What I Learned in November

 ACK!!!! It is almost December, people!!! When I look back at the picture I took on November 1 {see below}, it seems more like a year ago, not a month ago. So much has happened since I last shared what I learned, and I have much more that I crammed into my little noggin this month! I present to you...what I learned in November!

1. I appreciate a warm fall.

The Midwest was not entirely void of cold/rainy days this fall, but I have to say, we were quite {pleasantly} overrun with above average warm fall days, and I loved them. Took this picture on November 1st, where I declared we had the best of all the worlds. Stunning fall color on trees, sunshine, blue skies, and sleeveless dresses. Oh yes, please.


2. I am grateful I could vote.

I'm not an overly political person. I don't talk politics in real life or on the blog. And I know this year has been extra rough for everyone on this scene. And my little votes {for all offices} may not have even mattered in the grand scheme. But when I stood at the polls and voted, I felt a sense of thankfulness that I had the opportunity to stand there and cast a vote. Whether or not those I voted for were ultimately elected, I know there are people all over this world who wish they had the opportunity to do what I did, and that was not lost to me in that moment. So I was grateful.

3. I do not miss raking. At all.

This month, my Facebook feed was overrun with pictures of raking parties from years gone by. We only had one tree at our old house, but it was big and leafy. We would rake and bag, rake and burn, rake and mulch...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the raking. This year? No raking. Thank. The. Lord. {Also - I took a walk one day that led me to a cul-de-sac in our neighborhood, and about half the neighborhood was out dragging HUGE piles of leaves into the street. It's such a pretty little section of the neighborhood, but I immediately texted Ryan and told him I found the one downfall of that street: they have all the mature trees and they were paying the price.} 

 4. I need to learn how to curl my hair like a grownup.

Source

I have been growing my hair out for a year. It is THE slowest process ever for me. As it's growing, though, I'm learning I have exactly two hairstyles: straight and crunchy curly. So basically, if you see me with crunchy hair, you know I was either lazy or in a hurry and didn't want to take time to straighten it. But you know what I cannot do? Soft curls. I don't own the right curling iron and my hair is SO THICK, I'm not sure it would work if I tried it. But I think it's time I learned to do my hair like a grownup.

5. Setting up a website is not for the faint of heart. Or the technologically challenged. I am both.

I decided earlier this year that it would be a good idea to create a website that is more of a business site, so I can use it as a resource page for writing and speaking. But my creativity does not bend this way, so the days I spent bent over my laptop trying to create this thing were very nearly my undoing. I needed naps and lattes and extra grace. And possibly an additional brain. Kudos to you who revel in website creation. You are my heroes. {For the record, this is still in process and still taxing my brain.}

6. Diesel nozzles don't fit in non-diesel cars. 

Did you know this? I did not, until the day I accidentally grabbed the diesel nozzle at the pump. GOD BLESS THE PERSON(S) who came up with this idea and saved the Shaffer team from maddening car repairs this month!

7. Brussels sprouts grow on stalks.

Did you know this? I always thought they grew in the little netting bag I buy them in at the grocery store. {HA!} Ryan and I were walking through Sam's Club one day and there was this big old stalk of Brussels sprouts, and I just stopped right there on the spot and said SHUT UP. I had no idea they grew on a stalk!  
 

8. A year can make a big difference. 

Today is my one year "fixaversary." It was a year ago today that Ryan and I began the journey to clean eating, working out, and trying to be healthier in general. I remember that day so well, how daunting it felt, how frustrating it was to survive from morning to night without 18 cookies, and how much I HURT from the workouts. It's still a struggle. I still want the cookies, and some of the workouts still make me hurt. But I've learned MANY good habits in the last year, and when I look at the difference from last year to this year, I'm really encouraged. It will be a forever focus for me. This will probably never come naturally. But it can be done! The pictures above are from last year's Thanksgiving and this November. The one from last year was the picture that was my final straw. I hated it so much, I decided to make a change. I'm not done changing, but I've sure come a long way.

Pumpkin Bread

So....Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Just a little PSA in case you forgot. And of course, Thanksgiving is the holiday of all things turkey. And cranberry. And sweet potato. And pumpkin. Maybe pumpkin pie isn't your thing. {Texture issues, anyone??} But maybe you do love the pumpkin flavor, and you need something different to try to get your pumpkin flavor without the texture issues.

