What I Learned (and Accomplished) in May 2020

Yes, I know. There are still two more days in May. But we'll be busy with the Saturday Six and Shafferland Shuffle, so today I will share some fun things I learned this past month and look back over my goals for May to see how I did!

First...what I learned.

1. We should not be trusted to pick out gray paint. Ever. 

People. It shouldn't be hard. It just shouldn't. It's gray paint. GRAY PAINT!!! How can this be impossible? And yet it was. Whether or not blame should be placed here, I choose to place blame on selecting paint during a quarantine. Ryan and I got online and looked at paint chips, which were nowhere NEAR the colors on our screens when brushed on our walls. Ryan FaceTimed me from the store to show me paper paint chips which also were nowhere NEAR the color that appeared on our wall. Over the course of three rooms, we had perfect grays turn the following colors: green, blue, perwinkle, purple, and almost navy. It was the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. So we have the "ambidextrous" color in the guest room that was supposed to be gray but looks more like a cross between a robin egg and sage, and we have the gray in our living room that is most decidedly a baby blue. That led to repainting our kitchen a gray that is most decidedly a darker blue. If you need gray, don't call us. We will fail you thoroughly.

2. People were not as eager to reenter society as I expected.

This one really surprised me. As everything began to lock down in March, I read so many posts of people who ranged from sad to flat out angry about the restrictions. They just wanted to get out! They wanted to shop and get a haircut and go to church. And yet as things opened up here in Indiana throughout May, I started hearing some of those same people say they weren't ready to try society just yet. They decided to stick with online church, and another few centimeters of gray roots wouldn't kill them. I have no judgment either way, but I was surprised that so many who had been so vocal about getting out ended up staying in!

3. You can juice a lemon by poking a hole in the end of it.

Ryan learned this one on Tik Tok, which may be THE strangest sentence I have ever typed in my life. He is not a social media guy at all, but he does like watching the funny videos on there. Anyway! He found this hack (which we may be the last people on earth to learn) for juicing a lemon without cutting it. Did you know you could do this?

4. Ryan never ceases to amaze me with his party planning skills - even in a pandemic. 

I didn't think he could top my 40th birthday, but he sure did a great job with his pandemic birthday party! If you're new here and don't know, Ryan threw me a surprise party when I turned 40 - and about 100 people came! It was a Beauty and the Beast themed party, complete with Belle and a photographer and lots of cake AND forty roses. (And much more.) I loved it so much! This year he sent me lunch delivery (since he had to work and restaurants weren't open for dine-in) and then cooked FROM SCRATCH an entire dinner, complete with chocolate cake to match my Anne of Green Gables themed birthday party. He decorated our guest room for the party and watched the entire 3 hour movie with me - and liked it! It was so much fun!

5. It takes an extraordinary amount of work for a large church to reopen according to regulations.

Pandemics really throw life for a loop; I think we can all agree on that. But I had an amazing appreciation for the amount of time that goes into figuring out all the many, many pieces and parts of trying to safely reopen a large church. We spent over five hours in a staff meeting talking through all the details of how and where to seat people, how to clean effectively, and how to keep everyone as safe as we could. It was exhausting, and I was just taking notes! I wasn't the brains behind the operation! I am sure there are similar conversations at every single type of establishment. You all are amazing for thinking through everything from so many angles!

6. The really cool panels on the back of our church platform stage are really just styrofoam. 

I went back to work in the office this week, and one day I had to walk across our sanctuary platform. I passed by the large panels I see behind the singers and pastor every week. I was positive they were some sort of fabric screen...until I saw them up close. Nope! Giant pieces of styrofoam. BLEW MY MIND. I mentioned it to one of the staff pastors, and he sent me this article to explain how it works. (This article isn't about our church.) Wow! Who knew???

7. Kind makes mini bars!

When I worked at WBCL, Lynne introduced me to Kind Bars. They were one of her favorite snacks, and she got me so hooked on them! I discovered in the break room at work this week that Kind makes MINI bars! Kind of like a fun size candy bar. I had no idea! Super cute!


So that's what I learned in May! Now...how did I do on my goals?

