This Day In History...

April 8, 2008. Bound to be a memorable day, don't you think? It's been awhile since the last update, so, in my attempt to be a faithful blogger...here I am, on this aspicious day. What's been going on? Well, thanks for asking...

-I've start my Master's Degree. It's really amazing, a lot of work, and, well, mind-boggling. We start at the very beginning (a very good place to start) which means creation and all the current scientific theories that surround it. Yes, lots and lots of science and big bang theory and evolution and attempts to understand scientifically what happened oh-so long ago. Let's just say, it's all a bit over my head, but I am enjoying it.-Today, the second book in the Penderwick series hits bookshelves across the nation. SO.EXCITED.ABOUT.THIS.BOOK. After joining goodreads and having all these bookshelves to organize what I've read, I realize I read A LOT of children's/ya books. Not that I care, I just noticed it. I recommend this book for anyone wanting to relive their childhood...-Thirdly, the Ways leave for China. Today. So wonderful. I wish you all fare-thee-well and 'Bu De Bu Ai'.-Fourthly, Ruth and Eric leave for China tomorrow. Coincidence? I think not. What are the odds of two of my favorite families being in China at the same time? Let's just say, I'll be watching the nightly news a little more closely with them over there to see what international incident they create.

-Fifthly, I am not leaving for China. Today or tomorrow. Let's move on...

-Sixthly, Cara tagged me on her blog to show my purse and it's contents. Cara, I haven't done it yet, but I will. I have no excuse other than the fact that it seems like a lot of work to me to take a picture, download it, and post it. No, not kidding.

I think that's all here. I'm going to enjoy a wonderful lunch with my hubby and the Ways, Boba date with Brittany and the thrift store, and then lots of evolution and Hebrew. Peace out ya'll.

The way of the world...

Last Sunday, January 26th, American Aid Worker Cyd Mizell was kidnapped in Kandahar, Afghanistan. An English teacher at the local university, and an embroidery teacher at a girls school, Cyd worked with the Asian Rural Development Foundation in an attempt to better Afghanistan. A Christian, she was known as a "ministering angel" to many women in the region. As of today, there are no leads as to who kidnapped her and her driver, and there has been no contact with the kidnappers. I urge you all to pray for her safe return, and for a bold witness as she has a chance to minister to those that might not otherwise hear the gospel.

And of course, this is super depressing. I mean, no one's heard anything in 5 days? That's horrible. But here's the amazing thing. Yesterday, 500 women came out and protested her kidnapping and urged the government to find her captors. And that wasn't in the US, that was in Afghanistan. Isn't that amazing??? Can you imagine 500 burqa-clad women in the streets protesting for, esentially, their rights? What an impact Cyd had on these women.

I only hope that by the time I'm gone, my life will have counted for something. That I'll have left a legacy and been an active shower and do-er of my faith, and love.

So keep her in your prayers...and let her challenge you to really live out your faith!

Oh, so much really...

Well, it seems that quite a bit has happened and I'm going to now attempt to catch everyone up. First things first...-Congratulations to my hips, TK and Rachael, for winning The Amazing Race 12! I'll be honest, I didn't think you guys could pull it off at the beginning of the season. But I rooted for you the whole time and am happy to see that once again, hippies take the cake.
-Although yesterday evening television provided wins I appreciated, the afternoon did not. Tears go out to my San Diego Chargers who lost gallantly (well...) to the Patriots. I love you guys, but next time, get a touchdown. Also, the Packers were defeated by the Giants which now means I have no interest in the Super Bowl this year whatsoever. Boo.
-Congrats to Brent and Crisha who had a super cute baby boy earlier this week. Ezekiel, it's so nice to finally have you here!
- Hannah gets to go to Nepal this summer to work in an orphanage. Enough said.
-50. That's the number of books I own that I haven't read. Seriously? And that was being nice. I didn't count books that I've read part of, or that Jon owned, or travel guides/books from all the foreign cities we've visited. Yikes. So, going along with this year of simplicity, my goal is to read them and then re-organize. My guess is that I won't want to keep all of them. Simplicity. Wish me luck.
-I am bad at resolutions, especially when I attempt to read through the Bible in a year. I always get to somewhere around Ezekiel, and lose it. So this year, I am trying again, but in a quite leisurely manner. No set number of chapters a day, just reading and trying to get the meat out of it. But I need your help. Keep me accountable. I'm in Genesis, so in a week or so, make sure I'm out of Genesis and on to Exodus.
-I'm going to watch Newsies. Ah, Newsies...have a great Monday everyone!

