Things to talk about

Good grief! We went out last tonight to the grocery store and we could hardly breathe. It's going to be over 100 degrees, with the heat index, here over the next few days, and although the heat is horrible, the smog and pollution hanging over almost the entire state is what makes it completely miserable! It was like trying to breathe water, dirty water. Right now it says that the air quality is relativity good. But they are saying that at the peak times of day the air really isn't fit for anybody to breathe for any length of time. Hmmmm....makes one wonder if it's going to keep getting worse every summer.
On another note. The Duggar family. I know that they feel that God is only giving them as many kids as they can handle and that they seem to have a system that works for them and the brood of kids. But, 17? Just the thought of being pregnant 17 times, going through labor 17 times, going through the newborn stage 17 times. The thought is overwhelming. For me my memories of Katie's days and first moments are really important to me. How well can she remember each individual and keep all of her life's moments straight? I'm glad that they are happy and that this is what they feel is meant for their lives, but 17 kids is not for me. I have to wonder how the kids really feel being part of such a big family, being homeschooled, and being all over television. I guess thinking about it they wouldn't know any different, so they are probably perfectly happy. For me I think anymore than 4-6 kids would be too much. Miguel would tell you that number could be 2 depending on the next one. LOL Some people would say 4 kids is too much. To each their own. If you want to read more on the Duggar family, check it out here.
Here's another cool idea. Which Robin so nicely reminded me of. :) Micro-lending! So people, mostly, in third-world countries only need small amounts of money (well what is small to us) to start a business. And by small I mean anywhere from a couple of hundred bucks to a couple of thousand. But you can lend in small amounts like $20. And they use it mostly to start food markets, clothing stores, fish selling, and other retail stores. The payback rate is amazing. There is very little risk of losing your money and you are helping to advance countries and people that otherwise might not have the opportunity. You can check out Kiva.org here. Here's a little bit about how it works.

Kiva provides a data-rich, transparent lending platform for the poor. We are constantly working to make the system more transparent to show how money flows throughout the entire cycle. The below diagram shows briefly how money gets from you to a third-world borrower, and back!