1. Finish our next round of home improvement projects.

Almost. We did fully finish the guest room, and I love how it looks. (We even had a staycation in there a couple of nights during May!) We also finished the board and batten project in the entry - and it looks amazing. It was always meant to be that way, I'm pretty sure. We painted the living room (and then the kitchen, thanks to the aforementioned issues with gray paint) but we didn't get the one living room wall done. The supplies weren't available, so we were stuck.

2. Plant flowers outside.

DONE!!!! Our trip to Lowe's to purchase them was my first trip to a store after quarantine. We had to let them hang out in the garage for a few days, thanks to a quick reprise of winter, but we finally were able to plant them the week of my birthday! They are starting to fill out and bloom and look so lovely. It makes me so happy to come home from our evening walks and see all the pretty blooms! Bonus: I planted my first tomato plants of life, too! Two of them!

3. Soldier on with the blog archiving.
I indeed soldiered...and even better than the finished product reflects, because due to a computer crash, I lost two and a half months of what I'd saved and had to redo them. I was still able to meet my goal of archiving a full year, but it would been an additional two and a half months if I hadn't had that setback!

4. Plan (with hope) details for a tiny getaway.
Well, we have decided to be very unShafferlike about this getaway. The area we're visiting has different restrictions from where we live, and we're finding them to be less predictable and far less planned-out-in-advance than we're used to living in. The getaway itself is on, but the planning is off. It will surprise us all what we're able to accomplish! We will just see what's open and participate where we can.

5. Prep a talk for Mother's Day.

Done! It was so much fun! I was able to share with one of the churches I used to attend - via Zoom! I wrote about it here, if you want to read more, but I really enjoyed the chance to do this! Creative and fun on the part of the church, I thought.

6. Write something suitable for submission.

Done! I haven't submitted it yet, but I did enjoy a little proper writing! I had Bibles stacked up for study and everything! I also shared a couple of written pieces with my parents' church. (They're not set up for online church so they're "meeting" each week by mailing out the materials for church and then everyone reads them at church time. Mom asked if I could share some of my writing for it, and I did!)

So how about you? Did you learn or accomplish anything exciting in May?

Dreams and Goals for June 2020

Wow. If I thought it was difficult to make month-ahead goals for days of quarantine with little freedom, I have to say it's even harder to make goals for the unpredictable days of reopening! I think I know what we we might be allowed to aim for, but I hate to plan too specifically, because it could all change, couldn't it?

Well, I'll do my best with what I know at this time and make adjustments as necessary.

1. Archive another full year of old blog posts.

If I'm able to achieve this, it will bring me up to July of 2016, which will mean I have almost my first full decade of blogging archived. And I'll be well over halfway done with the project! It has been surprisingly delightful to do this project!

2. Keep up on scrapbooking and begin a vacation album.

I have successfully kept up with my present day, chronological albums, and I'd like to continue to do that! I also hope to at least start (if not mostly finish) a vacation book that isn't done.

3. Keep our tomato plants alive...maybe even see them thrive? Is that too much to ask?

A few days after my birthday, I picked up a couple of tomato plants from a friend who had extras, and they've been growing like crazy in their little porch planters. I cannot...cannot...tell said friend that I have accidentally killed the plants he donated to my trial gardening cause, so they must live. They must!!!!

4. Finish the living room project.

During quarantine, we painted our living room. And then we accidentally painted the kitchen because the living room color didn't turn out the way we planned, and the two rooms meet up in the middle. (Long story.) We have a plan in place for one of the walls in the living room, but the virus apparently put some of our supplies on backorder. It would be splendid to be able to finish that project! And maybe even hang up the rest of the wall art we haven't put back since painting. I think we're starting to become simultaneously annoyed by/oblivious to the piles of supplies in our bedroom.

5. Get our air conditioning fixed.

How was this not item #1?!?!!? We turned on our air conditioning over the weekend and though it did groan to life, it did not emit nearly the freezing cold air it should have. So we turned it back off and "called the man" (in the words of that one Andy Griffith show line). Naturally he can't come until next week, so we've been sitting in 80 degree living room weather, and it's been a marvelous opportunity to find joy while melting.

