25 Things...Part B

Before I launch into the continuation of yesterday's post...may I just say a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Mama? Why thank you! I believe I will! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAMA!!!

Okay. Back to the 25 things brought to you by the letter F...

14. Fade - This is what my hair does about 1 week after coloring. And by fade, I mean it goes into a lovely shade of gray/white. I totally empathized with this post by Kelly Stamps earlier this week. THIS IS ME!!!!!

15. Fake - wedding ring! I realize this is a dumb thing to admit to on the blog because DUH...now my secret is out!...but it's true. I have a fake wedding ring. Several years ago I had a small ring of "stalkers." Not serious, go-to-the-cops-over-it kind of stalkers but just creepy (usually married) guys who always found a way to hit on me. HATED IT. So I bought a fake wedding ring and when I knew I would be in places around them, I'd wear it. Know what it did to help the situation? NOTHING. (sigh.)

16. Fall - not the season...but rather off my bike. It's what I did when I was 11 years old and I sported the cutest little pink cast for several weeks after that. Just call me Grace.

17. Fast - I know. You think I'm about to talk about my running, don't you? Well...you're...wrong. :) For several different seasons of my life I fasted on Tuesdays at lunch and spent the time in the little prayer chapel on the IWU campus praying for Mr. Missing. Those were really sweet seasons and I'm so thankful for them. I miss the prayer chapel. There isn't anything like it by my new job.

18. Feisty - is what I'm sometimes accused of being. I have absolutely no idea why. I mean, with my sweet, quiet (okay even I can't type that with a straight face) demeanor...

19. Feline - The resident queen of my castle is actually a feline. I like to think I'm in charge, but who are we KIDDING? This is the drama queen of this house:

20. Friends - church. This is the denomination I belong to. (Not to be confused with "I attend my friend's church" as someone once thought I meant.) Friends is another term for Quaker, but when I say I'm a Quaker, people think my pastor is the Oats dude. Not so much.

21. Flat iron. - My best friend. Remember yesterday? Monica Gellar hair? Sometimes even a good half hour date with the flat iron isn't enough but I call it quits after that much effort. I mean, come on. If it doesn't take by then...forget it.

22. Filter - Something I need to have when stuck in checkout. I will admit things have gotten a lot better since I became the proud owner of a smart phone. I can check Facebook and Twitter (and text) while trapped behind a never ending price check. Thank goodness!

23. Fireworks - I LOVE THEM. The 4th of July is my favorite single-day holiday in the whole year, and fireworks are the main reason why. Oh I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!! They are gorgeous and loud and dramatic...and I love them. (Did I mention how I love them?)

24. Fleece - sheets. My favorite. Not flannel. FLEECE. I am too cheap to run much heat in the winter, so even I, broken thermostat, party of one, am cold in my house in the winter. As a result, I enjoy the comfort of fleece sheets. God bless their inventor.

25. Font - My go-to font at work is called Maiandra. I use it for everything. It has the perfect blend of professional and whimsical.

And there you go. Hope you read well. There will be a quiz. (I'm kidding.) (Maybe.)

25 Things...Part A.

I seem to be stealing a lot of post ideas lately. I'm not sure if this speaks for the interesting topics of the blogs I read or my own inability to come up with blog material, but right now I'm not going to try to figure that out. I'm just going to steal Sarah Forgrave's topic from earlier this week! Well. Sort of. Her post was about 25 favorite things...and she had all of them start with the letter F, in honor of her last name. Mine are not all favorites, but they do all start with the letter F, in honor of my last name! :) So here you go. Randomness, courtesy of the letter F. (I feel like I'm on Sesame Street.)

1. F - The letter. My LEAST favorite letter to write in the cursive alphabet. (Well, that and T because in proper cursive, they're the same letter.) I've always been anxious to change my name so I can kiss that cursive letter GOODBYE.

2. Frankenmuth - Michigan! Have you been there? It's a Christmas town, so as you might imagine, I'm never happier than when surrounded by its goodness. Mark and Lynnette took me there right after Thanksgiving a few years ago and I adored it so much!

