as necessary, take pictures on my phone, text them to random people for input and ultimately purchase something that makes me feel somewhat good about myself and is in the Cheapy McCheaperson price range.

This week I said to Ryan, "Could we maybe stop by a couple of stores to look for an Easter dress?"

He had no idea the potential drama.

We made our way through one store - finding only two dresses that we deemed tolerable - and we could not get either one zipped up once it was on me. Not because I was too fat, but because the zippers kept jamming. Quality stuff. So we went to store #2 and I giggled my way through the aisles as Ryan held up dress after dress, saying "SERIOUSLY??? THIS is fashion? Who WEARS this stuff???" I knew right then I'd picked well in the husband department. Some of this years choices are, in a word, hideous.

We pushed our way past the curtains-turned-dresses, paint-dropcloths-turned-dresses, and Grandma's-tablecloth-turned dresses and unearthed some decent options. I disappeared into the dressing room and began the task of trying them.

After each dress, I'd come out of the dressing room and get his opinion. A live, in-person opinion. No strange contortions in front of dressing room mirrors trying to get an unobstructed view on my phone. We wrinkled up our noses at most of them...

...and then I tried on "the one." He smiled. I smiled. I could breathe and already had jewelry to match. That made it a winner. And as I headed back into the dressing room, he handed me a shirt. "Here. Try this one. It's cute."

So I tried on a white t-shirt with a cute lace front...and came back out to get his opinion. He handed me a blue button down. "I like this one too. Try it?"

While you should understand that the similarities in the following analogy are quite limited, I have to say I felt a bit like Vivian on Rodeo Drive in Pretty Woman.

We stood in line with not only an Easter dress, but two shirts...and I felt so loved and spoiled. Never in my life had a guy taken me clothes shopping. Never had one helped me pick anything out, and never had anyone picked something out for me and sent me in to try it on. Never had one paid for everything and said to me "You're worth it."

And then we went on an impromptu date to Panera. We'd planned to go home and cook, but we detoured...and we sat across from each other in a booth, laughing and sharing and eating soup...and we brought home iced cookies to have later with our evening coffee.

We went to bed with most of our day-planner list still in tact for the day. We hadn't planned to be gone...to shop...to eat out...but that day was so lovely in every way. And while I have no photos to scrapbook its goodness, I have a love-filled memory...and that's a good thing too.

The Biggest Little Apology

Kristen Strong, over at Chasing Blue Skies, has a link-up every Thursday, where people can share surprising ways God worked in their lives. This story below goes along with her theme for today, and I'm so grateful to revisit this part of my life today. It reminds me to think as I interact with others!!

 I realize many of y'all who have come across the land of Bekah's Bits have done so since I started working at WBCL. You missed the decade {plus five more years if you include my student worker years, which I do} when I worked in the Financial Aid Office.

Ohhhhhhhhhh the stories I could tell you. The book I could write of life in finaid. Unfortunately most of those stories can't be told...but I can say this {along with probably anyone else who works in customer service}. People can be so rude. So heartless. So flat out thoughtless.

Money is a big deal. I get that. Paying for college requires a lot of money...a lot more than most families have. The burden to creatively pay for college without being in debt to the fourth generation is a heavy one. All these things stir up worry, high blood pressure, and in some - the lack of a filter. The lack of awareness that the person across the desk is a real person with real feelings and perhaps...just perhaps...a genuine interest in seeing families succeed in finding ways to fund college.

At least it was like that in good old 240F. {That was where I sat.}

In my time there, I was called all manner of names - many of which cannot be repeated on this blog or on the airwaves I now share with Lynne. I was yelled at - and by that, I mean literal, certified screaming. I was threatened with the good ole "I'm calling my lawyer." Many times I got the "If you're not going to do anything, then give me to your supervisor." And one time - near the very end of my time there, a student told me she didn't even think I was a Christian.

That one crossed the line.

I went to my supervisor and told her I was happy to take most forms of abuse at the hand of non-filtered parents and students, but I was not...I repeat not...willing to have someone make a judgment on my faith and commitment to Christ over a disagreement about a loan.

Most of it wasn't personal, and I knew that, though it made the tirades, angry letters, threats, and foul language no more pleasant to experience. But what bothered me most was that in nearly all circumstances, the people involved seemed oblivious to what they did. I worked at a Christian college, and while I'm sure not all families were Christians...most made a profession of faith. It blew me away that those same people had no issue calling up a stranger and running her into the ground over money - and never once did they have a twinge of conscience about it.