6. Exercise. Again. 

This one makes the list a lot, doesn't it? We've been doing some new workouts lately - and were doing fairly well before the air conditioning went on vacation. I could not do a cardio workout in an 80 degree house without A/C. I just couldn't do it. So we'll move this one to June and power through! We really like the workouts we've tried!

I feel like this is a manageable list in a very unpredictable season! Do you have any goals for June? Any of you have to cancel anything that has made you sad? Any of you restarting any part of life this month ?

Documentation: To Rewrite History or Not?

A couple of days ago, I wrote about my discovery of a family vacation scrapbook from 1986 - and my heavily misspelled journal entries. I wrote mostly about the weather and the specific times we entered states or left our hotel rooms, so it may not land in history as my finest work, but it does land as my earliest work.

Scrapbooking has actually come in quite handy for me this week. Not the act of constructing the books, but the benefit of having the books.

* A friend of mine asked my thoughts on putting together a baby book, and since I've made one for someone else before, I had all kinds of ideas to share!

* Another friend is planning her daughter's graduation open house and wants to have ice cream sundaes. She remembered that we had those for our wedding reception, so I looked up the details in the scrapbook and let her know the specifics.

* I needed a specific date from something that happened back in 2000...and sure enough! The scrapbook had the date!

Three of the many dozens of reasons I love our books and the memories they hold for us.

But scrapbooks bring up an interesting question that really becomes a matter of opinion: should you (or do you) "rewrite history" by taking or leaving things out of books or journals?

What do you think?

One of my friends redid a photo album once to remove photos of a relationship that had ended. She said she didn't want anything to remind her of that season of her life, including a record of the dates they'd been on together.

After my breakup with Isaac, I stared at the printed pictures (clearly a while ago) from our last dates and weighed whether or not I would include them in my album. He had so deeply hurt me that I wasn't sure I could even bring myself to document the happiness I'd felt on those last adventures. In the end, I decided that even though it hurt, our relationship had been part of my life story, and it certainly forever marked the woman I became. I couldn't ignore it just because it had ended. So I included the pictures and the story of our relationship's end.

For me, scrapbooking is not only a fun way to look back on memories, but it's another form of journaling. Some pages are overwhelming to create, because they bring up deep emotions. (I've been known to put book projects on hold because I have to wait for my heart to be ready.)

I choose to make our books in a way that captures all of life. Most of our days really are fun to remember. But every now and then, there's a difficult (or ridiculous) story.

* Like the last night we cared for Ryan's mom before she died.

* Like the day I submitted my resignation to WBCL.

* Like the time we had to have our entire yard dug up to replace every stitch of plumbing from our house to the street.

* Like the time I accidentally dyed my hair neon orange a week before a class reunion.

Certainly those stories don't hold equal comparison to one another, but they all represent days that might not be our finest or our favorite. But they represent our story in full. They represent things I don't want us to forget as time passes and memories fade. For as much as I want to erase some of those things, I also want to remember how they made me stronger or braver or more grateful or more aware of my own crazy stories.

So I write the stories, even if it takes me a while to be able to do it. That's my choice. It's okay if it doesn't match yours. But what would your choice be? (You're allowed to answer even if you're not a scrapbooker...)

Going Back

I know that some of you who read here each day don't live in Indiana, and I know different states are in different phases of opening right now, so here's a quick look at where we've landed for the time being. Last Friday, we entered Stage 3 of our state's "Back on Track" plan, which will carry us through June 13.

* We are no longer under any travel restrictions.
* We can have social gatherings of up to 100 people.
* Face masks are recommended.
* Remote work is encouraged.

And with that, today I'll be heading back to full-time work at the church. I've been working from home, but since our church reopened for worship on Sunday, they wanted to reopen the church offices. I have my own office space, so I'll be able to work a good and safe distance away from others, but it's going to be quite an adjustment to being away from home after two months! My shoes and real clothes aren't going to know what hit them.

Because this change effectively ends my quarantine season, I've been feeling pretty reflective on these last eight or so weeks. I've been thinking back over the things I/we did that I'm grateful for and the things I/we didn't do that I wish we would have.

It's always strange to enter a season that you know will mark you forever, but not know how long you'll be in that season. I remember feeling similarly when Ryan's mom was sick. We knew our time with her was limited, but we didn't know how limited. We wanted to make the most of the time, but we didn't know how hard to push, because we didn't know how long our energy needed to last.

