visitor from the windy city

A few weeks ago, I was Facebook messaging Janet, one of my former students. (I've mentioned her on the blog a few times.) She graduated from Nebraska Christian two years ago and now attends the University of Illinois at Chicago. Anyway, she was telling me about how stressful things were, and I mentioned that, if she ever needed to get away, she could always stay with me.

The next day, she sent me a possible flight itinerary. Last Saturday, she arrived! It was so great to reconnect with her again and hear about how God is orchestrating things in her life. Her visit was short—she flew in Saturday morning and left Tuesday morning (super, super early!)—but we enjoyed every minute that she was here!

Besides talking a lot (and it was so cool to hear her talk openly about her relationship with God!), we spent time doing one of our favorite things: watching movies! We first watched part of The List, which is based on a Robert Whitlow novel (I named his novel The Choice #6 on my Top 10 Books of 2012 list), and I think that I will like the movie ... but we were both falling asleep within the first 30 minutes, so we went to bed! After church on Sunday, we went to Divergent, and we both loved it. I have had the book on my Kindle for well over a year and haven't gotten around to reading it yet (no wonder, with all my book reviews!). So I went into the film knowing very little about it but enjoying it immensely. And Theo James? No longer will I think of him as Mr. Pamuk, that's for sure! I did think the romance came a bit out of the blue, but one of my students assured me it's much more clearly set up in the book. Then we rented Ender's Game, another movie based on a YA novel that I hadn't read. Honestly, I was kind of bored. The story was fine, but it wasn't gripping.

We didn't only watch movies, though. Here's a look at our weekend through pictures:

She's here!!!

We tried to have lunch at Honest Abe's, but it was full, so we ended up at Five Guys, instead.
It was Janet's first time!

Janet quickly made friends with my cats. Here she is with Skaara...

...and Hammond, who was her favorite. (Take that, Blendy!)

Later on, all three cats curled up on her legs.

Between church & Divergent, we had lunch with my friends
Tricia and Kari at Napoli's, a local Italian restaurant. So good!

We had supper with another NC grad, Mia, on Monday night. I look like a goober,
but the girls look good, so I guess I'll post the pic. Also, fun fact: Facebook keeps
asking me if I want to tag Blendy in this pic. Our faces must look very similar
to Facebook's facial recognition software when I'm wearing my glasses!

What a fun weekend! Come again anytime, Janet—the cats would love another opportunity to keep you warm!

the end of summer

I feel like I haven't had a summer break ... and school starts again on Tuesday! (Is it just me, or does school seem to start earlier every year?)

One reason my summer has felt shorter is because I have had an international student staying with me for the past five weeks. She came right after the Fourth of July to boost her English before beginning her senior year. She worked extremely hard, and her English improved greatly ... and I learned that it's hard work being a "mother"! She didn't even have any crises or behavioral issues; I just struggled with things like getting up in time to make sure she got around in the morning, making supper every night (when you live alone, you can do cereal ... or just go to your mom's if you're fortunate enough to live close by), and figuring out what on earth to pack for her lunch. Plus, I've gotten way less sleep than I need. If I've had trouble with a fairly independent and self-sufficient 17-year-old, I don't even want to imagine what an infant would be like!

Hoa and me at Buffalo Wild Wings. She tried a lot of new foods this summer!

Another reason my summer has seemed short is that I'm reading all the time. Remember how one of my goals for 2012 was to learn to say "no"? Well, while I have passed on many a book review, I probably need to pass on more ... because this is my current "to be read" bookcase! The top shelf is my review books (except for Attachments, which belongs on the shelf below—not sure how it ended up on the wrong shelf), and the bottom shelf is my "read when I don't have a review deadline approaching" section. While I've read some fantastic books this summer (like this one, this one, and this one), I think I'm going to have to cut back for sanity's sake!

I did manage to go on a short trip this summer. Blendy and I try to take a road trip each summer, and this year we decided to go to Indiana and Ohio. Hoa went with us to Indiana, and then she met up with her cousins who attend Indiana University. Blendy and I went on to Ohio, where we spent a few days with college roomie Jodi, her husband Peter, and their adorable baby girl. Our friend Holly met up with us one day for mini-golfing and supper, and it was great to see her again. Back in Indiana, we had lunch with college roomie Jen and her adorable baby girl. And we spent time relaxing with Val. It was a short trip, but it was fun! Most of the pictures we took revolve around food ... if you want to see them, go here.

While I'm sad to see summer's end, I'm also very excited for the return of my kids! When I go to work in the morning, most of the ones who are returning will be back at school. And tomorrow night, my mom and I are going to pick one up at the airport. I can't wait to see them all!

guest post: "leopard" by rae zhong

Here is the final installment in the series of short stories written by my students. Today's story, which received first place votes from several students in the class, is rather morbid. Despite the "ick" factor (or perhaps because of it), I really enjoyed this story, the first place winner in our contest. (See Natalie's second place story here and Elaine's third place story here.)

Leopard 
by Rae Zhong

It was at noon when I woke up, and I was in an unfamiliar place. The last thing I can remember was the sound of a gun. I was hungry. I tore off the bloody flesh from the chicken which was just two feet away from me, the scarlet liquid splashing upon my face and the grass.

Stale. Yuck.

I ate part of his body and threw the rest in the brushwood. The bloodstained chicken corpse made me sick.

“Hey, take it easy, buddy. Don’t waste your food.” There was a voice from the tree behind me. I ignored him. Because that’s the way I treated a stranger.

“I know this is your first day here, but as a leopard, especially in a zoo, you can’t be picky on your food. I understand you want to have something that tastes delicious, yet in this place, the choices could only be chicken, chicken, or chicken.” The leopard smiled and swung his tail, looking like he'd been telling a funny joke, although it sounded dumb to me.

