Sunday, October 16, 2011
Showing posts with label Wedding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wedding. Show all posts
Camping at Greer's Ferry
Swearing In
Sunday, October 2, 2011
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| Swearing in by Judge Hertzfeld. |
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| Me with my License outside of the Supreme Court. |
And I take the Arkansas Bar Exam
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Well after studying for 10 weeks lets just say I was ready to get the thing over with. So on July 25th through July 27th I packed up and John and I moved into the Peabody. We decided that we didn't want to add the stress of making sure we got there on time so we opted to stay at the Peabody next door to the Statehouse Convention Center where they gave the test. Kinda funny, I graduated in the same room I had to take my bar exam in. Anyways, for a five star hotel the Peabody was a bit lacking. First they charged for a fridge and microwave. The rooms were not the largest, or the equipment the most up to date in the rooms. But what I found most alarming was that they did not even have a pool. Really??? So the point goes to show that money does not make the nicest room. What we did like about the Peabody was the beautiful elevator/ view from the room of Little Rock on the river.
So each day of the exam I went and registered, waited an hour or more for them to start and go through directions and then had 3 hours of exam an hour lunch and then 3 more hours of exam. The first day of the exam is essay you have to answer essay questions on your laptop. During the first 30 minutes my computer had a glitch and would not work- I freaked. The service lady tried to help me but could not figure it out. Thankfully it was something I figured out how to work around and still get done. The next day we did not use laptops but instead had to answer 200 multiple choice questions. They were both very long days. The law schools provided boxed lunches for us both days so that we could just eat something quick. It was nice to sit down with a couple of professors who told us about their exam days and tried to relieve some of our fears. After the exam I was so tired, I had lived on adrenaline for days. We celebrated by getting food at 5 guys, ice cream at baskin robbins, and watching movies at the hotel room.
While I was taking the exam John took off of work for a mini vacation. He got to stay in the room and relax.
Summer 2011
Well I cannot say it was an epic summer. We did not take any trips, go on any vacations, or even spend much time outdoors. I spent 10 weeks studying for the bar. I took a bar prep class that entailed me going to classes, reading, and taking a million practice tests. So I pretty much studied 8 to 12 hours a day, sounds fun huh. John entertained himself by going to scout camp, playing lord of the rings online, and watching weird netflix shows. I did get to go to four movies this summer: X-Men First Class, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Harry Potter. I loved Transformers and Harry Potter. I really like action movies and movies where things blow up. Transformers was so patriotic. John went on two business trips one to San Fransisco and another to Cleveland Ohio. Since I was studying I did not get to go on either trip. Before I knew it summer was almost over and it was time to take the Bar Exam
March
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Last weekend we went to John's friend James and got to she his little girl celebrate her first birthday. There is something so adorable about a little kid smearing cake all over their face. This week was monumental for me-I officially applied to the bar. I also bought my graduation gown, hood, and tam. I went to court for the first time representing a client in a criminal matter before a judge this last week. What an adrenaline rush. I have to tell you that it is really exciting and scary all rolled up in one. I think I can get used to this.
January Recap
Monday, January 31, 2011
I have been so naughty and not wrote anything all month long. Since it is the last day of the month I thought I would recap it before my chance to write for this month ran out. First, we spent New Year's Eve at John's Grandma's house with almost all of his aunts, uncles, and cousins. After this John still had vacation for a week only to go back for a few days and be sent back home for snow. The problem with the snow is that we live on a really tall hill that has only two ways to enter. Both of our entrances were too slick to go up so we had to park at the bottom of the hill and hike a half a mile up the hill to our home. We got our car the next day after some neighbors salted and pushed the snow off the roads. What a long walk in the snow, but you know what it taught me. We are so out of shape that in a disaster or bad situation we would not last long. I called it my jump start to exercise and have since then been making it a habit to get on the treadmill and sweat. January has been the month of patterns-trying to get back into them after a very long Christmas break. The other big change has been the push to make ourselves go to bed at a fairly early time so that we are not tired the next day. This month I started my last semester of law school. Wow, what a sentence. I am taking: Law & Psychiatry, Business Associations, Family Mediation, Preparing for the Bar, and Litigation Clinic. Litigation Clinic is were I represent really clients as their attorney under the supervision of a professor-I am really loving it and a little scared that I will be going to court representing people starting next month. I took my preparing for the bar exam class this last weekend and it has taught me that I will get no break after graduation. As soon as I graduate I will have to start studying to take the Bar in July. And to top this all off I have to somehow find time to find a job. In all everything has been busy but it also been really exciting. What a wonderful year we have ahead of us.
