But First, the Random

WHAT a full weekend we just had! So very full. But I wanted to start by filling in with the random from the weekend.

First of all...you know how I love taking pictures! And this weekend I had a new request. My friend Brittany wanted to surprise her mom and grandma with a Mother's Day photo shoot...so with Brittany's aunt {and my friend} Kari working as the co-conspirator...I agreed to take the pictures for them!

I met them at the fairgrounds after work on Friday, and Ryan met up with us too, and I had a blast taking pics of these four lovely ladies. They are all my friends and really feel more like a second family than anything else, so it was an honor to capture their love and camaraderie .

Here's a sample of our fun together:

After we did that, we went to Ryan's niece's birthday party. One of Ryan's photo opps:

He pointed out that {shoot...I don't know which one is Anna and which one is Elsa!!} is checking him out. Fabulous. Now I'm competing with a cardboard cutout.

Saturday, we worked SO HARD. We had so much to do to get ready for hosting Mommapalooza 2.0 on Sunday.

We started by heading to the store for ferns. You wouldn't think it would be very hard, would you? Yeah. Think again. We tried three stores before giving up and heading to the grocery store. And there....

Found the ferns! And for the first time in our marriage, we became a two cart family. WHEW. It was a madhouse in there, but we escaped and went home to cook...and cook...and cook. And clean. And mow. And put up the pirogi!!

Ryan mowed and trimmed the yard and I got to work on this pile...

So much cooking to do!! We planned to serve cheesy potatoes, broccoli salad, grilled pork chops and chicken, grilled pineapple, rolls, strawberry trifle and cookies...and an enchilada dip for an appetizer.

We learned that bacon {for the broccoli salad} on the grill doesn't take very long. Whoopsie!

We worked as fast as we could to put up the pirogi before the rain came:

And then....

Maybe we would have fully beat the rain, had it not been for this little trip to frappe hour...

But it's okay. Totally worth it.

So that was our weekend leading up to Sunday!!

The Shafferland Shuffle

Happy Mother's Day!! Thankful for the moms in my life...my own, my in-law moms, the ladies who have chosen to treat me like their daughter...all of them!! Thanks for loving and investing in me!

* Last Sunday, I got to watch one of my favorite kinds of moments. Ryan took some time out to talk to a visitor at church. I love his heart for others and how he reaches out to welcome people! After church, we went for a walk,and we ran into some friends of ours. We took a walk with them, and I made friends with one of their kiddos. She was so precious. When we got home, I discovered our lilacs had actually started to bloom for real!

* Monday was, as you read already Braeya Jo's 9th birthday. We threw her a little party of sorts, and she had fun with it. I was off work that afternoon {just using up some vacation time} so I had a little extra time with her! And that night, I started the Dashing Dish workout challenge for the month of May. All was well until I started seeing spots. Apparently a tiny bit more protein before the gym would have been in order.

* Tuesday was Cinco de Mayo, and Ryan's work had a big carry-in, which I got to be jealous of through the pictures he sent me. It looked delicious! Meanwhile, I was at work getting the COOLEST going away gift from one of our listeners! That night, I went for a run, and I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful flowering trees on my path. I did not enjoy running in 80 degrees and full sun. That was challenging.

* Wednesday evening, my parents took the two of us out to eat for our birthdays. We went to this little local ice cream place called The Big Dipper, and we had a great time eating, talking to Mom and Dad, and running into people from our old church that we'd not seen in a long time! Working out after dinner was an interesting situation, BUT I DID IT!!

* Thursday afternoon, I hunkered down at my desk to work on some encore shows for later this month. That meant caffeine was in order, so one of the work guys and I split a buy-one-get-one-free coupon for a frappe. YUM. Ryan sent me a picture from his work...don't think I've mentioned how much I adore his new glasses. So handsome!! We went to the gym after work, where I proceeded to have a horrible run. When you want to quit on the first lap...it's just bad. But I persevered!!

