What I Learned in May

Before I share with you what I learned in the merry, merry month of May, it is podcast Tuesday, so here's our fun for this week! My thoughts on watching {from the comfort of my own home} my first Indy 500, and the health screening lady's obsession with how LEAN Ryan is...there are plenty of giggles in this half hour!

Click here to listen

And now...on to what I learned this month! And to see what others have been learning, you can check out the links on Emily Freeman's blog!

1. Goodbyes teach you more than you can put in one paragraph. Or post. Or book, maybe.

Saying goodbye to our house in Marion was beautiful and bitter all at once. I cried from sorrow and giddiness, sometimes at the same time. I pondered and questioned. I celebrated and savored. I packed in final memories and wondered if I'd done enough. It was exhausting on levels I didn't even know I had. And along the way, the Lord whispered that it was all okay. I'd gathered what I needed to have in order to foster beautiful memories. And there really would come a day when I could think about it all.

2. Old pictures are mysterious and delightful. 

I'm the Bekah-razzi. We all know this. But you know, there were the olden days, when people actually did not photograph every given moment of their lives. The photos from that day are mysterious because they make me wonder what it was about this moment that warranted a photo. And it makes me hungry to see more, but more doesn't exist. I'm grateful to live in the era I do - where photos are plentiful. This photo? That's my mom - on the back step of the house we just sold. It looks very different now. But how cool is that? 

3. Being a full time writer and reader hinders 10,000 steps a day.

My sisters and I all got Fitbits so we can be accountable to each other and have a new way to stay connected even though we are separated by many hundreds of miles. I'm learning that when you write and travel and speak and read for your every day, it's hard to achieve a daily step goal of 10,000 steps. It works on days I can go for runs, but if the weather doesn't cooperate, I have to do some serious house-pacing to reach my goal! {I have tried pacing while reading but to walk fast enough to register on the Fitbit, I sometimes get dizzy while I read!} And the truth of it is, if the writing bug hits, I can sit for eight or more hours without missing a beat! First world problems, right?

4. Washers really can eat socks.

I've never lost a sock in my entire life until we moved to this house. I've heard stories of people who lose socks in the laundry and it's always baffled me how that happens. And then in a month and a half, I lost three socks. Two of mine {not from the same pair} and one of Ryan's. I looked EVERYWHERE and they were just gone. Vanished. Then Ryan decided to clean out the washer, because he thought it smelled mildewy, and what did he find tucked safely behind the rubber seal to the door? All three socks. So apparently our washer {which came with this house} actually eat socks. And also...I'm not crazy.

5. Healing can be a slow process.

If you're kind of new to the blog, you don't know that two years ago this coming August, I had a five hour oral procedure to treat a pretty advanced case of periodontal disease I didn't know I had. They told me when I was diagnosed that recovery would take about two years. WHAT?!? Years!?!?!? Earlier this month, I went for another checkup {I have to go every three months} and they gave me a glowing progress report but added that I have not fully healed yet. I still have some places that need to continue recovering. I really thought they were giving me an exaggerated recovery time, but I guess not!  

6. I love golden-doodles.

We had the privilege of dog-sitting for some friends of ours for a whole week. Little Phoebe came to stay with us, and while Braeya was not really a fan of our willingness to adopt a dog for a week, I learned that I adore golden-doodles. Pheobe was well-mannered, so much fun, and the perfect size for our house. I know we aren't meant to have a dog right now, but I do believe the day will come, and when it does, I want a Phoebe-junior.

7. I can cook with yeast.

My mom is a masterful cook/baker/candy-maker. And because she is, I've always resisted making the things she makes so well. Her pies...amazing. So I've never made pies as a general rule {the one day post-surgery when I spent an entire day making ONE pie as an exception...} because I know they won't be as good as hers, no matter what I do. Same with her delectable Christmas chocolates...and her yeast rolls. Truth? Yeast scares me. I think I'm most paralyzed by the over-the-top lecture in home ec class about NOT KILLING THE YEAST. Don't make the water too hot or you'll KILL THE YEAST! {Perhaps repurchasing yeast nearly broke the home ec budget?} But this month, I decided I was not going to let a 38-year-fear of yeast get the best of me, and I drove right over to the store and bought a three-pack. And last week I spent an entire evening making strawberry sweet rolls for Ryan. They aren't a masterpiece, but let the record show, I did not kill the yeast. And they were a bit on the delicious side. :)

8. There is a fireworks tax {at least in Indiana.}

Ryan and I purchased sparklers at the store this weekend, because I wanted to add some sizzle to our Memorial Day date-for-two. When I inspected the receipt after our shopping spree {because we're weird like that}, I discovered there is an additional tax charged on fireworks. I had no idea! Is that an Indiana thing or an everywhere thing? I do not know. But I learned it happens here!

