The Celebrations to Come

So, last night I finished my last class of yet another semester of law school.  It is not completely time to celebrate because I still have to get through finals, but as has become the custom, Nick and I have a small celebration after the last class.  Sometimes we go out for dinner, sometimes we have dinner in, but either way, it's a small celebration at passing another milestone.  So last night we realized that the number of celebrations are close to running out... which is exciting because it means I (we) are close  to being done.  I say "we" because there is no way I would have gotten through this with my sanity without the support of him and my friends and family who love me even if I hardly ever call, write, or visit.

So, here are the celebrations yet to come...

Finishing finals this semester - Just 2 weeks away!

Finishing classes next semester

Finishing finals next semester

Graduation

Taking the Bar

Passing the Bar

Being sworn in as an Attorney!!

By this time time next year, if all goes well, all of these celebrations will have come and gone... and the next phase will have begun!

So for now, I am off to study... but thanks for sharing in my celebration!

Cheers!

Happy Sunday Morning

Good morning friends and family!

It's Sunday morning and while I should be diligently working on finishing the assignment on Employment Discrimination that is due this week, I thought I would take a moment to say hello.  I have been on this crazy, confusing high lately and I can't really figure out how to explain it.  I am tired, my stress level is through the roof, and I am pretty sure I have recently begun to suffer some sort of panic attacks... but yet I am excited.  Anxious.  I am three weeks out from my last final for this semester.  I have registered for my LAST semester of law school.  I have made some decisions about what Bar preparation course I will be taking next summer.  I know I have been saying this for awhile, but the end truly is near.

Things in my life are far from perfect... my job is still a daily stress that almost seems unnecessary when you compare the amount of pressure placed upon me versus the job that I do (remember - we sell t-shirts), my personal finances could be better, I don't see my friends very often, my house is a mess, and "quality time" with my boyfriend usually means me falling asleep on the couch within an hour of being home most days.  My exercise routine is non-existent, I have gained 10 lbs since this summer, and I am not positive that I don't have full-fledged ADD these days.  But still, the excitement is there... right below the surface.  2013 is going to be yet another year of change in my life... a new direction... and things are brewing right now... in the smallest moments.

My dreams are consumed with thoughts of the future and what it will bring.  My son is turning into a teenager right before my eyes, my life is changing.  I am so happy to have the support system I have here... my friends and my family... those who love me, those who support me, those who know that even though I don't call or write, that I love them... that I miss them... and that soon, very soon, we will be on the other side of this phase of my life, this transition... and with every fiber of my being, I truly believe that the other side of this phase is going to be amazing!

Until next time....  enjoy your Sunday morning coffee and know that I am here, sitting at my kitchen table with books surrounding me, having my coffee and learning about Employment Discrimination, and thinking of you all... and thinking of how I will look back on these days and realize that in some way... I will probably miss them.

Love you!

Dreams vs. Reality

My Life in My Dreams...

Girls night out with my friends...

Reading a book for FUN!!

Sleeping in on the weekend...

My Life In Reality...

Passed out cold by 10pm every night
with evidence of law school nearby

But the exciting news is that I am registering for my LAST semester of Law School on Monday.  The end is near!!!

It All Happens in the Blink of an Eye

Life.  It happens.  In the blink of an eye.  My last post was May 26th.  Three and a half months ago.  Where did it go?  I took two summer classes - both required a lot of extra work outside of the classroom.  What I thought were going to be "easy" classes, turned out to be a big pain in the you know what.  I was able to gain some good experiences and make some new contacts that I will be able to reach out to after I am done with school.  So, I know it was worth it.  But dang... was it a long summer.

Work went a little haywire this summer as well.  My company is typically "slow" during the summer but this summer we decided to do a complete overhaul of our marketing and as a result, my days for most of the summer were 10 - 12 hours long.  Tiring.

But it wasn't all bad.  Breighton and I had the chance to fly to New Orleans and meet up with Aunt Susie and take a drive to Orange Beach, Alabama for a week at her condo.  It was Breighton's first time on a plane and first time at the beach.  We both got a little sunburn, but aside from that it was a great trip.  It was so good to get to catch up with Aunt Susie and Uncle Louis and give Breighton a chance to get to know them as well.  At the end of the week, we rode with my cousin Brock back into the French Quarter and spent the afternoon running around and tasting as much as we could before we had to catch our plane back home.  Here are a few pictures for you!

 Breighton got a window seat for his first flight.  He kept the window open for the flight (closed it for the picture).  He took a lot of pictures using his iPod and in his words, "it was pretty cool."

 There is something so wonderful to me about having my toes in the sand and beach in my view!

 Breighton taking a break from the water to do some reading and show me how "twisted up" he can get!

 Having a little fun on the beach!

