The Start of a Weekend Retreat...

This past weekend I had the opportunity to speak at a women's retreat! Events like these are picking up again after having been canceled for so long and speaking at them is truly one of my favorite things to do! 

The church who invited me to come is located in Huntington, but they held their retreat in...Shipshewana! We were just there a little over a month ago for our family vacation, and I told Ryan I think I've stayed at the Farmstead more than I've ever stayed anywhere else in my life. I'm trying to think if I even have stayed at another hotel or Airbnb more than once in my adult life. I'm not sure I have! But if I have counted correctly this weekend marked the seventh time I've stayed at the Farmstead. I actually happen to love it, so it all works out!

Our room was HUGE! It was completely comfortable, and Ryan turned the wardrobe in the corner into a whole Narnia experience.

Because of things like...working all day...driving an hour and a half to get there...an accident detour...and such, we arrived right when they were starting to have dinner. They brough their own food and ate there in the retreat room. Ryan helped me get my table set up, and I had to grab a picture of the little "Be Still" wood pieces they had on each table.

After dinner on Friday night, we had the first of three sessions. A trio of ladies led worship before I spoke, and they did a fantastic job. 

After the Friday evening session, the ladies had breakout sessions to attend, but we went back to our room. We were flat out exhausted from all the events of our last month, so we hopped in our jammies and crawled in bed. (Remembered our weighted blanket this time!) We turned on Dateline and neither one of us has any idea how that turned out, because I'm pretty sure we were asleep by 10 p.m. ON A FRIDAY NIGHT! We are the coolest. Call us for all your entertainment needs.

I'll tell you about our Saturday adventures tomorrow!

Sunday Sentiments

 

What a weekend we've had!

I spoke at a women's retreat Friday and Saturday, and they chose my Be Still theme. I love that retreat theme and was so excited to share it, but I also know that anytime I prepare it, I'm going to get some real time opportunities to be reminded of what it means to truly be still.

The last month has had a number of unexpected twists and turns that have kept life interesting, but they have made it hard to be still.

Even getting to the retreat and setting up for the night wasn't a still sort of experience. 

* Just a few miles from our destination, there was a really horrible accident. We never heard what happened, but we prayed for everyone involved multiple times...so many emergency vehicles and lifeline helicopter was landing nearby as we drove. 

* As we were detouring around the accident, a little dog ran RIGHT out in front of our car. There was absolutely nothing we could do, but praise the LORD, we did not hit him. The whole thing took my breath away for quite a while. I couldn't imagine if it was Miss Lexi!!

* We arrived right at the start of the retreat, got everything set up, and about five minutes before the first session began, my computer locked us out. We were able to get in, but then my Power Point was missing. It had been there earlier in the day, but it was gone at the start of the event. We prayed over that computer AGAIN and were able to find what we needed!

It wasn't a still beginning, but the evening went well after that. And then Ryan and I went to our room and got a WHOLE night of sleep without interruptions. Braeya wasn't there to crawl all over us in our sleep, and we didn't have to get up early to walk Lexi. It was so strange!!!

We are both grateful for the gift of a little time away and the things the Lord taught us about being still and trusting Him when things that are out of our control do not go as planned. 

I can't wait to tell you more about the weekend and fun we had, but for now, I'm going to take a little bit of a stillness rest to reflect!

The Saturday Six

 

Today I wanted to brag on some friends who have fun things going on in their creative endeavors!! I hope you find something that either might make a great Christmas gift - or something fun for you!

One.

First up, I've talked a hundred times about my friend Brent Vernon, who is both a musician and a children's book author. This week, he released a new book, and it's a CHRISTMAS book! I haven't read it yet, but I have read (and own) all the other books in the Audrey Amaka series, and I just love this little character. She is a neckless giraffe who teaches fabulous life lessons through her stories. I love Audrey, and I love Christmas, so this book is a win-win for me! Here is the link to order the book - and there are some free coloring pages there to download as well!