 
 

The Shafferland/Phoebe Shuffle

This has been an unusual week here in Shafferland, because we were still dog-sitting all week. So please prepare for canine overload!

* Last Sunday was a beautiful day of rest for us, but it was also a beautiful day, and that afternoon, we got to take Miss Phoebe for a walk through the neighborhood. She was so good - didn't chase the ducks or bark at other dogs or anything! I made a healthy French toast deliciousness for dinner that night that I won't lie - was really good! :)

* Monday, I hung out at home with Phoebe while Ryan went to work, and I learned she loves to be held like a baby! A 26 pound baby! LOL! She is such a cuddler. We took walks and played games and rested in between adventures. And Ryan is so good with her; he actually got carpet burns on his knees playing with her that night!

* Tuesday evening, we went to the viewing for Ryan's co-worker that passed away unexpectedly a few days ago. {The "Fun Meter" button he's wearing is something all his co-workers got in honor of the man who died. He wore one to work every day.} We were there probably two hours, and that's about the max time we could be gone from Miss Phoebe, so we came home and made it up to her by taking her on a long walk, where we got to see a spectacular sunset!

* By Wednesday, I had to get some writing done, so I dragged Phoebe's bed into the office and she took a long nap while I wrote. We discovered the rose bush outside the house had exploded into bloom, which gave me nice scenery while Pheebs fertilized the yard! And by that afternoon, she even entertained herself for a few minutes while I fixed dinner! Self-soothing! :)

* Thursday, Phoebe and I went to the hospital to watch Ryan play cornhole, and then back to writing we went! That evening, I decided the time had come to conquer my fear of working with yeast and I made strawberry sweet rolls from scratch. Ryan was very excited!

* Ryan's work had a cookout on Friday {for Memorial Day} so we went to visit him during the cookout, and Phoebe ate up all the extra attention. Since it was the weekend, we went on a quick date that night, which included coffee and shopping! YAY! And we tried to watch some of our DVR'd shows that night, but alas, I am pretty sure the new coffee we bought {not on date night - but the kind we brew at home} hates me and I was SO SICK. It was awful. Ryan said he'd never seen me like that!

* Yesterday I felt better than I did on Friday night, but I was just wiped OUT from being sick, so I mostly rested on the couch all day. Did some scrapbooking. Let Phoebe and Ryan take care of me. We did venture forth that afternoon to pick up a shelf for our guest room that we found while shopping Friday night. It is PERFECT!!! And then we enjoyed our last few hours with the Pheebster before her people came to get her. I was kind of hoping they'd want to leave her. They didn't.  Sigh.

Pheebs

Podcast Tuesday is here!!! You'll get to meet the subject of today's post and hear some funny flashbacks to our high school years!

 Click here to listen.

Two months ago {almost exactly!} we had our first adventures in dog-sitting. We looked after our friends' Great Dane, named Spencer, and he was quite an adventure. Spencer weighs more than I do, but at just a couple years of age, he was just a giant puppy who thought he was a lap dog. He was gentle and energetic, and we enjoyed having him for a couple of days.

Though it wasn't supposed to happen this way, we ended up getting possession of our house in the middle of Spencer-sitting, and we felt like we couldn't give him the attention and play he needed and work on the house like we needed to do, so our friends Nate and Jenna finished out the time for us, watching him the last half of the time our friends were away.

So we were a little nervous to try dog-sitting again, because what if something beyond our control happened again and we had to call for reinforcements? We didn't want to get the reputation of the dog sitters that never completed the assignment!

But some friends of ours needed someone to watch their little Phoebe, and we said we would try. So we've had her since Friday night, and I can't wait to show you some of our adventures in Pheobe-land!

Phoebe is a golden-doodle, and her size is just about perfect for being here in our house. She's big enough that she doesn't get tangled up underfoot, but she's small enough that she fits well in our space. And I cannot even stress enough what a very good dog she is. She is obedient, she does not bark, she does not act out, try to escape, chase cars, eat food that does not belong to her, or chew possessions that are not hers. She is well-loved and well-trained.

And a fabulous bonus: she's a cuddler! Braeya hates cuddling and being held and all such things, so to have an animal around for a few days who loves all such things is a joy!

Here is just a sampling of the fun we've had!

 Kissing Ryan...I'm not sure how I feel about this!

My new buddy.

Going for walks. {There were four of those yesterday alone!}

Checking out the view outside.

Watching Hallmark movies.

Visiting Ryan at work {and cheering the patients}.

Garage sales. {She didn't buy anything.}

More walks.

