What I Learned in July

It's the last day of July! The month ahead brings a change in routine for many: vacations wrap up, school begins, and we look ahead toward a changing of seasons, though I'm personally not really ready to think about that yet! Even though school hasn't begun most places, we have been learning fools throughout July, and here are our highlights!

1. If we owned a coffee shop, we'd stay open late(r) on the 4th of July.

We've learned over the past five years that we pretty much have to get our fireworks coffee at McDonald's, because they're the only ones open late on the 4th. So we decided if we ever do own a coffee shop, we'd stay open for the coffee addicts. Do unto others, right?

2. Hour-long workouts = naps for Bekah.

I'm not sure if it's the intensity of the workouts or the length of them, but I have taken more naps this month than I have since I was three, I'm pretty sure. And Ryan seems to really enjoy capturing these moments. LOL!

3. My hair really wants to be blonde right now.

As hard as I try to weave the darker lowlights back in, only the blonde seems to stick. Ryan and my mom love it this light. I would like a little more contrast, but I can't figure out how to convince it to agree! 

4. If you have to be apart, at least do morning coffee over FaceTime.

Ryan and I had to be apart for THREE DAYS this month while I was at a writing/speaking conference. (If you're new here, you might not know that we really don't do apart very well at all.) But I got up early the days I was gone to sneak off and have coffee over FaceTime with him while he got ready for work. Sleep loss = worth it!

5. Missing the fair was miserable; having the fair come to me was delightful.

Because of bad weather and the aforementioned conference, I had to miss our county fair this year. I was exceedingly sad, as it is one of my most favorite things. But Ryan had to work the fair on Saturday evening (while I traveled home) and when I arrived, I discovered he brought home mushrooms and an elephant ear just for me. True love in a little fried food basket.

6. I am a high maintenance sleeper.

You might have heard about this on the podcast, but I learned while I was at the Speak Up conference that I am a high maintenance sleeper. Noise machine, nightlights, TV, diffuser...husband. So many needs!  

7. We enjoy escape rooms!

We had our first try with one this month and had fun! We would go back, for sure, and next time, we would take our own crew so we would know the people we're with! 

How about you? Learn anything this month? 

Linking up with Emily Freeman, who hosts the "What I Learned" series... 

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Can I tell you one of the things I love about our church? The choir!! I adore listening to choir music. So that was how my Sunday began last week, and apparently it exhausted me, because I went home and fell into a coma. So tired!!!! (But true to my promise last Sunday, it was a scrap-n-nap sort of day. That night, Ryan suggested a Frosty date, and who was I to argue?

* My mom had some phone issues, so Monday evening, she and Dad treated us to dinner while Ryan fixed the phone. We will work for food!! We had a meeting at church that night - an interactive meeting, where we got to play with flags! And then...coffee. Oh, sweet coffee.

* You already know way more about our Tuesday than you ever wanted to, since I recapped it as a Day in the Life post, but it was filled with much organizing, working out, TV watching, and even snapping a few green beans. (Shiver.)

* Wednesday I met up with my friend Erica, and we had a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng lunch together while we caught up on the past few years that we've not seen each other in person. I guess it was an exhausting day for everyone because I walked in to everyone in my household napping that night. LOL!!

* Thursday night, Ryan and I went to a Kokomo Jackrabbits (baseball) game! Ryan won tickets at work, so it was a free date for us! There was a good chance of rain, but it held off, and we had a fantastic night. And they won! Bonus!

* Friday was a long and mostly hard day that isn't worth carving in stone, but some highlights included getting my new Pampered Chef spritzer (check out what it replaced!!), finding these beautiful flowers in our yard, and a date at Ruby Tuesday. (Best salad bar in the world, even though it is too expensive now.)

* Ryan worked yesterday and we were supposed to go to the lake for the rest of the weekend, but his day went too long to make the trip worth it. So no lake for us this year :( I spent the day scrapbooking and cooking Chinese food for us. AND we updated our traveling sandbox! (Sand from places we visit.) Working with sand made it ALMOST feel like a lake day. 

The Saturday Six

One.

