Weekend Treat - David Rio Chai

You know how there are some weekend mornings where your hair is just too crazy to run out into public and you can't find your Pi Phi baseball cap?

Well, this is an excellent chai to tide you over until you can make it to the Starbucks.

I was discussing with my cousin the fact that it is impossible to replicate a Starbuck's chai at home. They use some kind of syrup, whereas they sell the public some kind of liquid. David Rio chai is quite yummy in its own right.

Plus, I love opening the cabinet door and seeing the orange canister. More things should be orange. I found it at World Market for 9ish dollars, but you can also go to davidrio.com.

Oooo and I see from the picture that it is also gluten free. Picture from davidrio.com

No Spiritual Journey Needed

[I wrote this about an hour before I got the call from the law firm that they decided to go with an out of town candidate.]

I still haven't heard from Fantastic Law Firm.

But dare I say it - I think that I am leaning toward doing The Franchise. Because in this economy? It's a brilliant time to be opening a franchise that sells expensive dessert products that many people have never heard of.

In the end, it comes down to the fact that (1) The Franchise would be mine. (Well, for ten years and then for just a measly few thousand more I can buy the right to keep my business, but you know what I mean.) (2) Dessert is fun. Very few people on either side of a dessert transaction are stressed about it.

Many of my readers are lawyers and many of the blogs that I read are by lawyers. I still need that. I like lawyers and I respect lawyers. And I loved practicing law - from 5 a.m. in the morning all the way through to 11 p.m. at night. I was tired and overworked, but I truly loved being an attorney and I helped a lot of people along the way.

My husband is in Hong Kong sleeping during the day and working during the night. You're the first to know. (P.S. He took my iTouch so he could watch Invitcus on his 16 hour plane ride. How am I supposed to play Bejeweled and watch wee back episodes of the Rachel Zoe Project?)

Why I Am Not An Activist

This is from the Eminem featuring Rihanna No. 1 song on the Billboard Top 100, Love The Way You Lie:

Eminem
"I'mma tie her to the bed
And set the house on fire"

Rihanna
"Just gonna stand there
And watch me burn
But that's alright
Because I like
The way it hurts"

I find this song to be morally irresponsible on the part of Eminem, who claims to be such a good father and, more significantly, Rihanna, who is the vicitm of domestic abuse.

Having worked with victims of domestic violence, I can assure you that not one of them liked the way it hurt.

And I can also assure you that there is going to be at least one ass out there that hears this song and thinks it's okay to abuse someone because, hell, Rihanna likes it - and she should know, being a victim herself. Don't you agree that a culture that can make this the number one song is also a culture that can breed that ass?

So I am typing this and getting very, very angry and thinking of all the the ways I can get Eminem and Rihanna's people to make them do something to correct all the wrong, when I remember that the Daily Show moved to 8:00. I usually forget, so I've missed it for months. And now I can't focus on all my anger anymore because when did John Stewart get a beard?

Drink Pray Drink

I am expecting to hear any day now about second interviews at the law firm.

This weekend, after 2 mojitos and half of a bottle of Austrian wine that was so red and so Austrian that it had chunks in it, I determined that if I had the good fortune to be making a choice between the law firm and the franchise that I will need to go on a spiritual journey to help me with my decision.

And I shall call that journey Drink, Pray, Drink. However, nobody is going to pay me to write about it (except whoever is advertising over there), and I can probably only leave the real world for about three days.

Where shall I go? Santa Fe? Rancho Pescadero? Napa?

And if there is no spiritual journey needed? That's okay too. Because that means all paths lead to the dessert franchise.

The Adomestic Antihoarder

While I have a fear of hoarding and it totally messes with my zen if you leave anything on my carefully and sparsely accessorized counters, cleaning? Meh.

So when we have people over, it's a project. We were having my clean friends and their families over on Sunday. These are my two friends who don't work and have cleaning ladies. Once I dropped a piece of food on my friend Catherine's floor and when I picked it up it didn't have any hair or lint or dust on it. It was confusing and amazing so I went ahead and ate it.

Before the dinner party on Sunday I deep cleaned. On my hands and knees. I cleaned under the fridge. I remembered to dust the places that tall people can see. I even nonchalantly forgot to put away the Clorox in the bathroom. The risk of one of their toddlers finding it and eating it was not as great as the reward of my friends knowing that I have cleaning products just like they do.

