What I Learned in June

Well, my friends, June's a wrap! Can you believe it?!? Memorial Day feels like a thousand years ago, and I'm sure in a month, I'll be saying the same thing about the fourth of July! It's been a busy month of learning for my little brain. Some tidbits you may or may not need to know include...

1. You can have a new key made for a lawn mower.

In the great key misplacing of 2016 {featured on a podcast story earlier this month} I had a mild major panic attack, because one of the misplaced keys was to our lawn mower. We just bought it {used} off a friend, and he didn't give us a spare. And I don't even know that he had a spare to give us, because it was used when he got it as well. So in my mind, here we were with a "new" mower that had only been ours for about a month, and we were going to have to buy and maintain a goat, because we lost the mower key. About two hours into the panic attack, Ryan casually mentioned mowers can be re-keyed. WHAT?! I did not know this!


2. Mangoes? Not my favorite.

I have learned throughout the course of this health-finding journey that I enjoy a great many foods I did not know I liked. Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes top that list. So when mangoes were on sale at the store earlier this month, Ryan suggested we get a couple and try them. I was eager to try, because I was on a new-food-loving roll! But it turns out I really don't care for them. I feel like a bit of a fruit failure, but I like most of the rest of the fruit family, so I will try not to mourn the dismissal of the mango. {Or maybe it wasn't the best mango and I should try again?}

3. You should water your flowers in the morning or evening, not in the heat of the day.

You all probably knew this already. But I'm so NOT a green thumb and it's a wonder anything plantish has ever survived under my care. I can't remember what I was reading this month that told me this little tidbit, but it was news to me. I figure the flowers that live here are lucky IF I remember to water them. And IF I remember at two in the afternoon, I better get up right then and do it or I might not remember again come evening! But I've been doing my best to water at the appropriate time of day. {Why it's appropriate? No idea. I can only absorb so much information at once.}

4. Moms are even more amazing than I knew.

I'm not a mom and have always acknowledged that being a mom is hard work. But earlier this month, I watched our two nephews and one niece for a whole day, and by 5:00, I had developed a brand new sort of appreciation for the work moms do. These three kiddos are great kids. They are well-mannered and fun and in no way make me crazy. But when Ryan got home from work and I gleefully reported that I had managed to UNLOAD THE DISHWASHER that day - and realized that was actually all I accomplished - I realized just what a huge job parenting is. The kids were dressed, the babies were in clean diapers, everyone had eaten something at some point and some had napped twice. No one was crying {including me!} and an impressive gaggle of photos represented the day. But the house was a disaster and the only work I accomplished was unloading the dishwasher. Moms? You rock.

5. Smoke alarms can expire.

Ryan and I were painting in our garage last week when the smoke alarm went off. Actually, to be fair, EVERY smoke alarm in our entire house went off. There are six. Do you know how shrill six smoke alarms sound in unison? For the record, there was absolutely no fire {thank you, Jesus!} and we called Ryan's cousin, who is a firefighter, to get insight on why this might be happening and HOW TO MAKE IT STOP! He suspected one of the six had gone bad and if we could find the one, we could eliminate the deafening screams. Ryan did just that and upon removing the offending alarm, he said, "Oh! This needed to be replaced five years ago." I had no idea those things could expire! So keep an eye on milk AND smoke alarms! 

 6. My first year off work was 100% not what I expected...and I had no expectations!

June 26 marked one full year since I left the full time work force to become a stay at home wife and writer/speaker. I had no idea what to expect with this career change. I was simply following what I felt God urging me to do and leaving the rest up to Him. What unfolded was not at all what I expected, but it has been one beautiful year. I recapped it here last week, in case you missed that post, but I walk away from June grateful for a good first full year off work and amazed at the beauty of the wildly unexpected.  

7. I am a fan of parchment paper.

I bought my first roll of parchment paper years ago, because a recipe I made said I needed it. I owned that roll for years, wondering why I wasted money on one little recipe. But I have noticed a number of clean-eating recipes recommend using parchment paper when you bake, so I started using it more, and then I started using it for EVERYTHING I bake on a cookie sheet, because cleanup goes so much faster. I hate, hate, hate scrubbing dishes. {Truth? Ryan does 95% of the dishes that have to be washed by hand. He doesn't mind it and knows I hate it with all my being.} Parchment speeds that process up so much. It's my new cooking best friend.  

