The End of 2010

Daughter and I began cleaning her room this evening. And it was AWESOME. For the first time, without any extra effort on my part, Daughter and I connected. It was a mom holding up items and a daughter saying either "Yes, keep;" "For the children;" (donate box) or "Trash." We laughed a lot (Daughter has such a fun personality), and we cried a little (reading Daughter's late mother's will, where she wrote a personal note "I love [Daughter] so much. What would we have all done without her?").

Daughter, believing she is now "grown up" and "almost 17" is more willing than ever before to donate her gently used toys. At times, her "throw" attitude was a little disconcerting, and once or twice she expressed her sadness at giving some toys away. I reassured her that she didn't have to give anything away, but she said she was OK. I am really impressed with her maturity. She knows she is ready to part with "little kid" toys, she also knows she is a little sad, and she is willing to do it anyways. Wow.

And then, she told me she smelled popcorn. I can't smell anything because of my cold, but it made sense. It is now 10 p.m., so if Husband and Teenager were making popcorn, we deserved to be in on this! I sent her downstairs, while I rearranged a few more piles. I walked downstairs, and she was making microwave popcorn by herself. I stuck my head in the bedroom, where Husband was trying to ensure we entered 2011 with the checkbook balanced. I discovered there was no popcorn prior to Daughter's batch. That goofy girl. We had a quick chat about not lying to get popcorn, and then sat down to watch iCarly.

Happy New Year! To many more like memories!

Chemo #6

ChoirFriend had her sixth chemo treatment today, and it went wonderfully. It was fast, the side effects should be minimal, and the best part - there are only two left!

Things went well this time because ChoirFriend had an allergic reaction last time. The allergic reaction included a rash and a continual fever that evolved into a hospital stay where ChoirFriend was treated to a lumbar puncture. Ow. To add insult to injury, her tests came back negative.

Turns out, if you react poorly to this first prescribed chemo, insurance will then kick-in to give you the "Cadillac Chemo" treatment. The Cadillac Chemo took 30 minutes to administer, as opposed to three hours, and is supposed to have less side effects. It is sad that women with breast cancer are forced to endure crappy chemo for the sake of someone's profit margin.

I don't pretend to have the answer; but a lumbar puncture is a pretty big price to pay for preferred chemo.


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Not So Scary...

Before:



After:



Admittedly, much of the mess has migrated to my dining room - boxes to be donated, boxes to be broken down and recycled, and boxes to be put into storage - but I'm happy with my progress!


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Out With The Old

Today was day one of my 2010 Clean Sweep. The living room is almost back to normal. I tried to convince Teenager we should put away Christmas decorations, but he resisted putting away Christmas before New Year's Day. Part of me agrees with him, so I let it go.

Most of my energy was focused on the kitchen. I threw out old food products (including some baking chocolate that expired in 2007) and rearranged the pantry. I made a shopping list for the Teenager, made the menu for the week, and even cooked supper. Ebunny, Husband's twin sister, stopped in and ate dinner with us. Husband joked that this was a very atypical evening, since I had actually cooked (Smart-aleck).

I like to create new systems for the year. So far, I have instituted the new pantry system. The new system consists of six bins, each on a separate shelf in the pantry, that are now labeled according to the Real Simple shopping list we utilize. Additionally, Daughter and Husband have a shared "Lunch Snack" drawer, with daughter's snacks in a smaller bin. All the snacks are taken out of their original packaging and mixed together. I'm curious to see if Husband and Daughter utilize the new system.

The Fifth (and Final) Day of Christmas

The highlight of the weekend was the first Christmas with SweetNiece. She's so cute, especially when she smiles and tries to "talk" to her godmother. While I'm beginning to catch some baby-fever, watching FarmerBoy and SweetTalker reminded me that babies are pretty time-consuming in those first few years. The Teenager and Daughter, plus law school, keep me busy enough for now.

A sad note was the first Christmas without Grandma. It was odd not gathering at her house with aunts, uncles, cousins, and even some first-cousins-once-removed. I miss her.

While there are a few Christmas loose ends that need to be tied up this week (such as the annual Christmas card, a few gifts that need to be delivered, and a food reimbursement check to FamousDiva), Christmas in this house has come to a close. This week will be spend preparing for the transition to 2011!


