Biking Some Trails

 

A week ago today, when Ryan and I went on our monthiversary date, we found this really great trail that we walked for a while. But we decided we wanted to come back and ride our bikes, and during our days off this week, we had time to do just that! 

We had a GORGEOUS night to ride, and we waited until late enough that it wasn't SO blistering hot outside. 

These trails go in and out of woods, and I just loved all the pretty trees. This will be a good one to revisit this fall!

I say this next part not to toot my own horn at all, because there is definitely nothing remarkable about it, but it was a big moment for me, so I'll own it! :) 

I've told you before that I broke my leg riding my bike back when I was a kid, and I've really not ridden a ton or consistently since then. I didn't ride it much for the rest of my childhood and then until last year, I never owned a bike again, so other than sporadic rides here or there, I haven't had much bike time. 

So for me to really begin to learn to ENJOY riding again is significant for me. And this night was so much fun. I genuinely loved being out on that bike! We rode 7 miles total (ran out of trail), but it wasn't a loop. So we knew everything we rode to get to the farthest point would come back again on the way home. There was one section that had a boardwalk ramp that was both steep and full of tight turns. I knew going down on the way out that I probably wouldn't survive it uphill on the way back. I knew my legs would be tired, and it would be hard to get good momentum when I had to make such tight turns so often. 

So as we returned to it, I told Ryan I would ride it as far as I could and then walk my bike up the rest of the way. But as I started my climb, I decided I wanted to beat the thing. 

AND. I. DID.

The above picture is not that great, but it's proof of my climb! The picture below was taken before it, on the ride down, but it shows how it turns. 

I couldn't believe I did it without ever stopping or falling off! Big win for this uncoordinated girl!

And I was rewarded with this beautiful sunset view!

It was such a fun night. I was so glad we went and I'm looking forward to visiting this trail again - and going back to some others we tried last year!

Adventures

When we came to work here, we had no idea what we were getting into - and I certainly don't mean that in a negative way. I just mean there are many parts of our job that no one could possibly explain to us. You can't understand them until you live them. For the last year, we've been learning about all the pieces and parts that can't be explained. 

We establish relationships with our tenants, and it is our desire that those relationships be completely authentic. We aren't in this thing to be part of their lives just because our job descriptions say we have to. We are willing and eager to be part of their lives for as long as they'll have us, even after they leave WillowBridge. 

In some cases, tenants don't choose to continue those personal relationships. We understand that! Some of them may need to move on from what life was here, so they can live out the next chapters of their stories.(It's no different than it would be for all of us with jobs or places we've lived in our own past.) Others may not make a deep, clicking connection with us, which is also completely fine. (It's no different than it would be for all of us with people who used to be part of our every day, but now they're not.)

But for some of our tenants, the relationship becomes like family. We love them and they love us, and some of them crave relationships that stay and don't wander in and out like so many they've known. And one of our tenants, who has moved out, has chosen to keep us as an active part of her life. It's been interesting to switch into friend mode, rather than advocate/tenant mode. We love it. We hope it stays that way for a long time - and we're committed to being present for her! 

She has a little boy that we've grow to love so dearly. You've read about him before. We met him when he was just an infant and now we've been part of his life for a full year. We love him and he loves us - and now and then he comes to visit! 

He came to see us this week and spent the night, and we had the BEST time together. I thought I'd show you a few little glimpses! 

He arrived Monday night, and we ate dinner together before going on a walk...

By the time we got home from our walk, it was just about his bedtime, so we did that routine and he did NOT want to go to sleep. I eventually went in to get him and rocked him for a while. I prayed over his life and whatever God has for him. Shortly after I finished praying, he relaxed right into sleep and we didn't hear from him again...

...until 6 a.m. on Tuesday! Whew! That is earlier than I planned on my day off! We sat on the couch for two more hours. I thought for sure he would fall back to sleep, but he did not. So he played with a puzzle while Ryan fixed breakfast for us. 

Then we headed to the splash pad for the morning! We had a lot of fun there!