I'm pretty sure none of us imagined, when we came home from our respective last days of work, that we would still be this secluded at this point in the year. I know I didn't.

I think if I had known, I would have been much more purposeful from the start about making a firm schedule and sticking to it. I did a lot of resting at the start - partly because my heart was exhausted from the fear of the unknown - and I couldn't pull myself into motion. I worried about Ryan getting sick. I worried about either one of us making someone else sick, even if we didn't show symptoms. I worried about running out of food (and toilet paper). Those things paralyzed me for a while.

Then I started to find my faith footing and pressed forward with trying to live a full life here with Ryan.

* We celebrated three birthdays in quarantine and had so much fun with each of them. The days will be memorable, not because we took masked photos, but because we genuinely had fun at home together, enjoying the things we love.

* We had our first Easter on our own and it was saturated in rest and worship. Easter is always a galloping holiday - galloping from one gathering to the next, and this time it was a reflective day.

* I caught up on almost every single scrapbook project in my queue. I only have one that didn't get finished. I don't know that I've ever gotten and stayed this caught up for this long.

* We knocked out several projects around the house. They weren't major home improvement projects, but they were little time-consuming things that we finally had time to complete.

* We worked out together, because Ryan's gym closed. We ate at home more than ever. Ryan perfected his breakfast skills, he used the grill often, and I tried my hand at new things - like homemade bread.

* We had long conversations - sometimes while we painted, sometimes on neighborhood walks, and sometimes on our sun porch, which was the biggest life saver of all in this season.

* I had time for extra Bible study and prayer, both of which I sorely needed.

Of course there are things I wish I would have done differently. But I am grateful for the things I did well - the things we did well. This season was life-changing for us. It taught us so much about our hearts, our dreams, and our faith. I am so grateful for it. And even though I know it will be nice to see friends again, I'm going to miss this season of slowness.

Vacation Documentation: The Early Years

It should be no surprise to you that I'm a giant advocate of documenting life. I've posted often over the years about my passion for it - through journaling, photos, and scrapbooking.

Today I want to show you one of my early works of documentation and why I love it so.

Back in 1986, in between my second and third grade years of school, my parents planned a huge (for us) family vacation. I don't think it was our first trip since I'd been born, but it was the first regular vacation I remember taking. Mom, Dad, my older sister (Julie) and I packed ourselves in the family station wagon and drove from Indiana all the way out to Washington DC for an extended vacation to see all the parts of the the city.

Julie was living on her own by that point, so it was an extra fun adventure to have her along. My parents bought one of those hard plastic luggage carriers that strapped on top of a vehicle, so we could put all our suitcases on top of the car and have more room inside for...well...us. This was before the days of seatbelt laws, so I rode all the way out and back in the way-back of the station wagon. I made a little bed for myself back there and had the merriest time watching the scenery fly by the window - in between books, of course. My sister had the entire back seat to herself, and my parents rode up front, Dad doing the driving and Mom navigating with the atlas and the AAA maps.

Mom gave me a job for the trip - and I had no idea it would set the tone for my entire life where trips were concerned. I was the official documenter of our vacation. She handed me a notebook and let me keep whatever record I chose.

I giggled all the way through that written record when I read it this past week. My spelling was questionable, but I was only eight, you know. Here's a sample:

"I opened my first preasent." Mom had gotten me some little dollar gifts (before dollar stores were even a thing) and wrapped them up. Every few hours, I could open a new one. Apparently the first one was due at 7:30 (a.m.).

"I went through Cloumbus, Ohio." You've been there, right? And then at 3:25 p.m., we came to West Virgina. Wow. That was awkward.

"We saw trucks come off the Interstate and go to a big parking lot to eat or to stay at a Motel." I'm surprised I didn't count them!!!

Every single day of our trip has a questionably spelled journal entry, complete with reports on times and weather.

 Good old "Mount Vernen" and the "basment" and the "deks" on the boat.