Two.

If you're not in need of a children's book to purchase, but you are intrigued about how they're made, Brent actually did a four-part (short) video series explaining the making of a book. I love behind-the-scenes peeks, so these were fun to watch! Here are the links to parts one, two, three, and four!

Three.

I normally don't post about books I haven't read, but watch me do it twice in this post! My friend Faith and her dad have co-written a book that just released last week. Faith and I met in college and have been good friends ever since! (And have often been mistaken for sisters, actually.) She is a licensed therapist, and her Dad has a degree in theology and is an experienced writer. Their first-ever co-authored book is called Praise the Lord and Pass the Prozac and is a devotional that explores mental health through a biblical lens. Faith was a great encourager and champion for me when I wrote my book, so I want to return the favor for her. I know she and her dad worked long and hard on this book and I am proud of them for overcoming some pretty big obstacles to get it in print! 

Four.

When I worked at WillowBridge, I made several new friends that I'm thankful to have still - even though we don't work there anymore! One of those friends shared her whole family with us, so we gained a whole BUNCH of new friends through them! Her sister, Aubrey, runs a small business called Zelaki Leather. Aubrey's husband is from Ethiopia, and a big part of what they do is inspired by Ethiopian work and helps give back to those in his homeland. They make beautiful leather bags, and for my birthday, Ryan gave me one. It is the nicest bag I have EVER owned, and I treasure it! They have all kinds of options, big and small, and I'm impressed with the quality. 

Five.

One of my Sunday School friends makes super cute little skirts, and I HAD to tell you about them. If we had a (human) girl in our house, I would be dressing her in these all the time. As it stands, I don't think Braeya and Lexi would go for them. But she uses really adorable fabric, and there are options with and without suspenders...all so cute! 

Six.

And for those of you who are around this area, Steele Farms is about to ramp up its fall season with a corn maze that honors heroes - like the fire and police departments, first responders, and more! I'm excited we live close now and can be part of the season for a fun date night! 

Sweet Memories, Round 3

How is it Friday again already?? Time is flying!! If you missed the earlier posts in this little series (the last two Fridays), I'm counting down to our 10th anniversary by looking back over some of my most favorite memories and love-moments from the decade we've spent together.

Month 25. Selling the Greentown House

My goodness. What a CELEBRATION this was! We were two full years into our marriage before we successfully sold Ryan's Greentown home. That two-year nightmare was such a journey with the Lord. It taught us so much about prayer, patience, forgiveness (not toward each other, but to those who failed us along the way) and trust. That sale took us down roads the Realtor had never seen before (and she had been in business a long time). The culmination of this journey was springboard for many wonderful things that happened for us subsequently, and I am grateful for it. We drive by this house every now and then when we pass through town. As far as we know, the same people still live there, and they appear to be taking good care of it and making it their own. 

Month 26. Mo Joins the Family!

Those of you who have been reading here a long time won't need any explanation to this one! But for those who are confused...Mo was our couch for many years! On our second anniversary getaway, we went to Chicago, and we spent a whole day in the Schaumburg IKEA. (It was our first ever visit to IKEA.) We fell in love with this brown couch that popped easily out into a bed, and we decided we wanted it! So we came home, sold our own furniture, and then we drove to the Westchester IKEA to pick it up. It was a quick road trip we made on a Friday night (with Ryan's mom!) and it was a lot of fun. We spent the next day assembling Mo, and that couch served us SO WELL for the next four full years. We both recovered from our gallbladder surgeries on Mo, we spent SO many Sunday afternoon naps on Mo, and we had a bunch of slumber parties there on the weekends. The only reason we ended up switching out four years later was to get more seating for our small group. Mo was a GREAT part of the family, and this is a sweet memory.

Month 27. Speaking of Gallbladder Surgery...

