We're going to the beach...

First, I would like to say that I have written this blog a few times and blogger would not post it, so after a few days of allowing myself to calm down from my blogger meltdown, I decided to rewrite the post...yet again.


Anyway, I told Matt the other day that we were in fact, going to the beach.  I'm not sure when but I really feel the need to stare out at the ocean and just listen to the waves.  I felt spoiled in Cyprus because I was a 15 minute walk from the beach.  One a windy day you could hear the waves all night in my room.  It was very peaceful.

So I'm trying to decide were to go, we have settled for 3 states/countries:

Hawaii

California

Mexico

 I am not sure of specific beaches, so I am looking for recommendiations...


What is your all-time favorite beach? Which beach would you recommend in the three locations?

New Pages..

I just added two new pages to the blog about how I travel and places I would recommend to eat or have a drink.  Be sure to check them out.  Are there any places that you would recommend? hotels you thought were a little peace of heaven? Food that you would love to have again? Overall best airline to take? Let me know :)

Library ebooks...

I am a huge supporter of the eBook service through Phoenix library.  They allow you to rent out eBooks for 14 days.  It has cut down my cost on books dramatically.  However that is not the reason for this post.  The reason I posted is because it is  3 am and I am up late reading because 4 of the books I was on the waiting list for became available this week, so I have 14 days to read 4 books.  It may sound crazy but I love to read and they all happen to be books by Haruki Murakami.  The book I am reading now is called "Dance, Dance, Dance".

I have strange habit of becoming attached to a writer and reading pretty much everything they have ever written (it has happened with Gregory Maguire).  A few months ago I was on a Paulo Coehlo kick but I found one of his books too hard to get into so I moved on to Haruki Murakami.  I'm not sure how I come across these authors but I am always looking for new books to read. 
Here are some of my favorites:

Paulo Coehlo
Haruki Murakami
Gregory Maguire
Christopher Moore
Sena Jeter Naslund
Bernard Schlink
Louis de Bernieres
Jared Diamond (strange one, considering the ones I had before but I love history, especially dealing with the rise and fall of nations)

So, are there any books that you could not put down once you started reading? or just any recommendations?


P.S.  If you love books, have an eReader, and love free eBooks even more be sure to check out your local library to see if they off a loan service, I will say depending on the city the collect may not be too large (I'm still upset that I cannot find books by Louis de Bernieres) but you can discover new books.

Skype with the in-laws....

If I have not said it before, I am quite in love with my in-laws.  We had a Skype conversation a few days ago and every time my husband talks to them without me they ask where I am and say they miss talking with me.  In addition, they always ask me "when are you coming to Iran?" and I try to explain that the current political environment is not the best but they always say "our government has a problem but you're ok".  His father even wants to come and live in Iran...I'll go for a visit but living there is a different story.  We are still trying to get a visa for them, it's quite a process.  But we decide to continue to try and plan a trip to Turkey to meet up with them.  Which I am super excited about because I've always wanted to visit Turkey.   We are thinking either the end of the year or 2013.

In other news, we are looking at buying a house...which is pretty crazy for someone like me to say.  But we decided that we will be in Phoenix for quite some time because I would like to do a PhD at ASU and he wants to at least get a Master's degree.  To be quite honest, I like the idea of having a home base, I've moved around so much that I do not know what it's like to live in one place (other than my parent's home) for more than a year.  Don't get me wrong, I will still travel.  So we've started the whole "home buying" process and it's a little stressful.  Because it seems to get started and now we are waiting for w-2s from our jobs because last year we only had foreign income and it does not help that we both work for large companies.  But unlike the car buying process, I'm going to take my time and make sure it's the best deal for us, I even went through 2 full days of clearing things on my credit to avoid any problems.  I will keep you guys updated on House Hunt 2012.  I am pretty excited about owning a house and actually making it mine...it would be a big change from what I'm use to and a major step for the hubby and I.

Arts education...

So, it's been a year since I've been in Phoenix and I've been pretty stressed about work.  It really made me realize that I need to get back to doing what I love...which is art...and traveling.  But let's just focus on the art right now.  

I'm looking into starting a Master of Art in Arts Education, this will allow me to teach art...which is my lifelong goal (to become an art professor).  I will be looking at online program for now, my two main schools are University of Nebraska and University of Florida.  I may also consider Boston University but I'm not too sure.  Most of the colleges have a required 1 week session, which I am looking forward to (this is why I'm considering Boston, because I love the city).  University of Nebraska is the frontrunner because I started the application process in 2010 and I am still in contact with the professor that runs the program.  The program is usually 1 year and I will still try and complete my MBA (as long as I'm with the company). 

After this I am going to try to teach some and then look into a PhD in Arts Education or Art History.  Art History will be harder because I have to know at least 2 other languages and one has to be a romance language.  The plus is that most universities will accept German in the place of a romance language.  I'm so glad I took some German in college, so I will be looking for German classes in the area and hopefully they will accept Farsi as a second one.   If I can get a intermediate level in these languages I may go for a romance language.

The PhD in art history is not set in stone and things will change.  So right now I am focusing on the MA in Arts Education and looking in volunteer opportunities in the area.   I'm hoping to stick to these plans because I need to find a career that I really enjoy and can grow in.

London, Paris, Rome...

Hey people, the travel group I am a part of will be doing a trip to London, Paris and Rome...if you are interested check it out here http://travelsistahs.grouptoursite.com/groups/travelsistahs.aspx...if you have any questions just leave a message and I can get you in contact with one of the coordinators.  It's open to anyone who is looking to explore London, Paris and Rome with a group.

Peace and Zen in Phoenix...

This weekend I meet up with my travel group at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Phoenix.  It was a must after the crazy week I had.

Let's just say work is back to being stressful, including an "intial" warning...I know that I should and will work harder, but the real surprise was that the job was not what I thought it to be but I will do what I need to go because the economy does not appear to be picking up anytime soon.  But anyway back to the peace and zen...

I was a little surprised at where the graden was located (downtown Phoenix) and how peaceful it was...I know that I will be going back soon...actually made plans with the hubby to go back next weekend and after looking at the membership prices, I will definitely be getting one for the hubby and I.  After seeing the pictures he was a little disappointed that I did not invite him because his father spent 6 years in Japan, and he is very interested in the culture because of the stories his father told him.

Info on the gardens:

• names Ro Ho En
• 3.5 acres
• designed by landscape architects from sister city, Himeji in Japan

more info at http://www.japanesefriendshipgarden.org 

Anyway, here are more pictures to enjoy (including massive koi fish) and hungry ducks...