July: Done

How in the world is July DONE?? Seriously?!?!? This year is flying faster than I can keep up with it!

I spent the first couple of business days working from home because Fort Wayne was still recovering from a HUGE power outage after a 91 mile an hour wind/thunderstorm.

Elected to watch fireworks on TV instead of in person because it was 23840283409820349823 degrees outside on the 4th of July. Even at 10 pm.

Got my first honest to goodness photography gig at a golf outing Lynne's husband organized. It was 2903842038402384382 degrees that day too, but such fun to be-bop around a golf course with Lynne for a whole day!!

Spent an evening at the Howard County 4H Fair with my friend Amber. Perfect night. Not too hot, not too cold, not rainy, a little sunny....that's great fair weather!

Participated in the Three Rivers Festival Parade again this year - sporting my lime green Bekah shirt. :)

Worked the Children's Fest with my friend, Sheryl. We had to move to plan B on what we did at the festival, due to technical difficulties, but we still had a great time!

Officially registered for the 10K race I'm participating in this fall! It's for real now! (Gulp!)

Fully immersed myself in the OLYMPICS, BABY!!! The one time in life I'm more excited about the sports than the accompanying party!! :)

Had a chance to visit the lake again, which I loved, because you know how I love water. Won't even tell you how many hours in a row I sat staring at the water and praying...

All in all a fantastic month, despite extreme heat and lack of water in our state. So happy for a beautiful month of memories!!

10 Random Facts

Is it a bad sign when you have blogger's block ON A MONDAY???? Probably.

So I'm doing a 10 random facts post...which will probably make you roll your eyes at me...a lot...but that's okay!! Here you go!

1. When I was a kid, Mom and I used to play board games together but I had such a competitive streak that I would throw a total, royal, ugly fit if I lost. She finally told me she wouldn't play games with me anymore if I couldn't learn to be a good loser. Boy if she could only see me now at game night! I only know how to be a good loser! HA!

2. In honor of the Olympics, I'll tell you (Phats, you just zip it!!) that in the winter Olympics back in 96, I had a complete and utter crush on Dan Jansen and the highlight of my day (okay - YEAR) was getting a postcard from him. (Phats, I SAID zip it!!)

3. In 3rd grade, I had a guinea pig for a while. This makes me laugh now, given that I'm scared of anything rodent-y. (Feel free to use that word. Rodent-y.)

4. The reason I got into rubber stamping (back in the day) was because literally ALL my friends were either singers or artists and I had no verifiable talent. I could, however, stamp!! Flawed logic, but still how I operated.

5. I am apparently actually immune to coffee...but I need it. If I don't have it in the morning, I  cannot wake up....but if I drink it at night I can fall right over and go to sleep after drinking it...HENCE my belief that it is all in my head. (But it's significant there.)

6. I ADORE the new mocha chip frappes at McDonald's. Have you had one yet? GO. Stop reading right now and GO get one!

7. Though I wasn't allowed to watch a ton of TV growing up, one show I never missed was Alf.

8. When I graduated from college, I got a cat and named her Chloe. Turned out she was a boy. Should have taken anatomy!!

9. I like to watch TV with the captions turned on. I hear better. (No, really!)

10. I once had to call my dad to come to the house where I was babysitting because the kid had gotten sick and in changing her diaper, I used too many wipes and plugged up the toilet. (woops!!)

There you go! And the only good it will ever do you is if it becomes a Jeopardy category!!!!

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday was a blissful little day. I love it when a Sunday really is a day of rest. No plans. No agenda. Just enjoyment. Our Sunday School/Church service was full of many words from God to my heart, so I was glad to have the day to process them and savor the fact that He's speaking so much and so clearly. A lovely day!

* Monday I officially registered for the 10K I'm running this fall. And in honor of that, I went back out on the running trail that night. This is (clearly) the before picture. And I"m sure you've seen the video that includes the after look. EEK.

* Tuesday I found this update to the never ending sign drama on my desk.

Would have been even better if he'd spelled intellectually right.

* I know you already saw this, but Wednesday was one of the best days of my LIFE....partly because this showed up in the mail. Oh be still my precious beating heart.

* Thursday was SUCH a fun day. Started with getting this present in the mail from my sister...

Then I went on a little field trip with my Mid-Morning buddies and THEN I got to have dinner with my dear, dear Jamie Bennett! Not a bad day, my friends!!

* Friday evening....I parked in front of THIS! Not going to lie - I really didn't care for the show...I think I was hoping for one like the last one...but still!! My Olympics are here!

*Saturday I got to hang out on the water, which made me a pretty happy girl! First day in forever that wasn't a blistering million degrees!!

* One Thousand Gifts - I replaced some light bulbs in my kitchen this week and apparently that whole wattage thing actually matters. I put in some that were too bright and they overheated the glass globe. It shattered into a million pieces about 2 minutes after I walked out of the kitchen. I was so thankful for the gift of safety!! (I do NOT want to die via falling light globes!)