When we came home, we had lunch, did a bath, and then it was nap time. He slept for THREE HOURS! 

When he woke up, he was still in a snuggling mood, and I didn't mind.

Games with Ryan...

And then a few more snuggles...

And then his mom came to pick him up! We sure loved having him. Looking forward to the next time! 

On Naming Plants

When Sean and Sarah moved here to work with us, we had a chance to see the house where they live when they're not at WillowBridge. It's so cute, and one of our favorite things about it is that it has a sun porch! We miss ours, so now we can just go sit on theirs now and then! :) 

One of the things I noticed as I walked through the house was that Sarah has some awfully cute plants. I pointed that out, and she started telling me their names.

I mean...we named our mixer and our television, so naming plants didn't seem weird to me at all. But Sarah went on to say that someone told her once that you should always name your plants - and choose names that are meaningful to that particular plant. The person who told her that said it would help them live longer...though I don't remember if it was supposed to be because she would be more attentive to a named plant or because the plant would somehow feel more loved.

As a budding crazy plant lady myself, I found this intriguing. I've actually NOT named my plants. But I love each of them so dearly and love what they represent in our story.

* Our peace lily has been repotted into a larger home and is growing big and healthy these days. It was a gift to us from our church when Nita died, and I still can't believe it's gotten so big in just over two years. 

* Our aloe plant came from Lowe's, but it reminds me of my childhood, when my parents (who are not crazy plant people) had an aloe plant. I bought mine earlier this year, and I think it's safe to say it's at least doubled in size, if not more, in that time.

* When Ryan and I went on our 100th monthiversary date, the botanical conservatory in Fort Wayne was having a special themed day and gave us an itty bitty sprig of a polka dot plant. (It was seriously just about a half inch tall.) It terrified me to repot it, but since it came in a little pot about the size of an egg carton spot, I knew I had to do it. When Ryan and I went on a work field trip, I found the cutest ceramic pot and moved that itty bitty plant into it. It's growing and thriving like crazy!

* Then when Allen died, we brought home a planter that has a small handful of plants in it. I know I've read that sometimes plants that are put together by florists aren't always meant to live together forever. One of our soon-to-arrive tenants has some greenhouse experience, so I plan to ask about this as part of orientation. :) 

* I almost forgot this one...and it's right in front of me! When we got home from our trip, Rob surprised us with some sort of succulent (not sure the name) in a little pot that said, "Rooting for Success." He even got a camper ornament to put in it! 

That's all I have so far in my quest to become a crazy plant lady. Part of it is that I don't have enough window space to support more plants. But I will keep adding to the plant family, and I am trying to figure out what I should name the ones who already live here. (Suggestions welcomed.)

Do you name your plants? Do you talk to them? (And of course...do you feel like this makes them grow?) 

Independence Day!

Last year, Ryan and I were having day #2 of our final Kokomo garage sale on July 4th. It was blistering hot, we sold almost everything in our garage, and then we packed up the leftovers to drop them off at our church, since they were about to have a big sale. 

And for the first time in our entire marriage, we did not go to a fireworks display. There were some around us, but we were just a week away from our move to Grabill and our first day at WillowBridge. We felt it was important to stay home and watched fireworks on TV so we could be healthy and ready for our big move. . 

And we vowed that would be the ONLY year we would miss fireworks.

But then as you know, we ended up on duty this year. It was still a good day, but boy do we have a story!

Since the 4th came on Sunday, we started our day with church. Our church actually had a combined outdoor service, complete with baptisms and a few little fireworks at the end. Ryan and I loved it. It was hot, yes, and sunny, yes, but it was an amazing service. We took lawn chairs and sat with our tenants and declared it a great morning.

Since the service was a combination of all the services, they did a blend of hymns, patriotic songs, and contemporary songs, and I thought the worship team sounded great!

Our pastor was on vacation, but the guy who preached had a lot of note-worthy things to say, and I was scribbling in my church journal the entire time.

