We're in Germany!

(Pictures will be forthcoming. We don't have time to upload them since we're on the go!) 


For those that don't know, we're in Germany! Okay, okay, you probably did know that. I'm writing an update form a little coffee shop in Munich right now as I drink a latte. I feel like I should be in some sort of movie or something.

We're going to be meeting with the rest of the Hoffmanns here shortly, so this update will have to be quick. But we're in Germany and enjoying it immensely!

Our trip began yesterday (two days ago per Germany time?) on July 28th. We woke up early, got ready, and had the Flying Scottsman pick us up for the airport at 6:45am. Our plane to Philadelphia was scheduled to leave Phoenix at 8:55am, but we sat on the tarmac for about 2 hours...which meant that we arrived in Philadelphia at 6:30pm...The same time that our flight from Philadelphia to Germany was supposed to depart! Todd and I knew that it would be a close call, but we were determined not to let it stress us out. As soon as we got off the plane, the agents told us that the plane to Munich was being held, but we needed to hurry.

Thus began our mad dash through the Philadelphia airport! We were those people that you always see sprinting like crazy through the airport. Except I was in heels. I know, I know, silly me! But they were easy to slip on and off for security, so I wore them. Anyway, we arrived at the gate right as they were closing the door. One of the ticket agent guys said "Close the door, these people should have been here a long time ago."

"But we're here now!" I said, with a pleading look at the lady who was scanning the tickets. She motioned us forward and let us on the plane. We weren't quite the last ones on the plane, but it was a close thing. As we made our way to our seat, the Hoffmanns gave us a high-five for actually making it.

The flight to Munich turned out to be delayed by an hour or so. So we had some time to recover from our mad dash while the plane waited in line to take off.

The flight was nice. I've never been on a trans-atlantic flight before. We watched a few movies, had dinner, and tried to sleep. The key word in that last sentence is tried. It was hard to sleep on the plane though. Oh well!

We arrived in Germany in the morning, which meant we had to stay awake all day during our first day here. We had some coffee to help us along and off we went to the train station!

We rode the train into Munich, which was nice. It reminded me a lot of Phoenix's Light Rail system (though, of course, this system was much more developed and had more than one route!).

After departing the train system, we made our way to Eric and Margit's apartment. They're the whole reason we're here, for those who don't know. They're getting married later this week here! Congratulations to them again.

We stowed our luggage in their apartment for a while since our bed and breakfast wasn't yet prepared for us. After enjoying some time to rest, we headed to the bed and breakfast and got moved in. And then our trip began! We walked around Munich and saw the office at the University where Eric worked. Then we had a nice little lunch (with beer, of course!) at a cafe nearby. More walking ensued and we toured around a church, the streets of Munich, and one of the gardens.

Then we made our way back to the bed and breakfast since we had an hour or so before we needed to leave for dinner. I think most of us, exhausted from not getting any sleep on the plane, took a nap. After waking up and refreshing ourselves, we made our way to a nice little Italian restaurant in order to celebrate Tom's birthday. Dinner there was a lot of fun and the dessert that Todd and I had (Panna Cotta?) was delicious!

Then it was back to the bed and breakfast to fall into an exhausted sleep.

And here we are again, the next morning! Plans for the day depend on the weather, but I'll try to wake up early again tomorrow to come down to this little cafe and make another entry. If not, you can expect some pictures another time.

Poor Titus

It's summer in the Valley, which means that it is incredibly hot. On my most recent visit home, Todd and I got the idea that....maybe we should cut some of Titus' hair for the summer. A little shave to help stem the tide of shedding fur all over the house and to cool him off a bit.

I promise we weren't drinking when we came up with this idea.

So yesterday Todd went to Wal-Mart and bought a shaver. And last night, once it got dark, we set up our little barber station outside.

Before going out, we took some pictures of Titus with all of his long hair.

Isn't he absolutely fluffy?

Then we took him outside for his adventure. He wasn't exactly thrilled with it.

This is him wanting to go back inside after we brought him out to the back porch.

But at least he didn't try to kill us with his claws. Occasionally he'd let us know he was unhappy by sitting in our laps and growling. But other than that (and his few frantic bids for escape), it went pretty well.

At least it went. I swear we shaved enough hair off of that cat to make a whole new cat. But you could hardly tell a difference! Sure, the hair on his back is a little less shiny and you can tell that it's shorter...but as for the rest? Well, it looks almost the same. By this time, Todd and I were covered in cat fur, sweating, and ready to call it a night. Titus was ready to call it a night too (he's hiding back by the wall). 

So we hosed off outside before heading to the shower. With Titus. We hadn't given the poor guy a bath for a long time, so tonight was his night.

Here's some pictures of little wet-rat looking Titus.

He's so funny looking after his baths! 


