What I Learned in January

Emily Freeman does a series of blog posts about what she has learned each month. I completely forgot to write my post about that last Friday, so even though today actually kicks off a whole new month, I still wanted to share what I learned in January! {Meanwhile, HAPPY FEBRUARY!!!}

1. Winter is so much prettier when you're not a commuter. I think this may actually fall under something I affirmed in my mind this month, rather than something I learned. While we didn't have an overly snowy month, there were so many nights when I slept beautifully because I knew I did not have to drive to Fort Wayne the next morning. I have had such a fondness for this winter, and that is a wondrous thing I've not enjoyed for years. Thank you, Ryan, for making this season possible for me!

2. Working out three times a day = no. During the last week of my second round of the 21 Day Fix, I worked out three times each day. That crossed the line. It was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting and for me, anyway, seemed to yield no impressive additional results. I told Ryan to remind me of that if I ever happened to threaten this sort of behavior again.

3. Shepherding is hard work. Not like actual sheep shepherding. But our sermon series at church this month has been about learning to shepherd those around you. I went into this series with much enthusiasm, and while I am still excited to see what God has for me/us in the realm of shepherding others, I have learned it is not for the faint of heart. I've appreciated our pastor's teaching on this topic {which you can watch here if you want} and feel I've learned so much in just a month.

4. There are women in this world who have to hide during their periods because they have no sanitary supplies. My day observing/documenting/helping with The Dignity Project was so eye opening to the plight of women living in our very modern age who still do not have access to pads or tampons to carry them through their periods. Every month, they have to stay home and hide, because they have no other choice. The day I spent with the women who created reusable pads and pouches for these ladies half a world away was convicting, awe-inspiring, and extremely educational.

5. Webinars are more fun when you choose them yourself. Upon occasion, I had to watch webinars when I worked at IWU and at WBCL. I hated webinar days. I got sleepy just thinking about them. Sitting in a warm conference room and being quiet for an hour or two was just too hard for me. In January alone, I chose to watch three webinars from my own home, and I thoroughly enjoyed each one. I was able to walk around when I wanted, get snacks and drinks, and choose my own topics. Made all the difference, and I'm grateful for the people who made them possible!

6. Styrofoam snowballs look like eggs. On two separate occasions this month, I sent people pictures of my dining room table {photo above is one example} and both times, the recipients asked me why I had eggs in with junk food. The Styrofoam balls that are supposed to look like snowballs, apparently photograph as eggs.

7. I'm kind of a grammar failure. I finished my book manuscript last November, and this month a proofreader edited it for me. She sent it back with a humiliating amount of things marked. She actually told me it was a pretty clean manuscript, which made me wonder exactly what kinds of manuscripts other writers turn in, but it was humbling to see how much I thought I knew, but actually I don't! I told her I write by ear like some musicians play by ear. Except I hope they get more of their notes right than I did!

8. Slow cooker meals are torture when you work from home. The last week of January, I participated in a slow cooker challenge, where I made each day's meal that way. It was amazing to find new recipes I loved, but that whole gratification thing of walking into a delicious smelling house goes much easier when you are not in said house all day long. Smelling the delight while trying to focus on work is, well, hard.

So there's a sampling of what I learned in January. Possibly nothing earth-shattering there, but hopefully something entertaining in some manner!

The Dignity Project, Part Two

If you're feeling heavy-hearted, we hope you'll get a good giggle out of this week's podcast. And at the end, I talk a bit more about the Dignity Project, which has been the subject of the blog yesterday and today!

 Click to listen

If you missed yesterday's blog post, go check it out, because it explains more about what you're getting ready to read. I promised I would bring you some tips for hosting your own party with a purpose if you and some friends want to jump on board with The Dignity Project to help others!

1. Location. Angi reserved her church fellowship hall/gym for this party, and that worked really well, because there were plenty of tables, chairs and outlets, as well as elbow room and overhead lighting. If you don't have a space similar to this available to you, you can certainly do this at home, but make sure you have things like folding tables and chairs, power strips, extension cords, lamps, etc.

