Life in Limbo

Fun Friday Night

2012-01-28T13:20:00.001-07:00

Last night Jen was getting honored by a local firm for her grade in Civil Procedure, so we went to take part in the celebration and let her know how proud we are of her.

After the event at the law firm, we decided to grab some dinner. A party of 7 has a hard time walking in to restaurants on Friday nights, so we tried (and struck out at) a few restaurants before settling in at the Dundee Dell.

After dinner, we decided to hang out at Toby and Glori's apartment. They got a dachshund-corgie mix puppy recently, and we've been trying to find a time to introduce her to Zipsie. So Toby and Glori graciously invited Zipsie to join in on our fun. I went home and picked her up, and I'd say the play date was a success!

There was a lot of sniffing going on. As soon as we thought they were adequately acquainted with one another, the sniffing would start again. Callie is great with other dogs, but Zipsie has a history of disliking a lot of the dogs she meets, so we weren't sure how they'd get along. There were a few tense moments when Callie tried to play with Zipsie and Zips only growled in response, but they spent most of the night sitting by each other and chasing each other around the couch.

While the dogs played, the humans did the same. As a group, we're fond of games. Word games, card games, getting-to-know-you games, made-up games. So yesterday we combined them all and invented a new game. Each person/couple was assigned a suit, and a card was drawn at random. Whoever's suit was on the card was asked a question by the other three, and the number on the card dictated the type of question asked. For instance, on the 4 of Hearts, the Varons were asked, "Which of the four directions (north, south, east, or west) are you most interested in traveling?" Or on the 5 of Clubs I was asked, "If there was a fire in your apartment and Zipsie was safe outside, what five things would you grab?"

It was a fun game that quickly turned mushy and sentimental, and we all loved it. These people have become my life in Omaha, and sometimes it feels like we've known each other for years. Then there are small things that come up that remind us we've only actually had five months to get to know one another and there's still so much left to learn.

Wasting Time

2012-01-27T09:16:00.001-07:00

I woke up too early today (we don't have class until 1). So I've been hanging out on my computer, playing around with Photo Booth. The combination of pictures and computers reminded me I haven't blogged for awhile. So here's an update: Things are going swell in Nebraska. It's been warmer the last few days, which I have loved.

Were you aware I don't know how to curl my hair? It's true. I've never known. Sometimes I try and end up pulling it up. Sometimes I try and don't care enough to pull it up. Today I'm experiencing the latter.

No matter what I do, my left side is lame and dead

And my right side is relatively cooperative. But in about half an hour, both sides will be limp and lifeless.

Also, I got a job for the summer. Well, an externship, not a job. I'll be working with the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at BYU. I'll be calling the director today to accept the position, so consider yourself special that you found out first. I'm very excited. I think it will be a great opportunity for me. Plus I'll be happy to be back in Utah for a few months.

Hope all is well with you!

Weird day

2012-01-19T23:52:00.002-07:00

Do you ever have moments in life when you stop and wonder, "What just happened?"

This morning I got in my car to drive to school. It was freezing outside and my car was super sluggish. I had the thought, "Am I pressing on the brake?" It was an absurd thought, of course. My car was accelerating, even if it wasn't at the same rate as normal. I knew I wasn't actually braking, but the question stuck in my mind. It progressed to me wondering, "Is the gas on the right or the left?" I was pretty sure that it was the right, but I wasn't certain if my foot was on the right of the two pedals. Strange, right?

Our Tuesday/Thursday class load is pretty intense this semester. I walked into the classroom for our third straight class of the day at 10:20-ish (class starts at 10:30), so I set down my stuff and went to the bathroom. I walked back into the classroom and the clock looked about like this:

and I thought, "Darnit, I'm late." As I sat down I realized the professor hadn't started class yet, so I looked at the clock again and thought for certain it was after 10:30. Then I had to talk myself through the fact that the 5 is before the 6 on the clock, so it couldn't be 10:30 yet.

Let me stop right here. If for some reason you just stumbled across my blog, I should let you know that I'm a relatively intelligent person. I'm in law school and managed to pass the first semester. I drive a car and tell time successfully each day. These brain failures have nothing to do with sheer lack of intelligence (at least I hope). I can't even blame them on stress, because as my "slump" post indicated, I'm feeling no stress or drive to do anything right now.

When class ended, I panicked a little. I had a phone interview in ten minutes for a research externship back in Utah this summer. I got myself into the reserved study room and had a successful interview, during which I was invited to join the research program. Exciting, yes?

I walked upstairs out of the library and started to walk toward a professor's office. In the commons area, I heard someone call my name. I knew it was my name that had been called, but for some reason it didn't occur to me that I should respond. My name was called again. And again. And suddenly I remembered that's what people do when they want your attention. I turned around, spoke to my friends for a quick second, but for some reason I was on a mission to visit my professor's office. Typically, I'm shy about going to a professor's office. I need to have a very specific question that can only be answered by that person before I'll even consider going in. But when I arrived at Professor Dallon's office, I wasn't even sure why I was there. I talked to him about the externship and without much prompting, he began to give me feedback as to what he thought I should do. While he was talking, I realized that was exactly what had brought me to his office, but I hadn't formulated that thought beforehand.

I made it through the rest of classes, but the weirdness never let up. I feel like I've been living life outside myself all day. I inadvertently uncovered random information about a situation that I needed to know but would have continued on, ignorant of, if not for an accidental internet search. I acted carelessly and hurt a dear friend by acting completely unlike myself. I bought a roast and $32 worth of tuna (okay, those were actually thought-out decisions. But still, out-of-the-ordinary).

This post doesn't have much of a point. I guess I simply wanted to make a record of the craziness during this moment of lucidity.

Here's hoping for a more normal tomorrow...

my365

2012-01-18T20:34:00.002-07:00

One more thing: I know I'm not great with the blogging, but I have a new friend. It's called my365. It's an app for iPods and iPads and if you have one, I think you should download and use it (It's free!). A picture a day, 20 characters max for the title, and you've got yourself a post. This is much more my style!

http://my365.in/wendy_b/p/1779029

Mid-January Slump

2012-01-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

A little more than a month ago, I was beginning intense studying for finals. It was a lot of hard work, and I started to notice little things that I could have done throughout the semester that would have made finals week easier on me. So before I had even taken finals, I was looking forward to starting this new semester and having a chance to implement all of my ideas.

When I got my grades at the beginning of January, I felt that same surge of motivation. I was so close to where I wanted to be, and I felt confident that with a little extra effort I could certainly reach my potential this semester.

Then I got back to Omaha.

It's not that I'm not happy to be back...I love my apartment and really enjoyed changing the decorating a bit when I got home in order to accommodate some of my Christmas and Birthday presents. Clearly I have friends in Omaha that I was happy to see again. Generally speaking, I enjoy Omaha. But for whatever reason, I completely lack motivation. It's the very beginning of the semester and I'm only giving my reading assignments a half-hearted effort, at best. I want to sleep all the time. (Seriously. All the time.) My sluggish attitude has worn off on Zipsie and we spend our nights one of two ways: sitting around the apartment doing nothing or napping.

In my head I know I need to care more. In my head I know I had a schedule that worked for me last semester. In my head I know that each day I'm falling further from attaining my goals for this semester. Yet my body refuses to respond to my head.

I do have a theory about all of this. Last semester was the first time in my life that I slept responsibly. I went to bed and woke up at the same time each day with very little variance. I'm hoping that if I can make myself get back on that schedule, I'll feel better and the motivation will follow. I just need the discipline to do that before I fall too far behind. Guess that means I should go to bed...

Where I've Been

2012-01-09T16:15:00.003-07:00

In the past month, I traveled from Nebraska to Wyoming to Utah to Arizona to California to Utah to Nevada to California to Nevada back to Utah. Plus tomorrow I will once again travel to Wyoming and, finally, to Nebraska. Let me tell you a bit about what I've been doing during my tour of the West...

