My Grateful List

I had an English teacher in the 8th grade...Mrs. Costello...that always did our assignments with us. She said she didn't think teachers should ask their students to do anything they weren't willing to do, so anytime she assigned us a writing project, she did it too. I thought that was pretty impressive. (Especially when we wrote poetry. I hated poetry. Couldn't imagine why she'd subject herself to it.)

So Sunday, when I asked the Sunday School class to write their thankfulness, I did too. Mine were the little things. The easily overlooked, yet no less cause for thanks.

* Fleece sheets. (When you're too frugal to turn on the heat, you appreciate things like that.)

* Waterproof mascara. (When you "cleanse" as much as I do, you need it.)

* Seatbacks at football games. (Self-explanatory.)

* Wide margins in Bibles. (I take lots of notes.)

* Hot water. (Sometimes if I can't get warm, I resort to a hot shower.)

* Frappes. (Little pleasures in life.)

* Braeya. (Even when she's trying to murder me via knocking the picture off the wall.)

* The morning guys. (That would be the morning team at work. Those three crack me up every day.)

* Free dinners. (Had a couple last week.)

* Whipped cream. (Still thinking about the frappes.)

* Pretty sunrises. (If you have to be on the road at such an hour, it makes it bearable.)

* The internet. (Never feel too lonely when I can talk to people!)

* Books. (Ahhhh, sweet books.)

* In-the-ear-headphones. (They don't mess up my hair.)

* Lynne. (What a gift to my life!)

How about you? What are you thankful for?

Woke up to this song Sunday morning - an oldie but a goodie. I'm grateful for this too:

Gratitude

Tis the week for thankful thoughts, right?

I was scheduled to teach Sunday School this past Sunday, and though I thought about it all week and tried to come up with a topic...I came up blank. Saturday night, I sat in my bed, utterly exhausted from my week, and in tears because I missed the intimacy with the Lord that I had last year.

I picked up Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts to read the next chapter but really just wanted to put it away and cry myself to sleep.

I got into the chapter a bit and read these words: "Oh yes, I know you, the busyness of your life leaving little room for the source of your life."

Gulp.

"Thanksgiving makes time."

Gulp again.

I underlined sentence after sentence in the chapter...and cried some more because it was so timely, and God is just like that. He's faithful to bring the right words at the right time.

Sunday morning I made my way to church with Ann's book in one hand and a stack of blank papers in the other. After we talked about busyness and the importance of naming blessings and claiming them as God's love-gifts, I shared this idea I read on Becky Higgins' blog: to make a grateful poster.

Then I passed out the blank papers and asked them all to write GRATEFUL in the middle - and surround it with things they're grateful for.

My pastor was grateful for spell check because he couldn't remember how to spell grateful. :)

Maybe you don't have time this week to make a whole big poster like Becky did...but what about a list tucked in your Bible? Just a paper with a list of thanks?

Or a list of one thousand?

It's a thought...

First Football Game!

Earlier this year, my game night buddies, Phats and Cara, found out that I'd never been to a football game in my entire life. They couldn't believe it (and that's the reaction I got from most other people, too!) - so they said when football season rolled around...I was going to a game!

And so it was that this past Saturday, I got in my car at 7:30 in the morning and drove to Phats' house to head to Purdue for the Purdue/Iowa game.

We were promised a high of mid-fifties and a partly sunny day. But, in true Indiana fashion, the part of the sun that was participating stayed well hidden behind the clouds, the occasional sprinkle of rain fell, and the WIND kept mid-fifties far from us.
I was glad I'd layered up! Long sleeved t-shirt, hoodie (borrowed from Cindy at my work - thanks, Cindy!), ball cap, gloves, and a coat and scarf, which I later added. I even had my nails done in black for the occasion!

They took me early so I could go to the Thrill on the Hill, which was a sneak peek of the band's halftime music.

And I practiced my new phrase of the day: BOILER UP!

We had really great seats - thanks, Phats! AND we got to have the little stadium seats, so we were all nice and cushioned with seat backs. Can't beat that! (Helped block the wind, too.)

LUNCH at the stadium! Hot dog and water.

The band played again right before the game. (As you can see, the tailgaters were still busy.)

Ahhh there are the fans. Where's Waldo?

Didn't understand too much about the game, but I had a lot of fun being there! (We did have a super obnoxious fan behind us. It wasn't what she was saying - it was the shrill decibel in which she said it.)