And here's some pictures of Titus today, all clean, somewhat-shaved, and shiny! (Yes, we know that it's hard to tell that we shaved him. He still has soooo much hair)! 

Oh, and a random 4th of July picture! Todd and I went to Tempe Town Lake and watched an absolutely amazing fireworks show! There were a ton of people there, but it was a beautiful night and a perfect way to spend 4th of July.

Woah Pictures?!

Yes, that's right! I can easily take and upload pictures with my awesome new camera that Todd bought me for my birthday! So here's a few pictures, along with pertinent updates:

So, when I first started working at the Public Defender's office, there was talk about a softball team...and I was conscripted to it. I don't think that they realize that I never played softball. But thanks to both of my brothers playing baseball throughout their childhoods, I know the basics! I kept repeating little pieces of cheering advice to myself ("Way to get a piece of it!"  "Choke up!"  "Good eye!" "Call it!" "Don't let the ball smash your face and break your glasses!")  ....Okay, that last one was my own. All in all though, I did pretty well. I can hit the ball! And catch it sometimes. We have two games tomorrow night, so I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh, another thing I'm good at? Losing my wedding rings in a field after playing softball. That's not something that I really wanted to share with Todd during our nightly phone call though. I had finished my turn batting and realized that my left hand felt strange. There was a moment of blind panic...and then we started searching. All eight of us were out there combing the field for two little rings. We thought that they might have come off when I gave my glove to another girl before I went to bat. After about a half hour, Nicole (pictured on the right) found them. They were in the dirt near my purse. I guess they came off when I went over to get a drink of water some time? I'm still not sure. My rings have never really fallen off easily, but now I know to put them somewhere safe when I'm playing softball. I'm just thankful that I didn't have to start my nightly conversation with "...Hey hunny...You didn't happen to take out insurance on the wedding rings, did you? ..."

Moving on!

Today was the day that the office celebrated the June birthdays. We had cake, icecream, and tortilla chips. They sang happy birthday to us and we all got a card.

Here we are, enjoying our little party! And then... a surprise. For me.

Brad started a little game with Nicole. He would show her pictures and she was supposed to answer what the pictures were. I feel like a little background is in order before we go any further though. Brad is from Wyoming. Thermopolis, to be precise. And when he found out that I was also from Wyoming, an inter-office rivalry was born. I told people what I remembered about Thermopolis (hot and stinky water). They confronted Brad with this information since, according to him, Thermopolis was paradise on earth. Brad, astonished that the truth was known, responded with an email that slandered  Sheridan and praised the beauty of Thermopolis (complete with pictures). I responded with a PowerPoint presentation on the many things that Sheridan has to offer. He responded with an email noting that the idea for  Brokeback Mountain came from the writer's experience in the Mint Bar in Sheridan, Wyoming. And he also responded with this little game...

So, we're sitting in the office birthday celebration and he starts this game. Right away I know that it's meant to slander Sheridan. So I sit back and laugh. He shows the pictures and Nicole responds. Here are the pictures:

And here's a close up view of the cheat sheet that Nicole was reading from:

Now it's my turn...I just need to think of how I can get this poor, misguided soul to realize the true beauty of Sheridan Wyoming....

Time Flies!

Life has been incredibly busy for me (Ashlee) lately. My internship in Yuma continues to fly by - I can't believe that I'm halfway through it already! It's been such an amazing experience so far. The attorneys in the office are a great group of people to work with and they're more than willing to give you plenty of hands-on work to do. I've been writing motions and memorandums for the court, attending trials, voir dire, and hearings, and going to the numerous presentations they've so graciously set up for us! 

We went on a jail tour last week. It was so interesting to learn about the Yuma County Detention Center. We were able to learn about the daily routine at the jail, what services are provided, and various challenges faced by the staff and inmates there. I can tell you one thing - It's not a place I would want to visit involuntarily! I did get a free lunch on the tour though - sandwich, orange, and two cookies. 

After the tour, some of the staff from the Mexican Consulate in Yuma gave a presentation about the services they provide to the community and some of the most common issues they deal with. It was very insightful. 

And now I'm in Phoenix again! The Arizona Public Defender Association held its 10th Annual Conference in Tempe, so I've been able to spend a few extra days in Phoenix while attending that. Our first night back, I met with Todd and some of the other attorneys and interns at Rula Bula for a little birthday celebration! It was a fun time out and a great way to spend my birthday. 

The conference has been a great learning experience! I attended sessions on Basic Capital Case Investigation, Rule 11 (Competency to stand trial rule), Domestic Relations Law Basics, and Social Media's Impact on Investigations. I learned such a variety of things over the past few days - from tracking people via twitter, to what contact gunshot wounds look like, to questioning tactics, to the amazing pride that the public defenders have in their work. 