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Merry Christmas

It took a little work, but here is the picture that was supposed to accompany yesterday's post :-)

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

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Third Day of Christmas: The Little Church

First, this post is being delivered via my phone. Amazing.

Second, I am on the farm and loving every minute.

Third, mary and joseph and baby jesus made their annual appearance at the little church.

The Second Day of Christmas: Technology!

Day 1 of the Christmas Phones.

Over the past two years, phone technology has really taken off. The jump was relatively hard for husband and I. Repeatedly, as we tried to set up our new G2 phones, we found ourselves asking the Teenager questions like "How do you turn this on?" and "How do I get back to that other screen" and "Where did that menu go?" It brought back memories of having to explain how the VCR worked to older relatives. Except now I'm the older relative.

Re-reading yesterday's post, I have to smile. Every year something happens to remind me that real-life Christmas is not a Hallmark Card, and that a sense of humor is invaluable towards keeping my sanity. Today was wonderful. Daughter loved her pink guitar, pink phone, and pink mini-computer; Teenager loved his PS3; and Husband and Teenager enjoyed playing with their mini-marshmallow guns. After gift opening, Daughter sang a few impromptu songs, and we alternated between watching movies and watching the Teenager play his gaming system. As Daughter says, "Happy Family Day, Merry Christmas!"


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The First Day of Christmas: The Annual Christmas Tragedy

This is my fifth Christmas as The Mom. You know, the director of great Christmas memories. Prior to being a mom, I thought Christmas was a magical, wonderful day. After my first Christmas as a mom, working tirelessly and perhaps frantically to make sure the children had THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER, I called my mom crying. Perhaps it was all the stress, or post-present depression, or whatever, but my mom told me that she, too, remembered having a good cry near Christmas as a young mom.

This year, I shopped early. I delegrated wrapping to husband. We decided we would have "Christmas Eve" tonight, and "Christmas" tomorrow, and then go to the farm. Perfect Christmas 2010 would start with dinner at 5 p.m. and then the Christmas Eve-eve-eve service at church at 7:30 p.m. Perhaps a light snow fall.

The Tragedy began with me getting out of work late. Husband made Swedish meatballs, and was running behind as well. The family ate dinner in shifts. At 7 p.m., we all began looking for a missing movie to loan to a friend, but at 7:20 we all gave up. The family drove to church and was met with a full parking lot. Oh well - we made it.

As we walked in, it was apparent (as usual), that we were late. Everyone else was already seated and the pastor had begun his sermon, but people turned and smiled when they saw us. There weren't four seats together, so I ended up sitting "alone" without my family. As I sat in my seat, still for the first time all day, I prepared for the Lord to send me a Christmas Realization.

And I got one. I realized the service had started at 7:00 p.m.

2010. The year we crashed the Christmas Eve-eve-eve Service.


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Caffeine and Acetaminophen

That's how I got through my day.

A coughing fit woke me up at 3:30 a.m. So I got up. I drove down to school early in an effort to beat traffic. I was a little drowsy, but made it in one piece.

I was dragging. So I did what any tired law student would do when sick - I drugged myself. I swallowed my DayQuil pills with a coffee chaser. Repeat every four hours.

I've now been up over 17 hours. Don't worry, I'll get to sleep tonight. I just picked up a bottle of Nyquil...

Snow!

While visiting the teenager last night, we took a self-guided tour of the U of M snow piles.

Impressive.

The moment has been cherished for the most part. There was a point when a poorly-loaded dishwasher almost pushed me over the edge. But somehow, saying the words "How can Christmas come to a messy house?" reminded me that only I decide whether I will enjoy the holidays! So I will not stress that the scary room is extra scary right now, or that the laundry room is in quite a state of disarray, or that there is a basket of kitchen towels that has been growing for a month. Christmas is coming this week, the shopping is done, and all I need to do is find the time to enjoy it.

Attitude Adjustment

This morning I woke up and Christmas was only five days away.

Don't freak out, there is actually a week between us and Christmas day. But this morning, Husband and I decided our little family Christmas should be Thursday. We plan to be on the farm for Christmas with my family, and will arrive Christmas Eve for the traditional Sunday School program in the Little Church. The little family likes to enjoy a full day of Christmas festivities, and Thursday was seemingly the best day.

Except now I had only a mere five days to get mom duties done for Christmas, clerk duties done at work, and tax duties done at school. I got up, studied some Tax Code, then did some online shopping.

