Suzanne Schaffer

It was either late fall of 1987 or early winter of 1998 when I first heard of Fiestaware. I was a freshman in college and it had always been my dream to see The Wizard of Oz on the big screen. A theater in downtown Pittsburgh was having a film festival and they were doing a double feature of That's Entertainment! and The Wizard of Oz so I begged up a group of friends (I can't remember who went, there were four of us) and we made the trek towards town. Parked and road the streetcar in. The theater charged original ticket prices and original concession prices so it was a cheap evening of fun. My dream came true as I watched Dorothy navigate her way home. During the intermission they had a giveaway and as they called out the ticket number I realized that 18-year-old me won a service for four set of Fiestaware. I had no idea what this was other than several heavy boxes that we then had to take back to school via the streetcar. Thankfully we did have a couple of strong boys with...

I've seen so much of it lately that it's making me nauseous. "Karma will get them" "(-----) is my spirit animal" "What was I in my past life?" -- take this quiz to find out These seemingly harmless activities are being done by those professing to be Christians. I'm here to tell you that it's wrong. It's a dangerous game you're playing. The truth of the matter is these are not activities that Christians should be participating in, even in jest. Even in the form of a game or a quiz. This is how the enemy works. This is how deception begins. If you think this is harmless or okay to do you are being deceived. Karma is rooted in Hinduism and Buddhism. The main idea of karma is that a person's actions in this and previous states of existence are viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. For Christ followers who regard the Bible as truth this is not something we should be participating in. Even sayin...

I'm of the opinion that dogs are superior to cats. Many reasons for this, the most important being: people matter to their dogs. When you walk into a room, your dog lights up. He is genuinely happy to see you. Beyond that, you have seemed to change his life. My dog has taken a liking to being under my bed, which is funny because she really doesn't fit under there. When she goes under you can hear her clawing away at the carpet to move her body between the bed and floor. She barely makes it. But once she's under there there is no getting her out. You may be able to bribe her with a treat but she's generally under there until she gets over whatever set her to retreat to that safe place. The thing is, when someone comes home when she's under there she gives herself away. Her tail starts wagging. She can't control her back half. She is always happy to see us. My husband arrived home late last night after some football game and I was in bed and she was unde...

I know, it's a pretty gruesome picture. But it's probably more realistic than anything else. Life isn't what we think it should be. It's not a fairytale. No one has a perfect life. Everyone goes through hard times. The problem arises when we look at others and think they've got it better than we do. Let me let you in on a little secret.... That person you look at and wish you were more like? They don't have it all together.  No one does. We are all muddling through this journey called life. Everyone has insecurities. Everyone looks in the mirror and sighs. Everyone has secrets they don't dare tell anyone. Everyone is afraid of something. I have a few very close friends that I share my heart with and they do the same with me. The thing is though, if you were to look at our Facebook pages you would think the three of us have lives to be envied. But you don't know the stories behind the pictures. When I look at these ladies I see what you...

It started innocently enough. I laughed from the front row of Amy's concert on November 5th as she finished a song and said, "Whew! Nothing like having a hot flash in the middle of a song." I laughed because I couldn't relate. At. All. But in a few weeks hot flashes and I would be in an abusive relationship. Thanksgiving evening I thought I was dying. I was seriously ready to tell my husband to take me to the ER because I was hot and my heart was racing. I'd been going outside to stand on the porch to cool off all day and was pretty sure I was coming down with something that would incapacitate me. Then the strange night stuff started.  I'd be asleep and then toss off the sheets as I lay there with a fire burning inside me and sweat pouring off of me. This started at about 8:00 at night and continued hourly (and sometimes even more often) until about 9:00 the next morning. I was not sleeping well.  Still convinced I was dying, I mentioned all o...

Auctions are fun. Screen shot can be a girl's best defense. Losing weight and keeping it off is a lifestyle. Forgiveness does not mean you have to continue in any type of relationship with someone, whether business, professional, or personal. Your life is what you make it. Don't like something? Change it. Most people aren't willing to make changes. When filling out a comment card, the recipients are really only interested in positive comments. Apple cider vinegar is a menopausal girl's BFF. When someone says, "Drop in anytime, take what you need." They don't mean it. Sometimes the most gracious behavior is just keeping your mouth shut. Things left in a pile to be thrown away are not always trash-bin worthy. Flying, though freakishly scary, can be done with lots of prayer support and without the use of medication or other things. Just because you notice errors on a website does not mean you should point them out to the owner. Silen...

Saw these at a yard sale and thought to myself how boring this sounds. The Serious Christian. I'd rather be a real Christian. A Christian with a sense of humor. A Christian who isn't offended over every. little. thing. A Christian who enjoys life. The song title in its entirety: "When Your Hair Has Turned to Silver I Will Love You Just the Same". Good to know. This sign in a hotel room from a trip last summer. Though  tempted, I did not indulge in the hand towels at $15 each. And I really needed some new (read: used by many random people for who-knows-what) hand towels.