At least any twinges that led to action.

Except...her. Somewhere out there in this world is a woman...a mother of one of my students. I called her right before five o'clock one evening. Right before my work day ended and my evening of fun was scheduled to begin. I thought I was calling to answer a simple question...and hung up with my professionalism and self-esteemed clawed right out of my body.

Ten minutes after five, I hung up the phone, stared at the wad of tissues on my desk and gave up trying to see her point of view. I did try. But she was impossible. I didn't even care about my evening anymore. I just wanted a frappe and a nap to try to push away the crying-hangover headache that settled between my eyes.

A few days later, I found mail from this mother. Information I requested.

And a note of apology. Just a few lines...but an effort.

I knew in my heart that she might never respect me as a counselor...and she might never know how much I genuinely desired to help her...but I deeply appreciated her brief apology.

Perhaps the biggest little apology I ever had in that line of work. 

A Glimpse into the Reception

I have talked a bit about our reception but I thought I'd give you an idea of how the day went down!

So it started out with me getting my hair done. This time I didn't have an entourage watching and taking photos. I took this one myself to share with/scare Ryan:

My friend Marie did my makeup after my hair was done...because I figured I couldn't luck out two times in a row with doing my own makeup. {No pictures of this: no one to take them.}

Then I hauled my dress out to the car and drove down to the reception site to meet Ryan {who was running around filling up all the coffee pots with water}. We sneaked him into the women's restroom and he helped me get into my dress at which point I realized my underwear was showing right through my dress. SUPER. So I had to put in an emergency call to my sister to go pick up a slip from our house so I could remedy that. Good night, nurse!!

Rachel Ashley, my dear friend and former student worker, showed up to take the pictures I'd wanted at the prayer chapel...which I already told you about....but here's another one:

After our photo shoot, it was time to get in gear for the reception. This involved the following:

Calming down:

Giving instructions about the food. Apparently this brings out a lot of passion in me:

We arranged our reception to begin at 2:00 with a traditional entrance of the wedding party. My brother-in-law read a little bit about all of our party members and they entered...and then we entered!

Then we sat and watched our wedding video; we didn't just have it play in the background while people mingled...we did an official showing of it so everyone could watch the entire wedding and feel like they were there with us! {You know. Minus the sand and the 82 degrees.}

We got hot. So I stole a couple cards out of the gift basket and we fanned.

After the wedding video, Jeff prayed for us and we put another stone in our family altar...the one we began at our wedding:

Then we cut cake...and did our linky arm drinky thing...

And then we set people free to eat ice cream and we mingled!!! We loved every moment of it - such fun to celebrate with so many!!

Day Planners. {Again.}

Several years ago, I found the perfect day planner. Perfect in every way. I used it for two straight years and then, like all good lipsticks and hair color, they discontinued it. Maddening, isn't it? {I mostly meant the lipstick part there - but day planners too.}

Since then, I've tried this planner and that and found them all to be not quite what I needed. Many that I really love are made for families and the kids sections are just not needed. {And blank sections betroth me.} {Betroth means annoy if you missed the post where I introduced that non-dictionary-approved definition.} And others don't have all the kinds of calendars I want...and some are too detailed...and...and...and...

Last year I found the Planner Perfect Planner and I really liked it...but I found it gave me just a bit too MUCH freedom. It's basically a blank slate and apparently in Bekahland that translates to "Welp, nothing to do today!!"

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....

I took to Pinterest. I know! I know. It shocks the soul. But seriously - you can find a lot of really talented people out there who have created printables - many of them, free - and you can just pick and choose what tickles your fancy and create your own perfectly suited planner in whatever thickness of binder you need.

Here's the link to the Pinterest board I made for all the printables {and a few more}. I've decided I'll try this for a while and tweak as necessary. If I find some of the pages aren't as helpful as I thought, I'll stop using them. If I find that I need others I'd not thought of, I'll stalk Pinterest until I find them.

But here's what I made and why I love it.