This was what I learned about football on Saturday. When Mr. Red Hat is on the field, it's a TV time out and we're stuck. The colder it got, the less we appreciated his presence.

Halftime show! They did a set of "this thing called love" songs - complete with dancers.

And I got to see the world's largest drum!

In the end, Purdue lost (in kind of an ugly way, but we won't go into that), and I had no feeling in my feet whatsoever walking back to the car. But it was such a fun day and I'm very glad I went. Thanks, Phats and Cara!

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Sunday morning I visited my friend Marie's church, and when I came home, I determined I needed one more day of emotional recovery (because apparently an entire Saturday in bed was not enough). So I did something I'd not done in probably ten years. I ordered a pizza. I couldn't even believe I did that. I sat in the fat chair, watched sappy Hallmark movies and savored pizza.
* Monday I was a guest on Mid-Morning. So strange to be a guest on my own show! Monday was also my WORST commute to date. We had nasty rain/thunderstorms/tornado warnings all day and the roads were HORRIBLE. I've never hydroplaned so much in my life. I finally had to say "better to be late to work than to be dead." I was neither late nor dead, in case you weren't sure. And then Monday night I went to a Mary Kay party, where I got a free dinner and won two rounds of Mary Kay bingo, resulting in a free bottle of purple nail polish and free lipstick. Bring that on!

* Tuesday was MUCH lovelier outside, which I appreciated. And there were some sweet moments in that day - including the chance to talk to a friend I thought I'd lost for good...I drank in every moment of that conversation. I hate losing friends, so the realization that I hadn't this time...was a gift.

* Wednesday was a FULL day. Started out with the fall book giveaway, which was SO much fun.
THEN - I got to have about 2 1/2 hours of hanging out with Lynne planning shows...and THEN I got to have dinner with Jenny...and THEN I got to see my friend Crystal for not only a hug - but a couple hours of talking. That was a good good day!

* Thursday Lynne and I did a tour de Ft. Wayne visiting some different places for show planning. We ended up with some of the work girls at the brand new Qdoba - for a free dinner! We had passes to eat during the training night. MAN that was some good food. (Everything tastes even better when it's free!) I am pretty sure that was my first time ever to eat at Qdoba!

* Friday was a fun day at work; we had in-studio guests, and I knew one of them, so that was a special treat. I wrapped up lots of paperwork details that had been just hanging out there, so I felt like I accomplished much. And then after work, 4 of us went to Smokey Bones for dinner. I'd never been there before (shocker) but I'll be back! YUM. We were there for a while, just laughing up a storm. I'm glad I enjoy hanging out with the work crowd OFF the clock as much as I do on the clock! This was my favorite part of dinner. Our waiter deposited this on the table:

And Diane said, "Bad cook tonight?" LOL!!! The garbage bag for the rib bones...but that's not what we all thought when we saw it!!

* Yesterday was a first for me! My first football game ever in my whole life. Phats and Cara took me to the Purdue/Iowa game. Clearly not the best weather in the history of the world, but we had such a fun time.

Books I'm Reading: Not much time to read this week. I did spend a small amount of time in Jesus Calling, Breaking Free, and One Thousand Gifts.

Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: I loved Monday, during my interview with Lynne, when I was able to see how God brought my life full circle within this past year. I wrote about it earlier this week in more detail - but I did love that moment!

Update on Last Week's Goals: Fail again. Can you believe that? Two weeks in a row? :(

Goals for the Coming Week: Is it wrong to make a goal about making a goal? I need to think ahead to next year and how I need to revamp life. So much has changed and I need to catch up to the changes to make life more manageable. With the time off for the holiday, I'm hoping to have time to do that.

Courage and Cheese Fries

You know how you read books (or watch movies) and all the people have these perfect little chunks of time carved out of their days when they get to hide away with friends and drink coffee and chat?

I think of that when I do the dirty-dish sweep of the house so I can run the dishwasher. I bring the cereal bowl out from the bedroom and the coffee cups out of the bathroom (can you tell my morning routine is multi-tasked?) and I think - yeah this is real life. Forget the pretty little moments with friends. I have to caffeinate on the fly.

But Wednesday night I had one of those chunks of time that feels like it crawled out of a book. And I loved it.

My freshman year of college, I took a Creative Writing class. It was sort of an overview of other, more in-depth writing classes I'd take later. In my class was a girl named Crystal. She was a senior that year (I think) and was married already. We shared a book and formed a friendship. After she left, we wrote letters (because people still did that then) and eventually moved to emailing regularly.

