Law School Musical.

A partner in my firm just showed me this video forwarded from her son who is a first-year law student. She and I cracked up so much, my face hurts! Those of you who had to either endure law school or put up with me or any other cranky law student will appreciate this:



P.S. Is it just me, or does most of this apply to working as a lawyer, too? :)

Bow Down to Washington.

Well, we are back in sunny (but slightly chilly) L.A. Our flight landed at the crack of dawn this morning, and PJ was nice enough to come pick us up.

I have a ton to do before tomorrow, but I decided to take a quick procrastination detour and blog...

Our last day in Washington was great! I am a huge supporter of my alma mater's football team, the Washington Huskies. Yesterday was the 100th Apple Cup, the big rivalry game between the Huskies and the dirty, dirty Cougs. I loved going to the Apple Cup when I was in college, and so I was so excited to score some tickets for yesterday's game.

The game was great! We were on the edge of our seats the entire time. However, I sound like a man today from all the yelling. Also, it was quite chilly. Josh and I were wrapped up in blankets, and my dad and sis went on a couple searches for hot chocolate.

Despite the efforts of our amazing quarterback, Jake Locker, the Huskies lost by one touchdown in the last minutes of the fourth quarter.

Sigh. We'll get those dirty Cougs next year!

Bang!

It's another chilly day here in Olympia. We had a lovely breakfast in the morning. My father-in-law was a farm boy growing up and loves the outdoors, hunting, and, well, guns. Just so you know, I am pretty anti-gun as a rule.

Anyway, my dad showed some interest in my father-in-law's guns, and before you know it, the plan was to go to a shooting range. I had planned on staying at home and reading my book, but I could tell Josh really wanted me to go. Plus, I heard a comment about the "girls staying home," and I decided I could do whatever the boys were doing.

Anyway, I have never shot a gun before. It was alright, I suppose. Although, I must admit, I am an excellent shot. :) Check it out:

Happy Thanksgiving from Oly!

I am temporarily coming out of my turkey/sweet potato coma to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! We spent the day at Josh's grandparents' house in Olympia. My dad and sis spent the holiday along with all of my lovely in-laws, so we were one, big, happy family. I feel very lucky that my family and Josh's family get along and like spending time together. It probably helps that we have all known each other for so long. Whatever the reason, I am very grateful for the mutual affection between the two clans.

I am so relaxed and happy. I think I definitely needed a break from work and life in L.A. I have been sleeping a bunch, and some of the health problems that have been popping up seem to have gone away, at least for now.

So, yes, the trip has been wonderful. Here's what I have been up to:

Monday, Josh and I headed downtown and shopped and had lunch. Oh, and I also splurged for a pedicure at a place called Butter London. It was a little mall place, but they have their own product line. So far, no chips, so two thumbs up! After that, we met up with a close sorority sister, Megan, and her husband, Josh, for a fabulous dinner at La Casa del Mojito, a teeny tiny Cuban restaurant in Seattle. I had the Bisteca Fritta, which was like butta. Oh, and the mojito wasn't half bad, either!

Tuesday afternoon, I met Danielle, another dear friend from the sorority, at Bell Square to do some holiday shopping and have lunch. I ended up buying some cute placecard holders for our Christmas table, since we are hosting this year. Other than that, no big finds.

Tuesday evening, I had dinner with Taryn, one of my best friends and a bridesmaid in our wedding (also from the sorority), and we did a little shopping (noticing a trend?). We had a marathon talk, and I left feeling so grateful that she is one of my nearest and dearest. She never ceases to crack me up, and it's so nice to feel like someone else "gets it." Love you, T-Ro.

Wednesday was pretty mellow. We spent four hours (!!!) in traffic headed to Olympia. (For you non-Washingtonians, it should take only an hour.) My sis and dad landed around 6. The sis, Josh, his brother Kitt, Kitt's wife Arian, and I spent the evening at a random little bar out in the woods by the in-laws' house. Since it was cold, Bug and I drank hot buttered rums (and one too many at that). Fun times.

Perhaps the sleep and relaxation has allowed my foggy mind to clear a bit as I have been feeling very grateful these past couple of days. In the spirit of the holiday, as a few of you have already done (see here, here, and here), below I have posted five things I am grateful for this year:

1. Josh. He's supportive and mellow when I need it, and he still manages to make me smile.

2. My family. As crazy as they made me growing up, we have always been very tight-knit, and I feel blessed to have such a wonderful (albeit slightly quirky) family.

3. My friends. I think I might be the luckiest person I know when it comes to the amazing friends I have. Love you guys.

4. My job. As much as I whine sometimes about the hours and the pressure, this is what I want to do and I really do love the work. It's challenging and interesting, even if it is high-pressure. Plus, it's articles like this that remind me that I am lucky to have a great job at all.

5. New found perspective. I am so ready for 2008.

On that note, I am off to bed. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Carpet.

It's me, again! Twice in one day! My sister is house sitting for us during the beginning of the week, and she just called from our house with a carpet update. It's in and she says it looks fab! She sent me some pics from her camera phone, and I thought I'd share. The quality of the pics is not so hot, and I will post more later, but here are a few for now...

Living room before:





Living room after:


Ahhh, so much better! I will take more pictures when we are home so you can see the doors, bedrooms, etc.! I am just so thrilled that I don't have to walk around on dusty concrete when I get home! Woohoo!!

I am alive, I promise!

Wow, it has been awhile, no? The past few weeks are kind of a blur, but here's pretty much what's been happening over here:

We successfully moved from the apartment to our new place! And by "we," I really mean Josh. I have been working terrible hours, so Josh was really wonderful and pretty much packed our entire place up and orchestrated the move. Although, I have to laugh a bit at the packing job. Let's just say, Josh and I have different, er, organizational styles? For example, while looking for my make-up bag, I found a mop bucket with lotion, hair gel, dish soap, and a bag of new potatoes! Um, one of these things is not like the other... :) Ah well, I can't complain since I didn't have to do a thing.

So, the house is good. It's still in the midst of some renovations. Our carpet was back ordered, so we have been living without carpet on the cement sub floor for the past three weeks. Luckily, the carpet is getting installed today! All the doors, baseboards, and the master door have been replaced and painted. It is finally starting to come together. Once the carpet is down, then maybe we can start unpacking (all of the furniture is in the garage), and I will stop feeling like I am squatting in someone else's vacant home!

In other news, I have managed to escape work for the week. I am taking today, tomorrow, and Wednesday off from work to visit my in-laws and college friends up in Seattle and Olympia. Josh and I arrived Saturday night with the dogs. The dogs were little angels and slept the whole flight, which was amazing!

Yesterday, we went out to dinner with Josh's fam for his sister's birthday. Other than that, we just vegged, which was so amazing. Today, Josh and I are going to tool around downtown Seattle and then hopefully meet up with some of our favorite people, Megan and Josh.

It's so nice to be back in the Pacific Northwest! I love it here. This is going to be a great week!