In the next hour, he was being so loquacious that it seemed to me his tongue was going to fall off from his mouth. His name was Jeffery, which was given to him by his feeder. I sneered at him. "We are wild and solitary hunters. We don’t need names. Names are for little cats that are obedient to humans."

“You act exactly just like me when I first came here,” he said, “Arrogant and unbending. I tell you, time will swallow and perish all of your pride. Once you are here, you will never escape from this cage. Your world is this forest and the people outside the iron fence. And don’t even try to run off; they would seize you again.”

I didn’t retort; neither did I tell him the plan that was already in my head.

Life in the zoo was miserable. People turned us nocturnal animals into diurnal just because the zoo opened during the day. We could not have any freedom on hunting food nor choosing food. We could not even stay in the cave because people would not be able to see us. The only thing we could do is walk in front of the fence in order to let people visit us.

I wanted to end this boring life as quickly as possible.

So I obeyed everything the humans said, acted just like a biddable kitty. I didn’t bite or roar at anyone. I ate what they gave me. I wagged my tail like a stupid dog while they were feeding me. I smiled at them even though they could not understand a leopard’s smile. I could tell they trusted me bit by bit. I waited patiently until one day my feeder approached me with another disgusting chicken, calling me “Tom” (what an ugly name!), and I knew that it was time.

It was time for escape.

I immediately jumped on the feeder, using my claws to scratch his arms and legs. I saw shock and fear on his face, and I saw my dreadful face in his pupil. Was this right? I doubted myself for just one moment. "But what can you do? Stay in the zoo till you die?" another part of me retorted.

“Tom! What are you doing! Stop! ” It was Jeffery. Oh, I forgot he was in there, too. He ran to me, tried to separate us. “Don’t you know what it would cost you to kill a human? Your life! ” He shouted at me. I knew. I didn’t plan to kill people. I just tried to run off. The back door of the leopard forest was unlocked and two workers of the zoo were standing outside. They saw me running to them. They tried to shut the door. But it was too late. I jumped on the open door and broke it with my cuspid, and those frightened people ran away.

I heard Jeffery yelling, but I could not stop myself. I kept running like an arrow shooting out of the bow. I ran out of the zoo. I ran into the city. I made a huge ruckus among the frightened people. I didn’t stop until my shins cramped and my claws hurt. And I realized I was at the outside of the city. There was only grass, trees and mud roads around me.

Am I free?

I could not tell. I was out of the cage, but I had no clue where I was. I didn’t know how far it was from here to my home or how long would it take to go there. What could I do?

I was depressed. I missed my talkative friend Jeffery. I missed his dumb jokes, his laughing, and his amiable advice. I regretted my actions. Well, kind of. Yet I knew I would never go back to the zoo. I walked and walked. I hunted a rabbit. I ripped his head off, tasted his fresh flesh, but it didn’t taste as good as I thought it would.

"What’s wrong?" I sighed.

Suddenly, my legs started walking back. I could not control them; it was not my brain that told them to do so. The direction was to the zoo. I was insane. Yes, I was sure of it. The light wind blew my soft fur, leading me to the place I hated but missed.

I was going back.

I heard the sound of a gun.

The last sound I heard in my life.

CITY NEWSPAPER: The leopard that ran out of the zoo was found dead. Greedy hunters stripped off his fur and threw his dead body in a field.

About the author: Rae Zhong (center) is a sophomore from China. Art is her passion. She also participates in music, speech, and track.

guest post: "confession of the big bad wolf" by natalie bui

Today we have the 2nd place winner in my students' writing contest. (See the 3rd place story here.) You never know what you'll get when you ask students to write from the perspective of an animal! Here's a twist on The Three Little Pigs ...

Confession of the Big Bad Wolf
by Natalie Bui

“Stop…What’s happening? Wolves can write, and a confession? But, not just any wolf? That’s…the big bad wolf. A….a…a…”

Those might be some of the questions that are popping out of your head after you have run at least a mile away from me. I must admit that yes, I can speak human language and yes, I am the Big Bad Wolf. What’s wrong with that anyway? It’s not my fault that you are scared of me. It’s old Grimm’s fault. He always says bad things about me just because I’m hungry, and I want to eat. Like anyone else, I have emotion, too. In fact, I’m very shy and sensitive. But now, I have to stand out, to clear my name from all that bad reputation, and to tell you what really happened that night between me and the three little pigs.

After a long, starving weekend, I went hunting again. It was Easter Break, so most animals in the forest had gone away to visit their families. I’d been walking forever, but still, there was no food in sight. Fortunately, I saw a big pond full of fish. Filled with happiness, I immediately jumped right into the pool and caught lots of fish. What? You say you’ve never seen a wolf that eats fish before? Well, use your imagination. It’s a fairy tale. Let’s get back to my story. I was enjoying my fish prize when a big drop of rain fell on my face as well as my newly-made fire. Wet and exhausted, I fell down and cried, desperately holding my half-cooked fish in my hand, wishing that a fairy godmother might appear. Suddenly, I heard music coming from afar. I immediately hopped up from desperateness, put the fish in my bag and started to run as fast as I could to where the music came from. After a mile or so, I ran across a beautiful house made out of straw. Beautiful but flimsy, I told myself. Through the window, I saw a little pig singing and dancing joyfully. I hurriedly knocked on the door.

"Dear little pig, I’m cold and wet. Could you please let me in?" I asked. Unfortunately, I not only have the ugliest look but also the most recognizable voice in the world: evil, creepy and somehow girly!

The poor little pig yelled out: "Never! Go away, Big Bad Wolf!"

My nose tickled, and a sneeze came before I could stop myself. A-A-Ah-Chooooooooooooo……………!

