a little recognition

Without my friend Jen, I would never remember Administrative Professional's Day (or Week, if you prefer). So, it snuck up on me again last week, and I only realized that Wednesday was the day because Jen posted something about it on Facebook. Nothing was done for me or the other secretaries that day ... but the next day ...

I arrived to find a coffee on my desk. Then, when I returned from my afternoon class, I found all of this:

The cookies are from the business manager and his wife, and the flowers, card, and saying are from the principal and his wife. I definitely felt appreciated :-)

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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.”

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statement about reviews & recommendations (part 2)

Last October, due to the FTC's new blogger guidelines, I blogged about my connection to the products I review and/or recommend. Since then, a few things have changed, so I wanted to update you.

I still review books for Thomas Nelson, though I don't do as many as I used to. You may have noticed the name change from Book Review Blogger to BookSneeze.

I am now also a member of WaterBrook Multnomah's Blogging for Books program. (If you're a regular reader of this blog, I'm sure you've figured that out by now!) This is a great program that I'd encourage you to join if you have a blog and enjoy reading. I've had the opportunity to read and review some wonderful books (as well as one book I didn't like so much ... but that review is still in the making!), and I love the fact that they often provide me with an extra copy to give away!

I'm still an Amazon Associate, though to date I've made a whopping ten cents! And, since Amazon only pays when an associate reaches $10, I have yet to see my dime.

I recently joined a similar program at bookschristian.com. Most of my links for Christian books, music, and movies will probably point to them from now on. Their pricing is very similar to Amazon's.

When I signed up with bookschristian.com, they provided me with a link to Michael Hyatt's blog post on the FTC guidelines. Hyatt is the CEO of Thomas Nelson, and his blog is the reason I started reviewing books in the first place. (When Thomas Nelson published Lynne Spears' book Through the Storm, Hyatt offered free review copies to the first 200 bloggers to respond to his post. I was one of those bloggers, and shortly after that, the Book Review Blogger program was born.) In an effort to comply with the new guidelines, Hyatt recommends adding a "Disclosure of Material Connection" at the bottom of posts. So, to ensure I'm following the guidelines, I'll be doing that--ridiculous as it may seem.

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going to the chapel ...

My dear friend Melissa got married last weekend, and I had the honor of being one of her bridesmaids. The wedding was held in the bustling city of O'Neill. O'Neill calls itself the Irish capital of Nebraska, and I found it quite amusing that whenever anyone gave directions, they invariably started out with, "You go past the Shamrock ..." Yes, O'Neill has a giant shamrock painted on the main intersection. But that's not the point of this post!

The wedding itself was so nice. It was very sweet, and everyone could see how in love and how happy they were! I also enjoyed how short it was ... the ceremony was no longer than 30 minutes, and the reception didn't last more than an hour!

Melissa and me right before the wedding.

Me and my sisters.

The happy couple!

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my father the hero

I've previously mentioned the snake problem at my grandma's house. It's gotten to the point where I won't go into the basement unless it's absolutely necessary. Our most recent encounter with the snakes occurred last weekend when my family went down to visit Grandma for Easter. When we arrived, my dad went to the basement to turn on the water. Mom followed him shortly, and they remained downstairs for a suspiciously long amount of time. When they finally reemerged, Dad was carrying this:

You can't see what's inside the bucket, but trust me--it's a snake! I could see it slithering around ... ewww! Dad carried it outside--all the while, I was yelling, "Kill it! Kill it!"--put a heavy flowerpot on top, and left it until morning. Then he took care of it--and called me out to take a picture:

The animal rights people wouldn't call him a hero, but I sure do!

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