3. Floppe - is what the lady at the McDonald's drive thru window called a frappe when I ordered it the other day. So now I call them floppe's. And one day, that is going to get me in a whole lot of embarrassing trouble. (Much like my use of the word skabetti instead of spaghetti. My niece called it skabetti when she was little, so I started saying it too and now I don't know how to say the correct word without concentrated effort.)

4. Farapithia - was the name of the imaginary land I created with my friend Amber...after we read the book Bridge to Terabithia. (Her imaginary land was Carapithia, because her last name started with a C.) I'd forgotten all about Farapithia until Lynne interviewed the author of Bridge to Terabithia a couple of weeks ago. I got to talk to her the day before the interview, and while I told her I loved her book, I was too chicken to admit to the creation of Farapithia.

5. Frizz - is what my hair does (with much gusto) in humidity. You've seen the episodes of Monica Gellar in the Bahamas, right? Yeah. That.

6. Fish. I hate fish. ALL fish. (Although I was very brave the other day and tried some Tilapia and I dearly hate to admit it wasn't as awful as most fish.) Shrimp - yes please. Crab - yes please. Fish - No thank you.

7. Fifty states. Kind of a little secret dream of mine is to one day (you know, like after I'm married and I can turn this into a big long date) visit all 50 states. Not all at one time, of course. But to get to all of them at some point with my husband. My grandparents made it to 49 of the states before they died, and I thought that was pretty cool.

8. Forks. I'm with Vivian in Pretty Woman on this one. (And therein the similarities to her END, thankyouverymuch.) I never know what fork to use. This may be why I so love restaurants with dollar menus. You don't even GET a fork there.

9. Frightened - I don't have nearly as many fears as I used to but since I admitted this one on the air this week, I might as well admit it in print, too. I'm scared of the dark. Yep. It's true.

10. Frogs - are icky. There may or may not have been an incident within the last week where I saw a frog approximately the size of a nickel and nearly had to have CPR. It's that they jump....And I don't want them jumping anywhere near me!!

11. Free stuff - I LOVE!!!! Some of the blogs I read are so good at reporting on free (or nearly there) deals. Love that! Case in point. Last year I scored this vinyl banner for 1 penny plus shipping. I used it at my baptism and LOVED IT.

12. Fact about me - that you may not know...ooooh. Harder than I thought since I pretty much tell you everything...but you might not know this. I don't care to be a mom. I used to think life wasn't complete until I was married and had kids, but my mind has changed over the years. I still really want to get married, but if I never have kids, I'm fine with it. I've watched too many of my friends have kids and live the life of a married single mom and it just doesn't appeal to me. So I'm a-okay without a kiddo to call my own!

13. Fad I wished I could have caved to. Ready to laugh? I wanted nothing more in life (in the sixth grade) than to peg my jeans. Oh my goodness. Did I seriously just write that? It's true! I wanted to. But I wore skirts (per my dad's wishes) until I went to college, so there wasn't much that could be done to fall into the pegged jeans crowd. I felt I'd been cheated. Looking back I see it wasn't that great a loss. :)

To be continued tomorrow...

A Girl Can Dream!!

It's the title of one of my Pinterest boards. A Girl Can Dream.

All those little things I'll probably never have but man...it would be fun!! Wanna peek?

For starters.....

Source: google.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

Oh how I love window seats!! I can imagine myself all curled up here...reading a book...or scrapbooking...and of course, drinking a good cup of coffee. Isn't it amazing?

Source: cactus--flower.tumblr.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

Oh my goodness...can you imagine sitting out here and watching the stars...and the moon...and drinking coffee? (And snuggling up if you had someone to snuggle with.)

Source: insideouthomeadditions.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

A backyard writing retreat....oh be still my beating heart!!!!

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

I do believe this might be the perfect date. Just sayin'.

Source: sunsurfer.tumblr.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

If I had this porch, I'd sit on it every single night.

They probably won't ever happen...but man, it's fun to dream...don't you think?

Helloooooooo, Fall!

