this is almost exactly - i mean it is so very, very close - to what actually happened, it's not even funny!

first, he appeared out of no where and looked all menacing.

then he rounded up his prey and made threats - and i'm not talking veiled threats here. they were saying anything to try to stop the inevitable.

and then he picked them off, in pairs. he said he's always been a fan of the buddy system.

he started with the skunk and the panda - oh, it was gruesome!

next, he took out the chinchilla and the lamb, the poor defenseless creatures.

and, for his last course, he had the pony and the baby seal. yes, he did.

and - if it wasn't enough that we had to witness this - look what he left behind. and who do you think had to clean that mess up?

and then, later that night, he was eyeing us. giving our toes a once over. thinking they might make a good midnight snack.

this little fellow has taken up residence on our residence. he's a tokay gecko, aka the pit bull of the gecko world. sounds charming, doesn't he? thank God he seems content to be outside and hasn't decided to move in with us, because i've done enough reading to know he's not the friendliest when confronted and s8 would be all over confronting him.

you can hear what he sounds like by clicking here, and it is so totally worth the time and effort it will take to go listen. and while you're listening imagine you're in bed trying to fall asleep and every 5 min or so you hear this lovely mating call.

i had this little growth on my upper lip. and because of all the unprotected sun exposure i've had and the basal cell carcinoma i had removed from my left shoulder 10 years ago i was pretty sure it wasn't just nothing. and i was right. it was a squamous cell carcinoma. a small one. and it has now been frozen (ouch, that hurts) off my lip. and here's where i share maybe my biggest - and certainly vainest - fear. that my face will be horribly disfigured by skin cancer. you know, one day there will be something, that in order to get, they will have to dig deep and go wide. and the scarring will be bad. so the doctor and i discussed how to get this thing off my lip and she listed all the options, freeze it (least invasive), scoop it, cut it (most invasive). and i was more than willing to just have it cut off. it's small, it would leave a very small scar and i wouldn't have to fear that it isn't completely gone (a little bitty scar doesn't worry me, it's the what if we missed part of it and we made it mad by poking at it so it's gonna go hay wire and get all aggressive that has me worried). but we opted for freezing it (because it is so small) and keeping an eye on it.

this morning i go back to have a basal cell carcinoma, not as small, removed from my right shoulder. after it is removed and i get some stitches they will send it to the lab to check the margins and be sure they got it all.

so where am i going with all of this? just a friendly reminder to wear sunscreen and a hat. and, also, i guess i'm going to have to say it, "you were right, dad" he was always asking, telling, nagging, harping at (you get the idea) me to wear sunscreen and a hat, but because i was a teenager and immortal and oh so much smarter than him, i didn't. and dad, fyi, this isn't a good time to say, "i told you so."

one of the great things about living in thailand is all the rare and exotic tropical fruit. it's everywhere. mangos, mangosteen, papaya, guava, longkong, pomelo, litchi, pineapple, coconut, durian, jack fruit, marian plum, etc... lately, we've taken a liking to the rambutan. it took us a bit to get past it's fraggle rock appearance. cuz normally, food + hair = bad thing. but this one is quite tasty.

yep, inside that hairy exterior is this smooth, almost grape like, tasty piece of goodness.

here's what's left after you devour the fruit.

those of you who know me know i'm not a play with your food kind of mom, but this one, well, who could help it.

looks like a nasty road rash, doesn't it?

and for anyone who might be wondering... we've eaten no durian. it's not in season now. and for that i thank God. cuz that fruit stinks. big time. smells alot like something i could never and would never put in my mouth.

it seems google thinks we're thai. which means any and all things google related - like blogspot - think we're thai. we're not thai. we can't even read thai. which is a problem. because we can't read any of the clickable spots. not even the one that might be the one that we should click to get all things google to produce text in english. i am now reaching out to the smartest person i know - ahem, that would be you - for help. please.

oh, and kind of the same, but not really, msn seems to think i'm spanish. anything msn related comes up in spanish for me. i never should have claimed to be trilingual.

"Ooh!" said Susan, "I'd thought he was a man. Is he--quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."

"That you will, dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver, "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else silly."

"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.

"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

*c.s. lewis' the chronicles of narnia

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i was recently reminded of the above quote at a women's retreat. and have found myself thinking about that last bit - / 'course he isn't safe. but he's good. he's the King, I tell you. / i have often wanted to find a way to describe my God, to find a way to put into words who God is to me, and c.s. lewis has done it.

God is so good that He sacrificed his Son for us. and He has said to us, "for I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (jer. 29:1) see, that's good.

but it's the not being safe part that made me say, "yeah, exactly." because if i think God is safe, i am forgetting that He is in control. that He is the King. that it is His will that will be done. and it is so much more than just who God is. it's also how i should relate to Him and with others for Him. He's going to ask me to take risks, to step out - do things way out of my comfort zone.

i think it's pretty apparent that i don't feel "safe" sharing my faith. because, well, i don't do it. i mean, sure, when i'm around other christians, i'm all over it. i can stand strong. but it's with "not-from-church" friends and "might-gonna-be" friends that i waiver. i want to be liked, and i'm afraid that my faith is something that might cause them to not like me.

to me, this is a prime example of me forgetting that God is not "safe" and that my goal in life should not be to feel "safe". i believe when i respond to Him, it should be because i know He's good - not because He's safe. and because i know "that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose." rom 8:28

even the scary stuff....even the unsafe stuff. i trust in God because i know He's good and because He's in control.

i have no dishwasher. i also have no hot water in the kitchen. and i have a tendency to be, well, a little lazy. meaning, i'm not going to boil water to do the dishes. i just do them in cold. and from what i can tell, that is the norm here. i've managed to convince myself that this is okay. mainly because so far it's worked and, oh, yeah, i'm a little lazy.

but because i'm not 100% convinced that this is the best way to do dishes i've decided to let you guys have the final say. yep, it's a poll. so, go for it, have your say. and don't worry. i won't be too disappointed if i only have one poll answerer. i can always call it a learning experience - now i know how to put a poll on my blog.

but maybe not - while the poll seemed to work in theory, it didn't so much work out for real.

on to plan b - if you guys will all grab a dry erase marker. circle the answer that you feel is correct.

dishes must always be done in hot water or you will die.

it is perfectly fine to do dishes in cold water unless you're a pansy.

now, if you don't mind helping me to tabulate these results, please look closely at the answer you circled and write it down in the comment section. thanks for your most willing participation.

you might want to now go back and wipe the dry erase marker from your screen. and if you find it won't come off, check your marker. if it says permanent, well, it's possible your vote just might not be counted.