I studied for, took, and passed my first round of law school finals

I was in a pretty major car accident (we're all fine)

I did a gift exchange with my Omaha BFFs (I had Jen; Kate had me)

Zipsie and I packed up and left Omaha

I ate Jen's (my sister's) delicious Pumpkin Roll she had made for my arrival in Utah

I packaged and delivered neighbor gifts with my parents

I got awesome Christmas gifts (From Ashley in our sibling gift exchange I got a sweater, earrings, and shoes. From Adiel I got a journal, incredible Cheerleader pen and mega makeup set. From my Dad I got a BYU basketball poster and Christmas decoration. And from my parents combined I got the LDS Pride and Prejudice dvd, a new charger for my Kindle, perfume, two books, an iTunes gift card, toaster, and a crockpot)

I spent a lot of time with Whitney, including 11 hours in the car driving to California (where Tyler is now going to school)

I saw Southern California for the first time, and I loved it. This is Jess and me at Newport Beach

I watched Matt take 2nd in the Southern Scuffle

I played Barbies

I drove to Carson City to visit Ashley, Nic, and Samantha, where they had a Birthday celebration waiting for me

I saw Lake Tahoe. One word: WOW

I turned 26 (and made myself feel better about it by constantly reminding Heath he turned 37)

For my birthday, my parents paid for my trip to Carson City and a nice dinner at Olive Garden; my dad got me this adorable BYU pillowpet; my mom got me gift cards to Amazon.com; Ashley got me two books; Jen made knock-off Red Lobster biscuits for my birthday meal, gave me a black pen (long story) and allowed me to make up my own rules while we played Rummy :)

Overall, I had a fantastic Christmas break. I've been packing up and preparing to head back tomorrow, and it's making me very sad. You forget how comfortable home is while you're away, and the prospect of being away from everyone again sort of makes me want to drop out of school and do nothing with my life. But don't worry, I'll resist that urge...at least for now!

And so it begins

2011-12-05T09:17:00.001-07:00

I'll leave in an hour and a half for the law school to take my first final. I'm happy we start with Torts, because it's the class I feel I understand the best. However, I wish we would have had the test in the morning rather than the afternoon, because the last 3 hours have been painfully slow. I'd like to just get the test over with, and I know I'm not going to learn anything new in the time I have left.

Regardless, the extra time this morning gave me the chance to read these words in John 14, which I'm clinging to:

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

How uplifting!

A big GOOD LUCK to all you students, law school or otherwise, preparing to begin finals!

Dream Decoded

2011-11-27T08:18:00.001-07:00

I am in a fantastic mood. I woke up with a line from a Billy Ray song stuck in my head. "Dreaming in color, living in stone cold black and white." You all know I love me some classic BRC, but I'm also happy because of the accuracy of those lyrics. Yesterday was perhaps the most stone cold black and white day of my existence. Not that it was a bad day, it was just literally black and white. I was looking at textbooks for 9 hours. Then last night I had maybe the most colorful dream that I can remember. I always tend to have weird, detailed dreams. But I always dream about things that could actually happen under the right circumstances. I don't dream about "magical" stuff. So to dream about traveling back in time was abnormal for me. Let me tell you about it...

I was with David and Jessica. Jess was playing on her phone and somehow we were suddenly in the 1950's. (I don't know how I knew the decade, but I did.) We had to meet people at the Point of the Mountain (in 2011) so we needed to figure out a way to travel geographically as well as getting back to present day. David had the genius idea to take a train. We found a train station, and we hopped in the very back car because it only cost 16¢ to ride. (I had my 2011 wallet and cash, so we could have afforded anything, but David was being frugal). There was an African American woman on board as we got on and the train conductor told me I had to pull a curtain between myself and her. I felt so bad as a complied, but I apologized to the woman as I pulled the curtain across, and I made sure to only pull it out partially so we could still see one another. She got off at the next stop. David told us to get off at a stop which was apparently downtown New Jersey (?) in the middle of a huge shopping complex. Jessica was working on getting her phone to transport us back to 2011 and I told her to wait, because with the change in prices from the 1950's we could find some vintage shoes for super cheap, but in the entire store I couldn't find any shoes. And that's how my dream ended lol.

Anyway, I always like to look up meanings when I have particularly detailed dreams. I usually go to dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary. I feel like it's the most accurate, but I probably just feel that way because I can successfully contort their meanings to fit my life. That was especially the case with this dream.

These are the symbols I pulled out and their meanings:

1. Time travel: To dream about time travel indicates your wish to escape from your present reality. You want to go back into the past or jump forward to the future to a period where your hopes are realized. This dream also represents your romantic tendency and or your desire to romanticize everything. Okay. Present reality = finals. Yes I want to escape. And all I keep saying to people is that I wish I could restart the semester or just jump ahead and be finished with finals. Also, yes, I romanticize everything. I always have.

2. Train station: To dream that you at a train station represents a transitional period in your life. You need to take a short break to reassess your situation and determine your path and goals.Uh, supra.

3. Frugality: To dream that you or someone is cheap represents your own feelings of inadequacy. You are not fully acknowledging your own self worth. I think I'm good on the self-worth bit, but definitely feeling inadequate right now.

4. Train: To dream that you are on a train symbolizes your life's journey. It suggests that you are on the right track in life and headed in the right direction. Alternatively, the dream means that you have a tendency to worry needlessly over a situation that will work out in the end. Goes without saying.

5. Racism: To experience racism in your dream indicates that you may be too judgmental and discriminatory in some situation in your waking life. Perhaps you have falsely pre-judged someone. I've talked to a lot of people about this but most recently my dad: I hate how law school has turned me into a mean, judgmental person. I am constantly trying to assess where everyone else is at in order to make myself feel better. I hate it, and I'm sure that's what this portion of my dream dealt with.

6. Shopping: To dream that you are shopping symbolizes your needs and desires. It also represents opportunities and options that you come across in life. To dream that you cannot find what you are shopping for suggests that you are trying to find a solution to some life problem. Ha. I would really like the solution to the problem of law school, but just like those vintage shoes at a killer price, I don't think it's something I'm going to find in the near future!

So, now you all have an unwanted deeper look into the mind of Wendy. How do you treat dreams of your own? Do you buy into dream interpretations or simply look at your dreams as an escape from waking life? I'd love to hear!

Why I'm grateful

2011-11-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

This Thanksgiving is definitely different. It's the first time I've been away from family for the Holidays, but I thought I was adjusting pretty well. I had big plans for studying today. Additionally, Jen brought a packaged Thanksgiving dinner to the law school this morning when we met to take a practice test, which was so thoughtful. I had declined two invitations for dinner, because in my mind if I wasn't having Thanksgiving with family I didn't really see the point in having it anywhere. I don't mean that to sound as depressing as it does. I know I had options, but I was okay declining them. But that's what made Jen's gesture so thoughtful. It was the perfect substitute.

After a morning of studying I came home, played with Zipsie and spent some time online before I was going to start studying again (even though my dad informed me it was "sacrilege" to be studying on Thanksgiving). However, I got a line from You've Got Mail stuck in my head ("Happy Thanksgiving back"), and I wanted to watch the whole movie. Only problem is I don't own it. I ran to Walmart, but apparently they don't sell it.

On the drive back to my apartment I started to notice how full everyone's driveways seemed. It was the first twinge I'd felt about missing Thanksgiving. I got home and I was lacking motivation to study as I allowed myself to continue thinking about everyone that was enjoying the holiday with loved ones. I reminded myself that I'd had those opportunities and had chosen to make other plans.