An Enchanted Week (In Which Morgan becomes Corporate Morgan...)

Hello everyone out in blog land. I'm super glad it's Friday, even though it was actually a fun week. But this weekend I want to get Christmas decorations up, and start shopping, and bake cookies, and do everything else that's so materialistically connected to Christmas. Fun!


So, this week, Jon (being the sweet guy he is) took me on a date. But, this wasn't just any date. He took me to see 'Enchanted'. Now that's commitment. I really wanted to see this movie, and I really enjoyed it. It's the typical Disney princess movie, but done very modern and with just the slightest amount of mockery at the genre they perfected. And that's what makes it so fun. Amy Adams is PHENOMENAL as Gisele. And McDreamy is wonderful, Idina Menzel (oh how I love thee Idina...) is a great addition, and the little girls name is Morgan. What more could I want? And you know how every little girl has a Disney Princess she wants to be? I never had that, but now I do. I mean, Giselle sings, and she's a seamstress. Hello??? Oh, and when I was looking for an image of Enchanted, look what I found? It's a McDreamy doll! Now I know what to get Britt for Christmas!

After that we went to Olive Garden thanks to a gift card from our friend Brian. Thanks Brian! After dinner the date ended because we went to Britt's to watch 'Hairspray'! I've been dying to see this since it came out, but being gone for Thanksgiving we never had time to get together and watch it. I'm really glad I finally got to, though. It was super cute and I really enjoyed it. I knew the whole soundtrack, so it was interesting to see how the songs actually fit in verses how the movie played out in my head. Nikki Blonsky was wonderful as Tracy, she played the role so well. Zac Efron was hysterical, he cracked me up and I totally loved him as cocky but loveable Link. Seaweed was my favorite though, his voice is just AMAZING. I was disappointed with Amanda Bynes though. She was cute, and acted the part well, but it's a musical people. Hire someone who can sing. Sorry Parker.

On Wednesday night we all headed up to SLO for SWITCHFOOT! I hadn't seen Switchfoot perform since, ummm, 2002 maybe? It was high time for a show. And they didn't disappoint. Reliant K opened for them, and they were actually really fun. They had written a song about 'The Office', and then went into the theme of the show. So awesome. Switchfoot rocked, it was so stinkin' amazing. They're so talented, and put on such a great show, and Jon has such a stinkin' amazing voice. After the show we waited in the meet and greet line for Switchfoot, but couldn't get in. But then Jerome saw me and got us in, woo hoo! I hadn't seen Jerome since right after I got back from Turkey. That feels like forever ago! It was so fun to see him and have him meet Jon and Britt, and just catch up on old times. We also got to meet Jon Foreman, that was pretty sweet. This picture's stolen from Britt's myspace because she hasn't sent it to me yet. Ahem. So good times all around, and three cheers for Switchfoot. Cheers, cheers, cheers!
Yesterday I woke up and had a wicked migrane. So I stayed home from work and read and drank coffee all day. It was actually amazing. My head didn't hurt too bad if I stayed laying down...so that's what I did all day. I think I really needed it. I woke up super refreshed today. So, yeah for migranes!

I hope you all had as good of a week as I did. Oh! And welcome back Hannah! Hope the Holy Land was, well, enchanting!

I've been tagged!

Lisa tagged me. So, these are the rules:
• Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
• At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog for these rules.

