Mosaic Momma

One of the most recent lessons I've learned about working in Tanzania is the challenge of getting what you want. Naturally, for most of us foreigners, language is an issue. However, beyond that there is just the reality that things are done differently here. For example. African Moons, the organization that we are working with out here, had the desire to provide bookshelves for the 175 books that were brought over for Ngarenaro public school. Having picture books in any public school is a very big deal. They simply don't have them. Bookstores are scarce and the ones here are small and expensive. Most families cannot afford the fee to belong to the small city library. A large percentage of the homes do not have picture books. Books are a big deal. I like that. As a self-proclaimed bookworm, I jumped at the chance to be involved in this project. With funds provided by our church and friends/family who contributed, we wanted to purchase two bookshelves for the public...

Praying together as a family before we left the kids to drive down to LA. Heritage. Legacy. Inheritance. No matter how much money you have in the bank when you take your last breath on this earth, you will leave something behind. As a one-income family, I try not to let my mind wander into the dangerous territory of investments, retirement, 401k's and pensions. I have seen the graphs of investment strategies and the breakdown of what we should be putting aside for our "golden years" that are looming ever closer. No one wants to leave their children with a burden of debt. It's the "American way" to plan for self-sufficiency, dignity and making our own way. It's so easy to get caught up in the worry and fear of financial investments and the future. So easy in fact that I so often forget to focus on the spiritual legacy that I will leave behind for my children and theirs. Traveling around the world to another country has reminded me on...

I am currently somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean sated with surprisingly good airline food, two movies and a trip to a somewhat funky lavatory. I've put off this blog post long enough. Or rather, maybe it's one that needed a bit more marinating before putting fingers to keyboard. I cannot deny that it has been a crazy couple of days/weeks as we have prepared to go to Tanzania. There were many things on my check list to be done that simply just didn't get marked off. There were not enough hours in the day. (Although I had to laugh at the car wash that I waited 30 minutes to get yesterday (the day we left) that lasted for all of two hours before the skies opened up and a deluge poured forth.) At least the interior is clean for my mom as she rejoins the "soccer mom" period of life for the next 12 days. I am tired. But I cannot sleep. Anticipation will do that. It can keep you wired late at night (along with a good cappuccino) for your three and a ...

A few nights ago, I ran the fastest three miles of my life. I have been running on and off for the past five years. I started five Julys ago post-partum and determined to get down to a reasonable weight. One unexpected pregnancy and post-partum recovery, two major injuries and some stubborn baby weight (and yeah, weight from before the baby weight too) has made my "running career" a wild ride of ups and downs. When I started running, I used the Couch to 5K program in cheap running shoes. I didn't know then that they were too small for distance running to allow for the swelling of my feet. I also didn't know that wearing 100% cotton t-shirts were not the best way to go about keeping my body cool. I knew nothing about proper running hydration and fueling. Nothing about using salt for cramping or recovery. Nothing about how the right kind of socks and stride can make all the difference in the world. But I did learn fairly quickly about keeping track o...