I cried over the baptisms, even though I didn't know anyone getting baptized. One of our tenants leaned over to ask me if I was okay. I'm not sure why...just hiccupping and losing mascara at a rapid pace, right? 

The last song had extra spark...literally!

The church provided lunch after (hamburgers and hot dogs) but we brought ours back to WillowBridge to eat in the air conditioning. 

That was when I learned something I DID NOT KNOW about my husband! Apparently he is quite the fan of the annual hot dog eating championship? I was sitting there trying to figure out how I didn't know that about him since we've been married almost nine years, and then I figured it out! He always worked on the 4th! He always watched it at work! 

We settled in to watch it, and you guys...I literally can't even. He said my face was the BEST all the way through it. I just can't. 

Apparently neither could ESPN, because it cut out and he missed the end! He was not thrilled. I was not heartbroken. 

Instead, I made this pretty Dashing Dish recipe, which we did not eat at world-record-breaking speed. But we did declare it delicious!

We worked throughout the rest of the day, and then that night, we took one of our tenants to see fireworks. Enter...the story.

I've seen Fort Wayne's fireworks before and thought they put on a good show. Downtown Fort Wayne was the only place around (that I could find) actually doing a show ON the fourth, but because we were on duty, we didn't feel like we could go all the way downtown and risk getting stuck and unable to get out if a tenant needed us. 

So we asked Rob where we should go to see them that would give us a clear view - and an exit strategy. He told us a parking lot that would give us a good view, so we packed up and went. When we arrived, a little after 9, several people had already set up camp in the parking lot, so we took that as a good sign. We joined them and waited for 10.

And then 10:05.

And then 10:15. 

All the while, we could see random fireworks from this direction or that, but nothing that was ever more than two at a time and nothing that could remotely be called consistent.

Finally, about `10:30, all the people who were there first just abruptly stood up to leave. We waited about 15 more minutes and then followed suit.

We never saw the show. Apparently it happened, but we could not see it. 

I was EXCEEDINGLY sad.

These are literally the only fireworks I captured:

I know. Pitiful.

So I'm thankful for a good day with Ryan and our tenants - and all the good food and the great church service. Those things matter and I'm glad for them! 

But we have already picked out our camping spot for next year so we can be at the water for fireworks on the 4th! 

103 Months

Eighteen years ago today, I was in a wedding. It was the first of my two purple weddings, and of course it came with an only-Bekah story for the books. 

It was a fun day that did for me what weddings always do: push me to continue to pray for a husband of my own.

Eleven years ago today, I was mourning the loss of a relationship and wondering if I would ever...ever...see my dreams come true. 

And last Friday, Ryan and I celebrated 103 months of marriage. 

We were on duty, so our date was short - all tucked into the last part of the evening - but it was an absolute treat and delight. 

We found a gift card hiding in our reserve and decided at the last minute to go out for dinner and skip cooking. (Didn't have to twist my arm too hard on that one!) 

We went to Buffalo Wild Wings, which is one of Ryan's FAVORITE places, and I tried something new...and loved it! I usually get a wrap, but they're so big, and I just wanted something small. I decided to get the street tacos, which are part of the appetizer menu. Aren't they cute as a button! They're smaller than they look here, making them the perfect size for dinner!

The original plan (concocted entirely by Ryan) for our evening was a dessert date, so we decided to take a quick walk on a trail to give us some room between dinner and dessert. 

We randomly found a trail we didn't even know existed and had the best time walking a short piece of it. (We have plans to go back in a few days with our bikes and do the whole thing!) 

After we walked, we headed to our dessert date, which was a surprise for me! Ryan is such a great listener. He heard me say I really wanted to try it, so we did!

Zesto is a walk-up ice cream place in the Fort Wayne area. They have several locations, so he took me to the one that had the best reviews. ;) It was yummy, and now we can say we're official Fort Wayne residents. 

And then...back to do a little more work!

I am grateful for these past 103 months and all Ryan does to carve out time for our relationship in the middle of the craziness of our world! 

