Dear Santa Claus:

How are you? How are your reindeer? Are they well fed? I have been half good and half bad. I hope I am not on the naughty list. I have plans to try to be nicer this year, to my sister and everyone that I have been bad to.

I would like a motor scooter, please. I would also like a Nintendo DS with the game, Catz, please. I would also like the MD-80 pc game that I have always wanted, please. I would like a Motorola Buzz walkie talkie phone, with the moto ring tone, please, please, please. All of the rest of the Matchbox airplanes, please. I would like a disk that can fix my computer, then put on internet access with Firefox, please. And everything that I’ve always wanted but forgot what they were.

I would also like my mom to have everything she ever wanted in her life. I would also like Bana (my step-dad), to have a truck just like our neighbor’s, but dark gray.

Sincerely:

Matthew

This is my interview with Katrina Lao Shaffner. Her answers are so cool. Read them and see. Thanks for letting me interview you, Katrina! Now I want to come and visit! You can check out her blog for more.

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I know you live in East Africa. Can you tell me more about where you live? What is it like there?
My husband (Paul) and I live about 18 kilometers away from Iringa, Tanzania. Paul works for an American university’s study abroad program, and we live in a beautiful campus beside a river. Our campus is composed of four brick houses, an office building, a big classroom, a kitchen, a dining room, and about 20 grass huts we call bandas. When the students are here, they sleep in camping tents inside the bandas for three months straight and use outhouses (we call them “long drops”). Thankfully, we have a flushing toilet in our house. The long drops get stinky!

It is a very peaceful place to live. Even though we aren’t too far away from town, where we live feels like the middle of nowhere. When we keep our windows open at night, we fall asleep to the sound of the river just outside our house. We wake up every morning to the sound of birds singing. I grew up in a city and used to fall asleep and wake up to the sound of sirens and, at one point, a car wash, so this is pretty cool for me.

How hot does it get where you live in the summer?
Since we live south of the equator, our seasons are the opposite of seasons in North America. We also live at the same altitude as Denver (over 5000 feet above sea level), so we have incredibly pleasant weather. “Summer” (June, July, August) is the coldest season for us, which means it is nice and cool during the day and downright cold at night (in the 40s). I would say that the typical temperature during any given day would be somewhere between 70 - 85 degrees, year round. Can’t beat that, huh? People are always surprised to hear this because when most people think of Africa, they think “HOT!”

I know that you have a really cool house. Can you tell me more about it?
We live in a brick house with a grass-thatched roof. The house actually belongs to one of our professors from college, who is the director of the program here. He only lives here for a few months every year, and he offered to let us live in his beautiful house as a “wedding present.” The house was built around two giant boulders, so we have one boulder in the middle of the main room in the house (which contains the kitchen and living room), and another protruding from a wall. People always want to climb the big rocks when they visit. We are currently building a deck out back to take advantage of the beautiful weather and our lovely view of a waterfall.

If you were to climb to the top of the waterfall outside your house, and somehow slip down into the water, where would it take you?
That is a great question! First of all, I think I would prefer to ride down the waterfall during the wet season (even though the currents would be really, really strong) because during the dry season, the river dries up a bit and it is impossible to float down the river without hitting your bottom on the many big rocks underwater. Riding down the river would take you past our campus, past another campsite downstream, and eventually under a bridge just outside the escarpment climbing into Iringa. You would pass naked children splashing in the water, women doing their laundry, lots and lots of cows drinking water, and (most exciting of all), a hippo and even some crocodiles further downstream! Eventually, you’ll end up at a village called Usolanga (about 50 kilometers away), where you’ll find yourself floating into an even BIGGER river that will take you through a game park (Lions! Zebras! Giraffes!). Ultimately, if you survive, you’ll end up in the Indian Ocean, very wet and exhausted.

How fun is it to take a zip line to work?
It is GREAT fun, although I have to admit that showing the zip line to visitors helps maintain the excitement since I’m on it daily. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have to stand back and try to see parts of my life objectively to realize once again how fun it really is, since it is easy to get used to things and take them for granted.

The zip line is unequivocally fun, though. The people who own the campus (the same people who hired me to tutor their daughter) live across the river and up a hill from where we live, so every day I have to cross the zip line and hike up the hill in order to get to work. There are actually two zip lines and two sets of platforms to access the zip lines, designed so that you can ride the swing “downhill” both ways. It can get quite fast, especially when you are carrying a heavy load (like all our laundry in a bed sheet, Santa-style). Once, when I was swinging, I noticed bubbles in the water under me. It was the hippo! Paul and I sat on one of the platforms and watched the water for a while, but had to give up because hippos can hold their breath under water for a LONG time and I was late for class. Another time, I dropped a book in the river while crossing. Paul jokes that if we have a baby while we are here, I’m not allowed to carry the baby across the river in case I drop him/her!

What is it like to be a home school tutor?
Tutoring is a great challenge, since I have to teach EVERY subject. This is especially challenging because my student is in eleventh grade and is learning things that I don’t remember learning or am not particularly good at (such as chemistry!) and I spend lots of time trying to read ahead so I can learn things before I have to teach them. It is making me wish I had paid more attention when I was in high school, that’s for sure! I also don’t have the best resources for some of the subjects I am teaching, so I have to write exams and make up projects as I go along. Tutoring is very rewarding because I get to spend lots of time with one student and get to teach in creative ways that specifically work for her. It is also really fun because we get to do things like have school by the river (we did this every Wednesday last year) and go on interesting fieldtrips. For our last fieldtrip, we visited a hydroelectric dam and got to go waaaay underground to see how the force of water is used to generate electricity.