If so, I'd like you to meet pumpkin bread.

It's the perfect side dish. Or dessert. Or breakfast. Or appetizer. Or snack. Or gift.

Also, don't you hate it when you get ready to make pumpkin anything, and you realize you are out of pumpkin pie spice? And let's face it: this close to a major eating holiday, you do not want to drive to the store park on the back forty, traipse inside to the back of the store, and stand in a 30 minute line to buy the tiniest bottle ever of high-priced spice. You just don't.

That's why today's recipe is a two-for-one special. Delicious bread and how to make your own pumpkin pie spice.

I have blogged about the pumpkin bread before, but I thought it was time to update the pictures and make it a little more Shafferland-y, and this time, I'm adding the spice recipe, too.

I made this a couple of weeks ago for Ryan's work buddies. I took brunch to the hospital for all of them, and this was the "dessert" of the brunch. They cleaned it right up! It's delicious when warm with some butter melted on top. And while we're talking about butter, I should forewarn you that this is NOT one of my healthy dishes. This is just a good comfort food that should be eaten in great moderation. :) Sometimes fall just requires a good comfort dish void of a calorie count. Amen?

Pumpkin Bread
 * 3 cups sugar
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 4 eggs
* 1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin
* 3 1/2 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (see below)
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 cup water
In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil and eggs. Add pumpkin and mix well. Combine dry ingredients; add to the pumpkin mixture alternately with water. Pour into two well-sprayed loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Cut into slices, serve and enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Spice

* 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon allspice
* 1/2 teaspoon cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix well and store in an airtight container.

A Few Tips:

* Again, yes, I know this is not anywhere NEAR clean eating. Yes, I know you could find a healthier version. But this one is delicious, and every now and then a girl just needs comfort sweet bread.

* You could try subbing some baking Splenda for some of the sugar, but I will tell you that I made some zucchini bread not long ago, where I did just that, and after a couple of days, the bread was bitter and terrible. It tasted great when it was first baked. So experiment at your own risk!

* You could also try swapping out some of the oil for applesauce, but I haven't tried that, so I don't know how much it would alter the taste or texture.

* I did use brown eggs and wheat flour. Does that even really matter with that much oil, egg, and sugar? Probably not, but let me live in my delusion.

* I really do love to make up several loaves of quick bread and keep them in the freezer for times when I need a last minute snack or dessert for something - or a gift for someone.

* Ryan loves quick bread for a snack or for breakfast, so I try to make some for him now and then, since he's so good to be a great sport about all the clean eating dishes every other day of the week.

* I found a little container at the dollar store that is about the size of a spice container, and I use that to store whatever leftover spice mix I have. You could also use an old pumpkin pie spice container if you have one.

Pictures!!!

If you missed yesterday's post, and you like to read Ann Voskamp, go check it out, because I'm giving away her newest book, The Broken Way, and the accompanying study guide and DVD {both of which release later this month}.

In other news, I thought we could all use something lighthearted and fun today, so GUESS WHAT!?!?!? We got our pictures back! :)

Because we got engaged in the fall, Ryan and I have a tradition of always having a photo shoot sometime in the fall. Annual family pictures, if you will. Ryan's mom has always taken them for us, and she always does a great job, but this has been a busy fall for her with all of Ryan's grandpa's health issues, so we decided to give her a break and hire a photographer.

Jessi MacNulty took them, and she was so much fun to work with. And in even faster time than promised, she had them edited and returned to us...and I thought you might like to see a sampling. I'll hang onto the ones that are in contention for the Christmas card, so you won't see those today. :)

Happy browsing! :)

Hope you enjoyed!!!!

92 County Tour: Delaware County

Our quest to tour all 92 counties in Indiana continues! Guess what!?!?! Only 78 to go! It may not be the quickest project we've ever done, but we are having a blast doing it!! {To see the rest of our tours, scroll to the bottom of this page.}

I'm admittedly not great with geography. I knew Ryan and I had an appointment in Muncie, Indiana last Saturday, but I was just certain we had already toured the county where Muncie sits. I would have bet more money than I have that it was in the same county with Anderson and Alexandria, and I knew we'd gone there last summer. It turns out {PSA here} that just because towns are on the same interstate sign does not necessarily mean they are in the same county. Take a moment to let that sink in!