* Friday was a FULL day!! Originally I'd scheduled the day off work so I could get ready for our big Mother's Day Palooza, but I ended up needing to be at work. I did get to leave a little early, and I scurried to Greentown to do a Mother's Day photo shoot for some friends of mine. Ryan came too, and we had a great time! After we left that, we went to his niece's birthday party, and had fun catching up with all his family.

* Yesterday was C.R.A.Z.Y. busy. We spent the entire day shopping for food, cooking the food, cleaning the house, and putting up the pirogi. {That was done in two parts since we got a downpour in the middle.} We were pretty proud of ourselves for getting everything done! And I was extra grateful that Ryan had the day off, because I never could have gotten all this done on my own.

The Saturday Six

One.

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LOVED this one. If you're a brought-up-in-church-child of the 80's and 90's, you will remember most of these, I'd bet! Don't even tell me you don't remember the WWJD bracelets, the True Love Waits pledge cards, and reading {or if you're Bekah, collecting} Brio magazines. {Bonus points if you ended up in college with the Brio cover girl!!!} {I did!!!}

Two.

COMPLETELY switching gears...last week at work, we got a review copy of a new book called Ask the Past: Pertinent and Impertinent Advice from Yesteryear. From how to kill bedbugs circa 1777 to how to cure pimples circa 1665...there's much to learn. I found out there is also a BLOG for this...and you should check it out. Hilarious advice and remedies from days of yore. Kinda makes me glad I was born...circa now.

Three.

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Do you guys watch Flip or Flop? We like watching it when we can...but I just read this article about Tarek, the host, and how a fan of the show encouraged him to get a lump on his neck checked out, and it ended up being thyroid cancer. Incredible story - and a good reminder of the importance of second opinions!

Four.

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 My friend Ronda's niece has started a new site called Lend the Love. She got married last year, I believe, and she and her family worked hard to make beautiful wedding decorations...and then weren't sure what to do with them! So this site allows former brides to register their decorations and new brides can rent them. Win-win for both!!

Five.

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Wanted to share this with you in honor of Mother's Day...whether we're grieving or celebrating this weekend, let's do it well.
Six.

I've turned into a reading fool again. It's such a delight. I have missed reading for the last, oh, four years or so. I wanted to squeeze this book in before I left WBCL. We got a copy there to review, and I wanted to peek at it before Lynne did! It's Colleen Coble's latest, The Inn at Ocean's Edge.

I actually got to meet Colleen last year, when she came to the studio to be a guest on Mid-Morning about her friend Diann Hunt's book For Better or For Worse that was made into a Hallmark movie. Ryan and I went to the red carpet premiere for that movie up in Fort Wayne, and through all of that, I came to know that Colleen is a sweet, genuine woman with a love for people and writing. So...I knew I had to read the new book as soon as it came out!

The Inn at Ocean's Edge is set in Maine, and while I've never been there in person, I've always wanted to visit, so one delight of this book was feeling like I actually made a trip to Maine! Colleen's descriptions drew me into every sight, sound, and smell of life on the ocean. {And since you all know how much I love the water, you might know how very happy this made me.}

She weaves suspense with romance, and blends them in a beautiful way. The book tells the story of Claire Dellamare, a successful young woman working alongside her father to grow their family business. They've arrived at the Hotel Tourmaline on the coast of Maine in hopes of closing a significant business merger, but just after arriving, Claire begins to learn details about her childhood she'd never known before. She begins to hunt for answers to clear her own mind, but it's not long before the hunt takes a series of urgent turns, with lives and reputations at stake.

The rest of the book is a wild ride of surprise twists, unexpected characters, and the never-ceasing internal rush to connect the dots before the characters do. Colleen weaves in splashes of faith, romance, marine life, mystery, and courage alongside the complexity of family relationships that we all experience on some level, even if the details look a bit different for each of us. 