I am learning a lot! We are studying US History right now and using a very fun textbook with lots of interesting stories and facts. (Did you know that Teddy Roosevelt’s son used to drop snowballs on the White House staff?) People say that the best way to learn something is to teach, and I think that has been definitely true for me.

Have you seen a lot of wild animals in Africa?
Yes! As a matter of fact, we JUST went on safari last week because one of our friends from America was visiting. We got to see TWELVE lions enjoying a buffalo kill. Paul was driving and he drove VERY close to the lions, which made me a tiny bit nervous with my window down. We also got to see our first leopard a couple of weeks ago when we went to a park in Malawi. We’ve seen buffalo, giraffe, zebras, eland, warthogs (my favorite), elephants… the list goes on and on! It is amazing to get to see animals in the wild because you get to watch the animals interact with one another.

Last year, we saw 15 snakes (cobras, a puff adder, vine snakes, and lots of pythons) in nine months.

My student’s dad is a wildlife conservationist and this past year he and his family rehabilitated an injured falcon and found a new home for a wild pangolin. He also captured four pythons to relocate in the wild. He keeps the pythons in pillowcases to transport them, but often forgets to tell us when there is a python around and I have accidentally stepped on a pillow-cased python many times! (Now the sight of an empty pillowcase makes me a little jumpy.) Besides the hippo, we also have bushbuck, duikers, vervet monkeys, civet cats, genet cats, and mongooses where we live.

I saw on your blog that you have a chameleon. Can you tell me about him?
My student and her sister caught a chameleon last year and named him Leon. He was really fun to watch because we could see him change colors right in front of our eyes. We also loved to catch flies to feed to him-his tongue was LONG and QUICK! Sometimes I would let him perch on my hand while I walked around the house to look for flies. He’d see the fly (his eyes were on either side of his head and could focus two directions at a time) and catch it with his tongue in the blink of an eye. He lived between the glass and screen on one of the windows, hiding amongst the branches and leaves the girls stuck in there for him. We eventually let him go to rejoin his family in the wild, but he was a great pet while we had him!

Where are you from originally?
I was born in the Philippines, but moved to Taiwan (see if you can find it on a map!) when I had just turned three. My dad is Chinese and my mom is Filipino. I moved to New York for college when I was 18. When people ask where I am from (and don’t include the word “originally”), my answer depends on what I think the person wants to know. For example, when I visited other states during college, I knew that most people just wanted to know what state I lived in. When people here ask me, they want to know whether I am a visiting tourist or a resident in the country. When people ask me in Asia, they want to know if I’m a local.

People in Asia often mistake me for a local regardless of what country I am in because I have a mix of Filipino and Chinese features. (And once, someone in America mistook me for a Native American.) I consider all the countries I’ve mentioned “home.”

Do you miss your friends and family from home?
I miss my friends and family very much, although I definitely believe that all the moving and traveling I’ve done has simply enlarged my “family.” I have also realized how small this world really is! In the year and a half we’ve been in Tanzania, lots of our friends have come to visit and both our immediate families will be coming this year, too! The only sad thing about having so many friends around the world is that no matter where you live, there are always friends and family to miss.
What are you afraid of?

I am embarrassed to admit this but I have very, very irrational fears. I am terrified of rodents of all kinds (it doesn’t help that mice have decided to invade our house!), even though I am not afraid of snakes or spiders, both of which can be much more dangerous.

My strangest fear that only my good friends know about is my fear of giants and giant things. On the side of the road to the airport in Manila, there used to be giant models of spice bottles and soy sauce bottles (like 3D billboards). We would always head to the airport at dawn, when the light was eerie, and I would get this paranoia that a giant was going to come find his soy sauce bottle. Then I had dreams about giants trying to get me. So, to this day, whenever I see a billboard of a big face or a model of a giant anything, I get the creeps and try to hide.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?
When I was in college, I ran the PowerPoint projector for chapels and assemblies. During the Lenten season, a group of students arranged some very somber, very serious religious services and asked me to do PowerPoint. The PowerPoint program on my computer allowed me to switch between multiple “screens” and thus do things on my computer without having it projected. Or so I thought. During the beginning of one of these services, I got an e-mail from my boyfriend (now my husband) and sneakily started to read it while the service was starting. While reading, I accidentally hit a button that caused the e-mail to disappear. Confused, I stared at my computer and hit random buttons for a good thirty seconds before looking up and realizing that the very private e-mail was being projected OVER TWENTY FEET TALL, on the screen for every one to see. I didn’t look anyone in the eye for the rest of the evening.

What is the most frightening thing that has ever happened to you?
When I was in fifth grade, I was riding my bike home from my friend’s house and suddenly realized that someone was following me. I started getting scared when he followed me off the main road, towards my house. The teenage boy rode up next to me, pulled out a BB gun, and started shooting at me. Even though it was just a BB gun, it really HURT because he was shooting at such close range. He rode away, and instead of continuing home (which is what I should’ve done), I turned around to head towards a more brightly lit road. Soon I looked back and saw that the guy had started following me again and was getting closer and closer. This is when I stopped crying enough to start screaming bloody murder and the screaming finally scared him away. I frantically rode towards a payphone, where a nice lady gave me change to call my dad. Later, I found out that the same thing had happened to another little girl in my neighborhood. I stopped riding my bike in the dark for a few years after that experience.

