Legally Fabulous

What the hell are we doing?

2012-02-16T22:33:00.001-06:00

This morning I was at court and ran in to a couple friends from law school. We're all brand new attorneys (They just graduated in May 2011), so we've been practicing for all of about three months now.

We were catching up with what the other is doing/what type of law/what it's like etc. Being a first year attorney is certainly a learning experience.
My friend said:

"Yeah I get yelled at pretty much every day. Whenever I go to court I just pray that the judge does not ask me any questions because I have absolutely no idea what is going on."

I laughed so hard when he said that because I never get yelled at, but that's exactly how I feel when I go to Court. Even on the cases where I am extremely well-versed in the facts/what is going on, I am always terrified the judge or opposing counsel is going to ask some question about the procedure or the strategy or something else that I have absolutely no clue about. Even with the nicest judge ever, it's terrifying.

Checking In

2012-02-13T21:31:00.002-06:00

Just checking in to say that I'm alive. I haven't been doing much blogging/tweeting lately... for the first time in my life I just don't feel like I have much to add to the conversation. And on twitter recently it seems like everyone is just bitching about absolutely ridiculous stuff and I just can't be bothered to pay attention to it. And I realize that sounds absurd because my life is basically a giant white girl problem, but whatever.

I'm in a really weird place right now. It's hard to explain.Things are good. I am healthy. Family is healthy. I love my job.

It's like on one hand I have everything I've worked for, but at the same time I'm not where I thought I'd be at this point in my life. I guess part of it is being at a weird age. All the people I went to high school and college with are in such different places - it's hard to not compare yourself to everyone else and wonder if you've done it right.

And it's also really hard to be totally type A and have planned out every "next step" for your entire life and then to realize that you can't plan everything.

I'm trying to take control of the things I can control.

I cannot control other people, but I can control myself.

And that's where I am right now.

Semi-related:

Been thinking a lot about those of you who are taking the bar exam in 2 weeks, whether it's for the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or hundredth time. Sending lots of good juju your way.

So so so so glad that that nightmare is behind me.

2012-02-07T19:52:00.000-06:00

Struggling today.

A friend sent me this that she found on Pinterest and I died laughing.

And obviously immediately changed my alarm to say that tomorrow AM.

2012-02-05T12:35:00.002-06:00

Team Brenna!

2012-02-02T09:27:00.004-06:00

If you follow me on twitter you've heard me talk about my friends Courtney and Evan, whose baby Brenna was born just before Christmas.

Evan and Courtney and I went to college together and I met Courtney through my ex-boyfriend when I was a senior in high school and she was a freshman at UofI. We've been friends ever since. Courtney and Evan got married a few years ago and have an adorable son Connor and now Brenna. Brenna was born with an extremely rare skin condition called Harlequin Ichthyosis. She was very very sick at first but is about 6 weeks old now and got to leave the NICU and go home last week!
You can read all about Brenna at Courtney's blog, Blessed by Brenna.

Several of Courtney and Evan's friends have put together a team, Team Brenna, to run the Illinois Marathon in Champaign (home of the University of Illinois) on April 28th. I hate running and there is no way in hell I could ever finish a full or half marathon, but I think I may be able to run/walk 6.2 miles through the wonderful city of Champaign to show my support for Team Brenna. I've never run more than 5 miles before, so I've got my work cut out for me. I did sign up for a 10k once, but I cheated and skipped about a mile and a half of it. HA. I will try my hardest not to cheat this time. No promises though.
I'm just bummed that our favorite disgusting college bar Kams probably isn't a sterile enough environment to take Brenna after the race. Ha!

The outpouring of prayers that have come from people on twitter and blogs for Brenna has been amazing, keep em coming!

New Month Resolutions

2012-02-01T10:00:00.001-06:00

January was an odd month. For more reasons than one. Not sad to see it go though. Shocker.

For the first time in a looooong time I have expendable income. I am able to pay all my bills with a little left over. Can I first of all just say how awesome that is? Not being able to pay all your bills and being 26 years old and asking your parents for help is probably one of the worst feelings ever. Of course the little money I have left over after bills really really really needs to go towards paying down debt, but when you actually have spending money for the first time in your adult life, you want to spend it. Duh.

In January I spent an absolutely ridiculous amount on going out to eat and drinking. Like I won’t even say the number because it’s embarrassing. Five weekends in the month of January was not helpful for the going out/eating out budget and I blew it. Not to mention I think I brought my lunch to work one time the entire month. 8 bucks a day for lunch x 5 days a week = way too much.