Then I got a phone call from a number I didn't have in my contacts, so I let it go to voicemail. Turns out it was my Bishop, inviting me over for Thanksgiving. (I had accidentally mentioned to a member of our Relief Society presidency that my plans for the night included studying at my apartment.) I called him back and at first declined the invitation as I'd done with others. But he was persuasive.

I didn't realize how badly I wanted to be a part of a normal family Thanksgiving until I arrived at his house. It was a relaxed atmosphere, and my Bishop and his family were so welcoming and hospitable. There were several visitors for dinner, and I think we all felt right at home. We had a great meal, shared things we were grateful for, and followed up with board games and card games and (my favorite) Scrabble games.

This post isn't at all what I had originally planned. I was going to simply list some of the many things I'm grateful for, but I think it's appropriate to end by saying that missing my family today reminded me of how grateful I am for them. But beyond that, I'm so grateful for a family in Omaha that took me and others in this Thanksgiving. That gave us a family outside our own. That exhibited the feeling of love and service that should accompany the Holidays.

I'm grateful for the friends I've made in Omaha. I still marvel at the sequence of events that brought me to this area of the country. When I'm being honest, I know there is only one viable explanation: God loves me. How thankful I am that He does. How happy I am that despite my constant prayers, I didn't get accepted to Penn State. How proud I am to be wearing another shade of blue in this phase of my life. Somehow, on the first day of orientation I sat directly behind three boys, roommates, that were BYU grads. Oh, and one of them happened to be the Bishop's son. And at that exact same time, unbeknownst to me, Kate was sitting somewhere behind me meeting Jen. Then we divided into small sections and Kate and I were the only girls in ours, so we paired off immediately. And at that exact same time, Jen was in a different small section meeting Toby. And now these six people make up my study group, members of my ward, fellow BYU football fans, and my friends. And I can't adequately explain how grateful I am for them.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Awesome!

2011-11-15T11:52:00.001-07:00

I try and save these posts for Wednesdays (middle of the week and all that jazz), but I couldn't wait. Today has just been too awesome!

Awesome things today!

Getting videos of my niece dancing. She's got her dad's coordination and her mom's creativity, which makes for some pretty awesome moves

Reading Exodus 14:13 in Institute , "Fear ye not, stand still,
and see the salvation of the Lord..."

Randomly catching the below tweet on a friend's Twitter feed, which I found hilarious

Nodding off in Legal Research--In the second row.
Clearly visible to the professor--and not caring

Getting an email from Jameson

Still laughing over my post on Facebook and Twitter yesterday
(and I'd like for you to weigh in):

Do you or do you not think Bo Pelini looks like the guy from Ratatouille?

Common theme: Making myself (and Kate, I think) laugh throughout Civil Procedure

Great Con Law review session with helpful memorization tactics:

Making plans for this weekend when it's only Tuesday

Eating leftovers for dinner because I actually made a real meal last night

Remembering I had a bottle of Dr. Pepper in the fridge

Changing into sweats and slippers as soon as I walked in the door

Realizing that a November with an average daily temp of 56 degrees is what my elementary teacher taught me was a season called Fall
Catching my birthday time

Did you have anything awesome happen today? Please share!

I Wear Blue

2011-11-09T06:13:00.001-07:00

When all of the news broke about Jerry Sandusky, I worried about my role as a Penn State fan. I quickly conceded the fact that even though I was surrounded by Huskers fans, I couldn't in good conscience wear my Penn State apparel as I had planned to with the game coming up this weekend.

But then I realized something: being a Penn State fan is not the same as condoning the actions of a man that harmed children. Supporting my team is not the same as supporting the administration that should have gone further to protect potential victims. So today, I woke up and resolutely put on a Penn State hoodie. Because I'm a loyal person. Because I'm a passionate person. Because letting Jerry Sandusky alter my view of an entire institution is letting him win.

So today, I wear blue.

I wear blue because the young men who have worked their hardest to get to #12 have done nothing wrong

I wear blue because I love being asked my place of birth and getting to write, "State College"

I wear blue because grilled stickies and a glass of milk is the best order you could possibly place at a diner

I wear blue because my dad's journalism degree led to the greatest stories he tells

I wear blue because standing in line at the grocery store in Magna, UT, behind a man in a Penn State hat gives me the confidence to make small talk with strangers

I wear blue because one of the best fireworks shows I've seen happened while I sat on the grass outside Beaver Stadium

I wear blue because the best memories I have with my uncles and cousins happened inside Beaver Stadium

I wear blue because I've never been to Disneyland and I don't care; my childhood summer vacations were spent in the actual happiest place on earth

I wear blue because the lion head at the center of the mat on which my brother wrestles every day represents his hard work and drive to succeed

I wear blue because my heart still breaks a little every time I think of that law school waitlist

I wear blue because I've spent countless Saturdays listening to my tone-deaf father sing the beautiful words, "Forever true to you, dear old White and Blue"

I wear blue because I will continue to sing with him

non·fea·sance /nänˈfēzəns/

2011-11-07T13:26:00.001-07:00

I’ve had more than one professor quote Oliver WendellHolmes, Jr. when he said, “This is a court oflaw, young man, not a court of justice.” They usually pull this quote out whensomeone is answering a question based on what they think a party should do and not necessarily what theparty must do, legally. The point isthat the law is sometimes unfair and not a perfect means of effectuatingjustice.

I get it. I recognizethat if judges began deciding cases based on what their gut told them wasmorally right our legal system would crumble. But that doesn’t mean I’m happywith the fact that sometimes courts fall short of delivering justice. Do Iunderstand why? Yes. Do I realize it’s something I’ll have to put up with throughoutmy career? Unfortunately, I do.

But I want to leaveall that logic behind for just a moment. Instead, I just want to be sad. I’mbeing taught all about how morally questionable actions, if legally protected,create no liability in the amoral actor. It makes sense in theory. But today Ifelt bombarded by real-life instances of moral ambiguity that have me reeling.

Our Torts reading fortoday included a case against the Church. A mother and her son were sexuallyabused by a ward member (this case might sound familiar to some of you Utahns;it’s pretty recent) and they sued the Church, claiming the Church had knowledgeof the abuser’s propensity toward sex crimes and, therefore, was negligent innot warning the plaintiffs of the harm he posed. You don’t need to know the lawto know or predict the outcome of this case. It was dismissed, because theChurch owed no such duty to the victims. I don’t think the Church actedquestionably here, so I don’t want you to think that I do. I would like to believe that no one hadinformation that they legally couldhave shared but instead withheld. But isn’t it sad that even if they did, theywouldn’t be culpable?

The whole idea intort law that you have no duty to act to prevent harm makes perfect sense,legally. But something about it makes my soul sad.

To further thatsadness, let’s talk a bit about Penn State. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog has a good article about what’s goingon. It’s tragic that a historically significant coach like Jerry Sandusky couldturn out to be so terrible. But that tragedy isn’t having the biggest effect onme here. Yes, I appreciate what Jerry Sandusky did to create “Linebacker U,”but I have no personal feelings about Sandusky. If he’s guilty, I hope hereceives the sentence he deserves. What’s breaking my heart is knowing that aninstitution in which I have invested so much faith and love and loyalty is nowappearing unscrupulous, to put it mildly. In my very rudimentary opinion, thelegal issue coming out of State College is not so much Curley and Schultz’sfailure to report what they knew as it is their perjured statements. But what’sbothering me more is Joe Paterno’s role. I firmly believe that JoePa actedappropriately when he took the information from that graduate assistant andtold Curley. I am inclined to believe that maybe he really didn’t know thegravity of the situation. I’m certain that JoePa has no legal guilt here.

But still...