What is the worst thing you ever did as a kid?
I used to save up my farts so I could fart on my brother. But don’t worry-he always got me back!

What is the funniest word you have ever heard?
Ouagadougou (capital of Burkina Faso)

What is the most disturbing thing you have ever seen?
My little brother’s uni-brow.

No, just kidding. When I was a sophomore in high school, we had a giant earthquake in Taiwan. I had to hide under my desk and things were falling off shelves and the windows were shaking. Our neighborhood was relatively unaffected, but my dad took me to the earthquake epicenter a couple of weeks later. Apartment buildings twenty floors and higher looked like crushed tin cans. Other rows of buildings had fallen over each other like dominos. We could smell formaldehyde as we walked down the street. The most disturbing part, though, was what we saw when we peered into the remains of the first and second floors of brand new apartment buildings that were destroyed: the main concrete support columns were filled with garbage-soda bottles, old plastic containers, etc. It turns out that the contractors and architects of these brand new buildings had dishonestly scrimped on building supplies and used rubbish to fill in the supports! The movement of the earthquake stripped the outside of the supports and revealed the garbage for all to see. Later, I found out that these crooked architects and contractors had to flee the country for their lives because so many people who lost family members due to the collapse of the buildings were after them. I couldn’t believe that the builders’ greediness caused so many lives to be lost. It was a sobering example of the truism “beware your sins will find you out.”

If you are a vegetarian, please don’t answer this…otherwise…what is your favorite type of meat?
I love barbecue ribs! But I also love fresh crabmeat. And lobster meat. And… (Once, I decided to become a vegetarian, but the next day was Thanksgiving. I haven’t tried again since, although we mostly eat vegetarian here because we don’t have a refrigerator or freezer!)

This is my interview with Rosa. She has a blog where she reviews candy. I think maybe I should change this blog to a candy review blog! Thanks for letting me interview you, Rosa.

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Where do you live? What is it like where you live?

Right now I live in a dorm room in Calhoun College in New Haven, Connecticut. I think my residential college is gorgeous. Our dining hall has stained glass windows, and the gates to my college lie under stone archways. You can see for yourself here: http://alumni.yale.edu/classes/yc1959/classprojects/calhouncollege.html

We used to have a big tree and a tire swing in the middle of the courtyard, but the tree was too sick, so they had to uproot it and take it away. My friends and I miss it.

I like the city of New Haven too, though it is a different, much more urban environment than my home in Austin, Texas. I love that there are several great restaurants within walking distance of campus. Since I’ve been here, I’ve gotten to try foods from countries all over the world, including Ethiopia, Greece, Japan, Spain, Thailand, and India.

I know that you review candy. What is it like reviewing candy?

Reviewing candy is awesome! I have an excuse to eat and buy lots of candy. Whenever I go to a grocery store or convenience store, I always slowly browse the candy aisles looking for new things that I want to try. My friends have started giving me candy as gifts, and I sometimes get free candy from companies that want me to write about their sweets on my website.

What is your favorite type of candy?

I’m a terribly indecisive person, so I can’t pick just one favorite. I really like Take 5s, 100 Grands, and SweeTarts, and since I’ve started reviewing candy, I’ve discovered the deliciousness of dark chocolate-covered honeycomb. I can easily tell you my least favorite candy: licorice. I can’t stand the stuff. Blech.

Do you ever get sick from reviewing candy all day?

I don’t actually review candy all day - that would be bad for my health and my teeth - but I do eat a lot of candy. There have been days when I eat too much chocolate and feel gross for a while, but usually I’m pretty good about eating candy in moderation. In fact, I rarely finish the candy that I review. I eat enough to get a taste and share the rest with my friends. I also try to eat healthy meals (lots of raw fruits and vegetables) and get enough exercise, so I think I’m healthy enough.

Do you ever review cookies…or just candy?

I’ve reviewed cookies once before: http://zomgcandy.com/2007/08/04/swedish-cookies-from-ikea/ , but that was when I was first starting up my candy blog. Now I’m better about focusing on just candy. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy eating and baking cookies though! Ginger snaps are my favorite.

What is your favorite food that is not candy?

That’s a tough one because I love all kinds of food. When I’m not eating candy, I eat lots of fruit, so I think I’ll let fruit be my answer. Or rather, fruit salad, so I don’t have to choose a specific fruit. I also have never been able to refuse a good slice of cheesecake, especially if it’s pumpkin cheesecake. Mmm…

I know that you are a college student. What is like being in college?

Being in college is great, and I know I’ll look back on my time as a college student as one of the best times of my life. I’m at this nice point in life where I’m not yet an adult with tons and tons of responsibilities, but I’m old enough to take care of myself and live without my parents telling me what to do all the time. Still, college requires a lot of hard work, and it’s sometimes hard to balance having fun with learning and getting good grades.

What are you studying?

I’m a psychology major with a focus in neuroscience. Psychology is an extremely broad field. I’ve taken classes in biology, philosophy, music, medicine, economics, computer programming, and anthropology that have all counted towards my major, which I think is pretty cool.

I know that you also work with disabled kids. What is that like?

Working with kids with disabilities has been one of the greatest experiences of my life, and it’s something I’d like to make a career out of. Sometimes it’s frustrating, and it’s not always glamorous, but I find it incredibly rewarding. I have tons of funny stories and wonderful memories from working at a summer camp for children with disabilities. I once knew a girl with severe autism who didn’t talk or show much emotion - until one night when we had a cabin sleepover and watched Aladdin. When the first song came on, she broke into a huge grin, gave me a big bear hug, grabbed my hands, and danced and spun around the room with me. To see her that happy made me happy too.