Between the restaurant and bar budget, and an unexpected $1100 car repair bill, my January budget was BLOWN. The goal for February is to reel it in. I’m even going to open a savings account. Ha. Obviously I’ve had savings accounts in the past but with the past few years of post law school underemployment/unable to pay every bill every month, I haven’t had a savings account in about 18 months. What a crappy feeling.

The plan is to put all my expense reimbursements in savings. Short term this will be the money for the new puppy, but long term it will be for if I get hit with a ridiculous car bill or something similar I won’t have to put it on a credit card. Or so that I can buy a Chanel bag that my new puppy will probably chew up. Whatever.

Oh and since I’m talking money – I would like to note that January 2012 was the first month ever in the history of my life that I did not charge one single thing on my parents credit card. My mom offered to take the car repair bill, but I am a responsible adult now (HAHA) so I am dealing with it. Also in December the only thing I charged was Elle’s final vet bill. So I would just like to pat myself on the back for that.

Other February resolution: Get in more of a routine/get better sleep. I have SUCH a hard time waking up in the mornings, and while I don’t anticipate that I’ll ever be a morning person, I know my wonky sleep habits aren’t helping. Sunday night I went to bed at midnight and woke up at 6. Monday night I was so exhausted I went to bed at 8PM. Tuesday night didn’t go to bed til almost 1. I’m not doing myself any favors.
So Sunday – Thursday I am going to turn my phone/computer off by 11PM. I rarely have trouble falling asleep if I can just shut everything down and close my eyes. (Sidenote: Am I 4? Why is this so difficult?).

And now I leave you with one final thought, which my mom shared with me this AM via email:

“Money cannot buy happiness, but it’s more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle.”

Reminders

2012-01-30T09:50:00.003-06:00

Sad.

Happies

2012-01-29T19:44:00.002-06:00

Random things that have been making me happy lately...

Owl Earrings

Rockit Burger

Kobe beef, melted brie, fried shallots, medjool date aioli, red onion brioche bun and truffle fries

Biore warming face wash.

Seriously, how does it get warm? My mind is blown every time I wash my face. I love it.

Old Navy Jeggings in PINK!

It's the little things.

Life Updates

2012-01-26T09:44:00.001-06:00

Hola Amigos.

Long time no chat.

Things have been super busy. Busy is good. Work is awesome. Big trial coming up, and sentencings/appeals/habeas hearings. Lots of trying to get innocent people out of jail, which is a pretty cool way to spend your day.

Went to the STS9 show at Congress in Chicago on Friday. It was incredible. I now know why my brother is basically an STS9 groupie.

Here's a video from a show for those of you who are not familiar.

Amazing.

I purchased a fluorescent pink Cambridge Satchel with my initials embroidered on it. It's amazing and I'm obsessed.

I miss this girl a lot.

Those pics are from 2007 when she was about 9 or 10 weeks old. ahhh so cute.

I suppose the big news on that front is that I've talked to a breeder about getting a puppy. Basically I've picked the breeder and am going to get one of her puppies, I just have to be sure of the timing. There are about a gazillion factors to consider... number one at the moment being that Elle had about $10,000 worth of medical bills in her last 6 months of life that are notquite paid off yet. And puppies are super expensive.

I will probably/likely/maybe be getting a puppy from a litter that is due March 9, which means ready to come home in May. And getting a puppy in May is ideal as far as weather goes because then it could be basically housebroken before next winter.

I really really really miss having a dog. But at the same time I don't miss taking the dog out at 5:30 AM before work. And I vividly remember how awful housebreaking was. And the thought of a puppy chewing up my brand new hot pink embroidered Cambridge Satchel makes me wanna cry.

But I think about all the stuff that Elle chewed up when she was a puppy and it doesn't bother me. It was worth it.

And the momma of the puppies that I might get is absolutely stunningly gorgeous.

And she was inseminated with sperm from a dog that has been dead for 4 years, which is pretty freaking awesome.

The breeder actually has another momma due March 5th. I am probably going to go meet them both and see which of their personalities fit me best and let the breeder help me pick out a puppy. I told the breeder I want a boy this time.... I definitely want another Dane (duh), but I feel like getting a fawn male with cropped ears would be kind of the "opposite" of Elle so it wouldn't feel so much like I was trying to replace her? Which I realize is kind of dumb, but whatever.

Oh and also - before anyone tries to tell me that getting their ears cropped instead of leaving them natural/floppy - save it. I've heard it all before. Don't care if you think it's inhumane or whatever.

