Ski Slopes 2020

Well, it's that time of year again! Ski trip time for Ryan! Back in 2018, Ryan and his friend Shawn set aside a Saturday and headed to Perfect North slopes in southern Indiana. They had so much fun that they went again last year, even in the middle of all the chaos of our lives. So naturally, they made plans for a third trip this year!

Each time they've gone, I've tagged along to watch their luggage while they're on the slopes and spend time with them on their breaks. And this year was no exception! We got up super early and hopped in the car to head to Lawrenceburg. I think we were on the road by 6:15, and that's in the morning. I slept most of the way there, and in true Shaffer fashion, Ryan took a most unflattering photo of me. It'll make it into the scrapbook, but I'll spare myself the humiliation on the blog. :)

Before they ski, we always go to Dunkin' Donuts in Lawrenceburg and have a little treat!

(Can you tell who wasn't awake yet? Well, we all look pretty rough, really.)

Off to the slopes! The guys were kind enough to carry in the snack bag, all cute as a button with its pineapple theme. I was kind enough to document that.

The last two years, I've been surrounded by massive groups, and the first year I got ridiculously sick after our trip. Last year I was an oiling, sanitizing fool, and I stayed well. I was determined to try to repeat that this year. We actually found a different room where I could be a little bit more protected from crowds, and it really helped!

I went armed with books, notebooks, laptops, and plenty of projects to occupy me. (And plenty of projects that did not require the internet, since for most of the day it's inaccessible.) While they rented their skis and helmets, I set up camp.

Ready to go! (Both versions.)

Unfortunately, from my new perch, I really didn't get to see them ski much. I was directly in front of Center Stage, which is the biggest slope. They didn't end up trying it that day because weather conditions weren't great and people were getting injured left and right on that one. (It was kind of warm on Saturday, so they were unable to manufacture new snow, and Ryan said what was on the ground was pretty slushy. I watched six people leave the slopes via medics on sleds, so I was okay with the two of them skipping that one.) I did get to see them in line for the lifts a few times, and on the lifts, but otherwise, I had to rely on Ryan to document their adventures.

Saw these guys more than I wanted to:

This was the photo of the day:

See the kid at the very bottom of the picture? The one walking? If you zoom in, you'll see his skis and poles near the top. I don't know what happened, but he called it a day and walked home.

Ryan and Shawn came in periodically to give me bathroom and snack breaks, and we all ate lunch together, too!

And even though it was overcast most of the day, we had a couple quick glimpses of the sun:

At 6:23 p.m. I finally reached my saturation point with the groups around me. (Things had started to get a little rough in the language department...the groups, not me.) And exactly five minutes later, the guys came in so we could head home. Perfect timing.

The guys had such a fun day, and I have to say that I love watching their friendship. They're both super busy and only see one another a handful of times each year. But you'd never know it. They pick right up where they left off, tell stories, share things, and have a great time together. (And they don't make me feel like a third wheel, which I totally appreciate.)

They're already planning next year's trip. I'd say Ski Day 2020 was a success!

The Copycat Date

Our at-home date series continued last week with another unique little evening. :)

Of course you know that we have a million and four places on our bucket list that we hope to visit someday. On that list is New York City - but it's probably going to be a while before we get there. So...while we wait, we had a literal taste of the city.

I'm not huge into making copycat recipes from restaurants, but I have heard that New York City has some real gems when it comes to over-the-top desserts. I found this list of the 54 Best Desserts in the city, and though I will be quick to say some of these would not be on my own best-of list, it did serve as a guide for me in figuring out what I was going to attempt to replicate!

Initially I thought about trying the Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity (on my own actual foodie bucket list) or the crazy, huge, how-do-they-even-get-them-to-stay-assembled milkshakes at Black Tap, but in the end, I decided to stick to something a bit more achievable. Or at least that was my goal.

I found (from the aforementioned list) something called a Toasted Coconut Sundae from Uncle Boon's, and it intrigued me. Ryan and I both love coconut, and you don't often see recipes that feature it!

I'd never heard of Uncle Boon's, so I looked it up and discovered it's a Thai restaurant. While we don't dislike Thai food, it probably wouldn't be our first pick if we were visiting NYC for a few days. I looked over the main dish menu and didn't find much on it that appealed to our taste buds, but I still couldn't get past that delicious looking sundae!