Ahhh that boat. It was a ferry of sorts, and as I stood in line between the ticket counter and the boat itself, my ticket fell into the water. I sobbed. I thought they were going to let my entire family on the boat and make me stay on the dock until they got back. Alas, they took pity on me and let me go:

I love all the pictures Mom took in and around our hotels. It's fascinating to me to see how they have changed in presentation since 1986. This is one reason I always take pictures of every single hotel room we stay in now. I want to compare in 30 more years!

Mom also kept every single receipt from the hotels on this trip, and the prices are fascinating!! The average cost for 4 people to stay in a room throughout this trip was about $50.00.

I also loved all the pictures she took at major places. If Ryan and I ever get to tour Washington D.C. ourselves, it would be so much fun to recreate some of these photos!

My Dad, who was still a high school teacher at that time, was in charge of the senior trip each year. They always went to Washington D.C. for the day, so Dad always had a contact with our congressmen. When we made our plan to visit as a family, Dad reached out to him and he met us for lunch and helped us arrange some tours. We even got an official photo!

The whole scrapbook is filled with ticket stubs, postcards, brochures, menus, and more. It was very thorough, especially for 1986 standards, and I loved looking through it. It brought me so much joy and reminded me that this is why I put so much time and effort into documenting the trips we take. I want to preserve the days - and thankfully I've advanced beyond a record of times and weather reports.

And this is where I got my documentation start!

The Shafferland Shuffle

Happy Memorial Day weekend to you! Have any of the rest of you forgotten that it's a holiday weekend? I sure have! I think it's partly because there is still one more Sunday in the month of May, so it doesn't feel like it should be Memorial Day yet. And then, of course, there's the whole thing where I have no idea what day it is in general! Our weeks are about to return to a bit more of a normal-looking schedule, so perhaps that will help. Meanwhile, here's a look at our last official quarantine schedule week!

* Last Sunday was our church's last Sunday to have only an online service. We have so enjoyed these last few weeks of slow, truly restful Sundays, and we enjoyed this one just as much! I had to crack up at this picture of Ryan, too. He stretched out on the couch, and I asked if he was going to take a nap. He said no. He wasn't sleepy. ;) We did take a walk that afternoon and the rain that was about five hours out on the radar made a surprise early appearance! (No photos of that.)

* Monday was a productive office day for me, including some writing that led to double-stacked Bibles. Study is getting serious! One of our neighbors was gone for several days while his wife was hospitalized out of town, so that evening, Ryan mowed his yard as well as ours. Meanwhile, I had an evening of Facebook Live and Zoom meetings for the big Fresh Grounded Faith conference coming to our church this fall.

* We had so much hard rain over the weekend that we'd pulled our freshly planted tomatoes back inside so they wouldn't drown. Braeya deemed herself their guard and sat between them every chance she got. When I closed up the sun room to go to work at the church that day, she sat at the window, still watching. I spent some time at the church for staff meeting that day - which included Jimmy Johns for lunch! After a full day of work, Ryan  treated me to a dinner of fabulous grilled chicken!

* I wasn't able to go along, but Ryan spent a little bit of time at my parents' house on Wednesday, beginning a painting project for them. They wanted their living room and hallway repainted. He documented his time well. :) Also on Wednesday? The last of my birthday cake. A sad day, indeed.

* Thursday night I went with Ryan to my parents, and we knocked out the bulk of the painting. It looks so fresh and nice in there! Mom and Dad got carry out from their favorite little local restaurant, and we had dinner with them, too!

* After work on Friday, we went to Lowe's to help Mom and Dad pick out new blinds for their living room, and then we went grocery shopping. My first time in a grocery store in over two months. It was not that crowded, and we found every single thing on our list. That may be a record! We went for a sunset walk when we got home, and then we camped out on our sun porch! The weather was perfect for it!

* Waking up to a beautiful sunrise was so much fun! Ryan had his breakfast on the porch before work, and Braeya tried to help with quality control. She regularly shows up when food is involved! Last night we went back to my parents' house to put their living room back together for them. I thought it turned out so nice!

The Saturday Six

One.

Though I knew he was very ill and this news was likely to appear soon, it was still sad to read of the death of Ravi Zacharias. If you're not familiar with him, he was a well-known preacher and apologist. He'd gone in for back surgery late last year and in the process of that surgery, they found he had cancer. He went through treatment for a time, but they recently stopped it and said there was nothing more they could do. Here is his obituary, which tells the tremendous story of his accomplishments, but more importantly, it tells the tremendous story of his faith.

