The Shafferland Shuffle

HAPPY DAYLIGHT SAVINGS DAY!!! IF YOU'RE UP EARLY, GO BACK TO BED FOR ANOTHER HOUR!!! :)

* Last Sunday, Ryan and I started our Halloween happenings. I made his Charlie Brown costume while he watched football, and we decorated our pumpkin cookies together. It was so much fun! We even had little taco stuffed pepper jack-o-lanterns for dinner to complete our celebration!

* Monday was Halloween, and "Charlie" went to work! :) I didn't dress up, but I did find a little trick-or-treating shirt to wear. Our only trick-or treaters were our niece and nephews, but they were little cuties!! We went to my parents' house that night to work on projects for them, so I guess technically, we went trick-or-treating.

* Tuesday was November 1, and it was THE most beautiful day! Sunny, blue skies, and warm enough to wear a sleeveless dress. WHAT?!?!? We hosted Tuesdays at the Table that night with our friends Wayne and Shari, and we had the best time. Pulled pork and veggies, Shari's homemade apple pie for dessert, and even Braeya made an appearance for a while. It was great!

* Wednesday was our 47th monthiversary, and Ryan had to go to Indianapolis for a meeting that day. I took brunch to his co-workers, and that night, we went on a little date! Voting, coffee, Lowe's, and a Christmas tree tour at the mall. It was a great monthiversary!

* Thursday was a writing day for me. I accomplished a lot, but I got behind on steps, so after work, I went for a walk and found myself rewarded with the most beautiful sunset! Ryan and I enjoyed an evening at home, which made Braeya SO HAPPY.

* Friday, I got a fun surprise of FUN MAIL! There is not nearly enough fun mail going around in this world, is there? After work, Ryan and I went back to my parents' to do some more work, and that resulted in yours truly taking a trip to Lowe's for more supplies that WILL have to be a podcast story, because oh. my. word. It was classic Bekah, through and through.

* Yesterday morning, I went to a Christmas bazaar at a church and an open house at a bakery with my friend, Kari. I have decided I love bakery open houses. Samples are a pretty wonderful thing! That afternoon, Ryan worked to winterize the house...cutting back the bushes and all those chores. And last night, we went to our nephew's birthday party. He's such a cutie and the party was so well themed {as it always is...my sister-in-law rocks the party themes}!

Halloween 2016

I know everyone has an opinion on Halloween...to celebrate or not to celebrate...to dress up or not to dress up...on and on it goes.

I've never been super-into Halloween. Yes, I was allowed to dress up when I was a kid, and I did for all my elementary school years. Our church always had a party {before Trunk or Treat was a thing}, and I'd trick or treat at trusted people's houses. I wasn't ever allowed to be a witch or ghost or anything evil or controversial. I am actually quite a scaredy cat, so I also don't do scary movies or haunted houses. But I mean, for real: it's a candy-centered holiday, so I cannot ignore it entirely, you know?

The first couple of years we were married, I don't think we did a thing for Halloween. In 2014, it fell on a Friday, which was our date night, and we went to Indianapolis to eat. That was when we learned Halloween is THE BEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR to go to a sit-down restaurant. They're empty! Everyone is either taking kids out to trick-or-treat OR they're home passing out candy/protecting their property. So there's just a little PSA for you on the merits of eating out on Halloween. You're welcome. Anyway. That night, it SNOWED, so we named it snow-loween.

Last year, I found out Ryan was allowed to dress up for work, so of course, I was ALL OVER THAT. We transformed him into Mr. Clean, and we also carved pumpkins and ate a festive Papa Murphy's pumpkin shaped pizza and totally-not-clean-eating orange chocolate chip cookies. {This was also before we started eating clean.}

This year's Halloween was hodge-podged over a couple of days, starting with the making of the costume:

 Because of course....

 ISN'T HE THE CUTEST CHARLIE BROWN???

{I was also floored at the number of people who didn't know who he was!}

I sent him off to work with his costume and his eyeliner-pencil hair, which I had to go over and reapply by 10 a.m. because he kept forgetting he was wearing it and rubbed it off. Whoopsie!!!

