These are a Few...

Last night The Sound of Music was on TV. It isn't my favorite movie of all time, and can actually be very slow, but when it comes right down to it there is a very good message shinning through. I found myself getting caught up in it, and when Jon came down to watch it with me he fell asleep after five minutes (and it was near the climax). Oh well. So, in honor of the movie a few of my favorite things-cause girls in white dresses isn't cutting it for me.

-Vacations and Three Day Weekends
-Massages that melt the day away
-Candle light and rose petals
-Hearing Jon's laughter
-The smell of rain
-Cuddling up to watch a movie
-Meals I don't have to clean up after
-Watching someone open a gift you put great thought into
-Seeing sunlight stream through clouds
-Those times when you feel God's presence more than usual
-Hearing waves crash on the beach
-Finishing a really good book

Merry Christmas

Jon and I will be staying in town and hanging with my family this holiday. Then Jon's dad and stepmom will be coming out for New Years next week. We are excited to see them since it's been almost two years since the last time we have been able to get together.

I have the "typical" things planned to do my first week: change the oil in both cars, get a haircut, try go get through a book (Twilight is on my list this year), and hopefully relax a bit with a massage and hanging out with friends and family. This two weeks off will undoubtedly go faster than two weeks would while in school.

Grad school will start up for me again the week I go back, but I'll be finished in May with this masters degree. Yea! Jon will be done less than a year from now, too. Woo hoo!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas with their family and friends this year!

A needed break-time for parties!

I finished grad school for the semester last Wednesday, and Jon officially finished with his last final Tuesday. It feels so good. We are so busy sometimes I don't even think we realize it until we get a breather. On a WORK NIGHT we actually went out to Kierland Commons and just strolled around after getting a hot chai tea at Starbucks and looking at the cute, over priced clothes at White House/Black Market and expensive gadgets at Restoration Hardware.

(On a totally side note, if I was independently wealthy I'm pretty sure a good chunk of my wardrobe would come from White House/Black Market. Way cute!).

Tomorrow night is Go Daddy's big company party at Chase Field for Jon's work, and I'm so excited. For one it's formal so I get to dress up like prom and get treated to hors d'oeuvres and free drinks. I also get to walk onto the field, and every employee is leaving with a bag of goodies (think Oscar-we can hope!) They also are having a Grammy award winning band artist, or so the invitation says. All in all, I think it will be fun because Go Daddy parties are always one of a kind.

Speaking of parties, my school party is next week, too. Although it isn't exactly the same caliber as a billion dollar company, it's fun for us teachers. Also, we have a Christmas party with the young couples group at church on Sunday night.

Fun, fun!

No Meetings

This is the first time since I started school that I had no meetings before school, after school, or during lunch all week long! Nothing except teaching!? I had forgotten how it felt to have extra time.

Now I can:
1. Try to upgrade my dancing "skills" on DDR
2. Spend researching Christmas gifts for Jon
3. Decorate for the holidays

But don't feel too good for me just yet. Next week is a short week (only two days since we are talking off Wednesday to go to Milwaukee), and I have THREE meetings.

The following week I have five meetings.

Ok, so I am still busy. When is Christmas break?

California trip

Over Fall Break we got to go to CA (luckily before the wildfires hit) and had a great time. We started in San Diego visiting Seaside Village, Gaslamp Quarter, and Balboa Park. The Natural History Museum had the Dead Scrolls on exhibit. They are much smaller than I anticipated, but some people who were in the exhibit with us who could read Hebrew were able to decipher some of what the texts said. It was very cool to see portions of the Psalms written so many thousands of years earlier and know that the same awesome God had provided these words through the centuries for us to learn about Him then and now.

We also got to go to Coronado Island for a day. It was very chilly when we were there, but we had fun on the beach and walking through the town. We loved our room at the Glorietta Bay Inn in one of the "mansion rooms." It was decorated in the original 19th century decor and we had views of the harbor and beach from our deck. Very cool.

We went to Disneyland and California Adventure on Monday and Tuesday. The lines were surprisingly long at Disneyland considering it was the middle of October. Turns out CA schools have Fall Break, too. We went on Space Mountain four times (Jon's favorite) and the other coasters two or three times. We were disappointed with the changes they made to the Haunted Mansion for Halloween, and Pirates also had the new "Jack Sparrow" updates to it (okay). I hadn't been to Disneyland in over ten years so it was fun to relive my childhood memories as an adult and go with Jon, especially since we both love Disneyland.

California Adventure was definitely not as cool as Disneyland and seemed a little random in who it was really for-the big or little kids. It has some rides geared towards adults (California Screamin', Tower of Terror) but also many little kids themed areas (Bug's Life section, many kid friendly rides scattered about the park). Luckily the lines here were much shorter. I enjoyed Soaring over California a lot. It was the most "Disneyeske" ride in the park.