Somewhere between American Eagle and Macy's, I tried to put my computer on the coffee table -- one handed. My other hand was probably doing something very important, like running the remote control or texting on my phone. As the computer slipped out of my hand, it landed hard on its side. At first glance, nothing seemed wrong. But then the charging cord fell out. Except the end of the charging cord was still in my computer...HUSBAND!!!

While husband made a valiant attempt to super-glue the cord, the writing was on the wall. An emergency trip to the cities must be made to obtain a new cord from Best Buy. A law student without a working computer is one thing; a law student who is also a mom with a budget, deadline and the making of life-long memories on the line is Quite Another.

The tragedy has a surpise ending: It all turned out great. Earlier this week, I realized that yet again, Christmas had more or less snuck up on me. One minute it's Thanksgiving, the next minute you're running around Hallmark displays trying to find that special ornament when even the display ornaments have been picked off! But being "forced" to take an evening off, to have dinner with the Teenager and then do some light Christmas shopping in addition to the emergency cord, was just the perspective I needed.

My attitude is my choice. The next few weeks of the holidays will challenge me to Cherish the Moment. I am brought back to that earlier quest, and while my Tax grade is important, I won't be framing it or scrapbooking it! That honor is reserved for fun memories enjoyed in the presence of loved ones.

My Perfect Nativity

While in Europe this past summer, I was on the lookout for a nativity set. If you asked me to describe what I was looking for, I would have said I wanted a wooden set, nothing too artsy or too cutesy, but with all the main characters: Mary, Joseph, some wisemen, a shepherd, some animals... oh and baby Jesus. Basically, I would know it when I saw it.

When I saw this nativity set, I knew it must be mine. For the most part, it was everything I ever wanted... plus Eeyore. For whatever reason, three solemn wise men, a somber shepherd and his solitary sheep, and reverent Mary and Joseph with sleeping baby Jesus were joined by cartoon-donkey Eeyore.

I can hear him now. "Pathetic. Jesus, the Savior of the World, born in a manger. We couldn't even get him a room in that second-rate motel. Pathetic." And Baby Jesus simply laughs at the silly donkey who worries about everything and perhaps tugs on one of his prominent ears. And Eeyore, despite his whining, has to smile.

Maybe the new nativity-painter's last job was working at Euro Disney, and on his first day painting he didn't realize the donkey was supposed to be less, er, surprised. Whatever the reason, I love my nativity and my little Eeyore!


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My Justice Thomas Story

Last year, United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visited the law school. It was quite the event. It was mostly question-and-answer, and many of my classmates asked really deep, insightful and substantively complex questions.

I had no plans to ask anything, and honestly, I don't remember why I suddenly decided I was going to ask a question. I remember HarryPotter giving me the look, implying that now was not the time for fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants antics.

The microphone came towards me, and I was nervous. "Justice Thomas, we hear a lot about work-life balance..." I started off.

Justice Thomas interrupted me, "What's that."

I was nervous. Everyone else in the room knew he had cracked a joke... except me. I proceeded to EXPLAIN to one of the SMARTEST, WISEST PERSONS in the entire NATION what I thought WORK-LIFE BALANCE meant. I am rolling my eyes at myself as I type.

"Well, uh, you know, the idea that your work shouldn't be your life...." (what a great definition)

Justice Thomas again interrupted me and kindly said, "I know what it means, I was just kidding..." and went on to give his answer. He added that it was a good question, which was a welcome salve to my burning cheeks. He honestly shared that there wasn't much balance in the early days, but that for the sake of his wife and family he carved some out, and that he likes to drive the camper on vacations.

Afterward, Justice Thomas was signing books and taking pictures with students. I approached with my never-been-used legal pad in a new leather portfolio (a gift from the law school's clinic program). I apologized to Justice Thomas for defining work-life balance for him, and explained I was nervous, all in my rambling, goofy way.

He let out the traditional Thomas laugh: OH HO HO! And signed my portfolio "Nice question!! Justice Thomas." I had forgotten all about it until Trial Day last week. And that's my Justice Thomas story.

My Double-Life

I haven't posted for the past few days, because I have been busy living the double-life of a criminal. I suggest reading this overview before diving into the emails.

It all started when I took a Chicago Manual of Style from the law journal office. I took it home to work on my assignment last weekend. I was in a hurry, it was late, so I grabbed it and left. A little voice in my head said, "Is it OK to just take this?"

