Slacker

Wow I've been a slacker this week! I really don't have much interesting to report. It's been a busy week back to school and I have a paper due Wednesday so I've been working on that. Last night, one of my professors (who I think rocks!) went to happy hour with our class and paid for the first $100 worth of drinks. So that was fun.

I'm less than 5 weeks away from exams. So I've been meeting with my professors from last semester to review my exams - I'm doing anything I can to improve this semester.

Today I'll be enjoying wearing spring clothes and sitting outside after my one class. We have a kickball game tomorrow and then we're having a few people over from my law school for a cookout. I'm hoping the expected rain in our area doesn't happen to fall when we're trying to cook the food. Fingers crossed!

The Helmand

I am so sad spring break is over! It was amazing to not have classes everyday. In an effort to have one last fun night before classes started back, we went to dinner Saturday night with a couple of my law school friends. We went to an Afghan restaurant that we'd heard good things about. I was a little nervous to try it - not knowing if it would be too spicy for my taste, and as I have a very sensitive stomach, I was nervous.

We were pleasantly surprised by the more upscale atmosphere and cute bar to wait at. The Helmand offered a wide range of flavors and I was super impressed. Ian got a lamb dish - and the lamb was so tender he didn't need to use a knife. I got chicken kabob that had amazing flavor. Service was good and it was packed! We had a 40 minute wait. So if you're in the Mt. Vernon area and want a yummy drink with spectacular food - check it out!

It's Spring - Bring on the Warm Weather

I am so ready for summer break! This week off for spring break has given me a small taste of what summer should be like. I'm ready for the warm weather, dinners on our patio, cookouts, walking down the street to get the yummy shaved ice, going for bike rides by the water, wearing sandals and tank tops, being more active outside, getting tan (or at least trying to), reading on the deck, and margaritas. You know what's missing on that list - class. Ah, how dreamy life will be in less than 2 months.

Until then, back to reality. I'll be busy writing a paper this weekend and trying to get better from the nasty sickness. Sadly, I'll be missing the kickball game tomorrow because of it - although considering that I'm still sore from last week's game, it probably is a good thing to rest up a bit. Have a great weekend all - and happy spring!

Sick as a Dog

Where does that phrase come from? Well regardless, I am very sick. I just paid a visit to the doctor and am starting antibiotics for bronchitis and a sinus infection. Ian is definitely going to be taking care of me since he gave me this stinking cold - jerk. You know that taste you get in your mouth when you have an infection - from all the nasty mucus? Yeah I totally have that. I can't taste food, but the mucus, oh yes that I can taste. And when you cough, you cough stuff up and have to spit it out - yeah that's totally where I'm at. Disgusting! Back to drinking tea, soup and laying on the couch with my box of tissues.

Hopefully, I didn't just ruin your dinner.

Choices

Right now, I feel like I need to make so many choices. Here they are and feel free to give me your opinion!

• Summer Job v. Clinic for Credit: It's normally difficult for a first year law student to get a paying legal job during their first summer. Well, add the stinking economy, where so many attorneys are being laid off and working as paralegals, and it means even fewer jobs for summer positions. So what to do? Do I take a non-paying internship? The other option is that one of the requirements for graduation is to take a 7 credit clinic. Normally it's 2 semesters, and it's basically real experience as an attorney (pro bono) and representing clients and whatnot. They offer this during the summers as well, and the great thing about it is that it's basically a 9-5 job, no homework, and normally is a sure-bet to an A. The A would certainly help boost my GPA, just before I start interviewing for summer 2010 associate positions (which I interview for in the fall). I'm leaning towards the summer clinic even though it'd require me to take another small loan and I won't be getting paid.
• Summer vacation trip: We normally go on one bigger trip per year. This year, we want to go away around the time of our first anniversary. I'd love to go to Italy, or do the California vineyards, or San Diego, or the caribbean. But seriously, we're living off of one salary. So those type of vacations will kind of have to wait until I am making money during the summer. So - we're trying to be a little more creative in our search for vacation spots. We looked into renting a beach house for a week, which quite honestly would be amazingly relaxing and probably just what we need, but even the houses are going for a lot during the time we want to go - June. Any ideas?
• 1st anniversary present for Ian - isn't the first anniversary supposed to be paper? What did you get your hubby for your 1st anniversary?

Happy hump day!

Happy St. Patty's Day

St. Patty's day holds a special place in my heart - it'll forever be to me, the anniversary of the day fate brought Ian into my life - on a very drunken evening with friends.

Since now we have our wedding anniversary to look forward to, we decided that for the anniversary of when we met we'll just celebrate by going to dinner each year. This year, we headed to Roy's and had a delicious din din.