Jon also convinced me to go on California Screamin' and Tower of Terror. Both terrified me and I doubt I will be on them again anytime soon. At least I can say I did it though. I closed my eyes during the entire California Screamin' ride, thus turning it into a Space Mountain, because I was so petrified. I couldn't even scream I was so nervous and just kept saying "No, no, no, no, nooooo" when anything "bad" happened. We also went on a ferris wheel that was amazingly scary. Don't judge me until you have tried it. Some of the cars slip off the track and rock back and forth while up in the air. This is arguably even scarier then the two previous rides I mentioned. Click on this link for an alarmingly deceptive portrayal of this ride.


We had such a fun time, proving once and for all Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth!

The Big 1st Birthday

Here are some pictures of my cutie nephew during his 1st birthday. He wasn't very excited about the gifts (the boxes were way more fun), but he LOVED his first cupcake. Post eating he turned into one big chocolate covered baby. The ASU outfit was furnished by his aunt and uncle Hohle. We have to start the indoctrination early (as if he won't get it enough from Troy).

It's only 9 months away!

Did that title get any of you? No, I'm not preggos, but in nine months Jon and I will be in Europe! That's right...we finally got our Northwest miles we have accumulated to actually work and we will be sightseeing in grand Europa in nine months!

Jon and I have a slightly different idea when it comes to vacations sometimes. Although we both love to relax, Jon loves big cities and I prefer quaint, picturesque towns. We have built in both options on our three week trek which include Munich, Berlin, and Zurich for the big cities. However, we will be going to smaller towns in Germany such as Heidelburg and the "Romantic Road," Salzburg and Innsbruck in Austria, and the Swiss Alps.

It's hard to say what I am most excited about, but I have wanted to see the Matterhorn since I was about eight years old, and the pictures of Switzerland look gorgeous. However, Jon and I both have "German blood" in us, so I think it will also be fun go to Germany, especially since Jon speaks some German.


I have been planning the trip in my spare (hahaha) time. If any of you have been there, let me know some highlights of what we should see. Oh, and if you want to see a very sarcastic video of Salzburg from youtube check this out. Makes us laugh every time.

Let us not forget

Maybe it's just because this has felt like the longest, busiest, and one of the most stressful weeks of my life, but I just got this forward and, perhaps because of my current mood, I wanted to post it. It reminded me of the big picture and as Christ's servant what the real goal is...to be an example to others and love them like Christ loves me.

Example #1
During my second month of college, our professor
gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student
and had breezed through the questions until I read
the last one:

'What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?'
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the
cleaning woman several times. She was tall,
dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question
blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if
the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

'Absolutely,' said the professor. 'In your careers,
you will meet many people. All are significant. They
deserve your attention and care, even if all you do
is smile and say 'hello.'

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her
name was Dorothy.

Example #2
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and
sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in
front of him.

'How much is an ice cream sundae?' he asked.

'Fifty cents,' replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and
studied the coins in it.

'Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?' he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the
wai tress was growing impatient.

'Thirty-five cents,' she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

'I'll have the plain ice cream,' he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on
the table and walked away The boy finished the ice
cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress
came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the
table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,
were two nickels and five pennies..

You see, he couldn't have the sun dae, because he had
to have enough left to leave her a tip.

Example #3
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a
hospita l , I got to know a little girl named Liz who
was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only
chance of recovery appeared to be a blood
transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had
miraculously survived the same disease and had
developed the antibodies needed to combat the
illness. The doctor explained the situation to her
little brother, and asked the little boy if he woul d
be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a
deep breath an d saying, 'Yes I'll do it if it will
save her.' As the transfusion progressed, he lay in
bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did,
seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his
face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a
trembling voice, 'Will I start to die right away'.

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the
doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his
sister all of his blood in order to save her.

ASU Graduate College Update

Earlier this summer I posted an account of some recent experiences my family had encountered concerning ASU’s graduate programs. As you might recall, I was pleasantly surprised when Michael Crow responded to my requests and posted on that development. However, I am sorry to report there is much more to this story since July 07 as illustrated below.

Let’s begin with the good news.

I did get to have a nice chat with a woman in ASU’s graduate office about my initial concerns. She listened carefully to my frustrations and said that my complaints would be addressed in future discussions within the university. I thought that would be that, and I’d move on from the recent negative experiences I had.

But that wasn’t the case.

The first incident I’ll call the Readmission Follies.

As previously posted, I needed to pay a $50 fee to continue taking classes at ASU. I had already e-mailed numerous CoE staff over the summer trying to find out what classes were being offering in the fall since I had heard conflicting information about cohort programs and needed to make an informed decision before reregistering and paying the $50 fee. Due to events within the college of Education, students in the cohort graduate classes were not informed as to which classes were going to be offered for the Fall 2007 semester until Saturday, August 18th in an e-mail.

Upon viewing the courses I decided it would be worth it to pay the $50 reregistration fee and fill out a new application. I called up the graduate office to begin this process, and I was told the fee jumped up to $65.00 in the middle of July. So now I have to pay more money even though I couldn’t have made an educated decision earlier since the schedule came out so late. When I explained this to graduate admissions and the college of education I was told there was nothing they could do. I understand it’s just 15 extra bucks, but that’s not the point. I don’t feel like I should have had to pay anything in the first place, as stated in my previous post, and now this!

But that’s not all.

The second incident I’ll call the Residency Shenanigans.