I must have had a cold. Straw overwhelmed my face. When I opened my eyes, the straw house had magically disappeared. Where was this super power coming from? It must have been the result of my track practice recently. The poor terrified little pig had dashed away as fast as he could.

"Wait! I’m so sorry! I will help you build that house again!" I exclaimed. I sprinted after him with the fish bags smacking on my back. He got into another house made of sticks and locked it.

Better than a straw house, but still not so safe, I thought. Through the window, I saw two pigs shaking with fright. It must be his brother over there. I asked again: "Dear little pig, I’m cold and wet. Could you please let me in?"

“Never, go away Big Bad Wolf!" they answered.

That was when I felt like another sneeze coming.  A-A-Ah-Chooooooooooooo……………! 

A rain of sticks fell upon my head. Again, the two little pigs disappeared before I could explain anything. I followed them immediately. This stupid fish bag was getting heavier and heavier because of the rain. Finally, I came to a gorgeous house made of bricks. Through the window, I saw three pigs with stunned faces. How many brother pigs are there? Again, I asked: "Dear little pig, I’m cold and wet. Could you please let me in?"

"Never, go away Big Bad Wolf!" they shouted out.

That’s when I felt a sneeze coming in. Not again! Oh please, oh God, I prayed, I will definitely die if a rain of bricks falls on my head this time.  A-A-Ah-Chooooooooooooo……………! 

Fortunately, God was fast. The house was still there, and I was still alive. I jumped with joy and happiness. Unfortunately, I ended up landing on their chimney. This must have been another result of my track practice. Suddenly, I smelled something. That’s weird. I smell like BBQ, I thought. I looked down, just to see smoke coming out from my feet. I screamed in horror, and jumped back out. I landed safely on the ground, but it felt like I was missing something. My tail….and my fish had become part of the Pigs' supper. I walked away, hungry, wet and burned, feeling terrible. Well, I did hear that Little Red Riding Hood will visit her grandma next week. I should try my luck then!

And as they say: “And they all lived happily ever after. The end.”

About the author:
Natalie Bui (left) is a sophomore from Vietnam. She was a member of her school's speech team in 2011-2012, and she was the novice serious prose champion at one meet. She enjoys reading and sleeping in her spare time.

guest post: "love or die" by elaine chen

May is that insanely busy time when my life gets super stressful because of looming yearbook deadlines. This year is worse than most because, well, my staff and I have really struggled to get pages finished! Through the end of May, I probably won't be creating much original content for this blog, other than a few book reviews. But I do have a treat for you! I recently held a writing contest in my ESL Reading class. The students were to write a story from an animal's perspective, and the top three entries would receive bonus points on the final and be published on my blog. Today, we have the third place winner. Be sure to leave a comment telling Elaine what you think of her story!

Love or Die
by Elaine Chen

This is the city of spiders. The most remarkable scene is in front of an elegant house, and many spiders are waiting outside.

“Sorry, I can’t.” This is my daily conversation with my suitors because I want to find someone who loves every aspect of me and not only my beauty. I am a pretty Black Widow spider; my name is Abby. I think those suitors only like my beauty and don’t know me. However, one particular day, the one appears who will make my wish come true.

This night I hear the most familiar melody: “Never mind, I'll find someone like you; I wish nothing but the best for you, too. Don’t forget me, I beg; I remember you said. Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead.” This is my favorite song. I begin to find who is singing this song. 

I see a spider under my window, and he is playing a guitar. He is a tarantula spider not a black widow spider. But he is a really handsome boy and he has nice voice. I feel good about this, so I begin talking with him. His name is Hitler and he likes to sing. He also is an attractive boy. Tonight is the darkest night, so he can't really see my face. I think I find a nice boy, and he really loves me, not just my beauty. I don’t care that we are not same kind of spider. I just know I love him and he loves me. I want to be with him. So quickly we are married. I think I am the most happy spider who ever lived in the world. 

After a while I have a new trouble; I am expecting a baby. In my family, if we have a baby, we need to kill the husband because we need to have more nutrition. If I don't kill my husband, I will die. My husband doesn't know this law because he is a tarantula, not a black widow. I feel very tangled because I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to kill my husband. I love him to much. For a long time, I feel confused. Finally I make a decision. I have to sacrifice myself for my husband, but I will not tell my husband why I am dying. 

I feel more and more weak. Tonight I lay on my bed, and I feel someone close to me. Eventually, I can’t move or speak. Then I see my husband Hitler by my bed. I want to ask him to help me. But he doesn't say anything or do anything. He just looks at me, and then he begins to cry. “I feel sorrow about that, my dear. Your friend told me every black widow will kill their husband. I know you will kill me and eat me; if you don’t eat me you will die. But I don’t want to die, so I just will eat you. I am so sorry. You need to remember I will love you forever.” 

I want to tell him I will not eat him, but I can’t speak. I also want to tell him my body has toxins. If you eat me, you will die also. But I do not have the strength.

After that, I hear the most familiar melody: “Never mind, I'll find someone like you; I wish nothing but the best for you, too. Don’t forget me, I beg; I remember you said. Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead.”

Finally we all die.

About the author:
Elaine Chen (right) is a sophomore from China. She is currently a sophomore. Elaine enjoys playing on her computer in her spare time.

i'm not a momma, but i sure love my kids

This post is mainly a reminder to myself—I think everyone is more than ready for school to get out for the summer, and I've sensed it in myself more this year than ever before. At times, I hear my tone of voice when speaking to a student and inwardly cringe. So this look back at the kids I love will hopefully help me remember again why I do what I do!