She and her husband moved overseas to serve on the mission field and Crystal shared with me that she missed being part of a ladies Bible study. Since I taught the one at our church, I started emailing her my notes every week so she could be part of our study. And for several years, she was the Czech Republic extension of our group.

A couple of years ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer and I followed her blog as she went through treatment, surgery, hair loss, illness...and did all of it overseas with tremendous courage.

She and her family are home right now, raising support to go back, and she'd sent a message saying they would be speaking at a church right by my house. So even though I had dinner plans and could only go late to see her...I sneaked in for the end of her husband's talk and then gave her a big hug. I thought that was the extent of our time, but her husband said to me, "Are you guys going to go out for tea or something? She'd like that."

Really? I could steal her away for a bit?

So after the last person left, we scurried out to my car and went to Steak & Shake for tea (hot for her, iced for me) and a shared plate of cheese fries. We were tucked away in our booth and caught up on our last five years. My desert and heartache - and now joy in a new life. Her battle with cancer and how God met her in amazing ways during her fight.

I took her back to her temporary home and as we sat in the car outside the house, she shared in a quiet voice more of those friend things...the quiet secrets that one heart trusts to another...and I knew I was having one of those movie moments.

The stolen away moments.

The sitting to enjoy the raw courage of a friend as told over a plate of cheese fries.

"On Mid-Morning"

Wednesday we had a big fall book giveaway on Mid-Morning. It was my first time to work this kind of show, and it was fun. Partly, it was fun because I got to spend the show in the studio with Lynne instead of engineering. It was so weird for the show to start...and I was just sitting there hanging out!

So here was the left side of my seat for the show...
And the right side....

And Lynne's side...

The show was much fun. We took calls and gave away books left and right - and in TRUE Bekah fashion, I had a first-class idiot moment. (That was my third such moment in three straight days. Lovely.) I mixed up a couple of names and when I realized what I did, I announced "BRILLIANT, PARTY OF ONE!" right there on the air. Such class and finesse.

That led Lynne to share our little joke...so if you missed it, here it is.

A few weeks ago, she had a bad cold and you know how it goes with colds. Between the head fog created by the cold itself and the fog of the meds...you say some interesting stuff.

We were discussing some guests to schedule, and she said to me, "Yeah go ahead and schedule that," (pause, pause, pause) "On Mid-Morning."

I just looked at her for a minute and then said, somewhat hesitantly, "Um, yeah...Mid-Morning is our show."

So now it's our joke. Whenever one of us says stupid things, the other will say, "On Mid-Morning."

She also coerced me into "singing" with her on the air. A real treat.

But duh moments...singing...and all, this lady is a class act and I love working with her:

And she understands the need for scrappable moments and embraces my inner photo shoots.

On Mid-Morning.

Snapshots of Bekahland

* Last Friday night, I'd just fallen asleep when I awakened to a strange sound. Took me a minute to figure out where I was...who I was...all those sorts of suddenly-awakened things. I glanced to the left to see two hind legs on my pillow. I looked up...up...up...and these two darling blue eyes looked back at me. Braeya was perched ON the pillow, batting at the picture on the wall above my head. It's a 16x20 and was swinging precariously back and forth.

I looked at her and said, "Do I not provide an actual BOX of toys for you? Are you bored in some way? Unfulfilled here in your castle? It's the middle of the night! GO TO SLEEP!" This was NOT how I wanted to die - murdered by bored cat knocking decorations off the wall.

* Tuesday afternoon, I had to cover the phones for a while, so I ruled out all projects requiring undivided attention. Lynne is starting a Mid-Morning blog, and my job was to set it up. I'm a pro, right? I've been blogging forever! I can set up and design blogs IN MY SLEEP.

Right.

In between phone calls, I worked my way through the setup screens. You know those little word verification things?

Oh my goodness.

I entered all the information, hit submit, and read "We're sorry. The characters you typed did not match the displayed characters."

I tried again.

"We're sorry. The characters you typed did not match the displayed characters."

Again.

"We're sorry. The characters you typed did not match the displayed characters."

I tried listening to it - you know - the "cheating help?"

"We're sorry. The characters you typed did not match the displayed characters."

ARE YOU STINKING KIDDING ME?

Y'all, it took me twenty minutes to outsmart that stupid word verification. I was literally sweating at the end of it. (Sorry. That's unattractive. But true!)