If you could be any animal, which animal would you choose?

I would want to be a llama. They are my favorite animal because they’re soft, have huge eyelashes, and are a little funny looking. I have several stuffed llamas, llama earrings, a llama painting, a llama mousepad, llama finger puppets, and a llama calendar. Even my screensaver is a slideshow of pictures of llamas. You might call me a little llama obsessed.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?

I don’t know if you’re old enough to sympathize with me on this one, but… let’s just say that I may have behaved in embarrassing ways in front of certain boys I had crushes on. Those are the moments I’d rather forget about.

What is your favorite room in your house?

I don’t live in a house right now, so I’ll tell you about my favorite place on campus instead: Sterling Memorial Library. It’s the main library on campus, and it was designed to look like a church, so it’s all gothic arches and stone carvings. Whenever I walk in, I feel like I’ve accidentally stepped into a Harry Potter book or something. The counter where you go to check out books looks like the altar of a church, and the stained glass window pictures are scenes from famous books, like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn floating down the Mississippi River.

Here’s a picture of the outside: http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/a/aa/220px-Yale_Sterling_Memorial_Library.JPG

And the inside: http://www.libraryspaceplanning.com/assets/images/home/sterling-library2.gif

What is the most disturbing thing you have ever seen?

I’m in the marching band at school, and we’ve done some pretty weird things, like setting our sousaphones (the instruments, not the players) on fire. Last year, all of the trumpets got matching kilts: http://research.yale.edu/yaleband/ypmb/gallery/06-07/Harvard2/slides/DSCN6357.JPG Traditionally, you’re not supposed to wear underwear under kilts, and the trumpets claimed that they were following tradition. I think they were lying, but thankfully I never found out either way.

The Issue:

As long as kids have had rooms, a battle has been raging. Parents versus kids. Parents want kids’ rooms to be clean (or at least not a health hazard). Kids want the right to keep their space how they want it (to wallow in their own filth). Will a peace treaty ever be reached? We’re looking for your thoughts and opinions? What are the rules at your house? Please take take to a minute to weigh in, because your vote counts. On Wednesday, the votes will be counted. If more people voted that kids should be able to have their own space, then Matthew does not have to clean up his room. If more people vote that messy rooms are not acceptable, then Matthew has his work cut out for him. A mess like that could take hours (if not days) to undo.

Voting is not to be taken lightly. It is important to do your research. Read Matthew’s viewpoint (his first attempt at a persuasive essay, making it a cleverly disguised homeschool assignment) below. View the room in question. Read Mom’s viewpoint. Leave your vote in the comment of either blog. You do not have to leave your comment on the blog of the person you agree with. You may comment anywhere. Don’t forget to ask your kids, lest the outcome be tainted by an adult only vote. Vote away!

The Room in Question:

Can you spot Matthew in this room? He’s in there…….

Find him yet?

Matthew’s Side:

Making kids clean their rooms is downright unfair. Cleaning rooms is so hard. Kids should have the right to have their own space to do what they want. Even though it’s in an adult’s house, kids should be able to share a piece of the house. Kids would be happier if they didn’t have to clean their room. It does not hurt anything to have a messy room.

Cleaning rooms is hard because it is always too messy to get things to the place that they go. Cleaning is hard because it takes too much time. Time could better spent doing hobbies or playing with other people.

Kids should be able to have their own space to go to when they are bothered. Kids should have a right to keep that space how they want it, because it is their space. Kids need to feel like they have something that belongs to them.

Parents like to see kids happy. Kids aren’t happy when they have to clean their rooms.

A kid leaving their things out all over the house is hurting something, but leaving the mess in their room, is not.

In conclusion, most kids think that being made to clean their room is unfair.

Go to Mom’s side.

Update: There is a message from Mr. Olander, a Senior Monstrologist, and creator of A Field Guide to Monsters in the comments! 

The very sweet Marylin Mark, from Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books, sent Matthew a book to check out. Here is his book report/review……

I am reviewing the book A Field Guide to Monsters by Johan Olander. Do you like being frightened? If not, then this is not the book for you. There are a bunch of scary, disgusting, and some downright vicious monsters, like the Toe Eater, in this field guide. The book tells you about all different kinds of monsters you may find anywhere. Each page shows you a picture of a monster, its habits, its diet, its distinguishing features, its life cycle, and safety measures for avoiding that monster.

I think this book is cool because it has all of my favorite monsters. The corner cat was one of my favorites because I like cats. This cat, however, is dangerous to humans. It hides in dark corners and waits for a chance to attack. Another cool monster is called the Patootie. Don’t be fooled by its good looks. When you are not looking, the Patootie will eat your stuffed animals.

I also like the book because all of the pictures look like they were hand drawn right into the book. Some of the pages look like they have been ripped or spilled on, or the corner is folded. The author’s picture looks like it has been taped on with real tape, but it’s not really real tape. If you happen to see one of these monsters, it would be good to have this book handy because you will know what it likes to do or eat, or if it is dangerous to humans.

Maybe Mrs. Mark and Mr. Olander will read and review my book when it is done!

This is my interview with Seth from Whiskey Before Breakfast. Read his interview to learn what a velodrome is. Thanks for letting me interview you, Seth!