2. Pitching in. Angi requested that everyone who came bring a minimum $5.00 donation to help cover the cost of the supplies. Depending on how big your group is or how many of these you want to make, you might want to even request a higher donation. In addition, she asked for participants to bring supplies like sewing machines, scissors, rotary blades, cutting mats, etc. It might be helpful, if you're organizing such an event, to get an idea of what people are going to bring so you know what needs to be filled in. Angi had a table with spare supplies on it like thread, measuring tape, etc.

3. Buy ahead. Since the church wasn't particularly close to any craft supply store, Angi did a great job of making sure we had adequate supplies on hand before the day of the event. She'd gone to the store and purchased the fabric and other supplies so when everyone arrived, they could launch right into working. It helps to have a checklist of what you need and a mental goal of how many packets you want to make, so you know how much you need! {Planning a bit in advance also gives you a chance to collect coupons or watch for sales so you can get the most for your money!}

4. Make ahead. The beauty of this set-up is the chance to create work stations, where different people can do different things. Because it's an assembly line of sorts, it also makes the work go faster if you can have some steps of the project completed before the work day begins, so everyone at every station can start at the same time. It's not required, of course, but it was nice to have people immediately begin to sew, even while others were still cutting out new material.

5. Create stations. Angi had something for everyone, regardless of skill level. When people arrived, she asked what they might want to do and helped direct them to something that suited their skills. There were also opportunities for people to switch stations partway through the day, so if they wanted to learn how to do each step while they had people there to assist them, they could do that on this day and then they could take what they learned and make the entire project from start to finish on their own if they wanted.

6. Have some experts. A couple of the women in the group were particularly skilled at sewing and while perhaps they didn't have the most productive day, they were able to readily answer questions and offer advice to those who needed additional assistance. It made the day flow more smoothly because they were able to troubleshoot! And of course, when all else fails, ask Google! The group working on the snaps were struggling with the particular kind of snaps they used, so they watched a tutorial on YouTube and immediately figured out the problem and moved ahead to work efficiently!

7. Create awareness. Although most people there were familiar with the purpose of the Dignity Project, Angi made sure to go through an overview of the impact our work had, reminding us that what we did was important and meaningful. It was good to be reminded in the moment of why we were there and how we were making a difference.

8. Have food and have fun! Everyone is more productive when they're full, right? Angi had a good supply of coffee, water, hot chocolate, and a warm, delicious lunch to keep us all happy while we worked! {If you don't want to take on the work and expense of all the food on your own, you could make this part of what people pitch in.} Above all - have fun while you work! Work in pairs or teams and get to meet new people while you work!

The Supplies
Here are the supplies you'll want to have on hand to make these packets from start to finish:
* The pattern
* Sewing machines/extra needles/bobbins
* Regular Scissors
* Pinking Shears
* Cutting Mats
* Rotary cutters/extra blades
* Thread
* Regular fabric
* PUL fabric {A water resistant fabric}
* Flannel
* Snaps
* Velcro
* Measuring tape
* Markers/Pens/Pencils
* Straight Pins


The Stations/Jobs
Here are the different stations and jobs you can assign. People can do more than one of these tasks, or if you have a bunch of people at your party, they can each do one thing:
* Cutting strips of flannel for the absorbent liners
* Cutting circles of regular fabric for the base piece
* Cutting circles of PUL {the water resistant fabric} for the base piece
* Cutting strips of PUL for the packets the women can use to store the supplies
* Cutting strips of fabric that hold the liners in place
* Sewing the edges of the flannel liners
* Sewing the circles together {top, middle, bottom}
* Sewing the storage packets
* Sewing the strips that hold the liners
* Sewing the strips onto the circles
* Cutting off excess thread from all pieces that have been sewn
* Folding the liners
* Putting one liner inside the strips
* Adding snaps or velcro to the base piece
* Adding snaps or velcro to the storage packet
* Stacking two spare liners alongside one base piece that holds a liner
* Stuffing the entire packet together in the holder
* Supply runner {to move completed pieces onto the next station/get supplies for those who run out}
* Troubleshooter {to help with sewing/construction issues}
* Food/snacks {always need someone to make sure the food and drink table is well stocked and meals are ready}
* Shopper {if you run out of something and need to make a store run, have a designated person to go get whatever is needed}