Frappe runs! {She didn't get any. Bekah doesn't share frappes.}

Construction projects...#1 assistant!

Naps for days...

Lots of hugs. :)

So we're having fun with the Pheebster. She's a keeper! Except she's not ours to keep...

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday morning it was freezing when we woke up. No. Like LITERALLY freezing. And that is how we came to have a potted plant surviving in our bathroom. IN MAY. We went to a lunch at our church - a lunch provided for some of the different teams of people who serve. Got to sit with some friends we didn't know very well so we could get to know them better! And before we went home, we drove by a building they're demolishing on campus. We've watched a lot of construction in the past few years, but not much demo!

* Monday I found a fun surprise in the yard: a rose bud on a bush!! I love finding surprises left behind! I made a new recipe for Ryan, called smothered chicken, and it was most delicious! {And healthy!} And he wasted no time putting together the new bookshelves we got at IKEA on my birthday. They look SHARP! He picked them out and it was a good choice.

* Tuesday was a very cold and rainy day, so it was the most perfect time to curl up with a novel and read, read, read! I loved that! It was also a good day for warm lunches and catching up on TV shows with Ryan while drinking extra hot coffee. I guess there is something lovely after all in a cold and rainy day!

* Wednesday was a blissfully ordinary day - but I did get to have lunch with one of my friends who was in town for the day! And that night I worked on sorting the very LAST of the stuff we hadn't sorted, while Ryan began assembling the bed for our guest room! {It's best if I steer clear of assembly.} 

* Thursday was my next dental follow-up, and I got the best report I've had so far since surgery! We're coming up on two years since I had the procedure done, and they say I'm not cured yet, but I'm making great progress! And after the appointment, I got to have one of my favorite lunches with one of my station friends, and then I got to see my station friends! That night...a stunning sunset on my run!

 * Friday evening, we took some rummage things to a sale Ryan's mom and sister were having, and when we got home, we embarked on our next adventure: dog sitting! Yes again! Not the Great Dane this time, but a little Golden Doodle that is adorable and NOT loved by our cat. LOL! Poor Braeya Jo. She's trying so hard to be brave and make friends, but she is still quite scared.

* Yesterday morning, I had a DVR'd movie watching date with my friend Kari, and before we did that, we went to check out the Farmer's Market in town. It was much fun - and I got Ryan a giant cinnamon roll as a treat, since he couldn't join us! We spent the rest of the day continuing to bond with our little charge, and I think we exhausted her!

What I Learned in March

 It's been one crazy month! Here's the list of what I learned this month - and I'm joining up with Emily Freeman's list of other bloggers who learned much this month too!!

1. We feel called to "together" sorts of ministry.

This may fall more under the category of things affirmed to us this month rather than things we learned, but I think it still counts. When Ryan was gone at the beginning of the month to work on staff at a men's retreat, we both found ourselves challenged and growing and right where God wanted us for that moment. But we also learned {or felt affirmed} that our calling is to work in ministry together. Even if it's a moment in which one or the other of us is taking the lead, we both want to be there together, in support and in-person prayer. Being so far apart when the other was in need of support was probably the hardest part of the whole weekend.

2. Just because something isn't a big deal to you doesn't mean it's not the biggest deal ever to someone else.

We mentioned this on one of the podcasts, but I think it bears repeating. A friend of mine texted one evening early in the month and said her mom {who is currently recuperating from some pretty serious health issues} had a wall that needed to be painted in the next two days, before a Realtor came to take pictures to list her house. I had a free afternoon the next day, donned my paint clothes, and went over to help out. The woman's gratitude was off the charts. I love to paint, I had free time, and it was truly no big deal to me to put a little paint on one {not even big} wall. But to the woman who had the need but not the physical ability, my measly couple of hours wielding a paintbrush was the biggest gift ever.


3. It's called Insanity Max 30 for a reason.

Rather than going into a fourth round of the 21 Day Fix, Ryan and I switched up our workouts and launched into a different Beachbody workout: Insanity Max 30. Oh. My. Word. Insanity is a good word for it. Max is a good word for it. Pick me up off the floor is a good word for it. Talk about a challenge that shocks the body! Despite the unbelievable challenge, I have to say, I know I'm doing things I never could have done if I would have STARTED with this program. Growth!!

4. We need to offer more compliments. 

Earlier this month, I wrote a letter of complaint to a chain store, because I felt one of the employees had treated me inappropriately. I think this is only the second or third time I've done that in my life, so I'm not a chronic store-complainer, but I felt it was warranted this time. Though I sent my words privately, I checked out their Facebook page just to see if this ever happened to anyone else at this store. Turns out, per the posts on the page, they ONLY get complaints. EVER. Now I cannot believe for one minute that this store has stayed in business for this long if they were only that bad. But I can believe for one minute that we are so quick to complain, but we never stop to pay a compliment. And I am 100% guilty. Perhaps it's time to start paying attention to GOOD service and rewarding it with our words.

