Koshik the Talking Elephant

Could our next best friend be an elephant?  Maybe not for most of us here stateside, where we’re not exactly equipped to properly look after pachyderms.  But the news out of a zoo in South Korea, reported by BBC News, shows that an elephant has entered the next stage of the human-animal bond: talking. Before now, the only animals we could conceive of really being able to replicate our speech were parrots.  Now elephants are joining the list.  Koshik is a 12-year-old Asian elephant that lives at a zoo in South Korea.  When he started making sounds that his keepers thought … Continue reading

He Said, She Said – Let’s Meet Matt!

Good morning, everyone! Today I’m excited to announce that we’re kicking off a new series here in Marriage. My husband, Matt Pinkston, is the new Fatherhood blogger, and he’ll also be joining me one day a week here in Marriage for a “He Said, She Said” style of blog. We both have strong opinions and we both like to talk (a lot), so this will be a lot of fun for us, and we hope it will be fun and informative for you as well. Matt and I have been married for sixteen years, and together we have four children. … Continue reading

Captain America: The Noblest Avenger

“Avengers, Assemble!” With these words, Captain America calls together the many scattered members of Marvel Comics’ crime-fighting squad. It’s appropriate, then, that Captain America is the subject of Marvel Studios’ last superhero flick before next summer’s “Avengers” ensemble piece. When first perusing the list of this summer’s comic book films I figured I’d give “Captain America” a pass. The straight-laced always-been-a-do-gooder Steve Rogers (the Captain’s alter ego) has less character development than some of his more conflicted counterparts, and thanks to an overabundance of History Channel specials on the topic I’m currently experiencing a little of World War II-era ennui. … Continue reading

Why do I want to homeschool?

According to most reports, we live near a great school. My daughter may eventually attend that school, but I’m hoping to avoid it for a while. This has been a great topic of debate in our family, both immediate and extended. I come from a family of teachers and they value the school system. While many people think of homeschoolers as either hippies or devoutly religious, we do not really fit into either category. Why do I want to homeschool? I like spending time with my daughter and she likes spending time with me. She’s likely going to be my … Continue reading

Are You and Your Spouse Dreaming the Same Dream?

Are you and your spouse dreaming the same dream? Or are they completely different? For example is one of you dreaming of a house in the country while the other is dreaming of a house in the city or the suburbs. Is one of you dreaming of a house filed with kids while the other is dreaming of maybe one or two? Is one of you dreaming of furthering your career while the other is dreaming of having a stay at home wife or husband? Are you both dreaming of a happily ever after marriage? These are all topics you … Continue reading

Dealing with Irritations and Problems in Marriage

How important are the little things in marriage? They are very important. It is often the little things which when ignored can become monumental problems in marriage. The other day we were listening to 60s song on the local community radio station. And Mick made the comment it’s often the little things that end up over time being the straw that breaks the camel ‘back. The little things about that their spouse does that start to drive a husband or wife crazy. So of course, I asked whether there were things I do that annoy him. The two he mentioned … Continue reading

Changing Patterns in Marriage -Part 2

The pattern of marriage changes when offspring leave home and go off to college. Suddenly the married couple is back to a twosome, that’s assuming they’ve managed to stay together throughout all the other phases. Statistics tell us many do not make it this far. Others break up once family is gone. Sadly, many couples find when they finally get back to being a twosome that they have lost each other somewhere in the process and no longer have anything in common. This is why it is so important through all the earlier years and phases of marriage to keep … Continue reading

Defying the Odds

There are always exceptions to any rule. Statistics can give a general pattern of society’s trends but there are always those that defy the odds and do not fit the general pattern. As I read Mary Ann’s article, I was saddened to read the sad state of marriage in America. Sadly, it’s no different in Australia. When our daughter was at school she was one of few who had parents who were together and had only ever been married to each other. As Mary Ann’s blog mentioned most families had step parents, step sisters, stepbrothers. Listening to many of the … Continue reading

Unfaithful Pets

Once upon a blog, Aimee wrote about pets who prefer people other than their owners. I got to thinking about this yesterday when I was writing about my friends who have been adopted by cats lately. In both instances, the cats technically belong to other people. But they’ve adopted new ones, which technically makes them unfaithful pets. Or does it? Cuddles Cuddles is a little calico that really belongs to the people who moved in to the house next to Cindy and Michael, our across-the-street neighbors. But Cuddles has decided she likes to camp out at Cindy and Michael’s. She … Continue reading

Tristi’s Favorite Musicals

I grew up watching musicals. I love Doris Day, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire – in fact, there are very few movie stars from Hollywood’s golden era that I don’t like. There’s just nothing like a man and woman gazing into each other’s eyes and then breaking into song. Some of my all-time favorite musicals are, in no particular order: “Oklahoma!” Who could forget Shirley Jones in her first role as shy and idealistic Laurie, caught up in her feelings for that rascally cowboy, Curly? “Show Boat” took on a tough topic – that of race discrimination – and brought us … Continue reading