I finally realized my mistake about 10:00 last Friday night and flew through the pages of the internet to assemble what I hoped would be a proper tour of Delaware County, the actual home of Muncie, Indiana.

Delaware County was named for a Native American group that used to live in the area where the county is located. The county had a huge economic boom after the Civil War, because natural gas was discovered on the land. The county is also well known for its glass industry, and it was the home of the Ball brothers...of Ball jars. This may have also had something to do with the naming of a little university known as...Ball State.

We went to this county because we had a photo shoot scheduled there. Annual photo time!!! {We told that whole story in yesterday's podcast, so I won't rehash it here.} The photographer suggested doing our photos at Minnetrista, so that's where we began our day! The word "Minnetrista" means "a gathering place by the water," and the land originally held the home of the aforementioned Ball brothers. There are beautiful grounds that are free to explore, and there are also indoor activities, many educational, that we did not explore the day we were there. {Workshops, classes, farmer's markets, and much more.}

Our pictures are currently in editing, so I can't sneak peek any of those to you, but the photographer certainly picked an enchanting location to serve as a backdrop! When we were done with the shoot, we went back through the grounds and snapped some pictures just to have, reminding us of the natural beauty and the architectural beauty of this area:

By the time we had explored this area {twice, really}, we had worked up an appetite, so we made our way over to Cammack Station, just west of Muncie, near the little burg of Yorktown, to eat lunch. The photographer had actually told us about this place; she takes pictures there sometimes, and it was definitely a cool place. The restaurant is housed in an old fueling station, and it's completely loaded with character. The decor is themed around old station memorabilia, and they play oldies music, which makes it so fun. The food is classic diner food - burgers and ice cream sundaes and shakes.

It was actually SO NICE the day we visited, we were able to eat outside. They pipe the music outside, too, so it was just a fun day to soak up some sunshine, eat a delicious {clean-eating-contraband} burger, and listen told old tunes. For the record, I did not eat ALL of mine. HUGE!!!!

After that, we definitely needed to walk around for a bit, so we went to Ed's Glass and More Factory Outlet. I'd been there several years ago with my mom, and I remembered it was just a fun, quirky place to find a deal if you wanted one. We ended up not buying anything, but it was fun to poke around and look at all the glassware and candles and see what they had!

I had seen online that one of the Muncie McDonald's locations had a vintage sign, so even though we didn't stop to get anything, we had to swing by and see it! Apparently this sign was put up when the location was built back in the 50's. Did you know there was a different McDonald's mascot before Ronald? His name was Speedee, and he's on the sign!

I had also been told, over the years, that if I ever went to Muncie, I shouldn't leave without stopping by Concannon's bakery. They have a couple different locations, but we went to the pastry shop, which the nice lady inside told us was the older of the two locations. Oh. My. Word. Bakery overload in the best possible way! Cookies, pies, cakes, donuts, the whole bit. Oh! And candy! It was hard to choose just one snack for later, but we powered through.

Concannon's is a family-run business, and that was one reason I wanted to stop by. I love seeing establishments that have a long history in any given town and still have family ties keeping them strong.

We each got a donut and ate them later. They were delicious. Ryan said his was so huge, he should have divided it and eaten it in two sittings. I had no problem with mine! HA!!!

Of course, we can't leave a county without trying out a coffee shop. I figured Muncie would be overrun with coffee shop options, given that it's a college town. But when I hunted online, the list wasn't incredibly long. Once I weeded out the chains and the gas stations {are those REALLY coffee shops???} I settled on a shop right near campus called "The Cup." 

It was quite a different atmosphere from the coffee shops we normally visit, and I was really thankful it was a nice day outside, or our experience might not have been so great. It was a super tiny shop, and navigating our way in and through the line was interesting. Not great for claustrophobics.

It was very simple inside - black chalkboard walls with the menus written on them, and the counters for the baristas to work. That was about it!