I know I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again: The reason I continue to work at NC, year after year, is because I've fallen in love ... with a bunch of Asian kids. I distinctly remember the first time I realized just how much I cared about these kids who came from across the globe to learn English. It was in the spring of my second year working full time at NC. I was walking across the lawn from my office in the boys' dorm to the administration building. I don't know what exactly was on my mind, but suddenly the realization that I loved "my" internationals hit me like a ton of bricks. I even teared up, which is unusual for me. In all the years since that day, as students come and go, there's always a special place in my heart for our international students.

Here are a few of this year's special students:

Part of my Reading II class with The Light Across the River, our first book of the year. It's the sequel to Across the Wide River, which I reviewed for Kregel last summer. I have so much fun with this class! Left to right: Hannah, Mia, Rae, Natalie, Kyle. Poor Kyle was the only boy in the class for the first semester!

One of the advantages of being assistant speech coach this year (as opposed to head coach, which I was for the previous seven years) was that I had more time to work with the international students on the team. This was a good thing, as we had 30 kids on the team, and 10 of them were internationals! I can't help but admire the students who will go out for speech—daunting for any student—when they'll be speaking in a language they're just learning! One of my favorite moments of the speech season was when Yena (front row, center, red dress and black shoes) won serious prose at our conference meet. I was so proud! Above are the junior and senior speech team members at Honor, the spring formal.

Some of my favorite times of the year are when the kids need to find homestays (American families to stay with over breaks). I love opening my home to one or two girls. This Easter, I had two girls stay with me: Mina and Lindsey. We had so much fun together, and we talked about some serious stuff, too. Here we are at the Advance Dessert the week after Easter: Mina, me, Lindsey.

These aren't the only students special to me. I could talk about Janet, a girl I'd been praying for ever since I met her, who called me one Saturday morning with exciting news: "Miss Becky, you'll never believe it, but I am a Christian now!" Or Joey, the boy who fell in love with speech and qualified for state each of his three years on the team. Or Elaine, the girl who learned she really could get good grades and who went from F's to B's in my class in less than a semester. Or Wai, or Jay, or Ency, or any of the other 35 international students we have this year. 

They have my heart.

i love aloe juice!

Yes, the title of my post is a lie. Let me explain ...

In my ESL class, we have a "question of the day" nearly every class period. Sometimes I choose the question, and sometimes a student chooses the question. Either way, we all take turns answering. A couple weeks ago, I asked: "What is the strangest food you've ever eaten?" I learned something that day: pig blood is considered a delicacy in Vietnam. They mix it with flour, cook it, slice it up, and eat it. But that's not the point of this post ... When it was my turn to answer, I couldn't think of anything. I mean, I've eaten my share of strange foods, but on the spot, I couldn't come up with anything. Except ... aloe juice.

A few years ago, one of my students gave me a bottle of aloe juice. Before that point, I didn't even know you could drink aloe ... my experience with it extended to my mom's aloe plant—she would use the pulp from it on burns. Well, aloe juice itself isn't bad—it has kind of a nondescript sweet flavor—but it contains that same pulp. Lots of it. I'm a girl who buys the pulp-free orange juice. So pulp-loaded aloe juice is not my cup of tea!

When I went to class on Tuesday, one of my students presented me with a bottle of aloe juice, amid much laughter. Then he asked me to post on facebook that I love aloe juice. I thought I'd do him one better ... Kyle, this post is for you!

See the lighter stuff in the bottle? That's the pulp.

surviving yearbook

I have lived and breathed yearbook for the past four days. From Monday morning at 9:30 through Thursday evening at 6:15, I put in 41 hours and 45 minutes. (Yes, I kept a log.) And now ... drum roll, please ... all 84 pages have been submitted! I've discovered that when I need to work so intensively on a project, I need some things to help me out. Here's what got me through this time:

Dance Dance Revolution for Wii--This functioned as a great stress reliever; trust me, when I was fighting with the ridiculousness that passes for text wrap in our design program, I needed a way to work off my frustration!

An excellent, dedicated student editor--I don't know if I would have survived without Michelle. I certainly wouldn't have been able to submit everything a whole 24-hours early. She even spent hours working on the index, which is an incredibly tedious project. Plus, we get along really well, which doesn't always happen with editors and advisers. I wish I could clone her and keep her as editor forever!

Odd working hours--I am so much more productive at night. I've known this for a long time, but when you have to be at work at 8 a.m. or earlier, it's pretty much impossible to stay up late to accomplish anything. Thus the beauty of this week: I set my own hours! Each night, I worked until midnight or later and then slept in the next morning. The first day was rough--I worked 12 hours, which I'm absolutely not used to--but after that, my body adjusted beautifully. I'm not looking forward to going back to a normal schedule next week.

Lots of snacks and drinks--Yeah, I ate all the goldfish pretzels and animal crackers. I didn't drink the whole 12-pack, though!

Music--Upbeat for the sleepy times (this included lots of boy band music--because I still love me some "Bye, Bye, Bye"--"happy" country, Mike Tompkins videos, and a new fav, Anthem Lights), and cinemix for the "I really need to focus" times.

Antacids--Thanks to all the snacks.

Neck wrap--It's amazing how much this helped when I was feeling the stress in my neck and shoulders. (As a bonus, you can see how ancient the computer in my classroom is. I took my laptop in all week because my desk computer was so maddening. Anybody want to make a donation???)

A way to block facebook and other distracting sites--I used LeechBlock, which allows you to set times of the day to block certain websites. I turned off facebook, Google Reader, and ew.com from 8-4. (Remember how I was working odd hours? Well, LeechBlock usually helped for the first 4-6 hours I worked, but after 4, I had to--gasp!--use some self control. I was moderately successful.)

Now that I'm finished for the school year, it doesn't seem so bad, and I'm pretty impressed with everything that Michelle and I accomplished this week. To those of you who are my facebook friends, thanks for putting up with all my frustrated status updates over the last several days. I promise not to talk about yearbook again ... at least until the fall!

ain't no party like a speech party!