I read the book - all 318 pages of it - in one day, and a good chunk of that took place at the salon during a cut and color. I had no clue, until she tapped me on the shoulder to inform me I was done, what length OR color my hair was...that's how deeply I was engrossed in the book. Thankfully, she's trustworthy, and it was only slightly darker and shorter than I'd imagined. But at the conclusion of the haircut, I was only halfway through the book and didn't care if my hair had been green and an inch long. I had to get home to finish the book!

Thanks, Colleen, for the affordable vacation to Maine, the new book-friends I made within the pages, and the gift of your captivating story-telling!

Slow Cooker Meat & Potatoes

I grew up on  meat and potatoes. It was my Dad's favorite thing. Of course, his favorite version was much more along the lines of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy, but still. This was before we learned how awful fried foods and starches are for long term health, but like most people in his generation, you're not about to convince him to give it up now.

Dad still loves his traditional meat and potato dinners, but I've largely given up that style of eating over the last few years. My taste buds have changed, and the ever-present battle with the scale require a different menu.

But you know what? Now and then you just need a good comfort meal. And you need one that can be thrown in the slow cooker before work and gobbled up immediately upon returning home. And this is one of our favorites. It's not the healthiest thing we eat, but it is one of the most comforting, and certainly one of the easiest.

In the list of Ryan's many wonderful virtues...he's a really good cook. And this dish is one of his. Whenever we have it, it's because he assembles it, and I really appreciate that. I love to cook for us and do most of it, but now and then, I get busy or just need a break, and he hops in without complaining to make a delicious dinner.

So we share this with you...one of Ryan's contributions to our recipe box. {Hey non-cooking guys? You can do this one!!}

Slow Cooker Meat & Potatoes

* 1 pound package of smoked sausage
* 2 cans of green beans, undrained
* 1 envelope onion soup mix
* Roughly 2 pounds of potatoes
* Roughly 2 cups of water
* Seasoned salt {or salt and pepper} to taste

Slice smoked sausage into 1/2 inch rounds. Cut potatoes into small pieces. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and add enough water to barely cover the ingredients. Cook on low for 7 hours or until potatoes are tender. Serve warm.

A Few Tips:

* We always buy the turkey sausage, because it's one thing we can do to attempt to make this a little bit healthier. We like it just as much as regular smoked sausage, and it doesn't have nearly the grease to contend with, which we also love.

* We normally buy the tiny gold potatoes, because they're already small, and we can just quarter them. If you buy regular sized potatoes, you'll want to cut the pieces fairly small, or the cooking time will be longer, and that delays your eating. You could also use red potatoes in this if you want.

* We buy the cut green beans, but if you prefer a different style, you can pick whatever you like.

* Sometimes we add additional onion to this, beyond what's in the soup mix. We don't do it every time - just depends on what we have on hand and how quickly we need to throw the meal together.

* Add or subtract the amount of potatoes I suggested depending on how much you like them or how strict your diet is. You could still make this and cut way down on the potatoes if you're not supposed to have that much.

* The leftovers warm up very well, and we enjoy taking this one in our lunch after we make it.

* We put seasoned salt on pretty much everything, but if you don't care for it or don't have any, just make sure you add some salt and pepper for flavor.

Because You Never Know

I've been staring at this screen for a while now, not even sure how to type this, because I'm afraid in some weird way, it will come across as boastful, which is not at ALL my intent.

But I think it's important, so I'm going to type it anyway and ask you to see it through eyes of grace, like you're always so good to do anyway.

I had a conversation with someone this week...and she told me that something she'd read in my story {assuming she meant here on the blog} gave her the courage to take a leap of faith in her own life.

This wave of joy washed over me, because I loved it that God had used something in me to bring courage to someone else's life. And then I felt an even bigger wave of flat out wonder wash over me.

This cannot possibly be real, right?

