Another desk worker here and the first day I wore the fit bit I couldn't believe how low the number was. It was practically negative. So now my students and staff probably think I'm nuts as I do random, purposeless laps around the campus in the sweltering heat trying to get that stupid number up.

It does matter for many other religions. My amah (housekeeper/nanny) was raised a devout Hindu and married a devout Hindu man. A few years ago she and her daughters became Christians. Her husband disowned all of them and says they are "dead to him". The oldest daughter just got married and he refused to come to the wedding and demanded his name be taken off the invitations. He has not seen or spoken to them in three years. Also, here in Malaysia it is illegal for a Malay to convert from the Muslim faith to anything else. If one person in a married Malay couple wanted to convert from being a Muslim it would not only destroy their marriage but get them arrested. So it's not just Christians who may feel this way. Many other faiths have similar feelings on the unity of religion in marriage.

In Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers" he showed that it was more beneficial in sports for kids to be older. As a principal, I notice that the older kids in the class tend to do better academically and socially.

I sang Amazing Grace to all 3 of my children.

I am so sorry. This would devastate me as well.

My dh would be willing to do that if it was very important to me. But I would never ask him to do that.

I did not breast feed my one birth child. I did not want to. I have my reasons and I could explain them to you. But explaining makes me feel like I have to justify my decision and I don't. My baby. My choice. No regrets. Your baby. Your choice. If anyone gives you lip about not breastfeeding just tell them... "Let's play a game called mind your own business. You go first." Now get a bottle in that baby's mouth and start ENJOYING your new born! Congratulations!

Panera for their Fuji apple salad. :)

I vote #2 as well.

Actually my daughter's visa did not come in time so she cannot go. She is staying here with her dad and her older brother. My middle child and I are going to the U.S. for two weeks so my mom doesn't have a fit. :)

Happiness is... a really long plane ride (21 hours) and 7 new books to read on my iPad and an extra iPad battery (just in case) I leave tomorrow. :thumbup1:

Started reading: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn Still reading: all caught up! Finished reading: 1. The Curiosity by Stephen Kiernan (AVERAGE) 2. The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene (GOOD) 3. Unwind by Neal Shusterman (EXCELLENT) 4. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty (EXCELLENT) 5. The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith by Peter Hitchens (AMAZING) 6. Champion by Marie Lu (PRETTY GOOD) 7. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink (INCREDIBLE) 8. Cultivating Christian Character by Michael Zigarelli (HO-HUM) 9. Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff (um...WOW. So amazing and sad) 10. Pressure Points: Twelve Global Issues Shaping the Face of the Church by JD Payne (SO-SO) 11. The Happiness Project: Or Why I spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. by Gretchen Rubin (GOOD) 12. Reading and Writing Across Content Areas by Roberta Sejnost (SO-SO) 13. Winter of the World by Ken Follet (PRETTY GOOD) 14. The School Revolution: A New Answer for our Broken Education System by Ron Paul (GREAT) 15. Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen (LOVED IT) 16. Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning by Sugata Mitra (GOOD) 17. Can Computers Keep Secrets? - How a Six-Year-Old's Curiosity Could Change the World by Tom Barrett (GOOD) 18. You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself by David McRaney (GOOD) 19. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (OK) 20. Follow Me by David Platt (GOOD) 21. The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman (SO-SO) 22. Falls the Shadow by Sharon Kay Penman (OK) 23. A Neglected Grace: Family Worship in the Christian Home by Jason Helopoulos (GOOD) 24. The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan (DEPRESSING) 25. No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige (SO-SO) 26. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff (DELIGHTFUL) 27. The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman (WORST ENDING EVER) 28. Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor (SO-SO) 29. Mere Christianity by CS Lewis (BRILLIANT) 30. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (WONDERFUL) 31. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (CAN'T-PUT-IT-DOWN-READ-IT-ALL-IN-ONE-SITTING BOOK)

Well, here in Malaysia they certainly know how to take a day off. There are more public holidays than I can count, about 20 I think. They also get about 4 weeks worth of sick time and at least 4 weeks worth of vacation time. They also travel a lot which is easy to understand when you can get to lots of different countries in a short plane ride.

When my oldest ds was little he used to answer with "I quit school." Which is true in the sense that he left public school. The look on the nosey person's face always made me laugh.