* Pinterest Inspiration - Check out this cake I found on Pinterest:

Source: tasteofhome.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

I didn't use the cake recipe in that pin...I made a white Texas sheet cake instead, but check out my version!

I Really Should Sell Tickets

Ready for a tale from Bekahland? I so very desperately wish I had captured this one on video for you because you'd have enjoyed it..but you'll have to just read instead.

So...I told you I had been house sitting for a friend of mine who has a pool. This is a Bekah-takes-care-of-a-pool story. You can only imagine, I'm sure.

The pool is above ground and around half of it is a deck. There are no steps from the deck to the yard. This is an important detail later.

I went to the house and retrieved a stick of chlorine from the little bucket so I could drop it in the basket in the filter. Sporting my knee length denim skirt, red shirt, and little red ballerina flats, I hiked over the pool pump and opened the filter.

Problem. No basket. No biggie. It had floated out a couple of times before and camped out right beside the filter. I scooted the solar blanket aside and looked. No basket. I inched around the pool until I reached the deck...no filter. I went back inside the house and came out the other back door onto the deck...and it was then I spied the shadow of the basket, hovering...you guessed it! RIGHT in the middle of the pool under the solar blanket.

I grabbed the net and pushed it under the blanket - succeeding only in pushing the basket to the other side of the pool. You know. The side the net is too short to reach from the deck?

So I went back through the house, out the other back door, into the yard, and realized it had floated back to the middle, and from a ground perspective, I could no longer see it. Super.

As I made my way BACK into the house, I realized the neighbors were watching. I said hi and tried to offer information that assured them I was legit in that yard and no police needed to be summoned. I added at the end, "I lost the filter basket in the middle of the pool and don't have my suit with me - so I'm just figuring out how to fish it out. Feel free to enjoy the show!" She asked if she should get her camera and I said, "Oh probably. And if you hear a splash, I'm OKAY!!!"

Back through the house...out onto the deck, I got IN the pool up to my knees and started pulling on the solar blanket until the basket appeared. I snagged it with the net and tossed it on the deck.

THEN I had to somehow get that solar blanket rearranged properly without getting back in (read: falling in) the pool. Two more trips in and out of the house to access all sides of the pool...and I got it.

I stuck my chlorinated feet back in my red ballerina shoes, planted the chlorine in the filter, said goodbye to the neighbor (ala Wilson on Home Improvement) and went back to my car, utterly exhausted.

Note to self. ALWAYS take your suit....

He Speaks Comfort

You've probably been around here long enough to know that God uses unconventional methods to speak to me. :) What can I say? I'm a case! Sometimes I share those with you and sometimes they're so sacred I just keep them for myself. But this one I'm going to share because I think one of you...or maybe more...might need to know this today.

One day this week, my heart just needed some comforting. I wasn't scared or mad or hurt or anything really defined, but just...unsettled. So I pulled out my journal and told God, My heart needs comforting...

And then, since I was in a spot where all I had was the journal and my phone (not even my Bible!) - I hopped onto Twitter and started reading. I follow people who make fascinating meals, have cute kids, work out a lot, and share pictures of all those things.

But this day, it seemed no one was cooking, sitters must have been watching the kids, and the gym was closed. Because in the space of one hour, I found these quotes/verses:

"Victory is won not in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later, win a little more." - Louie L'Amour

"If you don't plan your own life, someone else will." - Dan Rockwell

"Jesus knew He lived for the audience of one, not the audience of the crowd." - Mary DeMuth

"I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands." - Psalm 119:60

"Fear is a manipulative emotion that can trick us into living a boring life." - Donald Miller

"How exciting to see God's plan begin to take shape - and realize it is better than the requests you've been making to Him. - Tiffany Noth

"It's God's plan you've been looking for all along; the good news is, you've connected with it at long last! Hold to your faith in God and go forward." - Paul Stead

"God will only give you what you would have asked for if you knew everything He knows." - Timothy Keller

"Don't trust your own instincts more than God and His word. He's faithful and won't let us down. BELIEVE." - Michelle

"You position yourself for greatness by courageously embracing your challenges, which results in knowing God in deeper ways." - Bridget Haymond

"Fear corrodes our confidence in God's goodness. God has not given us a spirit of fear - but of power, love, and self-control." - Max Lucado

"Hope is the little voice you hear whisper Yes you can! when it seems the entire world is shouting No you can't!" - Tammy Trent

"Embrace the adventure of trusting God for He is completely trustworthy." - Jennifer Rothschild

Each one prepared me to read the one after...and by the end of the hour, my heart soared with hope - both from the words and from the knowledge that God heard a tiny, whispered heart-prayer of a need for comfort...and He spoke comfort.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

It's been a while since I made you sit through a list of stuff I love. :) You've missed it, haven't you?

Well we can't have THAT!!