We were standing around in my sparkling kitchen drinking wine when my friend Catherine looks over at a drawer and absentmindedly takes her fingernail and starts scraping some kind of goo off of it. I forgot to wipe the drawers.

Also, I forgot to clean outside. (We haven't been out on the deck much. It's as hot as Texas here by the mountains this year. Mr. Gore may just be onto something.)

I forgot all about power hosing the deck. One of my friends actually elected to bathe her children before she put them in her car. I give up. If you come over, we'll just hose you off on the way out. But please note I have no clutter. No clutter people. I may be adomestic but I am the antihoarder.

A Fine Weekend Indeed

So . . . We're not even going to get into the string of events this weekend that resulted in (1) taking shots seeming like an excellent idea [classy too], and (2) my husband running into the yard naked to get me some mint. Have I ever mentioned that we live in the city?

Instead, I'm just going to share with you these images of how happy my house is right now. I asked my husband go to the Whole Foods to pick up some chicken and he came back with yellow are red gerbera daisies. He's a keeper.

Weekend Treat Nars Egea Eyeshadow Duo

Because there is, of course, the possibility that I will not get a second interview with Fabulous Law Firm, and because there is the possibility that I will decide to do the franchise rather than law anyway, I am still doing traffic counts for the franchise location.

Last night I just happened to be doing a traffic count next to Sephora. Because I had 30 minutes between traffic counts, I thought I would go in to just, you know, look.

I need new blush, and I need new lip stuff. So I came out with new eyeshadow. I have read in more than a few places that white/light eyeshadow helps you look more awake, and I need all the help I can get. Usually the lighter eyeshadows just get lost on me (because my skin is white/light).

Enter, Nars Egea eye duo. The picture does not do it justice; the colors are slightly darker and brighter. The green is perfect for the day, but also has a little rocker edge to it - and yet still appropriate for the office. The lilac gray is perfect for a light smokey night eye. (It goes on gray.)

$32 at Sephora. Picture sephora.com. (I am being evaluated to join the blogher network, so all my reviews have to be under $40, which is kind of a cool challenge actually.)

Oh, and it appears to have staying power. If you happen to, say, fall asleep wearing it (and I am not saying that you should) it's still there in the a.m.

A Post Sort Of About Shoes

Part of me wanted to not like my interview. Then the answer would be so easy - I sign the franchise agreement.

But that's not how things went. I enjoyed every last person that I interviewed with. There wasn't a single red flag. My qualifications were a very good match for what they were looking for. The billable hours are 400 less than the last law firm where I worked. The moms often work from home. They commented about my shoes.

I bombed one question but nicely navigated the remainder. I went into the interview not really caring how things would go. I left the interview sincerely wanting a call back

That evening, I met my two best girlfriends for a bottle of wine at the Nordstrom Cafe. We toasted to the possibility of having options.

I walked past at least 3 pairs of shoes that I could have bought on the way out. But I don't know if I need law firm shoes or franchise shoes.

It was a really, really excellent day to be me.

Wake up Maggie.

My dad, the bagpiper.

He opens for Rod Stewart. Okay, once, about 20 years ago, he opened for Rod Stewart.

About 20 years ago it was really cool to throw around the fact that my dad opened for Rod Stewart. Now - My dad still has a thriving career as a bagpiper. Rod Stewart?

More Canadiana Than You Can Shake A Stick At

That's me. (The one on the left.) My son likes to eat in front of the mirror. I don't know why he's looking at me like I'm crazy.

The dress is Milly. I wore it to the second half of my own wedding, and also the wedding in Edmonton. You cannot go wrong with Milly. Her clothes work in any setting and are so polished without being stuffy. Mmmmm Milly.

This is the wedding cake and cupcakes. Remember, the wedding was in Canada. Both the bride and the groom love them some hockey. One is a big Oilers fan, the other a big Flames fan. I took this picture specifically for the lady who writes my favorite food blog: http://watkinslynn.typepad.com/pages_pucks_and_pantry/

What is this beast of the golf course? Is it a moose? No. Just an awfully large hog of the hedge.