Almost ten years ago, I went to my ten year high school reunion {good NELLIE...how am I this old??}, and no one recognized me. They all thought I was someone's date. Pretty sure some of them didn't even remember I went to high school with them. Rebekah who?

So it's still strange to me when people remember my name...much less find anything inspiring rolling around in my life.

But I know it happens...and while it always baffles me, it always leaves me with a renewed sense of gratitude and a renewed sense of responsibility.

A renewed sense of gratitude because I appreciate the truth that God can use my crazy life...our crazy lives...to bring hope or encouragement to someone else. It brings such purpose to the seasons I've lived through {we've lived through} that have been difficult to endure. When the lessons learned in those places can push someone else toward a personal victory...that's God.

A renewed sense of responsibility because I appreciate the reminder that people I don't even know are observing my life {our lives} and I want to be faithful to live well so they can see God at work.

So....I say all of this not to say yay Shafferland!...but to say this is true for you, too. No matter how invisible you were...or fear you still are...people see you. They see you and they learn from your daily testimony. They watch you struggle and succeed...struggle and fail...struggle and try again...and then they learn and apply in their own lives what they've seen from you.

Isn't that a great gift? And a great responsibility? It's exciting to know that no matter who you are and how boring/insignificant/invisible your life may be, people see you. They do, and you matter to them. Whether they say it out loud or not, you do matter.

Because you just never know...

...but God does. And He's using you, my friend. Live well for Him.

Braeya's Birthday Bash

Yes. She gets her own birthday post. :) Because of course!

Our little Braeya Jo Jo turned NINE years old on Monday. NINE! How is this possible?? Want to see some vintage Braeya? {Please overlook me. I hadn't shed the baby weight yet. Wait. What? You can't use that when you get a cat?}

I can't stand her cuteness...

Anyway!! Back to present day.

I only worked half a day on Monday, so when I came home, we bonded. I was doing some work in our room, and she had SUCH FUN with the birthday balloon. To be fair, we did not get her a balloon of her very own. This is leftover from Ryan's birthday, but it's pretty much her favorite thing right now, so we just sort of bequeathed it to her. She had such fun.

And then I did some laundry, which is her favorite chore we ever do, because that means she gets to play with a dryer sheet. {I don't make this stuff up. She has the WEIRDEST addictions.}

And then she was just worn out and had to rest. I mean, she IS nine, you know.

{She's also practicing for a future career in posing to be a lion outside a castle.}

Later...time to check some birthday greetings on Facebook:

And then her favoritest of the favorite: TV with her dad:

Even birthday girls tucker out...

She keeps us laughing, hopping, and short on sleep - and we love her!

Monthiversary 29

Last Saturday was our 29th monthiversary, and we spent the majority of the day apart. Boo for that!! Ryan had to work, and I had a lunch date with one of my friends...followed by a hair overhaul at the salon. But at least by the time he got home, I looked as good as I possibly could!

We decided for this weekend's date and in honor of said monthiversary, we would head to Upland for dinner and strawberry shortcake at Ivanhoe's. We haven't been there in about six months, and that's about six months too long!! I had been dying for one of their shortcakes, which is essentially the best shortcake on the planet, PERIOD.

When we arrived, it was as I feared: the entire county and possibly a good chunk of the state had all descended upon Ivanhoe's. It's just that good and the day was pretty, which meant people were out and about and in need of their ice cream and shortcake. So when we arrived, the line was wrapped around the entire inside of the restaurant, and we both determined it would just be safer if Ryan went in to order and I stayed in the car. He was gone for probably 20 minutes ordering, and then he returned to the car to wait with me while they made the food.

Only then did we realize that we had no way of knowing when our order was called, so we tentatively ventured inside together to wait. Fortunately they have a giant wall of Instagram photos people posted, so we searched for anyone we might know.

 

And guess what? We found friends!

About 25 minutes later, our order was up, and we beelined it out of the crowded restaurant to head over to Taylor's campus to eat. We've done that before and it's always so peaceful!