This month held our first Shafferland surgery! (Aside from oral surgery.) After FIFTEEN YEARS of misdiagnosed pain, I was finally able to get an accurate diagnosis for the debilitating attacks I randomly had. (The only reason I got that diagnosis was because of a sweet doctor friend of Ryan's from the hospital. He saw me as a favor to Ryan and diagnosed me correctly on the spot. He later passed away from the same kind of tumor Ryan's mom had, and his death marked a great loss in the medical community. I am so grateful for the gift he gave me of figuring out this pain!) I had my first real operating room surgery during our 27th month of marriage. I was terrified, but everything went well, and Ryan took amazing care of me during my gallternity leave! 

Month 28. The Grand Ordinary

This month was terribly ordinary, and what a gift that was! I had to take it easy as I recovered from my surgery and returned to the working world. (Anesthesia LOVES ME and hangs out with me forever. This is a peril for a commuter!) But as I looked back over this month, I saw how many times we went on simple, ordinary dates. We didn't go anywhere fancy to eat. We roamed the aisles of Hobby Lobby to window shop. We went out for coffee. But spending time together and learning to feel better was such a gift. I highly recommend it. (The photo above comes from a night we went to Culver's for dinner to make up for a nasty day we each had at work! Ice cream for dinner = an adulthood perk.)

Month 29. New Chapters

One thing Ryan and I have done OFTEN in our decade together is make big decisions that bring about fairly decent-sized changes! This cracks me up, since I spent so many years of my life vehemently resisting change. But this was the month that after WEEKS of prayer, wrestling, list-making, second-guessing, and more, we settled on the decision that I would leave my job at WBCL. So many things went into that decision. We always thought, after getting married, that the Lord would let us relocate to Fort Wayne, but He closed every door. The double-commuting in opposite directions was sapping our energy, our paychecks and the health of our vehicles. I loved the work I did in radio and still miss it to this day. It was my most favorite job I've ever had. But we knew it was time for us to simplify our lives, eliminate chaos from our marriage...and God knew what we didn't: both our moms were going to need us a lot in the next few years. So even though it was hard, and I cried a LOT of tears over it, this was the month I submitted my resignation to WBCL. 

Month 30. Getting Away to the Great Smoky Mountains.

After a lot of hard (surgery, quitting my job, life in general) we enjoyed a beautiful birthday getaway in this month. The two previous years, our birthday getaways had been on the cold side, so this year we decided to go WARM!! We headed to the Gatlinburg area for a few days and saw so many fun things. My favorite part of this trip was the day we spent in Cades Cove, hiking to a waterfall, seeing wildlife, wandering through old cemeteries, and more. I would love to go back and explore the Great Smoky Mountains National Park more someday!

Month 31. The End of the Radio Era.

This month held the actual final day of my work at WBCL. We had our last BLT show, and Ryan took the day off to be there in-studio with me for that. My parents also came to be there for the last BLT. The station threw me a beautiful party, and it was such a memorable (and tear-filled) way to say goodbye. I will always, always, ALWAYS treasure my four years at WBCL. I learned so much about radio, God, myself, and relationships. I gained confidence while I was there. I shared my relationship with Ryan with our audience. (He proposed on the air!) This was a grand gift, and I will always be thankful for it. 

Month 32. Breathing.

After 32 months of being a double-commuting family, this was the first month in which we learned what it meant to breathe. Ryan was still commuting, but I began my career as a stay-at-home wife and fell in love with it in about 2.5 seconds. I was able to spend time with my family that month...we went to the fair (twice!)...I started cleaning, organizing, and purging our home...and we capped off the month with a weekend trip to the lake. I think this was one of the most relaxing lake trips we ever took. And this sunset picture still takes my breath away. The lake never gets old for us. We breathe best there.

Month 33. Preserving Our Story.

