Dewinterizing Abby

 Camping season is probably going to look different for us this year, but we are still excited about whatever we are able to do! When we purchased Abby (our fixer-upper RV, if you're new around here), we were working at WillowBridge and we were able to choose our weekend days. We almost always scheduled them during the week when we wanted to go camping, because it was easier to find open spots during the week. 

Now that Ryan has a regular job, we will need to weekend-camp like everyone else. And because we didn't know what to expect for work for either one of us, we were not able to plan our camping season ahead like we really should have to even have a shot a camping spots. We might have to modify some of how we camp, but we plan to spend as much time with Abby as we can this year!

First, though, we had to dewinterize her! I know some of you who read here have asked about this before, because you live in warmer climates and it's not a thing where you live! Because we live in Indiana and have such (ahem) chilly winters, we have to put antifreeze in the plumbing lines over the winter. This keeps them from cracking/bursting. This also means we can't use the RV during the winter - unless we use it strictly for sleeping and not for any cooking/bathing/bathroom use. So in the late fall, after our last camping trip, Ryan winterized all the plumbing lines, and this past week, we flushed them out to be ready for use! 

Because Abby doesn't live at our house, we had to go pick her up from where she stays and bring her over for our project. While she was here, we also gave her a good interior cleaning, put in the things we acquired for her over the winter, and organized all the pieces and parts we need for camping so we're ready to go when our first camping weekend arrives! 

This was really also Lexi's first time to see Abby. The RV was covered all winter, so even though we walked by it often at WillowBridge, Lexi didn't know what was under the cover. And she'd never been inside it. So we introduced her!

She was pretty curious! 

Then we brought her home to clean her. We have a rug in the RV that was in desperate need of a proper shampooing, so I took care of that! Shout out to my clothes-drying rack in the background!

I also dusted, swept, and cleaned out all the cobwebs and such inside the RV. I was impressed that it wasn't in worse shape after sitting since October!

Ryan did all the technical stuff:

We also rewashed all the bedding and towels so they're fresh for the road. 

And, most exciting of all, we have some new stuff for inside Abby! Most of the things were Christmas gifts, but a few of them were purchases we acquired over the last few months. I think I've said this before, but our goal is to eventually outfit the RV with everything we need except for clothing and food. That way when it's time to go camping, those are the only things we have to add. It will speed up packing time tremendously. Last year there were a number of things I didn't have duplicates of, so I had to carry those things from our house supply out to Abby and back again after the camping trip. We don't have a ton of things left on our wish list, so I'm excited for packing to go faster this year!

We got a few more collapsible food storage containers for Christmas this year. We didn't always have enough last year, so I'm excited to have doubled our collection. (These are great for leftovers or food we prep the night before we need it.)

I'm also THRILLED we have plates and bowls now. No more paper plates!

My mom gifted us this cute kitchen towel - just because. :) 

We also purchased a few cutting boards to keep out in Abby. This was one of those items I forgot to pack more than once last year!

So she's all ready to go, and we are interested to see how things work with a dog this year. We did take Phoebe camping once last fall, so we sort of have an idea, but Phoebe doesn't have nearly as much energy as Lexi, so we'll see how it goes with an energetic pup! I'm sure it will be a lot of trial and error for us as we learn what things we need to have on hand for her to be successful in our trips! 

So...for whatever our season may look like this year...bring on camping!

Birthday Blasts from the Past

My sisters surprised me this year on my birthday by sharing some pictures from days of yore, and here is the most amazing part: I don't remember ever seeing these pictures! I don't have copies of them - or at least I didn't until right now! They made me smile, and since blogging wasn't a thing back when these were taken, I thought I'd share them with you today! Ready for some vintage Bekah?

Okay, there are so many things to talk about in this picture. First of all, I have no idea what happened to that floral chair behind me, but I have a feeling if it still existed in our family today, it would be a vintage focal point. (Possibly with new covering.) I've seen similar chairs on accounts I follow. We probably took it to the Rescue Mission and now it's someone's amazing find!

Secondly, that cat in the front is a ceramic piece my mom painted. She turned it into a bank! And then - can we talk about the vintage packaging on the Ken doll?? ;) 

I was in a growing-out-my-bangs phase, so that was kind of rough, but otherwise, I felt like I was pretty stylin' here. I really like that shirt, and I remember being so proud of that cool red belt. ;) I feel like this was the end of my third grade year, just based on the hair. 

