CVS Addiction - Ode to Holli

I was introduced to CVS'ing by littlest bird. Thanks Holli Jo!!! It's so fantastic and I'm totally addicted. Basically, CVS has this program with their card that lets you get tons of stuff for free. You have to make an initial investment (minimal), but then if you keep it up, you can get so much stuff for nothing or close to nothing. The basic premise is this - CVS will have a sale and advertise a few items a week that reward you with the same number of Extra Care Bucks (ECB's) as the item costs. Example: You purchase a tube of toothpaste for $3.00 and then $3 in ECB's prints out on your receipt. ECB's can be used as cash at CVS. So then you use your $3 ECB's to buy another tube of toothpaste, and get $3 new ECB's on that receipt. So now you have 2 tubes of toothpaste and $3 ECB's to use on anything else in the store, so for your next visit and the next sale, you won't have to make that initial $3 investment. It gets more valuable if you have a $1 off coupon for toothpaste. The same scenario - you buy toothpaste for $3, but you get a dollar of from your coupon and pay only $2, but you still get $3 in ECB's. You can imagine if you do this with enough items consistently, you can actually make money and get free stuff. Okay, not actual money, but ECB's are pretty good. If you are interested in actually doing this, and want a better explanation, visit littlestbird or Southern Savers. Do this before this weekend because there's a much better than normal sale on the 21st and 22nd!

Tonight was my first attempt and I know I will get better, but I spent $17.29 for all the stuff below, which was valued at $88.31. I also left CVS with $14 ECB's. Basically, that means I spent $3.29 for everything.


6 boxes of cereal, 2 bottles of contact solution, 5 deodorants, 2 tubes of toothpaste, 1 Ear Rinse, 1 box SleepMD, 1 bag M&M's

Anybody know anybody? I need a job - AGAIN!

It looks like I'm looking for a new job again.

Brief history...I was a law clerk for a mid-sized firm in law school, and then continued on as an attorney when I passed the bar. Five weeks after I got my license to practice law and 3 weeks after I closed on a house, the law firm basically went under. They still owe me thousands of dollars. Think I'll ever get paid? No, me either. So another (more experienced) attorney and I opened Buck & Miller, which was going well until we settled a bunch of cases and a big client decided not to pay us. I had to pay the bills, so after 9 months, Buck & Miller turned into Buck Law Firm and I went job searching again. I found a job at my current company, but unfortunately business depends on investors buying and selling real estate, so my division layed off 3 out of 10 employees and since I'm the newest, guess what - I won't have a job AGAIN after the end of the year.

So....not knowing who reads my blog and not knowing all of the people you all know, I figured I would see if anyone knew of any job openings that I might be eligible for. I have a background in mostly civil litigation and real estate law. For the past year I've been doing 1031 Exchanges. If anyone knows of any job openings, I would really appreciate an e-mail. I can send a resume if you need. Just e-mail me at tarakaym at yahoo.com. Thanks in advance!!!!!

What have you done?

This is an easy one - I tag everyone!

(Just copy and paste this to your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done.)
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland ... and Disneyworld!
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Acupuncture Update

I've had several people ask me about acupuncture, so here's the update. The first round didn't work at all and round two was a traumatic experience! So I go in and tell them the treatment didn't work at all. They decide to do the same treatment again anyway to see if it just needed a couple of times to work. So they proceed to start sticking me with the same 17 needles as last time, only this time it hurts about 20 times worse!!!! I was actually laying there holding breath and squeezing my eyes closed while tears were streaming down my face. It was HORRIBLE!!! Then as they were finishing poking me, someone came in and said that the doctor changed his mind and wanted to do that treatment for about 5 minutes and then try something else. Well the something else consisted of me derobing, turning over on my stomach so that only my entire behind is showing while another doctor put about 15 more needles in my lower back and tail bone and a couple in my legs and behind my knees. This was actually much, much less painful. In fact, I hardly felt it. The horrifying part was that all of the students came in to see this go down! I could have died. I was just thankful that I was lying face down so none of them could see my face. After they took those needles out, they suctioned a glass cup to my tailbone for a while (called "Cupping") to stimulate my chi. The whole experience took about 2 1/2 hours and all of my pride and dignity. However, I felt great. It reduced my pain a lot and I was happy to go back again. I couldn't make it back for a couple weeks, but I just went in for my 3rd treatment this week. They did the same regimen as treatment 2, without an audience this time. It was much less painful, but it didn't seem to have the same effect. I will keep going, because I really don't have any other options at this point and it is working slowly. So that's the story...