One of the first projects I did in my post-working life was to become much more intentional in preserving our story. As I look back, I see I did this well even in the first 32 months. I kept a scrapbook and wrote here on the blog every day - and journaled, too. But this was the month I got serious about preserving our story WELL. I took more pictures, I scrapbooked more thoroughly, and I finished writing the memoir of our first year of marriage. I loved that project so much. It will probably only ever be just for us, but it mattered to me to write it, and I cried when I finished it. Preserving our story STILL matters so much to me, and I still work hard at making it a top priority at all times. 

Month 34. Rummage Sales and Bee Stings.

One of the things I did in those early months of working from home was to FINALLY sort through our entire house, clear out things we owned in duplicate, and have a huge sale. This was the month of the sale. We actually held the sale in Greentown at a little house Allen and Nita owned as a rental. It was empty at that time, so we could store all our stuff inside until sale day. The town had rummages, so we joined in and had a GREAT sale. What we earned at that sale actually paid for the bulk of our big vacation the following month! Also fun? Biting into my peanut butter and honey sammich for breakfast and finding out the hard way that a bee was also snacking on it. Have you ever tried to remove a stinger from your tongue? NOT FUN OR EASY!

Month 35. The Great Shaffer Getaway.

I am pretty sure this was the longest trip we had taken to date - even longer than our wedding and honeymoon trip! (Or if not, it was pretty close.) We headed east and saw SO many wonderful things. We spent a few days with Mark and Lynnette in Virginia Beach. We saw the Atlantic Ocean together for the first time and toured Colonial Williamsburg and the Cape Henry Lighthouse. We traveled up to Maryland and got to visit a coffee roaster. We went on up into New York and spent a day hiking in Letchworth State Park. We visited Niagara Falls for the first time together and walked across into Canada for an evening. It was SUCH a fun trip. I still love this one so very much. 

Month 36. Jury Duty.

Oh, this one still makes me laugh. Ryan was called for jury duty this month, and he was ELATED when they picked him to sit on the jury. I sobbed. He rejoiced. You guys - that jury duty lasted FOREVER. It wasn't just a day. It went on for the entire week. And on the very last day, he didn't get home until after 11 p.m. I didn't even know government offices WORKED past five on Fridays. And because he was in the courthouse, he didn't have his phone, so he couldn't text or call to tell me he was okay and that it was running late. LIKE REALLY, REALLY LATE. I drove out to the courthouse about 10 p.m. to look for his car and make sure he hadn't gotten shot on the steps! He loved everything about this entire experience except having to keep secrets from me. (We don't do secrets. That was awful.) And still, to this day, I feel bad for the poor lady on the jury who had to miss her own child's birthday party that happened that Friday night. She had no idea she wasn't getting to go home that day!!!

What a roller coaster of a year!! I loved looking back over it, though. Ryan Shaffer? I love this life I share with you. 

Date Night Fun!

 

Ryan and I went on a date last night and had a ton of fun, so I thought I would tell you about it!

Before Allen died, he farmed with a guy that went to school with Ryan and me. They joined forces not long after Brad began farming completely on his own, and they enjoyed working together. Brad still farms the land that had belonged to Allen, and he had an appreciation night for all those who partner with his business in a variety of ways. (Plus, his farm and business just built a new building for offices and storage, so we were able to take a tour of it!)

My date!

We had fun seeing the new space. It's absolutely stunning!!

Ryan was so excited to see this: it was the main tractor he remembers Allen using for everyday farming when Ryan was younger. He said he (Ryan) spent a lot of time on that tractor! Brad owns it now and had it cleaned up and looking all shiny and nice!

We had dinner, which was delicious, and got to catch up with Ryan's family, since most of them were there as well. Sneaked in a few baby snuggles, too.

Brad talked for a bit about the history of the farm, the current state of it, and some of the hopes and dreams for the future. Definitely fun to hear!

I didn't grow up in the world of agriculture, so all of this is new to me since I married Ryan. I would be a fairly terrible farmer, I'm sure, but I do find the world of it fascinating to hear about, so this was a fun evening for me!