* That same day, I came home from work and heard this fast-paced, high-pitched chirping sound. Braeya met me at the door, did her traditional flop-over-and-scratch-a-little-to-the-left-please bit, and I said to her, "What's that noise, girlie?"

She scampered ahead of me (I swear she's just like a tattling kid) and led me right to the noise: her favorite mouse toy, which squeaks when moved. Apparently something malfunctioned in the squeaker and it began to squeak full time. She sat down and looked at me like It wasn't me, Mom. Can you please make it stop?

I stomped on it a few times.

Nothing. Well - except more constant chirping. So I turned on the bathroom fan to drown it out and said, "Please little fake mousie - please die before bedtime. Otherwise you're going outside."

It was at the point of talking to a fake chirping mouse that I began to question my sanity.

Good grief.

Full Circle

Monday morning, we had our monthly Author! Author! show on Mid-Morning. On those shows, Lynne interviews six authors in one hour. She's a super-host!!

It was one year ago that during the November Author! Author! show....
...I donned my little sweater dress and headed to Fort Wayne to be a guest. I sat in that chair and nervously drank that bottle of water while I listened to Lynne interview the guests before me. And at the very end of the show, it was my turn. I talked (even MORE nervously) about my book and how it came to be.

And then, because she's nice like that, Lynne indulged my inner scrapbook love...

...and WHO KNEW?

Who knew that in that ten minutes on the air with her, God was working a mysterious way? Who knew that seeds of friendship were being planted right there? Who knew that one year later...I would be back in the sweater dress (because I'm a sentimental dork like that), sitting two rooms over, running my own microphone, and again talking to Lynne about that book?

I love lots of things about God. (I should do a post on that!) But this is one of the things I love the MOST about Him. The great ways He sneaks in with the most beautiful details...and writes a story.

In this season of Thanksgiving, I am profoundly thankful for the way God has moved in my life and created this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to use my gifts. I'm grateful for the love of the people who work with me, and I'm grateful He has redeemed what the locusts had eaten, to quote the Bible.

I have come full circle and I'm SO grateful.

And this was my favorite thing Lynne said about my writing. I think this may be the most beautiful compliment I've ever been given. She said I have the ability to craft thoughts into nourishment.

I hope I always have that.

SSMT: Verse 20

I cannot believe that after this verse...there are only two more in this project. I still remember sitting wrapped in layers of fleece, sipping coffee and reading the verses from Isaiah that kicked off my year...and now we're almost done!

My prayer life lately has...lacked. I speak with God often. It's a running conversation throughout the day. and there's nothing wrong with that. It's praying without ceasing. (That's the verse I should memorize! Oh wait. I did.)

But the sitting-down, focused, concentrated, hard-core prayer time - lacks. It bothers me. It bothers me because it shows me I have priorities that are out of line and my schedule is too busy.

So then I found this verse:

But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. - Jude 1:20

...build yourselves up...takes effort on my part. If I'm serious about improving my relationship with the Lord, I need to WORK on it. Just like any other relationship, it's not going to happen on its own.

...most holy faith...can't forget how sacred this is. This isn't just any old thing. This is my faith. This is the most important thing I have.

...pray in the Holy Spirit...the same Spirit who intercedes for me when I don't have words. The same Spirit who comforts me when I hurt. The power to pray comes from Him.

I have some work to do. I'm so thankful He's patient.

Phillips, Craig and Dean!

Last Friday night I went to/worked the Phillips Craig and Dean concert in Fort Wayne. I was really excited about this concert because I love PCD. I saw them in concert for the first time almost seven years ago - and then again almost two years ago (on a HORRIBLY snowy and icy night. Treacherous!) - and both times I went with Marie. It was weird to see them without her along!

This concert was not just a concert. It was WBCL's huge military outreach project (taking place on Veteran's day). We collected money to purchase military Bible sticks so soldiers can have access to the New Testament that they can listen to while they're deployed.
The entire station staff worked the concert - which I think was a first! It was fun to see everyone all dressed up for the evening. The church was all decked out in red, white, and blue, and there was a red carpet outside for soldiers and veterans to walk as they came inside. (Some came in uniform, even!)

This is Randy Phillips. The last concert I went to...he was unable to attend because of a death in the family. So I was glad he was back. His version of La Cucracha is hilarious.

Shawn Craig - a fellow Hoosier, though he doesn't live here anymore. He was actually in the station for a little bit Friday afternoon and I said (wait for it) - "hello." Did you get that? It was "hello."

