Fried Dandelions

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I always get a little leery of recipes online, and this one in particular made me laugh out loud and then shout to Jonathan from across the house, "Oh no, come here right this second! I found another one you won't believe! Fried Dandelions!?"

Sure, I haven't tried it, but who picks weeds and eats them anyway? I especially love the part where the author of the recipe (Jamez007Bond) says, "One word of caution...to avoid a bitter taste, make sure the dandelion flowers you're picking have not been sprayed by dogs or pesticides."

Enough said.

If you feel the need to find 80 dandelions and fry them up, let me know how that works out because I'd honestly love to hear if they are any good! Here's the recipe if you'd like to try them out for yourself. :)

Recipe

Photography

Here are a few engagement pics of Tomy and Mendy that I took. They are beyond amazing family and I can't wait for their big day coming up SO SO SOON!

AND...about that half marathon. It was so much fun! I'm not sure why I was stressing at all. I loved it! It was my first long race, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. I know now that I could have probably run it faster, but I was paranoid about losing steam at the end (and didn't at all) but I still finished in 2 hrs and 25 minutes, so I'm pretty happy with that time.

I'm running the 1/2 marathon downtown at the crack of dawn tomorrow and I'm so nervous that I can't sleep, can't eat, and can't sit down. Why you ask? I have no clue. I've pretty much done this but it's like I'm psyching myself out. I've said this to myself often today: "Michelle, seriously, quit being so dramatic."

It helps a little.

I'm an aunt!

Please meet my new nephew, McKennon. He was born on Wednesday and he's perfect. Need I say more?

Best room finds of the week...

A bed cabinet is such a brilliant idea. I might just try this out someday.

This color makes me drool. I love the darker gray with the wonderful natural light! The white is a perfect contrast to the printed pillows, splash of coral, and bold prints. It's an A+ room!

All I can say is that I wish I was here. Look at those beautiful flowers...and ohhhhh those windows!

A nook. Enough said. Someday Michelle, someday.

Windows in the kitchen are a must. It adds 100% happiness.

I love the seashell chandelier and the white everything. Clean and fresh is always in.

Pictures taken from the galleries at www.myhomeideas.com

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.

Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalms 9:9-10

Bullying 101

As I was teaching yesterday, I noticed a kid sitting in the front row slightly swinging his feet and looking down, as if studying the pencil marks on his desk. Normally, I might never have noticed anything weird about a student like that, but he never looked up. Even as I began the video and other kids began taking notes, he didn't glance up once. He was taking notes, and it didn't bother me that he wouldn't look at the screen--after all, he could be an auditory learner. But, I just got the feeling that he was sad. No sooner did this thought cross my mind when three senior boys from the back row started yellow taunts like, "Hey Joe! Joe! You deaf?" and "Hey Joe, I heard someone slashed your tires last night. Is that true?" and "Hey Joe, are you gay?"

They hit my anger trigger--bullying.

It's unjust, it's unfair, and I absolutely will not tolerate it. Yes, I took care of it, but it broke my heart and it was all that I could think about for the rest of the day. What a miserable life to be Joe. He didn't ask for that. He didn't come to school looking for a fight. He sat quietly and yet still, he was persecuted, and never once retaliated with a single word. It smashed my heart into a million pieces. No matter what he's done (which I suspect is nothing), no one deserves that. No one. But, it reminded me of Jesus on the cross. People yelled insults at him and he loved them. He didn't just ignore them, he loved them and prayed blessings upon them.

When the bell rang and kids were leaving, a girl stopped and said to me, "Why do you care about Joe anyway? You don't even know him. He's the class freak." Wow. This is where I had a short teaching lesson about loving people and how what you do and say affects other people's feelings. It's sad to me that some kids really have no clue about selflessness at all.

Then it occured to me--something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers. And that was all that I needed to make the entire week worth it--that tiny little seed of hope. The fact that a kid noticed something different about me was more than enough. I serve a mighty God, and he can use anything for his glory.

Congrats!

Congratulations Padraic (my brother-in-law of awesomeness)! He is getting ordained in a little over a week as an elder in the church of the Nazarene. Now that is some serious hard work and I couldn't be prouder. Now, I am not calling myself a designer but I am semi-proud of the way the front of this postcard looks. I'm all into grunge lately.

In other news, I hope Rox and Padraic's baby holds out until this event, because I know for a fact that Roxanne is not missing this, and it makes me quite nervous--because that baby is due today! Will it really wait for 11 more days? My bet of April 12th already came and went, so I have no say in this betting game anymore.

Headbands by FineFlowers

So, my insanely cute friend Cheryl makes these amazing ruffled headbands. She takes custom orders, and if you are interested in one of these very trendy little things, you can visit her shop here! They're only $10! What a steal!! Here are some of my favorites...

$5 bill

A five dollar bill goes a lot of places in life. Money is an ever revolving door.

If you had a $5 bill, what would you buy? I asked a couple of people about this and this is what they said:

"I would buy a medium Dr. Pepper and cheesesticks from Sonic."

"I would buy window washer fluid for my truck."

"I would get a new used book off of Amazon."

"I would buy a hazelnut latte from Starbucks."

"There's nothing I would love more than fresh flowers."

For me personally, I would probably buy new songs on itunes! But, what about you? I want to know what you would buy with $5.

Keystone

So I'm going to go ahead and say that this picture is the most awesome thing everrrrrrr. It really should (I agree with Nick) be Keystone's new ad campaign! How fun! That's my brother third from the left in the back. I love all the people in this picture though! Good work auto shutter setting!

photo found here

I'm naming my door.