Thanks, Ryan, for taking me on a farm date! :) 

Making the Dream Wonderful

I have now been away from the world of Financial Aid for as long as I worked in it. (That is...if you don't count my student worker years. If you count those, I still have a few more years to go before I can say that.) For eleven years after college, I worked as a Financial Aid Counselor, and there were certainly things about that job that didn't come naturally to me at all. I would even go so far to say that I was not great at some aspects of the job. 

But one thing that I tried hard to be great at in that role was walking alongside parents and students who were overwhelmed at the idea of figuring out how to pay for college and trying to make that world understandable for them. I tried using stories, analogies, repetition, and just good, old-fashioned kindness and listening to meet them wherever they were and make it feel less daunting for them. Paying for college is not fun. But I really wanted to make it as great of an experience as I could. 

I hope I did that well. I guess you'd have to ask the people I served, but that was always my goal, and I hope I succeeded. I do remember one sweet mom I had. Her two equally sweet daughters came through the school while I worked there, and she was a widow. I could tell that these conversations would have been in her husband's wheelhouse, but they overwhelmed her. She and I spent a lot of time talking on the phone, emailing, and visiting in person whenever she was on campus. And when the younger daughter graduated, the mom wrote me the sweetest note about how grateful she was that I had been there to walk her through that part of her life. I still have that note, and her affirmation meant a lot to me. It gave me hope that maybe I really did do something right in that convoluted world of math and regulations.

Since Ryan and I purchased this home, I have often wished that the builder in charge of the house would have someone on staff with a goal like that. 

You might remember a few months ago, I told you that when we were first married, we had a dream of building a house together. We had some land that Ryan owned before we got married, and we were going to build there. We even went to look at a model home and determined THAT would be our house on this land. Then we learned that zoning laws had changed, and we couldn't build there. It was a joy for us to find this house because it reminded us so much of the floor plan we had picked out and loved. It was like we got to build a home without the headaches we've heard about in choosing fixtures and colors and such. 

But if I could name anything that has put a damper on the dream of owning a new home and getting to realize that dream-come-true experience, it has been the builder.

I like to think that Ryan and I are relatively intelligent people. We've done a good job of making home improvements on each house we've ever owned, but this one has made question our sanity (somewhat) and just how much we actually do know about life. 

The yard-growing nightmare has been a big part of that. We wish we would have known whether or not we really had the option to push back on when the grass was planted. We see now that we were 100% set up to fail with having a yard planted at the onset of the heat of summer. (Add in a drought and extra heat, and it's REALLY not good.) We also didn't realize that the amount of water needed for grass growth is actually detrimental to plant growth, so we lost about half the landscaping package they put in. (And some of what survived gave us a run for our money.) 

We did question some of the land grading done in the backyard, but they didn't listen, and now it has to be fixed.

I don't want to misrepresent, here. We do bring these things up, and they are being slowly remedied. The things that are not yet fixed are on their list, and we know that. But I've told Ryan more than once that I wish I knew how to accurately convey to them that this isn't just a checklist to us. I know they build lots of homes and have lists all over the place of owners in varying stages of home completion. But for us - and I would dare say for the other owners too - this is about a life experience.

For us, this is probably the only time we will ever live in a brand new house. This is the only time we'll get to experience the exhilaration of everything being new and creating it to be our own. And it's so hard to do that when it feels overwhelming and confusing. 

I'm picking on the builder here a bit because it's the example I'm making, but it's really true of any job any of us have. When you do something every day, it's common for you. It may not be easy, but it's common. You get it. You can talk about it in your sleep. You know the answers. It makes sense.

But for someone who is new to it all, it's not common. It's overwhelming...and maybe not in a bad way! I'm overwhelmed, but I want it to be wonderful. I want it be a good dream and not a nightmare. I want to learn and understand. But I need someone to listen and care and realize that this was a dream I brought in, not a checklist to be completed.