Our niece and nephews came to trick-or-treat during the day, so we all met at the hospital so Ryan could see them too. {My sister-in-law is the one with Ryan. One of the kiddos refused a picture unless she could be in it too.}

And yes. The littlest one is happily munching on the candy WRAPPER. Never asked for it to be opened. Just content to mash it to death through the wrapper. And also, yes, their mom is holding the key pieces of each of their costumes. I never said it was a well crafted photo. It's just a photo. LOL!

Lest I be left out, I tried to get a little festive. {Wanted to be Lucy to match Charlie, but I couldn't find the right blue dress.}

 Forgot my lips. Sorry about that.

Anyway.

We went to work at my parents' house that evening, so we didn't receive any trick-or-treaters, other than the kiddos at work. Maybe next year!

BUT!! We did have a little more fun. We had planned to carve pumpkins, but the truth is, we were just too tired to deal with a mess of that magnitude {plus Ryan couldn't find anything he wanted to carve}, so we went to plan B instead.

COOKIES!!!!!

I made regular sugar cookies and also clean eating cookies from the Dashing Dish website, and we had so much fun decorating them with the limited collection of supplies we had on hand for this last-minute adventure.

 {What...do you not stretch before baking adventures?}

AND!!!

Made taco stuffed jack-o-lantern peppers for dinner.

So that was our Halloween! Ryan already dropped a suggestion of what he wants to be next year, so I am ON IT!!! I will make it happen!

Happy Halloween...You Know...A Week Late

I know, I know. Halloween is a holiday for kids. But it's also a holiday for CANDY, which means I want to be a kid again!! :)

I also know Halloween was a WEEK ago now...but I was so busy virtually vacationing with you that I didn't get to tell you about our adventures!

First of all, here in the Midwest, we just completed a week of t-shirt and shorts temps. We actually walked through campus the other night in t-shirts and shorts, IN NOVEMBER. Last year on Halloween? Snow. Measurable, cold SNOW. In fact, when I blogged about it, I called it Snow-loween.

But back to this year...Ryan and I don't really do much for Halloween because we don't get trick-or-treaters in our area. And since we don't have kids, that pretty much knocks out the holiday for us.

UNTIL THIS YEAR.

Ryan mentioned in passing that he could dress up for work, and in 4.5 seconds, I was on Pinterest searching for a costume for him.

The idea was obvious.

MR. CLEAN!!!!!!!

We had such fun putting together the outfit. We went to the Goodwill one night and he found a pair of white scrub pants and a plain white t-shirt, and I ran next door to Cato to buy gold hoop clip on earrings. When I checked out, the cashier said, "You do know these are clips, right?" I said "Oh yes, they're for my husband!" I enjoyed watching her reaction to THAT! {And then I explained.} We found a clown makeup kit for just a couple bucks, which provided us with the white face paint we needed, and to the tune of about $11.00 for all the stuff, we had a costume!

 Halloween morning, we gathered in for makeup time.

And not for me.

I thought it turned out pretty well...don't you?

 Funny side story...a few days after Halloween, we stopped by Lowe's to get some paint, and we always go through the same lady's line if she's working. We LOVE her. She's like a second mom. I showed her the picture above {Just Ryan's half} and she said "How did he get his muscles to look so big?"

I said, "Oh he didn't have to try. They just ARE. I'm a lucky, lucky lady."

She had to come right around the register and see for herself. LOVED IT!!!!

So he had a great time at work with the crew, dressed up for Halloween:

And for Halloween night, I planned a fun at-home date just for the two of us!

I picked up a Halloween-ish dinner....

...complete with dessert...

And our evening of fun? WE CARVED PUMPKINS!!!!

He was done before I got very much even started. Next year I'm picking an easier one!!!!

But I think they turned out well:

YAY!!!!!!

The only sad part of the day? We did not have one single candy bar. Sigh. 

