Be Still...Wrapping Up

Thanks for taking time to read about the retreat from the weekend...hopefully you felt like you attended a little corner of it! :)

Normally, retreats end close to lunch time on Sunday, but these ladies had to hurry back to their church for the morning service, so our Sunday morning time together was QUICK! Ryan and I stayed up late Saturday night to get all our stuff packed up and get ready as much as we could {read: I did my hair before I went to bed so I didn't have to do it when I got up - HA!} so we didn't have to get up at 4 on Sunday!

Ryan was a sweetheart and loaded up our car while I finished prepping with my notes...and...possibly...took a few pictures of the beautiful pre-sunrise sky.

Then it was time for breakfast, and if you listened to the podcast, you heard the story of "the waffle." Oh, I'm still cracking up over that!

Also - if anyone is looking for Christmas ideas for Ryan, he'll take one of these, please:

We walked over for the final session, and I was freaking out about my voice. It was so early in the morning, and I was coughing and hoarse, and I wasn't sure I could pull off the last talk, even though it was a short one. But Ryan prayed with me and as soon as I got up to speak, I was fine. {Of course I wasn't as soon as I was DONE, but I made it through!!!!}

 OH!!!!! AND!!!!!!!

Ryan did the drawing for my gift basket, and Anna took this picture of us. YAY!!!

After this session ended, we helped the girls carry their sound equipment out to the bus so they could get back to their church.

It was a joy to serve this group. I thoroughly loved it. Erica, I promised you a shout-out, and here it is! Thank you for keeping me so in the loop for months leading up to the weekend, for answering my endless questions, and for becoming a new friend. You and ALL the ladies of the planning committee made my job so much easier, and I appreciate you all. I'm excited to hear what God does in you through the things He taught you this weekend!

Union Church - you are a joy!

The Shafferland Shuffle

A very happy 46th monthiversary to my handsome husband. 46 months is a whisper away from an official FOUR YEARS!!! Yay!!!

* Last Sunday morning, we stopped by my parents' house on the way to church...got there right when the sun came up, and it was so pretty! Last Sunday was also our last day at the church we have attended for most of our marriage. Bittersweet to say goodbye to this church that has come to mean so much to us in the last 3.5 years!

* Monday, Ryan played in the cornhole tournament at work. We won't really talk about the outcome of that round, and INSTEAD, we will move on to this very cute pumpkin art I found {FOR FREE} on Pinterest! It livened up our guest room! And while Sunday may have had a a gorgeous sunrise, Monday won the prize for gorgeous sunset.

* Tuesday was pretty much the perfect fall day. Sunshine, great weather for taking a walk, not too hot, and not too cold. It was even perfect for curling up in the light of the sun to read. And it's possible that by "reading," I also mean "taking a nap."

 * Wednesday, the weather started getting yucky on us, just in time for our date-night game. You remember the charity game heard round the world when our team lost and I had to Lamaze my way through it? Oh yes. That game. Despite the cold and rain {and the fact that I am now FIGHTING a cold from said night out}, it was fun to have a night out on the town with Ryan!

 * Thursday was national coffee day, so I partook all day long at home! Ryan mowed his aunt and uncle's yard that night, so I went along and had him drop me off at Hobby Lobby so I could do some shopping for things I needed, and on the way home, we stopped at Starbucks for our OFFICIAL observance of National Coffee Day. I was brave and tried the Chile Mocha they just brought out. Yeah that was a bad idea. Burned my throat with every drink and I hated the flavor. And that is how National Coffee Day crashed and burned on me.

* Friday night, we went to my parents' house, so Ryan could do some projects for them, and they took us out for dinner in exchange. It was delicious! On our way home, we stopped at this new little place called the Hydration Station for drinks. We had frosted apple ciders, and they were delicious. Unfortunately they also make frosted caramel apple, frosted apple pie, and a bunch of other frosted apple drinks, so we are going to have to figure out how to go OFTEN!!!

 * Yesterday, Ryan worked, and I had Phoebe all day! It was a rainy day, so we mostly hung out at home and took naps! And then last night, I went to a birthday party for my friend, Amber. It was a craft party, and I made a coffee cup Advent calendar! I loved the way it turned out!

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday we grilled out for our lunch...and had more fresh sweet corn. {Ryan is a gem to take the shucking job. I HATE shucking.} We rested all afternoon, which was HEAVENLY, and went for a walk and talk that night. I cracked up at the sunny skies all around with a GIANT black cloud literally hanging right over us...as we were talking about all the frustrations of the present. How appropriate! We finished off the evening with pizza and TV - and felt rested enough to start another week!

* Monday evening, Ryan and I went to the gym to work out, and I was feeling SO GOOD about this workout! Unfortunately there were some teens in the gym who were not respectful and after tripping over one of them who was misbehaving on the track, I had to move my exercise into the super hot outside. Sigh. Ryan and I went to the grocery store and learned about white peppers. {Ever heard of those?} AND he bought me flowers!