 One of the things my parents did very well when I was growing up involved teaching me about money. Spending, saving, tithing, budgeting, all of it. I appreciate that investment in my future, and I wish all parents were as conscientious about it as mine were. When I was in high school, I opted out of taking Algebra 2 for my final math (never could have passed it anyway) and took consumer math instead. That is the only math I have actually used in my life, and I've never regretted that decision. This article speaks to both things: what most kids don't learn about life-math in school and what things they do need to learn at home. If you have kids, I beg you to teach them about responsibility with money!

Two.

If you missed it, check out Tamar's pictures of sand sculptures. First of all, she's an amazing photographer, so the pictures on her blog every day are just stunning. But there's something extra awe-inspiring about sand sculptures. I've never seen any like these in person, but this post sure makes me want to go! 

Three.

Ryan: relationship goals alert. You would absolutely do this for me. I know it. (Insert heart emojis here.) 

Four.

100% intrigued by this idea. Planning to put together my own version to spruce up my prayer life! 

Five.

As always, really beautiful words penned by Holley Gerth. Especially appropriate if you're feeling invisible right now.... 

Six.

I read this amazing book this week, and when I went to write my review, I realized I had a really really advanced copy of the book, and it doesn't actually release until October. That might be a jumping the gun just a bit, so I'll hang onto my review and instead show you this super cool paint chip calendar. I have no idea if this pre-made one from a few years ago is still being made in updated years, but it wouldn't be that hard to make your own...just sayin'! 

Chicken "Fried" Rice

We like Chinese food much more than Chinese food likes us. It's not that it makes us sick, but it sure doesn't do any favors for helping my clothes fit! So now and then, we go out for a good round out at the Chinese buffet, enjoy sampling all the delicacies (including the crab rangoon - YUM!!!!), spring for the free fortune cookie at the end, and come home.

Buffet food is good, but I hate the way it makes me feel SO full and then is immediately gone. Chinese food and pancakes: filling and then gone. Anyway. Because we know it's not good for us to frequent the buffet, I have a couple of things I make at home so we can get our Chinese fix without all the added things we don't need.

This is one of my favorites, and I've never blogged it, which means every time I make it, I have to hunt it down online. So....it seems like a good time to add it to our Shafferland recipe box!

Chicken "Fried" Rice

* 2 cups brown rice
* 1 3/4 cup water
* 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, chopped
* 1 Tablespoon olive oil
* 2 cups frozen peas and carrots
* 3 green onions, chopped
* 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
* 2 eggs
* Low sodium soy sauce (optional)

Bring water to boil in pan on stove and then add 2 cups of rice. Cook, covered, for five minutes and then remove lid for five more minutes. Meanwhile, in large skillet or wok, drizzle olive oil in the bottom of the pan and cook chopped chicken pieces. As meat cooks, add seasoned salt, frozen vegetables, green onions, and garlic powder. Combine well. Once meat is mostly cook, scoot everything to one side of the pan and break eggs into open area. Scramble eggs and combine with other ingredients. Add rice and stir well until fully cooked. Serve warm, topped with soy sauce if desired.

 A Few Tips:

* If you need to go even healthier than the brown rice, you could use quinoa.

* I used olive oil because that's what I always have, but you could use sesame oil if you prefer.

* You can serve this with any side you like. We found some egg rolls in the frozen foods section that aren't terrible, so I added that as a side.

* This warms over well for leftovers!

Rest and Friends

If you saw yesterday's blog post, you saw the craziness that was our Tuesday, and honestly, most days are some version of that kind of busy. None of our days ever look identical, but the trail of chores, appointments, and business looks similar from day to day.

And then there are days like yesterday. The days when our minds and bodies scream for rest, and we do our best to listen, take naps, worry less about the to-do list and more about recharging.

Last night was filled with naps, walks, TV, books, and (of course) coffee.

I treasure nights like that. They remind me that it's okay to rest, and my list-loving soul needs that reminder.

Another thing I've so enjoyed over the last week or so has been the chance to see friends.

Last week, I got to see my college roommate, Christi. I mentioned it in the Shuffle on Sunday and on the podcast, but I just want to say again how lovely it was to spend time with her.

Christi was such a champion of me when we first met back in college. Like most college freshmen, I was trying to figure out who I was and where I fit into this great, wide world, and she was one of several friends God planted in my path to help me sort through it all.