A Big July

This week, I have an interview for a law job in the next city over. It's my last potential legal opportunity before I sign the franchise agreement - I can't do both.

We finally got the financing for the franchise, for the amount we needed, on terms we can live with.

I wasn't done practicing law when I was laid off. I was a 6th year attorney, really just hitting my stride of professional confidence and acumen.

I don't know what I will do if the choice is mine to make.

I do know that today I head back home to a job in a cube with a supervisor and an HR department that doesn't quite know what to do with me because I took off for the Edmonton wedding when I didn't have any PTO. So, really, either option above is a step in a much better direction.

How Jellyfish Have Tested My Parenting Skills

Another Washington picture/story because I forgot my camera cord to share Edmonton pictures.

Last summer, my son was in Puerto Vallarta with his dad. He came home with a terrible jellyfish sting. He told me that the sting was from a Portuguese Man-of-War. Being the excellent mom that I am, I told him to stop telling lies and that I was sure he had just been stung by a regular jellyfish.

(Because, of course, Portuguese Men-of-War would would be native to the coastal waters of Portugal, not Puerto Vallarta.)

My son kept insisting to me, and everyone else, that he was stung by a Portuguese Man-of-War.
The next time that I saw his dad, I made a special point of asking him, in front of our son, about whether the sting was from a Portuguese Man-of-War so that my son would learn that that I will always know when he is not telling the truth.

Turns out he was stung by a Portuguese Man-of-War.

Ever since, my son has been obsessed with jellyfish. He owns jellyfish posters from art.com and has done extensive google research on the topic. And he has been on the lookout for a stuffed (toy) jellyfish. I told him over and over again that we were never going to find a toy jellyfish.

Every toy store, "Mom, lets check to see if they have a jellyfish."
"Oh my goodness. I think you just need to come to the realization that we are never going to find a stuffed jellyfish."

Below, a picture of my son with a stuffed jellyfish.
(Found at the aquarium gift store in Seattle.)


Picking cherries at Pike Place Market.

Someone Get Me a Roll of Pennies

When we booked our hotel in Edmonton over the internet, the web page failed to mention that it was attached TO A CASINO.

We're not talking the Bellagio or the Wynn here. We're talking the kind of casino most typically found in places like New Mexico. There are, quite literally, tee pees along the road to the hotel. (Those - also not on the website.) We're talking an establishment proudly touting its limited engagement of Vicki Lawrence. Hmmm. She sounds familiar. Why, why, why. Oh yeah. Mama's Family. The lady that starred in Mama's Family is here.

I'm not a gambler. In fact, I am risk adverse. In fact, when I go to Vegas, I bet on black and red at the same time. And I'm not really a slots person. The machines are always a little slimy. And there is, without fail, the old lady next to you at the slots with the cigarette hanging out of her mouth and the hair that she has taken out of rollers but neglected to brush out so she has little tubes of hair all over her head.

I have been informed, however, that they have a mermaid slot machine here. Just like the one I know and love in Vegas.

Oh the mermaid slot machine. Do you know what happens when you win on the mermaid slot machine? It is computerized, so these little fishies pop up on your screen when you spin a certain combination. Oh they are so cute the little fishies, and they blow bubbles. In the bubbles are numbers that represent how much money you are winning, and if the fishies keep blowing, the bubbles keep getting bigger and bigger and your winnings keep getting bigger and bigger! The little fishies just blow money right onto your screen. And then they swim away. And you keep playing to make the fishies come back. And they do. But they never again blow bubbles with money in them as fast as you can push the spin button. But they will. I have an excellent feeling that they will.

The Far Side of Fambily

First of all, this post almost didn't get written because, hello - Bejewled Blitz - best use of time ever. Thank you for all of your recommendations. I now have them ALL.

We are in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) for my cousin's wedding. There's not much further north than Edmonton.

Edmonton is basically the Bloomington, Minnesota of Canada. That is, its biggest tourist attraction is a great big mall.

The West Edmonton Mall has an indoor amusement park (this is the frozen tundra we are talking about) and an indoor beach where pasty white Canadians can frolic in man made surf under the neon mall lights. Don't hate me because of my glamorous travel.

