The Shafferland Shuffle

Happy Sunday, my friends! Hope you've had a good week and a great official start to summer! Here's a peek at what we've been up to!

* Last Sunday was Father's Day, and we spent it at the big bash Ryan's family throws every year. My parents came as well, so it was a fun day! Good food, welcomed air conditioning (hello, HOT Indiana) and then some sweet rest that night.

* Monday was another hot and sticky one here in Indiana, so I threw the hair in a pony, put on a tank top, and headed to the park to do a photo shoot for my niece. Despite the bright sunshine, we got some great pictures! Monday was also the worst day of my little summer cold, so I spent the rest of the day on the couch!

* Tuesday I picked up our shirts for the kidney walk (can't wait to tell you more about that tomorrow) and right after I got home, the skies let loose pretty much for the rest of the week. It rained so hard that day, it was almost like a car wash! Since it was a stay-at-home kind of day, I worked on my narration parts for the patriotic musical at church.

* Wednesday night Ryan and I got to record announcements at our church (video recording) and we had fun! Our first time with a green screen! We had choir practice, and then it was back to the gym to work out. (Couldn't work out before the announcements. We were afraid it would mess up Ryan's hair.)

* We had a brief hiatus in the rain Thursday, so I enjoyed the plants with raindrops on them. So pretty! Ryan was having kind of a long week, so I made him (read: baked from a box) a razzleberry pie to try to help! And that night he went to help a friend with a repair job at his house. Good thing they didn't call on me. I wouldn't have had a clue!

* I had a little free time on Friday, so I went to the Goodwill. I found this crocheted tank top. Didn't buy it but it won for most interesting find of the day! I tried a new recipe that night and Ryan declared it a winner! (Cheeseburger Zucchini Boats from Dashing Dish. YUM!) Ryan also sent me this picture from his visit to the gas station. Guess the roofers are making their bathroom breaks easier!

* And that brings us to yesterday, which was the kidney walk in Indianapolis! Though it was a cloudy day, it did not rain on us, and it wasn't hot. We were so grateful! We had a blast walking with our friend Pat. What a fun team! We even all went out for lunch together after! Ryan and I followed that up with an IKEA date and dinner out at a new-to-us restaurant!

The Saturday Six

One.

Annesley shared one of my articles this week...I'd love for you to read it if you have a moment!

Two.

You know I'm always looking for capsule wardrobe inspiration, and this post gave me some great new ideas! (I was drawn to all the blue and white...two of my favorite colors to wear!)

Three.

The Fourth of July is coming soon, you know! We love watching fireworks (along with the greater population of the town where we watch them) and have noticed sometimes the adults struggle to keep the kids occupied during the hours of waiting between getting there early enough to get a good spot and the sky being dark enough for fireworks. Here's an idea for putting together a Fireworks Fun Bag to help with that!

Four.

If you're from our area, you are probably familiar with the really cool building on State Road 37, north of Indianapolis, that has been empty for years. Apparently it used to be Wheelers Restaurant, and now it has new life just around the corner! I have always thought it was the coolest old building and if I'd been independently wealthy, I would have wanted to breathe life into it myself! Check out what's coming!


Five.

One of my music friends shared this on Facebook and it made me laugh! Photos of conductors, with selfie sticks photoshopped in place of their wands. If you need a giggle, check it out!

Six. 

The book I tried to read this week did not work out for me, so instead, I'll wrap up this week's list with this little bit of heartwarming information for you Hallmark Christmas movie lovers!

A Little More This or That!

I had so much fun doing a "This or That" post a couple of weeks ago, I decided to do another one today! Play along if you'd like!

1. Cappuccino or hot chocolate?

Well that should be fairly self-explanatory! I'll pick cappuccino, although I do enjoy a good quality hot chocolate. And during Mom's last surgery, I had my first frozen hot chocolate. Whoa. That nearly ruined me for life! Have you ever had one?

2. Nude lipstick or bright lipstick?

Well, usually it's no lipstick, because Ryan doesn't kiss me as much when I wear it! But I prefer more of a nude lipstick. Oddly enough, I currently only own bold lipsticks (which I wear when I speak so my mouth is easier to see for those who lip-read to hear better).