 I quickly learned that I am a HORRIBLE sand castle builder and teacher...

 Breighton let me bury him in the sand!

 And I let him bury me!

 On the pier waiting for the July 4th Fireworks!

 Breighton getting ready for his first oysters at Acme Oyster House in New Orleans!  These were charbroiled (not raw) but he liked them!

 Nick has given Breighton the nickname of "Mr. B" for many years...  so we had to get a shot in front of Mr. B's Bistro!

Breighton getting ready to experience hot, fresh beignets at Cafe du Monde! An experience to remember! I remember going with my dad when I was Breighton's age.

That week of relaxation was just what I needed!  Did I mention that this trip was the first real "vacation" I have had since before I started school?  Yeah... I needed it.  It was just the reboot I needed to get ready for my last year of law school.  

So I returned home from Orange Beach and spent the entire month of July working like crazy and finishing up the requirements for my summer classes.  When it was all said and done, when the last paper was submitted, I had exactly ONE weekend of no schoolwork before starting my summer classes.  A full 7 days including one glorious weekend.  So that weekend I took a trip to the library, made a pit stop at the corner store and headed to the pool.  This was my weekend in a picture...

 Now, I am a fast reader... but no... I did NOT finish all of these in a week.  But I did finish two.  I am still making my way through the rest.

Sadly, the following weekend, this was what my days looked like in a picture....

 Employment Law, Employment Discrimination and Texas Criminal Procedure are my current time fillers...

Also happening this summer... Breighton got his top half of braces (bottom half coming in a few more weeks) and he officially started 7th grade last week!!

Nick and I added a new family member whom I instantly fell in love with.  Say hello to Leo!

Leo ate his first bed in a week (Yes, I said ATE).  So then he had to spend a week on a not so comfortable bed.  So when he got this new cushion for his not so comfortable bed, he was VERY happy... snoring happy in just minutes!

Nick and I made a decision to move to a smaller place.  Downsize and save money.  In a year, I will be finished with the Bar Exam, anxiously awaiting results, and planning for my jump into being a lawyer.  The more money saved, the more comfortable my jump will be.  I am SO EXCITED to be this close.  So excited.  I can't believe 3 years are done.  I can't believe I only have 1 year left.  I can't believe it all happened.. in the Blink of an Eye.

Till next time...  I love you all and I hope this update finds you happy and healthy.

I want to end this post with a special note to my Aunt Susie... who probably won't read this for a long time.  Susie lost her husband of 40 years last week.  My Uncle Louis.  I can't begin to imagine the pain of losing a spouse that you have built your life around for so long. I can't begin to form words to say how sorry I am.  What I can say is that I am glad I got to spend a few days with him this summer and I am glad that Breighton got the chance to know him.  Aunt Susie... I love you.  And I know you will survive this because I know that you are strong woman who has so much love within and around you.  You are not alone in this... you are loved.  I will see you soon.

Let The Countdown Begin!

Today is Saturday and it's Memorial Day weekend.  Some might think that I would be hanging out by a pool or out at the lake enjoying the annual Memorial Day crawfish boil I have attended for the last 7 years.  But you would be wrong.  It's Saturday, Memorial Day weekend, and I am at school.  No, I am not blogging during class... I have a lunch break.  The class goes all day (9-5) and is all weekend (Fri - Sun) for two weekends.  It's a great class and it is going to give me some great experience but it does give me one more thing to add to the list of "Things I Missed While in Law School."

But... as I am sitting here today, I did come to the realization that I am officially less than ONE year away from graduation.  So... what a perfect time to create a countdown clock!! So, come on over to the blog (http://ordinarywriting.blogspot.com/) and check it out!  348 days and counting!

Have a great weekend everyone!

I can BREATHE.

Well, there you have it!  Three years of law school DONE!  I took my last final on Monday night and yesterday I spent the day in a stage of euphoria... just before the reality of work sets back in but while the reality that I don't have any homework or anything to study for is staring me in the face.  It's a great feeling!  Too bad it won't last for long. I start my first summer class in a week and a half so I will once again have to hit the books.  But let's not focus on that just yet!

When you tell someone you have finished 3 years of law school, if they have ever known anyone who goes to law school, they assume you are DONE DONE.  (Like studying for the Bar done.)  Because a typical law school program is 3 years.  Of course, I am doing the "part time" program (and I put that in quotations because you still have to take 10-12 hours per semester AND take summers if you want to finish on time) which takes 4 years to complete.  So, while those who started at the same time as me but in the full time program are now graduating and preparing for the Bar exam, I will return to school for one more year.