She studied education, and I knew when she graduated that she stood among an elite group of teachers. She would devote her life to education, and not just shoving information into young minds, but exploring those young minds and helping them find themselves like she helped me find myself.

And in various roles, for these last (almost) twenty years, she has done just that. She's faced a few health battles along the way, but her heart for kids beats strong, and she soldiers on to make a difference in their lives.

We spent an afternoon talking, and I didn't want the afternoon to end! She encourages and inspires me, and I wanted to keep learning from her!

Yesterday I had the chance to see another out-of-state friend. I've not known Erica nearly as long, but she's become dear to me, too.

Erica and I have gotten to know each other largely through email, and I just appreciate her so much. She's strong and brave in ways I'm not, and that inspires me. I love her stories, and we've bantered back and forth about the similar roads of life we've walked. (Those roads are easier when you know you don't walk alone.) OH! And we are birthday twins, too. :)

She was visiting family and took time to eat lunch with me, which was a huge treat for me. We saw the whole lunch crowd through and were the only people left in the restaurant by the time we left!

I'm grateful for these two treasures of friends. They're a measure of rest to my soul as well. (As are all the rest of my friends...I need to see more of them more often!)

Rest and friends. I'm so glad God thought of both of them. :)

A Shafferland Day in the Life, July 2017

I made a personal commitment earlier this year to record a day in our lives each quarter this year. In January, I recorded a Saturday. I just realized that I recorded a Tuesday back in April and I'm doing a Tuesday again this month. But the Tuesdays look very different, so it's okay!

Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Bekah is 39 years old
Ryan is 38 years old
Braeya the cat is 11 years old (we've all had birthdays since last time!)
Married 4 years (55 months)

6:00 a.m. || The alarm goes off, and I'm restless. Our house seemed hot all night, and I kept waking up periodically. Ryan got up at some point to do his devotions, and I thought he was going to work out, but he comes back to bed, saying he's not feeling the workout. (WHAT!?!? Isn't that my line?)

6:30 a.m. || I finally get up on the third ringing of the alarm and go to the kitchen to get a glass of ice water. I am trying to do better about drinking a glass of it first thing in the morning. I move to the couch to check Facebook/Twitter/blogs/Instagram, and Ryan gets up to make coffee.

6:51 a.m. || Pull myself off the couch to make the bed and put together Ryan's breakfast. (Yep. We're still doing yogurt, granola, and berries for breakfast. Creatures of habit, we are.) Discover Ryan has already made the bed, so I just make breakfast, warm up my coffee, and refill Braeya's food. That reminds her that she's thirsty, so I also turn on the bathroom sink so she can drink for a while.

7:00 a.m. || Turn on Mad About You, which we have recently discovered airs at this hour. This was one of my favorite shows in college! Ryan finishes getting ready while I watch the Buchmans and post our new episode of Spill the Beans to social media.

7:30 a.m. || Mad About You ends, and I'm in tears over it (which is really not unusual for me with any TV show). We open up Ann Spangler's book Praying the Names of God, the devo book we recently started reading together. (Our copy was the original release from several years ago. It's been re-released with a more modern cover, I see.) We spend some time reading and praying together before Ryan has to go to work.

8:00 a.m. || Settle in on the couch again with my own breakfast (same as Ryan's...I just don't like to eat as early as he does) and my inbox. The end of the month is approaching and I need to make sure I have caught up from behind!

8:20 a.m. || Move into my office, which became a disaster this month. Preparing for, attending, and coming home from the Speak Up conference left quite a trail of paper and disorganization. I do not want to enter a new month and school year with this mess scattered around. Today is the day to begin tackling it.

9:11 a.m. || I have cleaned and organized the bulk of the bookshelf behind my desk and the desk space itself. Time to pause for a coffee warm-up and packet assembly. A friend requested a stash of business cards and media kit info to pass out in her area to see if she can help me make some new connections for speaking. I want to make sure that gets in tomorrow's mail, so I need to prepare it! I also pause to text Ryan to see how his morning's going.

9:41 a.m. || I'm not feeling as sore from yesterday's workout as I expected, and the weather is actually cooler than it has been, so I decide to go for a run. I haven't officially gotten ready for the day yet, so I won't be undoing anything. Text Ryan to let him know I'm headed out, put the hair in a pony, and off I go!