3. Hair up or hair down?

I wish I had more skills in wearing my hair up. I can do a pony and that's about it. So I usually wear my hair down. (This also helps take the focus off my nose!)

4. Pizza or pasta?

Pizza! And I haven't had it in over a month, so if you have a spare piece, bring it to a girl, would ya?

5. Shop in store or shop online?

There are some things I buy online, and honestly I'm surprised I don't do more of it because stores stress me out. But usually I shop in a store. I need to see and touch what I'm choosing.

6. Stripes or spots?

Stripes. Although I usually wear plain clothes, if I switch it up, it' to stripes. (I do like spots as in sprinkles on donuts, though!)

7. TV series or movies?

I enjoy both, but it's true that we are more likely to sit and watch part or all of a TV series vs. a movie. (At home. We enjoy going to a movie.)

8. Showers or baths?

We don't have a soaker tub, so showers for this girl! I can't properly relax in a regular tub. Now if we had this tub...

9. Nights out or nights in?

I dearly love both. We enjoy going out on dates and having a great time, but after so many nights of busyness, this girl needs a night in. And this girl needs a night in. ;)

Summer...Rest?

One of my friends shared a post on Facebook this week in which she said she felt like a bad mom because she didn't allow her son to play on the All Stars team this summer. She said the schedule called for practices three days a week and games Friday-Sunday every week. My friend said she just couldn't make their family schedule juggle enough to make it happen and she felt like she didn't measure up as a mom because of it.

Oh, my heart!

Ryan and I don't have kids, so of course we don't have valid opinions, but we have said before that if we did have kids, we wouldn't want to always have a thousand commitments. We like being home too much!

We may not have kids, but our schedule-for-two is about to wear us out this summer. We've been trying to apply the brakes so we have a little bit of down time, because I'm pretty sure part of the reason I wound up with a summer cold this week is from lack of rest

Rest is a good thing.

I remember my childhood summers, filled with sleeping in (and staying up late), swimming at the neighbor's pool, sitting on the back porch swing after dinner, watering the plants in the garden, blasting through the library's reading program, attending Vacation Bible School at church, and taking a family vacation together.

Those were grand days. Plenty to keep me busy, but not so much of a schedule that the whole family dropped in weariness at the end of the day.

Those are the days I want to enjoy even as an adult this summer. Evening walks with Ryan, visits to the ice cream stand, fireworks over the lake, grilling dinner, naps in the hammock, and evenings by the fire pit.

Please don't misunderstand. I'm not judging those who put their kids in summer sports with busy schedules. But it makes my heart sad when those who can't make it work or choose to opt out in favor of some rest feel guilty and worry that they've not measured up.

We all need rest. God knew that! He built in a whole day for it! But we're conditioned to be so busy making memories - even good ones! - that we fail to rest as much as we should, I fear.

Last night, after an evening of busyness, we went on a walk and in the slowness, look what we saw!

It's good to slow down and notice the deer.

It's good to come home and curl up with coffee and old Matlock episodes.

It's good to savor the summer and not feel guilty if you can't (or won't) do it all!

Soak up the summer rest, my friends.

Catching Candid

I'm not a photographer and don't pretend to be one. I don't know the first thing about all the rules photographers follow, nor have I ever grasped ISO and aperture and all those fancy words (and techniques). I'm just a girl with a fancier camera than I'm qualified to have and a heart to capture memories.

It can be hard to fall into the category I do, because upon occasion, people will ask me to take pictures for them, and when I flounder, they tell me I'm better than I give myself credit for, so I agree to the pictures. Then I spend way too much time stressing over whether or not they were pleased with the outcome and rarely forgive myself if they weren't pleased with something...anything...I did. I remind myself that I told them I wasn't a professional, but still I hold myself accountable for skills I don't even possess!

But I noticed something in the last two photo shoots I did. The posed pictures were nice, but the caught-on-the-fly pictures were their favorites.