My son is a great procurer of all forms of entertainment geared toward the lowest common denominator, so I suspect my upcoming days involve an indoor beach. And do you know what, I would bet you ANYTHING that he's going to end up loving that indoor beach more than the beach from his recent trip to Costa Rica with his dad. Nine year olds. They're crazy.

Oh but Canada. It's where my mom grew up and this is my mom's side of the family. And the Canadians are so very nice. They've had greeters at the airport saying hello long before Target employed greeters as policy. Canada smells good. And as a citizen, it's still home.

Everyone sing now, "Oh Canada mumble mumble mumble whatever comes next . . ."

And I Will Use This iTouch For?

I have wanted an iTouch or iPhone ever since I learned that Kate Spade made cases for them. Mmmmm Kate Spade. But, really, I can't think of any other reason why I would need one.

My husband recently got an apple laptop and the apple store threw in a free iTouch. Which he gave to me. I have absolutely no idea what to do with it. I take my shuffle running, and if I am going to take the time to watch a show, I probably don't want to do it in miniature. I have a perfectly good full size t.v. on which to watch The City and Mad Men.

My son has an iTouch and he has the iClean Dog Licking Screen app. I have no doubt that such app could fill up countless hours at work. But seriously, I suspect that there might by other things to do with it.

Please please tell me now, is there something I should know?

The California Bar - Epilogue.

The night that the California bar results were announced my then-husband called up the results on the computer at the specified time. It was taking forever. Finally, a group of names popped up listing the people that had passed the bar. My name was not there.

I got up from the computer and calmly poured myself a glass of wine and went outside to the porch. I looked up at the stars and to heaven and told my mom. I just sat there for a long time, unsure of what to do next.

About 15 minutes later, I heard screaming from the house . . .
"You passed you passed you passed!"
"What?"
"The computer timed out before it grabbed all the names. I thought it was strange that it was taking so long, so I tried it again. Your name is on there."
"Are you sure?"
"Come see."

[My understanding is that they have sinced fixed this problem.]

I had passed. A little over a month later the company that had transferred my then-husband out to California went bankrupt, and my then-husband accepted a job in a different state, one where we had no friends or family and I had no job contacts - a state where I would have to take another bar.

My husband and I divorced shorty after I took the second bar. My 9 year old son did his year long school project on the law and he wants to be a litigator.

The California Bar Exam, Part 4

The morning of the bar you could feel the heaviness in the hotel. I peeked outside my door and saw one of the test takers doing stretches in front of his room. WHO CAN STRETCH AT A TIME LIKE THIS?

Having no idea what rush hour traffic was like in San Mateo, I gathered up my permitted items and headed off to the San Mateo Convention Center. They had us waiting outside, which was just fine. I absolutely adore the California morning marine layer. It was perfectly cool, I was wearing my favorite Tevas, my favorite jeans, and my law school sweatshirt. Someone from my law school stopped to say hi, but I actually didn't recognize him.

At that point, thanks in part to the delicious marine layer, I was fairly calm. At that point, there was nothing more I could learn. And by lunch time, my husband would have the report from the pediatric neurosurgeon about my son's skull.

When they opened the door, there were tables upon tables upon tables and lawn chairs set up at the tables in what looked to be more like an airplane hanger than a convention center. I happened to be seated in the very last row - right by the bathrooms. That's key right there when every second counts.

Some people were chatting to their friends. Most people were just sitting in silence.

After much delay, the proctor read every damn instruction in very slow monotone. "Take . . . your. . . number . . . 2 . . . pencil . . . and . . . gently . . . rip. . . apart. . . your. . . answer . . . book . . . being. . . careful. . . not. . . to. . . make. . . any. . . stray. . . marks. . .) I'm not even kidding. Everybody had the books open by the time she reached "take your."

Finally, we were off. The first topic was one of my strong ones and I spit forth all my key words in the allotted time and even managed to make a good strong essay along the way, just in case anybody ended up reading it. The second topic - THREW ME FOR A HUGE LOOP. It was all about a condo. A condo? Barbri had not covered condos. And in real life, I had just never had an opportunity or need to know what a condo really was. Do you own a condo? Do you rent a condo? It wasn't clear from the facts. Was this a landlord/tenant question? A property purchase question? I had no idea. I knew, time wise, I just had to pick. So I decided it was a property purchase question and moved on.