And Dan Dean - who was also at the station Friday. He wished me a happy birthday - but my friend Sheryl was actually the birthday girl. So I'll pass that on to her!

They put on a magnificent concert. Once thing I love about their concerts...they're so worshipful. These guys are all pastors (That's a busy life! Touring and holding a church!) so that's an important part of each concert.

If you've never heard them - check this out. One of my favorite songs they do: The Revelation Song.


The night was a HUGE success - people gave so generously and we'll be able to send several hundred Bible Sticks overseas. Yay, God!!

I think everyone was a little tired...Lynne and I were pooped! (Traipsing around in heels wears on a girl.)

Here's some of the rest of my work buds. Paying attention in this picture would be Jim and Ron - these two make me laugh. Funny guys! And in the back, Marion (the one who googled the hardest dessert to make), Diane, who sits right by me every day and makes me laugh over and over, and Craig (who made me the "coffee maker" out of the broken whatever it was).

So that was one good evening. Loved it!

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday I taught Sunday School - completing my guest appearances in that particular class. Really enjoyed sharing with them - and hearing their stories. Then I sat down for the first time in days...and just rested. And to round out the day - made a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies, since Marion let me off the hook with making a souffle for his birthday. :)

* Monday was one of those days where if it could go wrong...it did. It started with my hair, which would not cooperate, and ended up looking suspiciously like a mullet. Then the internet service in our part of Ft. Wayne crashed and you would not believe how much I need that thing to do my job! Then there was fuel-purchasing drama...and Chatty McChatterson in customer service at Meijer...I was glad to get home! Just had to laugh!

* Tuesday morning, I tried to iron my shirt before work: Don't think someone wanted me to leave! Tuesday evening I made sure I got home in time to vote and then I started discussing the Beth Moore book Breaking Free with Olivia. We've not done our weekly study together since before her wedding, and I've SO missed it.

* Wednesday night I went house hunting in Fort Wayne. We went back to the house I love so much to see if I still loved it. I did. Then we went to another house that I'd not even known was on the market. There's a possibility that I loved it even more than the first. Oh sigh.

* Thursday I cohosted the Thanksgiving show with Lynne. We had SO MUCH FUN!!! And I remembered almost all my words! I was so excited. It really was a fun time. It was also the first snowfall of the year. Fortunately it was one of those non-stick snows. Pretty to watch - gone when hitting the ground. That was good, since this was our view walking into work that morning. Isn't it gorgeous?
* Friday was a very big day for me...I did my first on-air interview! We had a Spots and Spotlights show and I interviewed Tresha Strunk, who runs the fabulous Craft Hideaway I love so much! After work, I headed over to the Phillips, Craig and Dean concert, which was also a military outreach benefit concert. More on that coming soon!


* Saturday I stayed in bed. The entire day. Well. Almost. I got up and went to get my nails done. Then I went back to bed for the rest of the day. I wasn't sick. I just needed a break from life. Sometimes the pace I keep completely overwhelms me. Sometimes the things that come over my heart break it in ways I can't share out loud. And sometimes I need a time out to cry and think. To the tune of all day in bed. It was good for me.

Books I'm Reading: Jesus Calling, of course. I also started reading Beth Moore's book, Breaking Free and read more in One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.

Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: One day this week, I got to work and Satan was after me with such force that I felt like an elephant sat on my chest. I called Lynne, who was almost to the station, and as soon as she came in, she and I sat to pray together right there at work. As she prayed for me, the elephant got up and left. Don't know where he went. Don't really care. Just glad to breathe again. When I got back to my desk, I texted a friend of mine to ask for prayer and received not only a promise of prayer, but words of encouragement and even verses to read.

Update on Last Week's Goal: F.A.I.L. My goal had been to finish Pray 21 - and not only did we not finish - we didn't even DO it at all. I could make excuses for both of us but there's no need. NO good!!!

Goals for the Coming Week: I will reset the goal. Finish Pray 21. Surely to goodness....

Things I've Learned...

...since becoming a commuter.

* There is a very critical piece of timing between two stoplights I drive through each day. Failing to turn on red at the first one means you'll never make the second one. Ever.

* Whether they're illegally texting or just generally oblivious, a shocking (and annoying!) number of people won't move over to let me on the interstate, even if the lane is wide open for them to do so.

* Gas is cheaper in Fort Wayne. Sometimes a LOT cheaper.

