One Month

One month ago today, I headed to my full time job at WBCL for the last time. I drove to work with a combination of deep grief and deep joy...and a healthy measure of apprehension.

What would it be like to NOT have a full time job for the first time since I graduated from college? Would I get bored? Would I lose my sense of identity? Would I matter anymore?

It's been a month now, and it feels like the working world was a lifetime ago.

I miss my friends at the station, many of whom have been so kind to email, text, and call regularly, and I appreciate that. I love hearing the happenings of their days, and I love knowing I still matter to them, even though I can't pop down the hall and see them.

Truthfully, I worried I would miss the job itself with the same intensity I missed the people I shared my days with. I had fun producing, and I was good at producing. But through a change in my heart that I can only attribute to the Lord's Hand, I can tell you without a doubt...I don't miss that part.

Producing live radio can be crazy hectic. {As can many other things in life, but this is the one I know.} The scrambling to find guests on dates no one seems to want. Rushing to cover when someone cancels at the last minute. Running at a dead sprint through the station when a call drops and we have to get someone to call back so we can continue our show. Emails by the hundreds. Juggling the details of a date three months down the road while juggling the details of three minutes down the road. Translating time zones and recalling shows that aired months ago - complete with the guest and book names. Running contests. Running for caffeine.

And it's been true...what God put on my heart that led to this change...He was ready for me to simplify.

He was ready for me to reach for ANYTHING besides my email at 4:30 in the morning. {I always checked it first to make sure we'd not had a cancellation since I went to bed at midnight.} In fact, He was ready for me to sleep PAST 4:30 in the morning. He was ready for me to spend my days building a home and rebuilding relationships. He was ready for me to fill in at home in case of emergency, rather than calling my mom in a panic to see if she could help since I was an hour away. He was ready for me to take on errands and be a hostess and be a writer. He was ready for me to spend my evenings looking at Ryan, not at my blog.

It feels natural. It feels right.

I have a day planner filled to the absolute brim with chores and meetings for each week. But if a moment comes when I'm overwhelmed with anxiety, I can stop right then and pray for as long as I need to get through it. If something comes up last minute, I'm much more likely to be able to drop everything and tend to it. {And that's happened more than once!}

We can go to bed earlier, because we're not rushing to beat the clock each night doing laundry and dishes and all the other little chores.

Radio was cool and fun and I was somebody when I served on air. And maybe one day, that will be our life again. But I worried that in this present, I might be a nobody because I wasn't silly Bekah with the crazy stories. And from an outsider's perspective, that might be shaping up to be true. But I still see great purpose. God's laying foundations, even in moments when I'm not writing, for a future He has planned that I can't see. All the little side chores I've taken on matter, because they're helping me become a better writer. And that makes me somebody to God and Ryan at the very least, and they're the two that matter most.

So one month in, I remain confident that this was the right decision. That today's calendar is where I'm called to be at this time, without apology. And it feels like it's always been this way.

Bekah and the Hashtags

I have always been fashionably behind the times. I am sure I've told you before that I tend to embrace a style as it sails out the front door and a new one arrives. This is true for everything from clothing to decorating to social media. {I may have been the last person on the planet to sign up for Instagram - and I haven't even dared to LOOK at Periscope. OH! And I skipped Vine entirely.}

Having opened with this disclaimer...let's talk about the hashtag, shall we?

When hashtags arrived on the scene, I felt as warm and fuzzy toward them as I did toward text speak. I never did embrace that. While everyone {INCLUDING MY OWN MOTHER} sends messages asking "R U COMING?" or "THX" - I was still typing out entire words the way my elementary school teachers taught me to spell them. {Pausing to remind us all that my own mother was just such an educator.}

So while I still typed real words, I discovered that in the land of social media, they had made a bit of a comeback, but with the resurgence of letters came a disappearance of spaces. Suddenly everything was all hash-taggy and I had to stop and read carefully to make sure my brain could still insert spaces as needed. WAY too much work, I decided.

Since I've never been accused of being trendy in any way, I decided to skip the hashtag. It would pass, I decided.

Well, there's certainly a time for us all to be wrong, isn't there?