Linking Up

The Shafferland Shuffle

Happy November! Happy end of DST! It's a good, good day, isn't it??

* Last Sunday was a BEAUTIFUL fall day here in the Midwest, and I think our trees are extra pretty this year. I am enjoying the views around town! Ryan gave blood at the visiting blood bank after church - and that afternoon, we went to a viewing for my friend Carol, who died very unexpectedly last week. So very sad to say goodbye to someone so young! That evening, I started on our vacation scrapbook. MANY pages ahead of me.

* Monday morning, I took a friend to a doctor's appointment and then I came home and worked on a surprise for Ryan: I raked our entire backyard. Nine bags of leaves. {And you can't even tell any are missing off the tree yet. WAAAAHHH!!!} He had planned to work on it when he came home, but I wanted him to enjoy a night off, so I did it while he worked. And then for our reward, we went to IWU to get our annual fall treat: apple pie chai!

* Tuesday was a cold day here...a good day for staying inside, reading, and working on projects, which I did. Braeya helped me catch up on Bible study homework. :) That evening, Ryan and I went to the Goodwill to buy pieces for his Halloween costume, and then we hit the gym for the first real workout since the race. {Although we walked more miles on vacation than we did IN the race!}

* Wednesday was another cold, rainy, chill-you-to-the-bone kind of fall day, and after a while, I was feeling like I might be fighting something. No time for that! It's early, yet! I curled up on the couch to finish the novel I was reading, and turned on the fireplace and the diffuser. Felt MUCH better by the time Ryan got home. He had a good day too; they finished painting his new "office," and now I get to decorate it! :) YAY! We had soup for dinner that night, but we still haven't replaced our good six quart crock pot, so I had to cook it in the two smaller crock pots to make it all fit. Keep it classy, Bekah.

* Thursday, I hunkered down to work on a writing assignment I have for church. I was so thankful when I knocked out the entire draft before lunch! That was definitely God-led. There is still much tweaking to be done, but I'm thankful the base part is written! The whole thing bored Braeya Jo Jo, who just wanted to sleep. Ha! We braved the blustery day {again!} to go out to the gym after work, and I ran one of my best mile times in a long time. And then I killed my arms in the weight room. They still hate me.

* Friday seemed to become our Halloween! Ryan dressed up for work...bet you can't guess who he is! And after work, I surprised him with a jack-o-lantern pizza for our at-home date, and we carved pumpkins together! We had so much fun, and it was nice to be able to stay home for the evening after a cold and busy week!

* Ryan worked yesterday, so I spent the entire day writing. I really appreciated a day to more of that spelled out on screen! He came home mid-afternoon with Chinese takeout, and we ate at the senior citizen hour. LOL!! Since we don't really have trick-or-treaters around here, we headed out for moo-lattes at Dairy Queen and some shopping. It was a fun night! {And not snow covered like last Halloween!}

A Date Night Snow-loween

Ryan and I have always been very committed to date night. Unless there's just something crazy going on, we make time for date night once a week. We both think it's really important to make that a priority, even though it's just the two of us, and we can be alone together most any night of the week. It's not about the alone time or the talking time. It's about stepping outside the crazy, house-selling, commuting life to have intentional fun.

But the crazy, house-selling, commuting life has gotten the best of us lately, and often by the weekend, we just want pizza, movies, and our jammies. And so for the past few weeks, that's been our life. And it's been lovely.

But I was excited that this past weekend, we made plans to go out.

Friday was Halloween, and the weather reports called for snow. Like actual, measurable snow.

In October.

Yuck.

These are the sorts of things that will cause me to be home-bound, but not Ryan! I texted him Friday morning to ask if he had any idea what we might do for date night, and he suggested dinner out in Indianapolis, followed by Christmas shopping.

Melt. He knows the way right into my heart!

So we arrived home Friday night, in the middle of sleety, rainy, snowy yuck and got ready as fast we possibly could so we could go on our DATE!