Stick it to me!

I paid someone to stick 17 needles in me yesterday. So I've been having this horrible tailbone pain since about March I think. It won't go away and I think it's getting worse. I've had 4 different doctors tell me they don't know how to help me, so I decided to try acupuncture. Acupuncture is pretty expensive, so I decided to go to a clinic that had students that were supervised by doctors do the sticking, which was much cheaper. The student thing wasn't too bad. I did get to actually meet with the doctor, and the student didn't seem terribly incompetent.

I had acupuncture once before, but it was in China. I was sitting at a conference table in a meeting when one of my Chinese co-workers came up behind me and started sticking needles in my neck and head. I don't remember it hurting at all and it made me feel better. (I had been really sick for a few days.)

Yesterday, however, it kind of hurt. The guy put 17 needles in me - 3 on top of my head, 3 in each hand, and 4 in each leg and foot. Some of them were completely painless, but I have to admit, some of them hurt a little bit. Then they attached some electricity to a few of them. It was kind of bizarre. After it was over, they sent me on my way with some herbs and a follow-up appointment in a week. I have no idea if it will work or not, but I'm kind of out of options. Does anyone have any experience with acupuncture? Your comments would be great!

Birthday Celebrations!

It's true. I turned 30 a couple weeks ago. It was good times! As usual, I like to stretch my birthdays out as long as possible. It all started with Tara's Eve. I got my first bouquet of flowers from my good friend, Stacy. My second bouquet was from my brother, Josh. They were sitting on my kitchen island when I got home from work. For my birthday, he had broke into my house and cleaned it while I was at work. How fantastic was that???? Thanks Josh!!!

Our friend Owens came over later on Tara's Eve bearing a gift of a toy shot gun that made shooting sounds and emitted smoke. It was so fun!

Then Owens, Brandon and I went and bought ice cream and ate it out of the cartons down by the river. I know that sounds bizarre, but we did the same thing 3 Tara's Eves ago so I wanted to keep up the tradition. It was kind of lame though so we didn't stay at the river very long. I think Brandon and Owens were glad I got it out of my system.

The women at work do birthdays up really good. They decorated my office like a crazy child's birthday party. Everyone in our office dressed up as a character from one of the top 5 movies from the year of my birth - 1978. They were Halloween, Superman, Jaws, Grease, and Animal House. We had a couple of toga wearers from Animal House, a few Grease girls, and I was Superman. They also got me flowers (bouquet #3) and a fantastic gift card to Home Depot. They contributed greatly to the dog house I just built and the slate planter box I'm about to build along my back fence. We went to lunch at My Big Fat Greek Restaurant and then had cupcakes at Sprinkles. As a side note, I was terribly disappointed with Sprinkles, but I'll write about that later.

When I got home from work, there were 2 more bouquets of flowers from my husband. That makes FIVE bouquets of flowers total!!!! I also found 3 or 4 cards sprinkled throughout the house from hubby. How sweet is he? He also knows how much I like presents and he did good this year! He bought me 3 chick flick DVD's and said he'd watch them with me one time each. This is a big step for him since he HATES chick flicks. He also gave me a thing to let me listen to my iPod in my car. It didn't really work, but I loved the thought of it and he promised to return it for a working one. My favorite gift by far was two software programs for home design and landscape design. They are so much fun and now I don't have to sketch my home improvement plans on spare envelopes. I can create them in 3-D. Loved it all! We finished off my birthday at Oregano's for dinner. I could only eat there and be happy!

The day after my birthday, Brandon invited a few of my friends over for a barbecue. It ended up being 10 kids and 11 adults in my little house. It was complete madness, but so much fun.

It was so good to see everyone and spend time with my friends. The kids were adorable too! The girls spent most of the evening making up dance routines. Oh, to be a kid again...

One of the best parts about the barbecue is that my mom brought a birthday cake over. It was amazing. I think at first she thought I didn't like it, but I was just speechless. She designed this thing on her computer and sent it to this company that makes sugar pictures for cakes. She is so incredible and it meant a lot to me that she worked so hard on it. Take a look.