1. I can blow air out of my right eye. Granted, I can't do it on purpose. It generally only happens when I get really stuffed up from allergies and attempt to blow my nose. Since nothings' moving, air then chooses to go out of my eye. Wierd, eh? But I kinda like the feeling.

2. I HATE sad movies, and make a point to generally not watch them. But almost ALL of my favorite books are sad.

3. If I drink hot coffee, it has to be sweetened or I'll probably pass on it. But if I'm drinking Iced Coffee, it can't be sweetened. It can only have a little cream.

4. If I could do anything, I would be a Broadway preformer. But I hate singing in front of people. I really need to get over it.

5. If I hadn't majored in music, I would've majored in Archeology.

6. Last but not least. Even though I drink coffee every day, I think if I could only drink one beverage for the rest of my life, it would be tea. There's so many options! Hot, cold, green, black, white, caffeinated, sans caffeine, milk tea, iced tea, tea lattes. Yum!

Okay, I tag Farah, Michael, Parker, Anissa, Carrie, and Ruth. Ruth, have you already been tagged? Oh well, I haven't seen it yet!

V. exciting.

I am very excited because there are some good things happening. What, you ask?
-Autumn Apple Bread with Honey Butter. Ig and Fauf, you missed out.
-Amazing Race 12. It looks like they're going to, gasp, Taiwan! A trip to Din Tai Fung may be necessary.
-Parker. He hired me to answer answer his cell phone. I get paid per phone call. That means, EVERYONE CALL PARKER.
-After questioning from Britt, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix comes out December 11th. That's soon, and I'm excited.
-Amaris hates Santa Claus, but likes Milos, even though they both have beards. Important truths from 3 year olds rock my world.
-Amazing thrift store finds for Hannah and I. Total for both rockin' dresses: $2.90.
-Missionaries from Japan spoke in Sunday School today, and it was so inspiring, encouraging, and it made me want to travel to Japan. Soon. With the Wrights.
-Archaeological Study Bible. LOVE.THIS.BIBLE.

So, what's exciting in your life?

I'm a Ravenpuff???

Lately, my friends and I have been discussing Harry Potter with all the fervency of a pre-book season. But even with the ending of this series, the discussions go on and consume our thoughts. On Sunday, we began with a simple discussion of the House colors, which then turned into all of us wondering, "What house would we be sorted into?" I had taken a quiz once that said I was Ravenclaw. I don't really know much about the houses beyond the simple "Gryffindor's are brave, Slytherin's are mean (I mean cunning), Ravenclaw's are smart, and Hufflepuffs are, well, they're just the rest." Michael then confirmed to me that I was Ravenclaw.

"Morgan, you're Ravenclaw" Michael states with certain knowledge (as he does with all of HP).


"Really? That's what the quiz said. Why do you say that?"


"Because you ARE."

Well, that settles it I guess. I tend not to disagree with most of what Michael says about HP, so, maybe I am Ravenclaw. But, let's do a bit of research, eh? There's many good sites out there that gave some insight into not only the houses, but the dorms, characters, etc. Of course, there's the most info on Slytherin and Gryffindor. A great site I found is here, and gives lots of really interesting info on all the houses. Ravenclaws are described as thus: "Ravenclaw values intelligence, creativity, wit and wisdom. 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure' is an oft-repeated Ravenclaw proverb." I do value knowledge and creativity. I would like to be known as an intelligent being, one that desires knowledge, and willingly passes it onto others. I believe in a creative God, and think he endowed each of us with a different capacity for creating, and for beauty. To me, Ravenclaw is a noble house. I like that I would belong in Ravenclaw.

But it's never THAT simple. I took a couple more tests, and a few put me in Hufflepuff. Okay, more research time. While Hufflepuff is unfortunately known as the house that had the idea to "put all the appalling duffers in one house, calling it Hufflepuff, and giving it the sign of a badger".


