Three Things Thursday: I Have Learned Recently

I found this cool link-up with Kelly Michelle @ When The Time Is Right called Three Things Thursday. Every Thursday there is a new topic to list three things about. It sound intriguing so I'm going to jump aboard. This week is about three things I have learned recently.

1. I learned recently that you should not take life too seriously. Zoey actually taught me this. To fully understand where I'm coming from you should read my post, Why So Serious? I learned that sometimes you need to cry before you feel better. I learned that laughing is an okay way to relieve stress. And I learned that your kids can really teach you something if you let them. Zoey taught me to relax and not let the little things get the best of me. I also learned that showing your kids that you make mistakes, sometimes choose the wrong action and are actually human yourself can be a good thing. By showing you kids you have faults and teaching them how to apologize you set an example that they can follow when (not if) they make mistakes on their own. [Okay, that was a lot more than three things I learned in #1, but they are all connected so I'm grouping it all together.]

2. I found out, thanks to Stephen, that Newfoundland dogs are amazing swimmers. Our new dog Eli is a Newfoundland mix, which I never even knew existed before we met him, and has this extra toe/skin on the back of his hind legs like webbed feet that allow him to be a strong swimmer. Newfoundlands are also the only dog that doesn't do the doggie paddle, they do the breast stroke. The breed has been used as rescue swimmers and fishing dogs. I can't wait to take Eli to the beach or the lake to see him in action.

3. This is our first year having a real garden. We also have some herb plants. Our cilantro plant grew quickly and even though we harvested it often, it continued to grow and started to flower. We started calling it cilantro trees. But now I know now that this is called bolting. It is actually a defense mechanism for the plant to start making seeds so it can reproduce. It is a natural process for cilantro. It doesn't do well in hot climates so it starts regenerating itself, which looses the flavors in the leaves. I was glad to find this out because I thought I killed it by not taking good enough care of it, turns out, it is natural.