I found a copycat recipe here and set out to gather and assemble all my ingredients!

First order of business? Find some coconut ice cream. I hunted around for a while and finally found a pint of it in the out-of-our-price-range section of the grocery store. It was about twice as much as we normally pay for a half gallon of ice cream, but for a special occasion, it worked!

(It was tasty, too!)

I toasted my own coconut according to the copycat recipe instructions, and we had plenty leftover to doctor up some additional regular sundaes after our special date sundaes were consumed. The house also smelled most heavenly while I toasted!

The candied peanuts were almost my ruin. I tried to make them according to the directions in the copycat recipe, and I ended up with a skillet full of dried, smoldering sugar, so I dumped that out and found this recipe for candied peanuts. I intended to only make half the recipe, but I accidentally dumped in the full amount of water, so I had to do the whole recipe. Though not healthy in ANY way, these do make a delicious snack or additional ice cream topping, so Ryan will be enjoying the leftovers for a while.

I got the coconut and peanuts ready the day before the date, and then on dessert night, I whipped up (ha! see what I did there?) the homemade whipped cream with brown sugar. I followed the directions in the copycat recipe. It was so good!! (Also made plenty of extra to be used in other things.)

The only thing I couldn't find at our series of stores was the garnish cookie. (And then a week later I found something at Aldi that would have worked!)

I didn't cram as many peanuts and toasted coconut on my sundae as the picture I saw on the restaurant website, but it was plenty rich and filling the way it was!

We had no complaints!

If you're not a big fan of coconut - or dessert - you could always copycat something else from a restaurant you love or dream of one day visiting! We had so much fun with this, and it made a perfect little at-home date.

86 Months and a Very Full Day

Yesterday was a full day - and a day of much celebration!

First, of course, it was palindrome day: 02022020. Forward and backward, it could be written the same. I am pretty sure I don't have to tell you how much I loved that.

It was also Groundhog Day, and I only participate in that when it brings good news. Of course I know it means nothing because spring is incapable of arriving early in Indiana. I'm convinced about that. But we'll take the promise of hope! (Shadow or no shadow - I was just excited we got to break out our sunglasses!)

It was also election Sunday at our church; they have elections every year to fill the church board and missions committee and some other leadership positions. This year there was an extremely handsome man on the ballot for church board!

Ryan was approached a few weeks ago about being a board candidate, and he agreed to having his name added to the ballot. We are still relatively new (in the grand scheme) to the church, and he's still young (in the grand scheme), so we had no idea what to expect. Yesterday afternoon he got the news that he had been elected to the board! It's a huge responsibility that he takes seriously, and I know he will do a great job in this role! I'm so proud of him!

It was also communion Sunday, and we helped serve.

It was also the first day in a new sermon series, and our pastor offered another powerful message to us. At the end, I loved his prayer for couples and for those who may be praying for a spouse or grieving the loss of one.

It also ended up being the day my three scrapbooks arrived. I wasn't expecting them until later in the week, but I checked the tracking and discovered THEY WERE ON OUR PORCH!!

I just sat and held them for the longest time. Ryan found that very amusing. And photo-worthy.

But in addition to all those wonderful things, it was also our 86th monthiversary!! I loved it that our monthiversary fell on a Sunday this time so we could be together all day. I loved it that we had a chance to serve together at church. I loved it that we had a chance to take a nap! (Oh how I love naps!) I loved it that we had a chance to rest and enjoy mental and physical down time. (Pretty sure we both needed that.)

How is it possible to simultaneously feel that it's impossible for 86 months to have passed since our wedding day (because it was just yesterday!!) and yet feel like we have always been us? I love who we have become together over these last 86 months, and I love dreaming about who we can become in the next 86 and beyond.

There was also a big old football game, and Ryan had been looking forward to making a special game-day dinner for us. Wings and tots! (Ryan even made honey bbq wings for me and buffalo for himself - and both were stellar!) We weren't overly emotionally invested in this game, but I was 100% rooting for the Chiefs. I am not a fan of Richard Sherman's temper, so I couldn't be a San Francisco fan.