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Where do you live? What is it like where you live?
I live in East Point, GA, which is a small town outside of Atlanta.
Really, we’re still part of the city, it’s only 7 miles to downtown
Atlanta and we’re on the rail line, but we have our own police, fire,
water, mayor, and city council. Its sort of neat to live in a small
city of 32,000 or so that is on the border of the largest city in the
southeast.
East Point has a velodrome, which is bicycle racing track. Its the
only outdoor velodrome in the United States with a tree growing in the
infield. That’s one thing about this area, there are these huge oak
trees everywhere, all through the metro area and out to the mountains.
Whole neighborhoods just disappear under the canopy of this forest
that grows through the city. It’s a very beautiful city in that
respect, especially in the fall!

What is it like being a dad?
I love being a dad, even though it can be a little overwhelming at
times. Little babies are totally dependent. Everything the Highlander
needs has to be provided by someone else, usually his mother or me.
And it’s hard to know whether I am doing a good job because he can’t
really tell me. But it feels very normal to take care of him, very
natural, very much like the single most important thing I’m ever going
to do in my entire life.

And while there are these normal feelings of a sort of devoted love
and mild panic, at the same time there is a sense of wonder because
from day to day, I have no idea what he is going to do, or be, or be
like, or like. Every day is an experiment and a revelation.

Being a dad is totally airwolf. It is the most intense experience I’ve
ever had.

What is it like being a graduate student? What is a graduate
student?
A graduate student is a student who has graduated from college and
then gone back for an advanced degree. If you want to be a scientist
or an engineer or a teacher, you probably are going to have to go to
graduate school after 4 years of undergraduate school after 4 years of
high school.

Graduate classes are different from undergraduate. There is a lot more
learning on your own, a lot of presenting your work to other students,
a lot of writing. Its fun when the ideas are exciting and boring when
they aren’t.

What are you studying?
I study computer science. I’m trying to figure out efficient ways that
a lot of computers can send a lot of information to each other
wirelessly. This is a lot more interesting than it sounds.

I know that you are an atheist. What does an atheist believe?
Probably mostly the same things that you believe! To be an atheist
just means to be “without god.” So an atheist is just somebody who
does not believe in at least one thing that you might believe in. But
for the most part, atheists believe the same things that everyone else
does. Most religious people believe that it is wrong to hurt, kill,
lie to or steal from other people, and so do most atheists. I value
freedom, family, and personal responsibility, which are things that
most religious Americans value. Atheists and religious people can have
a lot in common when they aren’t talking about religion.

If a stranger came up to you and started making amazing claims, you
might wonder how they know that what they are saying is true. Most
religious people, on most topics, think that this is a healthy
attitude to take because sometimes people believe things that just
aren’t true. And that is another common belief between most atheists
and most people of faith, a belief that a certain amount of skepticism
is sensible.

Atheists treat religious claims with more skepticism than other people
do. We want to see more evidence that these claims are true.

What color socks do you wear?
Usually grey. Grey goes with everything. I don’t think about color as
much as I think about the type of socks I’m wearing. I’m very foot
conscious, I don’t like wearing shoes at all. So I tend to like really
comfortable socks, either dress socks or riding socks. My favorite
socks have a right foot and a left foot. Those are some comfortable
socks!

What kind of music do you like?
I like bands that have the ability to improvise live, or that make a
lot of very powerful and ear threatening noise. The Mermen are one of
my favorite bands in the world because they improvise and make a lot
of noise at the same time.

I also like Modest Mouse, older punk rock bands like the Pixies, and
jam bands like Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.

What is your favorite type of flower? Why?
My grandmother paints watercolors of magnolias, jasmine, wild roses,
and other flowers. She has been a professional painter for over half a
century and she is still very good. I think that her painted flowers
are my favorite type of flower.

My favorite species of flower (from a long way away) is the stinking
corpse lily, which is 3 feet wide and smells like rotten meat! I
wouldn’t want to keep one in the house, but it is a very unusual and
interesting flower.

Do you ever play video games? If you do, what is your favorite?
Not often. A friend of mine has a Wii and I love playing Wii golf!

What is your favorite place just to go and enjoy life?
I don’t really have one. I like being with my friends a lot, or with
my son, regardless of where we are. And I like doing fun things, like
riding motorcycles, anywhere I can.

What happens to you when you eat sugar? A lot of sugar?
First I get very energetic and enthusiastic. Then I start to feel
sick. Then I get this really terrible headache and my stomach gets
even worse. Then I start getting really depressed and tired.

What do you like to do in your free time?
I love riding bikes and motorcycles, watching movies or reading. The
last DVD I watched is called “Long Way ‘Round”, a documentary about
two actors that travel around the world on motorcycles. And the last
book I read was a science fiction novel about immortal, time traveling
cyborgs, titled “The Children of the Company”.

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Also, we went on a field trip to the apple orchard. You can see pictures and stuff here.

This is my interview with Blythe. She has the same favorite color as my mom. Read her interview and see how she got her name. Thanks Blythe!

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What is it like where you live? Do you like it?
I am American, but I live in southern Germany, in a suburb of Nuernberg. In some ways, it’s just like living in a suburb in the USA. Lots of families live here, and there are nice parks and schools and a few shopping malls and a swimming pool in our town. It’s different from the USA, though, too. Most people live in smaller houses or apartments, and the buildings are very old. In fact, my town is celebrating its 1,000th anniversary this year! That length of time is hard for me to even imagine, considering the United States is not even 1/3 as old as that. Of course there are many Germans that live in my town, but we also have a lot of Turkish neighbors too.

