Man Makes Fire

Day 23, Blog Every Day in May. Prompt: Things you’ve learned that school won’t teach you.

Do you like how my intros are shorter and shorter? haha.

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I’d say there’s a lot that life has taught me that school never could. Because so much of what we know isn’t head knowledge. It’s instinct, passion, faith, hard-knocks and the sort. We’ve got to take it all as it comes and sort out the meaning. Remember, much of what we go through is to lead us to a place of surrender. And if we’re already at that place, it’s to transform us from there. So, take heart…and enjoy all the blessings that, no matter how hard the road, can’t go unnoticed!

But, I’d say the most valuable thing I’ve learned that school never taught me, was how to make fire. Even with damp firewood. The main ingredient? Persistence. As with most things in life, eh?

I know it’s blurry, but this is one of my favorite photos of my husband. We had hiked 30 miles this day and was enjoying an evening camped in a remote part of Southern California’s high desert, when we got a fire going. With the amount of wind, the dryness of the land, and a couple of hikers a little too happy to have dry yucca plants at our disposal, I’m still amazed we didn’t burn the place down. Guess that’s why they make backcountry backpackers carry a fire permit.

A Soapbox Sermon

Day 22, Blog Every Day in May. Today’s prompt: Rant about something. Get up on your soapbox and tell us how you really feel.

This is incredibly difficult for me for some reason right now. Maybe it’s because it’s almost 11pm after a long day of work. I’m not feeling very passionate about anything and would much rather discuss sleeping patterns of wild boar than get fired up about something at this time of night. Meh.

I guess I’ll give it half an effort.

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How lucky that I just had this picture laying around from our Colorado trip earlier this month? I mean srsly.

My biggest pet peeve in life is someone who doesn’t respect my time.

+Ever have someone ask, “Have I told you that story about that time that I…” And you nod furiously and scream, “Yes!” And they just keep going anyways? And then you try to finish their story for them real fast, hoping to speed it up? What is it about people like that? Why did they even ask, right?

+Ever have someone fill in silences with small moanings and “um’s” so that they keep the floor? Ohmahgosh.

+Ever have someone call and ask, “Are you busy?” And you’re all, “I’ve got a minute (which is why I answered) but only a minute.” As in, “Make it quick, buddy!” And then they ramble on about some random man they saw wearing spandex at Walmart? I’ve had a mind to actually just hang up on those people before.

+Ever have someone dominate a group conversation so that you can’t even talk one-on-one with the cool girl you’re sitting next to? Someone throw spaghetti at them, please.

+Ever have someone talk one-on-one to you during a group get-together for so long that you are completely isolated from the rest of the people sharing awesome stories? And even the S.O.S stares you send out to your husband return with blinks that say, “Sorry, you’re on your own”? I would prefer to legitimately start my period right then and there to get out of that scenario than stay trapped in a never ending conversation.

+Ever have someone ask a million favors from you because you work from home or work for yourself, like you don’t have a real job? That’s the worst…and kind of offensive.

Now I’m a little heated…hope I can sleep well. It hasn’t been going so great. I got a pretty bad sunburn this week and it’s in the healing stage which means my skin is super itchy. I don’t remember being this itchy from a sunburn before. It’s so weird. Solutions? I’ve done aloe vera lotion and Gold Bond. If you don’t know about my obsession with Gold Bond….WELL.

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Pssst!! I was featured in a local magazine this month!! I instagrammed (my photography instagram) a peek of it a couple of weeks ago and I finally got around to blogging about it on my photography blog. Thanks for being patient and feel free to check it out!

My Archival Best

Day 21, Blog Every Day in May. Thank God for this one, “A list of links to your favorite posts in your archives.”

Here we go.

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+The Day I Prayed for Water I left my heart in this blog post. A trail story where God provided water in the desert.

+A Silent Stare and an Awkward Gallop This story makes me laugh, every. single. time.

+My Most Embarrassing Moment If any of you have missed this story (I shared it earlier in the challenge), it’s a crowd favorite. It’s in my top 10 most viewed posts.

+Because I’m disgusting (and so is America), my top 2 most viewed posts (and I fully agree with these) 1 & 2

+Us An honest post about my marriage.

+Friends That Poop Together [Part 1] I had attempted to write down our Appalachian Trail adventures, but pooped out so to speak. But I still love part 1 of this installment. It was our first day as completely inexperienced and frightened hikers.

+Adventures in Kidland The funny things that happen when my niece and nephews sleep over. I have several of these posts, but this one is my favorite.

+Part 4 of our Love Story entitled, Homeschool Sweethearts This is by far the most outrageous, romantic thing Hunter has ever done. I know I need to finish this story. After May…I promise.

Stunning photo compilation from the Appalachian Trail here.

Stunning photo compilation from the Pacific Crest Trail here.

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I could choose more…but, I digress. Enjoy!