Sunday, was family dinner at my parents house. I got to pick out everything we ate. It was so yummy. I just love spreading birthdays out as far as I can. I wish I was a princess! :)

Thank you to everyone, especially Brandon, who made my 30th birthday perfect!

Trip to Idaho/Utah

I had some extra vacation days to use, so I headed up to Idaho to hang out with my sister and her family. Lorelai is seriously the cutest thing you've ever seen and smiles at least 90% of the time she's awake. We were fast friends and had such a good time. Preston and Emily were incredible hosts and fed me very well. My favorite was the spaghetti with pasta made from scratch. MMMMMM!

Here's Lorelai coming up the stairs to play with Aunt Tara.

See, she's even smiling when Mommy has to pin her down to put a pony tail in her hair.

While I was there, I convinced Emily that we should paint the wall above her fireplace red and make some red curtains for her window. Her whole room was tan- what was I supposed to do? I think I have a home decor illness. Anyway, we had a fun time doing it together and I think it looks great!

After hanging out in Idaho for a few days, we all got in the car and drove down to Utah for my cousin, Jenny's, wedding. We helped my mom with the cake. Jenny wanted it square, pink & black, with stars. Everything that could have possibly gone wrong with the cake did, but here's what we ended up with:

Jenny and I. When did she grow up? Isn't she supposed to still be 10? Geez- must mean I'm getting old!

It was a great trip. The only down side was that Brandon had to stay home and work. :(

Happy Anniversary to us!

Okay, so maybe this post is about 3 months late, but better late than never right? The important part is that we made it a year!!!! To celebrate we took a weekend trip to Sedona. I found the cutest little place to stay in Oak Creek Canyon. The property is made up of a few hotel type rooms and then also some free standing cabins. The property is beautiful and backs right up to the creek. The staff was fantastic! The rooms could use some updating, but the rooms all have a jacuzzi and fireplace in the room. Overall, we would highly recommend it!

We had such a good time. We slept in, explored Sedona and Oak Creek, played at the trout farm, went on a hike, and took a Jeep tour. It couldn't have been nicer. I didn't want to come back to real life! What a perfect way to celebrate our first year of wedded bliss and to look forward to many more to come!

Latest Creation

A couple weeks ago, I got it into my head to build the dogs a dog house. We don't have a patio covering, so I was sad if they were ever left out in the rain if we're not home. Also, with winter coming, they need a place to stay warm. After a lot of designing on spare envelopes, this is what I came up with. It matches our house with the same color, trim and shingles. A special thanks to my fantastic husband for assisting me!

Memories...

Leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time, or a long time, anything you remember....next, re-post these instructions on your blog and let people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty fun to see the responses. Let's hear them...

Turning 30

I turn 30 in 15 days. Is it weird that I'm not depressed at all? I was talking to a friend about it this morning and realized I'm kind of looking forward to it. I'm excited that I've made it to 30 (almost) with no regrets. I have had a busy decade of 20's and have more than enough memories and experiences to feel good about the last 10 years. I've been so incredibly blessed. How can I possibly complain when I leave my 20's knowing that I've grown every day, discovering more about who I am, I've travelled, I've been educated, I have had more than one job that I've loved, I've been blessed with a house and all of my temporal needs, I've had a lot of fun, I've formed life long and eternal relationships, and I've married the love of my life.

I imagine my 30's will not resemble my 20's in any way because I'm now embarking on a completely new and exciting stage of life. Plus, I now have someone to share all of my experiences with. How great is that? I hope to look forward to expanding my eternal family and creating an amazing home for my future children, developing talents and exploring new things, becoming a better wife and better person, developing my current and future career options, and being able to use all of those things to contribute more fully and more relevantly to those around me. So no, I'm not in any way sad to conclude this phase of my life because the one ahead is so exciting.

Homeowner Pains!

Where did the days go when you could call your landlord to fix anything wrong with your house/apartment? I think those days went to the same place that my mortgage payment goes every month. Last night, I was lying in bed waiting for Brandon to finish getting ready for bed so we could go to sleep when I heard a loud expletive come from the hallway. I got up to see what was wrong and this is what I found (see picture). Apparently our hallway ceiling had a blister! We climbed up into the attic right above the blister and found a pool of water about an inch deep. It had rained last night, so we though our roof was leaking at first, but the ceiling and insulation above the puddle was dry, so we can now only assume that a pipe broke. It was pretty late by the time we got bowls and towels set up in the hallway and the attic shop vacced out, so we didn't ever identify the source of the water. I guess that's what we have to look forward to tonight. What fun!