I rationalized I would bring it back as soon as I was done, and there were other manuals on the shelf, so nobody would ever notice.

And then, last Wednesday, everyone on law journal received a mass email from an editorial board member asking members to please sign out the CMS books. I knew what was not written in the email - that a CMS book was missing and was not signed out.

And thus began my life of crime. Having just ended my Terror Trifecta Week, I was in the mood for something 100% unrelated to learning in any way. So I took on a new identity: the CMS Thief.

I tried to create a gmail account. In an effort to throw the young pups off the scent of this old lady, I put 1/1/95 as my birthday. Except you have to be 18 to have a gmail account, so my computer was blocked. It was an honest mistake - that I made again when creating my facebook page. Facebook was a little more lenient in letting me try again.

And so my double-life began. By day, I was a normal law student trudging through finals. By computer, I was the Dark Lord of Journal Antics. Or something like that. Only LawLady knew it was me, and she did everything she could to help me out.

I had a hunch that I was in over my head when people began making pop culture references. And I had no idea people would analyze the pictures I posted so closely! But I realized my life as a criminal was short when HardyBoy1 wrote his thesis on why I must be the CMS Thief. HardyBoy1 and I have spoken approximately 100 words to each other since the beginning of the school year, and yet his analysis was freakishly accurate...

So, my double life is at its end. Which is probably good, because it does take a lot of time to live one life, much less two. Congratulations to HardyBoy1, may I be the first of many thieves you unmask!


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The CMS Emails

This email chain covers the highlights of my double-life crime.

From: Cms Thief
Date: December 9, 2010 12:10:36 AM CST
To: [Journal Editor]
Subject: The CMS Manual

DeAr [ManagingE]:

THe CMs IS saFe - FOr NOw. ForWarD ThIs To THe jouNal stAfF... bECause I AM tOo LaZy tO TyPE in AlL 40 EMail AddReSSes. Or ELsE thE MaNual MIGht StaRT LoSinG "ChAPTers" Of ITs LIfe. I WIll FORwaRD MY DemaNDs SoOn.

THe CMs THIEf

****************************

From: [ManagingE]
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 1:12 AM

Oh NO!!! Code Red Journal staff!

We have received our first ransom note from the CMS Thief!!! Who is behind this dastardly deed!?! Type A Journal kids would NEVER take an office copy of the Chicago Manual of Style from the office without signing it out on the sheet on the side of the shelf! We have WAY too much respect for the rules. Therefore, there must be a thief in our midst!

[ManagingE]

****************************

On Thu, Dec 9, 2010 at 9:38 AM, [YogaEditor] wrote:

We are indeed dealing with a shady character here. Too lazy to type all the email addresses, yet not too lazy to create a new email address and write every other letter in caps. I wouldn't underestimate this bandit.

[YogaEditor]

****************************

From: [HardyBoy1]
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 10:17 AM

A shady character, perhaps. Or worse! Who alternates caps but angrey teenagers and complete psychotics?! I just hope this villain doesn't intend to deliver the CMS from its present tree-side captivity to a kind that is infinitely more terrifying.

...it puts the comma in the basket.

****************************

From: Cms Thief
Date: December 9, 2010 6:01:11 PM CST

I've overheard some conversations about me. Let me take some time to answer some of your questions:

Q. What has spurred the CMS Thief?

A: Receiving this email: "On a much lamer note, please remember to sign out the CMS manuals when you take them out of the Journal office. The sign-out sheet is hanging on the supply cabinet. Also, the full version of CMS is available online."

Your reasoning is lame. Why are you burdening me with an additional rule requiring signing out a CMS manual when you say yourself that the full version of CMS is available online? Your lack of a response has spurred me to torture the CMS manual. See picture attached.

Q. Are you an angry teenager or a complete psychotic?

A: I'll ask the questions here, [HardyBoy1]. What the heck does "...it puts the comma in the basket." mean?

Q. Are you lazy?

A: Well, I am a journal member who is objecting to having to take two seconds to sign out a book. You be the judge. As it is [yogaeditor], we can't all be cover models for law school publications. Some of us have to make our mark by being a "shady character."

****************************

From: [HardyBoy2]
Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2010 19:54:13

"A: I'll ask the questions here, [HardyBoy1]. What the heck does "...it puts the comma in the basket." mean?"