Here's a list of my current faves. It saddens me greatly to know so many of you have not heard of this true joy in life:

I'm sure it will shock you to know that Lynne got me hooked on these. They're like a granola bar, only way, way better. Not your mama's granola bar. This particular one is our favorite. Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew. It's full of nuts and fruit and a charming layer of chocolate on the bottom. (HENCE the name. I like to state the obvious.) It is so good. It is good for you. And it's a very filling snacklet. And this week, when Kroger ran a special on them, it was the ONLY flavor sold out when I showed up to buy. Of course.

I may or may not have mentioned this (two hundred times) on the blog before, but this is my favorite place to shop:

If you were to help me do laundry (well, first of all, I'd thank you profusely for it!), you'd find about 85% of the tags in my clothes say CATO!!!!! Man, I love that store. Last time I went in, the cashier asked if I wanted to be put on the mailing list to be notified of specials. I said, "No need. I'm in here every week. I'll see them in person." Sad but true Bekah fact.

Ummm...we may or may not have a growing addiction on our hands here...

When gas prices went up, I had to give up my Shellac nails (sob) and I discovered this brand. Essie stays on longer than other polishes I've found and it dries pretty quickly. So I heart it. Times five, apparently. I think I need some red...and...and...and...

Confession: I am now a yogurt snob. I never intended to become one. Shoot, I never intended to like yogurt. But once again, Lynne has me hooked on this:

Guess what? They don't sell it in my county. Except for at one store...I just discovered it this week. It's at the snobby grocery. I never shop there because I feel the need to have incredible posture as I glide through the aisles. But for this yogurt, I shall straighten up and glide.

And we will NOT discuss the sheer and utter joy I experienced (akin to what mothers feel at the sight of their firstborn) when this arrived in my mailbox yesterday:

A new day planner. Praise the Lord. My Friday night plans? Hunkering down in front of the Olympics with my new pack o pens and this bad boy.

Draining Training

Remember that 10K I agreed to run?

It's a conspiracy, I've decided. I think Jeri (who talked me into this) KNEW it was going to be the hottest summer on record in my natural life and she said...let's talk her into training NOW!!

Okay so in all fairness, Jeri is a sweetheart and would never do that.

Or would she?

(Side note: I find it ironic that I'm eating Doritos as I'm writing this.)

I made an update for you, which you can watch in a minute, but before you do, let me just tell you my sole goal for this race:

To finish the race and be able to look at myself in the mirror and say "You did it."

For a girl who has long believed she is not capable of doing most things...this is a big step. One that probably should have been taken about 20 years ago, but better late than never.

So with that in mind...I submit to you the following pathetic update. And I'm sorry about the hair. Running does not lend itself to looking good.

To Let

I feel like I may have mentioned this in passing in a recent blog post, but my quick scan of them didn't uncover it, so I'll not worry about investing a lot of time in tracking it down.

Whenever God brings something up multiple times in my day/week/life, I figure He's trying to make a point and I need to sit up and take notice.

And lately, this little word has popped up quite frequently: let.

God's been awfully busy in my heart in general in recent days. I'm in learning mode, and I love it. Well. I mostly love it.

I love it that He finds me worth teaching. I love it that He's investing time and effort in me. I love it that He trusts me with the paths He's directed me to walk. I love it that we get to have intimate heart chats where I hear Him in that way I've come to know.

But here's where that word keeps surfacing.

Let means to allow. To permit.

He wants to work on me. But the only way He can is if I let Him.

I was reading my Experiencing God study this week and read these words: "The moment they made the necessary changes, God began to accomplish His purposes through them."

In other words?

Once they let Him work in them...things began to happen.

I know God is calling me to new paths right now. They're exciting, they're new, they're unknown, they're scary in a good way...and I believe He has big things waiting on the other side of the journey.

But only if I let Him.

If I permit Him.

If I allow Him.

I already knew I wanted to let Him, but look at this one other sentence from Experiencing God: "Unless you are ready to make any change necessary to follow and obey what God has said, you will be of little use to God."

I know I don't want that!

So I must let Him.

Children's Fest

So.... Friday afternoon, I was scheduled to work at the Children's Fest in Fort Wayne. Hadn't worked that one before, so I was kind of excited about it!

Sheryl and I were assigned to be on duty together, so we wore our cute little matching shirts and headed out to spend the afternoon recording kids who wanted to have their few minutes of being a DJ!

But there was a tiny technological glitch...when we arrived, we found out the laptop was feeling ill...and without that, we couldn't record...so we had to take down our sign. Sadness indeed.

While we waited for an update on the health of the laptop, we discovered our IT guy had left his prized jacket at the booth. (That is a dedicated employee who will let the prized jacket out of his sight for one minute in the name of taking care of work problems!) He and his wife are expecting a baby and she was trying to win back naming rights...so we thought maybe if we snagged the jacket and held it for ransom, he'd let her name the baby.