Two.

Those of you who are local probably saw this, but for any of you who did not, this is a really great interview with a local teacher who survived a nearly-fatal battle with the virus. He is not that much older than we are, and though I think he's generally healthy, he'd had pneumonia right before the virus hit our area, and that compromised him. He was in the hospital for over a month and on a ventilator much of that time. There were two or three days when they said he wouldn't live, but he did, and his story is pretty incredible. It's a half hour interview, but it's worth the time!

Three.

A picnic in a jar. HOW CUTE IS THIS????

Four.

You know I'm a big fan of preserving story - and for recognizing how each part of our life story matters for the parts yet to come. I love the thought behind this bookmark thank-you gift. To think of the people who have been part of our stories and to thank them for it...yes.

Five.

I've posted freezer meal links here before - but I think it often feels more like a fall or winter activity. Here's a list of summery freezer meals - for the slow cooker, grill, and more! Enjoy!

Six.

I haven't tried these recipes, but I confess they intrigue me! Homemade frozen yogurt, with four different flavor options. Have any of you ever tried anything like this?

A Little Q and A (Part 2)

We had so much fun answering the questions we had yesterday, we finished out the list for today!

11. When did you first feel like an adult?

Bekah: Well...I'm sure I had a few moments that felt adult-ish before this one, but the one that always sticks out in my mind is the day I interviewed at WBCL. I remember wearing a sassy dress and heels, driving up for the interview, and then finding my way through the unfamiliar city to reward myself with fancy coffee when I was done. That felt all grown up to me. I think because I always lived and worked in the same general area where I was born, raised, and went to college made it harder to have defined moments of adulthood before that.

Ryan: He said when he was 19 years old and bought his first house. (That's impressive and certainly worth feeling like an adult!)

12. What is the last natural body of water you swam in?

Bekah: I'm more of a pool swimmer than a lake, river, or ocean swimmer, but I did get in (fall in?) the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Curacao last year while we were on our cruise. I walked around in it for a while and then lost my balance on the rocks at the bottom and fell. It was a graceful moment that Ryan was able to fully capture with a string of photos. Aren't we grateful?

Ryan: The last body of water he waded in was Lake Michigan - almost exactly one year ago. We spent a weekend up there and hung out on Silver Beach for a while. Even though it was June, it was SO COLD in Michigan, so getting all the way in the water was out. So we've decided his last true swimming was in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Curacao.

13. What is the hardest class you ever took?

Bekah: I have no idea how I passed Chemistry or Algebra. But I think my hardest class (and most embarrassing) was Economics in college. I had taken Economics in high school with my dad as the teacher, and I did really well in it. He made the class fun and understandable, and I had no problems. I anticipated the same to be true with the college level class, but the professor I had was an impossible fit for me. He was not originally from our country and spoke with a very thick accent that I found so hard to understand. He also taught way above my head, and the material resembled what I'd learned in high school...in no way. To make matters worse, there were only two grades throughout the entire semester: a midterm and a final. I failed the midterm (easily) and therefore had an F in the class heading into the final weeks of the semester. I knew the school would notify my parents I was failing, so I made the phone call to them first. Nothing warms the soul more than calling your Economics teaching father to tell him that you are, in fact, legitimately failing a course required for your college graduation.

Ryan: He says it's a toss-up between Geometry and Chemistry, but Chemistry went better because the teacher was great. The Geometry teacher wasn't a good fit for him, so it made a difficult class that much harder. He said his brain didn't bend the direction of either class.

14. What is a fact about you that nobody would guess?

Bekah: I won (well, co-won) the fifth grade science fair. My friend Amber and I did a project about cholesterol and heart disease and won.

Ryan: He's bald, he said. LOL!! Did any of you know that??? Okay how about this one! He won the fifth grade science fair. WHAT!?? We have the same answer? He said he did his project on his own (overachiever!) and it was the egg in a bottle trick. Maybe this is why he's so good at omelets?