This morning, as those of you who check my facebook updates will know, I was invited to attend the Judge Mary Anne Richey Scholarship Breakfast. It was such an honor to be there with all of the other amazing ladies! They graciously seated me next to the Honorable Rebecca White Berch, the current Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. She is a wonderfully kind individual and it was a delight to have breakfast with her. She was the recipient this year of the Sarah herring Sorin Award. I was also introduced to the Honorable Ruth V. McGregor, the previous Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. This is a picture that I was able to take of Judge Berch receiving her award (she's the one on the left!). 

It's been a great birthday week, that's for sure! My wonderful husband bought me a new camera (which is why I was able to take the above photograph!) and tonight we're going to a dinner....somewhere. He won't tell me anything except that he's made reservations for somewhere for 5:45. I love surprises and I can't wait! 

I'm here for the weekend and then I will head back down to Yuma on Sunday. My next two weeks will be working in another office - the Juvenile division of the Public Defender's Office! I'm excited to learn more about this area of the law. 

That's all for now. Except I'll leave you with this....

My first homemade batch of guacamole! I made it for a little get-together we had with attorneys from the office last night. People seemed to enjoy it, so I must have done a decent job at least! 

Quick update! (And check out my blog for a more thorough update on what I've been doing).

Todd is working at Amkor Technology. Ashlee is interning at the Yuma County Public Defender's Office.

And Titus is thinking about going professional in box-pawing.

Black Friday thought

I'm not much of retail store shopper, but I'm still interested in the Black Friday hype. It started two years ago (our first in Arizona) when I was building a new computer for Ashlee. I almost started on it earlier in the fall but decided to wait and see how good the deals were. Ever since then I try to hold off on buying anything electronic in the fall and I encourage others to do the same. I don't go to stores at 5am, but I do head to newegg or other online retailers and check out their prices. 

Anyway, I wanted to share a little observation and discussion from this year's festivities. Best Buy started their sales at midnight. We left for dinner in Apache Junction around 1pm and the Best Buy store in the mall by our house already had a line with tents set up. When we coming home at about 10:30 pm the mall parking lot was pretty full. 

Now, consider that Ashlee and I have always been fortunate enough to spend Thanksgiving with family. In Sheridan Ashlee always ate with the entire Harnish gang with 20 or more attendees. I always ate with my parents, of course. During our years in Pittsburgh we would travel to Ohio to spend the holiday with my uncle Kurt and his family. Now we go to Apache Junction to feast with Ashlee's aunt Wanda and uncle Pat. Also, Ashlee's favorite meal is the tradition Thanksgiving spread. In short, we love Thanksgiving and we've looked forward to it every year for as long as we can remember.

So, to see people camped out on the Best Buy sidewalk at 1pm seems crazy to us. We would never consider doing that. No deal could be good enough to cause us to forego all the normal Thanksgiving fair, right? Well, not everyone has the same perspective that we do. Many people don't have family within driving range. Many people can't take the time and/or money to travel by air. Some people don't like or know how to cook turkey and everything else. Those good deals might look pretty good to people in these situations.

I don't mean to boast or be critical of anyone. We're happy spending our Thanksgivings the way we do, but I realize that not everyone can or would event want to spend his or hers the same way. I don't blame the retailers for opening at midnight or 9pm. People were obviously willing to show up at those times this year. It's good for the economy for people to be spending money, so I'm not going to say people should stay home or off their computers. That being said, I, for one, will not be skipping turkey and pie for any Black Friday deals.

Blogging Again

I think that Todd and I will start trying to blog again. I do think that updating these blogs helps to facilitate communication between us and those who are interested in our lives. And then I won't feel so guilty about my terrible habit of not calling everyone and updating them on everything. 

The purpose of this post is to catch everyone up to what we're doing right now. I have completed my Teach For America commitment and I graduated with a M.Ed. in December 2010. I will be starting law school this month at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law in Tempe, AZ. I'm very excited about this opportunity since, as you know, I've been wanting to go to law school for a very long time. 

Todd did 2 years of PhD work at Arizona State University before deciding that he didn't necessarily like the direction that the research was going. It was too focused on theoretical physics when he's more interested in computational materials science. So he started looking for a job and, after an interview process that lasted 4 hours, he got an offer. He started working for Amkor Technology as a Test Engineer on August 1, 2011. We're very excited about this and he's really hoping that this job will provide the hands-on experience that he is looking for.

We still own our home in Mesa and we're slowly but surely making some lovely home improvements. Our next project will be replacing the old wooden fence in the back yard with a cinderblock fence that won't fall down during storms. 

We recently visited home for a short amount of time. I was honored to be a bridesmaid in Hillary's wedding - it was a lovely ceremony up in the mountains and we're so happy for her and Nick! Todd went back to Phoenix to start his job, but I have a couple more days to spend time with family and friends in Sheridan. 

And that's where we are right now. I'm sure I've skipped over a ton of stuff, but we'll work to keep this updated and catch everyone up!