I will admit that over time, some hashtags have grown on me. The hashtags that mean something have ceased ruffling my nerves. Wasn't that the original point of the hashtag anyway? To create a search tool? So if I saw hashtags for holidays or TV shows or even family names, I could handle it.

Then there were the crazy ones. The ones that could not possibly be a popular search trend. You know. Things like #whyintheworlddomondaymorningshavetocomesoearly or #ijustateapizzaandnowmystomachreallyhurts - just made me #wonderwhyintheworldwehavetoforfeitspaces.

Along the way, Ryan and I had a conversation about hashtags, and he started using them in verbal speech, except he got a wee bit confused on the name and started calling it a hashbrown. "Hashbrown I love you."

You can't be mad when you hear hashbrown.

So ALL of that to say...I have the privilege of being part of a book launch team. My first time ever to be part of such a thing. Kristen Strong, who writes for {in}Courage has a new book coming out in a couple of months. It's called Girl Meets Change, and I'm really excited to read it and to be part of her team that helps spread the word about the book. I interviewed her back in my radio days and found her to have the sweetest, gentlest heart.

Kristen encouraged those of us on her launch team to share photos on Instagram of things in our life that represented change - and to add #girlmeetschange to the photo.

Hashbrown help me.

So there I sat, fully aware that I'd applied to be part of this team and to help Kristen spread the word and if a hashtag spread the word, a hashtag I would have to learn to use.

So I posted a picture of my attempt at capsule wardrobing...and typed out my explanation of this change in my life...and then I took a deep breath and hit # for the first time in life.

I was nearly in a cold sweat by the time I posted that photo. Ironic, isn't it, that a book about change brought about the change in my hashtag usage!?!?

In need of a hashtag intervention, I confessed to the entire launch team {in the privacy of a Facebook group} that I'd just used my first hashtag.

Hashbrown no filter.

Hashbrown they think I'm crazy.

Hashbrown Kristen probably wonders why she chose me.

But I'm happy to announce I've used a hashtag three times now and the sky has not yet fallen.

Hashbrown relieved.

I still don't love the hashtag. But I'm glad I've been pushed to use it...and I'm really glad Kristen Strong wrote a book on change. I'm excited to read it and tell YOU more about it!

Hashbrown - please still love me.

A Second Round at the Fair

Ryan worked a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng day on Saturday and was absolutely exhausted when he got home. I offered for us to skip our initial plans of going to the fair and just stay home to rest, but he promised if he could just rest for a little bit, we could have a fun night at the fair. So I read while he napped, and then we headed back to Greentown for round 2 of the fair.

I don't know what it was like where you were on Saturday, but we had our first real gut-smacking heat of the year on Saturday. The humidity was ridiculous and it was hard to even catch your breath outside sometimes. So you know...spending the evening in the middle of crowds and cooktops seemed the way to go!!

Actually the crowd wasn't SO bad, since it was the last night of the fair, and we had a really nice time just walking around watching the people and eating the food.

We split a tenderloin...

 It's POSSIBLE that I found my way to the fried mushrooms again. POSSIBLE.

 And we split an elephant ear. {I am not nearly the pig these pictures make me out to be.}

We headed back to the tiger show, and it had just ended, but they were rewarding the tigers with treats for a job well done. After watching that consumption, we decided Braeya is just a very small tiger.

 We paused to talk to people here and there....and walked all through the fairgrounds just for fun.

We thought about riding the Ferris Wheel, but we decided to skip it and stick to our budget. {Food consumed the entire budget.}

Instead, we went to check out the tractors. We think this one might have had a misprint on price. It was nice and all, but not THIS nice. {Enlarge the pic if you can't see the fine print.}

And then we did what we do best: TAKE PICTURES OF OURSELVES BEING DORKS.

We left just in time to get home before the MASSIVE DELUGE hit...so I think we timed it just about right. Now...one more year before the mushrooms are back!

The Haiti Half

Back in 2012, I ran my first 10K. Actually, it was my first race of any kind. I was roped into it, rather against my will, by my friend Jeri at work. Ryan helped me train for it, and running this race was actually how I introduced him to you here on the blog. {And it was GOING to be how I introduced him on the air - until he surprised me first with the proposal!}

We haven't run a race together since then. We've talked about it a few different times, but we haven't gone through with it. Races tend to be expensive to enter, and well...you've seen our schedule the last couple of years. No time to train.