Sunday Sentiments

It is my second favorite holiday of the year! Christmas is my favorite, but this day is right behind it. It's a non-traditional year for us, so we're working today and tomorrow. I'm sad that we won't get to go scope out a lake to watch fireworks, but we're hoping to catch fireworks in town tonight.

Meanwhile, though, I wanted to share with you something that really stuck out to me this week. It was both a conviction and encouragement to me, so maybe it will be the same for you!

Ryan and I celebrated our 103rd monthiversary on Friday, and I'll have to tell you more about that this week. We were able to get away for a couple of hours for dinner and dessert, and it was while we were having dessert that I found my moment of encouragement and conviction.

We went for ice cream and found a little bench to sit on while we ate. Families were coming and going, and a couple of moms stopped to talk not far from where we stood. Both of them had been at ball games for their boys, and while they swapped stories of baseball-mom-life, the husband of one stood nearby. 

He had such a kind face. (I can't ever say that without thinking about the episode of I Love Lucy where she participates in the comedy bit about the person with the kind face. Have you seen that one?) 

Anyway. He had a kind face, waiting patiently for his wife to finish talking so the family could move toward ice cream. While he waited, he caught sight of another family around the corner from us. He smiled brightly and asked the kids in that family how their night went. (The must have had on baseball uniforms too.) I couldn't hear their answer, but the look on his face told me they hadn't won. 

What he said next caught my attention. Rather than saying he was sorry, he just kept smiling and said, "But did you have fun?" 

And then he went on to ask what position they played. He waved goodbye and moved along, closer to the window.

He stopped to talk to more families - people he clearly didn't know, but if they wanted to say something, he made time for them.

It was convicting to me. It's no secret that when ice cream is in view, I find it hard to widen my tunnel vision. But I appreciated that this guy not only made time for everyone, but he made sure to find the joy and bigger picture in everything - even a baseball loss.

He reminded me (as he reminded some random child around the corner) that it isn't always about whether or not you win, but whether you had fun in the process and how you contributed to what you did.

Maybe you needed reminded too?

The Saturday Six

 

One.

I'm not one to really create recipes...maybe because I don't know how! I love trying and tweaking recipes, but this post totally caught my attention! Do any of you use ratios to make your own recipes?

Two.

Making patriotic-themed food this weekend? Check out this slab pie idea. I've tried making pies a few times and it looks like a toddler was set free in a kitchen. Maybe I could handle slab pies? I know I could handle eating them! :) 

Three.

A Midwest Bucket List! I've only seen five of these, so it looks like we have some traveling to do!! :) Several of these are on my actual bucket list, but some were new to me!

Four.

This is completely trivial, but it made me very happy, so I thought I'd share it in case you want to do it too! I had about 10 minutes of free time yesterday afternoon, so I pulled out my little stash of gift cards and double checked the balances. I wrote updated, accurate balances on each one so now I know what we have to work with on date nights! Silly, but rewarding. 

Five.

It may seem normal to all of us, but it's true that one of the things some of our tenants don't know how to do when they move in is...clean! We are working on putting together a simple training program to teach the basics of weekly cleaning, so they can keep their apartments clean, healthy, and in good repair. I found this post with some colorful checklists. Sure, they're intended for kids, but I'm working on using some of this (in a modified fashion) for our upcoming training. If you have little ones at home, I recommend these as ideas for starting young! 

Six.

My friend Odie sent me this link this week, and I just loved it! It's a video tutorial for how to creatively tie boxy t-shirts so they aren't so unflattering to the figure. A couple of them I'd seen, but some I hadn't, and they're SO CUTE!

Let's talk about MIXBOOK!!

A couple of you mentioned Mixbook yesterday, so let's take a Friday to talk about it! Yes, this post is going to be about scrapbooking. Hey, you might fall in love with it! Stick around!

So as a quick recap for those of you who might be new...back in 2000, when I graduated from college (gulp!) I started scrapbooking. And for the next ten years, I did good, old fashioned scrapbooking. Fat albums with corner-rounded pictures and all the embellishments. I loved it. It literally saved my twenties for me. I spent so many of my long, single-life hours buried in my beloved scrapbooks, and it was a true joy!