We did not realize, however, that school hasn't let out there yet, so the campus was a bit on the full side. Channeling our best inner college students, we camped out at a picnic table beside a dorm and dove into our dinner!

 Some of us dove a bit more eagerly than others. :)

 I love their pasta salad. I get three meals out of it. It's fantastic.

We walked around campus for a while, since it was such a pretty night.

It's not a visit to anywhere unless you find and pose with a statue:

And then it was time to come home for the best part: coffee and THE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE!!!!!!!!!! {Possible overuse of exclamation points.}

Once we were satisfactorily stuffed with shortcake, we went grocery shopping. {Important to go when you're full, you know.}

Ryan found something for us to try on:

Too bad we didn't have those for our wedding day. I think it would have added something. Happy 29 months to us!! It was a fun evening!

A Little Bit of Culture

Today is my sister Lori's birthday, and it also happens to be the birthday of our favorite resident four-legged kiddo. {Different years.}

Lori told me last night that she missed the books I wrote during college...books which flew away in the tornado...8 years ago today. She told me a specific story from those books that she really loved, so I thought today, in honor of her birthday, I'd put it here on the old blogaroo, for her and all of you!

{Backing up to explain: one year, while I was in college, I didn't really have any money to buy presents for the family, so I took what I did have, which was time, and wrote a collection of stories and essays. I made copies for everyone and that was their Christmas gift. This is a story from that book, which takes us back to the late 90's, when I was still in college, and also still in that awkward state of redefining the parent/child roles. And you might notice it wasn't all that gracefully. Still...hope you enjoy.}

I've always considered my relationship with my parents educational - both for them and for me. Don't get me wrong: I love my parents very much, but our wide generation gap sometimes provides much entertainment. This was the case last December when I invited them to a cultural experience.

The University Chorale was going to perform Handel's Messiah about a week before Christmas break. Two of my roommates were singing in it, and I planned to watch them. I thought it would be a nice gesture to invite my parents to this cultural event, so I got three tickets.

Well, the week before the concert, I came down with one of the nastiest colds I'd had in a long time. I informed Mom and Dad that if I was still in the severe coughing stage on the night of the performance, I wasn't going. I told them it would be rude of me to go and ruin the night for other people while I hacked away in their ears. But by the night of the concert, I was doing fairly well, so I went.

We arrived a few minutes early in order to get a good seat. The doors weren't open yet, so we waited around outside. After a few minutes of waiting, Dad said he would run to the restroom. He left...with the tickets. No sooner had he disappeared than the doors opened, and all the people around us filed inside to take our seats.

Dad finally returned, and we went inside. Now for me, finding a seat is no big deal. You find something in the back, on the aisle.

This is not the philosophy of my parents.

"Now," my mother said, "Do you want the back of the front section, the front of the back/middle section, or the front of the back/side section?"

"I just want an aisle," was my reply.

After much debate, we chose the middle of the back middle on the aisle. We had hardly settled in, when Mom and I decided we needed to check our hair. We left Dad with our coats and went out for a hair check. When we returned and settled in, I was on the aisle, Dad was in the middle, and Mom sat on the other side of him. Every two seconds, I leaned across Dad to point someone out to Mom. Apparently that became quickly unamusing for Dad, who stood to trade places with Mom.

We had just gotten comfortable, when Dad decided to spring for one more restroom break. Mom and I stood to let him out and then of course a few minutes later, we stood to let him back in. Fantastic. So far we've all acted like a bunch of two year olds!

At last, we settled in for good...just in time for the concert to begin. Everything was fine for a while, and then Mom dropped her program on the floor. Dad leaned over to pick it up. She dropped it again. {Did I mention the two year olds....?} It was right about then that I had a flashback from my early years. I seemed to remember having similar papers snatched from my hands when I proved unable to hold onto them. Wisely, I refrained from doing the same.