This sure seems like I'm definitely getting a puppy in May, huh?

Phew. Okay. So that's what's new with me.

To my future daughter

2012-01-14T21:06:00.003-06:00

Dear Future Daughter,

I vow to take you to a women's college basketball game every year the same night as Miss America.

Because I want you to look up to these girls

Not these girls

Fist bump,
Z

Spoiled Rotten

2012-01-13T02:50:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a weird day.

I arranged for a girl I met at the dog beach with a 1 year old great dane to come pick up Elle's crate.
I threw out about $100 worth of dog food (ouch).

I got all of Elle's small stuff out of "her" cabinet to send to my mom. Thundershirt, winter jacket, collar collection...

Yes that would be three different Valentine's collars. And an Easter collar. And a Halloween collar. And a 4th of July collar. Christmas collar not pictured because it was the one she was wearing and was in a different spot when I got all the stuff out.

And of course what dog doesn't need a monogrammed drool rag to take to the beach?

I'm sending it all to my mom so that Satin can get some use out of the stuff I spent a gazillion dollars on. Also that way I can get it back if I ever need it. But I think that I'm going to get a boy puppy next (maybe?) so I'm not sure how much of it I'll want back. Of course boys can wear pink too. Lord knows Elle got called "he" almost every day of her life despite being named ELLE WOODS and having hot pink leashes, collars, and monograms, so it doesn't really matter what color collar you have them wear.

And now that I look at all this stuff I'm realizing where a big chunk of all my money went over the last 4.5 years. Ha!

It was all worth it though... Miss those puppy snuggles a lot.

Hair Dryer Review!

2012-01-12T11:58:00.000-06:00

I was contacted a few weeks ago by Misikko to review their Hanna hair dryer.

They sent me a dryer and here are my random thoughts about it:

Full disclosure: I have pretty straight hair to begin with. It's basically straight no matter what I do. I have to spend an hour in hot rollers with about a half a bottle of hair spray to get it to be anything other than straight.

The first picture is a pic of my hair after washing and letting it air dry for a little while.

And here is after using the dryer! With no straightening and no other product. I usually run a flat iron through my hair after drying it because I'm lazy and don't want to take the time to dry it "nicely", and this steps seems to be eliminated.

My two favorite things: This is probably stupid but it has a really long cord. My old dryer had a really short cord that was always driving my nuts. And it definitely cut drying time. My hair takes FOREVER to dry.

At first I was thinking that it was a really nice hair dryer but not something I'd ever spend so much money on... I always buy the 20 dollar dryers at Target. But then I thought about it a little more, and I own an 80 dollar curling iron and a 100 dollar straightener that I definitely don't use on a daily basis, so why wouldn't I spend the money on something that I use pretty much daily?

Thanks, Misikko!

Line Skipper

2012-01-10T11:17:00.001-06:00

I got my first law firm job in August of 2007, the week I started law school. This firm is where I learned how to file cases, how the courthouse works, how status calls work, what discovery is, what pleadings and motions are, what a courtesy copy is and how you deliver one when a courtroom is empty and locked, etc. Basically this job is where I learned everything that they really should teach you in law school about working at a law firm but don't. Also I had the greatest boss ever who treated me like I was smart and competent even though I was a 22 year old 1L. I had no idea that all law firms didn't work that way and that all law students/lawyers to be aren't treated like competent professionals, and that firm will always have a place in my heart for being the place where I knew FOR SURE that I wanted to be a lawyer. It's taken me years to find another firm like it where I'm treated like I'm smart and capable and a valuable contributor and OMG I can't even tell you how great it is, especially since I have so many friends who haven't been able to find that place yet.

Anyway I bring this up because starting at this job in 2007, I would go to court all the time to file stuff and drop courtesy copies off to judges, etc., and every time I got in line to go through security I would look wistfully at the attorney's who got to breeze through and think "three more years! That's me!"

Well today, four and a half years later, that day has finally come.

I finally got my sheriff's ID after getting my bar card and now I can whisk past security and up to my destination.

It feels so much better than I imagined it would.

Diarrhea of the Mouth

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

I tend to have diarrhea of the mouth.

I rarely think before I speak.