But a week or two ago, I learned about one that caught my eye, and for some reason, my heart beat quickly for this one. It's a race with a worthy cause, so even though I don't think I've ever plugged a race on the blog before, I wanted to tell you about this one!

It's called the Haiti Half, and here are some reasons we're so excited about it:

One. It's held in Greentown - as in our hometown! Makes it pretty convenient for traveling to it the day of the race. I also think it's exciting that they're holding something like this IN a small town. After navigating the downtown madness and parking garages of Fort Wayne for the 10K, the idea of running on small town and country roads is very appealing.

Two. I cannot get my mind away from the cause it supports. The registration fee goes to help support medical work in Haiti.

The website states that there are only two doctors for every 10,000 patients in Haiti, 63% of women there deliver their babies without medical assistance, and too many kids are dying from preventable diseases and even those who live don't have access to basic healthcare.

The memory of my gallbladder surgery earlier this year makes me realize that even though it was a headache of its own, and even though I had some good blog-worthy stories of fighting through to get the care I needed, at least I could get the care I needed to be well. I want others to have the opportunity for that same privilege.

And even though I've never had a baby, attending births has given me a tender heart for the care offered to mothers in that time. I hate the idea of mothers having babies without help in such an important moment!

Because of those things, I was really excited to read that the entry fees for the race go to either a general doctor visit with lab tests and pharmaceuticals or a prenatal ultrasound visit and consultation.

Three. This has nothing to do with the worthy cause of the race, but I'm pretty excited that my friend Amber designed the T-shirts. She has skills!!

Four. I know everyone has something different that zings the heart...and it's okay if this one doesn't get to yours like it gets to ours. But if it does, and you want to join us in running or walking for a great cause...here are some things you need to know!

* The race is Saturday, October 10, 2015 in Greentown, Indiana.

* The half marathon, which is routed through the countryside and should be really pretty with fall leaves  in full swing, costs $50 if you register prior to October 7th...and $65 after that. The 5K {the route is yet TBD} costs $20 prior to October 7th and $25 after that. You can register online here.

* The half marathon begins at 7:30 a.m and the 5K begins at 7:55 a.m. - and they close the course at 11:00 a.m, which allows for a 16 minute mile in the half marathon. So even if you don't like to run, there's room for walking!

Five. We think it would be SO MUCH FUN to have a bunch of friends come together for race day! Whether you want to run or walk...do the 5K or the half...be a cheerleader on the sidelines...we just think it would be great fun to have our friends be part of this day with us! So if you want to be part of the Haiti Half and a great cause, we hope you'll consider being part of it. They've recommended some training tips for the half marathon here, and the 5K here if you want to check it out!

 {Post-run photo from the first day of training.}

{PS - here's the link to the event Facebook page, if you want to keep up with them there!}

Coming Back to the Capsule

A few weeks ago, I wrote a couple of posts about the capsule wardrobe movement. {If you missed them, you can find them here and here.}

So I've been continuing to ponder this whole situation and really evaluate whether or not I could really take the plunge to pare down the old wardrobe. If I really had the creativity to make it work. If I really had enough mixable-and-matchable items to create enough different outfits to go down to the bare minimum on clothing. I know. It really should NOT take that much time out of my day. but alas, it did.

So. That brings us to last Friday, when I scrapped my entirely scripted plan for the day and headed into the closet to bring out everything I own and start making a capsule. GASP!!!!

I used this as my inspiration, though I had read a ton of other blog posts on it and had various pieces of advice stuck in my  head as I worked.


I didn't so much use the exact colors and prints of that inspiration board as my guide - but more the number of pieces she kept. How many pairs of pants...shorts...skirts...shirts...you get the idea. And my desire was to start this project using pieces I had. Not pieces I want, but pieces I already own. And then, I determined, we would go from there to see how it needed to be tweaked.

Here's what I did.

One. I went through my entire closet and pulled out pieces I thought would make good capsule staples, trying to keep the number consistent with the guide in my inspiration board. I laid each piece out on the bed and tried to semi-envision what each piece could work with.