We were okay again for a while, and then I realized there was a family behind us who had apparently not learned the rule about staying home from cultural events when sick. First the dad coughed...then the mom, then the kid. It was an assembly line...right down the row they went. I squirmed, feeling like I was stuck in a doctor's office, entirely distracted by the coughing. I was actually fighting the same problem, but I gave it my best shot to wait until the soloists were done and the choir joined in before I coughed.

Right about then, it came time for the Hallelujah chorus. If you didn't know, that is actually not the final song of The Messiah. Dad was ready, and reading ahead, even. I think the first note might have started before he jumped to his feet. Everyone else was still untangling their feet from the cramped quarters of the aisle, but Dad was straight and tall.

Apparently culture did exist in the family.

And I thought we were home free at that point...but I was not so fortunate. One of the soloists was sick and decided at the last minute to skip his final solo. My ever-attentive-to-the-program parents picked up on this and began trying to figure it out during the sixty-fold "Amen" at the end. I considered, at that point, snapping my fingers sharply like they used to do to me when I talked out of turn. But again, I wisely refrained.

The music ended, and the obligatory wave of a standing ovation began. I waited until the people in front of me stood and then I joined and clapped. I had probably been standing for ten seconds or so when I realized not everyone in the room was standing. All the people in the entire auditorium were on their feet, except two. And I bet you can guess where they were sitting.

Beside me. Discussing the missed solo. Still.

In total exasperation my role reversal parenting skills kicked in, and I gave them my best pursed-lips-parent look and tapped Mom on the shoulder.

THEN we were all standing.

Despite the exhaustion, I remained very proud that my parents attended a cultural event and had done fairly well. I made notes to go over the standing/sitting/bathroom break/dropping programs/talking thing, but overall, I was pleased.

And maybe, in ten years or so, I'll have the courage to try again!

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday was a beautiful day at church. I needed the sermon and our Sunday School class so much and also loved my church cafe coffee date with Ryan. We rested all day, reading and praying and napping and just enjoying a day together. These are among my favorite days. And that night...little at-home pedicure date for Bekah!! Got rid of my scary winter feet!

* Monday was a busy day at work, and the best part was...leftover cupcakes from Daddy Daughter Date Night! Will work for cupcakes! After work, Ryan and I went to the gym, where I did my first FULL workout since surgery. Like with weights and everything. And I might also mention...I adored all the pretty trees outside the gym. Spring is stunning for the trees.

* Tuesday, we had a special treat at work. Habitat for Humanity brought us lunch! It was a year ago Tuesday that we began the process of partnering with them to build a house! So we all celebrated with Chipotle, which is a beautiful way to honor anything, I say. That evening, Ryan worked hard on our yard, and I worked hard on chores, but I loved pausing to enjoy the beauty of the backyard for just a bit...leaves popping out and sun shining through. And before the day was done? We celebrated Kiss Your Mate Day. {Of course.}

* Wednesday morning, Ryan sent me off to work with my coffee cup to match my outfit {Shout out to our fellow OCD'ers!!} and when I arrived at work, I discovered he'd also gotten me some donuts for breakfast! What a fun surprise! After work, we went back to the gym, where I suffered through the second workout of the week. I was proud of myself though...for being as sore as I was {and that was a lot!!} I actually did better than the first day. Baby steps!!

* Thursday  was a curly hair day for me - something I've not done much lately. But sometimes, you have to choose between extra minutes of sleep or extra minutes for hair straightening. And if you're me, you choose sleep. So curly it was! After work, Ryan and some of his co-workers went to his boss's house to plant a tree in memory of his boss's dad, who recently passed away, and then they got to stay and have pizza! He had a lot of fun, and I always enjoy seeing pieces of his life that I don't get to be part of in person!