A friend and I were talking the other day about how when I visit this client in jail, it's basically the only time I think before I speak. Since this client is in jail, I know that after I leave, the client has all the time in the world to think about every single thing I said. I want to give the client hope and know that we're working really hard, but I can't make any promises because there are no guarantees. Also this is a client who is in a rough spot and is facing life in prison, so I have to be really sure that I'm giving hope without making promises I can't deliver on. It would be reallllyyyyy bad if I was like "oh yeah we'll get ya outta here in no time!" and then the client got a life sentence (which is a possibility). Also because I'm trying to explain some fairly complicated legal stuff to a client who has no experience with the system and doesn't really know how it works, it's hard to come up with the right words to explain a lot of things that are happening, our strategy towards handling the case, why certain things that seem important to a client aren't necessary important to the Court, etc. So anyway, I do a lot of thinking before I speak when I'm visiting.

And now that I'm typing this out, maybe my New Year's Resolution should be to do more thinking before I speak?

ANYWAY... back to the story I was planning to tell when I started writing this blog post....

Since Elle has been gone I have had SERIOUS diarrhea of the mouth. In order to take your dog out in my building, you have to go down the freight elevator and through the parking garage. Last week when I was doing laundry I had to take the freight elevator down to the laundry room and of course like 4 dogs that Elle loved got on and I'm like "ohhh Hi how are you? Elle's dead." So.Incredibly.Awkward.

Last night I got home from Denver and I was unloading my suitcase from the trunk of my car in the garage when a dog walked by that Elle liked. She sniffed me and I said "Oh hi Rosie! How are you?" and gave her some pets. And then the owner said hi and I just looked at him and said "Elle is gone. I had to put her down right before Christmas."
Poor guy was totally blindsided. (p.s. when I first typed this I said "blondsided".... I like that better I think). Of course he said all of the right things, but still... so awkward. I don't even think about it before I say it... I just open my mouth and it comes out.

My mom said she was the same way when she first got diagnosed with cancer. She was in the shoe department at Nordstrom and the salesman came up and said "How are you doing?" and she blurted out "I have cancer." Poor shoe guy.
I guess that's way more awkward than telling a dog person that my dog is dead?
Maybe awkward runs in the family.

Denver!

2012-01-06T11:21:00.001-06:00

I'm in Denver for the weekend!
I'm here visiting a friend. I just bought a groupon now for a haircut and blow dry for $24 because I don't want to wash my hair.
I love vacation.

Sent from my iPhone

Goals

2012-01-03T07:01:00.001-06:00

I'm not calling them resolutions... just goals. So after a little thought, my 2012 goals are:

- to be able to back squat my body weight. I have a long way to go to be able to do this (especially since I kind of fell off of the CrossFit bandwagon this fall) but I think I can do it.

- do 10 uninterrupted pushups from the toes. No more knee pushups. They hurt my knees anyway.

- get my financial life in order. I started using mint.com again in October-ish and while there are parts of the site that suck, I think it's helping me reel it in. Specifically - need to be spending less on eating/going out. So one of my many plans is to bring my lunches to work more often.

On a related note I've made a longer term goal of mine to get rid of all my "small" debts by my 30th birthday. So I want to pay off credit cards and my two small student loans and my car by then. 3 years and 5 months... which will leave me with just my big student loans, but those aren't going anywhere anytime soon so I don't really care about them.

Now that I've written all this out this doesn't seem so impossible. Here we go 2012!

2k12

2012-01-01T15:49:00.001-06:00

Ringing it in with a bang.

Avery Jenkins says Happy New Year to all yall.

2011

2011-12-31T10:05:00.002-06:00

There were a lot of wonderful things that happened in 2011. I said my trifecta would be if the Mavs won the Championship, Casey Anthony got acquitted, and I passed the bar exam. Mission Accomplished.

But on the whole? Not sad to see 2011 go.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2012.

Hard Day

2011-12-30T19:19:00.001-06:00

Christmas recap

2011-12-28T23:10:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite gifts - new camera!
I got a Canon G12 from my Aunts and I love it.

The pictures are pretty awesome. I wanted a "nice" camera that isn't enormous and it definitely fit the bill. Of course the first thing I thought was how much it sucks that now I have this nice camera and no dog to take pictures of... :(

I haven't taken a photography class since my sophomore year of high school, so I have some brushing up to do before I can take anything decent that's not in automatic! My photog friend who took my Christmas card pics said

But I got some good shots of Elle's sister, Satin...

She looks so regal! I love how even though they're the same breed and from the same parents, Elle and Satin always looked so different.

Sweet Mug

Satin getting love from my brother

Then I went to visit my old neighbors and to check out their Christmas loot...

This is my absolute favorite picture of Daniel, who turns 6 in a few weeks.

He got this weird bike thing from Santa, which is actually pretty cool.

