"Marriage is like a pet boa constrictor..."

"...either you feed it every day or bad things happen."

I found this quote in a marriage article on MSN. Hilarious, but defintely some truth to it.

The article talked about 4 things to make your marriage spectacular. Here they are:
1. Understand each others' needs. Share your expectations with each other so that your spouse can try to meet those expectation.
2. Show him some love. Guys need affirmation. Pay him compliments.
3. Take 10. 10 minutes out of every day to just sit and talk. Not about chores or kids or bills. Anything where you can learn something will help you bond. Whether it's discussing what super power you'd want or recent political happenings.
4. Focus on the good. That doesn't mean you can't ever speak anything negative, but the good should outweigh the bad.

Now, I know that we have a lot to learn and there is always room for improvement, but I must say that I think we do pretty well at all of these things. It's just normal for us. But it's kinda sad because for so many couples, stuff like this is a big step. And it can do a lot to save their marriage. Like, this article didn't revolutionize our marriage by any means, but it could definitely do that for a lot of couples.

Even in the church today, so many people don't know how to interact with their spouse. It amazes me when I hear Christian women talking bad about their husband. Or Christian men talking down to their wives. In public! I mean, I know we haven't even been married quite 2 years, and that I'm still very young, but I know better than that.

Micah and I have talked about this a lot lately b/c we've been going through a class on marriage on Sunday mornings. And we've come to the conclusion that there is definitely always room for improvement, but that we have a better handle on our marriage than a lot of people who have been married for as long as I've been alive. And we've figured out why that is. We both have really good examples to follow.

My parents have been together since they were like, 14 years old. They got married young. In most cases, especially today, these marriages never last very long. My parents are still very happily married and flirt and goof around like they're still teenagers. I don't think I've ever seen my parents fight, which is something that is rare for anyone to be able to say. Unless you count the frequent wrestling matches. lol. *Funny story real quick:: I'm not joking about these wrestling matches. They happen quite often, and it's hilarious. Mom puts up a good fight and all, but she really has no chance. Sorry Mom, but you know it's true. lol. Well, there was one night years ago when they were wrestling around and Morgan, who was maybe 7 or 8, says "Why do yall fight so much? Yall are always fighting!" My reply was "Who are you and what family have you been living with all your life?" She didn't understand that they were just playing around. We still make fun of her for that. lol*

Micah's parents still have a very good relationship. They are another case in which, were it to happen today, it probably wouldn't last very long. I'm not sure the exact numbers, but I think they only dated for like 2 weeks before getting engaged. Ridiculous, right? lol. They got married like, 2 months after that. Crazy. Today, no one would expect that to last very long. But theirs has. Granted, I don't get to be around them that much, but I can tell just from the few weeks that I've been at their house or that they've been here that they have a great relationship.

So we're both very thankful for the examples that our parents have given us about how to treat each other and how to have a "spectacular" marriage. And I didn't need an article on MSN to tell me that. =)

One more LOTR quote...

So as I kept watching the movie, I came across another quote, which is my number one favorite from the movie. I like it because a friend introduced me to it when I was going through a rough time, before I had even seen the movie. And it was just very encouraging to me at that point in my life. Maybe it will encourage you too.

Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

That's all. I'm done for real now. Good night!

Sick days...

I was doing so good....so good. The year before Micah and I got married, I was convinced that the state of Tennessee was out to get me. For some reason, the allergy crud here is so much worse than in Alabama, for me at least. That year, I think I had the sinus crud 6 times. Yeah. That's every 2 months. Ridiculous, right? TN hated me. Well, since we've been married, I think I've only had it once. (I told Micah maybe he did do something good for me. lol) Until now. I've fought it off all year. Everyone at work and church has been getting sick. I guess TN was trying to make it up to me by not getting me sick. =) Until now.

I woke up yesterday morning with a really sore throat. My glands were swollen all day long. A little bit of sniffling, but not too much. Then after I got home from work it got a little worse, but it was still bearable. Micah went to the store to get me some medicine to try and keep the worst of it away. Along with the medicine, he brought me back a huge pack of Twizzlers. Those have been my favorite candy for as long as I can remember. He's awesome. =) Took the medicine last night. Woke up this morning feeling terrible. Sinus headache. Couldn't breathe too well. Throat still sore. So I took some medicine and headed off to work. That didn't last long. I was home by about 8. Good thing too, b/c it only got worse as the afternoon went on. The medicine that morning started working pretty well, but when it started to wear off, it wore off fast. And I crashed pretty hard. I am now on my 3rd dose of medicine today. Overall, I'm feeling better, but still can't breathe at all through my nose. I'll hopefully be able to go to work tomorrow. I only have one more sick day left this year. We'll just have to see how I feel in the morning.