I've tried to do this in all the jobs I've worked, not just Financial Aid. I tried to do it at the radio station, too. When I prepped guests who had never been on the air and were nervous about it, I tried to spend extra time with them, explaining to them what it would be like so they could fully enjoy the experience instead of dreading it. 

So to the workers helping parents pay for college, to the radio producers prepping guests for interviews, to the builders working with homeowners who want to have a magnificent new-home experience, and to all the other employees out there working in any realm...your work may be common to you, but it's uncommon to those you serve. Whether it's a dream they're enjoying or a nightmare they're trying to survive, you have the opportunity to make it the best for them that it can be. I hope you'll do it!

Sitting with the Stories

 

I emailed one of my friends yesterday and said, "Well, the blog is taking a real hit right now, because I can't talk about anything that's really happening in our lives."

Ryan and I are swimming in stories that I'm not able to tell right now. Some of them are not mine to tell, so I have to protect them. Some of them are stories-in-progress that I don't want to begin to tell until I know more of the outcome.

So I sit with the stories, waiting to see if any of them take a public-worthy turn. And in the meantime, I try to come up with other things to chat about in this space.

Last Sunday, I sat with stories in a different sort of way. I talked about it a bit on my Sunday Sentiments post, and those of you who have read here for many years know that this is a tradition I have.

I don't remember when it first began, but somewhere along the way, I took a day and watched all the documentaries I could find about 9/11. I did it because I loved hearing the stories of the people. I didn't love it that their stories ended that day, but I loved hearing about the people they had been.

So I made a commitment, really more to myself than to anyone else, that I would honor those lives by sitting one day a year to hear their stories, even if it meant watching the same documentaries over and over again.

Sunday, one of pieces I watched told the story of Asia Cottom. She was a sixth grader, who, along with a couple of classmates and a teacher, were on their way to California because they won an essay contest. They showed Asia's picture - with her bright eyes and infectious smile. Her parents shared about her passions with such pride, and my writer's heart understood the joy of this young girl whose essay writing won her a chance to swim with dolphins. At the end of the interview, the mother said that she would continue to tell Asia's story, and in that way, her daughter's life would continue to matter. 

And I will show up every year to hear about Asia and remember her passion for writing and life.

Another of the pieces I watched told the story of the wife (also a writer) who changed her flight to September 11th from the 10th so she could be home on the morning of her husband's birthday to celebrate him in person. When he went to bed that night, a widower, he found on his pillow the note she had written for him to find. Wanting to be home for a birthday and writing a love note to be found later are both very Bekah-things to do, and my wifely-heart understood why that lady changed her plans. And it ripped at me. Now, forever, her husband's birthday is also the day he lost his wife. 

I will show up every year to listen to him talk with pride about how much he loved his wife and how she wanted to be there to celebrate him.

I probably can't adequately explain to you the honor it is to sit with those stories each year. I didn't know any of those people personally. I don't even know that I knew anyone who knew anyone. I was pretty far removed from the tragedy in that way. But my people-loving heart has been drawn to the stories of the lives, and I will honor them for the rest of my life by sitting with their stories on that day.

A travel goal of mine is to visit each of the memorials in person, as well. Something tells me I will need quite a bit of time with each one, because for me, it won't be about wandering through and saying I've been there. It will be about reading the names - each one - and knowing that I know some of those stories. (And yes, I know in New York, reading each name will take a while.) 

So this is the week I sit with the stories...our own that I can't yet share, and those who want to share the stories of their loved ones who can no longer share their own stories.

We are a people who love to talk...but there is so much value in sitting to hear. 

What if You Were an Expert?

 

Last week I was talking to a friend of mine on Marco Polo, and I'm not quite sure what we were talking about that led to this, but her question intrigued me. She leaned up into the camera and said, "Have you ever wondered if there might be something out there that you might be an expert at, but you don't know it because it's so bizarre, you've never tried it?"

You know what? I had never thought about it before...and now I can't stop thinking about it.