There’s this image inmy head of a picture of myself when I was less than a year old. I’m sitting onmy dad’s shoulders, holding a Penn State football, wearing a Penn State shirt(that I’m sure referenced the ’86 National Championship). From that momentuntil now, Joe Paterno has been my hero. I have deferred to him on alldecisions Penn State. Is he too old to still be coaching? If Joe thinks no, I think no. Should McGloin start over Bolden? If Joe thinks so, I thinkso, too.

So I guess it makessense that it literally breaks my heartto think that maybe, in this situation, Joe Paterno didn’t do everything hecould have. It makes me ill to see that man slip, even a little, from that pedestal.It shakes my very view of the world to think of my hero as anything less thanheroic.

Needless to say, I’mstruggling. I’m sad. And that’s all I know about where I stand right now.

Study Group Stress Relief

2011-11-05T15:29:00.002-06:00

It's Saturday and we've been here for 8 hours with a lot left to go. So, we're doing the only logical thing to do when your brain dies...write random pronouncements on the white board.

Ballet Nebraska: Dracula

2011-10-29T13:19:00.002-06:00

Before I decided to come to Creighton, I obviously did some research about Omaha and what the city had to offer. One of the things I tried to find out was if there was a professional ballet company. I did a quick google search but for some reason didn't come up with anything. I was a little bummed, but I figured attending ballets would take a back seat to my legal education for the next three years, anyway.

But when I moved here, I saw a billboard for Ballet Nebraska. I saw they were doing a production of Dracula and talked Kate and Jen into going with me. We lucked out and got our tickets half off through a Living Social deal.

Yesterday was the big night. I was more than a little upset that the BYU-TCU game was scheduled for the same time, but I was still excited. (And to be fair, Jen missed her Cardinals win the World Series where all I missed was another loss to the Horned Frogs, so do I really have any reason to complain?)

We started out the night by meeting up with Toby and Glori for dinner at Vivace in the Old Market. The food was excellent!

We then parted ways and Matt, Jen, Kate, and I headed to the Orpheum for the show.

I've driven past the theater a few times and I loved the old-style marquee, but I had never been inside. It is absolutely beautiful.

The show began and I was a little worried. The setting was Dracula alone in his castle. He had a three- or four-minute solo where he did absolutely nothing. He ran from window to window, clearly yearning to go outside without being burned by the sun. (The yearning was made very apparent by the ever-present outstretched arm and hand, reaching toward what he couldn't have. Super hard to interpret, right?) Anyway, I worried Jen and Kate would wonder what I had dragged them to. I worried I'd fall asleep. I worried Dracula would get dizzy from running in circles (literally) and be unable to do anything worth noting.

Boy was I wrong. What an incredible production!

I would still hold that Utah Regional Ballet's Legend of Timpanogos is my favorite ballet. It's original, contemporary, and both times I saw it, it brought me to tears. However, as far as talent is concerned, Utah Regional Ballet doesn't quite reach the level that Ballet Nebraska does. The main difference in the companies is the sheer size. Ballet Nebraska has a large number of dancers at its disposal.

Before Lucy becomes a vampire, there are three main brides of Dracula. The choreography for that trio was awe-inspiring, to say the least. The lines they created were so aesthetically pleasing, filled with these picture-perfect moments that just gave you the chills (or I should say "gave me the chills" because most people don't care about stuff like that). However, in the second act, what starts out as a number with Lucy and the three main brides quickly became my favorite part of the entire show. Almost exclusively using bourree movements, more brides came on stage. And more. And more. Eventually the three brides had become sixteen. Their unison movement was incredible and haunting. Hm. This is one thing words just can't do justice.

It was a beautiful ballet. Coupled with enjoyable company, it made for an unforgettable evening.

Kate, me, and Jen after the show

Unthinking

2011-10-27T12:04:00.001-06:00

Have you heard about this?

You all know (or should know) how much I hate Facebook. In 2004, yeah, I liked it. I tried to get all my friends to join. Then it changed. And got bigger. And got intrusive. And I don't like it. Am I active on Facebook? Yeah. That doesn't change how I feel. To suggest otherwise would be like indicating I pay taxes because I like taxes. Quite the contrary. As much as I hate paying taxes, I feel like it's something I have to do as a member of society. The same reasoning is true of my Facebook use. I do it because I have to.

Then I heard about Unthink. I wouldn't say I'm a Revolutionary. And who knows, maybe this experiment in Social Media will fall flat on its face, but I don't care. I'm giving it my full support. I will do what it takes to make it succeed. Because frankly, I'm sick of Facebook. While you all require me to connect with you on Facebook, I'll continue to do so. But if you could just join me in my Unthink Suite, I'd sure be a lot happier.

(Since Unthink is still in beta, you need an invitation to get in. Have no fear! Send an email to wendy . 86 at gmail dot com and I will happily invite you.)

Awesome!

2011-10-26T23:23:00.001-06:00

I definitely need to do this post this week so I can gain a little perspective. So without further ado, I bring you...

Awesome things today!

*Waking up to Billy Ray's Only God Could Stop Me Loving You. Classic.*

Hearing Toby say, "I need a manicure."

*Getting called on in Con Law to talk about the case I thought I was going to get called on for and, therefore, prepared well*

Creating the insanely convoluted sentence you see above

*Funny notes left on my counter from the exterminator man*

Yes, it says, "I took your bug" with a smiley face

Wearing a sweatshirt and ponytail to school and not caring

*Conversations with two professors that did not call on me today*

Kaboodle

*Volunteering an answer in Torts and getting it right*

Getting called on for an answer in Torts and getting it wrong and having Kate step up

*Twitter conversations that could just as easily be held in person*

Crazy dreams that occupied my thoughts all day long

*Realizing how many classmates I genuinely enjoy talking to*

Being horribly unproductive and not caring

*Making the ingenious decision to go to bed. Right now.*

News from Magna

2011-10-22T16:54:00.001-06:00

While I was home this week I mentioned to Jenny that I wished I would be around for The Empress Gala, which was last night, because I wanted to see if I won best choreographer. Of course, I was joking. My experience with musical theater is so limited, and Oklahoma! was only the third show I've ever choreographed. There are so many talented people that devote their time to that theater, and I really miss them. I particularly miss Nanny, who directed the shows I choreographed and became a good friend. I was thinking about her this morning, so I sent her a quick email. I just got her response, which included the following:

I wanted to tell you this differently... but now is as good a time as any. I would like to relay a portion of last night. I was gonna ask Kev to record it... but in the melee of things.. I neglected to do so.

The Empress Theatre Best Choreographer 2011: Wendy Brown for Oklahoma!

"I have worked with Wendy on several different plays - starting back with Once Upon A Mattress. Unfortunately, her Mom has made her leave us and attend Law School back in the Dakotas, or Nebraska, or someplace in Tornado Alley. So - we have lost a great choreographer until she returns. I was so excited to work with Wendy again for Oklahoma! I think the best part was telling her she had a 13 minute dream ballet to choreograph. Now, there were those who told me to cut that portion completely, or shorten it - But I personally felt that something like that gave our choreographer a time to really shine. And she did not disappoint. The whole show was choreographed so beautifully, and the dream ballet was certainly one of the highlights. Wendy worked with a ballerina, and Jeremy on the pas de deux and the fight sequence and strung everything together into a captivating part of the show. I am happy to except this for Wendy tonight - mostly cuz I didn't win an award tonight - but also because she couldn't be here... I don't think she could justify flying back here for the gala - though I am sure she would have loved to. Thank you"

Nanny's words are too kind. I'm still in shock, but I'm also so happy and so grateful. What a great opportunity it was to be a part of that production.