We can now reasonably surmise that the thief is a journal member who has never seen Silence of the Lambs.

Seriously, CMS Thief? Never seen Silence of the Lambs? COME ON.

It puts the CMS on the shelf, lest the thief redeem himself.

[HardyBoy2]

****************************

From: [Pez]
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 8:37 PM

CMS thief also has a nice spoon rest on the stove, a colorful soup pot, and a very clean stovetop. Actually, the kitchen in generally looks very colorful, kind of like the velour robe and or smoking jacket the CMS Thief is wearing...

Mr. Heffner, please give back our book...

Time to go feed Precious...

[Pez]

****************************

From: [MovieLingo2L]
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 8:45 PM

If the thief makes any cash demands, I'll be the bag man. I will need help with the hand off, though. I can't drive the car, handle the money and talk on the phone all at the same time.

[MovieLingo2L]

P.S. No uzis, please.

****************************

Meanwhile, in another email chain

From: [LawLady]
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 8:19 PM
To: [Freetobeme]

How does [HardyBoy2] know you so well?!

From: [Freetobeme350]
Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2010 21:16:08
To: [LawLady]

I know! this is getting scary. I had to have [Husband] help me identify the big lebowski reference...

From: [LawLady]
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 9:28 PM
To: [Freetobeme350]

Clearly you should just have [Husband] take over. :)

****************************
LawLady, in an attempt to throw people off the scent...

From: [LawLady]
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 9:27 PM

Seems as though you are trying a little too hard in your assertions of innocence, [Pez]. What's that in one of the pics? A blanket keeping our dear book comfy? Or a cozy, warm sweater vest?

Although, the early 90s teal satin mumu sleeve isn't like you. On the other hand, you did wear that lumberjack shirt, and that threw me for a loop.

Perplexing...

****************************

From: [Pez]
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 9:42 PM

again, go back through all your evidence...

That Christmas tree is way too nice to be ours. We only have a few random ointments [my wife] made in kindergarten and pictures of pretty ladies I cut out of the Sears catalogue on our tree. Plus, I have a dog - and as a dog owner yourself, you know that you can't hang anything in the bottom 3 feet of the tree unless you want your ornaments to get Mauer'ed off the tree by the dog's tail...

BTW - Mauer'ed = dog's tail hits ornament off the tree and it harmlessly rolls under the couch, not a towering shot that does any damage.

[Pez]

****************************

From: [HardyBoy1]
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 10:16 PM

Clean lifestyle, cigar smoker perhaps, cavaliering (of course)... and insane.

The scoundrel could be wearing a CMS dust jacket like its his own skin AS WE SPEAK!!! We only have a vague notion of what kind of incivilities as going on at the moment! (see image)

I'm not sold on the dogs, though. The thief had the wherewithal and ingenious cunning to create a new email account--WOW!, what technological mastery--is it not so far fetched that he/she had his spouse hold the book, or took the picture at a parent's house?! Everybody is a suspect.

[HardyBoy1]

****************************

From: Cms Thief [cmsthief@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 10:06 AM

OK, a few confessions.

1. As CMS Thief, I am a major amateur. I don't have a gmail account because I put in 1/1/95 as my fake birthday, and that's too young for an email account, so my computer was blocked. And then, to make matters worse, I did it again on facebook and had to totally clear my cookies. Sigh!

2. I have absolutely zero pop culture knowledge. I had no idea that was Silence of the Lambs, and my significant other clued me in on Big Lebowski. I began to think I was way over my head at that point.

3. I could totally imagine myself accidentally signing my name on either this account or facebook, which is why I framed [DFLFan]!

4. So, the real CMS Thief is still at large. Don't worry, I will eventually screw up for real and you'll all know who I am. I'll make a deal with you - once everyone on journal submits their guess on who it is, and why, I will reveal my other identity.

Merry Christmas, or Happy Hanukkah for [Brilliant],

CMS

****************************

The votes start pouring in. I become a quick leader, due to emails like the following:

From: [OtherAsian] (Think Glee, except we aren't dating)
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 11:19 AM

I have no clue, but I'd guess that these additional facts are true:

1) They live in a house not an apartment (tile on the walls?)
2) Wear's a blue bathrobe (does that rule out all the men?)
3) Cooks spaghetti on a clean stove (does that rule out all the men?)

If [freetobeme350] fits all these cats, then I would fourth the nomination.