So that is what I've learned in June! Emily Freeman is hosting a link-up with many other very wise bloggers, so if you want to learn even more, check it out!

 

Sweet Potato Chips

A few of you asked me for this recipe, so I made it a few nights ago so I could share it with you!

Let me start by saying that until this clean eating adventure, I did not know I liked sweet potatoes. Correction: I knew I did not like sweet potatoes. The only way I had ever eaten them was on Thanksgiving, drowned in marshmallows, butter, and pecans. Now doesn't that sound just like something I would adore? Vegetables masked with sugar and more sugar? It does, and I still don't know why I didn't like it, but I didn't. I tried them every few years, just to see if my tastes had changed, but they had not.

But I learned when I started clean eating, that sweet potatoes were one of the vegetables I was allowed to have, so I was determined to learn to like them.

I started making this as a substitute for fries, serving them alongside turkey burgers, and I found out...I really like them!

They are pretty quick to put together, don't take long to bake, and while they aren't the same as greasy French fries, I do find them delicious and a much healthier alternative! And perhaps, with time, I will learn to like sweet potatoes fixed other ways, too!

Sweet Potato Chips

* 1 medium sweet potato
* 1 egg white
* 1 Tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
* 1/3 teaspoon seasoned salt
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

 Wash and dry the sweet potato and cut it in the shape of chips or fries as desired. Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil and arrange fries/chips on sheet. Brush with half the egg white. Mix together the parmesan, seasoned salt, and garlic powder and sprinkle half of it over the chips/fries. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, remove from the oven, flip them over, brush with the other half of the egg white and sprinkle on the other half of the cheese mixture. Return to the oven and bake for 10 more minutes. Serve warm!

 A Few Tips:

* If you hate the skin of a potato, you can peel the sweet potato, but the skin is actually very good for you, and I'm also too lazy to peel potatoes, so I just leave the skin on. I wash and dry it really well before I slice it.


* I always cut mine like chips so they bake faster and are a bit crispier. If you prefer, you can cut them like fries. Totally a personal preference thing!

* I use a silicone brush to brush half the egg white on the pan. Spoiler alert: If you drip some egg white on the pan by accident, it will bake up like a fried egg! Not that I know this from experience....

* Also, I've learned to put parchment paper on my baking sheet for easier cleanup. I hate scrubbing dishes. 

* These do bake faster, and are in my opinion, crispier in the oven, but you can also grill them if you prefer. Just keep an eye on them to know when you need to flip them and have them be done. I think Ryan probably had them out there on the grill somewhere between a half hour and forty minutes. Part of that will depend on the strength of your grill, of course.

* If you want, you can add other spices: oregano or chili powder would work well! The more you add, the less you'll notice the sweet taste, so if you prefer that it tastes more savory, just add a bit more of those spices on to put that taste back at the front.

* If you warm these over in the microwave, they will be softer, so either warm them up in the oven to crisp them back up, or be prepared for softer chips/fries. They still taste great. Just not as crispy.

A Scattered Little Date

Well, people, we have outdone ourselves. In the land of things that would only happen to the Shaffers, we had a real doozy last week. We have been saving it to share in this week's Spill the Beans, so...enjoy.

 Click to listen.

Ryan had last Saturday off work, and the alarm went off wayyyyyyyyyyyy too early after our late night out at the drive-in. But we wanted to hit some garage sales first thing that day, because we were in search of a baby gate.

THIS IS NOT AN ANNOUNCEMENT. I repeat: this is not an announcement.

 Now that we are finishing off the garage {please see above podcast for that debacle}, we have the potential of leaving the door open to said garage if we're using it as extended living space for that moment, but we do not want Braeya to think for one moment that she is allowed out there, because that's just dangerous for when the garage is a garage. So we wanted to get a baby gate to keep her out.

About 8:10, we wandered up the driveway of the first sale we saw, hoping for a win, because the lady had about two dozen Pampers boxes stacked just inside the door. We asked if she was open yet, and she said not quite, but we were welcome to look around while she finished setting up. Ryan said, "Well, actually we're just looking for a baby gate. Do you happen to have one?"