Sadly we pulled a ROOKIE mistake and turned our backs for one minute when he returned and he snatched the jacket...and our plan...right away from us.

We did get to enjoy a mini-parade during the afternoon! How glad was I to NOT be in a character costume on a hot sunny day??

Little bit of Mandisa's "Good Morning" song. (NO I didn't really sing it out loud.)

Have you seen this? It's called GREEN GRASS. They had some out there. Quite the phenomenon.

I popped over to see a couple of minutes of Jim Barron's illusion show while we were there - he had quite the crowd watching!

Even though we had to go to plan B on what to do for the afternoon, we still had fun. Love working with Sheryl!

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday afternoon, I got to go swimming!! I was house sitting for a friend of mine who has a pool (always say yes to house sitting for pool owners!) and it was a pretty warm afternoon, so I decided to take advantage of the pool at hand. Not gonna lie - it was pretty fantastic.

* Monday evening I had dinner with Jenny! Hadn't seen her for a long time and bless her precious, long-suffering heart, she sat for far longer than she should have listening to my stories.

* Tuesday evening I hit the kitchen to make apple cheesecake bars...which I made a couple of weeks ago for work. MAN they are good. And for the first time ever in my cooking career, I cut myself with the big bad knife. (Don't worry - no harm came to the food.) But I learned an important lesson: purchase band aids BEFORE you need them.

* Wednesday evening I went to see Julie Crandall and we went out for dinner - just the three of us. (Three being Julie, me, and her darling baby boy.) So good to catch up with her - and on the way home, check out this amazing sunset!

* Thursday morning I drove to work in a HORRIBLE rainstorm. Weeks and weeks of no rain and when it does show up, it has to be a downpour you can't see to drive through. I slowed down to 35 on the interstate and turned on my hazard lights to make sure people could see me. I'm little!!! I didn't get a picture of the rain. Just imagine the heart of a car wash, minus the soap. :)

* Friday afternoon I worked with my friend Sheryl at the station booth for the Children's Fest. More on that to come, but it was a fun afternoon with a good friend!

* And yesterday I was thrilled to spend the entire day RESTING. It was such a beautiful day and I loved not having any scheduled plans for the whole day. Just got to sit, relax, write, do laundry, clean up, cook, and ENJOY. And since I didn't do my hair - there will be NO photo.

One Thousand Gifts. Friday evening when I drove home from work, I got 1/2 mile from my exit and got held up in traffic. Took me a half hour to get that last half mile and later I found out further down the road there had been a 3 car pile up that resulted in a fatality. My heart ached for the people involved and I was reminded that safety in and of itself is a deep gift. So thankful for God's protection on me as I've driven around this past year!

Pinterest Inspiration. I'm still on the hunt for the perfect waffle recipe. (Got a waffle maker for Christmas.) This may or may not be it, but it was good!

Source: allrecipes.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

Promised Lands

Do y'all ever read anything by Holley Gerth? She's a writer for Dayspring and I really enjoy her writing style.

Yesterday she wrote this post, which I think would be worth your time to hop over and check out. As I read it, God used her words to do a little heart-work in me. (And I am not gonna lie to you...I've been heart-work-project-number-one this week. I'm POOPED!)

This was the part that got me: "It always takes a step of faith to get to the Promised Land. Always. And if you wait until you’re unafraid, you’ll never cross."

When I was dating Isaac, and he told me he had to go into his wilderness alone and I couldn't come with him, one of my first questions was "Are you planning to come back for me so we can go into the Promised Land?" (Because we had already talked about getting married and we'd begun planning our forever life together.) He said yes.

During the conversation we had when we broke up, he told me he couldn't go into the Promised Land with me - but he hoped I would find my Joshua who would go with me.

Not exactly what a girl wants to hear.

But, months later, when my heart began to calm down from the excruciating pain of being left - of knowing someone else was chosen to fulfill the role I'd been promised - I began to pray for Joshua. Began to pray that God would indeed send a Joshua who wouldn't be too afraid to enter a Promised Land with me.

And in all those prayers, it was always about Joshua. About praying for God to prepare HIS heart to find me. To lead me. To love me.

It never once occurred to me that I should spend some time praying for myself. That after the hurts I've been through, I might end up being too scared to take a step of faith toward the Promised Land.

Isn't that exactly what happened to the Israelites? Moses lost his privilege of taking them into the Promised Land...he raised up Joshua to be equal to the task and then OH WAIT!!! The nation chickened out. Sure the land was everything they'd hoped of and more...but did you see those obstacles? Yeah it's too scary. We'll stay here. Thanks!

I still believe the Promised Land will be mine someday. I'm excited about it. But in the meantime, I've switched up my prayers a bit...praying for the courage to take whatever steps of faith are necessary to get there. That I won't spend so much time waiting to be unafraid that I just never cross at all.

