Dandelions and Daydreams

So I don’t know what it tastes like really. Whether your taste is an old running shoe, a marriage license, a stack of $100, or a cabin in the woods, these cakes are a fun feast for the eyes.

via boing boing

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Brenton and I have been married for 2 1/2+ years now. The median duration of first marriages that end in divorce is about 7 1/2 years. (from divorcemag.com). With divorce statistics indicating that 1/2 of all marriages end in divorce, how can we divorce proof our marriage?

1. Attending worship together every Sunday.

Of those couples who worship together each Sunday, the divorce rate is 3.0%, or
one divorce out of every 30 couples who worship together each Sunday.

2. Praying together regularly.

Of those couples who pray together in their homes on a regular basis, the
divorce rate is 0.3%, or one divorce out of every 300 couples who pray
together in their homes.

Am I being simple? I don’t think so. Those are statistics. Just like the statistic that 1 out of every 2 marriages ends in divorce. I’ll take those odds, especially considering we have an even less chance of divorce since we attend church together and pray together regularly. So just by our actions we have a pretty good chance of success.

On top of all that, I think we have a 100% chance of our marriage surviving. We both approached our marriage vows as a covenant to God and each other, witnessed by our friends and family. That’s pretty serious stuff. Quite frankly, divorce isn’t an option. Not making it, isn’t an option. Our vows are to love, honor, and cherish, forsaking all others for as long as we both shall live. Given that divorce isn’t an option, I’m very willing to spend a lot of time building my marriage rather than living miserably with my husband. And when it comes down to it, I LOVE THAT MAN, and I can’t imagine my life any other way.

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Since I added some feed links to my sidebar, I thought I would post this video. RSS feeds are your friend. If you have a blog, make sure you publish an RSS feed

Click To Play

Edit: It’s always good to give credit where credit is due. This video was created by Lee LeFever

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With summer on the way, I decided that today’s Thursday Thirteen is a good opportunity to make a plan for May.

Presented today for you reading pleasure:

1. Celebrate Brenton’s birthday. He’ll be a quarter of a century old. We’ll go to Panhandler Pies because they offer a totally free meal to the birthday boy. That’s any entree, along with a drink, and the dessert pie of your choice. YUM! I recommend the Beefeater sandwich.
2. Hike to the Ross Creek Cedars. I’ve never been there. We thought about going last month, but the hike would have been about 6 miles in and 6 miles back. That seemed like a bit much for one day although I’m sure the ancient cedars would have been beautiful in the snow.
3. Host a cookout at our house. We recently built a fire ring and got some furniture for our back yard. I am eager to host a wiener roast and invite some company over. This is tentatively scheduled for May 8, which might end up being when we celebrate Brenton’s Birthday
4. Plant my garden. Living in North Idaho, gardening season doesn’t begin until May and June. I was ready in February, but I guess that’s the Southerner in me. I’ve got a nice assortment of lettuce, spinach, beans, carrots, potatoes (because you have to grow potatoes in Idaho), and corn. I also found some 10 cent flower seed packets at walmart and stocked up on daisies, zinnias, snapdragons (I love snapdragons), sunflowers, morning glories, and some wildflower mixes.
5. Continue on my running program. We started the Cool Running Couch-to-5K beginners running program. Last night we finished up week 1. This is a great program for true beginners. It is pretty easy to get started. If you want to start running, check out the Couch-to-5K podcasts from Robert Ullrey. I have dreamed about being able to run and run and run without getting tired. If all goes well, I should be half way through the C25K program by the end of May.
6. Set up and design my website. I’ve talked about it long enough. I am going to get a website set up with the hopes of being an Internet entrepreneur.
7. Up my blog posting frequency to twice daily without sacrificing the quality of the content. Subscribe to my RSS feed. To keep up with my posts
8. Read and write book reviews. I’ve been practicing my writing skills. I want to get better. Your input is greatly appreciated on this blog. I have lots of books that I want to read. Now I am going to take the time to write book reviews too.
9. Get better and writing. I have a list of books to read, and I have classes to attend. I am passionate about this. And I also know that doing to learning is not substitute for doing the work.
10. Good a gourmet meal…at least one. I deserve it.
11. Drink more water. Like most Americans, I am chronically dehydrated. I am aiming for about three nalgene bottles per day. I need more water as the weather gets hotter.
12. Pay extra on our car loan. We are hoping to have it paid off by September. Since we are following the dave ramseyFinancial Peace University plan, we will never go into debt again.
13. Enjoy spring. We all need a walk every day.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. http://alexandrasfriend.blogspot.com/
2. http://www.mamamaui.blogspot.com/
3. http://swordgirl.wikaba.com/
4. http://www.badjokesandovenchips.blogspot.com/
5. http://anothershelf.blogspot.com/
6. http://achickenloveshermonkey.blogspot.com/
7. http://www.rainbow-stuff.com/
8. http://www.nataliedamschroder.blogspot.com/
9. http://elenacroft.blogspot.com/
10. http://devilishsouthernbelle.blogspot.com/