****************************

From: [Freetobeme350]
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 11:55 AM

I feel so honored that 2.5 people ([OtherAsian] was kind of a weak, qualified guess) think I am cunning enough to be the CMS Thief.

I suspect [Soma] as well. She was just in the journal office, and her first words to me were "wow the CMS Thief is really filling up my inbox!" When I told her that [YogaEditor] thought it was her, she laughed nervously and said, "uh, yeah, it's me, Ha. Ha."

[Freetobeme350]

****************************

From: [HardyBoy1]
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 1:39 PM

SO lets think about this...

1. thief writes in a patently female voice. I point directly to the following: the "nice decorations" comment (what male would even think to commend a person on decorations?); use of exclamation points (again, men don't generally employ the exclamation point in normal written communication, especially after statements such as "that would be a lot of emails to type" or "nice decorations" or "sigh" or "that's why I framed [DFLFan]"); when I referenced the alternating caps earlier, I failed to mention that those teenagers I knew who typed in such a way were all female.

1a. thief states that her "significant other clued her in on Lebowski." Lebowski (back me up [HardyBoy2]) is a paramount example of a male-oriented film; I submit that there are few couples whose female counterpart clues the male counterpart in on a blatant reference to Lebowski. Especially in MN, where our winters force us to stay inside for months at a time watching movies and drinking Schlitz. PLUS, the Coens are from Mpls...

2. thief gave a shout-out to [Brilliant] & her yule-time persuasion... charmed. Probably a friend of [Brilliant], probably a pretty good friend of [Brilliant]. So most likely a 3L.

3. thief is active on the chain over the last eighteen hours (like the rest of us losers, some of whom have independently created works of art of various media depicting the sitch... including you, [freetobeme350]: nice pics) as she has been consistently weighing into the rapport. And let's be honest, cunning or not, who couldn't resist trying to deflect suspicion by either making false accusations or simply participating in the conversation. After all, and as Chaucer said, "the guilty think all talk is of themselves." We're all fine exhibits of the type A personality, so I repeat: who couldn't resist.

4. That leaves us with: [freetobeme350], [LawLady], [J.D.Mommy], [YogaEditor]. [J.D.Mommy] is probably too busy with finals and the fam and whatnot, though perhaps not too busy to pull a prank like this--but she does appreciate a good joke. [LawLady] is busy with AE duties and finals and a cold (I am not a complete stalker, I just know this from our group's article debacle) so it is unlikely that its her. [YogaEditor]... nah, I wouldn't believe she would want to draw this kind of attention to herself nor would she, at the end, care to steal the CMS manual and hold it up for ransom, take torture photos and evade the LJ staff like this. [Freetobeme350].

5. [Freetobeme350] IS the kind of person who does not mind (and actively pursues) public attention with cynical humor. Consider our past the all-staff meetings: she's the one woo-hooing and shouting (much appreciated) peanut-gallery comments to [ChiefE] and [ManagingE] all the time ("We love you [ChiefE]!") (exclamation point intentional). And moreover, in her reply to the numerous accusations she asserts her feelings of flattery over the apparent belief by some members that she is "cunning enough to be the CMS Thief," which is followed by a weak accusation of [Soma]... a ploy. Yet isn't it strange that thief herself states on numerous occasions that she is "amateur," "in way over her head." Recall also the facebook/gmail incidents... [freetobeme350], trying to imply that you are not, in fact, cunning doesn't preclude the conclusion that you are not a person who specifically describes herself as not cunning. The devil's in the details...

[HardyBoy1]


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3/5 and 5/8: Over the hump!

I'm 3/5 of the way done with classes, and ChoirFriend is 5/8 of the way done with Chemo! It's all downhill from here...

TERROR TRIFECTA WEEK

Three classes down, two left to go. I survived Terror Trifecta Week! (This is the Teenager as the Ghost of Christmas Future a few years ago. Scary, huh? Thanks to PhotoChick for the nice shot - I miss you!!!)

Terror Trifecta Week

The past few weeks have been a little, er, hectic. Every day brought me closer to Terror Trifecta Week. And now it's here (well, I'm 2/3 done, but still).

First off, Terror Trifecta Week eve was spent with the Teenager in the cities. He joined Husband's undergraduate fraternity, and we were present for his induction. Husband was given the honor of reading the charge, basically the organization's mission that members will live lives of strong moral character. It was neat that Husband and Teenager could share that moment. Daughter was in teenager heaven. A whole house full of cute college guys? She actually ditched the Teenager to go sit in the parlor on the couch with the boys.