* Friday night, we grilled our dinner at home and ate in the backyard for the first time this season. {Pirogi is not up yet, but we just dragged the furniture into the yard and ate!} Then it was time for a Starbucks date {of course} and a lovely walk through the park. We figured it would be PACKED with people, but it wasn't. Found out later there was an event downtown, so everyone must have been there instead. So we enjoyed our leisurely evening!

* Yesterday was our 29th monthiversary...and in honor of that, Ryan worked, and I went to the salon! And THEN the best part was when we both came home and had a fun date. We went to Ivanhoe's, got dinner, took it to the Taylor campus to eat outside, and then came home to eat our STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE!!!!!!!! Finally!!! It was a fun night...I'll tell you more about it next week!

The Saturday Six

One.

Anyone else have a case of nasty winter feet? Ryan was unaware that this was even a thing. It is not fair - NOT FAIR, I TELL YOU - when guys have perfectly smooth feet. Like a baby's bottom. Ryan doesn't "do" anything to his feet. No lotion, no soaking, no pedicures, no nothing. And his feet are perfectly smooth. Mine? the ones that I exfoliate in the shower and try to lotion now and then and stuff like that? Yeah. They could kill you like knives after a winter season. But my friend Cindy told me about her potion of putting a cup of Listerine, a cup of white vinegar, and adding enough warm water to fill up the little foot bath tub enough to cover your feet. Soak for 1/2 hour and then use your pumice stone (or whatever exfoliator you have) to rub off the bottom of your feet...and it actually works! The worst parts of it were: the smell of mint (gives me a headache) and cold feet (thanks, Listerine!!!) after it was over, but it really did work. My feet are no longer hazardous!!

Two.

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I have been reading the posts on Mundane Faithfulness and am learning much from the "encore" blogs they're posting from different places of Kara's journey with cancer. This particular one posted this week got to me, because it reminded me of how I used to have some really specific practices when it came to prayer...praying for certain people extra on certain days or times...and how I've gotten away from that. I'm convicted to return to these kinds of specific prayer. Thank you, Kara!! 

Three.

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Ryan and I are working on getting back into a regular workout routine, but I sense...sadly...a rough month of it coming up here, because May is my birthday month. {Tranlation: TREATS!!!!}  Sooooo...I was really excited to see one of my favorite bloggers, Katie Farrell, issue this 30 day Dashing Dish workout. I love it that it's really flexible, to fit anyone's abilities (3-5 days a week, depending on your fitness level and a choice for each day that doesn't REQUIRE that you have a gym). So I'm going to do it! It starts Monday. Who wants to join us?

Four.

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I found this post this week by Emily Freeman...and while my husband is not quitting his job {that he's mentioned, anyway}, I found the insights within her words well-timed for my own life transition. Always good to remember that while I might think I know what's coming - even in the unknown - God could have a completely different agenda that I haven't even seen yet. Thanks, Emily!!

Five.

Kind of excited about THIS news!! I've read Shauna's blog for a while now, and a new HGTV show?? OKAY!!!
 

Six.

I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you that with the fullness of life lately...with all the pending changes...you know what I needed? {Besides Jesus, Ryan, and coffee, of course...} Some fun, light-hearted reading. Enter: Nobody's Cuter Than You...the latest memoir by Melanie Shankle.

Melanie blogs over at the Big Mama blog. {Side note: if you should happen to Google her site from your place of employment, especially if said employer has good internet filters, do be sure to Google "Big Mama Blog" because simply searching "Big Mama" will get you a big fat "site denied" in no time.} {Not that this happened to me.}

I read Melanie's first book, Sparkly Green Earrings, right after Ryan and I were married, and while it was a book about motherhood and I'm not a mom, I found myself nodding and underlining and laughing hysterically at her stories. {The one about her then-very-young daughter telling her she might want to do something about trimming up her facial hair stuck in my brain and still makes me giggle. I'm sure she'd be relieved to know THAT is the story I regularly conjure up out of all of them.}

Nobody's Cuter Than You is a memoir about friendship, and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting {through her stories} the friends who shaped her into the woman she is today. From Lindsay Letterman, the first friend she ever remembers meeting in kindergarten, to her beloved Gulley, the best friend she met in college and kept for life, Melanie let me peek into the lives of the people who loved her and the things that formed, grew, and sometimes tested their friendships. She also reminded me of why face-to-face friendships cannot possibly be replaced by FaceTime friendships, and her words inspired in me the desire to return to those in-person investments the world seems to have pushed away.