10:09 a.m. || Home from my two mile run, which I completed in 20:19. (For this summer, that's pretty good. It's not my best running summer.) I stink, so I gulp down some water before I pause to get ready for the day.

10:33 a.m. || I'm too busy to mess with drying and straightening my hair today, so I go with crunchy (Lemongrass Spa Body Icing doubles as hair gel!) and it's Mud Mask Tuesday, so I put that on before I finish getting ready. While it does its mask-y thing, I make my post-workout drink. I have no idea what it does, but it's supposed to make me feel less achy and more energized, so I drink it. Ryan texts to report he is doing okay at work. Most of his co-workers are out this week, so his work-load is heavier than usual, which means I hear from him less. (Boo!)

11:00 a.m. || Masking is done, face is applied, bangs are straightened...I think I'm fully assembled for the day. (I know, I know. It's about time!) Get a text from Ryan's photographer cousin who let me second-shoot Bre's wedding; her camera is in the shop and she has a photo shoot tonight. She needs to borrow my camera, so I put the battery on the charger right away to make sure it's as full and ready as it can be. Time to head into the kitchen, which looks a lot like my office did this morning. (And this is very unusual. We don't let it get out of hand like that!) Task #1 = emptying and refilling the dishwasher before washing all the pots and pans by hand. (My least favorite household chore: dishes.)

11:20 a.m. || Dishwasher is emptied and refilled, but the hand washing awaits. Stop to assemble a dessert that will hopefully be ready by lunch time. It's my first time to cook with powdered peanut butter and it's very runny compared to regular PB. I am making Dashing Dish's No Bake 7 Layer Protein Bars, and I put them in the freezer, but I'm not convinced they'll be set up in time for this meal. My parents gave us sweet corn yesterday, so I need to get that shucked and on the stove for lunch.

11:41 a.m. || Corn is on the stove (just enough for this meal) and I run out to get the mail and put the turkey burgers on the little electric grill. We found Butterball's pre-made/seasoned burgers at Sam's Club that can go from frozen to grill and cook in no time. They are perfect for busy days. While everything cooks, I get all the burger toppings ready so lunch will (hopefully) be hot and ready whenever Ryan can break away from work.

12:03 p.m. || Lunch is ready; whew! I throw the third burger on the grill (they come wrapped in 3 packs) so it can cook for leftovers. The camera battery is fully charged, so I feel good about being prepared for all needs. (Watch that come back to bite me.) My mom and mother-in-law are both texting me with questions, so I chat with them while I wait for Ryan.

12:10 p.m. || Ryan rushes home and we inhale our burgers and corn. The dessert is a bit goopy, but still tasty. (He takes seconds, so he must not be too offended.)

12:37 p.m. || I'm still savoring dessert and coffee, but he has to get back to work, so he leaves again. I decide to ignore the dishes for just a few more minutes and do a little Pinteresting instead. My favorite post-lunch activity.

1:15 p.m. || A big thud outside scares me to death (and sends Braeya diving under the bed). The lawn treatment guys have arrived for their quarterly visit and one is riding the little lawn segway at high rates of speed. I take this moment to realize I've been Pinteresting too long and need to officially get back to work. Back to the office to do my next creative task: listing all the writing and speaking chores I need to tackle in the weeks to come (spurred on by the Speak Up conference).

1:49 p.m. || I've gone through my whole conference notebook and compiled my favorite quotes/take-away points in a Word Document. I decide to email it to a couple of my friends who are starting new lines of ministry, in case they find the words as helpful as I did. I take my newly scribbled "must-do" notes and hang them on my wall clipboard. (It keeps me organized as I work.) And I go back to the inbox to catch up on emails. Again.

2:25 p.m. || Ryan's cousin should be here any minute for the camera, and it would be a real shame for her to find me with my hands in dishwater, so I've decided to kick back and start my book for the week: an advance copy of Irene Hannon's new suspense, Dangerous Illusions.