This was my birthday at the end of second grade, when I received cats for my birthday! These two calicos were from the same litter, and I named them after my two closest friends at that time: Krissy and Amber. Amber is on the left (not sure whose hands are holding her) and she ended up not living a terribly long time. There was an unfortunate encounter with a car on our road, and my parents had to deal with teaching me about death in a hard way! But Krissy, the one I'm holding, lived until I was in college! She was such a chill cat. 

My dad probably still has that whole outfit! :) 

And I can see that my thick hair was already in full force. Check out that fat braid! I know people have to pull at braids to make them look thicker. Not me! Whew! So much hair.

This was from Christmas, not my birthday, but there's still plenty to talk about. First up: why am I chewing on a footstool? I asked my sister about that. Was I pretending to play the flute? Teething? Having a snack? We will never know. #weird.

But let's move on and talk about those yarn ribbons. I remember those! I had them in several colors. I am pretty sure now people just make socks with them, but they were all the hair rage back then! 

I remember this gold couch, or as my grandma called it: davenport. This was their house, and many of you may remember it became my house after I grew up! This was my first house I bought as an adult and I lived there 16 years. It was the first home Ryan and I shared!

Julie put these in a collage, so hopefully you can still see them okay. 

1. There I am with Krissy and Amber before they were mine. Aunt B, this looks like your house. True? Did these cats come from your house? Amber is the one with more color on her. And oh, that ladylike pose. #facepalm.

2. I would guess that the picture on the top right was from Easter, given that I'm holding a stuffed bunny, but there's too much in bloom for it to be Easter in Indiana - and that's not an Easter outfit. Maybe it really was my birthday that year, or maybe the last day of school. This tree (at my parents' house) is still standing and is now MUCH bigger. 

3. Bottom left: Christmas morning. Must have been a winner, whatever the gift was!

4. There's that cat bank again! And a better smile this time. :) 

These were so fun. Ahhh the awkward years, right? Thanks, Lori and Julie, for sharing those! They were fun! 

It Was a Happy Birthday!

 My goodness. What a sweet day I had on Saturday! I wanted to share with you some of the birthday fun we enjoyed! We stayed close to home, because our small group got together in the evening, and we wanted to be part of that! But this was also one of our very last days of "retirement" because Ryan starts a new job TODAY! I will tell you more about that this week, but if you think of it today, will you pray for him? He is so excited, but he feels the weight of big responsibility, too. I know he will do GREAT! 

So my birthday began by sleeping in, which is always my favorite. I had my coffee on the porch with Ryan and Lexi, and that was sweet. It was a beautiful morning! 

I love the breakfast pizzas from Casey's (yes, the gas station) so we had stopped there Friday night to pick one up and had the leftovers Saturday morning. I'll show you the Friday night picture since I don't look quite as scary.

(I forgot I didn't get ready on Friday. Maybe I do look just as scary.)

Anyway! I was in the middle of getting ready when one of my Bluffton friends stopped by with a gift of balloons! We got a picture, but she had just left the gym and I was still mid-getting-ready, so I won't post that one. But it was so kind of her to surprise me! 

After that, I opened my gifts. My parents and one of my sisters had given me gifts on Mother's Day, but I had a few more cards and gifts that came in this week and even a few yesterday, so I opened those! Here are a few of them!

I received a gift card to a coffee shop in Ossian. I haven't been to that one yet and am so excited to check it out!

My other sister gifted me new oven mitts and pot holders. They were SO needed (and on my wish list) because...well...see below for my old one. 

My gift from Ryan was so sweet. I'll give you the back story. When we worked at WillowBridge, we had the privilege of getting to know the family members of some of coworkers, which was an extra wonderful bonus. One of those bonuses was meeting Aubrey and her husband, who make the most beautiful leather pieces. While I am typically not a person who splurges on pretty purses, I'd told Ryan I would love to own one she had made. And now I have one! (Their company is called Zelaki Leather Company...check them out!) This is a very special gift to me, and I'm so excited about it!

The attention to detail is fantastic. 

And when the mail arrived, I had a few more gifts!!