After the pandemic, I heard so many stories about people who found a new hobby that they were surprisingly good at. They had never tried it before because they never had time...until the pandemic. But I never thought about random things people might be good at that they would never think to try.

I asked Ryan if he thought I might be good at surfing. He did not think so. ;) I can't imagine why.

I think there are many things we can safely rule out for me: flying planes, bungee jumping, and opera singing, to name a few.

But what if it turned out that I was excellent at crocheting? 

Or pottery?

Or flower arranging? (I've dabbled in that...I don't think it's my gift.)

Or painting?

Or playing the violin? (Confession: I really do wish I was an expert in that one!)

Or playing the piano? (Confession: I would like that even better than the piano!)

Or decorating cakes? (I would probably eat them.)

I've been reading the book RVing Across America - and the couple in the book spent the first year of their marriage traveling across all 50 states and working a job in each state. They only worked each job for one day, so they got a chance to try out all kinds of things in that year. I'm not going to lie...the idea of trying out so many different things sounds kind of appealing. Who knows but what one of those things might be a hidden talent?!

Well, chances are good that we aren't going to RV across America and try 50 different jobs in a year, but it would be so fun to stumble upon a hidden talent. 

Looking at my list there, I think I would choose a hidden piano talent as my top pick. (Please don't remind me of how many years I took piano lessons and how little talent I have. It would truly take a miracle to sit down and just play.) 

So what about you? What crazy bizarre hidden talent do you wish you had?

Sunday Sentiments

 

It's been a strange week around here. So much has happened - so much - but none of it is anything I'm at liberty to share at this time. 

Lest you worry, there isn't anything gravely wrong going on, but my mind has been whirling, and it's been so hard to get thoughts to come out coherently on paper or screen.

I'm grateful for Ryan, who has been the most amazing teammate this week. He always is, but I am especially grateful for him.

Today, on this 21st anniversary of 9/11, I feel like the swirling week I just had is, in some ways, reminiscent of that week, which is a whole adulthood lifetime ago now.

You might remember that I usually set aside this day each year to watch documentaries and to remember the lives lost that day. Church aside, I plan to do that today as well. 

I think of how my life changed that day, in the first worldwide shaking of my own adult life. Grappling with the unfathomable, completely on my own. 

We all have it in common: our lives ebb and flow with good days and hard, and sometimes the things we have to work through have to be done on our own. It isn't easy. But it grows and changes us.

So on this day - this 9/11 anniversary - my mind is with those whose lives were shaken more violently than my own that day. I think of them with care. 

Again, my words are few today, but I hope you'll understand. 

The Saturday Six

 

This week's Saturday Six is all about fun tours!!! Enjoy a day of travel without leaving your home! (Or bed!)

One.

I do love M&Ms...and this is a very fast tour of how they're made. I feel this would be a terrible place for me to work. I would spend my paycheck before I came home! :)  Also, in a potentially unpopular opinion, I think peanut butter M&Ms are better than Reese's Pieces - mostly because they have more filling! 

Two.

Remember when Ryan threw me that Beauty and the Beast party for my 40th? (Still love that party SO MUCH!) Here is a tour of the Be our Guest Restaurant at Disney. I will probably never make it to Disney, since crowds and high prices aren't my thing, but I loved seeing the detail of the restaurant. So beautiful!

Three.

Such sad news from England this week about the death of the Queen! I have enjoyed reading the tributes to her life and the quotes she shared. I also found this tour of a couple of rooms in Buckingham palace. You can spin the room and zoom in. (Don't forget to pan up and check out the ceiling!) What a magnificent place! 

Four.

The Grand Canyon is on my must-see list for someday. But until I get to see it in person, this view from the air - with snow - is just extra breathtaking. Enjoy! 

Five.

How about a tour of Yosemite?? This is another place on my bucket list, but I'm pretty sure I won't get to all these spots!! 

Six.

Diving is another thing I'll never do (anxiety) but this sure was a pretty dive tour to watch. Why are turtles so relaxing?