* Sometimes it's easier to pack an entire bag of lettuce and cheese and throw in an entire bottle of salad dressing, because the three minutes required to portion it out...could be used for sleep instead.

* Coming home requires an hour of down time.

* Not living a block from work turns me into a pack mule every day. Minimum of three bags.

* School buses look a lot like fire trucks in the dark (when they're stopped with their lights on.

* My GPS has a warped sense of pronunciation. Goshen = GOSHen. ParNELL = PARNul. Coldwater = Cowldwater.

* There's no shame in needing evening caffeine too.

Thanksgiving Mishaps

The morning team usually has a topic of the day, and a couple of days this week...it centered around Thanksgiving mishaps. That reminded me of the year of the terrible, awful, horrible, no-good, very bad Thanksgiving. It was before my blogging days, so I thought I'd pull that out of the chronicles of Bekah history and share it with you. So without further ado...please set your mind back to 2003 and check out my Thanksgiving weekend.

I was supposed to host Thanksgiving and had been looking forward to it...but the closer it got, the worse the guest list became. Between lack of interest and illness, the list had dwindled to five (including me) by the week of Thanksgiving. I was ready to cancel the whole thing, but Mom would have none of it.

The day before Thanksgiving was rough. I felt like the worst hostess ever because of all the cancellations, and I had love life drama on top of that. Not a good combo. So that evening I sat down to write in my journal. I glanced up from my chair to see my unpaid credit card bill sitting in the bill box.

But wait....hadn't a credit card bill just come in the mail THAT DAY??

I rushed into the other room and ripped open the new bill and...yep. There it was. Late fee and finance charge. I NEVER have late fees and finance charges. It goes against everything I believe in. Irritated, I put aside the journal and headed to the bank to transfer money to pay my bill.

I knew I wouldn't have enough gas to get to the mall...where I could pay the bill in person, so I stopped to put gas in my car. The pump wouldn't work. I went inside to see if there were problems, or if I truly was too stupid to pump gas. Three other people walked in at the same time with the same problem. We were advised to just move along to the next gas station. I drove all the way to the mall with my gas cap open, my gas tank mostly empty, new tears in my eyes, and paid my bill.

Turkey Day went well until I got ready to make the stuffing and realized I had forgotten the recipe called for celery. I called Mom and asked her if she could pick some up, since I had all the candles burning already and couldn't leave the house. Lunch went off without a hitch until we heard an odd sound that resembled running water. To my shock and horror, my red three wick candle had developed a leak in one side and wax was pouring down the side of the candle, over the top of the buffet, down the front of the buffet and making a lovely pool of wax on my beige carpet. The only thing worse than having that happen is having your homeowner sitting right there when it happens!!! (My sister owned my house at that time and rented it to me.) So while everyone rested and relaxed after lunch, I used up a half a roll of paper towel ironing red candle wax out of my carpet and broke my thumb nail chipping it off the front of the buffet. Sigh.

The day after Thanksgiving, I broke every rule in my book and rolled out of bed to hit an early sale. I told one of my friends later that day, that obviously I've come a long way since college where I wouldn't even step foot outside the bedroom unless I looked ready to go to an interview. That morning, I brushed my teeth, threw on a sweatshirt and drove to the mall. I ran through the parking lot in the dark and rain to get inside to stand in line for ten minutes to buy three sets of dishes. You ever tried to carry three sets of separately bagged dishes through a store that no longer has aisles, and through a dark, wet parking lot full of crazed drivers who have no regard for pedestrians?? IT IS NOT FUN!!!!! All the way home I said, "Please, God. Don't let anyone hit me. I don't care what they do to my car...it has insurance. But if anything happens to these dishes I just about killed myself to get...I will cry!!!!"

For the record - that was the LAST time I did any Black Friday shopping. Not. Worth. It.

And here's hoping for a better Thanksgiving this year!

Christmas Wishes

HEY. Don't stop reading just because I used the word "Christmas" before Thanksgiving. If you've not paid attention to my little ticker up above here...there aren't that many days left before Christmas arrives. Time to start thinking about some SHOPPING.

My family asked for my Christmas list, so I finished it up this past weekend. It's kind of a wimpy, pathetic list, but nonetheless...a list.

First up...totally not necessary but totally cute:
I rather hope, though, if I get that wish fulfilled...the present-buyer gets me an actual PAIR of boots. Perhaps I should have specified that.