I was able to really enjoy my afternoon with some scrapbooking and reading messages, and it was a joy! Ryan and Lexi hung out on the porch. Must have been a deep conversation. :) 

And in the evening...it was time to head to our small group! Yes, we drove there in Abby! We had picked her up the night before to dewinterize and clean her (more on this later in the week), so we were taking her back to where she lives! 

I didn't take a ton of pictures at small group because we are still new, and I'm trying to dial down the crazy paparazzi lady status. But Ryan did get a couple of quick pictures of the birthday song! We took a Texas Sheet Cake (which Ryan made!) and we learned when we got there that one of the other guys in our group also has a birthday in a few days. So they sang to both of us!

We had a great time with our friends, and they were so encouraging to Ryan about his new job starting today. It was really great! And a bonus? Living here meant spending my birthday with Julie. Love her so much!

Thank you to ALL of you who made my birthday special. And Ryan? Thank you for making it a grand celebration. I love you so! Also thank you for letting me wake you up from an 11:45 p.m. nap to get in one last picture together on my birthday!

Sunday Sentiments

 

Thank you so much for your kind words on Friday when Ryan shared his birthday post for me. I cried reading his words ahead of when they posted. I could read his writing all day long. Don't you think he should guest post more often? ;)

Yesterday was my actual birthday, and I'll show you more tomorrow about what we did, but in the meantime I'll tell you that it was a beautiful day of joy in my heart. Compared to what we have done some years, this was a very low-key day, but my heart wanted and needed that this year. 

* I was grateful for an easy morning at home with one of my favorite things: Casey's breakfast pizza. (More on this tomorrow.) Sleeping in and having that on my plate was pretty much the perfect way to start the day.

* The weather was so pretty in the morning, and we were able to sit out on the back porch while I opened the cards and gifts that had arrived in the mail this week. We still have no yard. It probably bothers everyone around us way more than it bothers us. But to sit on my little back porch chair and look out into what will one day be our yard was a joy.

* It's a true gift to say that we have friends here already, given that our time here hasn't even reached the two month mark yet. But we do have friends here, and one of them stopped by to bless me with birthday balloons. I was in the middle of doing my hair and looked fairly terrible, but her impromptu visit was one of my favorite parts of the day!

* I scrapbooked, we watched really old shows about people who live on houseboats, I enjoyed birthday greetings on social media, and spent the bulk of the day with Ryan, Braeya, and Lexi.

* At the end of the day, we went to our small group, where we celebrated with brand new friends who have embraced us completely and without question. They sang happy birthday to me (and one of the other guys in the group who also has a birthday this week) and took time to hear our stories and encourage us!

It may not have been a day of external fanfare, but it was a day of deep gratitude for me. This past year has been full of so much change. SO much change. This weekend really does mark a new beginning for us in a variety of ways, and it felt so fitting that entering a new year was part of that new beginning for me!

Thank you for loving me well, dear friends. I appreciate you!

The Saturday Six

 

Today is my birthday, so it feels appropriate for today's Saturday Six to be inspired by all things related to organization! I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite organizational finds today, so if you're looking for something to help you organize in your home, you might just find it right here!

One.

I stumbled across this post on Pinterest and LOVED IT! The author created a template for a computer desktop to allow for file organization. I downloaded the template and used PicMonkey to add text to the boxes to fit what I needed. (The author suggests using Canva or any other similar site, so if you're not a PicMonkey user, it's okay.) I saved my edited template and uploaded it as my background picture, and now I have a nice, neat, organized dekstop! 

Two.

When we lived at WillowBridge, we purchased some fabric cubes to go in a wooden 9-slot organizer we borrowed from the building. Since we needed to leave that there, we just had the fabric cubes to use in our new home. I ended up putting them on a shelf in the closet and getting these little wooden tags to tie on to the handles, so I would know what was inside! We both love how it looks! I wrote on them in Sharpie, so they are just a one-time use item, unless I decide to cover them with laminated labels later! 

Three.

As you might remember, I am a paper planner girl through and through, and I tend to use academic year calendars, so I'm about due for a new one! I think I'm going to get this one this time. I like many things about it, including the chance to start with any month I want, since I write in my own dates! I also like the pages for prayer requests, vision, goals, etc. They have several different cover designs, so if you don't like the one I picked, you could look at other ones!

Four.