After I was (surprise, surprise) readmitted into my program I was sent a “final notice” e-mail on August 29th by ASU’s registrar’s office. It stated:

Because you have not provided documentation to verify your lawful presence in the United States, the University Registrar’s Office has changed your residency status for tuition purposes to nonresident.


Whoa…slow down there.

1. When did I receive a first notice, let alone a final notice?
2. I attended ASU for undergraduate and just last fall as a graduate student. I have always been classified as a resident. Nothing has changed. I was born in Arizona and have always lived here. You can’t get much more native than that. How does ASU think I am now a nonresident?
3. The reapplication I filled out made me verify my driver’s license number, voter ID, length at current (Arizona) job, etc. These are all things that could and have been used in the past to verify my residency. Yet I have to jump through another hoop.

Even though I didn’t understand the need for this, I didn’t want to sit on this potential problem because the e-mail went on to say:

Your change in residency status is in effect for the fall 2007 semester and is reflected on your billing statement. If you have already paid your fall 2007 tuition you will be billed an additional amount to cover the non-resident portion of tuition.


When I called the ASU’s registrar office that same day I was told I needed to scan or mail a picture of my license. Since I didn’t have a scanner, I told the representative I would need to mail the proof. However, she then informed me that the license might not get to them before the residency change went into effect. Since I didn’t want to risk it and pay an additional $1263 - more than double my original tuition amount - I figured I better find a way to scan the license. In fact, I was so diligent I made sure to get it accomplished that evening, and ASU had it sitting in their inbox the next day when the office opened.

But we’re not through yet.

I received a follow up e-mail the next day saying I now needed to fill out a proof of residency form and get it signed. So, I had to go out of my way to call the registrar’s office again for the second time in two days and wait for fifteen minutes to be told that to fax this new documentation. The representative couldn’t tell me why I wasn’t told this the first time I called.

Now my only concern is that the residency department is able to figure out the e-mailed license and the faxed residency verification goes together since they were sent on separate days. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Update: I have been told the reason for the extensive verification process is due to Prop. 300 which passed in November 2006. This makes every student prove (and in my case reprove) that they are US citizens.

Then in September came more news.

I’ll call the third incident the Case of the Missing Funds.

I received yet another e-mail on September 4th, this time from accounts receivable at ASU, that I had not paid my tuition for this semester. That was odd for the following reasons:
1. I paid for my full tuition for the semester
2. ASU interactive showed I had no fees due
3. I had a receipt and confirmation number of when I paid for my tuition in August.
4. ASU had already deducted the fees from my bank account.

So I find myself yet again wasting more of my time to wait on hold for ten minutes about why I received this erroneous message. The woman on the other end had no idea why this happened. When I told her I would like some kind of confirmation verifying I would not be placed on the tuition installment plan, she was told she could provide nothing. In fact, she never once apologized for ASU’s mistake or my time. In fact, she acted like I was a huge inconvenience in her day.

I never once had any issues like this for four years of undergraduate studies and a year as a graduate student. I don’t know why I have been having all these problems lately, but they certainly don’t reflect the image that ASU wants to be leaving with their current students or alumni.

My goal is that this open letter prompts an examination at the policies and service within the university. I fear too many working adult students don’t have the time or patience to put up with these kinds of problems, and with a competitive market to obtain higher education degrees, there are many other places students can and will choose to give their money and earn their diploma.

And for my own time and sanity, let’s hope this is my last negative run in with this re registration process.

Life and stuff

Things have been very busy since I started back at work. I am working a longer contracted day this year, so that means I have been arriving earlier and staying later than ever before. Subsequently my posts have become more infrequent.

Overall the year is going really well! I like my students and classes, and they always provide some sort of amusement during the day. Grad school has been thought provoking; I'm taking an lingustics class and it is very interesting.

Jon and I are doing really well. We started to attend a new church and so far we really feel the messages are strong, God centered, and thought provoking. We like the music-centered on God, not people,and we hope to start meeting some new couples our age. We started going to a new small group that just formed last Sunday, and hopefully that will lead to more interactions, although the age range of the group varies widely.

We have been trying to escape the Phoenix heat on the weekends by going up to Payson, and although that is sporadic at best it is so relaxing and calm while we are up there. For some reason when in town we always tend to get busy running errands and doing lots of "stuff."

A few weeks ago we saw "Becoming Jane," so if anyone is looking for a good chick flick I'd recommend it. Jon and I also got "Saint Ralph" on Netflix and it was actually pretty good minus a few questionable things in the beginning (we'll call it teenage angst). Much better than Sixteen Candles which we rented a few weeks earlier. Jon couldn't even finish it!

Although random, hopefully this serves somewhat as an update. Happy September!

The Three Hour "tour"

There’s not many things I am willing to wait 3 hours in line for.

Front row seats to Les Miserables, a free trip to Europe, a shopping spree at Fashion Square, a year of massages…sure!

But food? No way.

Or so I thought.