Then...yet one more item I swore I'd wait to get until I got married, but I actually need it now. Well. Need might be a strong statement. But cooking would be much easier with a decent set of knives!

Because I've decided pancakes need to be alternated with waffles...

Because I've turned into a pitiful adult who actually PUT these on a list...what has HAPPENED to me???

And while it's not a present I'll get from anyone else, I really would love this most of all for Christmas...

Or I might have to resort to one of these for the winter:

That's my pitiful list. What do you want for Christmas?

A Feeble Attempt at Sports Talk

Skyepuppy had a fabulous post the other day about "dating games." You know, the whole post-date will-he-call-or-won't-he? dilemma of the dating world. She said she recently went on a date and is now vacillating between knowing he saw deal breakers and knowing she's mid-game and shouldn't expect a call.

In my occasional dating life, I've found I usually lose the most points when it comes to the land of sports.

I was not raised in a home that "did" sports. We didn't participate in them. We didn't go to watch them. We didn't even have them on the TV in the background of our daily lives. The sports section was the only unread section of our paper.

While I didn't feel I'd been left out, really, I'm now finding that my sports stupidity is most unamusing to dates in general. Please don't misunderstand me. I don't HATE sports. I just don't GET them.

I dated a volleyball coach for a while. I learned to understand that sport. Not well enough to speak intelligently with him about it. But enough to sit through TV games and comprehend who was ahead.

In high school, I was a baseball manager my senior year. I understood the basics. And I learned losses made for miserable bus rides.

And that's about the end of my sports knowledge.

It's true that when home alone, I'll watch TLC, Lifetime movies, HGTV or the Food Network before turning on a ballgame. It's true that on Thanksgiving, I'll put in a David Phelps DVD over the football palooza. It's true that in March Madness, I'm usually just mad about surprise late-season ice storms.

But it's also true that I went to a baseball game this year and had a blast. It's also true that I'm about to go to a football game and I can't wait. It's also true that in my few rare seasons of dating, I've truly happily sat through games of all kinds because that's what you do for someone you love.

All of that to say....I don't have favorite teams. I'm a Colts fan because I live in Indiana and that's what we do here -yes, even this year. (Because we're loyal like that.) I'm also a fan of virtually any New England team because one of my friends lives out there and he's a huge sports fan and he loves it when they win - and therefore so do I. (Because I'm loyal like that.)

But there is one player that actually drove me to turn on a TV and watch out of sheer genuine personal interest. And all of this yap up to this point was merely the intro to say I think it's pretty cool that an IWU alum made it to Major League Baseball - and more than just making it, he's doing a good job!

His name is Brandon Beachy and he's from Kokomo, which is not far from where I grew up. Then he went to IWU and while I don't think I ever actually met him in person while he was a student, I remember when he was there.

The first night he pitched for the Braves, my friend Jonathan came over to do some homework. Wish I would have had a camera to capture the look on his face when he walked in and I had ESPN on and my eyes glued to the TV. He said, "You're watching sports."

I said, "I know."

He said, "Why?"

LOL.

Earlier this fall, I read this blog post about Brandon, and I thought it was very well written. (It has to be. I actually understood it.)

So there you go. That's my attempt at sports talk. (No comment, Phats.)

Meanwhile, for a depiction of both my sports understanding and Skyepuppy's dating thoughts, you should check out the pilot episode for Dharma and Greg. Pretty well sums it up.

I Work with a Bunch of Comedians.

One thing that happens a lot in my job: laughter. I seriously work with some of the funniest people. So here's a sampling of my work laughter lately.

1. Even though I've only been working at the station since July, I've already lost my "new kid" title - twice! One of our newer employees is Marion, the IT guy. He is a blessing because you have no idea how technologically challenged I am. (Okay, maybe you do.) But through all that techy-ness - he's a funny one, that Marion!

Last week, I discovered he had a birthday coming up, and my birthday gift policy for the work crowd is this: I'll cook or bake you whatever you want. But since Marion's new, I didn't know what he might like, so I emailed him to explain the policy and find the answer. A few minutes later, I got this response.

Souffle.

Oh shoot. I might have mentioned it should be something I'm capable of MAKING!!

Then in the next line. I'm just kidding. I googled "hardest dessert to make" and that's what came up. The real answer is chocolate chip cookies.

WHEW!!!! He told me later he really did google it. So if you're ever on Jeopardy and the answer is "Hardest dessert to make," you now know to say "What is souffle?"