15. What's the worst misspelling of your name you've ever seen?

Bekah: NO ONE gets Bekah right. Usually it's Becca, of course, but there's also been Bekag, Behak, and my personal favorite (from the days when it was a full Rebekah) - Rebelaj.

Ryan: No one really messes up Ryan, but Shaffer takes a beating on a regular basis. There's Schaffer and Shafer and Schaeffer and all that. But his favorite was the dryer repair guy who wrote Shasser on the bill.

16. What was the first concert you went to?

Bekah: Gaither Vocal Band! It was just after I graduated from high school and I went with some friends from work. Drooled over Mark Lowry the ENTIRE time.

Ryan: Ironically the first one he can remember was a Mark Lowry concert. Let's hope he didn't drool as much as I did.

17. What was the last concert you went to? 

Bekah: Last summer, we went to a little church near our home to see our friend Brent Vernon in concert. He did such a great job, as he always does.

Ryan: Same! Brent Vernon concert.

18. Where is the strangest place you've ever fallen asleep?

Bekah: I can't think of one! I've nodded off in a few meetings, but that's not really all that strange. I fell asleep in class in college, and probably at my desk a time or two in Financial Aid, but it was always one of those things where I jerked my head as I nodded off and woke right back up. I'm not as cool as Ryan. Check out his story!

Ryan: The floor in Lowe's. And he is not kidding. He was waiting on someone to help him, and he got tired, so he sat down on the cement floor and fell asleep whilst leaning up against a roll of carpet. (This was before we were married, but it is one of my favorite stories. He really can fall asleep ANYWHERE.)

19. Do you have any strange or regional names for things where you come from?

Bekah: I think that's a strange question, actually, because they wouldn't seem strange to us! So I looked this one up, and I have to say...this list is pretty accurate. Here in Indiana Versailles is pronounced Ver-sails. Clowes Hall is pronounced Clues Hall. The town of Peru is Pee-roo. The town of Lebanon is Leba-nun. The Murat Theater is pronounce Mur-ahh. The town of Milan is pronounced My-lin. Maybe we are stranger than I thought here in this fine state of ours.

Ryan: He added that the little townlet of Chili is pronounced Chai-lie. And he reminded me of the time I tried to teach our aforementioned friend Brent the pronunciation of Russiaville. Brent had a concert there, and I was explaining (to save him embarrassment) that it's pronounced Roo-sha-ville. We went over it so much that he got completely focused on the way he should say the name and ended up unloading every last bit of his equipment and merchandise IN THE WRONG CHURCH! He told us he was so focused on the town name, he forgot to read the CHURCH name! I've never lived it down.

A Little Fun Q and A

believe we've officially hit the part of quarantine where we haven't done enough things to make interesting blog material. I have plenty of things from the heart to blog about, but the timing isn't right just yet, so we'll press pause on those topics.

So....

I found some fun questions for today, and I thought Ryan and I could both answer them for you! How's that?

1. How many states have you been to?

Bekah: Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin  = 23

Ryan: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin - 21

2. What was the name of your first pet?

Bekah: Well, he wasn't just mine, but when I was little, we had a big dog named Dusty. I don't remember much about Dusty, except for what I see in pictures. The first pet I really remember having that was considered mine was Lassie the chihuahua.

Ryan: He didn't have pets growing up, but his grandparents had a Doberman that lived at the family farm. He said her name was Apollo, and they called her Paula. (He's a little sketchy on how all that naming business came about. We won't ask.) He said he was probably more attached to her than any other animal (until Braeya, of course).

3. What is the longest flight you've ever taken?

Bekah: I have major flight anxiety, so I sort of have a rule of one bladder flights. I'll fly anywhere that doesn't require use of the plane's bathroom. I don't know the exact length of my longest flight, but I'll guess it was probably around two and a half hours.

Ryan: He went on a mission trip to Jamaica before we were married, so he guesses his longest flight happened on that trip. Alas, he doesn't remember exactly how long that lasted. (Hmmm...I wonder why??)

4. What is your favorite family tradition?

Bekah: Oh....how to pick!?!? We do so many things that I love! But since Christmas is my favorite holiday, I would have to say that I love decorating our live tree each year with our family-story ornaments. I love reading all the stories of the ornaments and placing them on the tree together.