I don't know what your Promised Land is. But I do know getting there will require facing some obstacles. None that can't be overcome with the Lord's leading. They aren't obstacles to Him, you know. They're opportunities to display His glory.

But don't be so afraid that you miss the bounty of the promise. It's so worth it.

Audience of One?

I've been pondering this one for a few days, so I thought I'd write about it.

I mean this part with much love in my heart...please know that.

I have some friends who love stats. Blog stats. Facebook stats. Website stats. How many hits? What are the peak hours? How do you drive up the number of comments and likes and followers? They are happiest when discovering and analyzing the stats and adjusting everything about their practices to increase the traffic flow.

To be honest?

I struggle with that. For the longest time, I didn't even know Blogger kept track of stats unless you added a site meter. Then one of my friends showed me and suddenly I found myself visiting that page a lot. Which posts did people like? Was I appropriately tugging at heartstrings? Did I share vulnerably enough? Too much?

I decided right then I wouldn't add a public site meter to my page. I wouldn't add the box to show how many followers I have.

Because I don't want that to be the point of the blog.

The blog is about keeping track of what I've done (sort of a backup scrapbook) and the lessons I've learned along the way. Sharing with you life and heart and hoping you like hanging out here enough to stay. But if you don't...it's okay. I still want to write. Still want to share.

Last week, Lynne gave me an article she found in a magazine...it was about Ann Voskamp. You know how I love her writing. This part at the end of the article addressed her blog and blew me away:

I've never had comments. I've never installed a site meter on it. So I was never thinking there was anyone really out there.

Ann Voskamp's blog (I would guess) is read by thousands of women every day. But she doesn't open comments and she doesn't keep track of the traffic. It's her ministry space. And she keeps it sacred that way. When asked if she has any idea how many readers she has, she said,

I feel it's like David taking a census. This is for God to do whatever God wants to do. When you write, it's to an audience of one. It's to Him. If He takes it to one person and changes or influences or encourages one person, that counts. Jesus left the 99 for the one.

Makes me think. Do I do that? Despite my lack of posted follower stats or site meter stats, does my heart really write for an audience of one? Do I live to please HIM and let HIM take my words and actions where He may?

10,000 Reasons

This year, I'm taking the 1000 Gifts challenge from Ann Voskamp's book by the same name. I'm actually about to reach the 1000 mark and have loved developing an attitude that looks for the beautiful things in each day. And my GOODNESS are there ever a lot of beautiful things in each day!

And for all the searching for even the tiniest of 1000 gifts...it doesn't end at 1000.

I adore this song. Makes me cry.



The part that gets me is in the final verse: Soon my soul will sing your praise unending; 10,000 years and then forevermore.

Can't even wrap my mind around an entire existence that is entry after entry in a gratitude journal. Blessing, praising, and knowing that every second with Him is a gift. Praise unending.

 Not just 1000 gifts.

Not just 10,000 reasons.

10,000 years and forevermore.

What's Up with Bad Body Image?

What a post title to follow up yesterday's about evil swimsuit shopping, huh?

A few weeks ago, Lynne ran across some magazine articles that talked about the increased problems of bad body image and even eating disorders...in women. Grown women. Don't we normally preach at teenage girls about that?

Apparently it's something we don't outgrow when we kiss the teen years goodbye. So we're doing a show on it...today.

I'm sure there are as many reasons at the heart of the issue as there are women who struggle with it, but I'll not shy away from telling you...this one's a rough one for me, too.

I've struggled with my weight my entire life. I remember being in elementary school and sneaking a pair of scissors into my room to try to cut the band of some of my clothes so I wouldn't feel them cutting into my skin. (Mom caught me and therein was our first weight discussion.)

Two years ago, I lost a significant amount of weight. I'd dearly love to tell you how much it was, but I don't get weighed, so I don't know. I do know it amounted to four dress sizes in three months. I hated the way I lost the weight (love life drama) but I loved finally feeling thin for the first time in my life.

My clothes hung on me and things that never fit...did. I loved it. And then I bought new clothes...that fit...and suddenly I looked in the mirror and felt fat again. Seriously. when I look in the mirror, I see this girl:

Why is that? Why does the appropriate clothing size bring back the feeling of fat?

As Lynne and I talked about it, I told her I don't WANT to feel that way. I don't WANT to run around worrying that everything is back to being the way it was. I don't WANT to worry that when I get married, I won't believe my husband when he tells me I'm beautiful because I'll look in the mirror and see hugey mchugerson.

I want to look in the mirror and be thankful for the gift of the weight loss and be confident that the girl I am...is okay...even if she has a bit of a tummy.

So looking forward to the conversation on the air today. Hoping to learn why we women think the way we do. Why we struggle to understand the importance of health over the importance of matching the bodies we see in magazines.

Why we choose to obsess over weight rather than bask in the freedom of Christ.

Evil Swimsuit Shopping

Dear guys who read my blog: Sorry about today's topic. Probably an eye-roller for you.