Update

I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated. I guess life seems too boring to write about, but I am busy all the time, so there must be something going on. Let's see...

I've been having BAD tailbone problems the past couple months. For no reason at all, my tailbone started hurting and has continuously got worse. It hurst the most when I am sitting and when I am rising from a seated position. I have been to 3 doctors, one chiropractor, had X-rays and an MRI taken, and a Steroid shot. Nothing has helped at all. I really don't know what to do next. I am super frustrated and have run out of doctors to go to. If anyone has any suggestions, they will be welcome. I'm considering accupuncture next.

I painted the kitchen (for the 3rd time in a year and a half). When we refinished the cabinets, the mocha brown paint was too dark. I painted it a pale green. I think it looks pretty good. Hopefully it will stay this color for a while, but I can't make any promises!

Brandon has two knees with a torn miniscus. He is at the surgeon's office scheduling his surgery as we speak. He probably should have had this surgery done months ago, but better late than never right?

Work is going well for both of us. Luckily after making it through a lay off and several very slow months at work, things seem to be picking up. I was so blessed to find this job. I've made great friends and enjoy coming to work every day. It is challenging enough to keep me interested, but not enough to be stressed out all the time. My only complaint is that I have to drive to Phoenix every day, but hey...I can't have everything right?

Brandon still loves his job working in the IT department at Banner Desert Hospital. He's doing really well and everyone seems to love him. He received two separate regonition letters in the past few weeks. I'm so proud of him and how hard he works!

Some sad news in our family is that in the last couple months we had to put two of our family members down. Brandon had two sweet, sweet labs when we got married. One (Ink) was already pretty sick and we knew her end was coming soon. What was unexpected was within a month after putting Ink down, Buck went from old, but perfectly healthy and strong to very sick and lethargic in about a month. We think he lost about 30 pounds in one month. He stopped eating and would hardly move. I guess he stopped wanting to live after Ink was gone. It was so sad. They were both very old and lived long, good lives, but we were still very sorry to see them go. Now we are just down to two dogs!

So that's the update! I told you our lives were not that interesting lately. I'll try harder to entertain.

Makeover Pictures - Part 2

Kitchen:



This is what it looked like before I bought it:








First, we put in a tile backsplash:













Then we added moulding and re-stained the cabinets:







Now we just have to make cabinet doors! This is the project that never ends!!!!

Makeover pictures - Part 1

Kitchen Island
Before:

After:

Where did all my hair go?

Summer hair!

I had to cut all of my hair off because it was just fried from an unfortunate experiment with chemical straightening. I will probably grow it out again, but it's fun having a change. I guess it wasn't change enough because I got it in my head that I wanted pink streaks in it too, so I bought some temporary hair color. I love it and am thinking of getting more colors and having fun with unnaturally colored streaks all summer. What do you think?

You know what happens...

when you are doing 12 house projects at once? You don't have time to blog!

Update on projects

Okay, so we are in the midst of a poor man's kitchen remodel.

Our first project was to build a kitchen island. We went to a used building supply store and bought an old and very used cabinet base unit. I took the doors off and sanded it down to bare wood. Then we took off the base of the cabinet and added 4 legs. We also added a back to the cabinet and moulding to the bottom and to finish the corners. Then we stained it a dark walnut brown. The kitchen island is basically done except for tiling the top of it.

Last night, we put up the tile on the backsplash. Tonight I will finish tiling around the window and then grout tomorrow. What I did was cut 13x13 inch ceramic tile into 2 inch strips of various lengths and made a kind of mosaic with no particular pattern. It was a lot of work, but I think it will look good and I learned how to use a tile saw! This weekend I will take down the cupboard doors and start to sand down all of the cabinet boxes, then add crown moulding to the tops. Then I will stain them the same dark walnut stain as the kitchen island. Next week, I took a couple days off of work to build new cabinet doors (and stain them). I bought beautiful cabinet handles for a smokin deal on ebay. By the time we're done, it should look like a new kitchen. I will post pictures when it's all done- hopefully by the first week in May. Wish us luck!

Things I do that drive my husband crazy...

Lately, I've been invading the garage a lot to work on a couple of house projects like building a kitchen island and cutting and painting beams to update my kitchen lighting a little. My sweet husband is pretending that it's okay with him and that he likes spending time with me, but I can tell I'm driving him insane. So to honor his patience with me, I thought I would write out a list of things I know drive him crazy, yet he rarely ever comments on. I love you babe!