My 2010 List of Favorite Things.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Its like that song except instead of feeling sad I am stuck in finals waiting for one more before I can feel like a normal human again. Since I had a long and tiring exam this morning, I get the rest of the night off. I felt like writing about my favorite things I have discovered this year. -Yes I know not all of these things are new, but they are to me.
1. Goat Milk Soap Bars with real sea sponges. I have sensitive skin so I fell in love with these bars I bought from a local lady who makes them right here in Arkansas. They have awesome scents, like cranberry chutney, and feel like heaven on my skin. I have seen similar in health food stores and other little shops, but this lady is local and has a really reasonable price. If you are interested you can email her for more information at: seaflowers5@aol.com
2. Hunger Games Book Series. This was my favorite read of the year these books are action packed and so much more than your basic story line. I actually bought this series to sit on my bookself.
3. Gelato-Yes, that Italian ice cream that has been around forever. I had my first taste of it in DC, and with such wonderful flavors such as salted carmel and less sugar and calories than regular ice cream I may have an addiction.
4. The movie Date Night: I think anyone who has been in a relationship for a long period can relate to this movie. It also helps that this movie makes you continue to laugh all night.
5. Glee. Even if you don't like the story line or hate the characters, you cannot deny they can sing. I love how they sing songs in a new format.
6. Cat nip Squirrels-No not the animals the cat toy kind. Ever since I bought what is called a squirrel toy our cats have been throwing it up in the air and having a ton of fun.
7. Food Blogs: Yes, I have come to realize there are thousands of food blogs out there. But some are really amazing. A few of my favorites include: annie eats, picky palate, and Our Best Bites. Oh, the things food blogs have taught me about cooking.
9. Scentsy Candles. Yes it is a mixture of a candle warmer and candle. The best thing about it is that I do not have to worry about burning my house down if I forget to blow out the flame. Which, um, a few of us have been known to accidentally do.
10. Lastly, Party Planning Blogs. These blogs are great they show you how to host an amazing party like the baby shower I threw earlier this year. Since I am not the most creative person on my own, thank goodness for some ideas to guide me. Here are two of my favorites: Kara's Party Ideas, One Charming Party.
Thanksgiving Break
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Wow, what a busy week this has been. We have had three thanksgiving dinners to attend. While I did not host any dinners, I did make food for each one. Here are the recipes I experimented with and made this week.
Pumpkin Cheesecake: I got this recipe off of Annie Eats Blog which has quickly become my favorite foodie site. Unfortunately the top did crack but other than that it turned out delicious. Even my family members who don't like pumpkin liked it.
Pumpkin Ooey Gooey Cake. This is a Paula Deen recipe and it shows it with all the butter and sugar. I have to say that this recipe was the best received of everything all week. It was so good and I would not be amazed if I get asked to bring it again.
Broccelli and Cheese casserole: Turned out good but nothing amazing will still be looking for the perfect recipe.
Cookie Dough Truffles: I made these for fun and to bring to work for co-workers. Oh my, they are a dream to eat and so much fun to make. I might make this every year.
On top of the time spent cooking, cleaning the house, visiting family, reading a book, we completed almost all of our Christmas shopping, wrapped all our gifts, and decorated the house for Christmas. No wonder I have gotten the beginnings of a cold/cough. We did go Black Friday shopping. I have to say that waiting an hour in line at 2 in the morning in the really outside of Kohls was worth it. We got a King comforter that would normally cost 100 dollars for only 25 dollars! We also got plenty of pillows, sweaters, and items for half off. You cannot beat buying sweaters for only 10 dollars. I was pleased with our purchases, by using Black Friday Sales we were able to buy gifts hundreds of dollars less than we normally do. We have shopped Black Friday in the past for specific items we wanted but this was the first time I used it to shop for gifts. We got a lot done on our break which is great because finals start this week-which mean I will have no time for anything else for the next three weeks. Do not worry we had lots of fun. We went to Harry Potter 7 part 1 and loved it! Definitely the best Harry Potter Movie. I loved being with family this week and I am just so grateful for the love and support they offer me and John. I will post pictures of Christmas Pictures and tell how we survive having a Christmas tree and cats.