I had to go swimsuit shopping this summer. I say I "had to" because here's how it went down. I sent some pictures from my last lake visit to my family so they could see the fun (read: be jealous). Got a response from my sister that said, "You need a new swimsuit."

What!?!?!? That one is only 2 years old. In Bekah years I've barely owned it five minutes! So I asked her why, and she said I was in a very bad place when I bought that suit...and it was several pounds ago, as well. (True and true. But don't tell her I said that.) I argued that she was WITH me when I got it, so if it was bad...why not say something then? She said she didn't dislike the suit but I needed something more festive.

And apparently, something that fit. (However, I say to you - does spandex really "fit" 95% of the population? NO!)

So I went swimsuit shopping and I made the following observations, which I would like to share with you at this time.

Ahem.

1. Swimsuits are WAY too expensive. I have purchased BEDSPREADS that cost less than swimsuits, and they have 2398472389047294723098% more material in them.

2. The day of the one piece suit (for me) is over. Sure they hide a lot (well. Sometimes. More on that in a later point) but I shoot them down with one scenario: bathroom break. Have you ever tried to reinstall a wet swimsuit peeled off for the ever so brief potty break? Kind of makes you wish you didn't believe the rumor that pool water changes color if you pee.... (Do NOT tell my mother I said that in print.)

3. Purchasing a two piece suit (that matches in any fashion) is nearly impossible once sale season hits. Have you ever noticed there are twice as many tops for sale as bottoms? Kind of makes you wonder what kind of beaches the people shopping in your store frequent, doesn't it?

4. Purchasing suits prior to the ill-matched sale season is just dumb. See point #1.

5. Back to the one piece suit...whatever that style is called where basically the entire mid-section of the one piece is contoured out, leaving it to basically be a bikini with a big knot connecting it in the front and back...is not flattering on most women. And those who choose to wear it are...most women. I saw one at the beach the other day that made me shiver in fright. Did she not SEE a mirror before she left home? Shoot, she didn't even need a mirror. JUST LOOK DOWN!!! IT'S NOT THE SUIT FOR YOU!!!!

6. Solid color suits are so unforgiving. Designs hide a multitude of dimples and rolls.

7. It is actually true that dimples and rolls are ONLY cute on babies and toddlers. It is also actually true that having given BIRTH to babies does not mean you are still one. See #6.

8. Shopping on a fat day is....unwise.

8. Checking out in the maternity section makes you feel much better about the entire experience.

Despite these things...I did find a suit. It is teal with a coral flower, which hopefully redeems me in my sister's eyes from the "dark" suit I was wearing before. I found a top and bottom that seemed to at least coordinate. It was on sale, which means I did not have to take out a second mortgage to afford it.

I'll shop again circa 2018.

Parade Time is Here Again!

Last year, right before I came to work at the station, I got an email from Jamie asking if I'd possibly be able to participate in a parade the very first week I worked. So after about 4 days of employment, I got up early on a Saturday, headed to Fort Wayne and worked the Three Rivers Festival Parade.

I was pretty excited to find out I was assigned the parade again this year! This was the official parade crew: Ken, Lynne, Ross, moi, and Scott. (And of course a little Michael W. Smith and Natalie Grant just for kicks.)

Want to know what I did NOT do in the parade? Ride the trikes. They were no easier to navigate than they had been last year! (They steer with the back wheels, which is backwards to me, and as you can see, they were set for someone MUCH taller than I!)

Ah yes. Something more my capability level. :) Carrying the banner! I was so excited to carry it with Lynne this year. (Any day I get to hang out with her is a good day.)

Yeah. We weren't doing this AFTER the parade, let me tell ya. We were lucky to have that thing off the GROUND. We were entry #152 of probably 170 or so....so the parade had been underway for a full hour before we even started moving. By that time we were sweating and the sun was h.o.t.

To run/walk/keep pace/wave/smile/carry the banner (evenly...when we're two very different heights) was a challenge. Halfway through, Lynne said to me, "Was this easier to carry when you weren't with someone who was different in height?" I said, "Well, last year I carried it with Larry." (Larry is over 6 feet tall, I'm sure.)

Scott and Ross CAN navigate the trikes. :)

It was SO HOT out and by the end of the parade, I just wanted water and air conditioning. It took me a while to feel good again, but it was still SUCH fun. (Especially when people who don't know you at all yell your name because it's on your shirt and they can!!)

The funniest part, though, I gotta tell you, was this. I texted Lynne the day before and said, "Hey can you DVR the parade so I can take pictures for the scrapbook?"

She answered, "Yes my dear Bekah. I can do that for you." I knew she was laughing at me. It never occurred to me that she wasn't familiar with the concept of taking pictures of something on TV for the sake of the scrapbook. Oh I have so much to teach her. :)

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday some friends of mine invited me out for lunch after church. I resisted taking pictures, as I would like to associate with them again and didn't want to forever be pegged with "Remember that time we took Bekah to lunch and she took pictures of everyone's plates?" :) But can I just say that was one rockin' good tenderloin? (I love a good breaded tenderloin. MMMMM.)