I have not done this, but I think it looks delightful. A project planning board organized with color-coded sticky notes? Yes please! Also, this board reminds me of the to-do board we had in the WillowBridge office. It was SO PRETTY!!! I do miss that. We do have a white board and two metal boards in our home office, so I could still accomplish this look!

Five.

When Ryan and I moved here, we worked hard to create a home office space that would allow both of us to work effectively, whether we were working independently or together in the same space. I think we have done a great job making a space that works for us, but I know as time goes along and we actually USE it for work, we'll find we need to tweak pieces of how it functions. I loved this post (though it's a few years old) that gave good ideas for organizing a small office space. I realize her decorating style may not match yours or mine, but her concepts are solid, and I learned some good things about organizing my space! 

Six.

And finally, if your file cabinet is out of control, check out this color-coded system. I am honestly not sure why I hadn't thought of this before! It's not only pretty, but it's helpful!

It is Good.

And so, we have reached Bekah's birthday once again!  Well, the actual day is tomorrow, but I don't want to interrupt the Saturday Six, so we are going to celebrate today.  Tomorrow is also National Dog Mom Day!  It's always the second Saturday in May and it just happened to align with her birthday this year.                                                            My two favorite girls 💖!  

This is the day in which I, Ryan, get to write and celebrate with all of you for Bekah's birthday.  As I sit here on this (again) rainy spring morning, I can't help but smile when I think about how much better my life is and all of yours (I'll speak for all you readers too!) because of Bekah.  This year marks ten years that we have been together!  I don't know where the time has gone, and yet it still seems like yesterday when we were on the beach committing our lives to each other and to God.  

Before getting married, and all along the way. we have prayed continually for God to use us however He saw fit.  It hasn't always looked like we thought, but it has been good.  It hasn't always been comfortable, but it has been good.  It hasn't always been easy, but it has been good.  God is good.  He has grown us in ways we never could have imagined.  He has strengthened us personally and as a couple.  He has led us through some extremely difficult situations.  And you know what?  It has been an adventure, and it has been good!  And as we look ahead not knowing what all is next, all we have to do is look at the past.  God has been faithful in every way, just like His Word says, and we are confident that will continue into our future. 

The hardest and greatest time of our life has been in these past few years.  We finally got to live out a dream we had for years, and that was to work together.  The work was not what we expected, and again it was good.  I think I learned as much about Bekah in these past few years as I did the rest of our marriage combined!  You learn a lot about someone when you work side by side with them all day every day.  And for us it was literally ALL DAY!  You know what I found out?  She is even more amazing than I even knew.  She has this fire down inside of her that I didn't know existed.  And. It. Is. Incredible!  So many things about WillowBridge are better because of her.  She wrote great material for the ministry.  She established lifelong relationships with the young women there that seemed impossible.  She stood up for what she believed even if she was the only one standing.  She had unbelievable compassion for our tenants.  She didn't back down from conflict (WHAT!).  She fiercely advocated for our tenants when they couldn't or didn't know how to.  She showed unconditional love to people who moments before had expressed extreme anger or hate towards her.  She led in ways I had never seen her do.  She encouraged and prayed with our tenants in ways that they had never experienced.  She showed passion for a ministry that we had never done, and she ran with it.  She was Jesus to so many, including me.  And now I know.  I know that she is capable of anything.  I always knew she was, but it has been confirmed right in front of me.

Bekah, I'm so proud to be your husband.  I'm so unbelievably grateful to do life with you side by side.  You're always so quick to make me laugh, encourage me on hard days, keep me on the edge of my seat with your writing, and have so many Bekah moments in life that just make me shake my head and grin.  Your wit, humor, and sarcasm are like nobody I've ever met, and I get to enjoy it every day.  Your big, beautiful smile makes me melt and your love for me is greater than any woman has had for any man ever (at least that is what you tell me, so I believe it to be true!).  I know you will roll your eyes at this, but you are also very wise and never back down from giving me great advice even when it's not what I want to hear.  That is true love.  Most of all, your love, dedication and drive to live for and follow our Lord obediently draws me to love you even more and to be a better man.  You are not an accident.  The Lord has big plans for your life and ours together.  You have so many gifts this world needs, many that you haven't even discovered yet.  You have purpose.  You are needed.  You are brave.  You are amazingly creative.  You are loved.  You are good. 

Today, as we all celebrate you on the day of your birth heard around the world, know that it was good!  