2. Jim is on the morning team and has come to be a really dear friend to me in the time I worked there. His air shift ends as mine begins, so we chat every day at the great exchange of shows. One morning, I went in and he said, "Hey I got you a present."

He then proceeded to shuffle around a pile of newspapers, searching for the gift. I had no idea what could be under those papers that would constitute a gift.

Then he pulled out this:
...and said, "Got you some perfume." LOL!!!!! Well, I started reading about my present, and this is what I found:

I said, "Really? I'm a man of memorable magnetism??" He grabbed that one back and said, "Well I just don't know how that happened. They must have sold me the wrong one." I laughed for a long time.

3. And then there's Craig. Craig is VERY tech savvy and also very smart. These things would normally intimidate me into hiding, but he's also got a coffee addiction, so I know he's good. :) Friday morning, as I came down the hall after the show, he was walking toward me, carrying on his shoulder the strangest looking contraption. Looked like it could have been a piece of that wood splitter that Belle's father invented in Beauty and the Beast.

I asked Craig about it and he said it was a fancy coffee maker. We had a good laugh about that and went on with the day.

Then I went to the kitchen for lunch and found this: (Don't miss the sign there on the front.) LOL!!!!!!

Yes indeed. A coffee maker. He said the white tube on the right was set up for an IV drip and the little indicator on the left tells the strength of the caffeine...

Oh that it really worked. :)

So these are the people I work with. They make me laugh.

Rock & Worship Road Show

I come to you from the land of learning to hear again. :)

Why, you ask? Well this past Saturday night, I worked:
The Roadshow came to Fort Wayne, and six of us headed to the Coliseum to represent the station, behind this table, which was located, as you can see, IN the arena.

(That's Miss Sheryl back there. She's one of my lunch buddies. Well. And just a buddy in general.)

Anyway. So this concert was a fun new experience for me, because it gave me a chance to deviate from the Gaithers. I tend to stick with what I know. My work pals warned me this concert might be cause to wear earplugs. I said Nahhh I'll be fine. The table's at the back...no biggie. They raised knowing eyebrows and said, Okay, Bekah!

So I showed up in my work gear (extra layers because under the floor was ice for the hockey team) and my new haircut (flattened by the wind).

And I learned that being at the back doesn't mean you don't need earplugs! It was one of those concerts where to say I'm going for popcorn; do you want anything?? meant screaming it in the ear of the person next to you. Kinda fun! I mean really. How often do you get to scream at a co-worker and not get in trouble? :)

The Rock & Worship Roadshow featured a bunch of artists; the concert lasted almost four hours. Tons of youth groups and college students came - because it was a great deal. Ten bucks (plus a love offering) for four hours of music.

This was one of the first groups to sing: Group 1 Crew. I'd never heard of them before, but they were good. (Plus I really liked their hair! I wanted to get some root lifter like that. See photo above for a reminder of why I need it.) I read on Twitter yesterday that one of the artists in this group (Blanca - she's the one with reddish hair behind the guy) lost her dad during this concert. Very sad! :( Next up: Rush of Fools. Like how I started taking pictures of the screen so I could remember the names of the groups?? :) Then... Hawk Nelson. This whole empty area in front of my camera eventually filled up with teens who wanted room to move around. :)

Matt Maher took the stage. I noticed we have the same hair color. (Or we did when the day began. 2 1/2 hours and a handful of money later, mine was transformed away from this look.)

Jars of Clay was the next to the last group. Here they are - and the trusty camera man who blocked my view most of the night. :)

Since it was hard to see the stage from where I stood, I enjoyed watching the crowd in between bouts of yelling in Jim's and Sheryl's ears. Even though this wasn't "my music," (wow, I'm sounding SO old before my time), it was amazing to watch these teens get into it. They were jumping and waving their hands and singing along and screaming and having a GREAT time. Even the clumps of parents who begrudgingly attended started unfolding their arms and getting into it as the night went along.

The last music set was done by Mercy Me. I really do love their music.

Here is a recording of one of the songs from the night (like from the actual concert...they had it posted on their site).


And this is my friend Jim - one of the morning guys. Hilarious guy and good friend. He was rockin' out. (And was kind enough to hold still for a picture.)

It was a very fun evening. Got to meet some sweet people and hang out with my work buds. (They're so great.) They were kind enough to let me go a few minutes early so I could beat the traffic and get home before it got too late. I really appreciated that. Thanks, guys, for a fun night!