Her words are wise, including reminders that "friendships are fragile and we need to handle them with respect and reverence," and her stories are hilarious. {You'll want to especially find the story in which Melanie and a prospective employer happen upon best-friend-Gulley, sawing logs on a couch in a hospital lobby.}

Melanie made me think {with fondness} about the friendships in my life, past and present, and she reminded me that "having your soul knit to another isn't for the faint of heart." But she also reminded me why it's the craving of my soul.

Heaps of wit and a good measure of wisdom is what I found printed on these pages. I'm glad I read it - especially right now - and I'm looking forward to reading the middle book in her memoir trilogy, Antelope in the Living Room, which is about marriage.

Grieving, Groundwork, and Goosebumps

When I turned in my resignation to WBCL, I gave almost twelve weeks' notice. The job has many tiny pieces and parts to it, and training takes a while. I wanted to be fair to Lynne and to the person God has for this job...to have plenty of time to train before moving ahead into what God has next for me. It seemed great at the time. Twelve weeks. All kinds of time. Goodbyes were far away.

But I'm learning that a twelve week goodbye is all kinds of hard. Every day, I walk into that office and take visual stock of my space...I sit and have conversations with my work buds...I make plans for future shows...and then it hits me. I won't be there when those shows air. And in eight weeks, I won't be having conversations with those work buds, unless they call or FaceTime me.

Pretty sure that for the next eight weeks, I should just take my makeup to work every day, because I think I am bound to cry on all days that end in Y.

It's a grieving process, this leaving. It's saying goodbye to something I have known, loved, and held dear for four years. And I don't apologize for grieving. I don't apologize for being sad to let go of a beautiful gift I've loved so greatly.

I've got a checklist of tasks to complete before I leave, and one of them was to make copies of the blog posts I wrote for Mid-Morning over the last four years. I didn't want to forget the words I'd written, so I spent some time copying them over into a document to preserve. I glanced at my posts as I copied them, and more than once, I noticed I'd written about waiting. About what God had been doing in me in seasons of waiting.

He laid the groundwork in those times. Five years before I got the job at WBCL, one of my co-workers walked in my office at IWU and handed me a slip of paper with words on it. He told me it was the login and password for a blog he'd created. For me. Blog, he told me. Your words need to be read. I had no idea that day...that I'd need to know this skill for a job five years down the road. Same with my book. I wrote the words of the Advent devotion for me...for a season of studying I did on my own. Awkwardly, I shared it with friends. Publish it, they said. Your words need to be read. So, scared out of my mind, I did just that. And I had no idea it would be the thing that opened the door for that job.

Groundwork. He was laying it the whole time, and I never saw it. But as I glanced over my blog posts, I recognized the groundwork theme in the waiting posts. And I know...even in this time of tears and grieving a hard goodbye, He's laying more groundwork, for a future I can't see.

And that gives me goosebumps. When the tears start to fall at work, and I feel overwhelmed by the goodbye of it all, I push myself to think about the future. The future that while yet unknown, is so exciting. A future full of possibilities and joy. A future to find out the next part of why God has called me to be here, now, for such a time as this. How can that be anything OTHER than exciting?

So that's this week in my heart...a little grieving, a little {invisible} groundwork, and a lot of goosebumps for a future He's writing.

{Photo taken during my first week of work, when Lynne and I had a photo shoot and found the groundwork of a beautiful friendship being laid.}