Tonight, we were going to head to the restaurant where we had our first date (a really cheesy chain restaurant) but Ian gave me the nasty cold that he had last week. I don't think we'd have a very fun dinner with me bringing a box of tissues to the table and my voice sounding like I have a clothes pin clamping my nose. Instead, Ian will most likely be doting on me - I'm whiny when I'm sick.

What are you doing to celebrate St. Patrick's day? Did you already celebrate over the weekend?

You Just Have to Laugh

It's times like these that I really can't wait to be a parent - you want to kill and love your kid all at the same time:

Who Knew?

Awhile ago, Kim asked if we wanted to play in a kickball league with her and her hubby. We thought it would be a good break for me each Saturday to enjoy the spring weather, getting a bit of exercise, and meeting new people. Saturday was our first game. I was quite nervous, as I haven't played kickball since grade school. Ian was nervous because he hadn't ever played kickball (since he didn't grow up in the U.S.).

We got there a little early to watch to make sure we knew what the hell we were doing. I did fine playing pitcher and managed to kick the ball (not well admittedly). Ian played well I guess (I mean how well can you play kickball). We ended up losing our first game - but I'm not playing to win. All in all, it was a good time.

But holy hell, I can barely move today. I played soccer competitively until I was 18, danced from the time I was 2 all the way through college, and still work out. I go to hot yoga and am sore the next day. I certainly feel like I've been through my fair share of being sore from a good workout. But this, this is something I've never felt before. I'm not really sure why! I had to take a bath mid-day today with epsom salts to try to help my aching muscles. My right arm and left glute muscles are KILLING ME! I think those were clearly the ones I was using to pitch. Who knew kickball would be such a good workout!

So I guess at the very least, I may get in better shape than I'd imagined - but if you run into me the next 8 weekends after our game, you'll recognize me by my walk - I'll be the 90-year old hobbling along. Oh, and not that this should surprise any of my friends, but I did not manage to make it through the first game without falling. I bit it while running. I guess I couldn't hide my true clutziness from these strangers for too long!

New Bar Stools

As I reported last week, we finally got new bar stools (a Christmas gift courtesy of Ian's parents). As opposed to last week's shipment, we picked up 3 new ones on Saturday that weren't broken! I am loving them already and can't believe we waited this long to get them!

Barrister's Ball

Saturday night we got all dressed up and headed to Camden Club (in Camden Yards) to attend my school's Barrister's Ball. Basically, it's like prom for law school with an open bar. From the time I started law school, the difference in life stages has certainly shown. Me being married seems very weird to those who just graduated from college in the spring. I'm close with everyone in my section, especially a few, so I never knew how different they saw me until last night.

As I was out on the dance floor, people kept asking where Ian was. My response "I don't know - he's somewhere around here." They were shocked that we wouldn't be next to each other, or that he felt comfortable enough for me to go off and do my own thing for a little while. It's something I've always LOVED about him, is that he totally gets that I'm social and talkative and love dancing. But the part that is great is that in addition to "getting" it about me, he totally supports it, and he is social enough that he'll find someone to talk to while I do my own thing. I don't have to babysit him at events.

Then, as I am still on the dance floor later in the night, the comment that made it apparent to me: "You're the coolest married woman I know."

Well, I'm married, not dead people! I am still me! I still love gossiping with girlfriends and dancing my ass off to good music. I also like getting drunk on occasion. I hardly think that any of that would change from age 22 to 26. But it certainly made me realize how just a few years can make people mature. I'm not sure I wouldn't have thought the same if I hadn't seen many friends get married yet.

All in all, it was a fantastic time (and I'm still recovering today). Here are some pics from the night just to show you it was a good time.

Here's the before dancing shot:

And the after dancing (and many drinks) shot (aka...I'm a hot sweaty mess):

In the Media

There has been so much gossip, and very strong opinions regarding two stories in the media recently. The first story is about the dude who did this. It is sad that she's back to talking to him! I just think it sends a horrible message to women who are in abusive relationships. So many times women stay with abusive men for financial reasons, or for their kids. Here, Rihanna clearly has neither of these issues and yet is going back to him, and even went so far as to ask the Judge to remove the order the disallows Brown from contacting her? Eek! Assuming that the reports of how badly she was beaten are true, all I can say is that my respect for the both of them has drastically diminished. What are your feelings? Should the judge have granted Rihanna's request? I have mixed feelings about that.

The 2nd piece of gossip floating around is the drama that went down on The Bachelor. Some people are tearing him apart and blaming ABC. Others are saying it's good he ended up following his heart in the end. While I do think it's good that he follow his heart, and that everyone makes mistakes, he should NOT have ended things with her on the show. That is just downright cruel. I do think ABC probably had something to do with it, but bottom line is that Jason should not have done that to Melissa in front of the television. It's awful! I can totally understand why she became so pissed - because he was loser in handling the situation with any class. But I do not have an issue with him realizing he made a mistake. And I personally liked Molly and Melissa, so I really didn't have an issue with him being with Molly. My reaction when he said goodbye to Molly on the finale was that no guy would be crying that much if he thought he was making the right decision. What do you think about it?