Love you more,
-Ryan                             

               

New House Guest Book

I think it was a Saturday Six a few weeks ago when I explored ideas for a new guest book in our new house. I finally picked what I thought we should do, so today's post is the big unveiling for that!

We didn't have a guest book in our Marion house. I never thought of it, honestly. But when we moved to Kokomo, I found an idea on Pinterest to use a Jenga game as a guest book. We had dinner guests and overnight guests alike sign the little wooden blocks, and we still have it! It serves as a game and a reminder of the blessings we had in being able to welcome friends into our home during the four years we lived there. I actually looked through those pieces just a few days ago, and it was so much fun to relive the memories.

* I found Ryan's mom's signature from one of her Mommapalooza visits.

* I found one of Ryan's co-worker's notes. She stayed overnight with us after a bad storm. We had electricity and she didn't, so we gave her a place to stay.

* I found the pieces signed by friends and family who came over for Tuesdays at the Table.

So many great adventures took place in that house, and I fully expect the same to be true in this one!

So what are we doing this time?

Library cards!

I came up with the idea because I saw some pins on Pinterest for a book-themed wedding. Guests signed library cards, and the bride and groom could read back over the notes on the card to see who had attended the wedding.

What works for a wedding can work for our house, right?

I found this post with free library cards I could print at home. (I just use regular paper, not card stock, but you could use card stock if you want it to be a little more durable.) This post also comes with multiple colors, which I think just makes it that much more interesting! 

(Source)

We've already had a chance to use this a few times, and I love how it works! I have our guests write their names on the "author" line. Then on the "title" line, I add in the reason for their visit. (They're welcome to add it if they want, but so far, I've done it each time.) So, for example, out little guy that spent the week with us after easter was titled "first overnight guest." Phoebe's people came to see us a couple of weeks ago, so they were our first lunch guests. Then, of course, there were our Mini-Mommapalooza guests. 

For "Date Loaned," I have them write in the date of their visit. For those who stay more than one day, we can also use the "Date Returned" line to reflect the full visit. 

Then in the "Borrower's Name" lines, I ask them to write a message. They can make it as long or short as they want, but it's fun to see their thoughts in their own handwriting!

I don't own a card catalog (unfortunately) so I will have to come up with a way to store these, but I love the compact nature of this idea. 

I also like the idea of remembering each guest as a story in our memory book of life in this house. They all matter to me, and I love it that I can keep track of each story in this way.

So there you have it! The new house guest book revealed at last! 

New Neighbor Gifts

 I'm excited to share today's post with you, because this was such a fun project for me. A few weeks ago, I themed a whole Saturday Six around the idea of new neighbor gifts. I did that in part because even though we're the new ones, I wanted to make something to take to meet our new neighbors in this neighborhood! I found an idea that fit our budget perfectly (read: quite minimal). I love food and would really have loved a food themed gift, but I also know there are so many people who have specific dietary needs and/or severe allergies, and NOTHING ruins a relationship faster than accidentally trying to poison someone, right? So we skipped food. 

I had seen some ideas that revolved around plants and putting down roots, and I liked that idea. But my goodness - plants are expensive right now! Since I'm not really a prolific plant lady, I don't know how to propagate my own plants, so that wasn't helpful either!

So what we did was this: we purchased a very affordable flat of pansies at the store and then cut the flat apart and wrapped each section in tissue paper (which I already had on hand) and tied it with twine (which I also had on hand). Then I made up a little card to go with each one. I'll show you the edited version of my creation. I've cut out our address and phone numbers here, so it looks a little lean compared to the original.

In the original version, there was an additional line under "putting down roots" that included our street name. Then at the bottom, under our names, I put our actual address and each of our phone numbers.

Then, on one of the few non-rainy afternoons we had at the end of April, Ryan and I delivered them around the neighborhood! I put them all in this basket we inherited from his mom:

And then we were off! 

Some thoughts from our adventure:

* Some of our neighbors were not home, so we left our gifts on their porches. We ran into one of those couples later and they asked if we were the ones who left the gift and it was a good conversation starter with them.

* A couple of the neighbors that did come to the door did not appear to be major conversationalists, so I don't think our efforts to meet them were particularly meaningful to them, but I felt better for having tried!