Yesterday, I said goodbye to summer, inspired by Emily A. Clark's blog post. Well doggone it if blogger Courtney didn't welcome fall over on her blog! I'm such a sucker for peer pressure, so I (of course) have to follow suit.

I'm actually really excited about this fall. I love so much about fall. Love the colors, love the smells (well, most of them), love the crashing of cool temps and warm clothes, love the decorations...you get the idea.

Want to see some of the things I'm really looking forward to this fall?

I get to see Selah in concert for the first time. One of my FAVORITE groups (it was their song, Unredeemed that I posted on the blog last week) and I've never gotten to see them!

Apple Pie Chai. This is my favorite drink from McConn, the coffee shop at IWU. It is about the only thing I sorely miss in any given work day! Fortunately I still live close enough to make a little trek down there in the evenings...oh my goodness. Happiness in a cup.

My 10K Race. While I am nervous about it, I'm so excited to say I've accomplished it. I think it will be a very monumental day in my life! (Not sure if that's pathetic or not, but it's true.)

Trip to the Corn Maze! I went to a corn maze/pick your own pumpkin patch last fall for the first time and LOVED IT. Can't wait to go again!

Tim Hawkins!! Have you heard him? HILARIOUS. I've never seen him live either, but I'll get to see him this fall and I'm so excited. Need a laugh? Check this out:


Trip to Brown County! I love this place in the fall...so beautiful! Can't wait to spend a day there!

S'mores and hot dogs by the fire pit. I love a fire pit. I REALLY love a fire pit. Can't wait to curl up beside it and get my hair all smoky smelling. (And eat hot dogs and s'mores.)

Mercy Me Concert!! Another of my favorite groups...and I'm excited to get to work their concert!

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL? I am!!!!! I think I am going to get to my first ever Colts game this fall, baby!!!! (And clearly I'm going to need a new shirt.)

And somewhere in there...I might nap!

Ahh Summer...How I Loved Thee

I noticed that yesterday on Emily A. Clark's blog, she said a fond farewell to her summer. (Insert foot stomping here...but I don't WANNA say goodbye to summer!!) Honestly I'm not sure when the seasons are planning to stop and start this year...they're obviously on their own timetable! Nevertheless...with Labor Day under our belt, it's probably safe to say (sniff sniff) that summer is OVER. So to follow in Emily's footsteps, I'll give the season a proper goodbye here...

Goodbye to a day at the Craft Hideaway...

Goodbye to another birthday...

Goodbye to my trip to Granville, with Miss Lynne...

Goodbye to visiting Shipshewana for the day...

Goodbye to the hammock I barely sat in because IT WAS TOO HOT!!!...

Goodbye to lazy afternoons with my best kiddos...

Goodbye to summer vacations with my BFF...

Goodbye to afternoons at the swimming hole...

Goodbye to rare moments of bravery that result in double piercings...

Goodbye to another game night with my high school friends...

Goodbye to helping out at golf outings...

Goodbye to the 4H Fair visits...

Goodbye to working parades...

Goodbye to boat rides...

Goodbye to trips to the zoo...

Goodbye to driving to work in the daylight...(big sniff sniff!!)

Goodbye to running in shorts!!

Goodbye to sitting outside on a blanket watching the moon and stars...

Goodbye to outdoor walks on lovely trails...

Ahhh, sweet summer...what a great run we had. I loved you so much. You gave me some of the best memories I've ever had in my whole life. I shall miss you. And I feel so fickle saying so, but...I'm such a lover of fall that I'm quite eager to see what it brings my way. But, dear summer, you'll come back again, won't you? For more rendezvous in the hammock...and more boat rides and vacations and walks and sunsets and...and...and...?

Apple Pie Bites

I found these on Pinterest...or a version of them, anyway. I like them so much, I made them twice in one weekend. So, so easy and quite yummy. (And you could swap out the filling with just about anything you wanted!.

The original pin called for some fancy fried dough thing, but the pinner I found suggested an alternative made with crescent rolls and pie filling. SO much more my speed. I used apple pie filling, but if you prefer cherry or strawberry or blueberry...you can easily substitute those. I believe the pinner also mentioned using Nutella inside if you prefer.