5. We are small dog people.

You might remember reading a few days ago about our adventures in dog-sitting. Some good friends of ours have a Great Dane named Spencer, and we agreed to keep him for a few days while they went on a little get-away. Spencer is two and a good, gentle dog in many ways. But he is also bigger than I am, and that is intimidating to me. And our household atmosphere is different enough from what he's used to at home {six people live at his house} that we struggled to provide enough attention. {He likes to be with you every moment, and we were smack in the middle of trying to start work at our new house.} I ended up having to get a sitter for him myself for half the time we had him, and we learned that although we do love him and he's a good dog, any future dog we have will need to be more the size of Braeya.

 6. I still prefer books.

Earlier this month, one of my author friends sent me an electronic version of her newest book so I could read and review it. I don't own a Kindle or any other sort of electronic reader, but I found that it would open on my phone, and I could read it that way. I will say that I appreciate the ease and convenience of being able to receive a book this way, because I know for some, it's the only way I might be able to see a book. But I learned in that process that I am still not at all an e-reader girl. I want a real book that I can hold in my hands, mark in, and put on my shelf to behold when I'm done. Maybe I'm the only one on earthy who feels this way {doubtful} but it's what I learned about myself this month!

7. Moving is a big hairy deal.

This is the first time in my adult life that I have moved. And in about every single way possible, it has not gone at ALL as I envisioned. That doesn't mean it hasn't gone well. It just didn't go according to my perfectly prefabricated plan. {Does life ever?} From waiting to expenses to packing to unpacking to a million other things, moving is a full time job. It's sure my full time job right now! Loving the adventure but will be so happy the first night we get to just sit back and relax in our completely assembled new home.  

 

The Shafferland Shuffle

Happy Easter!!! We are thankful for what this day represents - and for a day of REST!! Today you'll get some glimpses of our new house adventures. More posts to come on that this week!

* Last Sunday, we started dog sitting for the first time in our married life, which you already caught a peek of this week. Our friends brought over their Great Dane named Spencer, and we spent the day learning the ways of huge dogs!! He took us for a walk and tried to sit on our laps. LOL!!! We had a lot of fun with him that day and we were thankful for a pretty day that allowed us to spend some time outside with him!

* Monday was a HUGE day in Shafferland! We got official possession of our new house that day! We tried to juggle meeting the new house with having custody of Spencer, so it was sort of an interesting adventure, but we made memories!! That's for sure! We had the chance to do a photo shoot with our new house and write Scripture on the walls {much more on these stories to come}. But mostly we were just incredibly thankful for the day we'd so longed and prayed for to finally BE HERE.

* Tuesday was a big day at both Shaffer houses. We had the inspection on our original house and that's the day I got to meet our buyer, too. Really enjoyed getting to swap stories and learn more about what God had done on the OTHER side of the story! And at the new house, Ryan and his friend Troy had a good old fashioned demo day to knock out part of a wall. They channeled their inner Chip Gaines and had a grand time. {And made a grand MESS!}

* We broke out the paint cans on Wednesday! My friend Sandee came over and together, we tackled the master bedroom. While we didn't have to paint all the walls {some were okay as they were}, we did get the painting in that room finished in one day. I never could have done it without her help! And my friend Amber stopped by just to see the house and ended up helping me scrape wallpaper. {Ugh. Wallpaper. But YAY for good friends who will come for fun and stay to help!}

* Speaking of wallpaper, it was my utter nemesis on Thursday. I worked to finish scraping it off TWO rooms, and that was exhausting. I swear it was held on by super glue. Thankfully, Ryan helped me push through to the end without screaming!  I also painted a bathroom and shampooed some of the carpet. And when Ryan wasn't at work, he helped me touch up paint. {He's very good at that.}

* Friday morning, we were at Lowe's before it opened in the morning. What!?!?! Who is up that early? Well, we are, apparently. I spent the entire day painting my new office. I made a last minute switcharoo of color and now have a bright yellow office that makes me VERY happy. We put together our bed frame and started dreaming about where we're going to place all the furniture!

* By yesterday, we were understandably exhausted, and we look every bit of it in these pictures. Ryan had to work, so I went with him and caught up on all internet life on the wifi there. Then I went over to the house and resumed painting and replacing swichplates and cleaning up and all sorts of things. We were so tired by the time we finished the day around midnight, but so happy!