Kiva loans

I started loaning money via Kiva about 1 year ago. So far I have lent money to 9 entrepreneurs. As my money gets paid back I recycle it to someone else. So far no one has defaulted which is pretty amazing. I usually pick someone with a good story who is trying to grow their business. It always helps if they have little kids because I of course have a soft spot for them. Today I had a $25 credit from previous loans so I picked Nina Nakyekoledde. I liked the fact that she had a pork joint and a bar in Uganda. -Bill

Nina Nakyekoledde is the leader of the Kisakye group in Rubaga. She has a pork joint that also acts as a bar in the social centre of Mengo. She has sold beer, soda, wine, water, and other drinks for a year now but the pork for a long time.

She is a 28 year old mother of three children, aged between 10 and 4 years old. They are all attending school. She also cares for three sisters, including paying their school fees.

Nina says that her level of cleanliness and good customer care have kept her business moving and enabled her to make more profits. She needs a loan to help buy more stock of drinks for her bar and more pork for sale. She hopes to buy a plot of land for her children and educate them further.

Weekend by the water

Since it was so hot this weekend we stayed as close to water as we could while were were outside. Friday night we got a pizza at Saccones, which is our favorite pizza, and headed to the pool. Saturday morning we went to Costco and can never resist the food court for lunch. After lunch we skipped Emma's nap and went to the pool for a few hours and then went home for dinner. Sunday morning the girls, all 3 of them, woke me up at 7:15 and we got ready to go on the lake. Jessica did some wakeboarding which is getting really good and then tubed for a while with Lauren and then were were off to the cove to swim. Sunday afternoon we went down the street and played with a friends waterslide. Next weekend will be pretty much the same since we have 2 reservations at the boat club. -Bill

Checking to see if it is still hot?

Took a picture Friday after work once my car cooled off from 114 degrees:

Took another yesterday.

Yup it is still hot but we might get some relief today. Should drop to the low 90's. What a nice cold front! -Bill

Please send water

It is very hot here! today we will break temp record for the 4th consecutive day. I think it will 106 but who is counting. The lake is dropping 1 foot per week. Send rain our way!! -Bill

the greatest note

While Jessica was out of town this week on business the girls discovered that Mommy left a note on each of their beds. They were very excited and slept with them for 3 nights. Laurens seriously did not move from where it was on her pillow for 3 days. Emma's was all over the place. -Bill

Happy Father's Day

WE LOVE YOU GRANDPA DENNY AND GRANDPA CLARK!!!

The Weekend Report...on Tuesday

We're usually right on top of posting our weekend activities, but for some reason this weekend got away from us and it's already Tuesday night. So, to end the suspense on how the Clark's spent the weekend, here is the recap.
CliffNotes style: The Boat, Lake Travis
Unabridged Version: Saturday morning we spontaneously decided to go out to breakfast down on South Congress Ave., Mongolia Cafe. It's eclectic Austin, with good coffee and fantastic pancakes. I (Jessica) got the Love Migas, which are eggs, corn tortilla, grilled onions/peppers infused with jalapeno and garlic butter. Black beans and homemade salsa and it's definitely Love on a plate. Bill ordered a traditional breakfast with eggs, homemade fries and toast. The girls got pancakes, sausage and bananas. The girls were more interested in the cups their fresh squeezed orange juice came in. They pretended they were drinking coffee like mom.We spent the rest of the morning at Zilker Park, riding the train and playing on the playground. Every time we ride the train, Woode Wood is hanging out by Town Lake (aka Lady Bird Lake) playing his harmonica and guitar. And each time, he stops playing when he sees Lauren and says "Hi Red"...she laughs every time.In the afternoon we went on the boat. I went wakeboarding for a while, and surprised myself by catching a little air on a few of my jumps. Lauren and I then went tubing together for a little bit, then we went to the back of a cove to anchor up and let the kids swim around while we floated in the water with them.
On Sunday morning, we were back on the boat with our neighbors and two of their kids. We went tubing again and anchored again to relax. We came back home and we were all beat. I passed out on the couch for a couple hours while the kids played Polly Pockets with Bill.
All in all, very nice weekend. We love the boat club.

My Corporate Blog Post

I had to write a blog post regarding a project I have been working on for the last 3 months. I don't want to link to the post but you can find it at www.the" "blog.com substitute the " " with the company I work for and you will find it. And you can see a great picture of me as well. Happy reading. -Bill

Birthdays, the Pool and Boating

Here are some more pictures from our busy weekend.

Saturday morning we went to a friends house for a birthday party.

After nap time we went to the pool and the girls fell asleep on the ride home. That is a first!!

Sunday morning we went to the park. No more church this summer since they moved our time to 11:00. Just doesn't work with our nap schedule... God understands.

Girls Playing inside after the park.

Sunday afternoon we went out on the boat with our friends and met up with Grace and Carter. see a few more pictures here

Another fun weekend that went by too fast.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Pool Time!

Lauren and Emma love the pool. Emma is getting to be quite the fish and is jumping in from the side and swimming with a noodle way before Lauren ever did! I think she wants to be "just like Lauren".

Birthday Highlights

Lauren had a birthday celebration at school Friday afternoon, and that evening we had the neighbors over for dinner and more cake. I made a poster selecting pictures for every year of Lauren's life and we talked about cool things that she did each year in front of her class.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN!!

My Work Featured through Business Wire

I am famous...well, sort of. A package I designed for 3M connectors was just featured in a business wire news release this morning. I've been eagerly anticipating this news release, as well as the release of the package design. It was a vast improvement from what the product had been packaged in for years.

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/3m/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&ndmConfigId=1000940&newsId=20090604005118&newsLang=en

Before...

And, After...

Move Over Hallmark Cards...

The girls' school had a fundraiser and put Lauren and Emma's art on everyday greeting cards. It was a cool idea so I bought a bunch to give to Grandmas and to keep for myself. I was also very proud because Emma's art made the school catalog's front page (out of ~200 students).

This is Emma's art...I love the way she made the grass using her fingerprints:

And this is Lauren's art...not an inch of unused paper:

Pictures at school

Emma's teacher sent us a few pictures of Emma in her classroom from this year. -Bill

Busy weekend

We had another action packed weekend. Jessica has more pictures and will post them later.



Friday after work we went to the pool for a couple of hours and brought a pizza for dinner. Emma must have worked up an appetite because she ate 2 1/2 pieces.

Saturday morning we went to the park in the morning and then went out on the boat with some friends in the afternoon. We took out a wakeboard boat and Jessica showed off jumping the wake. After that the kids all went tubing and had a great time. We dropped off our friends after we swam for a few hours and then went to Carlos and Charlies and got some food to go. Lauren decided to take a 30 minute nap in the boat while we waited for the food.

Sunday morning we went to Church in the morning and then hit up Costco for a few bulk items and then Pizza again for lunch. The girls love Costco Pizza. In the afternoon we went to the Pool for a few hours. Lauren is getting very good at swimming and Emma is now jumping into the water all by herself. She even can grab a noodle and swim around by herself. -Bill