1. I use all his tools and never put them back where they go. I usually try to clean up my sawdust, tools, etc., but never do it the way he would.

2. I invade his garage space with my projects, then boss him around telling him how he can be of assistance to me.

3. I leave all of my grooming products all over the bathroom counter constantly. Seriously, you can barely see the countertop.

4. I jack his side of the bed all the time and leave my stuff on his night stand. Sometimes I take a shower then lay on his pillow and get it wet right before we go to bed. I don't do this on purpose, but sometimes I do it nonetheless.

5. If I do lay on my side of the bed to read or do whatever before he comes to bed, usually CJ (our smallest dog) lays on his side and leaves behind special dog hair on his pillow.

6. Everytime he makes a bowl of popcorn, I usually eat it all before he gets a chance to.

7. I leave my shoes everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE! I don't know why, but I just kick them off wherever and whenever I feel like it.

8. I lose things all the time and then ask him where I put them (mostly my keys and cell phone). Usually this is how it goes "Babe, have you seen my _________? Oh, nevermind, here it is." That happens at least once a day.

9. I do not have the same sense of home security that he does. Sometimes I leave doors unlocked and have even left the garage door open when I left for work once or twice.

10. I ask a lot of questions about everything. He calls it nosy.

11. Every time we go through a drive-thru, it takes me FOREVER to decide what I want, even if we've been there 100 times. Also, I always have special requests and hardly ever order straight from a menu without substitutions or changes.

I'm sure there are a hundred more that I don't even know drive him crazy, but I wanted to publicly thank him for loving me anyway! I bet he didn't know what he was getting into when we got married.

The Rock

Below is a paper I wrote in law school and just ran across again recently. I am publishing it on my blog for my benefit more than anything else so that I don't lose it. Don't feel obligated to read it. It memoralizes my law school experience really well.

The Rock

(originally written February 25, 2006)

I’ve always wondered where the rock came from. How did it get chosen? I imagine it used to be a boulder the size of a large tent that was hauled off a mountain from the red rocks of Northern Arizona. At least it looks like it used to belong there. Then, someone must have sliced about a third of the boulder off, turned it flat side up and scooped out the center. Somehow it found its place on the lawn between the law school and law library.

I crawl to the center of the rock and assume my normal lounging position. It’s a little sharp along the edges so I prop my bag behind me. That’s not much better with the corners of my textbooks poking me in the back through my bag. After a little adjustment, I settle in and stretch my legs. I kick off my sandals and lay back. Today, it’s cool outside and the rock is even colder, but the sun offers a welcome respite as it grazes my face. If I never move from this place, I will be happy. I’ve even gotten used to the occasional cigarette smoke that floats over from the café tables a few feet away.

As I sit on “the rock”, as it’s affectionately known, and think about the last three years, I am overwhelmed with all that’s happened. I am a different person than I was when I first got here, hopefully for the better. Sure, I know more about the law than I did that first day I walked into law school orientation, but my legal education isn’t what has had the greatest impact on my life. What has changed my life is the rock I’m sitting on now.

I guess I should back up. Going to law school was a very hard decision to make and once I got here, I wasn’t sure it was the right one. It seemed I possessed every insecurity possible. I had no idea what to expect because I didn’t know any former law students to offer advice. I didn’t know any of the people in my class. I felt like I had nothing in common with anyone in the whole building and I certainly wasn’t smart enough to keep up with everyone.

The first few weeks passed by quietly. I was scared of most of the professors. No one had warned me about the Socratic Method. I didn’t really socialize with anyone and kept to myself between classes. If it was going to be like this for the whole three years, then it was going to be a very long three years.

As I frequently traveled between the school and library, I passed the rock. Between classes, it was always occupied and it took a few weeks before I noticed the same people seemed to be on it. One day, I retrieved the courage to go meet the rock-dwellers. Three women and one man just stared as I approached, wondering what I wanted. I started with small talk, but the conversation quickly turned to controversy. It wasn’t contentious, so I thought it was just “intellectual.” It wasn’t until about two years later, I found out I had been tested that day on the rock.

