Tuesday, June 19, 2007
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!
Monday, June 18, 2007
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!
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!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
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
1. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen-***/***** starsI 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
Monday, June 11, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
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.
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.