Microwaves, Mattel and what matters most

2011-10-21T17:17:00.001-06:00

My friend, Jen, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in February. She had plans to spend her Fall Break in St. Louis for follow-up radiation. My entire life, when I've heard about people being treated with radiation, I have pictured them in some airtight room being bombarded with microwaves. But Jen informed me that she actually drinks her radiation. Regardless, when she talked about going I would picture her in a microwave, and I told her so. Since we wouldn't be seeing her for a week while she had her radiation, Toby, Kate, and I wanted Jen to know we'd be thinking about her. So, naturally, we gave her a microwave with a figurine inside.

Jen was kind enough to let me see what her radiation was actually like:

While Jen was busy drinking her radiation, I had an exciting Fall Break of my own. If you aren't an immediate family member or don't follow me on Twitter, I guess you probably didn't know that I spent the last week in Utah. (I'm sorry I didn't tell you; I knew my time was limited and made a conscious decision to spend it only with my family.)

So here's the story: It was Fall Break at school, and originally I had plans to stay in Omaha. But since all of my friends were heading home, I made what some might consider a rash decision to make the drive home as well. I left Omaha on Friday afternoon and planned to drive to Cheyenne, spend the night, and go the rest of the way home on Saturday. But Cheyenne came and went. Laramie came and went. And I just kept on driving. Around Rawlins, I realized I was going to make it the whole way in one night. I came through the mountains and saw the Salt Lake valley sometime after midnight. A little before 1am, I called and woke up my mom, asked her to unlock the side door and told her I'd see her in ten minutes. She and my dad met me in the driveway, and I think they both thought I was a little crazy. Eventually I convinced them I wasn't and we went to bed.

Saturday morning we woke up and drove to my nephew's football game, where I was able to surprise Jenny and Jessica and their families.

For lunch we went to Dickie's and watched the BYU game.

The microwave I gave Jen (Omaha Jen) came with a Barbie, that I planned to give my niece. But you can't give just one niece a toy when you're spending the day with both of them. So Jessica and I took Jenny's youngest (sister Jenny) to Walmart so she could pick out a Barbie, too. She also got to pick out lip gloss and nail polish, because Jessica and I are cool like that.

To give you a glimpse of just how cool we are, take a look at the following pictures. Jessica and I got all of the kids to play Barbies. Yes, that includes my 13 year-old nephew.

It was such a blast. We fished out the bins of our old Barbies in my parents' garage and showed our nieces and nephews how cool Barbies used to be when they all fit the same clothes and had impossible body shapes. Those were the days.

While I was home I enjoyed lunch at some of my favorite Utah restaurants and even managed to stop in to visit Kate (my old roommate), who happens to work right by my mom. (I know the duplicate names are confusing. Jen/Jen, Kate/Kate, but you get used to it. Just remember there's one of each in both UT and NE)

I also got to visit Gardner Village, which is one of my favorite places in the world. Well, I should clarify that Anastasia's Attic is one of my favorite places in the world. I could spend all of my time and money there. Fortunately, I was able to rein myself in and just buy the essentials. Like this gaudy crown ring for my 2 year old niece :)

Yesterday after a fabulous book club and trip to Costco, I had to say goodbye to my family and head back to Omaha. I got in at about 5am, slept until almost noon, and have done absolutely nothing in the last six hours. Overall, it was a great week. I missed Ashley a lot, as it was my first time being home without her, but I'm grateful for the time I spent with the family that was home. Now it's time for me to look forward and commit to the next two months here in Omaha.

Fall Break: Day 1

2011-10-17T17:39:00.000-06:00

After 2 months of trying my hardest to stay dedicated to schoolwork, it's an interesting experience to have a "break." I still have a lot of work to do this week, but a lot of work with no classes is inevitably easier than a lot of work on top of classes. Today's goal was Constitutional Law. I set out to complete my outline (of the coursework we've covered so far) and the reading assignment for next Monday (the first class after break).

I slept in until 7:15, which I felt guilty about because I've been on a pretty stringent sleep schedule so far this semester. I got ready by 8 and prepared to head out until I realized the library I was going to didn't open until 10. I wrote in my journal (starting Journal #26!) and twiddled my thumbs for awhile before eventually deciding to get a car wash. I drove a half hour downtown to go to my favorite car wash with free vacuums and by the time I finished, the library was open. I studied productively from 10 until 4, allowing only 1 short Twitter and email break. I reached my goal by finishing my outline and Monday's assignment, but I felt guilty leaving. One of our tutors told us we should spend no less than 8 hours a day studying over Fall Break. Well, 6 is clearly less than 8. My guilt led to me studying my completed outline for another half hour, but you can only re-read the same things so many times before it stops being beneficial.

I came home and read 35 pages in my Utah Book Club's October book. (I'm hoping to be able to join them and Ashley on Thursday via Skype for the meeting.) But I'm still feeling guilty like I should be studying something.

Any law school friends experiencing something similar this break? Anyone else struggle with irrational feelings of guilt even after you've accomplished goals? I'm not sure how to shake the feeling, and this week isn't going to be very enjoyable if I don't get a handle on it soon.

Awesome!

2011-10-12T18:00:00.001-06:00

Awesome things today!

*Waking up at 2:57, thinking it was time to get up, then realizing it wasn't*

Receiving an "above-average" score on our Contracts assignment

*Meeting with my professor and asking questions he found "insightful"*

Catching up on friends' blogs and discovering new ones

*Kate finding my tweets funny*

Adding 35 songs to my Private Practice playlist

*Rain*

Packing my lunch in a Dr. Pepper lunchbox like a grade-schooler

*Fall Break countdown reaching 2 days*

Property class starting with a 20-minute aside about Restatements

*Remembering I won our bet about the Contracts assignment
mentioned above (hello, $6!)*

Overall, pretty awesome day. Did you take notice of any simple pleasures today? Experience anything that seemed awesome? Let me know!

Oh btw

2011-10-03T20:41:00.003-06:00

In case you didn't figure this out, Jen authored the October 1 post you read. I am grateful for the reconfig of my blog, but I don't use the word "snazzy" :)

Checked out and Plugged in

2011-10-03T20:35:00.002-06:00

As many of you are aware, this weekend was the LDS General Conference. I took the opportunity to check out from every-day life and focus on Conference. During each Saturday session, I like to participate in the #ldsconf conversation on Twitter, and this weekend was no different. So I had Conference fired up on my laptop, Twitter going on my iPod, and my phone nearby to text friends and family.

I also had the crazy urge Saturday morning to bake, so I made blueberry muffins. First time I ever smelled baked goods coming from my own oven :)

Sunday was more relaxing, as I left Twitter alone and just focused on the speakers. I always love Conference, and while it was different to be away from my family, not be able to just flip on KSL, and not have girls' night during the Priesthood Session, it was a good and rejuvenating weekend that I really appreciated.

Did you do anything fun for Conference? What are some of the things you enjoy most about Conference weekend?

2011-10-01T00:34:00.000-06:00

Like my new look? I feel all grown up and sophisticated now. My sister was so awesome to snazzy things up around here!! I owe her big time.

Awesome!

2011-09-28T23:11:00.002-06:00

Last week I went to the mall here for the first time (yay!) and came across this fun shop called The Afternoon with books and art and clever gifts. I hadn't bought a book for ages, and I had such little self-control as a result. So I ended up with a copy of The Book of Awesome by the author of 1000awesomethings.com. I thought it'd be perfect because I can literally just read one page when I have a free minute. Turns out, it is perfect! I love reading an awesome thing or two before bed. Some of my favorites:

intergenerational dancing

illegal naps

finding a mix tape from an old boyfriend

fixing electronics by smacking them

hitting a bunch of green lights in a row

Additionally, I've always been inspired by my friend's posts of things that made her day. So, I'm combining the ideas to bring you...

(drum roll please)

Awesome things today!