She said, "Honey, you know what? I have two, and they're not for sale, but they're right up there on that shelf. You  just get them down and take them."

Even though I do not know this woman at all, I felt compelled to rush and explain that we needed it for a cat and not a baby, and ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh she loves cats. Has two. And if this is for a cat, then we were not even allowed to pay. Just take it for the kitty.

And that is how we went back home at 8:15, after visiting one sale, paying nothing, and hauling off TWO baby gates.

We picked up my friend Kari and went out to breakfast together, where we learned that IHOP really does hop on Saturday mornings!

And then we went to an outdoor market {like a craft vendor market} to check it out. I may or may not have made a couple of purchases!!

Ryan planned to spend the bulk of the day pressure washing the house and mowing the yard, so I hung out inside with his mom, working on my scrapbook!

But then...our evening date rolled around! We found out one of the subdivisions in town was having a free fireworks show, so of course we had to go!

We didn't actually know WHERE in the subdivision they were going to set them off, so we just sort of picked a spot.

Turns out we were pretty close!

LOL!!!!

It was a good little display, and I was glad we happened to be so close, because some of the really cool fireworks were lower to the ground and we still got to see them!

A fun and free date - to wrap up a day that started with fun and free gates!

A Little Friday Night Fun

I worked on our scrapbook yesterday, trying to catch up the month of June. Not only has this month been packed full of scrapbookable events, but this entire QUARTER has been packed full. I am a healthy combination of grateful and exhausted!

We had a fun little weekend, and I wanted to tell you about one of our dates!

The summer after we got married, Ryan planned a surprise date for us {still one of my most favorite dates he has ever planned} that took us to our first movie together...at the drive-in!

It was such a fun night. The weather was perfect, he had packed a dinner for us to eat there, and we cuddled up in the back of the car and watched Monsters University. And if I hadn't been smack in the middle of a gallbladder attack that night, it might well have been the perfect evening!

We rarely go to movies at the theater because we are too cheap, so we can still probably count on one hand the number of times we've gone, but this weekend, we went again...and once again, we went to the drive-in!

This time we went to see Finding Dory {no, we don't always watch kids' movies!} and it was again, a delightful evening. Ryan's mom was staying with us this particular day, and we didn't want to be lousy hosts who didn't provide dinner, so we ate together with her at home before we left, and when we arrived, the place was packed. But we found a couple of spots left in the front row, and we actually prefer that at the drive-in, so we rolled right in and fluffed up our car pallet!

I posted about our date on Instagram and it was in the Shuffle yesterday, and I had a few questions about where this particular screen is and how long it's been there! Here's the link to the story {it's been around since 1951} and also some info about prices and season passes for any of you who are local and interested.

We both had long weeks and didn't spend a lot of time on our appearance that day, so I apologize for our slightly bedraggled look.

Finding Dory was a cute little movie, and we had a blast watching it and spending time together!

Now that we've moved, this theater is just under an hour away from home, and since it didn't get dark until almost ten, it made for one late night, but it was such fun! Ryan's mom was asleep when we returned home, so we sneaked in and tried to be quiet, which as you might imagine, SO DID NOT WORK, but we did try!

Fun date - and if you're local, may I absolutely recommend this theater! {Bathrooms were even clean. I was impressed!!!}

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Was it really just last Sunday that was Father's Day? What in the world!? It seems like forever ago! We spent part of the day with my mom and dad, celebrating Father's Day with them, and it was a great day!

* Monday began a week of intense writing for me, so I holed up in in my office and typed away! Ryan's mom was admitted to the hospital that day, and we went to visit her after work. Isn't Ryan so cute carrying her pink blanket down the hallway? We continued the great garage makeover of 2016 that night, and I have to tell you, this was an evening YOU. WILL. NOT. BELIEVE. It is probably both a podcast segment AND a blog post in the making. I cannot even believe it myself.

* Tuesday, Ryan got off work early, and we had a little Lowe's date after he got home, looking at carpet and, of course, drinking coffee. After that? More garage painting fun. It never ends, people. I mean it literally, truly, never ends. 