I love living in Europe because I am surrounded by different languages and cultures, and it is easy for us to drive or take the train to visit other countries. Our family has traveled to nine different countries (France, Switzerland, Austria, Holland, England, Scotland, Italy, Spain, Czech Republic) in the two years that we’ve lived here, and we hope to see even more. The most difficult parts about living here are being far away from our friends and family, and trying to learn German. I speak some German, but I am still not able to have a meaningful conversation all in German. Sometimes I feel lonely because it is hard to communicate with the people around me.

I know you have a son.What is it like being a mom?
I like to solve problems, and being a mom means having a new problem to solve every day. Sometimes I get a new challenge every five minutes! Today, I’ve already tried to figure out how to get him back to sleep at 5:00am, why he is scratching his neck all the time, and how to make him happy while I eat my lunch. Before I had a baby, I knew I would have to solve problems all day and I worried that it would be too hard for me, and too frustrating. But even though it is difficult and frustrating sometimes, I enjoy it much more than I thought I would, because I love my son and want help him grow. Also, he makes funny faces and noises that make me laugh. He is only nine months old right now, and I can’t wait until we can talk to each other.

What do you like to do in your free time?
I love to read. Recently I’ve read a bunch of books about chefs and food and working in restaurants. I like to cook and I especially love to eat! I like to dance; I studied ballet for many years but now I just dance around my living room.

I’ve never heard your name before. How did you get your name?
My mother was born in a town called Blythe, in California. It is not a very big city but sometimes I see it on the Weather Channel because it’s often the hottest place in the USA.

What are you afraid of?
Drowning, and moths.

What is your favorite fruit? Why?
I love Clementine oranges that appear at Christmastime. They are sweet and easy to peel and fit right in the palm of my hand.

If you could be any animal, what animal would you be? Why?
I’d like to be a turtle. They eat salad and enjoy lying in the sun and they are good swimmers (so I wouldn’t have to fear drowning) and they can just go home and take a nap at any moment, since they carry their houses with them.

What is the best joke you have ever heard?
If you were to ask me what I’m worst at, I would tell you I’m terrible at remembering and telling jokes. So, sadly, I can’t even remember a great joke to tell you. I do love funny movies, though, and I laughed really hard at “Weekend at Bernie’s,” and at the end of “Little Miss Sunshine.”

What makes you laugh?
My husband’s crazy dancing, my baby when he gets excited and wiggly, and sentences that use words in clever ways.

What is your favorite color? Why?
Brown, because it reminds me of fall and chocolate.

What type of clock do you like better? Analog or digital?
I like analog clocks. Learning to tell time on an analog clock was such an accomplishment, I feel like I should put that skill to good use.

This is my interview with Sarah. She homeschools too. Thanks for the interview, Sarah!

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Where do you live?
I live in Massachusetts. We moved here 14 months ago from Oklahoma, so we have been going through a little bit of culture shock, but we are thoroughly enjoying our time here. We were warned that New England folk could be abrupt and rude, but we have found the opposite to be true. We have not yet (Praise God!) had any negative encounters with the good people in our area.

What is it like where you live?
Massachusetts is beautiful and exactly how I always pictured New England. The streets are lined with gorgeous trees that branch out over the roads. All along the roads are quaint rock walls. Everywhere we look, there is green. And the seasons in Massachusetts are wonderful: fall is so beautiful with bright colors and falling leaves everywhere; winter brings snow that is perfect for sledding; spring is full of flowers and interesting critters; and summer is warm without being stifling.

You homeschool too. Do you like it? Why did you decide to homeschool?
I do like it. I believe this is definitely the best choice for my family, even though the choice was not easy to make. I agonized over whether I felt I could homeschool my kids and whether they would be better off at home or in public schools. After reading every book on homeschooling that I could find in the library, and a few that I bought, I realized that this was a decision I felt very strongly about.

I am homeschooling for many reasons, too many to outline here. But a few of the big ones are:

1) I want to know what my kids are learning and I want to explore the world with them.

2) I want my kids to have a strong knowledge and understanding of the world around them and I want them to be strong-minded, informed citizens. I want them to firmly understand how history has shaped our world today and how our decisions are going to affect the world 10, 20, 50 and 100 years from now. Unfortunately, I don’t feel that is a goal of public schools anymore.

3) I want my children to be able to learn at their own pace, not at the pace of a classroom full of kids. If something isn’t working, I want to be able to stop and find something better.

4) I want to be sure that they are retaining information and not just learning it long enough to get the grade (which is what I was able to do throughout my entire education - including college).

5) I want the time that my kids are being educated to be productive time. I feel that too much time in public schools is spent lining the kids up, walking to and from classrooms, waiting for everyone to finish the assigned task, cleaning up, etc. By homeschooling, we are able to fit more individualized learning into the day.

6) I like being able to schedule school around life. If there is an interesting festival or museum exhibit or what-have-you, we don’t have to wait until the kids get home from school. We can take a fieldtrip and make up the missed lessons later that day or over the weekend.

What is your favorite color? Why?
Yellow. It is cheerful…sunny…warm. And it’s a color that you often see in flowers, which I love: daffodils, sunflowers, daisies, pansies, etc.