*Getting to school later than usual and still having a spot in the garage*

Telling my clever brother I love metaphors and having him respond, "I like similes," with a wink

*Leaving the library late and getting free food*

Coming home to a package notification slip in my mailbox. I'll get it tomorrow :)

*Skype/FaceTime*

Finally understanding the difference between unilateral and bilateral contracts

*Friends (the tv show)*

Friends (the people that teach me about unilateral contracts)

*Hearing my niece copy her mother's use of the word "idiot"*

Realizing tomorrow is Thursday...

So, what simple pleasures did you take notice of today? What did you see or hear or experience that was awesome? Let me know!

Counting Blessings

2011-09-22T18:23:00.000-06:00

It's funny how things work out.

Last week was rough. I was distracted from school for the first time since I started, worried about changes back in Utah and how they will affect "home" as I know it. I felt truly homesick for the first time and had a hard time mustering the desire to spend time with friends. I went to both sessions of Stake Conference (something I never do), alone. I was so focused on my loneliness that I got much less out of the talks than I probably could and should have.

Then there was the BYU-Utah game and well, I don't think I need to add any commentary there.

Sometime while I was distracted by the melee in my mind, I picked up a new Twitter follower, @JDanielRollins

I'm not sure how he found me or what I said that might have encouraged him to follow me. I was hesitant to follow back, only because I've been thinking of purging my following list lately to have a more manageable feed. I decided to read through some of his old tweets to decide and came across this convo:

Hmm... He hates Penn State. But he's willing to admit to appreciating their classic uniforms. Conflicted, I told him so. (Conversation in reverse order here)

He made me laugh at least, so I followed back. I'm glad I did.

At this point this post is going to become a bit of a confessional. If that irritates you, I won't mind if you stop reading. If you keep reading, don't feel like you need to comment on anything I say.

Prior to moving to Omaha I had become apathetic about my activity in the Church, comfortable in my complacency. Then I moved, and with my professor as my bishop, I felt obligated to be more engaged. Simultaneously, I realized everyone I met knew nothing about the Church and found myself answering basic questions. One night I was out with friends until 3 in the morning talking about, among other things, religion. Between the three of us, we represent the Mormon, Catholic, and Baptist faiths and shared and inquired openly about what we each believe. Suddenly I wasn't answering the simple questions like, "Do you drink?" I was explaining the three degrees of glory and the concept of eternal marriage. I don't know when it happened, but eventually that conversation was no longer about answering the questions of my friends but rather about looking inside myself, asking for the first time if I really believed what I was saying. And the answer was a resounding, "YES."

Since that conversation I have been very aware of religion in general. My good group of friends here are all wonderful people and strong Christians. In some ways it seems like the theme of Christianity has been more in the forefront of my mind than Mormonism specifically.

Here's where my trains of thought merge...

I saw that Mr. J. Daniel Rollins tweeted about an update to his blog. I read what he had to say and was moved. The stories of converts always hit close to home, because of my parents' story. But while reading his blog and learning of his experiences in different Christian faiths, I realized again something I've always known: I'm so happy to be Mormon.

This post has gone on much longer than I intended, so I'm going to wrap things up. But before I do, I want to mention specifically the challenge on WearySaint.com to count your blessings. I know the week is almost over and I have yet to take part in the challenge, but I intend to change that.

So I want you to know that I'm grateful, among so many other things, that "I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know who I am. I know God's plan. I'll follow Him in faith."

Remembering

2011-09-11T19:35:00.000-06:00

Over my breakfast this morning, I read the chapter in George W. Bush's Decision Points about September 11. I then read the full text and watched the video of his address to the nation from that night ten years ago. Prompted by a friend's post on Facebook, I listened to John Adams' On the Transmigration of Souls as I got ready for the day. Feeling thoroughly emotional about the tenth anniversary of 9/11, I headed off to church. It struck me as magnificently ironic that even as I mourned and remembered that pointed attack on American liberties, I was exercising my freedom of religion. I cried as we sang "My Country 'tis of Thee." I smiled as I spent the evening after church talking to my family. I cried again as I listened to President Obama speak at the Kennedy Center tonight. And I smiled when I saw footage of him walking with President Bush around the new memorial in New York City. (And I'm sure I'll cry, once again, as I sit down to watch Remember Me when I finish with this post.) It has been a day of reflection, a day of both sorrow and gratitude.

The PBS special I was watching included a video interview of a woman who said what stands out most about that day is the fear, that America will always be in fear that something like that can happen again. I couldn't disagree more. I feel safe, protected, and defended. I think what stands out most about that day is the heroism of the passengers of Flight 93. I think they encapsulate everything that is American--seeing a problem, voting on a solution, and taking it upon themselves to protect the lives of their fellow Americans.

As our president pointed out tonight, the attacks of 9/11 changed so much in America, but so much still remains the same. We are still one nation, under God. E pluribus unum. Out of many, we are one.

I don't mean to be petty

2011-09-05T19:54:00.001-06:00

I bought a shower curtain several months ago in anticipation of the move. I didn't immediately hang it up, because, as it turns out, I have doors on my shower. I was so bummed. I love the shower curtain and I hate how doors look on showers. But my mom and brother convinced me I could still just hang up the curtain outside the doors, and no one would know the difference. (Except now everyone that reads my blog will know the difference, but that's a different story...) This weekend I finally bought some rings and got the curtain up. It's supposed to contain the 500 top SAT words, but I've only had the curtain up 48 hours and have already noticed two mistakes.

Last I checked, aloof was not a verb, nor was adamant a noun. Johnny aloofed the adamant? I'd like to see that sentence diagrammed.

Oh well. I guess it's a good thing I just like the look of the shower curtain and don't rely on it as a study aid :)

Fumble

2011-09-02T10:42:00.001-06:00

I've been surprisingly okay with being away from home. I guess part of it is the fact that I don't really have time to miss people. With as much time as I spend studying just to meet the minimum requirements, I know I couldn't be doing this in Utah with sisters and nieces and the like serving as unintentional distractions. I cried a little when I got a video of my youngest niece crawling (which I haven't seen in person) and once when talking to Jen about everything her kids were doing, but overall I've been happy with my change in circumstances.

Then this morning I was going through some old pictures to find one of my nephew and me at a BYU game and it hit me: I'm not going to be sitting in the family room of my parents' house tomorrow watching the game. I can be as obnoxious as I want through texts and Twitter, but I won't have the pleasure of fighting with a single family member over the inferiority of Utah's football team in person. When the weather turns and I comfortably throw on my Penn State hoodie to bum around on a Saturday, I won't see 10 other people with lion heads on their chest, making things feel like football, like fall, like home.

So I know it's a dumb thing to miss and get upset over, but I can't help it. When, for your entire life, college football season has been the event your family waits for all year long, the series of weeks filled with more emotion than any other in the year, the high that actually makes Christmas feel like a letdown, it's tough to realize you're going to miss it all. Because I don't get to walk into Walmart with Jen and complain about the lack of BYU apparel. Instead I see what appears to be Corn Husker vomit all over the place. I'd rather the red I were seeing bear U's on it (and that's saying a lot).

It's dying...

2011-09-01T15:53:00.001-06:00

Apparently one writes as much in two weeks of law school as the average person writes in seven years. Have you heard of the seven year pen? When I was in CA with Adiel, she found it at her favorite local boutique and I had to try it out. I'm crazy good at holding onto pens, which is surprising considering my affinity for office supplies and the compulsive need I feel to buy pens. Anyway, I have often clung to a favorite pen and used it until I used it up. So I had grand plans of holding onto this thing and doing a big post in a few years to indicate how long the pen had actually lasted (the packaging of the pen specifically says that it can write like 1.7 meters a day, every day, for 7 years. In case you haven't read my blog long enough to know: I write way more than I need to. So I knew the pen wouldn't last me a full 7 years).