* Monday I was thrilled to have Lynne back in the office with me. MAN I missed her last week. Loved giggling with her all day. The day itself, other than loving having her back, was pretty basic. Nothing exciting to report.

* So Tuesday night I decided to head to the fair! (As you already saw...) Didn't plan to go this year but I really like walking around (read: eating walking tacos and sugar covered almonds) so I went with my friend Amber. We had a great time walking around (eating walking tacos and sugar covered almonds) and running into friends!

* Wednesday, I'm not sure what my deal was, but I could not get my brain to work right to save my life!! I was crazy distracted all day at work...kept forgetting things...and a couple of times made a complete idiot of myself. (If you're going to be an idiot, be a complete one, right?) So that night I made cake mix cookies. Haven't made those FOREVER. Chocolate happiness on a cookie sheet. YES PLEASE!!!!!

* Thursday at work, we had a cookout, courtesy of our leadership team, to thank us for our hard work. It was SO good. Burgers on the grill and fruit and chips and salads...and best of all...for dessert....my very first time EVER with a chocolate fountain!!!! Not gonna lie....LOVED IT.

* Friday was a rather exciting day...purchased a new swimsuit (much more on that to come)....had two humiliating moments at work...more on that later, too. And speaking of work. Remember the sign on my desk that keeps mysteriously getting altered? It continues:

* Yesterday I came full circle in my job...and was in the Three Rivers Festival Parade, which was the first event I was ever in when I came to work at the station! It was a hot one out there - but I had fun carrying the banner with the lovely Lynne Ford!

One Thousand Gifts: Seems silly, perhaps, but I've been grateful to have cooler temps this week. For a broken thermostat girl like me, any day that's merely two digits is a gift! I remember walking out the door each morning and NOT feeling smacked in the face by heat already. Grateful for the relief!

Pinterest Inspiration: Mine is still a work in progress...but here it is! I needed a way to display some bucket-ish list ideas. (It's not a true bucket list but it's an accomplishment list. Found this idea:

Source: thefoleyfam.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

And here is my version of it:

I bought the basket at the dollar store and I had the clothespins left over from the clothespin mirror I made earlier this year. Once I have the pins written on, I'll dump them in the basket and as I pull out "near future" ideas, I"ll clip them to the side! So excited to see what all it brings about!

4H Fair, Baby!

One tradition I have every year is to go to the 4H fair in the county where I grew up. I've never been to any other county fair but I hear from those who hobby at such things, that it's one of the better ones!

Last time I went was two years ago, with Isaac. I needed a new memory. So...earlier this week, I made my way to the fair with my friend Amber in tow!

What do you do at the fair, you might ask? (And you might not. But for the sake of the blog post, let's pretend you did!)

Well, there's always the pig racing. You know. With the Swifty Swine. We watched...no participation.

And eating a walking taco. I love the tenderloins in the Lions Club building and usually split one with my mom (since they are the size of North Dakota) but this year mom wasn't there to share with me, so I did the walking taco instead. YUM. I also ate an entire bag (it was small; don't lecture me) of sugared almonds. Yum. Next year I aspire to try fried mushrooms and fried pickles. And an elephant ear. (Love those. Just ran out of room in my tummy this year!)

Found me a new house. At least it won't take long to clean!!

Watched the acrobats. The person on the right is riding a motorcycle around a track suspended in the air. The person on the left is an acrobat. Praise the Lord this is not my job! (The trailer in the front is the medic trailer. Appropriately placed, no?)

Amber and I went through the 4H buildings to see the projects...and this was my favorite. Mini 4H, so this kid is SUPER young. But isn't it just darling? In case of emergency....Kall P11!!!!

A great night...ran into some people I knew....saw some people wearing TRAGIC outfits...and loved every minute of it!

Confessions of a Pack Rat

I've mentioned before that I'm a bit of a....uh....ahem....well-packed traveler when it comes to going to work. I'd love to blame it on the commute, but truth be told, I carry no more with me now than I did at my old job.

It's a 3 bag process to get to work most days. (Plus a coffee cup, which is too precious of cargo to trust to any pocket in a bag. It must be held in my hands.)

I was discussing this yesterday with one of my friends who doesn't quite understand the need for so much stuff just for work.

I'm sure you'll understand.

First there is the Mary Poppins bag. That's my purse and travels with me wherever I go. I have lovingly dubbed it the Mary Poppins purse because it's big enough to hold a lamp and a mirror! (And whatever else she hid in there. The spoonful of sugar?)

Then there is the work bag. It carries:

* Lint roller. (HEY. I have a cat. All black pants days require the lint roller.)

* Pencil bag full of pens, pencils and highlighters. (Because you never know when you'll open your Bible and need to mark a verse.)