DC Trip Day 2, Friday
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Friday started with a trip on the subway. Except for the fact the subway was crowded with morning commuters it was a fun trip. Everyone is so quiet on the subway they either are listening to an i-pod or read a book. Our first stop was the Supreme Court. It is a self-guided tour and you just walk around a few rooms looking at the building.
We got some great pictures of the chamber where the judges sit and arguments are heard.
Other than that there isn’t much more you can do at the Supreme Court.
Next, we went to the Dirksen Senate Office building were we meet our Senator Mark Pryor’s intern who gave us a tour of the Capitol building. They have an underground tunnel that connects the senate building to the Capitol but there was a package that had a suspicious liquid in it so they closed off the tunnel and we had to go to the Capitol through the visitor’s center in the front. The Capitol is so beautiful there are so many things to look at.
Each state is allowed to have 2 statutes in the Capitol. There was also a duplicate of the Freedom Statue that is on top of the Capitol dome.
We first watched a video then we went and visited the old house and senate meeting rooms.
They are no longer used today except for swearing in new members. From there we saw the old Supreme Court room until they built the court their own building. All of this was build after the fire during the war of 1812 that destroyed the first capitol. This all lead into the rotunda which has statutes from all the original 13 colonies and beautiful paintings. The rotunda is the room that presidents have a procession in before they have their funerals.
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| Rotunda ceiling |
After we went through a new round of security we then got to see the current house and senate meeting rooms. We were not allowed to take pictures of these rooms for security reasons, but they as look so much smaller than what you see on C-span. That was the end of our tour and we got to ride the subway senate train back to the senate office. We had planned on going to the library of congress after this but ran out of time. We did get some good pictures of the outside though since it is down the street from the capitol.
Our next stop is a tour of the White House. Now we had to send security information in months ago to get on a list to see the white house and we had to do this through our senator’s office. The White House does not allow really anything other than a wallet and keys when entering the building so we left our belongings in the senator’s office with his staff who looked after it for us. So after another metro(subway) ride, and more walking we were able to find the visitor’s entrance to the white house. After 30 minutes of waiting, the guard told us that there were no more tours for the day and that we had to leave. Since we knew we had an appointment for that time were really upset. This lead to me calling the intern at the senator’s office who confirmed that our time was right, and after an hour of haggling over the phone with the white house visitor’s staff she got them to admit they had made a mistake with our time. They gave us another time for the next day. Thank goodness for the senator’s staff they really came through for us. The problem with this is that we would again have to leave behind our belongings somewhere tomorrow or not bring them at all. It was just a lot of hassle. Since it was late in the afternoon and we were starving, we walked down to the national mall to try to find food. Apparently we did not get the memo that the National mall is really a park. Yes that is right, the mall is not a mall were you shop but a park you can walk in. Thankfully after walking more blocks we found a restaurant at one of the Smithsonian’s, which by the way we learned the Smithsonian is really multiple museum buildings. After our late lunch, we walked over to the National Archives were we got behind this really long line of teenagers and waited for over 30 minutes to get in. We finally got in and a really nice guard let us cut line and go into the room that has the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Unfortunately, they no longer allow pictures because the documents cannot handle the flashes. But it was awesome getting to see the originals, and to see my ancestor’s signature on the Declaration of Independence. It was really crowded so we left after that and headed but to the metro which took us back to the senator’s office to get our belongings. Another metro ride and we were glad to be back at our hotel. Our feet were so sore from walking miles and miles, I also was wearing boots because I was afraid of it raining again and having wet feet. Both of our feet were in pain but what really sucked was that my feet swelled from walking in the boots. What we needed was a good night’s sleep.
DC Trip Day 1, Thursday
John had a work conference in Virginia so we added a few extra days and went to see DC here is all the fun we had. Our trip began with an early 4 am flight. We had one layover in Atlanta and from there flew into Charlottesville. It was a bumpy ride so we did not get much sleep, so at this time we were running on 4 hours of sleep. We rented a car and drove to DC. The landscape in Virginia is beautiful, the trees are changing colors and it reminds me a lot of home. We were tired and it was raining but we decided this was a good time to visit Arlington Memorial Cemetery. The cemetery is so large it has shuttle buses you ride everywhere. We stopped at several areas including: the Kennedy gravesites, General Lee’s home before they buried soldiers on his lawn, and the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
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| Eternal Flame at Kennedy Grave |
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| Field of soldiers |
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| General Lee's home |
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| Tomb of Unknown Soldier |
The tomb of the Unknown Soldier has the remains from WW2, WW1, and Korea that were never identified. They actually had a soldier from Vietnam but were able through DNA to identify him. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded by soldiers who are there no matter what; they also have a symbolic method of changing the guards that is pretty neat to watch. I never expected the cemetery was so large; it was a sobering site to see all the soldiers and famous people who were buried there. Even though it was raining and we got soaked, it was a worthwhile stop. After this we went to the Hilton Garden Inn-Arlington and went to sleep.
