wordless wednesday

James 1:27

A picture from my Safari this summer in Tanzania

dreamland...

It happened again. Last night, I had another variation of the same dream I have had almost every, if not every, semester since law school started. The dream always has different characters, but the point is the same. I always find myself a few weeks from the end of the semester realizng that I forgot about an entire class and am going to fail it. Only, this time I wasn't going to be able to graduate.....

What does this dream say about me? Probably that I worry too much and care about my grades too much! Oh well. It's the truth.

Barrister's Ball (aka Law School Prom)

Some of my favorite Ladies.. Lindsey, Tara and my trial partner this semester Alex

In celebration of the winding down of the school year, my law school hosts a Barrister's Ball for students and alumni. I went my first year and decided that since it was my last year I should go again and live it up one last time...

The hubs and I (he was such a sport last night!)

Brian had the fabulous idea to spend the night downtown Charlotte at the Westin Hotel. It was so nice. We really enjoyed getting away for a night. I tried to take a picture of the view from our room, but it didn't turn out. Downtown Charlotte's skyline at night is so beautiful. I grew up about 45 minutes from Charlotte and I was always fascinated as a child when we were in the city at night. It felt like another, more elegant world, compared to my simple life.

The Barrister's ball was great! I had soooo much fun dancing! Did I mention I LOVE TO DANCE!!!! Seriously, it just makes my heart happy. I think its one of the best ways I know how to loosen up. But, bless my heart I married a man with no desire to get anywhere near a dance floor. We agreed when we were dating that I could dance and he didn't have to. It makes us both happy and just works for us.

Kerry and I

Last night it really hit me that I am about to close another chapter in my life. The last three years have been some of the toughest of my life, but part of me will miss it. There is something comfortable about being in school-- I know how to be a student, and I am kind of good at it. This whole "real world" thing scares me a little. I have made some great friends over the last three years and have learned so much not only about the law, but about myself and life.

Lindsey, Me, Laura and Adrienne
This is my mentee Rachel, isn't she precious?

Congrats J.D. Class of 2010... We are almost there!

Humor

My mom sent this to me and I thought it was cute:

With time, women gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, It distributes out to the rest of our bodies.

So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy.

Beginning today, when I look at my rear in the mirror I will think, " Good grief, Look how smart I am! "

bye, bye blackberry

Last Thursday my blackberry breathed its last. I went to Verizon within 5 minutes of it dying and ordered a new one (seriously, no exaggeration). I wasn't sure how I was going to get by without my phone. My replacement phone was suppose to come in yesterday and of course did not.

At first, I was so stressed out-how was I going to survive 5 days without it? But, actually I have enjoyed not being connected to the world of email 24/7. My professors and classmates know I have a blackberry and generally expect an almost immediate response. It's my fault because I normally respond within minutes because if I don't deal with stuff immediately I am more likely to forget. Responding immediately just works for me. However, I have really almost enjoyed not being accessible 24/7. Its been peaceful.... (except when I log on my email only to find 30 emails calling my name...)

I guess I have a love/hate relationship with my blackberry. Being "blackberry-less" the past few days has been a good lesson that I need to take time and turn off all the noise in my life and focus on the things that really matter...

Organization Tips: Show us your life

I am participating in Show us Your Life over at Kelly's Korner today.

I am not the most organized person, that is for sure. But, I am organized when it comes to scheduling. My blackberry and planner go with me almost EVERYWHERE. I use my blackberry to schedule important meetings. The calendar alarm is a great way to make sure you are always on time! Everything else goes into my planner. I panic if I cant find my planner. I swear my whole life is in it!


These are my tips for home organization:


(1) Mail- When Brian and I first got married I quickly became annoyed with mail landing all over the house. So, I purchased a nice organizer to go beside our refrigerator. I sort through the mail immediately, throwing all the "junk away." Then, I put the important stuff in the mail organizer. This one is not mine but you can get the idea.

(2) Seasonal Gear and closet organization- I love my walk-in closet. Its probably the reason I chose this house. Well, okay. I chose the house because of the master bathroom but the closet was a close second. I purchased several of these to store our seasonal gear.

One is stuffed with bathing suits, towels, goggles, etc.... The others have ski bibs, snowboarding pants, under armor, gloves, hats and all that good stuff...

I also have one of these for my belts, Brian's ties and now all my scarfs. I love this thing! The great thing is that you can see everything hanging and don't have to waste precious morning minutes searching for that perfect belt or scarf.

This made my night....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZP5DCXD8vc&feature=player_embedded

My sweet cousin Rose, posted this on my facebook today. (Sorry I am to tired to figure out how to post a youtube video). It made my night! And, gave me flashbacks of my 1st year of law school. Probably the worst year of my life to date. I literally got up at 7 was at school by 8:30, went to class, came home and read til dinner, had dinner, then read and outlined until 10 or 11 every night. I studied and wrote papers all day most Saturdays and most of the time only took time off on Sunday to go to church and have lunch with the family. At the time I thought I had to do it to get through law school. I was so certain I was going to fail out. Luckily, my hard work paid off grade wise. While I still work hard, I DO NOT do nearly as much now...Did I mention how much happier I am now?

It's especially hard to study when you know you only have 4 weeks of school left and you have been in school for the past 20 years. It is also hard to study with such beautiful weather....

Check out our forecast for the next 5 days! It is sunny and beautiful in sweet Carolina.....HELLO SPRING!