Two.  I went through my entire closet again and pulled out anything I'd not worn in the the last two months, anything that doesn't fit, anything I don't like, anything that was an impulse buy, anything that had a bad/no longer needed memory associated with it, and anything that I felt like just did not look good on me or didn't represent me well.

Embarrassing fact? That round eliminated over half my wardrobe. I share that with you not so much for self-humiliation, because I know I am NOT alone in that, but because it taught me that what I'd been reading about with this whole concept is true: we hang onto stuff we don't need and sometimes that we don't even want. It takes up space, it's unnecessary, and it can be sold or given away to people who would actually like it. {I only threw away one shirt out of that whole batch. Everything else is in good shape, and some of it is like NEW. It's just not something I should keep.}

I went ahead and folded everything and tagged it for sale - so it's ready to for a rummage here soon. Two birds, one stone.

Three. I kept a small pile of clothes that didn't actually make it into the "capsule cut" - but I am not ready to part with it yet, because either it has a really good memory associated with it {like the shirt I wore on my first date with Ryan} or I actually do like to wear it, even if it doesn't fit with the "mix and match" concept of the capsule. I folded all those clothes and put them back on a shelf in the closet. At the end of the summer season, anything that I've decided just really doesn't work for me will be eliminated, and anything I kept reaching for will stay - even if it doesn't fit the "capsule rules."

Four. I also kept a stack of shirts and pants/shorts/capris that are more for lounging and working out. I kept only what I really like, but there may be more paring down yet in that department. I'm not sure. but for now, those clothes stay, and labeled as grubbies/workout clothes, they don't actually count in the official capsule.

What I Learned: I was surprised at how quickly this went. I didn't spend much over an hour on it. Each round was fast. I didn't think too long and hard over anything. I either knew it didn't need to stay, or I knew it needed to go in the capsule or the think-about-it piles. So if you're thinking about trying this but you think you don't have time to mess with it, I'd encourage you to think again.

It was interesting to see the color themes that emerged. I wear a LOT of blue, and I didn't even realize that. So while my capsule isn't ENTIRELY blue, that was a main color and definitely helped me see that accessorizing with shoes and jewelry could be fairly easy, because I have color themes going. This also helps me think forward to future shopping and the kinds of colors I should shoot for.

It also helped me see what kinds of clothes I need to be on the lookout for as I shop in the future. The goal is not to bring in a bunch more to replace what I got rid of, but some of the things I kept are wearing out and it would be good to have an eye out for clothes to replace those as I find them and love them.

The thing I learned that I was most pleased about - was that I really could let go of the rules more than I thought. When I first pounced on this concept, my plan was to literally duplicate {as much as possible} a capsule I found online. But the truth is, my tastes {and body shape!} are different from the girls who have capsuled before me. So I am pleased that I'm able to take their general ideas and modify them to make something work for me! 

What's Next: My immediate next step is to go through each piece and see what it can be paired with, and because I'm a nerd this way, probably also take pictures of the outfits so I can be reminded of what works well together. Hopefully I can set aside some time to be purposeful about this in the next week or so.

I also need to go through my shoes, my accessory items, and my jewelry and pare all that down as well. Those things might be harder - but then again, maybe not.

I need to make a list of things to be on the lookout for - ESPECIALLY since many summer clothes are on a big markdown right now. If I need to replace something, this is a great time to look for it, because I can probably get it for next to nothing.

So that's where I am with the old capsule-roonie idea. I will keep you posted {as I am sure you are sitting on edge wondering how my closet and I are getting along these days} as I try this experiment. And if you've done this - I'd love to hear your thoughts and tips!

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday after church, Ryan donated blood at the blood-mobile that rolled through town. He loves doing that. We napped all afternoon and then headed to Allen and Nita's house to celebrate Allen's 60th birthday. It was a great night with Ryan's siblings and their families, and a special shout out to the mosquitoes who made a delicious buffet out of my feet!

* Monday was a weather MESS here in Indiana. Shortly after Ryan got to work, he sent me this picture of a storm rolling in, and in no time, we were under warnings of all kinds, and the sky got so dark that street lights came on. I scurried around to prepare my storm shelter nest, and freaked out about actually needing to USE it. It didn't help that Braeya was a mess, which told me the weather was probably worse than I knew. Eventually it passed, and by afternoon it was sunny...and by nightfall, we were back under warnings. I was exhausted just from the worry of it all.