Word had apparently spread that I was “the Mormon girl.” I wasn’t the only Mormon in the class, but I was the only one that was a woman so I guess that made me different. There are some people who don’t know who Mormons are and then others who just think they do. I don’t think I was welcome right at first because of some of the rock- dwellers’ inaccurate preconceptions about my religious beliefs, but luckily I won them over.

I quickly became a rock-dweller as well. Rock discussions about classes, cases, politics, and personal lives took hours from my first year in law school. Those people became my close friends as well as my greatest teachers. Each of them affected my life in a way that only they could, some deeper than others.

Kim and Ally are the two who changed me the most.

Kim is 38, but looks 25. Her short, spiky, dark hair suits her small frame. There are not two people more different than Kim and I. All of our religious, political, and social views seemed to directly contradict each other (she practices Wicca). Kim and I would sit on the rock and talk for hours, comparing beliefs and ideas. We had only respect for each other and never judged. Kim never persuaded me to join her in her beliefs. In fact, she never even tried. What she did do was open my mind to understand why she felt the way she did. That was much more profound for me than I can articulate. Law school may have taught me how to think like a lawyer, but Kim taught me how to think about the world.

Tall and slender with eyes full of tenacity, Ally is a beauty queen turned ninja. I doubt that she was ever a beauty queen or a ninja, but the description seems to fit. Ally taught me how to be strong. Ally is the kind of woman that will hold you while you cry over a broken heart, but only for a minute. After your minute is up, she will shove you back into the world with a new resolve to conquer it. She also taught me to recognize my value and see the value in other people. I don’t think she always knew how valuable she was, but I think that’s why she was able to help me.

Today, I’m sitting on the rock alone. I don’t come out here much anymore. Life just got too busy. Even though the rock-dwellers have all gone their way, I still would pass by the rock and remember. Soon, I will trade the rock for a desk chair in a stuffy office. I will be breathing recycled air instead of enjoying the soft breeze on the rock. I may not ever see the rock again after graduation, but it will always be a part of my life. I will be grateful forever that the rock made me a better friend, a better person, and a better lawyer.

Sea World

Just for fun, Brandon and I went to San Diego for the weekend. We spent Saturday at Sea World and just cruised around Old Town San Diego on Sunday. It was a nice weekend. Sea World was almost empty and the weather was great! My very favorite part was when we could touch and feed the dolphins. Sure, we succumbed to paying Sea World $5 for 4 minnows to feed THEIR dolphins, but it was so worth it! My second favorite was the killer whale show - they are so beautiful! Brandon really liked the Clydesdales. They are amazing animals too. It was a good day. We had good food and got a killer deal on a really nice hotel from Priceline. Here are some pictures:

Animul 2

Car shopping has concluded! Last week, Brandon picked out a White GMC Sierra Pick Up. He loves it, but is still mourning the loss of the Animul. For anyone who doesn't know, the Animul is what we affectionately called the Lumina that he was driving that is now resting in peace in the big racetrack in the sky. He pried all of the "Lumina" letters off the back of his car and reversed them to spell Animul. Below is the license plate he is going to get for his new truck:

Apparently, the universe hates both of our cars because we were parked in front of a gas station yesterday in Jacumba, California, when a man in a Tahoe thought it would be a good idea to back up right into our car- the Avalon this time. Geez! It's only a dent, but I have to deal with yet another insurance company now. I guess I should be grateful he had insurance, right? I'm going to start riding a bike!!!

I hate car shopping- Installment 2!