* Though this was fun and I'm glad we did it, another GREAT way to meet neighbors happened a bit later during rummage sale weekend. We made trips all around the neighborhood each of those days and had the opportunity to meet neighbors farther out than our delivery zone. The "open door" atmosphere made it much less awkward to actually go in and meet them, and that was a lot of fun. 

* One of our neighbors has done a fantastic job getting to know us. They came over one of the first couple of days we lived here to introduce themselves. They have been back a couple of time since, once to share food and once to bring a gift. We also talk with them out in their yard when we see them - when it's not raining, of course.) It's been so meaningful to us that they have been so intentional!

This move definitely marks the hardest I've worked to get to know my neighbors, and I also had a lot of fun with this little gift and would absolutely do it again! And I also want to be mindful to be like our next-door neighbors and reach out intentionally to new people when they move in as we settle here! 

Mother's Day, Take Two

I felt just awful that my post yesterday was so bad! I'm so sorry! When I wrote it Sunday night, I really was brain-tired from speaking that morning. (Sometime I should do a post about that. When I started speaking, I was not prepared for what happens after speaking. But we'll save that for another day.) And then when I added in hosting and a long walk, I think I was more out of it than I anticipated. Ryan was also watching a movie that I was halfway keeping up with, so I just did a terrible job with the post, and then I beat myself up for that most of yesterday. So let's try to remedy that today, shall we?

I will say at the start that I do have some pictures I can't use here just to respect those who prefer not to have their pictures shared. So I apologize for that. Also, there were a ton of pictures I didn't even take because I was trying not to be too picture-happy for those who don't care for them. But those obstacles aside, I could have done better than I did!!

I failed to share a picture of my table, because that photo was in a different file (yes, I organize my photos) from the main set of Mother's Day pictures. I took this the night before, so the lighting isn't amazing, but it does show the table with the leaf in and all the plates set!

This was the first time we had used the FULL table, and it worked beautifully!

As for the food, I really didn't take pictures of it. The start of the palooza was a little out of sorts because some came early and some came later, and I was so busy hostessing and trying to get lunch served that I took pictures of NOTHING other than the dessert, which I will tell you about in just a second, because THAT was an adventure.

But for lunch we had homemade chicken salad sandwiches, fresh veggies with homemade ranch dip, and homemade loaded baked potato soup. It was all very delicious, and every single recipe was new to me...

...including the disaster of a dessert. I found a recipe for a salted caramel brownie trifle, and I thought it looked amazing. I really do love making trifles and everything IN the trifle was made from scratch, which is both a beloved personal challenge and delight for me! I dove in headfirst with such joy. 

I made the brownies from scratch. They were ugly as sin, but they did taste delish. Then I started in on the homemade caramel sauce to go in the homemade salted caramel mousse. 

Attempt #1: fail.

Attempt #2: fail.

So then I watched tutorial videos and read posts about troubleshooting caramel-making issues. I even bought a new (to me...it was from a garage sale) pan that would supposedly make the process go more smoothly. 

Attempt #3: fail.

At this point, we purchased caramel sauce. I made the mousse from scratch, and it went splendidly.

I also made the whipped cream from scratch. And the chocolate sauce. And then I assembled the trifle.

It was beautiful and it did taste delightful, although the chocolate sauce became like hard-shell in there. It was so pretty. Take a look, because I am NEVER making this recipe again.

But the next time I make the soup, I will definitely chronicle it so I can share it here. It was worth it. 

Another picture I forgot to share yesterday was my Happy Mother's Day sign. It's not award-winning, but it's cute-ish.

And then about the gifts...

I did take a picture of Mom with her Mother's Day gift, but it was a gift certificate, so I was trying not to share the details. My super-smart husband suggested just editing those out and sharing the picture for you, and that was a great idea! I really do think this is a good picture of Mom!

And then my gifts...

I received a gift card to Shutterfly, which I also did some editing on...but here you go! (And I already had a photo book IN MY CART, so you can know this thoughtful gift is fully loved and gone.)

And I received some body wash/soap products! 

I think those are the main additional pictures I can share. I guess I also have this one from our walk. The river is quite high/flooded and FAST.  These ducks were having quite the time trying to get to the other side without going downstream. I would have dearly loved to see how fast and furious their little feet were going beneath the surface!

I hope this helps make up for may lackluster post yesterday. My apologies! It was such a strange picture day, and then that translates into strange blog posts. Here's to more thorough work for the rest of the week!