* Tuesday was a MUCH happier day on the weather front, which also made it a much happier day for this girl. I got tons of things done, including filling up my darling new cupcake holder that I received as a going away present when I left WBCL. I made cupcakes just to fill it up! I also had a smidgen of free time in the afternoon to read part of my novel, and after Ryan and I were finished with our workouts and dinner, we got to hang out in the office together. A charmed little evening - and better than dodging storms!

* Wednesday, my friend Olivia and her little girl Ruthie came to visit. That's always a treat, since they live out of state. We had lunch together at my house and caught up on life a little bit. When Ryan came home from work, we went to the fair...and it was just about a perfect weather night for that. We walked around, talking to old friends, eating the {ahem} highly healthy fair food, and Ryan even squeezed in a super-spinny ride with some friends. {This girl doesn't do rides.}

* Thursday afternoon, I had the opportunity to meet up with one of my friends for coffee {me} and coke {her} in the park...just for catch-up-and-talk time. It was much needed and so lovely. The park was stunning...kudos to the crew that keeps the flowers so beautiful! When I came home, Braeya was all cuddled up in her favorite blanket. It's a rough life for that one. Ryan worked hard to mow the yard {and a few of the neighbors' yards} after work, and then we settled in to work in the office. Coffeecake crumbs on plates mixed in with my decorating: it's a good life.

 * Friday I launched into trying the whole capsule wardrobe thing. I have no idea how it will go in real life, but the purging process was extremely liberating. I had a great time! {And more on this to come.} That evening, we took dinner to a couple of Ryan's co-workers, who just had a darling baby boy. We hung out with them for a while, playing with the baby and his adorable big sister - and then it was Applebee's date night for us!!

* Yesterday, Ryan worked, so I worked on more cleaning and purging at home again - I'm getting pretty excited about all this cleaning! When he got home, we headed out for one more round at the fair. We split a tenderloin and an elephant ear, and walked around chatting with friends and checking out the sights. They'd already started to tear stuff down, but we still had fun! Goodbye, sweet fair! We'll see you next year!

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The Saturday Six

One.

Source

I realize most of the information in this post is common sense, but I think that's the very sort of thing that tends to fly out of our heads first. Lisa-Jo Baker wrote a thoughtful piece on handling difficult people and difficult situations. I am terrible at this sort of thing. I hate discord and confrontation. I hate defending myself and struggle to do it even when it's warranted. But discord and confrontation happen in this life, and she reminds us of great truths in handling the tough moments...with love and more importantly...with God.

Two.

A few of you have asked me if I like the new chair I bought for my home office. I wanted to wait until I'd used it for a while before giving my opinion...but I'm now ready to do that! For our home office, we have an old kitchen table that we use for a desk. The room isn't very big, and using a table allows us both to sit at the same space, rather than cramming two desks in one room. We only had one traditional office chair, which I used, and Ryan sat on a folding chair.

I read a blog post by a full-time writer who used the Isokinetics Fitness Ball Chair in her home office, and she liked it, so I decided to give it a shot. I pooled my birthday money and bought this chair from Amazon. You can get it in all kinds of colors, but I got basic black, since I have no idea if my color scheme will change in the office from time to time.

Here's what I like about the chair:

* It wasn't too hard to assemble. {For Ryan. That might be an unfair review, since he's really good at assembly. But he put it together in no time.}

* The frame has five wheels, so I always feel like it's balanced and I have yet to fall off of it. {A genuine worry I had, since I'm a klutz.}

* I can use the ball for an exercise ball too, since it lifts right out of the frame. It's come in handy a few times! And I don't have to find a place to store an inflated exercise ball when not in use...because it's just sitting all nice and contained in the frame.

* The height of the frame on the wheels adjusts, which is nice, since our table is taller than a standard desk, and I need my hands up high for the laptop keyboard.

* Our floor isn't even {ahhh the joys of an older house}, and one thing that really bothered me in the real office chair was that I always felt like I was sitting at a slant. With the ball, I can easily adjust how I sit to be up straight, since I can manipulate the angle of the ball with my hips.

