If a dog bites my child, the dog goes. We are cat people. :)

I am so excited...and totally terrified. In 10 days I will be traveling to a tiny village in the highlands of Papua, Indonesia, called Bokondini. I have friends who live there and they have started a network of small village schools to educate the children of the Highlands. There are no educational options for these kids since there are no government schools for them. My friends started one small school and now their vision is spreading and they are starting more and more small schools. I am going there to conduct teacher training and curriculum development. It is such a remote place that you can only get there by plane. I have to fly in a tiny, six-seater plane from Jayapura to Bokondini. It scares me to death. I have never been in a plane that small, especially not flying over the Indonesian jungle. But you should always do what scares you, right? I have decided that if the plane crashes, I hope to die in the crash because if I have to survive in the Indonesian jungle I will last about 7 minutes, tops. But I will bring extra snacks just in case (I am not eating bugs!). :) If you are the praying sort, please pray that I arrive safely and that I am able to get a lot accomplished while I am there. If all goes well, I will probably go twice a year to work with their teachers. Here is a quick video about their school (The Wiselys are amazing people!):

Hot weather for sure! I lived 38 years freezing my butt off in Michigan. Never again! I live practically on the face of the sun now and I LOVE it! Sunshine, blue skies, tropical breeze, warmth on my face.... love love love it!

They really annoy me though I have no rational explanation as to why. :)

Started Reading: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (Mexican Author, DD class 800) Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream by David Platt (American author, DD class 200) When I Don't Desire God by John Piper (American author, DD class 200) Still Reading: The God Who is There: Finding Your Place in God's Story by D.A. Carson (Canadian author, DD class 200) Finished: 33. The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost (Dutch Author, DD class 900) 32. Bill Bryson's African Diary by Bill Bryson (American author, DD class 900) 31. The Millionaires by Brad Meltzer (American author, DD class 800) 30. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (American author, DD class 800) 29.The Sherlockian by Graham Moore (American author, DD class 800) 28. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (American authors, DD class 800) 27. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (American author, DD class 900) 26. The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio (American author, DD class 800) 25. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (Ethiopian author, DD class 800) 24. Having Hard Conversations by Jennifer Abrams (American author, DD class 300) 23.The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe (American author, DD class 600) 22. The Infernal Devices #3: The Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800) 21. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (American author, DD class 800) 20. Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill (British author, DD class 200) 19. The Infernal Devices #2: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800) 18. The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800) 17. God's Big Picture: Tracing the Story-Line of the Bible by Vaughan Roberts (British author, DD class 200) 16.The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery by Alan Bradley (Canadian Author, DD Class 800) 15.The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner (American author, DD class 900) 14. Prodigy by Marie Lu (Chinese author, DD class 800) 13. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand (American author, DD class 900) 12. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean (American author, DD class 500) 11. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman (American Author, DD class 600) 10. A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller (American author, DD class 200) 9. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick (American author, DD class 300) 8. Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald (American author, DD class 100) 7. The Bungalow by Sarah Jio (American author, DD class 800) 6. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (American author, DD class 800) 5. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (American author, DD class 800) 4. The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion by Tim Challies (Canadian author, DD class 600) 3. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton (Australian author, DD class 800) 2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (English author, DD class 800) 1. The Dark Monk: A Hangman's Daughter Tale by Oliver Potzsch (German author, DD class 800)

Then you are choosing to completely miss the point. That's your choice of course. But your side of the argument now lacks any credibility.

Living in Malaysia for the last 4 years, here is what we get from the states: underwear (for me and my youngest ds. I dont like the way the panties here fit and ds is small but likes to wear boys' boxer briefs and the boys here typically wear bikini underwear) clothes- only for me and dh because everyone in Asia is built like a 12yo American boy and none of their clothes fit me (I am a size 8/10) or dh who wears XL. My kids are fine though. sheets- if you are bringing your own beds then you will need to bring sheets . The mattresses and sheets are different sizes overseas. shoes- aren't you moving to Italy? Home of beautiful shoes? Here, the problem is no half sizes. Other than that, shoes are no problem. canning supplies, craft supplies (assuming school supplies fit in here, too)- maybe. I don't know anything about canning. I know scrapbooking supplies are impossible to get here so I moved to digiscrapping. School supplies are no problem to find either. Their kids do go to school in Italy! But a particular brand might be a problem. Like there is very little crayola here but we can get faber-castell. Are you not allowed to shop outside the military base? Even if the commissary ran out, can you still shop at other stores? We didn't even bring a single piece of furniture with us when we moved. We sold it all before we left and bought stuff here. It is a stressful time for you but just know that Italy is full of people living happy lives without shipments from the US of all these items. I always tell my new staff the same thing... Don't move here expecting it to be America just in another place. Embrace the strangeness of it all! Make friends with your Italian neighbors. Don't limit yourself to being friends only with the american military people. Go to a local church. Eat at local places. Shop the local stores. Step out of the bubble and experience life in Italy. That is what makes it fun! I am super excited for you!