If you have any questions about the project or how Angi organized it, let me know! If I don't know the answer, I'm happy to check with her! And if you want to know how to contact Jade directly about partnering with her on the Dignity Project, their contact information can be found on this page.

ALSO! One of my friends who owns a sewing shop here in town made a FABULOUS video tutorial on how to make these. You can watch it here if you're curious about the specifics of the sewing parts! She also has a page with the other helpful hints that you can find here. 

The Dignity Project, Part One

This past weekend, I had a chance to witness the most beautiful blend of encouragement and conviction I have seen in a long time.

Maybe you've heard of the Dignity Project, and if not, you may have heard of a similar project for some other region of the world. You can click on the link above to read the story, but the synopsis is this: Nathan and Jade Metz have been serving as missionaries in Uganda for the past year. As they've learned more about the culture of the area where they serve, Jade discovered that many women have to shut down from life every month when they have their periods, because they can't afford pads/tampons/other supplies. So for that week, they're stuck at home, the school-aged girls can't attend classes, and they do the best they can with old scraps of clothing.

Source

But let's face it, ladies, you know an old scrap of clothing really is no help in the throes of that literal mess. Jade became so burdened for these women and the embarrassment and isolation they felt every month that she started The Dignity project. Women {wherever in the world} who have the means to do so have been gathering supplies to make reusable pads that are sewn, packaged, and sent to Uganda, where Jade distributes them to women in need. {Here is an update post she wrote at the end of October to show you just how much of a difference these make!}

Source

One of my friends, Angi, has a HUGE heart for other people, and this ministry really struck her. She loves people, she loves projects, and so of course it only made sense that the two would come together and she would organize a day for women here in our town to come together with whatever gifts and talents they possessed, and have a work day to make these packages for Uganda. Saturday was actually her second such work day, but I wasn't able to make it to the first one.

{Excuse our appearance...it was Saturday. Our day off.}

I wanted to tell you about it, because like Angi reminded us on Saturday, this was just a day of fellowship and crafting for all of us. For the women who receive what we made, this is a true life-changer. This allows them to get out and continue living their lives, uninterrupted, without shutting down for an entire week.

I don't know about you {and we try to keep this blog from teetering on TMI} - but that week for me is always just awful in and of itself. I feel fat, I feel ugly, I hurt, and I just want to curl up in the fetal position and cry. {And sometimes I do!} But I cannot imagine, on top of all that just comes naturally with this delightful event, the added stress of being homebound. Of missing things I want to participate in. Of feeling trapped. Of worrying that someone will know. I can't imagine it.

For us it's an inconvenience, to be sure. But discomfort aside, we don't miss a beat. They miss it all. 

Tomorrow I want to tell you how you can organize a day like this with your friends, or your church group, or your own family. Angi has a great system down and has graciously offered for me to pass her tips and ideas on to you. But in the  meantime, let me just tell you what I loved about this day.

There are people who make these packages all by themselves at home, and that is certainly doable! But I am not blessed with sewing skills, so this would probably end up frustrating me right into quitting if I tried to do it on my own. But when you come together as a group, there really can be a job for everyone. I went on Saturday to ask questions, to take notes, to overhear conversation, and to take pictures. But in between those moments, I found little things I could do here and there to help. So I promise if you do this as a group, you can find a little something for everyone to do.

This was a purposeful party. Throughout my time with these women, I heard much laughter. I heard storytelling. I saw new friendships being formed and old friendships rekindled. I saw women learning new things and working together as a team for the greater good. We drank coffee and ate lunch and stayed inside from the bitter, icy elements raging beyond the walls. It was fun. It was encouraging. It was no inconvenience. And yet because of what we did, women on the other side of the world can learn for the first time what it means to NOT be inconvenienced just because of a little old period.