Jon and I were in the area around Pizzeria Bianco a few weeks ago on a Saturday night. We had heard great things. “The best pizza…ever,” “that place is delicious,” and, “they know how to cook pizza there” were just some of the samplings of positive feedback. In fact, a few years ago Oprah sent Gayle there to try the pizza, and in 2005 it was named the best pizza in the US. We had to find out for ourselves.

The restaurant opened for business at 5;00PM, and we arrived at 5:20 and were told it would be 2.5-3 hours before we’d be seated. We decided to suck it up and wait. After all, we weren’t in the area very often. We tried to use up the time by going next door and ordering some drinks and appetizers. We were starving so we ordered what appeared to be the largest on the menu, especially if price is a good indicator because it was the most expensive: a $10 cheese plate. When it arrived we wolfed it down and there wasn’t a bite left to be found except for the wax from one of the cheese samples. And we were still hungry. It was only 6;00 o’clock.

Then we sat in the crowded room as it started to clear out. Maybe we’d get a table earlier than we were told. Finally after sitting there for another 45 minutes we decided to walk around Heritage Square. Five minutes later, and feeling sweaty because of the heat, we parked our behinds on a park bench and tried to play games with the menu.

You’d be amazed how much fun you can have when you are bordering on nausea from lack of food, heat, and boredom. We walked around some more. We sat. We talked. We tried to make nice conversation, but we were both getting antsy. We moved to a closer bench to the front door, and every time it opened the smell from inside kept urging us to stay a bit longer. Finally, over 3 hours after we arrived, we were called to our table at 8:45.

Jon and I new exactly what to order since we had ample time to decide. The food came out quickly. I expected perfection. Heck, when you’re as hungry as I was anything should have tasted like the best pizza…ever.

But I was disappointed. Jon was disappointed. In fact one of the pizzas we ordered had such spicy sausage it started to make me sick to my stomach. Was the food hot? Yes. Was the service fast? Yes. Was the food worth the wait? Unfortunately, no.

So when is the next time I’ll be willing to wait 3 hours for food? When I’m being paid for waiting.

Vacation

Jon and I had a great summer vacation to Milwaukee and Chicago this past week. The weather was a little cooler in the Midwest and it was fun to get away and see new things. We were in Milwaukee specifically for Jon's cousin's wedding. It was very good to see Jon's family, especially since we haven't been to Milwaukee for over a year and a half. While there we went to a dog show with them (a first for both Jon and me), ate at Kopp's restaurant, Jon's favorite, and went to Germanfest for lunch. It was packed. Don't even ask me what I had because I couldn't pronounce it, but it was like a beef tips over noodles. Not too bad. Now I know if I ever go to Germany that I won't be stuck with just kraut, brats, and beer.

We also went to Chicago-my first time there! I thought it was a very pretty "big city," and very clean. The architecture is much more varied than NYC, which I think adds to the ambiance. Plus, because the Chicago River runs through so much of downtown it is different than many other big cities I have visited in America. We were very blessed and were able to stay in a penthouse right off of Michigan Avenue. It was gorgeous-with views of Navy Pier, Lake Michigan, the Hancock Building, and downtown, including the Sears Tower. There were floor to ceiling windows, and it really took your breath away. We also met up with Troy and Kelly and two of their friends while in Chicago.

We got to go on a sunset boat ride for our 2nd anniversary which was very beautiful. We lucked out because there was a beautiful, huge, full harvest moon that night. We tried to capture pictures, but it didn't do it justice. It was a very memorable anniversary to be sure!

We also visited Second City comedy club. I've wanted to do this for years and heard great things, and it didn't disappoint. The show was very good and pretty reasonable priced considering how famous it is and that we were in an expensive city. I'd definitely recommend it.

Last summer book post

This will be my final book review of the summer and wraps up the past several weeks of reading. I made my goal: 20 books! I would like to continue reading once the school year starts, but it looks like it’s going to be a busy year between work and grad school. If anyone reads a book they think is interesting, I’d love to hear about it.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy ***.5/*****

I read this book because it was on Oprah’s book club list as well as a best seller. The plot is very simple: a boy and his dad after some post-apocalyptic event struggling to survive. The book doesn’t have much excitement, and is a very depressing read, but it kept my interest. McCarthy’s writing style is very original as the book is told entirely in 3rd person. We don’t ever find out the character’s names, and it is mostly a descriptive narrative and could have been told in a short story format very effectively as well.


The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan ***.5/*****
This was such a popular book several years back, but I never read it before. The story centers around eight main characters-four elderly Chinese women and their daughters. Their different life stories and perspectives are interwoven together. I have seen this done a lot in books, but perhaps this type of storytelling was more original in the early 90’s when the book was written. It was an interesting book, but it didn’t convince me to read any other Tan novels.

Having a Mary Spirit by Joanna Weaver **/*****
I was really looking forward to reading this book as I thoroughly enjoyed “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.” This book I found to be a huge let down. For one, the title seems to be chosen to remind readers of the first novel as the book had very little to do with Mary (mother of Jesus, Magdalene, or sister of Martha) as a biblical reference point as to how we should model our behavior. The book was filled with spiritual truths, but they were ones I have heard for years and I didn’t find them very challenging. I would recommend this book more for new Christians, whereas I would recommend Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World to any Christian woman who feels she fits the “Type A” persona.