One thing that has been pretty nice is getting pampered and waited on by Micah. lol. I'm usually the one taking care of him. Micah is gone to Memphis tonight, so I'm home alone. It's kinda nice though b/c I think this is the first time I've been here alone for any length of time since he has gone back to school. I decided it was a good epic movie night, so I put in The Fellowship of the Ring. =) I had the urge to watch it a few days ago. We were watching a show called the 50 Greatest Child Stars, and both Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins) and Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee) were on the list. So tonight was a good night to watch it. =) Here are some of my favorite quotes from the movie:

"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."

"I ain't been droppin' no eaves, sir. Honest!"

Dreams

So I found this quote today and I really like it. It's pretty deep, so it took reading it a few times to wrap my mind around it. =)

"Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living." -Anais Nin

Don't be afraid to dream big. =)

Unexpected guest

Ladies' class last night was a little more exciting than normal. And it had nothing to do with my teaching. lol. We had all just gotten into the classroom and were talking and catching up on each other's weeks. Something up on the ceiling caught my eye, and the girl next to me saw it too. We looked up and inside the fluorescent light was a little bitty mouse walking around. No idea how the little booger got in there, but he was. And he was probably getting a pretty good tan too. =) So needless to say, everyone was a little distracted for a few minutes. Then a few of us got some pretty good entertainment after church when a few men went back to try and get it out. They pulled the panel off, the mouse ran out the door, straight at the girl who was standing there watching. Of course she freaked out, especially when a man with a small garbage can came running at her after the mouse trying to catch it. lol. Unfortunately, his aim wasn't the best, so he crushed the poor little guy when he tried to put the garbage can over him. Granted, he did have to dive down the hallway after him... Micah later accused me of being a girl because I stood on a chair the whole time. Well, DUH! lol.

Speaking of ladies' class, next week's topic is jealousy.

Saturday I'm going to a ladies' day at the congregation where we used to attend. I'm not sure who the speaker is, but I'm excited about it. =)

Funny story before I go:: Most bloggers that I read tell a lot of stories about cute or funny things their kids say. Well...I don't have kids to tell funny stories about. But I DO have a husband who occasionally acts like a kid, so does that count? I hope so, b/c I have a funny saying from tonight. =) Now, this isn't the funniest thing he's ever said, but that's another blog for another day. (Ask me about mushroooms one day. hehehe)

Micah was loading the washing machine with a load of whites. He told me that he was going to put a few non-whites in there too, b/c he needed them, but didn't have time to do a dark load tonight too. I asked him what he was putting in there, and he replied that it was his basketball shorts, b/c they weren't made of cloth. =) I said, you mean cotton?? "Shut up!" was the response I got to that one. =)

Have a great night! And your quote to ponder for the night is :: Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true. :: =)

Crazy weekend

So we went to Kansas City, Missouri for a business conference this weekend. It was a lot of fun. Usually we carpool with some other people on our way to these things, but this time, we had to leave late because Micah had to stay for class. And then we had to finish packing. And then we had to get new tires put on the car. So we didn't leave until like, 3. Everyone else left around 9 or 10. We got lost 3 times, pulled over once (with only a warning b/c the cop was sympathetic to us lost Tennesseans), and finally made it around 11 or so. We missed the whole session Friday night, but that's ok. Saturday was awesome. But extremely COLD! Holy cow! When we left our hotel room that morning around 8.30, it was 36 degrees. And soooooo windy. And of course we had to walk a few blocks to get something from the car at the parking garage, and then another 6 blocks or so to find a Starbucks for breakfast, and then the 8 blocks back to the conference center. I thought my ears were gonna fall off. lol. We decided to head back early this morning instead of sticking around for the end. It was only gonna be about 2 hours long, and we wouldn't get out until at least 3, which would put us home at 11. Not fun. So we left around 9.30 this morning, hoping to make it back in time for church tonight. Didn't quite make it tho. We were gonna be about 20 minutes late, and most Sunday nights we only go for 40 minutes or so anyways. So now we're back home and really excited from the weekend.