Sunday night involved an hour of volleyball coaching. I love coaching.

Monday my 3,000 word Crime and Punishment paper was due, as well as four weekly journals (the kind of thing you say to yourself, wow I should write one every week, instead of waiting until the day before they are due and writing four). Saturday's work paid off, and Monday was relatively stress-free. I did some editing, but it was all turned in by about 2 p.m.

Monday night was daughter's (and ChoirFriend's) choir concert. It went really well! I was so proud of daughter, she did a good job watching ChoirFriend, and I could tell she knew the songs very well. Her lips moved in synchronization with the choir, she had let me give her hair some volume with a blowdryer - she looked like a 16-almost-17 year old woman! And ChoirFriend, with her lovely and fashionable hat, did a fabulous job as well. Watching you on stage was inspiring, because you're such a survivor ChoirFriend!

Today was my "final" for Trial Ad class: Showcase my skills in a trial with partner HarryPotter. Harry and I have been friends since 1L year, and have always complemented each other (and complimented each other, but that's not what I meant). Tonight, my concrete-sequential bulldozer style with his abstract-random laid-back balance produced two verdicts in our favor!

I knew today was going to go well when I opened up my legal notepad and found a note from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas: Nice Question!! (Short story, last year he visited law school and I had him sign my notebook. I'll tell the long story sometime soon).

So I'm about to head to the Spare Room, in anticipation of the final day: Small Firm presentations. After tomorrow, all I have left to do is learn a semester of Federal Income Tax in 12 days...

Oh dear.

The Deer Theory

According to the deep philosopher, Pez (The original Deer Theory is Pez's, the explanation below includes a few author extrapolations):

Dating is like deer hunting. The goal is that, at the end of the season, you shoot yourself a deer and take it home and marry it. Or something like that.

Now, everyone by right gets a free pass to the deer farm at least once in their life. It's called high school. Think about it: you're on the hunt, and the object you are hunting is in a closed environment, milling about, and usually there are several herds to choose from. The downside is that both the hunter and the deer are young and inexperienced. The hunter might shoot the first deer he sees, not realizing there were other and better options.

It is true that many people do bag a deer on the high school deer farm and are eternally happy they did. But for those hunters who did not get a deer this time around, who perhaps spent too much time competing for the same deer that other hunters were pursuing, or that caught a deer but then didn't know what do next, or maybe was too busy climbing trees to worry about deer - for those hunters, a choice must be made. Will you try and track a deer in the wild, or will you pay several thousand dollars for another ticket to the deer farm?

Hunters why buy another ticket realize the college deer farm is likely their last opportunity for easy pickin', and don't waste too much time looking for the biggest rack. But for some hunters, it just doesn't work out. At the end of the day, the deer farm is closed and the hunter is now having to find a deer in the wild. Finding a deer in the wild is a much harder thing. Suddenly, the deer aren't penned up in a predictable and reliable spot. It becomes a lot more work to even get close to a deer, much less bag one!

And so concludes The Deer Theory. There is no moral to this story. It is simply an excellent analogy to the human plight, and I thought it would be fun to refer to it in future posts.

My dad says...

In my facebook message inbox, in regards to yesterday's post:

"I vote for trendy. Was [husband] saying it needs a hat?"

You make me laugh Dad!

Today, I rolled out of bed around 8:45 a.m. I began working on my paper about 9:30 a.m. Husband and Daughter left for Husband's dad's Christmas up North. I took a break to eat at 3 p.m. I resumed at 4 p.m. and worked until Husband and Daughter returned, about 7:30 p.m. I worked a few more hours after eating some Chinese, and now I'm basically done. About 12 hours of paper-writing.

Yes, all I did today was eat, sleep and write a paper. I am still wearing my pajamas. I'm faced with the very strong possibility that I will return to bed without ever changing out of them. Most of the time, I'd agree with you that that is gross. But today...

Confusing

Dress: $128
Shoes: $69
Necklace: $20
Spanks: Priceless

This is what $233 and 2 hours of time can get you. I was happy.

I came home Friday, wearing my fabulous finds. Husband's reaction? Silence.

I said, What do you think of the dress?