I agree. I am a foodie-wannabe. I am making lots of changes in my family's diet... Leaning toward a Paleo-type diet. No one in our family is overweight or has a chronic illness or allergies (except my son's peanut allergy) so we are not being forced to do this. I just want us all to eat better. However, according to the uber-foodies I know, I am not doing enough or doing it fast enough or pure enough or whatever. So it makes you want to give up and eat a Twinkie. I think that was my big takeaway from the article. Do what you can, what feels right for you, and leave other people to do the same. The last thing we need is yet one more way to judge another person. Sheesh.

Can I join you? Yikes.

"Do I think I’m better than those people in poverty, so I deserve optimal “natural†food? Or, do I think that everyone deserves it, but because not everyone is in a place to access it, rice and corn mash are good enough for their kids but definitely not mine? When you donate food to the food pantry, do you donate the expensive organic carefully-sourced food that you insist is the only acceptable thing to put in your body and that you feed yourself and your family, or do you get the cheapest canned and boxed food at the store?" This quote really struck me. I am surrounded by uber-foodies. How I wish I had the guts to ask them this. Maybe the next time one of these people hassle me over what I am eating, I will toss this little gem out.

After this blog article went viral last week, the author posted a follow-up. This quote stood out to me: "As it is, most of the responses I’m finding in this latest round of 2-day popularity don’t address the last section of the original post, in which I suggest that your mental health is as important as your physical health. I might add that you mental health affects your physical health, too, and that excessive anger, fear, and paranoia are doing your body no good, either. But, as is normal for most of us (myself included), we read a popular post, grab our pet concern from it, and run with it (some more coherently than others).I wonder if there’s any point to discussion, since we’ve already made up our minds about things and just knee-jerk react as opposed to using slow consideration." I think we are often guilty of this on the WTM boards as well, myself included. You can read the rest here: http://loneprairie.net/viral-blog-post/

Did you read the article? I only gave a small quote. You need to read the entire article to get a true sense for the point the author is making here.

Really interesting article about Foodie-ism. While my family is making several changes in what we eat, it seems I can never keep up with the Olympic Foodies because I believe it doesn't have to be an all or nothing situation. So I appreciated much of this article. http://loneprairie.net/diet-coke/ "As I’m standing in the grocery store, I think of some of the poorest people in Nicaragua I’ve seen living and scrounging for food near the garbage dump. I get a bit upset at the arrogance that says the strawberries or apples or oranges stacked in heaping piles before me are “not good enough†because they are not organic. I am repulsed by the idolatry that my body is so precious that I must find something more healthy and pure, that these non-organic fruits lack enough nutritional value for the little god that is me. You're not that precious. You can drink Diet Coke if you want to." Thoughts?

I went to dinner with about 20 of my girlfriends to a super nice restaurant and we all dressed up. My dh bought me a plane ticket home to visit my family. I was also serenaded by my 100+ elementary students and my staff had a small party for me with cake and flowers and loads of gift cards. It was a good birthday.

Wait, are you telling me that Kardashian woman and Kanye West ACTUALLY named their baby "North"? As in "North West"? Seriously? Do they hate this child or something? Why would they do that? Makes me glad I don't keep up with the Kardashains or any of those ridiculous people. But I am excited about the royal baby. At least they will name it something dignified.

I have never actually sat down and thought about "rules" in that sense. Well, let's see. My ds (15yo) does not have a cell phone. We have an extra cell phone in our home that he takes with him when he goes somewhere. Other than that, it stays off. He does have his own computer and ipad and we don't really limit his time on it (although we do have all his passwords and LOTS of various blocks in place). One thing about living here is that expat teens cannot get a driver's license. So if they want to go somewhere (mall, movies, etc.) they have to be driven there and picked up by a parent. Well, no parent is going out at 2am to pick kids up from somewhere so all the teens come home at a decent hour. So curfew really isn't an issue. No car also hampers dating (which we don't allow anyways). It's hard to pick a girl up for a date when you don't have a car, driver's license, or a job (expat teens also cannot get a work permit here). He can't use the computer for free time until his homework and chores are done each day. That's a big rule!