The next set of books I read right before leaving for vacation and they seemed to have melted together now (very similar time periods can do that). Instead, I am only giving a brief review. (Plus, I'm really tired right now from being two hours ahead in time zones.) :)

The Spanish Bride by Laurien Gardner ***.5/*****
I have read all 3 books this summer and I enjoyed this one as well. The writing is very different from the other two because the time periods keep switching back and forth, but it is a very well done novel.

Emilie’s Voice by Susanne Dunlap **/*****
Easy read, but the character development was weak and the writing style wasn’t my favorite.

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig ***.5/*****
This had the potential to be a great series and a book I’d really enjoy: historical romance is my favorite genre. But the romance in this novel quickly took a turn into what I’d call nearly soft porn or a cheesy Fabio romance novel. Too bad.

The First Princess of Wales by Karen Harper ***/*****
This book is a long one but was very engrossing. However, some of the romance scenes in this book were also very graphic and what should have been romantic but they felt more like lustful moments. The characters, however, were very interesting and the writing was good. I’d give this author one more chance to see what another novel would be like.

Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado ***/*****
This book is about how to find a job that you are truly passionate about. I thought some of the stories were very good (think sermon illustrations). However, I felt the quiz to help you get to know yourself better wasn’t clear enough and one would need more guidance to get anything concrete from this book.

ASU update

In a recent post about ASU I had several comments about how frustrated I have been with some issues that arose regarding Jon's and my grad school programs. I never anticipated that my little post would be read beyond my normal audience, let alone receive a response.

However, a few days ago I received an e-mail and letter from Michael Crow, ASU's president, regarding my original post. I can't tell you how blown away I was to know that President Crow took time out of his busy and hectic schedule to respond to my concerns. How many university presidents would take the time and effort to respond to one person's complaint? It really reaffirmed to me so many of the reasons why I love ASU in the first place.

No matter the outcome, I am impressed with their response so far.

Summer Book List #2

Here is my 2nd installment on books I have read this summer. A few were misses, most were middle of the line, and some were superb.

A City Not Forsaken by Lynn and Gilbert Morris ***/*****
I read a similar series by Gilbert Morris in high school and fell in love with it then because they were historical fiction and always had a love story thrown in. Although the plots were similar (will he follow God or man, and which lady would the main character choose-always the more modest and God-fearing lady. This is, after all, a Christian book series.) I read the 2nd book in this series, and you don’t have to read the first to know what’s going on. This book is different from the others in that there is no love story. Also, the book didn’t seem to read as quickly as the former series. Either my tastes have changed since high school (very likely) or the author has changed his style now writing with his wife. Either way, this book didn’t entice me enough to pick up the third. One nice thing, however, was the book didn’t leave any loose ends unlike the series by Beverely I posed on in June.

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene ***/*****
I promise that I am not obsessed with Holocaust literature as this is already the 2nd of the summer (with one more later on in this review), but since I teach about it I am constantly looking for novels my kids could pick up. This one would fit the bill nicely. It is an easy read and forces the students to look at the Nazi’s in a different light because our main character falls in love with a Nazi POW who is transferred to her hometown in small town, USA. The characters sometimes aren’t as developed as I’d like, and some never change or learn from their mistakes, but this book is more than appropriate for young teens.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini ****/*****
I have heard so many amazing reviews about this novel from everyone I had to pick it up to see what the fuss was about. This is a powerful and moving story that left me crying at points so it is evident the author has you caring about the characters. The brutal horrors that occurred in our narrator’s life helped shape the man he became, and the novel takes you on his self discovery to see if he can relive his past and grow stronger or run from it again. Although this book is frustrating at times-you very much can grow to dislike our main character because of his choices-it makes the reader think how they would respond in similar situations or in a different time. This book was so moving I couldn’t help but tell my family about what was occurring as I read more and more each day. This would be a great book to pick up, but definitely not a summer beach read. This book is one I will not soon forget.

The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner **/*****
Ugh. I was expecting so much from this book maybe I set myself up to be disappointed. After seeing the movie I thought it would be neat to find out the real story. Some things are better left with the Hollywood version. After reading this I no longer can have the same esteem as I once did for Mr. Gardner. He cheated on his wife, took drugs while they were struggling to survive financially, and came across as pompous and arrogant as he unabashedly told us exactly how great the sex was while cheating. Is he a success story because of his rags to riches fame? Absolutely. But don’t believe the fluff Hollywood threw at us in the movie by believing this man is the victim in his later years. Because of his affair he had Chris Jr. out of wedlock and only then did his wife leave him. It was only then he was struggling financially. Anyway, I don’t want to keep ranting, but I would not recommend this book.

Plain Jane: A Novel of Jane Seymour by Laurien Gardner ****/*****
Another good read about the craziness surrounding King Henry VIII’s court. This book was told from the perspective of Henry’s future queen this time, and because not much is known about her the author had to infer or make up much of the information. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it very much and am looking forward to reading the other book that is out in this series so far.