Ryan got fresh brew and a muffin, and I got a frozen cappuccino, and we took them out to the courtyard, and that was lovely. It sat right by a sidewalk, and we watched college students and parents strolling around, people walking their dogs, and we were under a collection of mature trees that dropped leaves...so pretty. Plenty of space out there, and we felt a bit like we were on a movie set, drinking our coffee and watching the crowds walk by. We were also painfully aware that we are not really close to college age anymore. {Though closer than the old guy in a complete sleeping coma behind us, mouth gaping open!!}

After our coffee, we made one last "stop"...through the Ball State Campus to view Shafer Tower. It just seemed appropriate. :)

The tower is 150 feet tall and has a chiming clock. Though it normally chimes through remotely programmed computers, there is a way for a person to climb into a control room at the top and play something live. I saw how tiny the stairway must be inside the tower. No thanks! BUT...good to know we have our own tower. :)

And that concluded our visit to Delaware County! A fun day...and I can't wait to see the official photos when our shoot is edited! :)

What I Learned in October

WHAT!!?!?!?! October is over??? But I haven't started scrapbooking it yet! Guess I better hurry! October is done, which means a happy birthday {yesterday} to my sister, a Happy Halloween to all of you today {don't eat too much candy}, and it's time for another round of wisdom/useless information gathered throughout the past 31 days!

1. We don't like vanilla flavored Greek yogurt.

Anymore, I use Greek yogurt in many ways: to make salad dressing, as a mayo and sour cream replacement, as the main course for breakfast, etc. Because I sometimes need it sweet and sometimes need it savory, I always buy plain yogurt and just sweeten it with honey as needed. Early this month, our grocery store was out of plain yogurt, but they had vanilla, which promised no artificial flavoring, so we bought that instead. Hated it. I ended up using it in the protein shakes I make, because the other flavors in the shake compensated for the aftertaste, but we decided this is not the yogurt for us. Back to honey.

2. Fall in our new home is lovely.

I lived in the same house for 16 years, so I am thoroughly enjoying the change of scenery at the change of this season! This is our first fall in our new home, and I'm quickly learning where all the prettiest trees are in the neighborhood, and I'm soaking in every bit of this transition to beautiful leaves! 

3. Finding your stride in a new church home is an undertaking.

At first I started to say it was "hard," but I'm not sure that's the right word. Ryan and I started looking for a new church home at the start of this month, and we actually really liked the first church we tried. So for that reason, I don't think we can say it's been a hard season, but it's truly an interesting position being the new people in the family. We have to find new friends and ways to serve and how to be comfortable among a group that has already found a comfort zone. So it's an undertaking. One that has been way more positive than negative, but still an adjustment, for sure!

4. I love having Ryan by my side when I speak at retreats.

This month, I got to take him with me to the retreat I spoke at, and it made all the difference in my soul. To have him right there to pray over me and support me was beyond what I could have even imagined. We knew we were better as a team, but I don't think we knew until that moment that we were SO invested as each others' best teammates! 

5. I love planning days, even if I am mocked for them.

I set aside a day this month, packed a bag, and went to a coffee shop to do some planning for the next calendar year. Ryan's co-workers did NOT understand the importance {and sheer joy} of being in the presence of coffee, multi-colored pens, and papers to do my planning, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. To be fair, all the brainstorming 100% wore me out, and I had to go to bed early that night, but it was still FUN!!!! I'm excited to see what God does with 2017.

6. I have not outgrown craft dates with friends.

Before I was married, I frequently got together with friends to do some version of crafting. {Usually scrapbooking.} A variety of factors ended that habit for the most part, but early this month, one of my friends wanted to celebrate her birthday by hosting a bring-your-own-craft-and-a-snack-to-share night. We got together at her grandma's house, in an old workshop area, and had the best time crafting. I felt bad leaving Ryan at home while I hung out with my glue gun and a plate of snickerdoodles, but it was SO MUCH FUN. Hmmmm...we do have that nicely finished garage. Perhaps I should host craft dates of my own!!!  

 7. I enjoy helping people tell their stories.

This month brought a new adventure for me: freelance writing! I was hired by an organization to help edit a book that tells the stories of their years of service. Along the way, in addition to editing, they asked if I could just straight up write some of the stories for them. So I spent several hours at my desk, listening to recorded interviews and crafting stories from what I heard. I'd never done this before, but I learned I really loved it. I have no idea if this kind of work is a one-time thing for me, or if it's a door opening for work God has ahead, but I thoroughly enjoyed helping tell a story! 

That's what I learned this month! I don't think Emily Freeman does her linkup of these anymore {at least she hasn't for the past few months} which is EXCEEDINGLY sad, because it was so much fun to read what people had learned, but it's still a fun post for me each month. Good to know I haven't given up learning!