What else do you like to do in your free time?
Free time? Could you define that for me? Just kidding. J

I love scrapbooking, crocheting and knitting, although I have been setting those hobbies aside for the past year to focus on other things. Since we moved to Massachusetts, my kids, my sweetie (husband) and I have spent most of our time exploring New England. We love to take daytrips on the weekends and go camping or sightseeing. I also love socializing/entertaining friends. We live on the campus at seminary, so other wives/moms and I will go have coffee together, or my sweetie and I will get together with friends to play board games in the evenings.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
My future ambitions changed quite frequently when I was little, but I think that the majority of the time I wanted to be a Rodeo Princess…until I reached high school, then I wanted to be a supreme court justice. I was quite ambitious in my younger years! J

What do you think about when you are going to sleep at night?
Many, many random thoughts. My day tends to fly by quicker than I can process, so when I lay down at night, that is my time to process the day and converse with God about what went well and what didn’t. I also start thinking about what I want to accomplish the next day. I have to be careful, though, or my thoughts will start swirling so fast I’ll find myself back out of bed and making to-do lists. J

Do you have any pets? What is your favorite kind of pet?
Unfortunately, no. We are not allowed to have any pets while we are living on campus, much to the disappointment of my son, who desperately wants to have a dog. I, on the other hand, am a cat person. I can handle dogs, but cats fit my personality better.

I am a night person. Are you a night person or a morning person?
Definitely a night person, although I am attempting to become more disciplined about waking up in the morning. It is very easy for me to lose track of time and stay up way too late, but I find that my day goes much better if I am able to wake up a couple hours before my kids so that I can spend some time with God and exercise/shower in the quiet of the morning.

Do you like books? What do you like to read?
I LOVE BOOKS! I was definitely a bookworm as a child, and, as an adult, continue to love reading a variety of genres. When I am tired or overwhelmed, I like a good fluff book, such as books by Jeanette Oke or Jan Karon - easy to read with sweet story lines. Otherwise, I enjoy books that make me think — biographies, classics, books on politics or current social events, etc. Currently, I am reading In A Far Country, The True Story of a Mission, a Marriage, a Murder, and the Remarkable Reindeer Rescue of 1898, by John Taliaferro. It is the true story of John and Ellen Lopp, missionaries to Alaska in the late 1800’s. Very interesting!

This is my interview with Marlena. She likes to knit. A lot. Thanks for the interview, Marlena!

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Where do you live? What is it like where you live?
I live in Southern Maine. It’s beautiful where I live, people flock here in the summer to visit because of our beaches, lighthouses, and lobster. Personally, I prefer winter. It doesn’t snow like it did when I was a kid, but we still get a few good snow storms, and I think snow is so beautiful. I don’t even mind driving in it! Plus winter means lots of knitted stuff!

I know you love to knit. What is it like to knit? Why do you like it?
Once you get used to knitting, it’s very relaxing most of the time. At first I got frustrated because it took so long for me to knit one row, and if I made a mistake it meant a lot of work. Now I knit faster, so mistakes don’t bother me so much. I like it because I can do it while I do other things like watch a movie or read. It’s hard for me to do just one thing at a time, and knitting keeps my hands busy. Plus, I get cool sweaters and socks!

What is your favorite type of yarn?
I love cashmere! It’s very soft, like a kitten. I have one cashmere sweater that I knit, and I loved knitting it so much, I’m thinking about ripping it out so I can reknit it into something else. (Cashmere is expensive!)

You just did a fundraiser for a Memory Walk. Can you tell me more about that?
The Memory Walk is an event put on by the Alzheimer’s Association, and I’ve done five walks so far. This year was my most successful walk, mostly due to a yarn sale that I put on at my favorite yarn store. Non-knitters don’t really understand, but yarn is big business! The walk itself is fun. The site I walk from is one of the biggest, and there are tons of people there, and many of them are walking in honor of or in memory of someone with Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s Disease is a hard disease for everyone involved. People who have it forget things, and eventually they can forget family and friends. No one in my family has the disease, but I work in an assisted living facility so I know a lot of people who have it. The important thing to remember about someone with Alzheimer’s is that they can still feel happy and loved, even if they don’t recognize who you are, they’re still so happy to have company.

Do you have any pets?
I do! I have seven rats (two of them are foster rats, though), and two rabbits. The rats’ names are Eunice Ann (she’s an old lady at 2), Betsy June, Laverne, Shirley, Moose, Tina and Pearl. The rabbits are Mrs. Cooper and Baxter Brown. Rats are pretty easy pets to take care of, though they need lots of attention in order to be friendly and social. Rabbits are harder to take care of, they need more care and attention. One of our rabbits, Mrs. Cooper, is a Flemish Giant and 14 pounds! She’s too big for a cage and ornery, but we love her sassy attitude!

Do you have any tattoos? Of what?
I have five tattoos. I have a fairy on my back that I got as soon as I turned 18, a pixie on my left bicep, a daisy on my right shoulder, a frog on my right lower back, and a ladybug on my foot. The ladybug hurt the most, even though it’s small.

What is the funniest word you have ever heard?
I’m going to be completely honest here, even though it’s embarassing… the word “pee” never fails to make me laugh. I’m not sure why.

What is your favorite color? Why?
I thought that my favorite color was blue, but I’ve been buying a lot of green yarn lately, so I think that green might be edging out blue. I think that both of them remind me of sunny days, when I looks at those colors, I just feel happy and good inside.

What makes you laugh?
Everything! Seriously, sometimes I make myself laugh just imagining something. I’m also a sucker for slapstick. Physical comedy makes me laugh so hard, my belly starts to hurt. I love to laugh!