* Guess what we did on Wednesday? More painting. Touch-ups in the garage and then we moved on to the painting project I loathed the most. It turns out when we painted our master bathroom {back when we were moving}, we accidentally used flat paint. It had terrible streaking issues, so we repainted the whole room in the same color, but using semi-gloss paint. I know it was good and necessary, but there's something maddening about redoing that kind of work.

* Thursday I served as the photographer for a going away party! That was something new and different for me. One of my friends recommended me to her mom, who needed the photographer for her place of work. I spent three hours capturing smiles and laughs and hugs and had a great time doing it. Know what Ryan had a great time doing? Playing with the power washer he borrowed from his step-dad.

* Friday, Ryan's mom was here with us {she stayed for a few days after she got out of the hospital} and we had a great time hanging out together while he worked. I baked cookies and we watched TV {I did squeeze in a workout} - and it was fun! That night, Ryan and I went on a date to the drive in to watch Finding Dory. Fun night!

 * Yesterday morning we went out to breakfast with one of our friends and then did some shopping at a market and garage sales. A fun start to the day! Ryan worked SO HARD on the house yesterday and last night, we went to see some fireworks here in town. Perfect way to wrap up the week!

The Saturday Six

One.

Source

For those of you NOT eating clean this summer, I have two words: THIS MILKSHAKE.

Two.

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I had to giggle at this! Are you volunteering at a VBS this summer? If so, you might identify with this funny little article. Ryan and I have both volunteered in the past, and we know! It can sometimes consume you and leave you, well, humming the theme song for weeks on end!

Three.

I thought this post spoke well of something we don't like to think of as truth {or even if we do, we certainly won't admit it out loud.} Sometimes we really don't want to be well from whatever spiritually ails us.  WHAT?! Except...it's true. Take a look!

Four.

Source

Convicting stuff, right here. Nine sins the church is surprisingly okay with as long as you love Jesus. Sadly, I think this is pretty spot-on. 

Five.

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While I am not an interior designer or decorator at all, I thought this article was really interesting in terms of struggling to know how much to charge for things like time and talent. I am SO TERRIBLE at that and am trying to learn to do better as I branch out into using my gifts that have to be labeled with a value in some way! 

Six.

Source

The book I read this week is not a new one, but it's new to me. Earlier this year, when I spoke at the Women's Break Away in Chilton, Wisconsin, Jennifer Sands was the conference keynote speaker. I was familiar with her from a time Lynne interviewed her when I worked at the station, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing her speak that weekend {we didn't get to hear her until the day after the conference when she shared her talk again at the church we attended}.

While at the conference, I purchased all three of her books, and this week I read the first one: A Tempered Faith.

If you're not familiar with Jennifer, she is a pharmacist from New Jersey, and her husband, Jim, was killed in the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11. {Much more has happened in her life and story since that day, but this was the focus of the first book.}

I want to mention up front that the book is not another angle of coverage of 9/11. It's not an unpacking of the events of the day from a new perspective, not a documentary on the day that changed the world. It's a story of deep love and tender grief after devastating loss. 

At the time of the attacks, Jennifer's faith was present, but immature. She prayed every day and attended church regularly, but she believed if she simply prayed, she would get what she asked for. And up to that point in her life, it seemed the tactic worked. She prayed regularly and everything turned out just as she asked - even the big things. But the morning of 9/11, she prayed for Jim's safety as he left for work, and her first big no shook everything she had ever understood about God and faith.

A Tempered Faith follows Jennifer's journey throughout the year or so after the 9/11 attacks, from her initial devastating grief and extreme anger toward God, through her many questions and eventual gentle understanding of the truth that God loves and sustains us even when we do not understand why He has allowed tragedy to befall us.

Jennifer introduces us to her husband, Jim, by allowing us to peek into their soul-mate marriage, and we also meet the friends God sent to her life to carry her through the hardest days she has ever known.

While most of us are not in the group of people who would understand the loss of a loved one to a terrorist attack, Jennifer's words address loss in general and are powerfully true in giving an explanation to the debilitating levels grief can reach.

The final chapter of the book wasmy favorite: a vulnerable peek into Jennifer's journal entries from the year following 9/11. After knowing the story and the timeline of her grief, questioning, and understanding, it was beautiful to watch her faith grow slowly in entry after entry. It was much like watching a baby grow through time lapse photography condensed into a few minutes. To read of her faith blossoming over the course of that year was inspiring.