Halloween Party
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Last night I had a majority of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society at my house for a Potluck date night. It was a lot of fun to get to meet everyone's spouses and munch on yummy food. I love the fall season and wonderful fall foliage. Lately it seems I have been so busy that I have forgotten what it feels like to enjoy everyday things in life. I have class, mediation seminars(which thankfully I am done with), work for the judge, 2 callings, and managing a household. I really enjoyed general conference at church a couple of weeks ago. My favorite talk was about managing time and going back to basics in life. Jasper our cat has had problems with coughing, so we took him to the vet only to find he has asthma. Thankfully, the medicine he needs is really cheap and easy to give him. The bad thing is that this may lead to more health problems and shorten his lifespan. So now I am looking at household product to determine if they could be what are triggering his attacks. Poor kitty.
Reed's Civil War Battle Re-enactment
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Well it has been one of those weeks, John has been sick all week and I feel like I have read thousands of pages of law. Thankfully John was better by Saturday to go see the battle of Reed's Bridge in Jacksonville. I dragged John out of the house and made him sit in the hot sun to watch the re-enactment of one the civil war battles that happened here in Arkansas. I was so excited I have always wanted to go to one, dream fulfilled. Here are some of the amazing photos I got. By the way my family served and died on both sides during the civil war. It was kinda sad to me to think that my ancestors went through horrible battles like the one re-enacted.
Take Me Out to the Ballgame!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Last week was crazy busy with John finishing a big work project and me volunteering at Arkansas Center for Legal Services. We still managed to go on our date which this week was a Travelers Baseball game against the Missouri Cardinals. The travelers won 4-0, yeah. This is the first time for me to ever go to a baseball game, and except for the fact that it was really hot I enjoyed it. We ate traditional hot dogs, foot long corn dogs, fries, and drank yummy lemonade. After the game Sissy's log cabin had all the ladies come onto the field and dig for a diamond ring (worth an amazing 3,000 dollars) they had buried. I did this but lets just say that hundreds of ladies digging in solid dirt with a plastic spoon is a weird experience. Here are our pictures of our ballgame date.
Birthday Weekend
Sunday, July 11, 2010
A couple of weeks ago was my mom's birthday. We first meet my parents in Memphis to do temple work. If you want to know more about what Mormon's do in the temple read this article: http://www.lds.org/temples/purpose/why/0,11581,1953-1,00.html. After that, we spent Friday night and Saturday at my brothers-who unlike my parents have ac. I felt bad for staying at my brother's because they just lost my sister-in-law's father to heart disease. They were still dealing with the loss, a very tender moment was when my nieces and nephews wrote messages to grandpa on balloons and sent them to heaven. We had a good cookout during a thunderstorm for my mom. On Sunday we went to the church that I grew up in. Which always reminds me that the makeup of a church congregation are always changing and moving on with life. After church we went to my Aunt's (okay let me explain she is only 30 so it feels weird calling her my aunt) daughters 2 years old birthday party. It was an adorable blue's clues themed party at a park. The only problem was the heat and very lively 11 little kids running circles around us. I also got to see my aunt's newest little girl she just had a few weeks ago, so sweet. It was nice spending a weekend with my parents even if everyone was crazy busy.
The awesome wedding Date
Monday, June 14, 2010
One of my friends from law school got married on Saturday and it was one of the most creative and fun weddings I have ever been to. She got married at the Anthony Chapel in Hot Springs/Garvan Gardens. The chapel is made of a durable glass and wood it is one of the most beautiful outdoor buildings I have ever seen. Here is a picture of it from a previous trip:
The wedding was perfect and Laura looked gorgeous in her wedding dress. She and her fiance are outdoors people so their mode of transportation from the wedding chapel to the Hot Springs Country Club was a bass motor boat up the river. The reception site was beautiful and normal in most regards, but they had some amazing little twists. First, they had us sign stones that would be in a vase for decoration instead of a book. Then they had rented a photo booth, like the type you see in the mall, that we got to take 6 pictures in. They had hats and accessories to silly up the picture. The picture went into a picture frame and that counted as our wedding favor. They also had sparklers instead of rice or bubbles to send them away. We had dancing and I got John to dance with me-amazing. There were a handful of kids from school and we danced and hung out together. It was just a wonderful wedding with cute twists that made it fun for all invited. What a wonderful date nostalgia, dancing, and fun.