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

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A Wolverine Is Eating My Leg

By: Tim Cahill

Publisher: Vintage Departures

Have you ever lived in a gorilla research camp? watched a full solar eclipse in a snow covered field? Dove (or is it dived) for poison sea snakes? Hiked from the lowest point in the US (in death Valley) to the highest point? Tim Cahill has and in his book, A Wolverine is Eating My Leg, you will feel like you have been there.

I picked up this book from the library because I was wanting to read some travel writing. I dream of being a travel writer. What could be a better life than getting paid to go on worldwide adventures and then writing about it? Tim Cahill lives the life I dream of. All of those crazy things that I dreamed about doing as a kid but my mom wouldn’t let me, he has done.

The thing that strikes me the most about his writing style is that he is irreverent without being crass, and he travel writes without over philosophizing. The book is arranged in a series of short essays divided up by the type of adventure: Jungle, scuba, caving, etc. I think my favorite essay was the fish story about his adventures fishing for northern pike. The last sentence is, “This is a true fish story.” What does that mean? Does that mean it’s a true story or that it’s a true fish story and everybody knows fishermen are liars?

Whether Tim Cahill is writing a bunch of fish tales or not, this book is a thoroughly enjoyable read. He has done a bit of everything and lived to tell about it. Read it yourself and see.

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I like candles. I have them burning pretty much all the time. After a while, the wick is far enough down that I can’t reach it easily with a regular match or lighter. Instead of buying one of those special super long lighters that never seem to work very well, I use a piece of uncooked spaghetti. I can light one end with a regular lighter and then use the burning spaghetti to light the candle wick. It will burn long enough to light several candles if you need to. I keep the ligher and the leftover spaghetti match in my silverware drawer to use when I need to light another candle. I’ve been using one piece of spaghetti for about a week now.

**Sunny

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Forgive me, For I have sinned.

I cut the grass before the dandylions were done blooming.

Before:

After:

There is a fine line between the quirky neighbor who is intereseting because she doesn’t care what anyone else thinks and the trashy neighbor who nobody likes.

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My whole life, I have struggled with housekeeping. As a child, my room was a disaster area. As a college student, I cleaned frantically for several hours right before room inspections. As a wife, I have looked hopelessly around the house at the mess and then collapsed into tears. I have fought this battle for 24 years. This year, I actually feel like I am winning.

I have started feeling the freedom to get rid of stuff. Decluttering! I have always held onto everything because I might need it someday. Many of the things that I hold on to hold precious memories. I think I am afraid that I might lose those memories if I pass on the stuff. And by keeping all the stuff around, I am unable to enjoy any of it. I am robbing myself of my life. I spend so much time maintaining my stuff that I can’t make new friends to create new memories.

The first time I tried to do some serious decluttering, I felt like I was in the midst of a panic attack. My head was buzzing and I couldn’t breath. I couldn’t make the decision about what to keep and what to get rid of. I sat down on the couch again and cried. I didn’t think I would ever have a clean, peaceful, decluttered, organized house.

Even in the midst of hopelessness, I was unwilling to give up.I did some soul searching; I did some researching. I was able to come up with guidelines for decluttering.

When I pick something up, I ask it and myself, “Do I love you?” If the answer is no, I know that the best place for the item is in my goodwill box. When the answer is yes, I ask myself, “If I love you so much that I want to keep you, where can I put you that I will love and use you regularly?” Usually, I am able to find homes for the things I love. And you know what? I love using the stuff that I love the most! I smile every time I see it.

I encourage you to look around the room and find something you don’t love. Pass it on to someone who will love it and use it every day.

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I hate the end of the news. My heart jumps into my throat in fear and dread when the newscaster announces a moment of silence for our military honored dead. Will I know someone in that list? I watch, unable to take my eyes off the screen. With each face that shows up, I know he was somebody’s son or she was somebody’s daughter. I know that each name represents a father, son, husband, wife, daughter, mother, friend. I know that each name represents a life ended. My heart aches for those who are mourning the loss of a loved one.

My sincere thanks goes out to our men and women in the military. I believe in you.

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What are you passionate about?

We just finished a church series titled, Quit Your Job and Change the World.

It Starts with Commitment This is the first sermon in a three part series. Pastor Tony Nelson really cuts it to you.

Check out First Christian Sandpoint

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