I don't really have much else to talk about. I did hear a really good quote today in an Eagles song tho. I don't know if this is the exact quote, but it goes something like this: "Sometimes we live our lives in chains, not knowing we have the key." That's all for today. See ya tomorrow!

Vacation is over...

Back to work bright and early in the morning. I'm not looking forward to it. But I do have to say that it's been a good vacation. I didn't think about Lowe's at all. Like to the point that I almost forgot that I had to go back when the week was over. lol. So it was good. I didn't get everything accomplished that I wanted to, but it was still a relaxing week. I got to spend a lot of time with Micah, so that was fun.

Another thing that was good (and maybe not so good) about the week was that it gave me a small glimpse of what it's going to be like to be a stay-at-home mom (minus the mom part of course. lol). And I can't wait. =) It's good motivation. Because I don't want to have kids before I have the opportunity to stay home. I am adamant about raising my kids on my own. I don't want a daycare raising them.

So that's what I got out of my vacation. I guess one of the good things about going back to work tomorrow is that my manager is on vacation this coming week. So it'll still be a half-vacation. Because he's kinda psycho sometimes. lol.

Quote of the day:

"It'll cost nothing to dream and everything not to."

"Good is the enemy of great."

This was Nick Saban's inspirational message to the Alabama Crimson Tide today. Apparently it worked. We beat Kentucky 38-20. Great game. 4 interceptions. It was a really exciting game to watch. I just thought that was a really good quote and that I should share it with you.

Today was a pretty fun day. Micah and I slept in. It was my last day to really sleep in before I have to go back to work. Sad day. So I took advantage of it. Then for brunch Micah made me a sausage, egg, and cheese omelet. It was pretty awesome. And we watched the Bama game together...well, kinda. I watched, Micah played WoW, and then watched the replays of the really exciting stuff. lol.

After the game we went over to Joel and Tansy's for a little while. Randy wanted to show us his presentation that he has been showing to the elders of the congregations he is visiting.

I guess with him being here raising funds and stuff, it's got me thinking a lot more about going back. Micah and I have been talking about it a little more often. I'm getting really excited about learning Portuguese and starting to plan our ministry. We've got to go back (again) next summer. Don't get me wrong, I love Brazil. The trips are a lot of fun, and I know that I'm very lucky to have been twice, because most people will never get to go at all. It's just a little frustrating that we have to go so often. It feels like we just got back, and now we're starting to plan our next trip. We actually don't have to go back until December 2010, but we'd rather go during the summer, than wait til the last minute and something come up. ((For those of you who don't know, Micah is a permanent resident, but not a citizen. That means that in order to keep his residency and his permanent visa, he has to enter the country at least once every 2 years. And tickets are so expensive and it's so much time travelling, it's not worth spending any less that a couple of weeks. We try to stay 3 when we go.)) But it's going to work out pretty well, because Micah has to do a field lab as part of his degree program, so he'll just do that while we're down there. (If I get to go and stay the whole time.) So I'm getting excited about what I can get involved with while I'm down there. We might go to camp again, which I would love. We spent 2 weeks as counselors at camp on my first trip down there. It was stressful, but still a good experience. If he ends up working with his dad, then I'll probably work a whole lot on my language skills, and also get more acquainted with the culture. I'm hoping I'll be able to go and spend the whole 3 weeks. If I'm still at Lowe's, it shouldn't be a problem. I've earned enough vacation time, and they like me well enough that I can get it worked out like I did for the last trip. If I'm not at Lowe's, there's no guarantee it'll be quite that easy.

Tonight we had J&T over to our place for supper. We haven't really gotten to hang out with them much since they got married. I cooked Mexican chicken, which is a recipe that their mom makes a lot, so Micah and Joel were really excited about it. As soon as Joel walked in, he was like, "It smells like Mexican chicken in here." Then we played Apples to Apples. Very fun game. We laughed a lot.

I guess that's all I have for tonight. I've been trying to keep my posts shorter, but I'm not very good at that yet. Maybe I just need to start posting more than once a day, but keeping them really short. Idk. I'll get the hang of it eventually.