Monthly Calendar Pages

 I need...seriously need a planner to have monthly calendar pages. I need to be able to see an entire month at a glance to see when w'ere free and when we're not. I found this set of pages at The TomKat Studio and loved the following about them: 

* Five rows of space when the months  run into a fifth week. I hate making the 30th and 31st share with the week before...
* Splash of color, but nothing obnoxious
* Squares big enough to actually write in them

I decided to use red to write in activities and appointments that only pertain to me, blue ink to represent Ryan's schedule, and black ink to mark the things we both need to attend. That helps me know, at a glance, who is actually busy.

Weekly Schedule Pages

 Believe it or not, I also like to have a weekly page. This helps me see at a glance what is happening {in a little more detail} in any given week. I found these bold and fun pages at A Lovely Array  and fell in love with the following:

* Really bold month/days of the week. It's both fun and helpful.
* Big open squares that allow me to write in {keeping my blue/red/black ink themes} what needs to be done on each day. This includes details about Mid-Morning shows that I'm on-air with, so I can prepare for interviews, work concerts and events, dates, get togethers with friends, Ryan's work schedule, and more. It also gives me space to write in a little more detail about some of them {for example, addresses to appointments so I can put them in the GPS as I'm en route, rather than trying to remember what the invitation at home on the fridge said. I can also keep track of birthdays and anniversaries on these pages, so I can keep on top of gifts/cards we need to buy.
* The two blank squares on the right are open for anything I need. I made the bigger one my "weekly notes" box, keeping track of random details that correspond with that week's activities. {Namely - things I need to take with me to certain appointments or gifts I need to buy.} I made the other square a prayer request square so I can keep track of the people I've promised to pray for that week!

I think this will help me be more intentional about preparing for things in advance, rather than running to the store the night before something...I mean...not that this ever happens.

Weekly Blog Planner

 I am very committed to daily blogging because it keeps me writing and is another form of scrpabooking for me - documenting our life and what happens. But I've learned that since getting married, it's harder to find chunks of time to sit down and blog - without taking important time away from Ryan. I thought I'd try a blog planner to help me organize ideas and such. I found this one from the Me and Marie blog

* I like the lines to plan out my topic and/or title by day of the week. I'm not big on categorizing my blog posts, but I do like the line about promoting. I try not to be a big blog plug person but now and then I like to write something that seems good to mention on Facebook or Twitter. Maybe this will help me write something plug-worthy every week. 
* I like the to-do list - will help me keep things up like changing backgrounds, photos, etc.
* Also like the place to jot down ideas for the future. Wonder how many I've lost because I didn't write them down and then I forgot?

This is a page that I'll try for a while and if it seems like a lot of hassle, I'll drop it.

Daily Planner Page

 I know. The mind reels. SERIOUSLY? You have a monthly page AND a weekly page and you STILL need a daily page? Simply put, yes. Ryan and I have forgotten a lot of things because we didn't write them down. I found this page at The Household Planner and absolutely love the structure of it.

* Love that it doesn't have a by-the-hour plan. That always makes me feel like I need to structure every moment of my day and that's annoying.
* Love the breakup of financial tasks/household tasks/personal tasks/work tasks/and phone calls and emails to make. That helps me think about different areas of our life and what actually needs to be done {dare I say proactively???} rather than trying to just stay afloat with tasks.
* Love the priority box of the top 3 tasks...helps me know what is MOST important out of everything in case I have to replan.
* Love the morning/afternoone/evening sections to help me make general ideas of what needs to be done and push myself to do some not-so-fun things in each section of the day, rather than saving it all for the end.

I thrive on checking things off - so hopefully this will help us stay more organized about our way-too-busy-for-our-own-good lives.

Meal Planning Page

 Ryan and I have yet to find the perfect meal planning system. So I'm going to try this printable I found at the Eat at Home site. Here's what I love about this:

* Doesn't plan out every single meal time and snack time. That makes me feel like I need to eat MORE!!
* Love the daily menu plan boxes - my plan is to write in {first} the meals that each of us plan to eat out that week...carry-ins at work, one or both of us out at something in the evening...so we can then take stock of how much time at home we have and how much we need to cook that week. 
* Love the grocery list right there to the side so I can look up ingredients as I plan - plus keep track of the things scribbled on the notepad on the fridge that we've just run out of. 
* Love that I can just pull this page out of the planner and take it with me to the store.

So there you have it! Our new day planner. And yes it's paper. I hate electronic calendars. They betroth me.