The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart and Carson Ellis ***.5/*****
One of my students gave me this book as an end of school gift because it was one of her all time favorites. The main characters are all gifted students who are trying to stop an evil mad man from manipulating the whole world through the use of subliminal signals in the tv. The book is a pretty good read and definitely has some clever parts, but I don't think I would read any more books if a sequel were to occur (which seems likely given the setup of the story).

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom ****/*****
This is a beautiful novel about one woman and her family's journey as they smuggled Jews in their home and other “safe houses” in war torn Holland during the 1940's. Corrie and her family ended up in jail and finally a concentration camp because of her willingness to protect God's children during the Holocaust. Her faith and God's truth ring out clearly in her writing and remarkable story. It really pushed me to think of a more Godly perspective instead of one of this world. This is an excellent novel.

Where's the Love?

Most people know I am a HUGE ASU fan. I sing the fight song to my kids every year. I have paraphernalia littering my classroom walls. I am a former Devil's Advocate who gave tours for ASU for two years, for free, and recruited students to attend the university on an out of town trip. In addition, I served as the College of Education college council president and senator for the College, each for one year. I was so gang ho about ASU I even appeared in pictures for their catalogs. I say this to you not to brag, but to give you an idea of how much I am for ASU.

Then reality hit.

Jon has had nothing but trouble finding classes he can take as a working adult trying to obtain a master's degree. I chalked that up one poorly run grad program.

If Jon wants to avoid driving down to ASU two times a week in horrendous rush hour traffic he could take an Internet class...at a price nearly double of a class on campus-even a class that isn't being taught by a "real" professor but nearly a tape of a previous semester's course. Lame.

But the biggest blow came as I am pursuing my 2nd master's degree in ESL at ASU. I, too, am a full time working adult and luckily for me the College of Education has some great off campus cohort classes that allow me to take classes much closer to home and at more convenient hours than Jon.

I decided to take off from classes last semester and planned on returning to ASU this fall to complete the degree I am halfway through receiving. When I tried to register, the system wouldn't allow me to. After speaking to no less than five individuals I was finally directed to the correct person who could tell me why I wasn't able to register. Late fees? Nope, I was always on time. Problem with my grades? Nah, I have a 4.0 after fifteen hours. What could it be?

"Since you decided to take off a semester, you need to reregister, mam?"
What does that involve?
"A new application and $50.00 readmission fee."

WHAT? For a taking off a semester?

It's not like I am pursuing an undergrad degree and my sole purpose in life is to go to school. I am a working adult with a family, full time and demanding job, and if I need to take off, I should be able to do so without penalty.

Furthermore, why would ASU want to upset a main source of potential revenue, their future alumni, by making them pay out additional money for no reason but for them to earn a few extra bucks.

I might even understand a fee if they needed to do a lot of work to get me "reinstated" as a student, but since I was told it could be done in under 24 hours it doesn't seem like a whole lot of effort is going to be required in order to get me "ok'd."

After the hours of time I have invested in this university for free, and thousands of dollars I have given them for my undergrad and now my graduate degree, this is a really lousy way to treat a former and current student.

It almost makes me want to cheer for that horrible team down south...almost.

I've been taken..

or, in reality, my old blog name has been snatched. I don't know why anyone but me would want kortneyhohle.blogspot.com, but some guy named Terry Dorsey has taken it. It is really weird to see someone else using my name for their site. At first I thought it could have been a student of mine up to no good, but now Jon thinks it might be used for google ad revenue. Apparently the site comes up high on a list of visited domains, probably because Jon's site is high and he was linked to mine. Nevertheless, I hope nobody goes to visit it so the real kortneyhohle.blogspot.com can rest in peace. It's my name, so stop it!

Happy Birthday, my Jonathan!

Jon is turning 26 today! Finally. He is now as old as his wife and gets to have the numerous special privileges a 26 year old has which are, of course, limitless. I have decided to list 26 (ah...pretty quick, eh?) things you can do as a 26 year old so Jon doesn't miss out on any of the fun. Enjoy, Jon!

1. When you are 26 you can wear whatever you want.
2. When you are 26 you can drive.
3. When you are 26 you can stay up as late as you want.
4. When you are 26 you can eat chocolate cake for breakfast.
5. When you are 26 you can be married.
6. When you are 26 you can have sex (as long as number 5 is completed) :)
7. When you are 26 you can travel anywhere.
8. When you are 26 you can sleep in or wake up early...your call!
9. When you are 26 you can take care of your own lawn.
10. When you are 26 you can get a haircut and style of your choice.
11. When you are 26 you can play Starcraft on the computer.
12. When you are 26 you can read your Bible.
13. When you are 26 you can program in Ruby and the programming language of your choice.
14. When you are 26 you can watch The Amazing Race, Lost, or Studio 60.
15. When you are 26 you can beat your wife in Tetris (somethings never change).
16. When you are 26 you can sing songs.
17. When you are 26 you can view www.lolcats.com.
18. When you are 26 you can go out to eat.
19. When you are 26 you get to go to work to make a living.
20. When you are 26 you can go to the movies.
21. When you are 26 you can talk on your cell phone.
22. When you are 26 you can run five miles.
23. When you are 26 you can drink Martinelli's apple cider.
24. When you are 26 you can own your own domain names.
25. When you are 26 you can take grad classes.