* I get to move around while sitting, getting in some minor exercise, which is something I could not do in the regular chair. This helps me from getting a tired rear end, which is easy to do when writing for a long time.

* It scoots in under the desk fully {because the table is higher than the standard} so there's no bulky chair sitting out in the middle of the room.

Here's what I imagine could be frustrating for some:

* While there is a little back on the chair, it's not really for leaning against for prolonged periods of time. This does not bother me, as I tend to not sit back in ANY kind of chair - including the one in my car. I'm weird like that. But if you're used to leaning all day, you can't do that in this chair.

* My office has hardwood floors, but I have a rug under my desk. Because of that, I don't have any issues with the chair rolling as I try to sit on it. But if you had a tile or wood floor with  no rug, that might be an issue.

Do I love the chair? Yes. Am I glad I bought it? Yes. Would I recommend it to others? Absolutely.

Three.

Source

 PEOPLE!!!!!! Oh my word. You so graciously put up with my love of refurbished homes. It's one of those things I have to love when others do it because my own skills are not as mad. Anyway. STOP EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING and go look at this redone home. Bless these folks for seeing potential in the thing and not ripping it down. My heart skipped so many beats looking at this. {Clearly the photo above is the BEFORE.}

Four.

Source

Gulp. I'm not a parent, and I rush to tell you that I'm fully aware that as a childless woman, I realize I am also not allowed an opinion on the subject of parenting. But I read this article after our neighbor linked to it on Facebook this week, and given that she and her husband are both teachers AND they're parents, I figured it held some truth. After I read it, I immediately thought of Ryan's brother and his wife and the way they're raising their kids. They put in the hours of hard work, even when they're tired, and Ryan and I both think they're great parents. The way they do things is the way this article admonishes it should be done, and I know it was the way I was raised, too. Kudos to parents who realize parenting is more than fun memories and cute pictures and are willing to put forth great effort to train up their kiddos.

Five.

I appreciated this post by Lanette Haskins. I'm relatively new to reading her writing, but I know she's in a season of transition in her life, much as I am in mine {though the details are entirely different} and I appreciated the thoughtful reflection she offered in this post. I love looking back over my own journey and seeing what God has taught...and I appreciated her willingness to do the same!

Six.

Source

I've been doing a fair *ahem...okay heavy* amount of Pinterest research on capsule wardrobes again. First may I say that my sixteen-year-old library-visiting, notecard-making self would be so pleased to know one day the word "research" would refer to looking at clothes online rather than writing term papers???? Also that my sixteen-year-old self would have had no idea what "online" meant, but I digress because that just makes me feel OLD. Anyway. Stumbled upon a blog called In Residence. I've not read every post yet, but her capsule posts are fascinating! So if you're still thinking about that way of life for yourself, check out Anne at In Residence. {If you go under the Topics tab at the top and then Style, you'll see the link for all her capsule wardrobes.}
 

It's Fair Time Again

After the summer of rain and ick we've had, I think it's pretty fortunate that the Howard County Fair fell during an actual nice week! Ryan and I went Wednesday evening...and I think it may have been one of the nicest, most laid-back evenings I've enjoyed at the fair!

We started out with our progressive dinner. LOL!! The first time Ryan ever took me to the fair, he introduced me to fried mushrooms. I'd never had them before, and now they're first on my list every time we go. {I shared with Ryan, which I felt showed the depth of my love for him. No, seriously!!} And he took his trusty lemon shakeup cup...because that is always first on his list!

After that stop, we walked around for a bit, talking to old friends. {Old as in long-time, not as in OLD.}

And then it was time for the next stop: kettle cooked taters. I'd never had those before, but Ryan had, and he thought I'd like them. They're thin and shaped like chips but warm and slightly soft like fries.

We shared those while we sat at a table with one of Ryan's co-workers. {I'm not kidding you - he knew EVERYONE at the fair.}

We walked around some more, talked to more people Ryan knew {I heard the infamous story of my birth THREE TIMES in less than an hour} and caught the tail end {ha ha!, get it?} of the tiger show.

One of my high school friends, Amber, was in the area, so she met up with us and walked with us for the rest of the night, which I LOVED. I have to say {again} how thankful I am for the friends I made in high school and the number of them I still have as an active part of my life. It's a blessing!