They're generally known as the rejects, or the "kind" ones (which makes kindness sound a bit pathetic next to bravery, cunning, and wisdom). But I found this definition, and really like it. "Hufflepuff, founded by Helga Hufflepuff, values hard work, loyalty, tolerance, and fair play above all else." Wait, that sounds like a really cool house. And let's not forget the most notable Hufflepuff of all time, the courageous, wise, loyal Cedric Diggory. I don't think anyone would dare call him a duffer. In fact, Cedric is one of my top 3 favorite characters (following only Snape and Sirius Black). Who wouldn't love a friend like Cedric? Who doesn't appreciate those people that are loyal to a fault, kind to all, and willing to befriend the rejects. To me, it sounds like Jesus would be a Hufflepuff, and we go and make fun of this house! I think Hufflepuff is the most noble, simply for the reason it is seen as the furtherest from that. This world honors that which elevates mans own power and wisdom, not that which values putting others before you.

So, which am I? I think Michaels right. I AM Ravenclaw. Don't think I'm here, stroking my ego, boasting in my own intelligence. I think I'm semi-smart, have a desire to learn, and I really do love school. I revel in creativity and the beauty that it reveals. But do I value those traits above people? Yes, I probably do most of the time, becoming a bit (okay, a lot) judgmental of those that don't have those traits...those Hufflepuffs, perhaps? But all that judgmentalism is simply a jealousy that they can love people more than theories, and I'm stuck in the corner with my books.

Hopefully, as I grow in Christ, I'll become more Hufflepuff, and less Ravenclaw. God made me who I am, and I doubt he wants me to forsake all knowledge and learning. But I can give it a rest at times in order to love those he's placed in my life. So everyone be patient with me as I LEARN to be Hufflepuff. :)

Police, everybody down!

Well, yesterday was quite the day, let me tell you. It started with a bit of sleeping in (huzzah!) and the beginning of my CBS Bible Study. I joined CBS last year after Jenn Allen told me how wonderful it was, and she was right. I'm so excited to begin again. And what are we studying you ask? Acts! SO. EXCITED. ABOUT. ACTS. So, since CBS let out early, being the first one, I sat myself down at Starbucks and read a bit of Perelandra, one of my all time favorite books, and probably my fav. CS Lewis read. Then I tromped off to work where it was pretty quiet, so I got out early. After a stop off at Target for some beverages for dinner, I went home. It was a lovely afternoon of cooking, cleaning, knitting, and rockin' music. Around 5 I finally sat down for some good ole' God time. It was me, my journal, my Bible, and my coffee with Blueberry Cobbler Coffeemate (how you tempt me Blueberry Cobbler!). What could go wrong? Let me tell you....

All of a sudden I hear someone walking across my lawn. This is quite common living next to the High School, but out of habit I glanced up and to my surprise, didn't see a high school student. Instead, it was a women in street clothes with a bullet-proof vest on that read POLICE in bright yellow letters. She had a gun holster around her waist, with quite a few weapons.

Ooooookay, that's not super normal.

And then, following behind her were about 7 men, all in street clothes with their bullet-proof vests and guns (lots of guns), ready to scare the heck out of someone. And the last guy had one of those big tools that knocks down doors. Cool, right?

At this point, I'm a little baffled, wondering what the heck I should do. But before I can think too much I hear, right next door mind you, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. "Police, everybody down!" Then a lot of yelling and screaming. So at this point, I grab my keys and phone and haul butt out of the house. I meet up with my neighbor from behind, who's also just as confused as I am. I guess the police not only surrounded the front, but the back as well. Sweet.

So, that's it. I don't know if anyone was home. I don't know if anyone got arrested. I don't know why 15+ armed personnel stormed my neighbors house. But it happened. (On a side note, I'd like to say that I like my neighbor and have never had any problems with him. He's very entertaining, and always chats with us.) Maybe they weren't even after Jack*, but maybe someone else that comes in and out of there. I just hope it won't be happening again anytime soon. :)

After that we had a lovely dinner party with Mike, Britt and Hannah where we feasted on Huli Huli Chicken (thanks, Kelli!) and played Mario Party into the wee night. I got dead-last place. What a great day.

*Names have been changed for their protection.