I took pictures for a family with three tween/teen boys. Whew! Tween/teen boys aren't known for their love of family photo shoots. I'd spent a fair amount of time on Pinterest looking for appropriate family poses and we did have a good time putting together a photo shoot. But the family's favorite photos were the ones I took as they walked down a trail from one location to the next. I was in front of them, walking backwards, praying I wouldn't fall off the trail and break my camera, taking pictures as they walked and talked.

And at the end of the shoot, as a reward, the boys got to do some crazy pose (it had a name, but I don't remember what they called it) that they loved. Those pictures were truly them.

This week I took pictures of our niece (and her brothers made their way into several of the shots too). She's a natural and a poser, so she's fun. But again, some of the best shots came when the three of them played ring-around-the-rosey in the middle of the park, or when one of the brothers rolled down a grassy hill, or when another of the brothers wanted nothing to do with the impromptu group hug.

I love posed pictures. Don't get me wrong. I do dearly love them. But for me, catching real life is the best. Happy-accident sorts of pictures that don't follow every photographic rule but capture the heart of the people.

This is what I love the most. The memory-maker in me is so happy in those moments.

So I say all of this to say...give yourself permission for less than perfect sometimes. If you're more talented than I and can work all the bells and whistles that turn out award-winning pictures, then by all means, do that! But if you're not, don't think you're useless at pictures. Grab real life. It's worth capturing.

Father's Day!

First of all, Spill the Beans is running on a delayed schedule this week! We normally record it Sunday evening, and I was really really sick when I got home from the Father's Day bash, so I just flopped down on the couch and moaned. Ryan had choir practice last night, so we couldn't record it then either. We will get it, and my apologies for the delay!

Meanwhile, let's talk about Father's Day!

It was a hot one here in Indiana! Was it at your house, too? We went to Ryan's family's annual Father's Day bash, which they moved completely inside this year because of the oppressive heat. (It's really really not good for Ryan's mom's breathing!)

As usual, his family was kind enough to include my parents in the celebration, so I got to spend time with my dad too!

This party is a potluck, so we had fun while we waited for everyone to arrive!

 Dad dug into his Father's Day card/present. (Gift card to his favorite place to eat.)

Ryan was his usual servant self and got coffee for people. He even made his very own little serving tray. He was so handsome waiting tables. :)

We talked and ate...and did photo opps!

It was a great day, even though I was wiped when I got home! Hopefully I looked better than I felt! :)

PS - the picture of Ryan and me and the one of us with my parents are credited to my mother-in-law.

Surprise Parties and Date Nights!

Okay, first of all WHO gets a summer cold? RIDICULOUS!! And yet I did. Woke up with it Saturday and remain highly unamused by the whole thing.

Secondly, I wanted to tell you about our fun Friday night date!

So sixteen years ago, this darling thing was born:

As she stated this weekend, I've known her since breath one. It's true. I was taking pictures the moment she entered the world, and she became my bonus niece in that very moment. And now she's sixteen. SIXTEEN!!!!!!

We don't live all that close, so we rarely get to see each other, but 2018 has been good to us.

We both went to the same 40th birthday party in March:

And then she spent a day of her spring break with me:

And then there was my 40th...

And now she's gone and turned 16 on me.

Her parents threw a surprise party for her that doubled as a movie night! They had been waiting forever (five-ever, Savannah said) to see The Incredibles 2, and it showed at the drive in about an hour away from us, so we went over to surprise her and enjoy a date night!

Literally missed hitting a deer on the way - by about 2 feet. Hearts were back in rhythm about an hour later!

They had to open the gates early because the crowds were so huge.

We'd been told to look for a balloon on their van, so we found it...but that was a different van with a different party. Whoopsie! :)

Found the correct balloon, and it turned out the birthday girl was wandering around with friends. In the end, she found us before we saw her, but she was really excited and surprised!

We sang to her, and her mom had brought some birthday treats to share. So fun!

The movie didn't start until about 10, and we had made a little bed for ourselves in the back of our car:

We loved the movie! (We hadn't seen the first one and have been properly told how lame we are for it.) It was a good night, even though we got home super late. (No deer on the way home!)