Ryan: He picked our birthday and anniversary trips we take each year. We always do a short getaway around the time of each one, and we just enjoy a time of rest and being away together. (And lots of picture taking...of course!)

5. What is the longest distance you've ever walked or run?

Bekah: When we were dating, we ran a 10K in Fort Wayne. That is for sure the longest I have walked/run in my life. I also learned that is the longest I'm made to run. We tried training for a half marathon after that, and it just wasn't for us. 5K is really the best for me, I think.

Ryan: Also the 10K we ran when we were dating. (At least this is the longest we've tracked. Maybe some of our hiking or tourist days have taken us farther without us knowing it?)

6. What is the best trip you ever took and why?

Bekah: I have very fond memories of every trip we've ever taken, but one of my favorites was our Friendtastic Fifth anniversary back in 2017. We drove through Georgia on our way to Florida and spent some time with our friend, Joan. We went on to Siesta Key to the very beach where we were married and stayed at the same resort where we stayed on our honeymoon. We spent time with my college roommate and her family and Ryan's high school wrestling coach. We enjoyed the beach, did some kayaking, and went on a lunch cruise. Then we headed toward home via South Carolina, where we visited one of my radio station co-workers from back in the day. We went on to North Carolina to stayed with one of Ryan's PTA school friends and his family, and they introduced us to Duck Donuts! When we left their house, we toured Mt. Airy (Mayberry), and saw the Biltmore decorated for Christmas - and blanketed in snow! It was such a fun trip!!

Ryan: One of his favorite trips we ever took was the Great Getaway of 2015. It was a vacation we took in the fall, and we went SO MANY PLACES in just a few days. We started out visiting our friends Mark and Lynnette in Virginia Beach. They took us to the beach, to Colonial Williamsburg, and to a lighthouse! Then we traveled north through the Furnace Hills of Maryland and visited a coffee roaster. We went on up to New York and spent a day hiking in Letchworth State Park. We went even farther north to Niagara Falls and toured both the American and Canadian sides. (Walked over the border, actually.) It was BEAUTIFUL in that part of the country while we were gone. So much pretty foliage!

7. What was the first record you ever bought?

Bekah: I don't believe I ever purchased one, but I do remember the first CD I bought! It was Point of Grace. I was so edgy. ;)

Ryan: His first CD was Alabama's Greatest Hits. He was clearly far edgier than I. ;)

8. What color was your childhood bedroom?

Bekah: Brown paneling. :) It was brown paneling until about junior high when it got a makeover and graduated to pink floral paneling that looked like wallpaper. (And it still exists in that room to this day.)

Ryan: Light blue paint - the best he can remember, anyway - at his mom's house. Brown paneling at his dad's house. I think he was trying to match me.

9. What is the scariest ride you've ever been on?

Bekah: Oh! I know this one! Frightful Falls at Holiday World. I actually hate rides, so I don't go on them. Ryan talked me into the "super easy" log ride at Holiday World, and I screamed all the way through it. When we left, I had bruises on my knees from pressing against the outside of the car to try to wedge myself in. Oh yes. Frightful Falls indeed.

Ryan: The Zipper at the county fair. This shocked me, since he's all about rides and roller coasters at every single big park he can find. But he said this one was so rickety that he thought it was going to fall apart while he was riding it and he screamed all the way through it. I could see that about a county fair ride. It's legitimate. (He said he sat in a cage that spun while the ride itself spun. No way would I attempt that.)

10. Who was your role model as a kid and why?

Bekah: Well, I don't know that he was my role model for an extended period of time, but I certainly took a HUGE ribbing for this. When I was in high school, Dan Jansen won the gold medal in the Olympics, and I got drawn into his story 100%. I loved his drive and perseverance, and even wrote him a letter (nerd!) to tell him how he had inspired me. He sent me a postcard of thanks, which remained my treasured possession forever. And when my friends at school found out, I never heard the end of it. Some of them STILL tease me about that.

Ryan: His Grandpa Cox. That is such a good answer. His Grandpa Cox is a gem of a man who makes a wonderful role model. Even now, in his old age, when life has slowed so tremendously, he's known as one of the happiest people. He is a treasure.