But I was surprised when I was taking notes on a case today and the pen started to fade. I purchased the pen almost exactly one month ago, and the bulk of its use has been in the last two weeks. Although I was unable to really enjoy the pen for the advertised length of time, I will say this--I love this pen. It writes so smoothly and it's a comfortable size and feel for long periods of writing. I actually just ordered two more of these from uncommongoods.com earlier this week, and it's a good thing, too! I'm sold and have no desire to go back to a different pen for my everyday black pen use. My color-coded craziness is another story entirely...

***Post-publication caveat: This pen came back to life in my Legal Writing class. I'm not kidding. So, maybe that's how it does the 7 yr thing. It resurrects itself. I'll keep you posted***

Socratic Method

2011-08-30T19:49:00.000-06:00

Had my first classic law school experience today. First class of the day, Contracts. "What happened in Hamer v. Sidway, Miss Brown?" Um. I swear he just said my name. "Well, the uncle promised, well, there was a contract if the nephew would abstain from drinking, if, when he was 21, and then, what happened was the uncle..." Am I saying words? "Were the nephew and uncle the parties in this case? Who is Hamer?" Is he speaking Russian? "Well, no. There was, it was transferred, the executor, and the debt, it's assigned but no, the uncle, and he died..."

Somehow it ended. Not sure what was really asked or said, but I'm still alive. So, that's good.

Dear Diary

2011-08-23T20:41:00.000-06:00

I typically don't consider blogs the best forum in which to share personal, touching experiences. But I'm going to make an exception. Be warned: this post is more for myself than for any of you. Feel free to delay reading until I post again.

I applied to Creighton accidentally. Literally. If I had possessed all of the facts of the law school application process when I started submitted applications, I would never have sent my information to Creighton. But as it turns out, I was accepted and offered a scholarship.

I was also accepted to and offered a scholarship at Akron, and the scholarship happened to be significantly more than what Crieghton was offering. Somehow, though, I forgot about that fact or didn't realize it or something, because when I was moving I came across the acceptance letter from Akron and felt like I had been punched in the stomach. How did I forgo what was essentially a full-tuition scholarship? I really couldn't understand my reasoning, and there was literally nothing I could do to change my situation.

But let's back up. On my acceptance letter, the Dean of the Law School at Creighton indicated that there are several students and faculty members from Utah. I thought that was random, and it was the first thing that made me actually consider going to Creighton. About a week later, I received a phone call from a professor, Collin Mangrum, at the law school to let me know that there are several LDS (Mormon) students at the school. He got me in touch with a graduating 3L, which was extremely helpful.

For various reasons that followed, I ended up deciding on Creighton. After that decision was made, I attended Accepted Students Day (I know this is redundant for a lot of you), where I met Professor Dallon, a former classmate of my dad's from BYU Law and the Bishop of one of the Young Single Adult wards in Omaha. My dad and I looked at about 14 apartments while we were in town. All of them were in one Singles ward except one that was in Bishop Dallon's ward. A long and unrelated decision-making process resulted in my choice to move into the apartment that happened to be in his ward. Even after seat deposits were paid to the school and security deposits to the apartment, I went through periods of doubt, wondering if I could and really should move to Nebraska. Invariably, during my most doubt-filled days, I would get a random call or voicemail from Professor Dallon, offering suggestions of places to live, people to talk to, or just checking up on me.

About a month ago, we received our Section assignments, and I happened to be placed in Professor Dallon's Torts class.

Now, here I am. I'm living a thousand miles away from everyone I know. I'm swamped with a level and load of schoolwork I've never before experienced. I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water and it's only the second day. I feel like I'm neglecting Zipsie more than ever, and unfortunately this time there's no roommate or trusted friend available to give her some company.

But on Sunday one of the clerks in the ward asked if I had time this week to meet with a member of the Bishopric. We set up an appointment for tonight. After class, I was in the library studying and had to leave before finishing in order to make it to my appointment. I had a little bit of a negative attitude (it's hard for me to study at home, so I try and get everything done at the library), but I left. I got home, changed, and went to the church. I ended up having to wait for some other people to finish their appointments, which actually worked out, because I had brought my unfinished homework with me (which happened to be Torts...) I was able to read the chapter twice, which I was thrilled about. Bishop Dallon finished before his counselor, so that's who I met with.

Now this is the whole reason for this absurdly long journal entry of a post. In all my time at BYU, I never had an experience like this. The closest I got was having an Economics professor that was my Stake President, but that's not very significant since I had zero interaction with him in that capacity. Anyway, I met with the Bishop as sort of a get-to-know-you interview. At the end, he closed with a prayer.

Hearing a professor pray for me to succeed in school was more special than I can possibly put into words. It made me feel cared-for in such an individual way. It was an experience I wish everyone could enjoy.

Home Sweet...Here

2011-08-21T08:18:00.000-06:00

Hi, world. I'm in Omaha. I wanted to avoid posting pictures of my new place until I was all unpacked and everything looked cute, but I don't see that happening for awhile. So you get what you get :)

This is my living room. Since taking the picture, I've added two small arm chairs in front of the partition. There's also a window with a desk under it to the right of the fireplace that you can't really see. On that desk sits a beautiful new MacBook Pro, which I'm convinced is actually the love of my life. I knew I had to go to Nebraska to find him :)

Here's my kitchen. It's small, but let's face it--how much kitchen do I really need? You can see the Y magnet on the fridge. It literally went up before a single pan was in a cabinet or a dish unpacked. I might be in Corn Husker country, but I still have my priorities.

And speaking of priorities...

From the living room you go through the opening on the right of the partition into my "bedroom". Literally, room for a bed. It's cozy and I like it.

Then down the hall is my closet, sink, and bathroom.

Now that you've enjoyed the grand tour, here are some updates on how things are going...

We had orientation Thursday and Friday, which actually went well. It's interesting being at a Catholic university, because it's still based on religious education, so in a sense it feels like BYU. But I'm so unfamiliar with Catholicism and the prayers are different from what I'm used to, so sometimes it seems foreign. I really appreciate the Christian values that are emphasized when people discuss what it means to be a good lawyer.

So far, my favorite things about Omaha are $0.54 32 oz. Dr. Peppers from gas stations, the fabulously easy-to-navigate road system, the helpful people in my ward and at the law school, and how curly my hair goes when I scrunch it. This brings me to my least favorite things about Omaha: the humidity makes straightening my hair quite a chore. Even after I get it straightened, it doesn't stay straight. Strands and sections just start flipping whichever way they choose. Restaurants serve Mr. Pibb and act like it's an acceptable substitution for the Doctor. Internet is freaking expensive (I miss Comcast), and groceries are too. Also, drivers here? Not so nice. They enjoy the horn and middle finger.

I find the area very pretty. Zipsie treed two squirrels this morning on our walk. Lots of trees and lots of green. Not as much as the East Coast, but definitely more than Utah. Oh! Another thing I like about this place (although it's weird) is that the mid-grade gas is cheaper than the regular because it contains ethanol. So we're going to transition my car up a notch on fuel quality and see how she likes it.

As for the school part of things, I haven't yet studied as much as I should. I just bought my computer yesterday, so most of last night (which had been set aside for studying) was instead spent getting everything set up on it. And sort of playing with it. The studying I have done has been fascinating. I don't know how I'll feel once I get into the full work load, but the reading that's been assigned for the first day has been so interesting. Let's hope my interest is sustained.

I miss everyone, but I'm doing well. My cell phone has terrible service at my apartment, so I've been a little cut off from people. But Jessica is helping me remedy that situation and I'll soon have a second phone number with *shudder* Verizon. You'll always be able to leave me messages on my T-Mobile line (the same number I've had forever) but if you want the second number in case you need to get a hold of me more quickly, just send me a text or an email and as soon as I know the number, I'll let you know as well.