* Tuesday evening, while Ryan was doing some projects for people at his work {he's a handyman, and I have been learning to share...} I went over to Lynne's house for dinner, which included pizza {yum!!!} watermelon {sigh of joy} and chocolate Yasso bars {I die}. Given that Ryan doesn't like watermelon, that was SUCH A TREAT! Then Lynne and two other friends and I went to a movie screening together! I'd never done that before!! Cried my fool eyes out at the end of that movie. {And I got a Coke. SWEET!!!} Tuesday was also the day we found out someone made an offer on one of our houses! {Enter much prayer, people!!}

 * Wednesday evening, Ryan and I met with the realtor to sign papers for the offer on the house. We are praying for favorable outcomes {aka smooth sale of the house} but know there is a long road of waiting ahead, so...EEEEK!!! After that, just for fun, Ryan drove through an old, closed down restaurant we used to love visiting when we were kids. Pretty sure everyone who went by thought we were nuts parked under the awning of a closed restaurant! We came home and rested...and sent selfies to some of our family members who are vacationing together. It's how we can feel present. HA!!

* Thursday morning, I drove to work in THE most gorgeous sunrise. Stunning. That night, Ryan went to the Greentown house for its routine maintenance night - and he sent me this photo. WHAT!!?!?!?!? Ladders on a roof???? Oh no. Meanwhile, I was home safely, watching a Beth Moore video with my friend Ronda and with Beth's most loyal feline. And may I just say...I'm looking forward to days when we don't have to play divide and conquer on home maintenance!??!?!?

* Friday morning I showed up at work with a crowbar and hammer...something that was apparently disconcerting to my co-workers. LOL!! Someone needed to borrow them, but I did get a good kick out of the funny looks I got while people passed by my desk! And I don't know the last time I've been SO HAPPY to see a Friday. It was just one of those weeks, I guess!! Glad to get to go home...and then Ryan and I had a treat of getting to have dinner with my friends, Tim and Rachel. Rachel and I used to work together in Financial Aid, {and she made my wedding jewelry} - and they just invited us over for dinner! Surprisingly, we didn't have plans, so we went and had a great time!

* Ryan worked on Saturday morning, so I stayed home and did chores {and finished my Beth Moore Children of the Day homework} and then Ryan and I headed up to the lake to celebrate his brother's birthday! He loves ribs, so they made some in the smoker...they were so good. Ryan took me on a boat ride, too! Love me some lake time!

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday, this girl was grumpy again. I HATE being grumpy on the one day every week that I don't have to do anything or go anywhere - AND the day Ryan and I get to have a whole day together. Despite my grumpiness, we enjoyed lunch in the pirogi {Sunday is our Polar Pop day}, and then we went out for a walk on the GORGEOUS evening - which made for some lovely views of the sunset!

* Monday was the day the (in)courage links went live - and it was so much fun to watch all day as ladies joined our group! That night I came home and was DETERMINED to get a full 5K in - even if I had to crawl through the end. Guess who DID IT!!! This girl!!! {And by did it, I mean ran/walked it...no crawling.} We did chores the rest of the night, and Braeya Jo Jo helped me with the laundry. Ever the helper, that one.

* Tuesday morning's sunrise was so breathtaking - one beautiful ray through a whole cloud cover. The picture doesn't do it justice. :) I worked late that night...helping with a reception at the station to dedicate the newly updated studios. It was a really nice evening honoring very sweet people. I got home about 9, so Ryan and I went for a quick walk at the IWU campus and found...they've planted flowers!! It's beginning to feel a lot like summer!!

 * Wednesday was not my best day. {Read: Be glad you didn't live at our house on Wednesday. It wasn't pretty.} Ryan did his best to cheer me up - sending me goofy pictures and making me laugh - but eventually I just called the day a complete loss and told him the only thing to do was go to bed and end the day. And hope for a better Thursday. :)

* Thursday was a better day. {Had nowhere to go but up!!} I was so excited to go to McDonald's for my free iced coffee...since Ryan had his the day before. Yeah. Apparently Fort Wayne's free week isn't until NEXT WEEK. Iced coffees aren't quite as good when they're not free. After work, we went to a rather amusing preschool end-of-year program. Two year olds + a stage + bouncy music + a room full of parents with cameras = quite funny!

* Friday was GORGEOUS!!! When I got home from work, I went straight to the pirogi and took a nap until Ryan got home! We rested outside, soaking up the sunshine for a while and then had an at-home date with pizza, Polar Pops and a movie!!