ABA Conference/ Vote Karen Baker
So I recently went this last Wednesday and Thursday to the Arkansas Bar Association's annual meeting in Hot Springs. I signed up to proctor a room so it ended up being free. Wednesday I sat in on classes about family law, how the new health care reform will affect AR, and dependency neglect law. On Thursday I sat in on a motivation speech by Governor Beebe, leadership classes, and how to be a better trial lawyer. The food was good-a little to much junk food for me to resist the temptation of, and I got to meet and introduce myself to other lawyers. No I did not find a clerkship, but I did talk to some people about doing work in the next few semester and gained some leads. The conference was in the Arlington Hotel and the Hot Springs Convention Center. I had to pick John up late from work so he put in some overtime this week-hehe. I wish I could have stayed for the mixers at night but I was not going to pay for a hotel room and we only have one car. Speaking of people I ran into at the conference I ran into Judge Baker who I had interned for on the Arkansas Appeals Court. I was disappointed that she lost her primary election bid for Supreme Court Justice by 1.5% and is now going to have to run again for the position in November. I encourage all in Arkansas to vote for Judge Baker in November to the Supreme Court. I know I am biased having worked for her, but she is a conservative moderate who has experience and follows the law.
The Ghastly Vet Visit
TV Shows
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
With all the finales happening are you wondering if your favorite tv show will be coming back in the fall? Well check here to find out:http://radiobigboy.com/?p=
I myself am disappointed in losing heroes, flashforward, forgotten, and dollhouse. Sometimes it is enough to make you want to stop watching tv shows. Thankfully we still have chuck (my favorite), fringe, and a handful of other shows. We are not big reality tv fans, we kinda avoid those shows and stick to the shows that require you to think. Two shows they canceled that I enjoyed for the story line where kings and philanthropist. I did not expect these shows to stay, but kings was based off of David in the old testament and based in a modern kingdom. Philanthropist was based off the real life story of a rich guy who went into dangerous areas doing good. John's favorite show Dollhouse got canceled, this show was about an underground organization that controlled people and could wipe their brains and implant memories and personalities to do what ever they wanted the people to do. Of course one of these "dolls" wakes up and tries to stop this from happening. I am looking forward to our summer shows which start back up soon including: royal pains, burn notice, psych, eureka, and warehouse 13. It seems most of our summer shows come either on USA or syfy.
Ending April
Friday, May 21, 2010
I spent the rest of April and beginning of May studying for finals and then taking them. I also had to prepare for mock trial for lawyering skills in which we learn how to talk and present in court. I finished my externship with the judge and completed my 15 page opinion. I felt like this round took forever and would never end. April was a crazy month for us our cats got sick, our ac pipes burst and had to be fixed, and our new car broke down. John's 31'st Birthday was quiet. His mom and family came over to eat lasagna and cake. We went to Iron Man 2 as his gift. We really liked the movie, but we love those action comic book type movies. Well that is a summary of the last month. I am currently taking the summer off. I am looking for a clerkship, and hopefully will find one, but if not I will just volunteer somewhere. I have 3 pages of things around the house that I have been putting off doing to get done. Other than completing those items my goals this summer are: to have weekly date nights with my husband, get our grocery/dinner menu under control (see my new favorite site: once a month), and try to remember that I am a human(law school makes you forget that). I have been looking around at blogsites and have found a few new favorite sites. They are now under blogs that I follow hope you enjoy.
Easter Weekend
For Easter weekend my parents came down. We watched general conference most of the time (which is when Latter Day Saints watch their church leaders talk from Salt Lake). Conference takes two days-thank goodness for media center. We also went to garvan gardens in Hot Springs. The flowers where very pretty and I loved the waterfalls. The weekend ended with my dad getting a flat and a big southern dinner on Sunday. We had our ham, rolls, veggies, and banana pudding. I loved seeing my parents and getting them to just relax for a weekend.