Another of my favorite once-a-year treats is the almond booth. You know what I mean. The sugar and cinnamon coated almonds? I know they're not healthy, but I only get them once a year, and I treasure every single one of those warm, sugary treats.

That concluded our progressive dinner and then...it was time to brave the midway. It was 99 cent ride night, which meant the entire population of North America was squeezed into eight square feet of space. Ahhh the stench of fried foods, smoke, and sweat. Ryan, Amber and I sort of made a little train and pushed through the masses, ignoring the carnies who wanted us to win life-sized stuffed animals. We ran into Ryan's brother and his family and then met up with our friend Shawn and his two boys.

They were in line for the Tornado. {May I pause here to remind you the only ride I can semi-handle is the Ferris Wheel?} Amber and I talked while all the guys talked...and right as we got to the front of the line, Shawn said, "Soooooooooo, Ryan, I think YOU should ride this with the boys, and I'll sit this one out." And with that, he handed Ryan a ticket and got out of line.

Keep in mind we'd just had our progressive dinner. Ryan isn't big on motion immediately after eating, but he LOVES rides, and he married a scaredy cat, so any chance he gets to have company on a ride...he takes.

Hanging out in line together, waiting to get through the gate.

If you're NOT familiar with this ride {and in my opinion - why WOULD you be if you didn't have to??} - it spins, and then if you like, you can also grab that little black disc in the middle and spin IT, causing your particular car to spin as the ride spins. Yeah. I'm dizzy just writing that. Well these three, with ringleader Ryan at the helm, were "practicing" their spinning while the ride loaded. I could hear the carnie shouting "STOP SPINNING!" but they were laughing so hard, they couldn't hear him. So I'm yelling from parents' row, "RYAN!!! STOP!! YOU'RE IN TROUBLE!!!!" Amber and Shawn were laughing at me...in trouble??? Hey! If the carnie's mad, then yes. You're in trouble!

Ready to go!!!

And away they went!

And they were still smiling when it stopped. AND all dinners stayed put.

That was the end of the eating AND the riding for that night - but it really was fun!! Not sure if we'll get back there again before it concludes, but even if we don't, this year's visit is already a success!

Olivia's in Town!

It's been a while since I saw my friend Olivia...and I think the last time she was at our house was over a year ago, when she and her little Ruthie stopped by one evening to have dinner with us. I wish she and Tom lived closer, because we would love getting to see them more often...but alas, they live out of state, so the occasional visits have to suffice.

But Olivia and Ruthie were in town, so we met up yesterday for lunch at my house - one of my favorite things about my new life. Flexibility do things like this! Ruthie is wildly mobile, quite vocal {in a good way} and just a treasure and joy.

Olivia's mom dropped the two of them off to hang out for a couple of hours, and Ruthie got to work touring the house, snacking on goldfish and trying to make friends with Braeya, who was {again} not in the most social mood.

Ruthie told me stories, helped me check the mail, and even helped me start lunch; we had chicken quesadillas. She was really excited about them at first, but then she remembered all the goldfish she'd eaten, and suddenly, lunch was just a lot to handle.

Olivia told her she had to eat two more bites of quesadilla to get a bite of cupcake, and my goodness...she had to work hard to get those two bites down the hatch. And then it became apparent that only then did it register she'd earned one BITE of cupcake. Not one CUPCAKE.

I've never seen anyone melt down INTO a cupcake before, but Miss Ruthie did, and I confess, I was cracking up. Giant tears rolled down her cheeks and pooled onto the table and she just sobbed, and buried her face in that cupcake, coming back up for air without her one bite. She never did take a bite. It was just all too much.

But sister, if you're gonna melt down, there's no better place to do it than a face plant in a cupcake:

Oh you guys, I just died! It was precious. Olivia and I talked and caught up around the breaks in the meltdown, and I am just so proud of the mom she's become. Well done in the parenting department, Olivia!!

All too soon, her mom came to get her, so we did a few quick pictures and said our goodbyes.

It was a joy to see these two, and even though I was sad that our schedules didn't work for Ryan to be there too, I'm thankful for the flexibility in each day to have moments like these when I wouldn't have been able to even just a month ago!