AND...when you are 26 you have the lucky ability and chance to....

Blow our your birthday candles and usher in a great new year!

Doesn't being 26 sound like fun?

I love you!

Summer Book-a-thon

I forgot how much I like reading. I never seem to do it during the school year, even though I really probably have time to read in the evenings. During the summer I always get through a fair share of books that have made it to "the list." Here are the books I have read so far and my short summaries and thoughts. The *'s equal the number of stars I'd give the books on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the best!).

1. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen-***/***** stars
I heard of this story from the 8th grade language arts teacher at work. She thought it would be a good read from what she was told. It is about a grandmother who tells her version of Sleeping Beauty, but when she dies her granddaughter discovers there is some truth to the story. Basically, the story of Sleeping Beauty is used to describe how the grandma was rescued from a Nazi concentration camp. The beginning was a little slow; the ending was horrific and will probably be too detailed to give to my kids to read. It is an interesting read, but I think I have read better children's novels to describe the Holocaust.

2. A Lady Raised High: A Novel of Anne Boleyn by Laurien Gardner-****/*****
The story is told from a young maid who serves in Anne Boleyn's court before and during Anne's marriage to King Henry XIV and ends at her beheading. The story is very interesting and moves along at a good pace. I like historical fiction, in fact it is probably my favorite genre, and this also has a bit or romance in it as well. I saw the "hook up" coming a mile away (I'm skilled at noticing these things by now I guess), but it was engaging and a good read. It seems like the author has two more books in a similar vain, and I'll probably end up checking those out as well.

3. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck ***.5/*****
A classical novel, but I have never read it. It is a super easy and short read. I think I had heard the ending before so it was there in the deep recesses of my brain, but it was pretty satisfying. The only thing I didn't like was how quickly the climax came without a really strong resolution. One minute the reader is saying, "Wow, that was unexpected," and the next page the story ends. I can't decide if this will spur me on to read any other Steinbeck novels. I haven't read Grapes of Wrath or Tortilla Flat. Really, what were my high school teachers thinking? These are classics! Anyway, interesting book.

4. The Preacher's Daughter by Beverly Lewis ***/*****
This books I think is written by a Christian author. It follows an Amish girl who is struggling to commit to the church, which is difficult since her dad is the preacher. Her "English," or non-Amish pen pal, decides to visit and the book details their friendship as they get to learn about each other's worlds. I thought the book moved slowly and wasn't very engaging. I was also disappointed that the book seems to be written in a series, unknown to me when starting, so in order to find out what happens to all of these characters I would have to read the other books. Ugh. I wasn't that thrilled with this one, but now I'm kind of invested. I'll have to decide if this book was enough to keep me going with so many other books on my list.

5. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold ***/*****
Agonizing book about a girl who is brutally raped and murdered in the first few pages. The story is told from her looking down from heaven as she tells how her family is coping with her death. This is not "my type" of book and I only read it because kids in a lit class at school were reading it, and some parents had asked for my opinion about letting their children read it. Yes, very questionable. And no, I would not recommend it. I don't want to hear about fourteen year old girls getting murdered. Geez, I can watch the evening news if that is the kind of story I want to be investing time into.

I'd love to hear your suggestions about other books I should pick up this summer. So far I also want to read the following, too:

-Kite Runner
-The Pursuit of Happyness
-The Hiding Place
-Summer of My German Soldier
-The Joy Luck Club

Goosebumps

Take a look at this. Amazing!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9oxTy7KIAaA

I'm free!

I am officially done with school for this school year. Yea! This year had it's challenges, but like anything else I think I grew a lot and become a better teacher from it. I have actually been considering going into library, so I am going to begin studying for this in the upcoming weeks and see where that leads. Teaching definitely is great, but there are several hard things that not only our government but also plain ole' politics is doing to make teaching less and less fun.

This summer I am working on a district committee to help write next year's gifted curriculum. Also, I will be teaching at a summer camp all day for a week. I have absolutely no idea what the program is or the age group I will be working with (it seems kind of unorganized) but I hope it is fun and not stressful while working it.

Other than that, I plan on relaxing, reading (I've finished two books in the four days since school got out), and hanging out with family and friends. I'm looking forward to our preplanned vacation in July, too. I'm sure it will go by quickly, though. Only eight short weeks and back to the grind.

So Spoiled

I know it seems like I have been posting every other month we are going somewhere, but we have just been very fortunate lately. Over the long weekend Jon and I are going to be meeting some of his friends for a reunion in Vegas. Jon has never been in Vegas, and it was exactly four years ago since I have been there with a friend. Every time I go there is a new "it" hotel (last time it was the Venetian). There are a few "oldies but goody" spots I am hoping to show Jon since I have been in Vegas 4 times before. Here is a list in no particular order.