Remember: don't settle for good when you can do something great. Go do something great today. =)

Vultures and Hummingbirds

So I'm teaching the Wednesday night ladies' class at church starting next week. I've never taught anyone older than 4-yr-olds, so it's a first for me. We have decided to study a book called "From Vultures to Hummingbirds: 6 Attitudes to Eliminate, 7 Attitudes to Cultivate." by Mary Alice Wilhelm. The six bad attitudes are anger, hatred, jealousy, selfishness, hypocrisy, worry. The seven good attitudes are compassion, forgiveness, the servant spirit, contentment, gratitude, the submissive spirit, love. The title is kinda odd, but with a little explanation, it makes perfect sense. Here is the explanation that the book intro gives.

"It is said that both the hummingbird and the vulture fly over our nation's deserts. All the vulture sees is decaying, rotting meat (carrion), because that is what they look for. They thrive on that diet. But hummingbirds ignore the putrid flesh of dead animals. Instead, they look for the colorful, aromatic blossoms of blooming desert plants. The vulture lives on what was! They live on the failed past. They fill themselves on what is dead and lifeless. Hummingbirds live on what is! They revel in fresh, pleasant things. They seek vibrant, living things. Each bird finds what it is looking for. So do we all. Obviously a choice we all have to make is whether we want to be vultures or hummingbirds."

The first topic is anger. The book gives several examples from the Bible of people showing anger properly or improperly: Jesus, John the Baptist, Paul, Moses, Mary and Martha, Paul and Barnabas, and Samson.
There are also several good quotes about anger. Quotes are kinda my thing. I used to collect and compile them in high school. I've got a Word document on my computer that has like, 40 pages of quotes divided into topics. So here are some of the quotes that were included, and some that I have added.
-Anger toward someone else is like taking poison ourselves and expecting someone else to die!
-Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one.
-It is he who is in the wrong who first gets angry.
-Anger is that feeling that makes your mouth work faster than your mind.
-Speak when you're angry and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret.
-If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape 100 days of sorrow.
-It is misdirected energy to be angry at things you can help, and wasted energy to be angry at things you cannot help.
-You don't have to take back what you don't say.
-The best time for you to hold your tongue is when you feel you must say something or bust.
-He who angers you, controls you.
-A relationship that has been years in the making can be destroyed by just a few thoughtless words.

The power of the tongue in James 3 is also covered a little bit.

So this is one of those posts where I am wanting some feedback! So comment! Any advice on teaching class in general? Any stories or input about anger?

Here are some of the discussion questions to prompt your thoughts a little. =)
-How important is it for people to settle disputes quickly, even not to "go to bed mad?"
-What circumstances in the world today perhaps call for a little more righteous indignation than we often show?
-How was "political correctness" influenced our inclination to be tolerant of intolerable things?
-What makes you angry quicker than anything else?

Thanks in advance for your input! =)

Thought for the day

"The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving."

I saw this on a random sheet of quotes on our memo board at home and it just reminded me of the blog I posted yesterday. I guess that's something that has just been on my mind a lot lately, so I see it in everything.

What direction are you moving in today? My direction probably wasn't the most positive one, at least for the first half of the day. I think I'm really really needing a vacation from work, and because of it, my attitude is definitely suffering. (Good thing I'm on vacation next week then, huh?) Hopefully the break will be enough to help me keep a more positive attitude at work.
After I got home from work tho, my day was more constructive. I worked out (P90X kicks my butt!), took a shower, started watching the season premiere of House online, ate at Los Portales w/Micah, came home, finished the season premiere (I'm so excited about this season!), and now I'm writing to you while Micah studies for his 2 test tomorrow. So maybe I didn't take any concrete steps toward Brazil like I was talking about yesterday. Not yet at least. Maybe now that I've admitted to being a slacker it'll motivate me to actually get up and do something about it. =) Talvez, eu preciso practicar meu portuguese. (That says "Maybe I need to practice my Portuguese.) And there's probably something wrong w/that sentence structure or something, which means I REALLY need to practice. lol.

That's all I have for today. I'm really liking this blogging thing so far. It's nice to just get my thoughts down on paper (ok, not real paper, but you get the idea) so I can organize them a little. In my head they're just all kinda jumbled up. **Nostalgic story real quick, then I'm done for real:: Saying my thoughts were all jumbled up reminded me. Micah used to ask me what I was thinking a lot when we were dating. Most times, I couldn't really pinpoint anything in particular b/c my thoughts jump all over the place, so I would explain to him that my thoughts were like bubbles. They hung around for just a little bit, then another would run into it and pop it...then that one would float away...and so on and so forth. So eventually instead of asking me what I was thinking, he would just tell me to pick a bubble.** Ok, nostalgic story over. Good night!