Dandelions and Daydreams

My how the government has changed its tune.

Some people would probably call what I am going through right now “nesting.”  If it is, indeed the nesting instinct kicking in, I am doing it in a crunchy, organic, I-should-have-been-a-flower-child sort of way.  With a name like Sunny, I probably should have been a flower child.

Actually according to Wikipedia, I am a flower child in a Gen X sort of way:

In the singular, the term flower child was later appropriated to mean Generation X children who have been raised by hippie parents, whether the child was a hippie or not: as of the 1990s, flower child could refer to any child brought up in a hippie-like household or having a notably hippie name.  People having unusual names such as Cree Summer, Moon Unit, Rainbow Sun, Star, Sunshine, or other similar names might be referred to as flower children, regardless of their politics, parentage, or cultural background.

It started with a desire to trade out all those nasty chemical, but pretty colored cleaning products for more eco-friendly, less toxic cleaning goo.  So far, the magic ingredients for cleaning is baking soda and vinegar (not together though because that would take an acid and a base and make a neutral).

Then I decided to trade out paper towels for microfiber cloths.  I figure this was the tightwad in me talking.  In my thinking, buying paper towels supports the logging industry.  I live in logging country so paper towels help support the local economy.  Trees are also a renewable resource, and the paper towels are fairly biodegradable (much more so than…say…disposable diapers or plastic bags).  Still, I can buy 8 microfiber cloths for less than $5 and use them for a lot longer than I would have used $5 worth of paper towels.  And I like the way the cloths clean and feel on my hands better.

Finally, I am in a serious decluttering mood.  We just moved, and we unpacked just the necessities.  All the extra, unpacked boxes are in the extra bedroom that will become the baby’s room.  Yesterday I got rid of the velvet scraps I had been saving for a crazy quilt.  I tried to figure out when I would have the time to make that quilt.  The answer was, “probably not in the next 20 years, and if I do have the time, I can find more velvet.”  On the way out to the trashcan, I walked into the screen on our slider door.  I came in and had a cup of tea.  Somethings are just hard to get rid of.

I’d like to thank desperateblogger at And Life Goes on for awarding me the Arte Y Pico Award.

Now I’d like to pass this award on to five other amazing bloggers:

• Melissa at The Inspired Room who always inspires me to make the world a more beautiful place, starting with my very own home.
• Molly at The Pipers. Molly is an artist with words.  If you have time, please check out her series on How to help a grieving friend written out of her experience of losing a baby 3 days before the due date.
• JJ at Nature Shows and Dreams.  This is one of the first blogs I check every morning.  She has some beautiful photography from her walks in Northern Michigan.
• Pat at Back Porch Musings.  Another blog with lots of pretty pictures of beautiful things.
• Finally, another lovely blog with lots of pretty pictures:  All things Bright and Beautiful

If you have been tagged for this award:

1) Pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone
3) Show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award. Make sure you visit the link above.

Welcome to the June 2, 2008 edition of carnival of Christian women.

Devotionals

Yvette Nietzen presents Can anything good come out of Nazareth? posted at Fresh Wind Ministries, Int´l. Are you letting your past hold you back?

Renae presents Overcoming Perfectionism posted at Life Nurturing Education. The key: putting yourself aside.

Theresa L. Twogood presents Daily Prayer Journal posted at OLIN e-Book e-Publishing.

Violette DeSantis presents Pentecost and the Fruit of the Spirit posted at her christian blogCelebrating Pentecost, celebrating Jesus, celebrating being sent out.

Jenn presents Wearied Lord posted at Way Of Hope. Read this post to get a glimpse of what humans do that makes God weary.

God Moments

Leticia Velasquez presents Christina read her first word! posted at cause of our joy. The normal development of a child can often be taken for granted, but each step forward is a cause for rejoicing whether your child is normal or (as Christina) has Downs syndrome. Celebrate each little moment.

Laura presents Bumping Into Jesus posted at BeutlerBlogger. I am always amazed that the Creator of the Universe loves me. Laura tells how He revealed His love for her.

Angelawd presents Go With God, Immigrant posted at angelawd, saying, “Meeting a homeless girl puts a new face on the issue of illegal immigrants.”

Life

GP presents Fear is your Friend posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on InnA post about fear, horses, and getting back up when you fall down.

e-Mom presents Spiritual Growth: Anger & Forgiveness posted at C h r y s a l i sE-mom has written a thought provoking article on grocery shopping, the fruits of the spirit, and anger.

Making Home

Laura Williams presents Plantin’ Season around the Ol’ Homestead posted at Laura Williams’ Musings. Laura’s gardening musings are *almost* as good as getting your hands dirty yourself. Check out her post for some ideas on what you might want to plant in your own garden.

Nisha Muschette presents Setting the Tone in Our Marriages and Homes posted at Memoirs of the New Wife.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of Christian women using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.