So come back tomorrow. I'll tell you more about how to organize a day like this for yourself. A party with a purpose.

 {Photo opp with the lovely Holland ladies. I went to church with these two back in the day and appreciate them so much!}

 {Surprised to get to see my dear friend and former Financial Aid Director there! I have missed her!}

{This girl was my student once upon a time, but we won't talk about that because neither of us are old now. And for the record, she can sing like an angel.}

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday was so beautiful, with fresh snow on the ground. Pretty to look at, but a MESS to drive in, so I was thankful that it was Sunday and we didn't have to commute anywhere! I worked SO HARD all afternoon to finish the last chronological scrapbook for 2015, and I finished it!! That night we {finally, 10 days late!} went through our 2015 box of memories and enjoyed sorting through them and reading the thoughts we'd written a year ago on New Year's Eve!

* Monday was so messy on the roads, so I prayed Ryan to work while giving much thanks that I'm no longer driving to Fort Wayne every day. I enjoyed the beauty of the snow from INSIDE the house. I made a fancier-than-usual dinner of veggie stuffed chicken and more veggies {I'm turning into a veggie, I think} and because it was SO COLD, I worked out in my fuzzy socks. It was hard for our house to keep up with the frigid temps! Thank goodness this isn't supposed to be a Polar Vortex year!

* Tuesday, I moved back into my office to begin working from there again, and Braeya was excited because that meant she could resume her neighborhood watch program. I worked hard on editing the manuscript I just finished - and did some reading in a novel as well. When Ryan got home, we hunkered down under the electric blanket, and Braeya hunkered on top of it. When that thing is on, she will NOT leave it.

* Wednesday was cold and snowy still, but we did have a stunning sunrise that I appreciated from my perch at my desk! Because the cold continued, that day I worked out in warm clothes AND my bathrobe AND my slippers. LOL!! Ryan got a new hat that day - one of the girls at work made it for him, and he loves it!

* Thursday was the first day I got out of the house all week. It had just been too nasty before then. I met a friend for lunch and felt like a real person in real clothes with my hair done. Much to my shock, my scrapbook I'd just finished on SUNDAY actually arrived in the mail that day, so my 2015 regular book collection is complete! After work, Ryan and I went to look for sales, and I found a great long-sleeved workout shirt that, with coupons and sales, we got for $1.87. BOOM.

* Friday morning, I grabbed this picture of a beautiful sunrise, and literally five minutes later, the sky was overcast and stayed that way all day. I was glad I captured it! I did lots of chores on Friday, including menu planning. A good little day, capped off by a Starbucks date and a movie rental that we could watch all curled up in the fat chair!

* Yesterday I attended a ministry project event that I plan to tell you more about this week; the work it does is both creative and much needed, I believe. It was good to be part of the day and see friends I haven't seen in so long! And last night, we celebrated Ryan's sister's birthday with his family. His mom made homemade {delicious, I might add} pizza and we had cake and ice cream and enjoyed a laid-back evening together!

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday was our first Christmas celebration - dinner and a gift exchange with Ryan's mom and Allen and all Ryan's siblings. We had a great night together, feasting on breakfast food and watching kids run around and have fun ripping into their gifts! Last year we had a couple of people missing because of illness, so it was good to have everyone back together this year!

* Monday was a rainy, gloomy day, but I had a surprise that brightened it all up! My RA from my freshman year of college, Karen, was in town to visit her family for Christmas, so she stopped by to see me! She ended up staying to have dinner with us and we talked for about four hours - it just flew by! She brought me a gorgeous flower that so brightened my day. :)

* Tuesday was Nita's birthday, so we all went out to eat at Cracker Barrel to celebrate her. {"We all" means fifteen of us converged upon that dining room at one very long table! She had a wonderful time and the cheesecake we had for her treat was out of this world!!