I got nervous at the end and couldn't watch for a little minute! Fortunately it all worked out!

So that's how 86 months came to be a very full and wonderful day! I am grateful!

The Shafferland Shuffle

Happy Sunday, happy game day, and happy EIGHTY-SIX MONTHS to Ryan! It was so nice of a major food event day to fall on this auspicious commemorative occasion of love! :) Meanwhile, wanna see what we've been up to this week?

* Had a great service at church last Sunday, and in our Sunday School class, we had the annual showdown between the men and the women for a Bible trivia contest. The ladies lost, but not by much! Ryan and I enjoyed a day of rest and he even grilled our dinner for us while I proofed the last of the scrapbooks so I could order on the big sale. He's a kind and giving husband, and I appreciate him!

* I took new flowers to my desk at work on Monday; the old ones had seen their best days. We haven't had much sun here as of late, so the flowers really brighten my office! And then I had to show you this picture because it cracked me up. Ryan had stirred our dinner in the slow cooker, and I found the spoon on a napkin...next to the spoon rest we just bought. Neither of us can quite remember yet that we own a real spoon rest! I made a new batch of granola and our house smelled AMAZING!

* Tuesday was the day-o-meetings at work. I think I amuse all my co-workers by how much stuff I bring to meetings. If I'm going to be there for two or more hours, I don't want to risk hunger or dehydration! We had our first official small group STUDY that night, so we were cramming for last minute details before they came. Great night of discussion, though!

* Wednesday morning our pastor's wife brought coffee for all of us. The two pastors whose offices are closest to mine ordered the same thing I did, and then one of them left his coffee on my desk as he passed through the office. I didn't notice it and suddenly realized I was drinking his coffee. I was mortified. That didn't make for an awkward moment at all! :) I also found out the office has a tool box, and I think the student pastor was slightly terrified to see me hauling it toward my desk. "Whatcha doin' there?" he asked. Just fixing my drawer, thank you. :) That night was my final 5K of January. I actually had to finish it on the elliptical. Ryan and I were running side by side and watching TV, and when Ryan kicked up his speed, we blew the breaker. .So I finished it out on the elliptical. Still counted it, though!

* Just as I got ready to warm up my lunch on Thursday, I got a text from Ryan. "Don't warm up your lunch just yet!" WHAT!!?! And then in a little minute he was at the door with a hot lunch for us to share! I love surprise dates! And I had a surprise date for him that night: our third at-home date of the year. I'll tell you more about it next week, but the theme was to make a copycat recipe of a dessert from New York City. It was SO good.

* We went grocery shopping Friday night, and I found Ryan "tearing up" in the card aisle. ;) I had just a few minutes when I got home that I could sit with coffee to rest, and then it was time to do my nails, wash my hair, pack my bags, and get ready for our big day on Saturday! (It was one of those nights where I tried to mostly get ready the night before so I could sleep longer in the morning.)

* And that brings us to yesterday! Ryan's annual ski trip with his friend Shawn. My annual date with youth groups galore in a ski lodge. The day was pretty overcast and relatively warm for this time of year, but they were still able to ski and have a great time. And I knocked out a ton of writing in the lodge! It was a long, long day, but so very good!

The Saturday Six

One.

Oh man. This huge DIY upholstered bulletin board??? I love it!!! Can you even imagine all the things I could store on this?

Two.

Food delivery subscriptions are popular, but this was one I hadn't heard of before this week. Imperfect foods delivery. Have you heard of it? They're trying to eliminate food waste by distributing food that grocery stores would reject based on appearance (oddly shaped vegetables, off-sized eggs, etc.). I enjoyed reading about it!

Three.

If you have kids (or kids in your life who like to draw pictures for you), check out this really great idea for preserving the art without keeping every single scrap of paper. I LOVE IT!

Four.

I love it when Tamar does posts of funny things said in her classroom. She had a new collection of funnies this week!

Five.

If you're making your way through the Gospels this year, here is the February reading plan! (I did this plan in a non-leap year, so I didn't have a reading for the 29th, but there is one day with a double reading, so you could undo that doubling and space it evenly for the month if you want!)

Six.

I told you yesterday that I used the 1 Second Everyday app in January to make a little video clip collage of our month. Here is our final video for January!