We are having the hardest time finding a vehicle. Part of the problem is that we can't mutually decide what we're looking for, but that's another story. Lately, we've been looking for 2000ish pick-up trucks. We have spent hours sorting through them all. They either have over 100,000 miles or are WAY over-priced. I swear, people think their stuff is worth so much more than it really is. Well we finally found a 2000 Silverado that only had 56,000 miles on it. It looked good in the pictures so we call and make an appointment to go see it. We were supposed to go see it Saturday morning, but the guy didn't pick up his phone (even though we talked to him the night before) and then didn't call back all day. Finally, we had decided to write him off and go buy another truck. We decided to call one last time and he finally picked up. So we go see his truck. It ran great but the body was trashed. Apparently it is this guy's girlfriend's truck and she likes to run into poles and other fun things. So the paint is scratched, both bumpers and bent and there are several dings. Brandon tells the guy we just aren't interested because of the body issues. The guy told us that everyone that has come to look at it says the same thing and asks us how much we would pay for it. We told him that we'd have to buy a couple bumpers, etc. so we could only pay an amount that was $2000 less than he was asking. He called his girlfriend and she said NO GO, so we said our goodbyes. He said he would try to talk her into it and call us later. That night, at 7:30 he calls and says "we have a deal." Brandon accepts and they make plans for him to bring the truck to us. I arrange to have one of my friends come notarize the title. I am excited to be done car shopping and Brandon is excited to have a truck and a project. Well we wait for his call to tell us he's coming. We call him several times with no answer and the night goes by with no word from truck man. We assume that he's not calling and wondering what happened and start looking online for trucks again. The idiot re-listed the truck on Craigslist 30 minutes after he called us to tell us we had a deal. WHAT THE HECK??!!??!! I really don't get the point. I can't for the life of me fathom what his thought process was. So that was super frustrating and we still don't have a truck. The funny part though was Brandon calling and leaving him a message telling him how disappointed he was in his character and integrity. It sounded more like a lecture from a parent, but truthfully, it was super disappointing. By the way, here is the link to his Craigslist add with his phone number - in case anyone wants to crank call him!!! His name is Mike!

I hate car shopping!

That's really all I have to say about that.

Who needs two cars anyway?

This morning, I got a call from my husband to tell me he just T-boned a guy and that his car is totalled. I rushed right over. Brandon was okay, just a cut up hand and some aches and pains. The other guy had his head wrapped up and blood on his face, but it wasn't bad enough to go to the hospital, so we will assume he'll be fine. Turns out, Brandon was coming through a yellow light and the other guy decided to turn right in front of him. Brandon didn't even have time to brake. All in all, both cars were totalled, but both drivers will be fine. Still- not the best way to start a day.

I'm so grateful that Brandon wasn't seriously hurt. I just can't imagine what I would have done if he had been. If he hadn't been wearing a seatbelt and had the airbags not gone off, I'm pretty sure he would have been killed. PLEASE wear your seatbelts, even if you're going just a short distance!!!!! This accident happened less than a mile from our house.

The car that got hit is the white Jeep Cherokee on the very right side of the picture. Apparently, it spun all the way across the street until it stopped in the dirt on the other side of the sidewalk. By the way, the pictures do not look nearly as bad as it did in person!

Tea Party

These pictures were taken about a month ago, but I'm just now getting them up. When our niece was here for Christmas, she found Grandma's china tea set and decided she wanted to have a tea party. The only one game for the tea party was Brandon and they "partied" for quite a while. I fell more in love with him that night. Isn't he cute?

Who should you vote for?

Okay, so I'm totally stealing this from my friend's blog, but I thought it was really good. This is a quiz to see which one of the candidates matches closest to your beliefs on political issues. I actually thought is was a good way to learn what issues are out there and to help decide how you really feel about them. If you're interested:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/ongoing/select_a_candidate/

Police: Tiger attack victim was drinking, admitted taunting

I need to rant about this. I don't know why but this article made me sooooo mad! Is it just me or is the fact that the victims of the San Francisco tiger attack taunted the tiger completely and totally irrelevant?!?!?!?!? Okay, so yes, I know that the boys were probably being obnoxious and they had alchohol and marijuana in their systems, but don't you think the zoo should take those things into account when building an enclosure for a deadly animal. I mean, were they sitting at a board meeting talking about how high to build the tiger wall and someone says "I know the wall should be 16 feet tall, but as long as no one taunts the tigers, 12 feet should do." I'm pretty sure that it's a given that at some point during the zoo's existence, they could have forseen obnoxious boys (yes, even adult boys) yelling things at the tigers. I don't care what they were doing, unless they crawled into the tiger enclosure themselves, which they did not. There is no justifiable reason that the tiger got out and to lay any of the blame on these boys (whether drunk and high or not) is absolutely ludicrous! It blows my mind that the zoo is really using this as an excuse for the clear negligence of their organization. Here's a quote from the zoo:

Sam Singer, a spokesman for the zoo, said he had not seen the documents but believed the victims did taunt the animal, even though they claim they hadn't.
"Those brothers painted a completely different picture to the public and the press," Singer said. "Now it's starting to come out that what they said is not true."

Yeah, last time I checked, being mauled to death by a tiger wasn't really a just punishment for smoking a joint and throwing back some vodka. I'm getting really worked up just writing this so I need to end. Thank you for listening!