The book is an easy read, conversational, and filled with hope in the middle of tragedy. I'm looking forward to reading the second and third books in the trilogy! 

One Year Later...

The date on the calendar this coming Sunday will mark one year since I left WBCL for the last time. One whole year, you guys. I truly cannot believe all that has taken place over this last calendar year. Proof that God really does abundantly above and beyond all we could ask or imagine.

This was a scary day. I was about to voluntarily {and obediently to the Lord} walk away from the job I dearly loved and had grown to be good at, and I had no idea what would be in front of me when the alarm went off the next morning...or the morning after that...or the morning after that.

But you know what's so great?

God knew. He knew all that would be ahead of us, and He knew I needed to be at home, free to handle all the details. {Details known only to Him.}

One. 

Even though it was not the predominant theme of the year, Ryan and I did get to actually rest some this year. I am not sure that people understood how very little rest we had enjoyed since getting married. Double commutes with jobs in health care and radio did not afford much down time. My being home to handle some of the day-to-day tasks gave us more time {even if not a LOT of time} to rest. I cherish it.

Two.

I spent many of the early weeks combing through every square inch of our house and purging all the boxes and truckloads of things we didn't need anymore. It was another task that had piled up since our wedding, and to finally be able to look through it all and weed out the excess was a blessing. It was freeing to simplify, and because I had the time to do so, I was able to sort, price, and arrange everything for a huge garage sale. We made enough money from that sale to pay for our vacation last fall. I was so thankful to be able to contribute that way!

Three.

 In the four years I worked at WBCL, I had time to read about four books. And all of them were work-related. Since leaving the station, I have had the privilege of reading a book every week, and it has been a delight to me. I love learning and honing my own writing craft through reading the words of others!

Four.

 Another thing I didn't have time to do while working? Write. I could blog, but I didn't have time for anything beyond that. In the year that I have been off work, I have written an entire book manuscript and am working to publish it. And the ideas for more that swirl in my head tell me I need to keep doing what I'm doing!

Five.

 We trained for and ran a race, which is something I would love to do again, but it was the first time we'd made time for this since we got married.

Six.

 Though we are still learning to have more time for this, we loved being able to actually have a little more time to spend with friends this year. Dinners and parties here and there, connecting and reconnecting in ways we never had time to do before!

Seven.

 We started serving more together at church - as greeters and coffee makers. We found areas where we can serve TOGETHER, and it was freeing to have the time to make those commitments!

Eight.

 In the spirit of serving together, we also hosted our first small group in our home, a group formed through our church. We led the group for six weeks and loved sharing with them every week. We are looking to lead another group starting this fall, because we loved the chance to do this before!

Nine.

 We missed radio, so we started our own podcast, now over 30 episodes strong, where we banter about life, tell funny stories, and share what we're learning from the Lord! This has been one of the biggest delights of our year!

Ten.

Perhaps the most unexpected change of the year was our move! I have no idea how people who work full time ever manage to sort, purge, pack, move, unpack, and settle! That was a lot of work and consumed a considerable amount of hours. But I was so thankful that I had the time in my schedule to do all that. With the exception of a few attic and garage items, I packed our entire house myself {with my OCD planner in tow} and did the lion's share of the painting, unpacking, and settling at our new place. Oh how we love being settled in our new home!

Eleven.

 The freedom in my schedule has also given me the freedom to add more speaking to my work, and I have loved preparing and sharing with women in different groups. I have also loved it that Ryan gets to accompany me to almost all the engagements. Looking forward to much more of this in the months to come!

Twelve.

And the biggest change? Losing almost 30 pounds in the last six months and feeling better than I ever have in my whole life. Our switch to a clean eating lifestyle with much more exercise has been really good for both of us.

All these things have happened in the last year, and I am profoundly grateful for God's provision for us in allowing me to stay home and manage these things. What a busy, full year, and while I do miss my friends at the station, and I miss being able to share like I did on the air, I adore being home, serving Ryan, writing, investing in friendships, investing in our marriage, and being free to be used by the Lord in ways I hadn't been able to for the last four years!