* Wednesday morning, I had Christmas with one of my blognonymous friends, and Ryan had his carry-in Christmas celebration at work. He got his friend Matt this shirt - which reportedly, Matt loved so much, he may never take it off. LOL. {Sorry, Amanda!!} While all that fun was happening, I was home having a meltdown over my dead computer, but that night, Ryan became the hero of the world when he somehow brought it back to life!!

* Thursday was Christmas Eve, and it was a busy day for us. Ryan had to work, and I did a volunteer project at the church before working on our food contributions for Christmas day. That night, we had Christmas with Ryan's dad's side of the family. We don't get to see them very often, so it was a good and fun evening of storytelling and delicious food {Ryan's grandma cooks the whole shebang and does a great job!} and gift exchanged. Before we came home, we went to a Christmas Eve service at the church where the rest of Ryan's family attends.

* Friday was, of course, Christmas, and we celebrated three times! We had our own Christmas at home together with Braeya JoJo, and then we drove to my parents' house for Christmas with my family. After lunch and gift exchanges and photo booth fun, we packed up and went to Allen's parents' house for our Christmas with that side of the family. Whew! Busy day!

 * Yesterday I had all kinds of grand plans, but I knew we were supposed to get rain, so I wanted to take down our porch decorations. Before I knew what was happening, I took down ALL the decorations. I hadn't planned to do that at all, but it's done now!! It actually feels kind of good to have things back in some semblance of order. Lat night, Ryan and I had a date night at home - our first pizza in a month. It was heavenly!

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday, we woke up in our hotel room in Fort Wayne, looking ahead to the last day of our anniversary getaway. We had a leisurely day that included a visit to a coffee shop, and a trip to the Christmas tree farm to pick out our tree, which we named Firby. It was a great, fun day! {And when we came home, we not only had luggage and a naked Christmas tree, but we started ripping apart our house to rearrange some rooms. Because why not?}

* I devoted all of Monday to unpacking from our trip, doing massive amounts of laundry, and arranging the living room so at least one room was complete and put together. And while I edited pictures, someone decided out of the blue that my lap is her new favorite place to be. No idea why she suddenly loves me, but I'll take it!

* Tuesday was December 1, so we pulled out my Advent book and started reading it again; I love that tradition I get to share with Ryan! Speaking of Ryan, though he was officially sicker than a dog {how sick is that, anyway?} with a cold, he volunteered to ring Salvation Arm bells with his boss. Isn't he the cutest bell ringer? And that night, you know, just for funsies, we moved a couch up the stairs. That was interesting!! {Don't miss Ryan at the top of the picture, right under the 12!

* Wednesday was our anniversary {YAY!!!} and Ryan took the day off work to spend it with me! We got to rest and do a little shopping, and we had our pictures taken before going out to dinner. We watched our wedding video while we ate cupcakes and just had such a lovely day remembering THE lovely day of our wedding!

* Thursday morning I got to do my devos by the light of the Christmas tree, which was lovely in every way. Ryan and I had put the lights and ornaments on it the day before, but it still needed some finishing up, so I worked hard on that - and on decorating the rest of the house that day. I'll give you a better view of all that later, but here's a sneak peek. I went low-key this year, but I like how it turned out!

* Friday I decorated the outside of our house {also low-key this year} and we hung up our mistletoe {YAY!}. That night, after Ryan got home from work, we went to his mom's house to pick up a dining room table he'd had in storage for something like a decade or more. Much more on this to come, but basically our table was just too small, so now we have one {for free!} that was certainly MUCH larger.

 * Yesterday Ryan worked, so I sent a little tree with him for his office. No ornaments, just a tree with lights. {Didn't want him to lose his man card ENTIRELY by having a fully decorated tree.} And last night, we went to our brother-in-law's 40th {surprise} birthday party, which was really a lot of fun! I took pictures all night and am always happiest when I have a job and a purpose, so it was a great time. Ryan's sister rocked it with the preparation!