Well, thank goodness for morning and a lot of sunshine! I woke up early at 7:30 and ran to see if my door was going to turn out yellow or remain a light lime green. Success! The sunshine does wonders. I think I love it. (So does Bella.)

This is the color that I thought it was going to be last night. I was trying to accept it but Jonathan was freaking out because it looked neon green. The lights must make it appear differently at night because it is definitely not that color today! (I apologize for the poor picture quality--iphone pic)

So, I've decided to name my front door Yolanda Yellow. Anything with that much personality definitely deserves it!

Alright, I have to admit a few things.

1) I'm scared out of my MIND for tomorrow's run--11.5 miles. I can't believe I'm doing this, and I have never gone that far before, but I'm going to do it if it's the last thing I do! More than the fact that my legs just get tired, I just get plain THIRSTY! I have a pack that I can run with that holds my water, but it annoys me to death and I just cannot bring myself to haul that thing around for 2 1/2 hours even if it is plastered against me and doesn't move! However, tomorrow might be the day that I get my new running shoes which may or may not be some form of Nike LunarGlide shoes (photo from www.nike.com).

2) I was really excited about painting my front door, and after careful thought and consideration of either a raisin-brown or happy-mustard yellow and many online comments and friend's opinions of my paint samples (that I ceaselessly carried around for a few days), I decided on yellow. Crazy. Well, let me tell you--I painted it with one coat of Kilz followed by two coats of yellow paint. When Jonathan and I came home tonight he walked by and said, "Oh dear. Are we going to leave our door the color of a neon road sign?" Okay, I'll admit it looks VERY strange in the lights at night and I don't really love it. But in the sunlight, it's a beautiful yellow. He is right though, it does look NEON greenishy-yellow. So now what? I feel that it might be unacceptable. No one wants to live with a road sign! I'll post a picture soon and you can see what I'm talking about.

If I only had the time...

I've been having so much fun following Caitlin's blog lately. Check her out. She's an amazing interior designer! I would join her if I only had the time and money! You'll probably love her as much as I do! She's... 1) great at making things and 2) finding even cuter things.

Front Door Colors!

My house is a typical oldschool-type red brick with some white mixed in. The trim is a taupe shade with a hint of olive green very similar to this color:That being said, I need help picking a new color for my front door! Yes, I do have a clue about interior design, but not so much exterior. I chose a bright bold red when we first moved in because I love red front doors and always wanted one (they symbolize good luck and a happy home), but as always, my taste has changed quite a bit and I am now looking for a new color to love! I have narrowed it down to a few, but maybe I could get some help from some trendy ladies? I would love to hear what you think! I want to go for a modern color to match the rest of our house, and love all of the following:

Option 1: A raisiny brown

Option 2: A gold tone like this

Option 3: A lighter green (actually, I might prefer a blue-green to this lighter color)
Option 4: A beeswax yellow (this says "welcome home and be happy" to me)

The Ronne's

So, the little things I had to say today are just going to have to wait. Something much more important is on my mind.

Some friends from where I grew up, the Ronne family, just found out that Kaci (mom) has a brain tumor in stage 3, which is terminal. They just had a little brand new baby and have two other adorable children. You can read their blog here and send some encouragement their way if you want, but more than anything, please pray. I'm not sure if that same situation happened to me, I would be as strong as Ryan.

I miss, I know, I wish

I miss playing the piano on a summer afternoon until my fingers ache.

I miss making homemade blueberry lemonade with my mom.

I miss reading children's books (they always have the best pictures).

I miss two week vacations with my family to random states.

I miss jumping on the trampoline.

I know who I am.

I know how to find a dachshund in a large neighborhood.

I know when too much is too much.

I know how to roll my tongue.

I know how to make killer apple cobbler.

I wish I knew my favorite color.

I wish I could play Claire de Lune on the piano (I would learn if I had one in my house).

I wish I laughed 100% more than I already do.

I wish I could find the perfect spring nail polish.

I wish chocolate cake was calorie-free.

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There are not many things that I know with 100% certainty in this world. I don't know the number of days I have left in my life, the average number of spots on a cheetah, how I feel about certain political issues, and I couldn't even tell you if I fully believe that we are the only planet out there with living life in this vast universe.

But, I can tell you one thing with 100% certainty: God, the creator of my life, is the master of all things good.

Tomy+Mendy=Love

I had the most amazing time shooting engagement pictures for Tomy and Mendy today! I couldn't be happier to have such amazing in-laws. I'm sure they won't mind--here is a very small sneak peak. (and that's all you get)

Bad News

Okay, so I need some advice. I just got a new phone like 3 weeks ago, a Samsung Inspiration, and I love (loved) it. I'm a big fan of the slider keyboard (since I'm a textaholic and all).

So, I was sitting in the car with it in my lap tonight and totally forgot, because I got out and accidentally dropped it face down on the cement! The screen cracked so bad that it's moved all the way down the middle already. So, the real question is, should I get an iphone for full price? I mean, that's a hefty amount! Or, should I just pay an entirely large amount for a new Samsung (not a fan of that either)? Or, option three, which seems to be the obvious choice--dress as a homeless person on the corner and collect enough to buy either option? See, I'm not sure which is worse.

Oh life.

It just never fails to surprise me. Live and learn right? Warranties don't cover screens. I think some smart lawyer met me in his dreams and then added that clause to the contract just after he met my clumsy self. Whatdoyathink?

Modern Wedding

Can anyone say originality? I think this wedding is so colorful, creative, and seriously inspiring. If you'd love to see more pictures, click HERE to check out even more great photography from Hannah Bergman.