We officially, officially wrapped up the speech season last night with a party at my house. We started out with lots of food.

I think they were fighting about who could look fatter. All I know is Duy ended up looking pregnant!

Then we segued into The Paper Plate Awards. We did this at a speech party three years ago when none of these kids were in speech. Ruth and I remembered how much fun they were then, so we revived them!  We ended up with at least one award for each student. Some were more serious, like "Made Miss Becky Cry," but most were a bit silly.

Jane won the "Miss Becky doesn't know how to pronounce my last name" award because at one speech meet, she was going to get a medal, and the person who would be announcing asked me how to pronounce her last name. I blanked, said something stupid, and he butchered it from the podium!

Joey won the "Miss Becky can't watch me because she's going to laugh" award because by the end of the season, I couldn't listen to either of his speeches without cracking up. And neither speech was funny. So we decided I wouldn't go watch him at state, just in case I got the giggles!

After that, it was game time--some people played "Funglish," this word game where you have to get someone to guess a word by only using the adjectives provided (it's the one pictured below); others played "Swap," a very violent card game; some played Super Mario; and others played "Blurt!", one of my favorite word games.

Then it was time for more food--brownie sundaes--while Jessica "played" the keyboard for us.

We wrapped up with a sing-along and a massive game of "Swap." All in all, it was a great night!

They're all choir kids, and they burst into a rendition of "Rejoice," one of their favorite numbers. After that, we had a Les Miz sing-along.

I'd be remiss if I didn't post a picture of my partner-in-crime, Ruth. We coached together for seven years! (Too bad we weren't looking at the same camera!)

I'm so grateful my house hasn't sold yet and I could have this party. We had a blast!

things that made me smile

I had a great weekend. Seriously, I can't remember when I last had so much fun in one weekend (probably because most of my recent weekends have been consumed by speech ... but we won't go there!). So here's what made me smile:

• Saw my words in print--in a place other than my blogs, the NC Advance, or Amazon! On Friday, I got author Denise Hunter's newest e-newsletter, and in it ... she quoted my review of A Cowboy's Touch! Granted, she didn't say it was me, so no one else knows, but oh, the thrill of seeing my words in her newsletter! I work hard on my reviews, so to have an author say she liked it, well, that pretty much made my day!
• Spent Saturday "babysitting" in the girls' dorm. I was there from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and while I will get paid for my time, it didn't even feel like work. (Isn't that the best kind of job?) While there, I ...

• Finished reading Heart of Ice. It's a good one--check out my review (which probably won't get quoted by the author ...)

•  Watched My Fake Fiance with some of the girls. I'm probably too old for it, but can you go wrong with Blossom's Joey and Sabrina the Teenage Witch? I don't think so!

• Went on an Easter Egg hunt! I'm pretty sure the last time I hunted eggs was eight (?) years ago when cousins Kate and Beth and sister Val came out to visit me at Grace. By the way, my team "won" by collecting the least amount of eggs, and we got all the leftover candy! I ate far too many Starburst jelly beans and then left the rest of my share at the dorm.

The winning (or losing, depending on how you look at it) team: Lindsey, Jessica, and me. We collected a whopping TEN eggs (out of 200)!

• Found a movie music station on the dorm parents' DirecTV. I love movie music, and it provided the perfect accompaniment to my reading!

• Played DDR ... and possibly became addicted! I bought the game from Amazon because I thought I would enjoy it (plus, it was over 50% off), but after playing it once decided it really wasn't for me. I'm not incredibly coordinated ... Then Janet (the girl who spent the last two Christmases with me) asked me to bring it Saturday. She played for hours, and she finally convinced me to try it. It's so fun! I've played four times in the last three days :-)

• Chatted on the phone with college roomie Jen. It had been far too long since we'd spoken, and it was great to catch up! (Note to self: Do a better job of keeping in touch with friends.)
• Took a nice ... windy ... walk with Blendy. We need to do that more often! (Dear Blendy--I'm linking to your blog, so you should probably update it!)
• Went to the dentist this morning. (I can see those questions now: Yes, Monday is still sort-of the weekend because we don't usually have school on Mondays. No, dentist appointments don't usually make me smile.) No new cavities is exactly what I wanted to hear! (Plus, I didn't get the flossing lecture. So either my mouth looks better than it should, or my dentist is giving up ... )
• Had lunch with Jo, a girl I've known basically since she was born nearly 18 years ago. We're going to be starting a Bible study if we can ever get our schedules to mesh ... but for now, it was nice just to spend a 30-minute lunch with her!

flat stanley's nebraska adventures

I'd never heard of Flat Stanley until some of my elementary education friends at Grace started talking about a Flat Stanley project. I didn't give it too much thought until a few weeks ago, when I received a Facebook message from a friend who teaches in Pennsylvania. Her class is doing a Flat Stanley project, and some of her students didn't know anyone outside of Pennsylvania to send Flat Stanley to. I thought it would be fun, so I volunteered.

I received Flat Stanley on Monday. Here's what we did:

We all gathered at Mom's house to watch the finale of The Bachelor, and we made ice cream using the sweet maker Jamie gave Blendy for her birthday. Also, Val threatened to eat Flat Stanley.

Blendy took Flat Stanley to work with her.

On Wednesday, Flat Stanley went to school with me. Here, he's reading Where the Red Fern Grows with my class.

Alice talks with Flat Stanley after class.

Flat Stanley helps Stephany, our office aide, get a mailing ready to be sent.