We peel it first then use he mango gadget to get the core out. It works really well and we like it. We have yet to discover an easy way to peel them, though.

I've been thinking about this post for a few days and I love it, but I realized that it's missing a piece (in my situation). I would add... As a triangle I knew when I moved to the land of circles that I was not a circle and never would truly be a circle. But I assumed I would always be a triangle. I didn't really notice how my points were becoming more rounded. Then I went back to my home land of triangles fully expecting to feel like a triangle. It was only when I was back among triangles that I even realized I was no longer a true triangle. That was the biggest shock of all. Compared to the circles I live with I am very much a triangle, but compared to triangles, I'm some weird shape that doesn't have a name. I totally agree. I had no idea there were so many others on this board that have experienced this same feeling. The idea I am trying to wrap my head around is that I will always be this way now. I am forever a slightly rounded triangle. There is no going back. Exactly. Not realizing how much you have changed. Then suddenly you are confronted with it and the only word that describes it is shock.

I'm sorry. I don't think I understand what you mean. Are you saying that because I am a teacher I come across as lecturing my family about Malaysia rather than just sharing about the five years of my life they weren't part of?

Oh no. I hate cancer!!!! :(

I'm all choked up now. Thank you for this... I really needed to read these words.

I am going on a 21 hour trip this coming Tuesday from Malaysia to Detroit. We all have iPads so I load them up with games, books and movies and we all have headphones. iPads have changed my life when it comes to travel. I don't have to think of a zillion different things to keep them busy now. They can write or do something educational or play games or read or whatever, all on one device. It's brilliant. And snacks. Lots of snacks. And sleep if you can.

YES! That is it exactly! It's not that I think Malaysia is so much better than America or my life is so much better than theirs or even that I have this need to drone on and on about "my life in Malaysia". But the fact that I have to act like none of it is happening and I have been living down the street from my family just like I always have is just ... weird and sad.

I know. Five years. It's crazy how fast it went by!! Yep, my little FIAR boys are now 16 and 10. Not so little any more. I think Malaysia must have its own hyper-speed time zone. That's the only explanation for how five years has gone by already!

My mom has had a very hard time accepting this move. She hates the fact that we live here and even after 5 years never lets an opportunity go by to remind me of how miserable I am making her by living here. She is a master at making me feel guilty. She does not acknowledge or affirm any of the awesome experiences we have had here. I think she feels like if she agrees with me on any of it or shows any interest then she is giving me permission to stay and that will never happen. So she just ignores anything that has to do with my life in Malaysia and will actually ask me not to talk about it around her. I have told my dh that if our children have opportunities to live abroad and I start acting like my mother to PLEASE call me out on it. I don't want to do this to my children. They have a right to live their lives without guilt from me. So I will smile and support them and then just cry in my pillow when they can't see me.

There are lots of things that make coming back to the U.S. a "shock" to the system...some I can explain and some I really can't. But here are two things that stand out from my last trip... 1. The sheer vastness of America is astounding. I live on a small, densely populated island. Everything and everyone feels squished together most of the time. The traffic is bumper to bumper. The people are shoulder to shoulder. The houses are on top of each other and there are no yards. You have this constant feeling of limited space. When I get to the U.S. It feels immense. The cars look like tanks. The houses are like castles. In Michigan I am from a small, quiet suburb. When I go back it feels deserted. Where is everyone? I go to the mall and hardly anyone is there. There is no one on the street. No one walking around. The vastness of America makes me feel tiny and lost and swallowed up and a bit lonely. 2. The abundance of America. In Malaysia I can grocery shop in about 12 minutes. It's pretty easy when your choices are white bread or wheat bread and that's it. When I go to a supermarket in the states, the bread aisle is as big as my house and there are 527 different varieties of bread and I just stand there paralyzed with indecision. It makes me feel anxious and the last time I visited I ended up leaving without buying anything because I was overwhelmed by the choices. Those are just two small examples (I could talk about the ubiquitous police presence and rabid gun culture but things might get controversial). :)

Glad to know my family is not the only one like that. I have a few friends who are TRULY interested and ask questions and are fascinated to learn about other cultures. I'm that way, too. If someone in my family moved to a foreign country I would pepper them with questions about it! It is just so odd to me that so many people actually have no interest whatsoever in any culture other than their own.