2:50 p.m. || The camera exchange still hasn't happened, and I want to surprise Ryan with a latte, since his day has been so crazy. I text his cousin to see if I have time to run out for coffee or if she's close and I should wait. While I await her reply, I text him to see if the hospital air conditioning is working today. It has been finicky lately, and I need to know whether to go hot or cold on the coffee.

3:19 p.m. || Camera exchange complete, and I buzz over to the coffee shop to get Ryan the biggest grasshopper latte they make. I drop it by his work, where he is pleasantly surprised to see a treat heading his way. While I'm there, one of his co-workers tries to talk him into getting me a dog. (Latte = dog, right?)

3:46 p.m. || Home and forced to face the pile of pans in the sink. Enough said.

4:03 p.m. || Kitchen officially cleaned. Back to the office I go to make a list for a meeting we have at church tonight. I also need to send one more email while I'm thinking of it!

4:20 p.m. || Change into jeans, grab my newly-created list, and head out to pick up Ryan from work so we can get straight to the church for our meeting. We don't know how long the meeting will last, so the rest of our evening is kind of up in the air. (Photo below reflects my thoughts on driving behind Slowy McSlowerson whilst trying to make our meeting on time!)

4:45 p.m. || Slide into the church parking lot at the tail end of on time/beginning of late. One of the staff pastors invited us to meet about being part of the small group ministry; we are excited to hear more about it!

5:45 p.m. || The meeting ends and I take Ryan back to work so he can actually finish working. Paperwork never ends, does it? I come on home and check all the computer stuff again to see if I'm still caught up.

6:30 p.m. || Ryan comes home, changes clothes, and heads out for his run. I definitely got the better weather of the two of us. Yet he will run a 5K in not much more time than my two miles. I'm already engrossed in this new novel, so back to the couch I go for more chapters. (I took a picture of Ryan ready to run, but he didn't like it, so just imagine it here.)

7:02 p.m. || Ryan comes home with his best run of the year: a 5K in 21:48. Toldja. I put aside my book to pray for a little bit while he recovers from his run. Stuff is weighing on my mind and I can feel my attitude shifting (not for good!) and I want to try to combat it.

7:20 p.m. || Ryan is cooled down and ready for dinner, so while he showers, I make a salad from leftovers. I'm not hungry, which is RARE. Mostly I just want coffee. The dishwasher is full again (already!) so I run that while I wait for eggs to boil. And of course, we begin brewing the evening pot of coffee.

7:40 p.m. || We finally sit down to eat while we watch the end of an old episode of Shark Tank. I am eating the leftover turkey burger from lunch and after I'm mostly finished, I realize I had taken it off the grill too soon and it wasn't cooked all the way through. Remember how I said that whole being prepared was going to come back to bite me? Apparently literally. Super. Now I'm freaked out about food poisoning. This is suddenly feeling like a bad night all the way around.

8:15 p.m. || Tuesday night! America's Got Talent night! We are curled up with coffee to watch Judge Cuts, round two!

9:08 p.m. || Still watching AGT and so far I haven't gotten sick from eating raw meat, so perhaps the night is looking up. Ryan decides to snap green beans that one of his patients gave us.

 9:30 p.m. || Ryan's cousin texts that she is on her way over with the camera to return it, so he scurries around to do some other chores before she arrives. I take over snapping green beans. I know my mother will not believe this without photo evidence, so here you go, Mom!

9: 45 p.m. || Nikki drops off the camera, just as Ryan finishes unloading the dishwasher from round two today. I think it's almost time to call it a night for chores.

10:12 p.m. || I settle in on the couch with my devos and journal. I need some Jesus time at the end of this day! Ryan surfs the web and relaxes for the first time all day.

11:00 p.m. || We decide to call it a night. Our brains and bodies are tired. No need to keep staying up!

11:08 p.m. || As I get ready to crawl into bed, I discover I am 500 steps short for the day. I'd imagined we would take a walk at the end of the day, but we ran out of time. So while Ryan goes to bed (and sleep, all in one fell swoop) I pace loops around the house finishing my steps. Glad I checked the FitBit, though. I would be SO MAD if I had awakened to that news in the morning! Finish the steps, THEN get into bed and promptly stare at the ceiling. Because of course.
 

Thanks for hanging out with us for a day! I'm sure it's fascinating to read about our dishwashing!