And then it was lunch - the cellphones we had mail ordered hadn't come in and I hadn't seen a pay phone anywhere along the road, so I had to rush back to the hotel to call my then-husband about our son's meeting with the pediatric neurosurgeon. Every red light felt like it was 5 minutes. There was so much traffic. When I finally made it to the room and got my husband on the phone, I didn't even say hello - it was just, "How is he?"

"He told us to go home."
"What?"
"The doctor looked him over for about 5 minutes, determined there was nothing wrong with his skull, and told us to go home."
"Oh my god oh my god. Oh. My. God."

And that's how the first day of the California bar exam came to be one of the best days of my life. I was downright giddy during the afternoon session.

The next day was the multistate. You hear it over and over and over again but the key here is to not fall behind timewise. I kept to a certain number of questions every 15 minutes and finished with enough time to go back over a few. And you hear this again and again too - don't go back and second guess yourself. So I went back and second guessed myself. I changed a few of my answers. Then I decided to cut my odds by not changing some of the other answers that I was seconding guessing.

The final day I was comfortable with all the topics and sailed threw it and I was so very very ready to be done. But the monotone proctor lady still had instructions for us at the end - "place . . . your . . . exam . . .." OH MY GOD LADY YOU ARE THE ONLY THING STANDING BETWEEN ME AND MY VERY VERY STRONG COCKTAIL.

Once set free by the slowest talking proctor lady ever, I spotted a TGI Fridays. They have bars in those - the drinking kind. I grabbed my credit card out of my regulation bar item baggie and ran in. The waitress asked me if I had just come from the bar (Goodness doesn't anything else happen in this town?) and I said yes and then she carded me. I asked her if she was serious, and she was. Which required me to go back out to my car and get my ID. Finally, I got my cocktail. It was just okay and I didn't even finish it because I realized that all I really wanted was bed.

53% passed the California bar that summer.

Tuesday - Epilogue.

Weekend Treat - 80's Coming of Age Movies/Video

It has been a bit of a heavy week in the blogosphere, no?

Accordingly, I am passing along the link (below) to this delicious clip on Funny or Die starring Ralph Macchio with a fantastic cameo by Molly Ringwald.

I never really understood the Molly Ringwald bandwagon. No way in real life would Andrew McCarthy and James Spader be fighting over her. In real life, (Pretty in Pink real life, that is) they would be sitting around in their linen suits, listening to OMD, smoking and drinking beer and agreeing how annoying and whiny she is and how her homemade clothes make her look like a psychopath with an obsessive compulsive sidedisorder for floral patterns. Ditto for Jake Ryan. Ditto for Judd Nelson.

And if she had been cast in Some Kind of Wonderful, she would have annoyed the heck out of Eric Stoltz. How was she not cast in Some Kind of Wonderful?

I realize that Jake Ryan is not the guy's real name. Does anybody know without looking who played Jake Ryan? Was he a Dillon? He has some Dillonesque features. I have a sudden urge to listen to Spandau Ballet.

Anyway, I truly appreciate Molly Ringwald's cameo in this clip, and love the whole video.
Chai came out of my nose when Ralph said "Bonsai Motherfkr."

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c8ad4aa802/wax-on-f-ck-off-with-ralph-macchio

The California Bar Exam, Part 3

(Monday, The Exam. Tuesday, Epilogue)

The earliest we could see the pediatric neurosurgeon was the first day of the bar exam. Without even asking my opinion (thankfully), my then-husband told me that I should still take the bar exam as planned because my being at the neurosurgeon wasn't going to change anything he might have to tell us that day.

Somehow, I managed to keep it together. I had yet to mourn my mom, my son was being evaluated for a deformity in his skull which could impact the growth of his brain, and my then-husband told me that he refused to talk to me (literally would not talk to me) because he was afraid that I was going to beg him to go back to Texas. A breakdown was in due order, but it was going to have to wait until after the bar.

I had heard that the bar graders were merely looking for key words, so I had my key words committed to memory. I have a photographic memory, so I could picture the words on the pages. I'm not sure that what I learned necessarily made any sense, or that I would actually be able to use all those legal concepts I was reviewing, but I could spit out hundreds upon hundreds of key words on cue.