We made our way toward Ruby Tuesdays, which is one of our favorite places to eat. I called about a half hour ahead of time to see if we could put in our name, and the guy who answered said, "Wellllll, you can, but I'm pretty sure you won't need to." We learned that Halloween is the time for kidless couples to go out to eat, because couples WITH kids are taking them trick-or-treating! The restaurant was almost empty when we arrived!

 We ordered entrees, but filled up on the salad bar, so our food came home with us! Ryan took advantage of the chance to get fish, since I refuse to have anything to do with cooking or consuming fish.

 Chicken for me! Predictable, party of one. :)

We had a great time eating and talking.

We headed toward the mall to shop...and we got there to see the place filled to the brim with trick-or-treaters. The sleet-turned-full-fledged-snow had driven everyone to the warm mall to parade around in costumes and receive candy!

So.................plan B it was!

Furniture shopping! We didn't buy anything, but we definitely had a lot of fun looking around!

And when we finished with all our shopping, we had to go see our good friend:

With two raspberry white chocolate mochas in our cold little hands, we headed home:

We passed a slide-off on our way home. First snow of the year and someone already hit the ditch. Be careful out there, people!!

Date night, plan B = a success!

Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday morning, we enjoyed some quiet time before church, and then during Sunday School, I got to hold this CUTE little girl, who was born about a month ago. The whole class fights over her and it was my first time to hold her. :) We were invited to lunch at the home of our friends, John and Sandee, who made SO MUCH FOOD. It was so good! We had a great time with them and then rested {and watched the disastrous Colts debacle}.

* Monday night, we discovered our yard had been fully covered with leaves again. So much for our hard work over the weekend! We worked out - squeezed in yet one more outdoor run - and ate a great Dashing Dish recipe for dinner. I do love Katie's recipes! All in all, it was a blissfully boring day and night!

* Tuesday night, Ryan had to go help his sister with some furniture-building projects {WHY didn't she call me for my mad skills????}, so I took the evening to attend a Mary Kay night with some friends. Little pedicure party! I was so busy polishing toes, I forgot it was the Duggar wedding show!!! GASP! I scurried home and promptly sobbed ALL the way through the show. I'm such a SUCKER! That's how Ryan found me when he came home: sitting on the ottoman right in front of the TV, crying my fool eyes out.

* Wednesday I hosted Mid-Morning again...while Lynne worked at the Habitat for Humanity site. I invited Josh and Shelly Buck back for a part two session! We had a great time! And a bonus? There were donuts in the kitchen after the show! YAY!!! Ryan got to partake in a MASSIVE pizza delivered to his work - to celebrate PT month! {When is producer month!??} So all in all, we ate well.

* Thursday night, we went to the gym, but we might as well have stayed home and attacked the half-a-tree's-worth-of-leaves-fallen-to-the-ground. Sigh. Instead, we did work out and then came home to watch our Thursday night lineup, with Braeya perched on Ryan's lap, as always. I also did laundry, and I'm happy to report that after almost TWO YEARS of using this laundry drying rack, I finally figured out I could use the clothes lines AS LINES and not just as a lay-flat rack. I'm not always real bright.

* We haven't been out on a real date in a while. It seems like lately we've been pooped by Friday, and we just want pizza, movies, and jammies! But this week I really wanted to go out, so we trekked to Indianapolis for the evening. We ate at Ruby Tuesdays, which was completely empty. {Note to others who don't have kids: restaurants are empty on Halloween because parents are out trick-or-treating!} Dinner was great, and then we started to go to the mall, but that's where all the trick-or-treaters were, because no one wanted to run around OUTSIDE IN THE SNOW. Snow in October = not cool. So instead, we went to furniture stores for fun and then of course, COFFEE!

 * Ryan worked yesterday, so I stayed home - IN BED, because with our new heated mattress pad, it was the warmest place in the whole house. I finished our Holiday World scrapbook while snuggled under the covers, drinking coffee, and watching TV. When Ryan got home, he did some winterizing work around the house {since, you know, winter is apparently here} and we ate dinner, complete with some festive cupcakes Ryan brought home!