Okay, I’ve got another design dilemma as we are nearing the home stretch. Like many remodels, ours has taken about double the time and double the money than the original budget.  As such, we’ve very little money to finish up the lingering projects, one of which is the double-sided fireplace in the center of the room.  I love this fireplace. We spent a lot of money opening up the house to create an “open concept” with the fireplace as a centerpiece between the living room and dining . . .

We are back from Peru and adjusting to our routines. I had a fun-filled day yesterday, between unpacking, getting a new license at the DMV, dealing with my stolen credit cards, and updating all my auto-payment with the new card number. Let’s not even talk about my email inbox or the unopened mail that is taking over the kitchen table. The boys got a little treat yesterday – their friend Caleb took them dirt-biking. This was their first time and they loved it! His mom is a friend and a . . .

I’m pushing for another “Occupy Christmas” movement this year. Last year, a lot of people seemed enthused about the idea of bringing the consumerism down a notch for the holidays, and bringing the tangible giving up for those in need.  Less plastic toys for privileged kids, more food on the table for those without . . . that kind of thing. I’ve created a list of ideas that I think could be helpful for shifting the holiday season for good: Last week I wrote about Pure Charity and how you . . .

The last few days have ben travel days. Machu Picchu is pretty far removed from the city of Lima where we’re staying with friends, and getting back there involved a taxi, a train, another taxi, a plane ride, and yet another taxi. We decided to break it up a bit, so the day after we went to Machu Picchu, we had a mellow morning at the hotel and took the train back to Ollantaytambo where we had stayed on the way out. Our last morning at the hotel near Machu Picchu, we decided to take a hike to . . .

We’ve been having a great trip so far but I’ve just got to talk about one element of travel that I absolutely did not expect: the totally bonkers reaction that the local are having to our family, and specifically to Kembe’s hair. We’ve had our share of nosy adoption questions in the US but usually they are scattered and random – maybe one a month or so. Here, it’s like people cannot NOT ask. Every single person we come in contact with asks if the boys are really our kids. Waitresses, airline . . .