Then came 2010, when my heart was broken and suddenly everything overwhelmed me. (Cooking, leaving home, showering, you name it.) I could not bring myself to drag out all the scrapbooking supplies and stare at it all. I just couldn't. Also that year...I took two major vacations. One was to Virginia Beach, where I saw the ocean for the first time, and the other was to Tennessee with some friends. I had piles of pictures and NO gumption to scrapbook them.

One day, while reading a blog, I learned about Picaboo. They're an online company that offered the chance to create digital albums right there on their site. No purchasing software...just scrapping online and then ordering a hard copy of the book when ready. I tried it on a small scale first, fell in love, and for the next ten years, I was a diehard Picaboo fan.

Online scrapbooking was a game changer. No mess. No supplies. Just an internet connection. I could scrapbook on vacation, in hotels, at friends' houses...you name it. I made eighty-some albums in that decade and ordered them whenever a great sale came along.

The books are so professional looking and take up very little space in comparison to my big, bulky books of yore. The quality is top notch. The process is fun. 

And then came the end of 2020. The truth is, I can't afford to buy the albums without a sale. The average book order for me was in the neighborhood of $200. I can't swing that with the amount of albums I make. And suddenly all the sales disappeared. Like...all of them. 

It started when I wanted to order Christmas cards (which I've also ordered from there for years upon years) and they never ran a sale. I finally ordered from Shutterfly. And then they didn't have any scrapbook sales either. Not only did they not have the *good* sales I wait for, but they just didn't have any at all.

Every attempt I made to contact them via phone or email was a dead end. No response. The online chats I started were handled weakly and without any compassion or understanding whatsoever.

I was convinced they were about to go under, honestly. No one could tell me why there were ZERO sales happening, when there have always been multiple sales every day...on something. It scared me to think I might pour hours and hours into a book, only to wake up one day and find it had closed overnight. 

So I started looking elsewhere. I had heard of Mixbook before - back when I worked at the station. One of my coworkers used it for her books, and she'd bring them in whenever she received a new one in the mail. I always thought they looked nice, so I decided to explore what they had to offer.

In truth, their site works almost exactly like Picaboo's. The learning curve was the easiest ever. Their customer service is top notch. Every single time I've reached out, some enthusiastic support specialist is waiting and has great answers. 

I love it that I can make even longer books than I could in Picaboo. I think their maximum was something like 160, and Mixbook's is 300. That means my chronological book will fit in two books instead of four per year.

My only two complaints are...they don't have nearly as many preset layouts as Picaboo does, and so far, anyway, I haven't found a sale as good as Picaboo's best one. (I've even reached out several times to ask if they run a sale like that one, but no one will say if they do. The sale I loved at Picaboo was unlimited pages for $40 - free shipping.) 

I'm trying to remember to check every single day, to see if they run surprise, unadvertised sales. Perhaps if I set a reminder alarm...

I did receive an email sale this week that was good enough to purchase a smaller (for me) album, so I am excited to receive it and see the quality in person.

The bottom line for me is that while Mixbook may not be as cost-effective, I feel the stability of the company and the good quality of customer service are worth potentially paying a few extra dollars. My scrapbooks are one of my most prized possessions, so I am willing to invest in them!

(It appears that Picaboo is back to running sales again, so maybe everything really is okay there. But I was really disappointed in their lack of service to me - especially after I'd been a customer for a full decade and had sent so many of my scrapbooking friends their way!) 

** PS - that link to Mixbook above should provide a coupon to any of you who might want to try it...and it would also give me a coupon. Just giving full disclosure! **

What's Up (Thursday)

 

As usual, I'm fashionably late for a What's Up Wednesday post! :) But here I am...on Thursday. 

Happy July to all of you! We had the last two days off work and are reentering the force today. So I thought that called for a fun post! Here we go!