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand Into Thin Air The Geography of Bliss A Walk in the Woods Cutting for Stone These are a few really good ones.

Started Reading: Bill Bryson's African Diary by Bill Bryson (American author, DD class 900) Still Reading: The God Who is There: Finding Your Place in God's Story by D.A. Carson (Canadian author, DD class 200) Finished: 31. The Millionaires by Brad Meltzer (American author, DD class 800) 30.Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (American author, DD class 800) 29.The Sherlockian by Graham Moore (American author, DD class 800) 28. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (American authors, DD class 800) 27. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (American author, DD class 900) 26. The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio (American author, DD class 800) 25. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (Ethiopian author, DD class 800) 24. Having Hard Conversations by Jennifer Abrams (American author, DD class 300) 23.The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe (American author, DD class 600) 22. The Infernal Devices #3: The Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800) 21. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (American author, DD class 800) 20. Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill (British author, DD class 200) 19. The Infernal Devices #2: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800) 18. The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800) 17. God's Big Picture: Tracing the Story-Line of the Bible by Vaughan Roberts (British author, DD class 200) 16.The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery by Alan Bradley (Canadian Author, DD Class 800) 15.The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner (American author, DD class 900) 14. Prodigy by Marie Lu (Chinese author, DD class 800) 13. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand (American author, DD class 900) 12. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean (American author, DD class 500) 11. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman (American Author, DD class 600) 10. A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller (American author, DD class 200) 9. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick (American author, DD class 300) 8. Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald (American author, DD class 100) 7. The Bungalow by Sarah Jio (American author, DD class 800) 6. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (American author, DD class 800) 5. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (American author, DD class 800) 4. The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion by Tim Challies (Canadian author, DD class 600) 3. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton (Australian author, DD class 800) 2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (English author, DD class 800) 1. The Dark Monk: A Hangman's Daughter Tale by Oliver Potzsch (German author, DD class 800)

Ditto. Some WTTB-trained staff did this with my students and they LOVED it.

Aww, that sounds just like my brother and his wife. She was very close with her father and he died suddenly just a few months after she and my brother were engaged. She said if her father could not walk her down the aisle then she did not want a big wedding. So they eloped... Old school style... As in they told no one but me (so I could feed their dog while they were gone). It was very romantic. As for me? Well, I am the only daughter and my wedding was essentially my mother living through me and planning the wedding she never had. I swear it took on a life of its own and I was merely a spectator. But it made my mom exceedingly happy so I was willing to go through all of that for her. It was a beautiful wedding and while I don't necessarily regret it, I hate thinking about all the money spent on one night (and what we could have done with that money). If my children decide to elope or do something small then we will definitely give them money we would have used for their wedding to get a start. When I was pregnant, my mom told me she could throw me a big baby shower, or she could give me all the money she was going to spend on the shower and I could just buy what I want/need. Guess who went shopping? ;)

1lb ground beef 1lb ground pork Two eggs Bread crumbs 1 can diced tomatoes 1 chopped onion Chopped green and red chiles to taste (we like it spicy) 1 packet taco seasoning Enjoy!

I just said this to my oldest the other day! Elope. Or do something very small and intimate. I would rather give him money to get started in life than throw it all away on a wedding. I wish my parents would have given me the option.

Yes, the Mosquitos eat him alive and he swells up so much. He has had much scarring as well but most of it does fade over time. My daughter, who is Indian, also scars like that but they don't seem to go after her or the rest of us as much. Just my poor Korean sweetie. Asian blood must be sweeter. :)

My middle child is allergic to mosquito bites (he is allergic to a lot of stuff!). Benedryl and ice packs work for us.

ridiculous. rude. Gosh, does ANYONE follow proper etiquette anymore or is it just a free for all? Etiquette is designed so that this kind of thing doesn't happen... so that people are not left out and hurt. I know lots of people think, "Screw that, I want freedom. I want to do whatever I want, whatever makes ME happy." But life isn't all about ME, ME, ME. No man is an island and following these "arbitrary" rules for how to treat one another in social situations is one thing that separates us from animals. I am angry FOR you. I am sorry his happened to you.