I flew into San Jose and then drove to San Mateo. That was really the first time I truly felt the absence of my mom. She would have been on pins and needles waiting for me to call and tell her that I had made it to the hotel okay. But as it was, there was nobody that needed me to call them to tell them that I had arrived. My heart was incredibly heavy as I checked in at the front desk until the clerk told me that I had a delivery. My aunt had sent me some flowers.

The hotel and the diner where I was staying were left over from the 50s, untouched by any decor renovations. It was awesome. [It is now a retirement home, but the picture above is of the pool.]

I decided to review my notes out by the pool - except that everyone else staying at the hotel was also taking the bar exam and was out by the pool. I expected frenzied conversations and palpable stress around the pool, but that wasn't the case at all. Many of the people knew each other and they were just hanging around being mellow, swimming. This (1) stressed me out - either they were way more prepared than I was, or they were part of the 50% that was not going to pass, and (2) made me realize how much I love California.

Later, I moved to the diner attached to the motel. I had the place to myself - at least free of other test takers. There were some locals, and a kind waitress with a red hair beehive (also the real thing, straight from the 50s). The waitress asked me if I was taking the bar. I told her that I was, and she said, "Good for you girl." That made my day - a sort of sister solidarity thing.

Later that evening, I went on a search for Power Bars to take to the bar exam for lunch, read over my notes one last time, drove to the convention center so that I knew where I was going, and double checked the alarm clock. Tomorrow was the big day - my son was going to the pediatric neurosurgeon and it was the first day of the California bar exam.

The California Bar Exam, Part 2

Both my [then] husband and my aunt approached me about taking the bar at a later time. See The California Bar Exam, Part 1. That thought never occurred to me for even a moment because (1) I didn't want to lose my momentum, and (2) My mother would have been mortified if she thought that she had been the reason for me postponing the bar.

The pmbr multistate review course started the Monday after graduation. The course was held in a dilapidated sad hotel in the industrial part of town. The wallpaper was peeling in the ballroom, and the folding tables and chairs that they put out for us were in disrepair. It was all very depressing - where were the tablecloths and the pitchers of water and the little candies? Or maybe I was just sad because I knew that after the review course I would probably never see my law school classmates again. We had been through quite a lot together in the past few months.

The day after the pmbr class ended we were headed on our road trip/move out West. Indeed, I have never seen any of those law school classmates again.

For a brief moment at the start of the pmbr class I thought about panicking. Then I realized that was a time luxury that I could not afford. I also realized fairly quickly that the multi-state didn't test on the rule of law; rather, it tested on the exception to the rule of law. Then, if there was an exception to the exception, it tested on that. I also remember the proctor telling us to wear purple to the exam because it would provide good karma. Helpful. Very helpful.

After the pmbr course ended, I opened my schedule for the BarBri study-at-home California review course. (Yes, for the first time.) There wasn't a free day on the schedule. And the topics, some of which I had never covered in law school, were each allotted only two days of review. Accordingly, as we drove away from what I had known to be my home, the sweet sound of the California bar review course was playing on the car stereo.

The first night we stopped in Amarillo and I still had some of the day's review left to go. My then-husband curled up on the hotel bed with our son and called up a movie on pay-per-view. I was exhausted from everything and I wanted more than anything to take a break and curl up too. I knew, however, I couldn't get behind that early in the game.

When we finally arrived at our destination, I thought that I would study during the day while my son was asleep. After one morning of that plan I was on the phone to the nanny agency.

The nanny would show up at 8:30 and I would take my bar review materials to Starbucks. I would order a venti caramel macchiato - enough caffeine and sugar to get me through until a late lunch. Apparently, a bar studying person has a look about them because I can't tell you how many people came up to me and asked "Bar Exam?"

I shortly got into a groove where I only needed to hear something once before it was stored in my brain for its near-future use. Like the groove you get into 20 minutes into your run, my brain was functioning like a machine. After the nanny left in the afternoon I would spend some time with my baby, then when he went down at night I would study more. But I always took a break for the Daily Show. I had to get my news about what was happening in the real world somehow.