But right now? Right now I am FREE!  I can BREATHE!  Last night, Nick and I headed out to a delicious dinner.  On Thursday we may be going to a concert.  This weekend I am determined to find something fun to do with Breighton (since last weekend all he saw was me hunched over a dining room table studying all day long).  And next week I hop on a plane for a quick trip to Louisiana to celebrate my niece graduating from high school, see my whole family, enjoy some boiled crawfish and drive through daiquiris and spend some much needed time with one of my very best friends.  It's gonna be a good week and a half.  That's for sure.  

BREATHE...

Don't Tip Me Over - I Might Leak

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I finished final number one on Tuesday night and I have my second one tonight.  I spent yesterday (and when I say yesterday, I mean ALL FREAKING DAY LONG) sitting at my dining room table surrounded by books and notes all discussing wills, probate, estate administration... Here's what I know (my first bit of legal advice to my friends and family)... GET A WILL!!  Do not leave it to your family to sort it out.  They will fight over the DUMBEST things.  And get a will done properly.  Make sure you have mental capacity to make your will (just the fact that I say my family is "crazy" does NOT mean you don't have mental capacity to make a will).  Oh - and if you don't want to leave anything to your greedy, good-for-nothing relative... make sure you SAY that, or indeed - they will take from your property.  The good news is, your life insurance policies will go where you want them to - as long as your beneficiary is right. 

Keep in mind that these rules may NOT all exactly apply to those family members residing in the great state of Louisiana.  As is the case in most of my law school classes, almost every law has one caveat: *This may not apply in Louisiana. 

So, right this moment, my brain is so full that I am afraid if I so much as bend over to tie my shoes information might start leaking out.  Talk to me again after 10pm tonight and I might be able to have a coherent conversation - MIGHT - and only for a day... because then the next round of studying for the FINAL final which takes place on Monday will begin!

Hasta Luego my Friends... Go write a will!

Wrapping Up Another Semester

I am two weeks out from my first final of yet another semester of school.  I am tired just thinking about it.  I have really struggled finding my motivation again this semester (that seems to be a common theme).  Actually, I have really enjoyed my classes this semester (well, 3 out of 4 of them) so that has been a welcomed change.  So being motivated on the day to day hasn't been bad... but digging in for finals again???  Not. Fun.  One of my classmates sent me this picture the other day and it made me laugh in one of those "yeah, that's pretty accurate" sort of ways...  So I thought I would share!

That's all for now folks.  See you all on the flip side of the spring semester.  Cheers!

Still Chugging Along

I realize that I have not posted on this blog in over a year... but yes it is still here.  There are so many things in my day to day life that I want to do but I never "get around to it."  It is something as simple as hanging pictures in the place I have lived in for almost a year now or something as complicated and tiring as getting back into a healthy workout routine.  I am the queen of making excuses on why I can't do those things and for the last 2 1/2 years, Law School has been that excuse for me.  It's the perfect excuse really.  No matter what event you miss, how many times you say "I haven't gotten around to it" - everyone understands that it is okay because I am in law school and therefore I have no time for anything.  The thing is - it's not a far stretch.  Looking back at the first semester, I was consumed in every waking moment that I wasn't working - I was ALL law student, ALL the time.  Now, I am tired.  All the time.  The two and a half years of working all day and going to school at night has slowly eaten away at my ability to find motivation for almost anything.  Picking up the phone to call a family member or a friend who I haven't talked to in awhile is a tiring prospect.  Every week, I say - "this weekend I am going to call (Kelli, Kim, Susie, Mom, Rebecca, Blake, Robert, etc)."  Then the weekend rolls around, I work on school, I stare lethargically out the window at the outdoor world which I feel like I am no longer a part of and then before I know it, the weekend is gone and I am returning to the daily grind.  Tired.

I did get back to the gym and a healthier lifestyle after the first of this year.  Not out of motivation as much as out of necessity.  If I didn't do something, I was going to be a fat and tired law student.  Now I will be shapely and exhausted law student instead.  But I still haven't hung the pictures, or made the phone calls, or written emails or sent birthday cards or anything.  Sometimes I feel so self-absorbed I don't even like myself.  So I guess this is my reason for writing today.  I miss all of you, I want to talk to you more, I want to be part of your lives more and I wish I could say that there was a time coming that I could be.  But that time is nowhere near.  I will finish this semester, roll right into a full summer semester, then roll into my final year of law school.  Next summer, I will be studying for the Bar and next July (2013), I will have taken it and will hopefully be able to breathe just a little for the next 5 months while I wait for the results.  The time can not come soon enough.

I hope this blog finds all my friends and family doing well.  I hope that you all know that although I don't call or write very often, that I think of you.  I am very excited about the path my life is on and there is not a moment that goes by that I regret making the decision to go to law school.  I truly feel this is my calling - this is the path I am supposed to be on.  It's just that I don't think I realized exactly how long and tiring this path was truly going to be.

Lots of love to everyone....