Tomorrow, I head to Washington with the boy to visit his family and attend a NYE wedding. While we will be super busy traveling around Seattle, I am really looking forward to spending time with the boy and seeing where he grew up!
Last time I was in Seattle, circa November 2008, I had the best weekend playing tourist. Now, I can't wait to go back and see more of the state! The wedding is up in Snohomish at Lord Hill Farms, which looks just gorgeous.
Here are some photos from last night's Christmas Eve Eve dinner at my parents' house. My grandparents are staying with them for the weekend and my brother and his girlfriend are home from Kansas as well! I just love this time of the year!
Boy taking a break after dinner gaming
Me and the Boy
Mama and her dad
Grandma playing Christmas songs
Grandma
Grandpa watching Grandma
Ma & Pa's Christmas Tree
The Grandparental Unit brought their own liquor...
I'm almost done! My final trial was last night...and we won! The final verdict really doesn't mean anything for my grade, but it feels good to win a pretend trial. All I have left is a couple projects and I'm done for the semester! I did receive an extension on my upper-level so that's my task over break. Just gotta keep truckin' along! Graduation will be here before we know it!
Today is the 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor. And in a month, I will have the opportunity to actually visit the USS Arizona Memorial! I'm so excited! Today, take a moment to remember those who lost their lives that day.
Life has been a bit overwhelming the last couple weeks (what's new?). This is the last full week of school. I don't have any finals, but I have a ton of projects to finish for clinic and my nonprofits class, and my final trial for Trial Advocacy. On top of that, I have my upper-level to write. Yeah, that's 30 pages of which I have not written a single word. No big deal. Just have to make it to next Friday.
Now, then...here's a quick 5 things that make me happy right now:
1. This video. I love it. And I wish everyone felt the same way I do about marriage equality.
It's November. I completely missed October. Such is life.
Life. My wanderlust is cured for the moment. I have two huge trips coming up. In December, I'm heading to the Seattle area for a New Year's Eve wedding and to see the boy's hometown. And a short 7 days later, I'm off to Hawaii. Yes, Hawaii. A real week-long, somewhere warm, beaches and fruity drinks kind of vacation. Just have to make it through the end of the semester!
Law. October was rough. I had a monster paper, a midterm, Breast Cancer Awareness Week for WLSA, Student Gov. duties, Trial Ad assignments, and more. And somewhere in there was Fall Break which was insanely too short since I spent way more time working than I thought I would! Oh well, gotta work hard for the money. Especially with the trips coming up!
Luck. Things are off to a great start with The Center for Girls' Leadership. People are so receptive and it makes me feel like such a lucky girl! Also, have you tried a Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate yet? No? What are you waiting for?! It's divine. In other luck news, I sprained my ankle last week. At work. Dancing. Not the best story in the world, right? But, I feel so lucky because not being able to move made me appreciate that I can move. So I've started working out again this week (low intensity because of the "hang-gliding" injury) and I feel great! Here's hoping I can keep it up!
I had the chance to see a sneak preview of Moneyball a couple weeks ago (Big thanks to gofobo!!). Go see it. It was amazing. Jonah Hill is wonderful. Brad Pitt isn't hard to look at. And it's a heartwarming story about sports. Really, what more do you need?!
3L. Life. Law. Luck. It's all been coming down to this...
Life. I'm happy. I'm healthy (and so are my family and friends!). I'm in love. I've found something I'm passionate about. It might be the most defining year of my life with lots of big decisions to be made, but I'm ready for it.
Law. I can hardly believe I've started the last year of law school. I should be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel but instead I'm crazy busy and worried about finding a job/passing the bar. I'm over-involved and am learning to be strategic in what I say yes to.
Luck. Today, I got out of class 30 minutes early, the sun was still shining, and I jammed to Beyonce all the way home. Lucky me.
This day has been 20 years in the making: my Last First Day of School. This is it. One more year of law school and I am done. It has been quite the ride!
Growing up, it was tradition in our house to take a picture on the front steps before heading off to the first day of school. It was a tradition I made my roommate freshman year continue for my mom's benefit. But now, that I live on my own, I admit to letting the tradition lapse. But I know I will start that tradition back up in a heartbeat when I have my own family!