He furrowed his brow in thought. Oh dear. Eventually, he came up with, "Confusing."

Confusing? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? After a period of interrogation, all he could come up with was that it was very plain, he wasn't prepared, and that it looked like an Amish dress. He might have said something like, Do you see other people wearing dresses like that? If so, are they also wearing bonnets?

So this is your opportunity. Trendy? Or Amish?


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Inconsolable and Inflexible

I'm not flexible.

Mocha tried to tell me. As I left the house, she looked at my suit hanging in the entryway closet, and looked back at me. I walked away and into the car and drove 70 miles to the cities.

I hopped out of my car and my cell phone fell to the ground. I swore. A super sweet and perky classmate comes around my car, having also just parked, and chattered away about her AWESOME DAY. I open my backseat door and realized what Mocha had known all along. I think I swore again.

AwesomeDayGirl did her best to console bitter me as we walked from the parking ramp to school. But stress makes me inflexible and inconsolable. We met a friend, dressed in a suit, who was walking to the ramp. She said Hi, how are you?

I took this as an open invitation and ranted (while continuing on my way, yelling over my shoulder) that "I LEFT MY SUIT AT HOME AND IT MAKES ME MAD." I walked a few more steps and then added "MERRY CHRISTMAS." Evidencing I still have common decency, I began to feel a little bad for AwesomeDayGirl, who WAS having an awesome day until she ran into Debbie Downer. I apologized for not being able to get over it. We parted ways.

I went to the elevator. I rode up with another classmate. I had her trapped in a small, enclosed space so she was my "captive" audience. She laughed nervously at my rant. Ironically, we ran into AwesomeDayGirl again (being that she was having an awesome day, she must have taken the stairs), and I apologized to her a second time that I apparently still hadn't gotten over it.

Then, before class started, I shared the story about three more times to several different groups of people. AwesomeDayGirl sits two rows up and two seats over, so I'm sure she wanted to throw her laptop at me. I apologized again. When I'm tired and stressed, I apologize. A LOT.

Since I have a work party in a few hours, and another formal lunch engagement tomorrow, I need to go downtown after class and buy a suit. SIGH! But I think I am finally getting over it. Hopefully I haven't totally ruined AwesomeDayGirl's afternoon! (Sorry)

A Visit from VBDragon

On an otherwise dreary day of homework and school and journal and Microsoft Word, VBDragon stopped by and brightened my day.

While I have lauded VBDragon's athletic abilities, tonight I was so impressed with her character. A few weeks ago, she had asked me to write her a letter of recommendation. There were a few questions I wanted to ask her. I wasn't 100% sure they were appropriate questions to ask of teenagers you weren't related to, but when she stopped by to pick up some things, we began talking and it just seemed like the right time. So I asked my hard questions, the kind that make teenagers squirm. And I was overjoyed (and relieved!) at the answers.

What makes VBDragon special is her self-awareness. The world tells teenagers they are only going to be happy if they are popular, have a boyfriend/girlfriend, and party. It takes a special young woman to glean the truth from her surroundings, to have the courage to find her own way, to make the hard decisions, and to be OK with being different. VBDragon's outlook on life far surpasses where I was at when I was 18. Maybe even 28.

The thing is, in high school (and in life), it's much easier to live like a Christian if you're totally isolated from the world. In high school, I had the popularity value of a kleenex. I'm pretty sure God created me to be a pudgy nerd-bag in high school because if I was athletic, popular and hot, I would have been an alcoholic hoe-bag. So when I look at VBDragon, who has enough athletic ability and attractive features to do some real damage if that's the kind of life she wanted, I am thoroughly impressed at her ability to say NO! to the world.

One of my favorite memories with VBDragon occurred a few years ago. I hosted a youth Bible Study/sand volleyball game. The teenager came, and while tall he hadn't quite mastered coordination. I, like always, was being more of a coach and less of an encouraging adult. After one particularly cutting remark, VBDragon looked at him consolingly and said, That was mean! I remember being very convicted by her words. She was right, I was way out of line. But I was more amazed that a junior high girl who was an amazing volleyball player even noticed that someone else was feeling bad. Much less say something comforting to an awkward teenage boy.

I don't want to put any undue pressure on VBDragon - she's gonna make mistakes. But I have faith in her ability to learn, to trudge through the hard times, and to have the courage to do what needs to be done. Thanks for brightening my day!