1. What we're eating this week.

Well, my one request for earlier this week (as we entered our days off) was a pizza, and we sure enough had it! It was every bit as delicious as I'd hoped it would be! I also made chicken enchilada soup, and I think we still have one more serving of that. Ryan made me a delicious omelet while we were off, and yesterday we met one of my WBCL coworkers at McAlister's for lunch. I had the Savannah salad, which is my favorite salad there. So yummy! 

2. What I'm reminiscing about.

All the travel! I ordered my first ever scrapbook from Mixbook yesterday. (Have I told you about switching scrapbook companies?) I've been waiting for a sale and finally found one that seemed like the best deal I'd seen so far, so I ordered the book of our anniversary trip back in December. I've had it done for a while, but I hadn't ordered it. And while we were off, I worked on the scrapbook from our most recent trip. Exactly one month ago, we were on that trip, so it's fun to think back to what we were doing one month ago today. (Hey there, Hazel, Holly, and Heidi! We were at your house this time last month!) 

3. What I'm loving.

Sunset walks! The humidity is off the charts here right now. Ryan likens each day to breathing water, and he's not wrong! My hair grows to Monica Gellar-esque proportions every single day. But I am loving the summer days and long evenings that afford us the chance to take our beloved sunset walks. We get to see some real beauties most nights! 

4. What we've been up to.

Training new coworkers! We are so excited to have Sean and Sarah here, and we were THRILLED that they completely rocked their first solo shift. They handled everything that rolled their way and we completely enjoyed our time off. We really enjoy working with them and have already had some great conversations. 

5. What I'm dreading.

Dreading may be a strong term. Nervous is probably more accurate. Our next camping trip requires that I drive Abby. I did drive her when we test-drove prior to buying, but I haven't driven her since. And I'm okay with that! But for our next trip, we'll be staying in a state park for a few days, and it's a big park. We've decided to also take Ryan's truck so we can haul our kayak to boat launches that aren't near the campground. (It seems preferable to carrying a kayak for miles through the park...awkward!) But his truck is a stick shift, and I can't drive those, so the alternative is to drive Abby! 

6. What I'm working on.

Revamping our days! Now that we have new coworkers, we are committed to building some time back into our days so we can pick up a few things we've lost in the last year. We've started on some of it, but we have more to do! The new day planner is already in business in helping us reclaim some of what slipped away from us in the last year. 

7. What I'm excited about.

Haircut!!! My last visit to the salon was January 29th, and it shows. Everything is long and bedraggled and a mess. It's time for some help. BRING IT.

8. What I'm watching/reading.

We are watching America's Got Talent and are looking forward to the Olympics. I may or may not have taken in some of the Hallmark-Christmas-in-July marathon during our days off. Reading? The Bible. And that's about all I have time for! :) 

9. What I'm listening to.

Marco Polos!!! I have a handful of friends I communicate with through Marco Polo, and I usually listen to/watch those while I'm getting ready in the morning or finishing my steps at night. I really enjoy the chance to have those conversations in that forum!

10. What I'm wearing.

Thrift store jeans! When I visited my sister in Kansas, I went to the little thrift store in her town and scored TWO pairs of jeans. This was something of a miracle, since finding jeans in a regular store is always a challenge for me. Nothing ever fits me right. While we were off, Ryan and I went to the Goodwill and found a few more that worked for each of us! I'm pretty excited!

11. What I'm doing this weekend.

Working. I was hoping it would work out for us to have the 4th/5th off, so we could go see fireworks, but it didn't happen this year. I've not yet given up on finding a way to sneak just close enough to Fort Wayne's fireworks to watch them without getting caught in downtown traffic, but we'll see if I can make it happen. 

12. What I'm looking forward to next month.

Well, it's really THIS month, since it's the first day. Once I get Abby TO the campground, I'm really looking forward to our mini camping trip. We hope to hike and kayak and the whole bit!

13. What else is new?

We have some fun stuff out there on the horizon, but I'll keep those things for a surprise for later! :)