On Thursday, Mom and I saw Grand Island Northwest's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was absolutely fantastic! Then we went on a shopping spree at Hy-Vee ... I think Stanley enjoyed it :-)

I had a blast with Flat Stanley! He's on his way back to Pennsylvania right now. I would certainly do another Flat Stanley project if the opportunity presented itself!

sometimes, the answer comes sooner

I've come to expect answers to prayer (at least answers in the affirmative) to come slowly. I've been praying for a husband for the last 11 years. Still waiting on that one. I've been praying for a friend's salvation (though not as consistently as I should) for six years. About a year ago, she told me she had been reading the Bible I gave her, but as far as I know, she hasn't become a Christian. I've been praying about a health insurance issue for several months. I may know the result by the end of the month.

It's not that I think God can't answer "big" prayers soon, but I often think He won't. In the last week, God has answered two of my recent prayers, and I must admit that I was surprised by both of them.

The first answer to prayer came the day after I asked my Bible study group to pray about it. One of my classes, an advanced reading class, is made up of 10 international students, all juniors and seniors. I absolutely love teaching the class, and I've sensed that my relationship with some of the students might be poised to go outside the classroom. So I asked the girls to pray that I'd have wisdom and opportunities to get to know some of the students on a deeper level. The next day, one girl walked into class talking about how much she wanted a Pooh Bear Latte. And I thought, "Here's the opportunity you've been praying for!" I snagged her after class and asked if she'd like to get coffee after school. Coffee turned into over an hour of really good conversation.

The other answer to prayer took a little longer ... three whole weeks! I asked my Bible study group to pray about my relationship with a girl I've known pretty well for a few years. I had a really good talk with her sometime last month, and I asked her if she'd like to get together on a fairly regular basis. Other than mentioning it in Bible study, I did nothing--I just wasn't sure what we should do; I've never seen myself as a mentor before. Last week, she cornered me in the hallway (she goes to NC) and said we needed to talk ASAP. She came over on Sunday night, and we spent four hours together--drinking coffee (do you see a theme???), watching country YouTube videos, and talking about some really serious stuff.

In both cases, I found myself stunned that God would answer my prayers so immediately ... and humbled by my lack of faith. This experience has taught me that I need to pray believing that God will answer, whether it's with a "yes," "no," or "wait"!

a quick update

Life has been so busy lately! I keep thinking of things to write about, but then I don't get around to it. So, here's another of my famous "bullet" updates:

• Mom and I are seeing Straight No Chaser in Omaha tomorrow night! I bought the tickets for her birthday--in May--and it's crazy to think the day is almost here. I'm sure I'll have more to say after the fact. Too bad our tickets aren't as amazing as they were last December!
• I've started a blog for my advanced reading class. As of now, it's private, meaning only the class members and I can read or post to it. We may go public later. For now, though, here's a look at the class (at the top of the page). I absolutely love teaching them!
• My dreadfully neglected other blog lives again! (Well, there's one new post ... it's a start!)
• Blendy and I just signed up for the Singing Christmas Tree. Practices start in just over a week. I love Christmas!
• Speaking of Christmas, how's this for a gimmick? One of our radio stations, Star 97.3, has been playing Christmas music non-stop since Sunday afternoon. Apparently the station is switching formats--listeners are about to receive the "gift" of a new radio station ... hence the Christmas music in the meantime. I listened off and on for about a day--now I wish they'd just get on with it and play whatever it is they're going to play. At least I haven't heard the Christmas song that makes me want to drive over a cliff ... (Another station switched formats almost exactly a year ago. They had their own annoying gimmick to go with the switch.)
• I've signed up for my first 5K! Val's going to run it, and Blendy and I will walk it together. Wish us luck!
• I just found a new "favorite" movie. It's called Perfect Romance, and you can watch it on Hulu for a few more days. Starring LOST's Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick), it's a cute little romance ... and it's incredibly clean, especially considering it's a Lifetime movie. If you're a sucker for romance, you'll like it!

narnia revisited

One of the classes I teach is an intermediate-level reading class. We finished reading C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe a couple weeks ago, and then we watched the recent Hollywood version. (I vastly prefer the BBC production from the '80s, but I knew my kids would be turned off by the special effects--or lack thereof!) While waiting for our next book to arrive, I had a few days to kill. We played Blurt!one day, which was a smashing success, but I worried we were too noisy. So the next day, I decided to show Prince Caspian via Netflix's instant streaming. My students are loving it. Me, not so much.

When I first saw Prince Caspian, I was less than impressed. I blogged about it, saying,

I saw Prince Caspian with friends last night. Entertainment-wise, I'd give it an A. But in terms of staying true to the story, a C- would be generous. (If you haven't seen the movie yet and plan to, it'd be best to skip to the next paragraph now!) I fell in love with The Chronicles of Narnia at a very young age. I've read the books (or had them read to me) three or four times, and I've seen the BBC version of Prince Caspian many times. I'd heard rumors that this movie changed many story details, but I had no idea how many! From a completely invented "storming the castle" battle to Caspian and Peter almost "freeing" the White Witch to Aslan not appearing until the very end of the movie, I couldn't believe all the changes. The last straw, however, was something I'd generally be all for: romance. But a romance between Caspian and Susan? Give me a break! When they kissed at the end, one of the guys I was with said (a bit too loudly) exactly what I was thinking: "Now they've ruined the movie!"

Having seen 3/4 of it again (we'll finish it on Tuesday), I can say my opinion hasn't changed at all. And I'm regretting showing it to my class, as they're getting the "reimagined" version without knowing the true story.

I do have some hope for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, though, thanks to this report. I'm glad the filmmakers have recognized they made mistakes with Prince Caspian. After Caspian, I wasn't sure I'd shell out my hard-earned money to see Dawn Treader in the theater, but now I probably will!

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

short weekend, short week!