 * Ryan worked yesterday, and I had a busy day while he was gone! I got up early and had an online meeting for the (in)courage groups, met my friend Faith for lunch, spent most of the afternoon in the backyard rotating adventures in scrapbooking, napping, and running....and doing some chores. When Ryan finally got home about 6:00, he was pooped, so he took a nap in the hammock! Super busy day - but very productive! I finally finished our anniversary trip album!

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday, we decided to take it easy at home after church, because we'd been gone way too much and been apart far too many hours for our liking. We did manage to sneak out for a run in the afternoon - and I decided since it was really my day of rest, that I wouldn't time myself or stress about the run. Ended up having a super run. Go figure!!

* Monday we went back to work...why are weekends always so short? We planned ahead for dinner and enjoyed some pulled pork in the crock pot - and then I spent the evening making pumpkin snickerdoodles for Ryan...since I had to be gone the next night. Trying to be a good wife...leaving treats for the husband to prepare for an evening of absence! And he'd already won the husband award after leaving me this note:

* Tuesday evening I went to Lima, Ohio to work the Chonda Pierce comedy event and had SUCH a fun night with my friend and co-worker, Cindy. My GPS tried to get us lost...but he did not succeed and we really enjoyed meeting the fine folks in Lima and hearing Chonda. She is so stinkin' funny! It made for a very late night, but I'm so glad I went!

*  Wednesday morning, I watched a stunning sunrise on the way to work. {Picture doesn't do it justice.} But the day was quite a heart-string tugging day for my heart. It was my nephew's 25th birthday - 25 years since we said goodbye to him...and it's still so hard. And it was also Lynne's birthday, so I spent the day at work celebrating her and the friendship we share! After the heart-highs-and-lows of the day, it was good to come home and curl up on the couch with Ryan to rest and watch America's Got Talent.

 * Thursday was the Shaffers' terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day. We overslept TWO hours. You read that right. TWO hours. Woke up when we were supposed to be getting in the car to leave. That set the tone for the day...and by the end of work, I was ready to curl up in bed and cry for hours on end. But I decided to, instead, be a responsible adult and unload the dishwasher. Yeah, that's when I found the lid to my Christmas-present-from-Ryan travel mug melted in the bottom of the dishwasher. That's it. Day cannot be recovered.

* Friday night was our date night, which included grocery shopping and a trip to the auto parts store. LOL!!! But for dinner, we made breakfast - including pumpkin pancakes, which were YUMMY!! They tasted just like the ones we had at IHOP last week! Bring on pumpkin and fall!!

* Ryan had to attend a work conference yesterday afternoon, so while he did that, I scooted around town doing a teensy bit of shopping...and then we dressed up and went to his cousin's wedding reception. I was so excited because we got to dance! {This is still one of my most favorite things about my new life. I don't think he quite understands it!}

Does This Mean We're Getting Old?

Ryan and I try to go on a date every single week. It's important to us to carve out time for each other every week.

Last Saturday, we did a work/date combo. That happens sometimes. And I think there's a distinct possibility, it proved we're getting OLD.

We got up super early {like the same time we'd get up on a work day} - and headed toward Indianapolis. On the way, we were distracted by the AMAZING sunrise. Picture doesn't do it justice. AT ALL.

 Ryan even pulled over into a parking lot so I could get a picture. I love that man.

On our way to Indianapolis, we were passed by a motorcycle...and the driver was wearing a helmet, which I so appreciated, but that was about all he was wearing! Helmet and gym shorts. 80 miles an hour on the interstate. Seriously, dude???? That's gonna be some road rash if you take a spill.

Wish I'd gotten a picture of THAT for you!!

We started out our date with an oil change...reminiscent of our very first date, which began with an oil change. :) While we waited, someone wanted to try out the Harley in the show room.

 And just a quick opinion on that:

I hate motorcyles.
 
And after our oil change was over, the sun blazed on in its glory.

We were headed to Indy because Ryan needed to go to a conference for the morning...for work. On his way to that, he dropped me off at a Starbucks inside a Target where....

...I met up with my friend Jamie!! Jamie was the Mid-Morning producer before me, and we haven't seen much of each other since then. She asked if I was up for meeting her in the Indy area to catch up, so this was our chance! We settled in with coffee and sweet bread and talked forever. It was SO GOOD to have a good heart to heart with her.

And we may or may not have done a little shopping after that. And I may or may not have purchased this throwback to my childhood:

Isn't that GREAT? Mom and Dad had one of these when I was a kid and they're BACK!! {And as you can see - we lost our sun.}

Ryan picked us up at noon, when his conference ended, and the three of us headed over to Chili's for lunch and chatting. I loved it that Jamie and Ryan had a chance to get to know each other over lunch. :) Such sweet memories made there.

We left Jamie and headed north again, stopping at a Super Target to look for some things on our to-buy list for the house. By the time we got to Target, we felt pretty lousy. Between a minimal amount of sleep  and something we ate getting the best of us, we decided to kick back in the car for a quick nap.