The spots for the bar exam were filling up quickly in the major cities, so I secured a spot in San Mateo and booked my flight to San Jose. I bought the non-digital time piece required for the California bar. I considered carefully the color of nail polish I should wear (while the comment about wearing purple was ridiculous, the color of your toenails for the bar exam is extremely important.) And, finally, I took my son to his new pediatrician for his latest round of vaccinations before I left for San Mateo. Whereupon the pediatrician said, "Has anybody told you that your son has craniostenosis? You need to have him evaluated by a pediatric neurosurgeon right away."

[He ends up being just fine - more about that in Part 3.]

The California Bar Exam, Part 1

My mother passed away and my son was born during Spring Break of my 3L year.

One of the benefits of law school is that it is a 3 year excuse from having to deal with anything in the real world. The following Wednesday I told my family that I was going back to class. I left my then-husband to deal with this small child that neither one of us knew how to work and I left my father to plan a funeral and I went off to class.

There, in class, everything followed the usual procedure and it was incredibly comforting to be sitting there. My return became, however, overwhelming - but I mean that in only the best way. Fellow classmates that I had never spoken to stopped me in the hall and said kind words. People that I had only just met in my classes that semester attended my mother's funeral and put together a baby shower in my honor. My law school classmates, the ones that were full of angst and suspicion and competition as 1Ls, ended up pulling together when it mattered.

I think I thanked all those people, but I honestly don't remember. What I did do, as a result of all that they did for me, was to make a promise to myself that I would never miss an opportunity to reach out to someone when I knew they were going through a tough time. I've said that I am going to do lots of things, but that's a promise that I really have tried to keep.

I wrote my final law school papers and studied for my final law school exams with my baby draped over my shoulder. I was the first one to finish my last law school exam. For a moment I sat there with my blue book and wondered whether I was done because I knew the subject matter really well, or if it was because I just wanted to be done. What I did know was that I didn't have the energy in me to go back through my exam. I turned it in and walked out the door. Law school was done.

There was only a week's break before bar review started. My ex's company was transferring us to California, so I ordered the study at home tapes from Bar-Bri for the California Bar.

There was one last hurrah before bar review - law school graduation. I felt like my mom was there, and my dad told me that he felt her standing right there beside him at the graduation ceremony.

My aunt flew into town and she took care of the baby so that I could go out and celebrate graduation. It had been almost a year since I had anything to drink. We all went out to a bar that was new since I had been a member of the going out scene. In the car on the way home I leaned over to the window and threw up. A couple of minutes later it occurred to me that I probably should have rolled down the window.

The next morning I resigned myself to knowing that those nights were over. I was a new mom and bar review started the next day.

Yesterday and Today

To the left is what I did yesterday.

Today I am:
(1) Tweaking the three year financial projections for the Franchise per the SBA lender's instructions and to reflect the $40,000 more in rent they're asking for at proposed location #2.

(2) Catching up on the latest news in my area of the law. I have an interview later this month. In a different city. (It seemed like something to pursue because we thought we would have the Franchise OPEN by now, yet we don't even have the financing or a location.)

(3) But this will all be later because my husband just asked if I wanted to walk around the art festival and go get BBQ. Why yes. Yes I do.

Weekend Treat - The Family Fluff (Summer Berry Pie)

Growing up we did not have the family fluff - you know, the family traditional dish made with Cool Whip and Jell-O powder. And oh how I love the fluff. My mom would have done anything for me - except mix Cool Whip and Jell-O powder in her kitchen.

When I wouldn't let up on the need for a family fluff, she conceded to at least try some sort of Jell-O based dessert. She tried Summer Berry Pie and everybody loved it. It's that dish you take to the party and everybody wants the recipe. So I have carried on the tradition and will be taking it to Catherine's party tomorrow.

* Note: We do not garnish with Cool Whip.

Here's this link to the recipe http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/summer-berry-pie-52121.aspx, and the picture from Kraft.

New Favorite Holiday - July 3

You have heard me speak many times here that I love my friend Catherine. There are oh so many reasons to love my friend Catherine. To wit:

Catherine decided to have a 4th of July party and to rent a margarita machine. The machines come in small and large. She decided to get the large so that she and I could have a pre-party on the 3rd. I just love her so much.

Happy belated Canada Day, and Happy 4th of July. Enjoy!