In other news, I'm exhausted. I picked this weekend to bust my butt and do all the yard work. I have a secret: I love cutting down trees. It is so therapeutic. And if your yard looked like mine, you'd love it too! So Lumberjack and Lumberjill cut down branches, trimmed the hedge, pulled out a shrub, and took it all to the yard waste dump. Quite productive! And today, I mowed the lawn prairie. Success!
August 5th and I think my summer is over. Technically, I have until August 22nd, but let's be honest, this summer flew by. And the way this semester is already shaping up, it's not going to slow down anytime soon. Here's just a little of what I have going on this fall: 15 credits including my upper-level paper, Student Government, Women Law Student Association, Board of Advocates, sorority stuff, and the perilous job hunt. I'm sure a million other things will pop up here and there. Basically, I'm a busy person. But I thought I was busy this spring, and I still managed to get good grades and maintain a healthy relationship. So, under pressure but still above water.
I'm so excited to introduce you to The Girls Leadership Project! This has been a dream of mine for a while and finally - I'm just going for it! I'd love to hear your suggestions over at the GLP!
I love Vegas. We flew in this morning at about 1AM and I have been struggling all day. I am exhausted. More on my great weekend later when I have time to do the recap justice.
I missed Father's Day so here's a pic from last summer of my papa bear and me. (Yes, I am wearing a bandeau top - no nude beaches on the Mighty Birch!)
Wedding season is in full swing. I'm heading east to Annapolis and Alexandria to see sorority sisters/best friends and watch my dear friend, Melissa, get hitched! Have a great weekend!
I want this. Right in my backyard. I would be the most popular girl in the neighborhood. I may be 25 but hell, who really wants to grow up? Can you imagine the adventures you could have? The places you could sail to? The possibilities are endless when imagination is present.
One year ago, I started life.law.luck out of pure procrastination. Now, I love the little nook I've carved out on the internets. I admit I blog for purely selfish reasons: it makes me happy! It allows me to be creative when I spend my days reading dry and dull caselaw for school. Consider this my scrapbook of things that often say it better than I could.
Studying for Business Associations is going about as well as you think it is going...terrible/awful/horrible. I am not flourishing. Fail.
On the plus side, I have updated my Google Reader and developed an unhealthy addiction to Pinterest. Sigh. Noon tomorrow and this torture will be over.
I typically try and keep this blog light and fun. But since last night's announcement that Bin Laden had been killed, I've been filled with mixed emotions. While I know this is a historic moment in American history, it weighs heavy on my heart. I am dismayed at the young students in D.C. who were celebrating in the streets last night, singing our national anthem and waving the American flag. Are we really supposed to cheer and rejoice like we won a sporting event when we kill a terrorist? Should we rejoice in the death of another human being?
I understand for some this news means more. Some people have lost more andgiven more than I have over the last ten years and I will not pretend to understand what it means to lose someone from this war on terrorism. But I am American, and the events of September 11th left me with the profound feeling of innocence lost. So, I am happy after ten years that there is finally closure.
However, I am not naive enough to think it is over. Our actions are going to piss a lot of dangerous people off and there may be retaliation. And that scares me.
I am so grateful for those men and women who have dedicated their lives to protecting our people here and abroad. So all I'm asking is today, instead of cheering over the death of someone terrible, please take time to say a prayer for the lives that were lost and the lives still in danger. And pray that someday there will be peace.
xoxo, Alexandra
Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I went to battle with the Federal Rules of Evidence today and I'd like to think I'll come out the winner. The prof put on all sorts of word limits: "Verbosity is not a lawyer's friend." I will say that Evidence has been one of my favorite classes so far because it was so practical. No wading through dense case law to interpret some archaic rule of law. None of that. Just, here are the rules. Now, make your best argument.
Next up, Business Associations on Wednesday. From practical to completely impractical. We spent all semester reflecting on our ability to flourish and developing agency, the roots of the B.A. tree. Sigh. All that debt to flourish.
Anywho, wish me luck! And hopefully the sunshine will come out this week to kick off SUMMER VACATION!!!
Of course I was up early to watch the beautiful royal wedding this morning. Studying for finals can take a break for the wedding of the year! Princess Catherine looked absolutely stunning in a dress very reminiscent of Grace Kelly. Simply gorgeous. Did you watch the wedding festivities?