AN HOUR LATER...we woke up. Oh my word! We slept for an hour in the Target parking lot! We are so old.

You know how it goes when you wake up too fast and get up and try to move around and you can't think and you feel dizzy and sick? That was us. We made a quick exit and drove back to Marion.

By the time we got back to town, we felt better, so we made a trek through Hobby Lobby and then the Goodwill.

Then we came home and got to work! More painting in Shafferland!

It may not be your traditional date, but that's how we do things around here. A great day - and a sweet treat to get to spend time with Jamie!

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday, after church, Ryan and I finished putting together our gazebo {which we have named our pirogi...so get used to seeing it as such on here} - and then we enjoyed a nap in the hammock, dinner at the patio table, and coffee and dessert by sunset! And a lovely, low-key walk just to enjoy the absolutely fabulous day!!

* Monday evening I tried another new recipe from the Dashing Dish website. {This is actually fairly common in my life lately.} This one was a pizza chicken salad, and both Ryan and I really liked it. Know what else we liked? Eating dinner out in our new pirogi. I think that might become the norm every decent weather day. We stayed home the rest of the evening and worked on many chores around the house. Even though it was work, I loved being HOME!

* Tuesday looked a lot like our Monday, and the predicted storms never materialized, so after dinner, we went on a walk and I saw this gorgeous sky:

The cross cloud reminded me of God's presence...which was such a comfort in a week of stretching and growing in my soul. So thankful for these touches!!

* Wednesday I got a fun new thing...a new bag for my camera! The camera Ryan gave me for my birthday is a wee bit bigger than my old one, so my existing camera bag is too small. And I wanted something I could "grow" into if I buy more lenses and such. One of the girls I work with had this bag that she wasn't using, so she sold it to me, and I think it's so cute!! :) And in the world of relationships over possessions...Ryan and I were invited to dinner at our neighbors' house! I've never gone to a neighbor's house for dinner in my adult life, so it was a fun treat!

* Thursday night I did my last cooking in our kitchen before we started the great kitchen overhaul of 2013. More to come on that. :) And while I was busy saying goodbye to domestication for a while, Ryan was busy sawing a couch in half. Yeah you read that right. He was clearing out a rental apartment and it was either risk breaking windows or saw the thing in half.

* Friday night, Ryan and did date night...hauling cars! One of our friends needed his car transported to a shop, so we loaded it onto a trailer and drove around the countryside, delivering it to the shop! It really was a fun night - and we even got home at 1:30 in the morning - just like we were teenagers!. And best of all - got to try out a new salad at the Chick-Fil-A. It was full of a combination of things I swore I'd never like together...but I did.

* And yesterday began the great kitchen reno of 2013. We have some plans for the ole butler's kitchen...and I can't wait to tell you all about it. But let me show you the former carpet we uncovered while moving kitchen cabinets. It doesn't...quite suit my tastes, but when I posted this picture on Facebook, it got quite a few comments of "oooh I love that!" I need to be quirkier.

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday was Easter, and we had a great time celebrating with Ryan's family, but you already read all about that...so I will just share with you this picture that I took at our church...loved the way they had it decorated.

* Monday was the first day of April...and I survived the whole day without succumbing to a prank at the hands of my co-workers. And if you knew some of them, you'd know what a feat that is! :) Ryan and I had the evening at home, and we worked hard to continue our cleaning palooza. It's looking better...ever so slowly! Since it was the first day of a new month...time for a new printable in our living room frame!

* Tuesday was our four month anniversary, and we kept it low key. We had to work, and then that evening, we went for our first outside run of the year. I love it that he lets me go with him, even though I'm so slow compared to him. Loved sharing that together - before coming home for a romantic dinner of...leftovers. :)

* Wednesday evening I "had to" go to Cato to buy new sunglasses, after mine died this tragic death upon pulling them out of my purse. While there, I may or may not have found a number of dresses I'd like to try on...you know...for summer dates...just sayin'. :)

 * Thursday morning I drove to work to this gorgeous sunrise...oh man it was beautiful! I'm so ITCHING for spring to get here in full force! (Meaning I can wear capris and flip-flops.) That evening, Ryan and I had a great night of just talking. I so love it that he talks - very freely - and that we can have heart to heart chats all the time.

* Friday night we went to a birthday party for one of my blognonymous friend's kids. It was so much fun - and really the first time Ryan had been around that group of my friends for any length of time. Watching him play with the kiddos was such fun. He's a good husband and a good uncle!

* And Saturday...Ryan and I worked the Francesca Battistelli concert in Fort Wayne. It was a fun night - even though it was a late one! I'll tell you more about it next week, but until then, here's a picture of me with the handsome man after the concert!