• My school had its annual benefit auction on Saturday night; as a result, I worked for seven hours Saturday afternoon and evening! (Fortunately, my job was fun, fairly stress-free, and with great people, so it didn't actually feel like seven hours.) That left me with a shorter weekend than usual ... however, one of the benefits of working at a Christian school is that we take time off for Easter, so I have a four-day weekend coming up!
• Once again, I seem to be in the business of killing plants. Stacey gave me an aloe vera plant around Christmas. It looked great for a long time, but recently it's been looking a little peaked. It's probably because it hasn't gotten much light ...
• I finally got some data pulled off the hard drive of my fried computer. I bought this external hard drive enclosure from Newegg.com, and it works really well. I was concerned it might not be compatible with Windows 7, but I had no problems at all ... even though the installation instructions were quite obviously not written by a native English speaker and I had to fill in the blanks! (Example: After plug the external box into, the system will remind you there is a new hardware of USB Storage Adapter adds into. After for a while, click "My Computer", USB HDD will appear the relativity on the PC.) I pulled off the things I needed (my 2008 tax return) or wanted (my iTunes download of Dr. Horrible) and left everything else alone--it seems to be working well, so why fill the hard drive of my laptop if I don't need to?
• Blendy and I cleaned my apartment because one of my students will be staying with me over Easter. She then actually updated her blog, so you can read about our weekend here!
• I am totally caught up on my reading! I have two reviews due the week of April 5 and another due the next week--and I've read all the books and written one of the reviews already! So what am I doing with my spare time? Reading! I just got the newest Karen Kingsbury book, Take Three, and I had a really difficult time putting it down last night.
• Speaking of my book review books, I have a whole bunch of giveaways coming up, so keep checking the blog! 
• I got my free copy of Emma today. Perfect timing, as the last movie I reviewed on my other blog was the Gwyneth Paltrow version of Emma. If you click over there, you'll notice the blog has a new look ... one that's much more "me"!
• Spring has finally come to central Nebraska! As I dove home from work today, I noticed the other drivers; nearly every one had the driver's window open. I immediately opened the windows in my apartment once I got home, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the warm breeze.
• The weddings are coming up! I bought my dress for Jen's wedding last Sunday, and Melissa's aunt is altering my dress for Melissa's wedding ... which is now less than two weeks away!
• Right now, I'm watching the new season of Dancing with the Stars. Missed it last week because of a work thing, so I'm seeing the changes--the new opening, new co-host, new dancers--for the first time. So far, I don't have a favorite ... but I do have someone I'm hoping gets kicked off first: Jake Pavelka, the Bachelor himself. Does ABC really think America still loves him? And if Vienna's sitting in the audience looking all googly-eyed, I may just have to hurl.

my day, facebook style

Becky

• can't believe it's morning.
• wishes she didn't have to scrape her car.
• remembers more US history than she expected and probably would have gotten at least an 80% on the juniors' final!
• is thankful for friends she can vent to.
• hates the computer in her classroom.
• wishes the yearbook deadline wasn't on Wednesday.
• hopes the predicted blizzard doesn't come!
• really could use a latte.
• doesn't enjoy tomato chunks in her tomato sauce :-(
  
• 's brain feels like mush.
• is shocked. Steph K doesn't know who Harrison Ford is! 
  
• wishes her students had turned in their spreads on time.
• can't believe how much the gift of a latte brightened her day!
• loves laughing with the Dockweiler boys.
• is taking home a lot of work tonight.
• opened her apartment door and was shocked at the sight of her living room--Stubes did a great job cleaning it!
• is trying (rather unsuccessfully) to edit spreads while Chrissy plays country videos on YouTube.
• had supper with the fam.
• is editing. Still.
• loves Landrigan cookies!
  
• just discovered SNC's Ryan Ahlwardt's solo music. Some of it is pretty good.
• will be up very, very late tonight.
• hopes tomorrow's Stuco event is a success.
• has listened to Ryan Ahlwardt's "My Strength to Jesus" repeatedly. He sounds a bit like Chris Rice here--in other songs, he sounds like John Mayer or Jason Mraz.
• :: James 1:19-20 "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."
• just made Janae the best birthday present ever!
• isn't accomplishing much yearbook-wise.
• is getting frustrated and has to constantly remind herself of James 1:19-20.
• has complied quite the mental list of issues to cover in yearbook after Christmas break. Perhaps it's time to write them down!
• is glad that Janet is coming to spend Christmas vacation with her!
• still hasn't heard her most hated Christmas song! Here's hoping she makes it through the next four days without hearing it!
  
• :: Why is caption writing so difficult?
  
• decided not to put up her new curtain rod--the neighbors probably wouldn't appreciate the sound of the power drill at 11:30 p.m.!
• just remembered that she still needs to make copies of the final she's giving in the morning.
• should stop blogging and start focusing on yearbook!
  

catching up

Now that NaNoWriMo is over, I feel like I have my life back. Sort of. I'm no longer tied to my laptop for hours a day, but December brings its own craziness. So here are some little snippets I've been wanting to tell you but haven't taken the time to yet:

• Amazon is once again offering a free Christmas mp3 every day of the month through Christmas. Of course, these are hit and miss in their quality, but it's worth checking out.
• Last year, I blogged about Christmas music. Karen left a comment recommending Selah's Rose of Bethlehem. At that point last year, I'd already spent way too much money on Christmas music, so I didn't consider buying it, even though I love Selah. Yesterday, it popped up as a recommendation on Amazon. I listened to the 30-second preview of each song, and then I downloaded the mp3 album. Phenomenal! I highly recommend it.
• I officially have my first cold of the season ... fortunately, this cold seems to be controllable by DayQuil. Most of the time, cold medicine just knocks me out, but today I felt better after taking it! I'm hoping my ears don't get plugged ... that would make singing quite difficult!
• Speaking of singing, we have our first official Singing Christmas Tree concerts this weekend. We had a dress rehearsal last night, and things were pretty rough (as in nearly all the altos stopped singing during one song because we couldn't find our notes. It was truly painful). We have another dress rehearsal tomorrow night, and the concerts start on Saturday ...
• But I'll be missing the Saturday concerts because I'm going to see The Nutcracker in Omaha with our international students!
• You might notice new badge on the left hand side of the blog. I've joined another book review program--"Blogging for Books" for Waterbrook Multnomah. Multnomah put out the Palisades romances in the '90s, but they do publish books that aren't in the Christian romantic fiction vein. I'm very excited about the first two books I'm going to review for them, but as I don't have the books yet and the reviews can't be posted until sometime in January, I'll keep you in suspense a little longer!
• Saw The Blind Side with my sisters and cousins on Sunday. I loved it! It's a feel-good movie and it actually portrays Christians in a positive light! (Side note: Tim McGraw looks completely different when he's clean shaven and not wearing a cowboy hat!)
• I haven't posted on my other blog since Halloween. I do intend to remedy that soon, honestly!
• The latest issue of the Advance should be mailed tomorrow. (Finally!) You can also see it here. Note my awesome cousin Nate, trumpeter extraordinaire, on page 3 and my wonderful student council kids on page 8. The STUCO kids make my role as adviser fun and incredibly easy!
• I'm having a love affair with apple cider. STUCO sponsored a Thanksgiving social, and we majorly overestimated how much cider we'd need. I brought a full jug home with me, and I've been drinking some every night. How had I never before realized just how awesome cider is?
  
• My apartment is still completely undecorated. I did put up my stairwell decorations, so anyone who goes to the mailboxes will think I'm ready for Christmas. It's just a ploy. Maybe I'll have some time on Saturday???
• Cari suggested I write the book jacket synopsis for my novel and post it. That's a great idea ... I'll just have to force myself to do it! I will throw you a bone for now ... the title is Together for Good. 
• Have to give them points for creative marketing ... I got this in the mail the other day:
  
  
  
  
  
  I really have no interest whatsoever in the show (especially after reading the review in TV Guide), but I could always use another jump drive!
  
  
  
  
• Our amazing drama team took second place in our district this week! I love drama competitions because I don't have a real job to do--I just go along because I'm state certified and our drama director isn't. So I get to enjoy the play without the stress that comes with being in charge! The play is called "Searching for Happily Ever After." It is, as one of our judges so aptly put it, "Walt Disney meets the Bible."
  

sleep? who needs it!

• I should be sleeping. In fact, an hour ago I was dozing on the couch. But then I got up to get a drink, and now I'm completely awake!
• At what point does a fever become a fever? If I'm at, say, 98.9, should I stay home, even though I feel fine? My normal temp is 97.9 (at least according to my digital thermometer). With the flu going around, is one degree considered dangerous and/or contagious?
• Why would Amazon offer me a deal on something I bought from them last week? Every day, Amazon has these "gold box" deals where they offer items for quite a bit less than the normal price. (This is how I got Dr. Quinn last year.) If you have an Amazon account, they'll also personalize some offers based on your purchase and browsing history. These deals aren't too exciting, as they usually knock about a dollar off the regular price. I've often seen deals on things I already have--especially books--but never on something I actually purchased from Amazon. Why would they think I'd want to buy another???
• After all my talk (just ask my sister) about how it's so much better to download from Amazon than iTunes, I went and downloaded Michael Bublé's Crazy Love from iTunes. I got sucked in by the promise of a video for "Haven't Met You Yet." I assumed it would be the official video. Nope--it's the promo video. So save your money, buy the Amazon MP3 Exclusive Version, and just download the instrumental version of "Haven't Met You Yet" from iTunes. (Trust me, you'll want it.)
• One of the coolest aspects of my job is being able to have a front row seat to see how God transforms the lives of some of the students. Just yesterday, a girl who I had to discipline last week came up to me, threw her arms around my neck, and said, "Miss Becky, I'm so sorry!" This is a girl who, less than a year ago, would have either held a grudge against me or would have apologized without really meaning it. But yesterday, I knew she was sincerely remorseful and wanted to repair our relationship. And that change could only have come about through the power of God!
• I'm getting another free book to read--and this time, it's not a book review blogger book! It's Colleen Coble's The Lightkeeper's Daughter. I'm anxious to read it and review it.
  
• My alarm is going off in six hours. Must. Sleep. Now.
  
  

i love my speechers!

I haven't blogged too much about speech this season. But now that the season is over, it's time for a recap. We had the best year we've had in my five years of coaching. First of all, we were more successful as a team, placing second at both our conference and district meets and ninth at the state meet. But more importantly, this team really enjoyed being together. The members became great friends, and it was a joy to coach them.

Last week, the junior high and high school students washed all the school's vehicles as a service project. When they finished with the school buses, vans, etc., they moved on to staff cars. This is perhaps embarrassing, or maybe just indicative of my upbringing, but that was the first time my car had been washed since I bought it nearly two years ago! It looked amazing from the front . . . but then I saw the back windows . . . The elephant is because Horton Hears a Who was kind of our theme this year. I'm not exactly sure why . . . And "Godspeed" was our catch phrase for the year. Right before the first meet, the juniors had a discussion with one of their teachers about how Christians should say "Godspeed" instead of "Good Luck" . . . and it stuck! At our annual speech showcase last week, the team presented the assistant coach and me with copies of Horton Hears a Who that they had all written notes in, and one of the girls gave me "good luck" socks to wear at the state meet. (I wore them during the awards ceremony.) So here we are (minus 5): The 2009 Speech Team!