5. White tigers and lions at the Mirage and MGM.
4. The fake volcano in front of the Mirage. I know, cheesy to the max, but where can you get a free "show" in Vegas?
3. The "dancing" water in front of the Bellagio. Just plain impressive and cool because it is on such a large scale.
2. Interior of the Venetian, Paris, and Aladdin. I love window shopping, and the facade of the buildings and decorations are very Disney-like to me.
1. The indoor flower garden at the Bellagio. So colorful!

New address

I have moved! My new address is http://liftuppraise.blogspot.com/

This way I can maintain a little more anonymity. :) Never can be too safe.

Scale of the Universe

This is the same video they showed at the Chris Tomlin concert I wrote about a few months ago. It is a great reminder of how small we are in the big scheme of things, yet God loves us all dearly. It is definitely worth taking a peek!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9xW23AR4xYU

Enjoy!

Cancun Vacation and More!

Jon and I had a great time in Cancun over break.

We got to see the gorgeous blue green Caribbean sea and even made it to Chichen Itza to see some Mayan ruins one day. The weather was great-no hurricanes this time around-and it was nice to sleep in, have someone else prepare your meals, and relax in the shade of the straw umbrella or poolside. Yea for vacations!

Response to Laminin-the glue that holds us together

I have been amazed and awe struck reading the comments about what God has been doing through the Chris Tomlin concert, including the news about laminin. I never thought my site would become a place where people would share about God's goodness and what He has done for them, but I am glad God is using this tool to allow people to express their thoughts about His love and grace.

The question I have for anyone who has posted or is posting is how are you going to use this message to reach the world for Christ? Have any of you had successful experiences sharing this news? Do any of you have ideas that God has placed on your heart? If you feel God is leading you, I would love to hear what God is doing through you with this new news. Hopefully we can spur each other on.

May God be praised!

Seattle trip

For those of you who read my blog and are "in the know," we are going to Seattle this weekend. Please pray for our trip and that we would have wisdom.

Feeling old

I have been reminiscing lately with several people from high school about how old we are now. Sometimes it's hard to believe we are adults and making adult decisions, big or small. We have mortgages. We have credit cards (I remember when I thought that would be cool). We go to jobs everyday. We move. We are married, and some of us even have kids. Blows me away.

I wish I would have listened to the adults in my life when I was in high school and college when they told me that would be the best time in my life. Little if no responsibilities, yet a great amount of freedom, was pretty sweet. I of course thought they were completely wrong then, but looking back what can beat the college schedule of 15 hours of actual class every week?

Sigh.

Being a full fledged adult does have some perks, don't get me wrong! Marriage is great, having your own place rocks, and getting paid enough money to go on vacations every now and then is very nice.

Regardless, God uses each season of life to teach us and hopefully we grow more like Him each day, no matter what age we are. After all, each day we should be "pressing on" towards the goal that God called us to.

Birthday Weekend

This past Friday I grew one year older. Jon was as romantic and sweet as usual and took me out to Elements, an exclusive restaurant at the Sanctuary hotel on Camelback Mountain. We had the perfect table with an uninterrupted view of the valley and the sun setting. It was perfect. The meal started with receiving herb soaked warm linens to refresh our hands before we started eating. What?? I've never had anything like that before! For our dinner we went all out and ordered crab and spinach fondue, our entree was sirloin wrapped in bacon, and for dessert we had carmel pecan cheesecake. The staff was great and we weren't rushed at all during our meal. We had plenty of time to digest between portions and we were there for two hours and got to relax and enjoy the evening.

Saturday night we got together with the extended family and I got to open my presents. The big gift was my new red Ipod nano. This is my first ipod EVER, so it will be fun to finally catch up with the rest of humanity and hopefully it will motivate me to work out more regulary because Jon's family got me the Nike sport gear to go with it. It helps keep track of your steps, calories burned, and distance. My parents got me some massage gift certificates and clothes, and Troy and Kelly got me a gift certificate for a massage/pedicure. I can't wait to indulge in all my new toys.

It was a great birthday and I had a wonderful time.

Laminin holds us together

Last Friday we went to the Chris Tomlin concert, which I would highly recommend if you get a chance. It was an awesome night of worship and fun. Matt Redman was also there, but the nice thing about it was that Chris and Matt shared the stage the whole night, thus making it evident the true headliner was God, not a performer. Throughout the entire night they had words in the background so the goal was obviously praise.

During the middle of the evening a speaker came on and spoke about the bigness of God. He quoted Isaiah 40 which says that God created the heavens. Then he showed pictures of galaxies and the four largest stars to be discovered and compared them to how vast they are in comparison with the Earth and even the sun. It was really amazing and reminded me of how BIG and AMAZING God is to be able to hold the heavens in his hands and create the universe. Then the speaker turned the focus towards humans and how God loves us. We are so small compared with the universe, yet it is obvious that He loves us by looking at what He did through Christ. Then he told us about laminin, a protein in our body that literally holds our skin, organs, and everything else in our body in place. It is literally the glue of our body. Guess what shape laminin is in? Give up? The shape of a cross. God holds us together with laminin and saved us with the cross. What a blessing to see and hear about God's truly amazing nature and see how he has placed clues everywhere to show us who He really is.

Here is a picture of laminin. Google it youself to see other images of this protein and marvel at God's greatness.