And no, he isn't mad, just WILD. Absolutely cracks me up.

Anyone have any good websites/camera tips for me?

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T10:15:00.000-06:00

First of all I want to say thank you to everyone for your kind words this week. It's been incredibly difficult, but I suppose I'm doing alright given the circumstances.

I was going to promise that this blog wouldn't become some sort of creepy crazy dog lady tribute to my dead dog, but I don't like to make promises that I can't keep.

So for Christmas Eve I want to post a couple pictures of Elle on past Christmas Eve's. As I sit here sifting through photos I'm realizing I don't have a picture from last Christmas. :( I can't find pictures of all the loot but rest assured that Elle always had a stocking full of goodies and lots of presents under the tree. She gave spoiled a new meaning.

Baby's first Christmas 2007... She's 5.5 months old in this pic. Such a goofy galoot. Already a big girl.

Christmas 2008. If I ever say that I want to cut my hair short again, please remind me of this picture and talk me out of it.

2009 Christmas cards... so glad we took these.

And of course Christmas 2011 pictures... I was already obsessed with them but I am even more now. Definitely going to get some prints made.

Elle is famous again

2011-12-22T17:09:00.000-06:00

RIP Sweet Ellebaby

2011-12-21T08:16:00.000-06:00

I had to make the tough decision to let Elle Woods go. I'll miss her tons, but I'm glad she's not sick anymore. She was more loved and spoiled in 4.5 years than most dogs are in 15.

I hope doggie heaven has comfy couches and giant dog beaches.

Give your 4-legged companions an extra hug for me today.

No longer a clerk

2011-12-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

We have some clerks at work. Some are in law school, some are in college. Seeing as how I'm only 18 months removed from law school and was just a clerk myself 6 weeks ago, this is really weird for me.

They come to my office door, and they ask for assignments. I vividly remember doing this as a 1L when I clerked at my first firm, and really hoping to get a substantive assignment. However, I'm not really sure what of my work I'm allowed to delegate. A lot of the stuff I'm doing right now is stuff that I need to be doing myself... for example summarizing deposition transcripts for an upcoming trial. I need to know those depositions backwards and forwards in case issues come up during trial. And I feel like an asshole asking them to copy stuff... because I'm barely older than these kids. And some of them go to law schools I never would have gotten in to. Today I really needed something bates stamped (basically page numbered) and was working on a bunch of other things so I asked one of them to do it. I made sure to tell him thank you several times, but I still kinda feel like a jerk for giving such a crappy assignment. Which is weird because I know even though I enjoyed the substantive assignments when clerking, I never really minded making copies and such. I'm usually just happy to stay busy.

I was discussing this with a law school friend, and I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who finds it awkward to utilize clerks/support staff.

N: Most of my staff is older than me so it's real weird telling them what to do

me: i'm not old enough to be in charge

N: My life is held together by a thin string of good luck. I should not have any power over others.

NYC Recap!

2011-12-19T09:48:00.000-06:00

This weekend I went to NYC and had a great time. Stayed with a friend from twitter that I had never met before, and she turned out not to be a serial killer, hooray!

Friday I had sushi at Koi in Bryant Park with a friend who is a big fancy big law firm NYC lawyer... I love hearing about other people's jobs and of course getting to gush about my excitement over my new job. Koi was delicious, although the service sort of sucked.

Friday night we had drinks at The Boom Boom Room at the top of the Standard Hotel. Seriously - this place is incredible HIGHLY recommend it. It's really expensive (as is everything in NYC), but the view is totally worth it. Panoramic views of the city and Jersey. Chicago feels so small after having seen how enormous NYC is.
After Boom Boom Room we had dinner at L'Artusi. Food was good, service was wonderful. Loved it.

Saturday we did brunch at a little hole in the wall diner that was wonderful and cheap (which I'm pretty sure is a rarity in NYC), and spent the day shopping. I bought my mom's Christmas present at Bloomingdale's.... this turned out to be a perfect idea because Kay had a Bloomingdale's card and they were giving 15% off any purchase with your Bloomie's card so I saved a little chunk of change by just writing her a check, and also excellent because there is no Bloomingdale's in Dallas, so if my mom decides she doesn't like it she can't return it and I'll get to keep it! Lol.
Sunday we did another hole in the wall brunch that was delicious.

So to recap: I love NY. I would move there in a heartbeat, as soon as I won the lottery. Also - to fit in in NYC you have to be 6 feet tall, wear a size 2, and have jet black straight hair that's way too long. Possibly because New York is so expensive that no one can afford haircuts?