*And speaking of Bible, it's in there too. And I don't have the thin line travel edition. I have the study Bible with 60,932 translators notes in it. Because I'm a word nerd that way.


* Toothbrush. Because sometimes you just need THAT.


* Water bottle. Because I heart water. (Was that even believable???)

* Body spray. (Never know when you might need a pick me up!

* Camera/phone chargers. (Self explanatory.)

* Umbrella. (Not needed THIS summer, apparently!!!)

* Journal. (Because I might need to write something down.)

* Journal. (Yes again.)

* Journal. (Stop asking!! YES! They're all different.)

* Experiencing God workbook.

* Whatever book I"m reading at the moment.


And then there's my lunchbox. It carries my lunch. (Sometimes whole loaves of bread if I forget to have time to pack the night before.)

What!

Is this NOT your  work luggage??

Because Sometimes You Need Joy

I spend a lot of time hurrying. Hurrying through the store so I can get home and do chores...which I hurry through so I can go work out...which I (attempt to) hurry through so I can be done...so I can hurry somewhere else.

Hurry, hurry, hurry.

And of course, at every turn, are interruptions. Slow lines and stupid drivers and people who have somehow awakened with (no doubt) the goal of being my number one annoyance of the day.

Where did joy go?

Where did the smiles go? The pausing to find 1000 gifts hidden in a life? Am I too busy to see them? Sometimes I am.

Yesterday, one of the girls I work with sent this video to the office, and Lynne and I stopped to watch it. The music itself gave me goose bumps, but what I loved most were the people in the crowd.

The kids climbing up light poles to see...

...the babies bouncing to the beat...

...the just-as-hurried-as-I-am men and women pausing to catch their breath and smile.

We need those moments.

Seriously. Need them.




Find some joy in the little moments today?

Bekah Meets the Golf Course

Last Saturday was another new adventure in Bekahland.

Golf.

Lynne's husband loves to golf and he was in charge of organizing a golf outing to raise scholarship money. He asked if I'd be willing to be the photographer for the day.

Let me think. A chance to hang out with Lynne all day, say I've been to a golf course, and play with my camera? OKAY!!!!!!!!!

And so it was that I made my way to an honest to goodness golf club. (I felt so official.)

Aren't they cute? All the little golf carts lined up in a row with labels on them for who would be in what cart. (I'm sure the guys would just die if they knew I called their carts "cute." So do me a favor and don't tell them.)

This outing was quite well orchestrated....the TV station showed up for an interview and everything! Even had little drink holders for it...

Y'all - it was HOT. HOT. This girl does NOT do heat, so I did everything I could to keep cool. I sported my new golf skirt (see, I told you I bought it for a reason!) and my ruffly little tank top. (And yes, I asked first if tank tops were allowed. I'm a golf idiot but I know there are dress code rules and I asked about my entire outfit before I wore it.) No jewelry (other than rings and earrings) so as not to get a weird tan line. Mom bought me a visor to complete my look, and I crammed my hair up in a ponytail to keep it out of my way!

I call this piece "Lynne and Bekah work the sign in table." My shirt was soaked from sweating just sitting there. That is 30 kinds of not right.

My one bit of relief: we were this close to a really big hospital. HA!

Did I mention this was an AFTERNOON golf outing?????? Oh my word. So hot. Anyway. Lynne and I were in charge of the drink cart. (Non-alcoholic beverages only, thankyouverymuch.) Isn't it the cutest cart in the whole world????

Ummmm. Yeah. About operating the cart. If I could have taken video footage of Lynne trying to get that thing going the first time, you'd absolutely DIE laughing. We were parked on a little porch outside the clubhouse and we looked like Steve Urkel trying to get that thing going. We almost took out a table, a massive potted plant and a couple of roof supports making our way to the road. By the time we got to the path for the carts, y'all, we lost the golfers. We were laughing so hard!!!!

We finally found them and then....we realized the operating instructions were buried under a piece of paper taped to the steering wheel!!

Just to prove I actually did take pictures of the event and not just goofy pictures of us....

Our cute little cart. We were GUZZLING iced tea and water. It was blistering hot. (Although on the cart, it wasn't so bad....we went fast enough to get a good little breeze generating.) (And then there was the one time we sideswept a set of bushes.) (On my side.)

I rode like this so as to work on wiping out the band-aid tan lines on my feet. This might be how I almost fell out when we took that one corner kinda fast....

I call this piece "caught in a sprinkler." It felt SO GOOD - but I (of course) didn't want to get the camera wet. So I shoved it under my shirt and stayed in the sprinkler!!

Such a fun day. I had taken about 100 pictures by the time it was half done, and since I still had to drive home and it was 100 degrees (not kidding) outside, Lynne said I could go. So I did. I smelled VILE. But I had a fun, fun day!! And I can say with much certainty that this is NOT the sport for me.