This weekend I have lots of work to do (I should really stop reporting this piece of news, as it really isn't anything "new"). Saturday, we are heading to my school's Barrister's Ball. It's basically a semi-formal with an open bar, kind of like a prom for law school students. Hoping it'll be fun and not turn out to be a waste of time! We also will be picking up the barstools we ordered from Crate & Barrel (we picked them up last weekend only to unwrap them and see that all 3 were broken). Hoping that this time they'll be all in one piece! What are your plans this weekend?

Brother's Wedding

Since I have a snow day today (YAY!!), finally getting around to this!

So my brother's wedding weekend was a great time. After the family dinner with him the night before, Ian and I headed into NYC with my Dad. It was valentine's day, which meant traffic was crazy (as if it already isn't bad enough, right?!) at about 11pm. We miss the hotel the first time, and circle the blocks again. We finally pull over to what may or may not be the hotel (seriously, who doesn't mark the hotel with ANY sign??), and my Dad and I hopped out to see if this was the right place while Ian waited in the car. We walk into a place, very modern looking, then take a very long escalator ride up into what we thought was a club. The music was pumping, and the lights were all sorts of neons. When we reach the top, we have entered into what appears to be a little jungle-y, with branches and shrubs hanging above us. It's extremely dark in the place I might add. We thought we surely were in the wrong place, but nope, it was in fact our hotel. My Dad then left and headed to his non-club-like hotel 2 blocks away where the wedding would be the next day. Ian finally makes it up to the jungle to join me and we head to our room.

Our original plan was for Ian and I to go down to the bar to have a valentine's day drink together since really we wouldn't be able to celebrate (which isn't a big deal - we're truly not v-day people). But between the stress Ian was under by driving in the city, in addition to the craziness at the hotel, Ian wasn't up for it.

Well, upon entering the room, we got a case of the giggles. The room was honestly smaller than a cruise-ship room. It had a mini walkway on each side of the bed (small enough to walk sideways), and had very few lights. And the bed was incredibly uncomfortable. As Ian was laying down watching the TV, he looked like a combo of Will Farrell in Elf (you know the scene where he's too big for his bed!) and someone in the front row of the movie theater, bending the neck in a weird way to try to see the screen. If all of that hadn't made us laugh, the bathroom surely would. When sitting on the toilet, your knees hit the wall. Ian had to stand somewhat sideways just to pee. Then, the shower....OHHH the shower. The shower had a wall that was clear glass. As in, while I am taking a shower, I can see straight through the clear glass wall to Ian, laying on the bed. Oh, and as I'm sitting on the toilet, Ian can see straight through the shower to me sitting there. Thank goodness I am not pee shy in front of people - this would have been that person's worst nightmare.

So that was the hotel. The next morning, we woke up and went to breakfast with my Dad and one of my sisters and my brother-in-law. Then, we relaxed and walked around central park. It was a very cold day, but so nice to be able to walk around. It was such a lovely break from the amount of work I'm normally doing on a Sunday!

He got married on a Sunday evening, which meant we really had lots of time during the day to relax. I also happen to LOVE taking my time getting ready - I honestly could take 2 hours primping because I just find it enjoyable to actually have the time to do it! Once we got ready for the wedding, we headed to the New York Athletic Club to help my mom get ready, and help my brother with some stuff for the wedding. The venue was beautiful! After family pictures before the ceremony, we helped set some stuff up for the ceremony and arrange some things.

The ceremony was short, sweet and over before we knew it! The only thing worth mentioning is that originally they weren't going to have guests at the ceremony. But I think everyone was so happy to see them say their vows! Also, I think the timing was a little off for my brother's entrance. Brianna loves the Rainbow Connection song - as my brother's entrance song. But it's a 4 minute song! So he walked in during the first 30 seconds and then just stood there staring at everyone. Luckily my brother handles these situations well, and started making jokes and rolling his eyes for the next three minutes. I have a video of it, but honestly all you can do is hear me laughing.

The reception was a fantastic time as well. After the DJ played only the songs that were on Dave and Brianna's playlist, the dancing was a blast! I had way to much to drink thanks to the open bar, but luckily wasn't hungover the next day for the car ride home. Ian, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky! Here are some more pictures!

That's Ian dancing with his Mom!

After too many drinks...

And one of my brother's soccer buddies - I wish he was at our wedding because his dancing was amazing!