What is the most frightening thing that has ever happened to you?
When I was a little girl, only 5, my younger brother and I were staying at my grandmother’s house for the weekend, and she died. I remember being so afraid, though thankfully I knew to call the operator for help (this was before 911!). Of course, now I know that I had nothing to be afraid of, but back then I was terrified, and I’ve never been that scared since.

What is your favorite type of mammal?
That’s such a hard question. I love mammals! Lemurs are very, very cute though. They might be my favorite.

What is your favorite number in Roman numerals?
MLC, it’s my initials!

Do you have a favorite number (not in Roman Numerals)?
I like the number 3 in all of its forms, and also the number 13.

What do you think about when you are going to sleep at night?
I usually think about knitting, wishing I had more time for it, and thinking about projects I want to make.

This is my interview with Tosha. Wait until you see what kind of vehicle she would like to be. Oh, and at her blog there are pirates. Arrrrrr. Thanks, Tosha.

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Where do you live? What is it like where you live?
Cambridge,England is well known as being a college town. It has 31 in total which means there is a large student population. In the summer loads of tourists, residents, and students gather around the River Cam and float along on open, flat bottomed boats called punts. In the winter everyone stays indoors and snuggles under electric duvets because it can get horribly cold. Ok, it’s probably only me that does that. I hibernate.

I live in an area of Cambridgeshire called The Fens. It’s pretty flat and there is a lot of agricultural land. It’s not unusual for me to hear my neighbor’s cows mooing or see a fox chasing rabbits in the fields. It’s also commonplace for people around here to ride their horses on the roads!

How many kids do you have?
I have a 2 3/4 year old son named Indigo J who was born on New Year’s Day. I also have a gorgeous daughter, Kalila Boo, who is sixteen months old. I have two cats, Moko and Bam, who think they are my children as well.

What is it like being a mom?
Wow, that is a hard question to answer but I will try. It’s magic, wonderful, thrilling, and exciting, with the odd bout of worry and frustration. It can also get very very messy and be very very tiring. I’ve been painted on, vomited on, cried on, and you can guess what else has leaked out of diapers and noses onto me! Yes, it can be a little gross at times but the laughter and cuddles makes up for any mess. I think everyone who reads this should hug or call their mom right now if they can. Being a mom rocks.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?
Well, I can say that it involved wind escaping from my bottom around someone that should not have heard that wind escaping. Let us never mention it again.

What was the worst thing you ever did as a kid?
It’s probably not the worst thing I ever did but it’s one that sticks out in my mind. I have a cousin who is the same age as me and we grew up practically as brother and sister. One day when I was about six he came over to our house and we found my dad’s huge industrial size tape measure. We wanted to see how far it would measure so we pulled and pulled and pulled. About 25 feet came out and refused to go back in. We panicked and left it all crumpled into a pile and ran outside to find something else to play with. It was eventually found by my dad but I don’t think we got into trouble. He saw the funny side.

What is the worst thing your kids have ever done?
How much space have you got on your webpage? Are you ready? Jumped on my laptop and broke it. Colored on the walls. Emptied out an entire box of cereal on the carpet. Hid my keys in the bottom of a plant pot. Put some dvds and cds down a crack in the floor. Drew a moustache on themselves in mascara. Squeezed all the shampoo out into the bath.

They like to keep me on my toes!

If you could be any animal, which animal would you choose?
I could only be a cat. They get to sleep up to twenty hours a day and they have the amazing ability of being able to purr. They can see well in the dark and have some pretty peculiar pupils. There is also the well known rumor of cat’s having nine lives. Being a cat would be groovy.

Do you have any pets?
I am a definite cat lover. Bam is a four year old British Blue. He purrs constantly and knocks things over, hence the name, Bam. Moko is a four year old Bengal. Bengal cats are a hybrid breed and she looks a bit like a mini leopard.

If you were a car, what kind of car would you be? Any vehicle, actually.
I think it would be a little lonely being a car so I’d opt to be one of those special clown cars you see in the circus. I’d be able to cram about thirty seven clowns inside and I’d be bright purple with pink and lime green spots.

What happens to you when you eat sugar? A lot of sugar?
Well, I am one of those weird people that doesn’t get hyper or energetic when I eat sugar. I can eat sugar until my teeth fall out and nothing happens. Well almost nothing. Now that I’m older, when I eat sugar, lots of sugar, I gain weight. Lots of weight! I wish I had the metabolism of someone your age. Sometimes, and only sometimes this can happen…..

If you are a vegetarian, please don’t answer this..otherwise..what is your favorite type of meat?
I’ve only had it once but I loved deep fried turkey. You get a big steel bucket full of peanut oil and heat it using propane gas until it reaches 325 degrees. You lower the turkey in and it cooks in a fraction of the time it normally takes in an oven. When it comes out it is so moist, juicy, and delicious that you will never want an oven turkey again. I have to point out that this should only be done under the supervision of adults but everyone needs to try this at least once.

Can you tell me three interesting things about yourself?
I am starting a face painting business.
I have dual citizenship. I am American and British.
I am obsessed with the color Aubergine.

What makes you laugh?
Pretty much anything. I laugh a lot. It’s good for the ab muscles and it keeps you healthy. I especially laugh at the things my children say and the things my husband does. One day my husband used the electric shaver on his sideburns that had grown unruly. After he shaved one side rather short, the shaver ran out of charge. He had to walk around all day with one side of his hair much shorter than the other. It may not sound that funny but believe me it looked funny. It makes me laugh every single time I think about it and it happened over four years ago. Everyone should have a memory that brings instant laughter. And if that fails I just use an apple computer to produce silly photos.