These go together so easily and are perfect for breakfast, dessert, or a snack!

The Recipe

1 can apple pie filling

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 (up to 4) tube crescent rolls

Unroll crescent rolls into triangles. Place spoonful of pie filling inside the largest part of the triangle and roll up. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and cover crescent roll with it. Bake according to package directions.

I found that one can of pie filling would make anywhere from 3-4 batches of rolls. So you can either purchase several tubes of crescent rolls or refrigerate your leftover pie filling and use it again later when you purchase more rolls!

This is plenty (really, really plenty) for one batch of the rolls. You can adjust the cinnamon/sugar ratio to suit your tastes.

The applie slices were perfect for filling the roll. Depending on the size of the slice, I used just one or two inside the roll.

Playing with food! Such fun!

Arrange on the cookie sheet....

And bake!! So yummy!!

Perfect with a cup of coffee or glass of milk!!

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday...a very big day in the world of my taste buds: my first ever gyro:

Not gonna lie: I loved it! Quite tasty. And tasty again on Monday. And Tuesday. (From eating leftovers. Not that it was the meal that gave back for that many days. HELLO!)

* Monday I learned the joy of cramming a day full of recovering from a day off the previous week while simultaneously preparing for a day off the coming week. It essentially equals a lot of paperwork! But it's paperwork I love! Know why? NO MATH!!!

* Tuesday evening I visited the lovely Rachel at her new home which is SO cute. I'm so proud of her for her very first place! Took that cute little housewarming bucket I showed you a couple of weeks ago. Remember? The Pinterest inspiration?

* Wednesday I braved wearing these bad boys to work:

You can't see it but they have about a 3 inch heel. Yeah. OW. That's what I'm saying. I dressed up because we had some in-studio guests for our Kitchen Caboodle show. That was the show where I learned that my multi-tasking limit is turning on mics, pulling down music, talking perkily (is that a word?) and reading. Did. Not. Go. Well.

* Thursday evening I had to mow my yard. I do appreciate the return of green grass, but I won't lie - didn't miss mowing. Fortunately I had a pretty little sight.....

* Friday I had the day off work, so I went down to Anderson to Mounds State Park for some hiking. I hadn't been down there since junior high....gorgeous views! And the day was perfect. Not too hot or sunny - just plenty muggy. Enough to get Monica Gellar hair.

* Saturday was rainy (thankyouverymuchwhateverstormyouwereIsaac) - so I had go skip plan A (and B and C) and ended up enjoying a very leisurely day of shopping and eating. I mean, really. Can you go wrong with that? Had lunch here...yummy!!

Pinterest Inspiration. Back to the land of food this week for good old Pinterest. I found this pin, and as I finally traced it back to its roots (I'm SO bad about doing that when I actually pin)...I found it went to some fancy pants, hard to make recipe.

Source: thingsthatsparkleblog.blogspot.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

  

So I stuck with the suggestion the pinner made...which was to use crescent rolls and pie filling...and TA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

EASY to make (case in point - made them before consuming coffee and they were still edible!) and quite tasty, I might add.

Bekah Hits the Trails!

What should I do with my day off? (Doesn't matter how you answer that...I already had the day off. That was my way of telling you what I actually DID.)

I went hiking!!

I bet that was your first guess, wasn't it?

This little gem of a state park is only about 45 minutes from where I live, so I headed down there for the day.

 It's called Mounds State Park because it has some "earthworks" built by prehistoric Indians. I'd rather see an earthwork than an earthworm, so it was a good day. This picture was taken by the Great Mound, which supposedly dates back to 160 BC.

 Doesn't this look like some road diverged in a yellow wood? (Or however that poem goes?) Most of the long trail was buried deep in this woods - SO peaceful.

 Braving the old log...mostly spent this time praying a snake would not crawl out of it.

 I call this piece "Bekah on a Bridge."

 And the Boardwalk.

It was such a lovely day - and the extra little treat of the day? Had a frappe from the best frappe joint on the planet: Gaither Family Resources!!! (Hopefully I hiked it off!)