I'd love updates from everyone! I know I won't be spending as much time checking blogs as I should, but let me tell you a little secret. I love mail. So much. If you and your family ever wanted to drop a quick note as to what you've been up to, I would appreciate it so much. I know it's antiquated and not everyone has stamps sitting around, but seeing a letter with a familiar postmark would do a lot to ease homesickness. You can always be more modern and stick to Twitter, email, texting, or whatever works for you.

Okay, I think that about covers it. Love and miss you all!

Who knew?

2011-07-21T13:58:00.002-06:00

On Tuesday I was at dinner with a friend and mentioned my excitement about leaving my job. I told him that when I left the Ogden court after just 6 months, I cried, my co-workers cried, they took me to a goodbye lunch, and all that jazz. I referenced the difference in my current job. I said there are certainly people I’ll miss, but generally no one at the court knows who I am. This isn’t a self-pity moment; it’s just the way it is. It’s a big place with lots of employees and I’m anti-social. That all adds up to remaining anonymous.

Yesterday afternoon I was walking down the hall and one of the Criminal clerks stopped me and said, “Has Gwen talked to you?” I said, “No...” And she replied, “Do you have the list?” Huh? “What list?” “The list for tomorrow. We’re changing what we’re bringing and were told you had the list.” I was confused but trying to catch up. I pointed to my supervisor’s office (my supervisor is also named Wendy) and said, “Maybe try that Wendy.” “Isn’t the potluck for Wendy (Last name)’s birthday?” “I’m sorry; I really don’t know...” And she went on her way. Meanwhile I began to piece things together. Wendy’s birthday was in April. If we were throwing a party for that other Wendy, my boss, wouldn’t someone have told me and asked me to bring something? Could the birthday story have been a cover-up once the clerk realized her mistake?

When I got on the elevator to come into work this morning, everyone I said hi to had something in their hands–a Crock Pot, a bag of rolls, a bowl of watermelon. Now, I don’t like to assume, but I’m also not obtuse. Suspicions were confirmed when my supervisor came to my desk this morning and said, “So I guess you know about your party.”

With the knowledge that in 3 short hours I would be the guest of honor at a potluck came a wave of self-consciousness. I know how potlucks work around here. Someone sends an email stating the reason for the potluck. Mine would have said something like, “As some of you know, Wendy Brown is leaving us to attend law school. We will have a potluck to say goodbye next Thursday in the conference room. Please let so-and-so and so-and-so know if you would like to contribute.” I figured most people had thought, “Who’s that?” and deleted the email. I grew embarrassed that my team members had gone to the trouble of organizing a party to which theirs would be the only contributions. At 11:30 they came and got me from my cubicle and told me to act surprised. Well, I didn’t have to act.

Lots of delicious food. Way too much to even get a good sampling of what was offered.

My supervisor from my last team came up to me after and gave me a card from the front counter. I can’t wait to hang it up in my new apartment in Omaha. As she explained, it shows the course of my legal career: law student, graduation, working as an attorney, and, finally, a judgeship :) I can only hope that in 25 years I can look back and see that card as a form of premonition haha.

No, I’m not the most well-known clerk in the building. But the relationships I have formed are meaningful. And isn’t that what matters?

"Small Town, Saturday Night"

2011-07-19T14:35:00.001-06:00

I’m in a great mood. Want to know why?

Well, it all started with a very relaxing weekend. My family attended the Ute Stampede on Friday night. I’m not going to lie–if my weekend had ended there I’d be calling it a bust. I’m not one to call “Animal Cruelty” at the flick of every switch, and I’ve attended rodeos for as long as I can remember, but I don’t know that I’ll be going to one again in the near future. Seeing a 1,000 pound animal fall on its neck can change a person...

However, the weekend that followed was phenomenal. I typically ~~despise~~ dislike being in small towns. They bore me, they smell weird, everyone’s in everyone else’s business...but we spent Friday and Saturday night in Ephraim at my brother-in-law’s mom’s house. It was so relaxing. I didn’t realize it, but I think all of the moving/leaving plans have been stressing me out. The ~~crawling~~ slow way of life down there really allowed me to breathe. We went shooting, sat on a deck with a beautiful view, took naps, I wrote in my journal. More importantly, I didn’t check my email, I didn’t check Twitter, I didn’t play Words with Friends.

Whit and her grandma at a cute little candy store in Ephraim

I think it also helped to be away from Zipsie. Don’t get me wrong, I love her. But for 48 hours, I was free from all responsibility for anything but myself, and it was refreshing. Unfortunately, my being away seems to have had a negative effect on Zipsie. By that I mean, she’s crazy. Well, crazier. Apparently Sunday night she discovered that she can jump over the baby gate that has kept her calmly in the kitchen at night and while we’re at work for the last year. And now that she knows she can, she won’t stop jumping over it. And chairs. And bar stools. And suitcases. *Sigh*

This is the structure I put up last night that Zipsie still managed to jump over

Back to that good mood stuff...Anyone ever shopped at Tilly’s? I first visited on a Vegas trip with Jamie when I fell in love with these shoes:

Now I own them in 3 colors. Yesterday I got a delivery from Tilly’s that added to my love affair.

A beautiful purse, sassy sunglasses, two stunning nail polishes, a roomy wallet, and the decorative flip flops I set out to buy in the first place–shipped–for less than $50. Are you in love now, too?

And finally, today my friend Bonnie took me out to lunch. Some of you will remember that Bonnie and I worked together during my short 6 months at the Ogden courthouse. She trained me in front counter work and became one of my best friends. I miss her all the time. She encouraged me to get back to school and finish my degree. She encouraged me to retake the LSAT and actually apply to schools. She’s the reason that–in addition to any other type of law I practice–I want to do adoptions. She had a class on Domestic Cases in Salt Lake, so we met up afterward. Seeing her just makes my heart happy.

And that, my friend, is why I’m in a great mood!

UPDATED: Used Books for Sale

2011-07-15T09:08:00.001-06:00

I'm moving halfway across the country and can't fit all my books. Plus, I'm strapped for cash. The following are books that I'm sort of willing to sell. If you're interested, let me know how much you'll pay (I'm willing to accept just about anything. Just remember...starving student...) and I'll get you the books. If you live in Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, or Utah counties I'm very willing to drive the books to you. If not, we'll work something out. Title links to the Amazon page for the book, so you can see book description, cover (if you're a cliched-ly inappropriate judger like me), and how much you'd pay for a used book there. Pretty much all my books are in good condition.

Email me

AMERICAN HISTORY

Beer and Circus by Murray Sperber (How big-time college sports is crippling undergraduate education)
Confederate Emancipation by Bruce Levine (Southern plans to free and arm slaves during the Civil War)
The Confederate Nation: 1861-1865 by Emory M. Thomas
A Delusion of Satan by Frances Hill (The full story of the Salem witch trials)
The Gray and the Black by Robert F. Durden (The Confederate debate on emancipation)
Lee's Miserables by J. Tracy Power (Life in the army of Northern Virginia...)
The Manly Art by Elliott J. Gorn (Bare-knuckle prize fighting in America)
The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould (The definitive refutation to the argument of The Bell Curve)
Uprooting Racism by Paul Kivel (How white people can work for racial justice)
War and Ruin by Anne J. Bailey (William T. Sherman and the Savannah Campaign)
Women and the Law of Property in Early America by Marylynn Salmon

ASIAN and RUSSIAN HISTORY
The Cloudy Mirror by Stephen W. Durrant
To Destroy You is No Loss by JoAn D. Criddle (The Odyssey of a Cambodian Family)
The Golden Peaches of Samarkand by Edward H. Schafer (A study of T'ang exotics)
Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang (A memoir of the Cultural Revolution)
Revolutionary Russia, 1917 by John M. Thompson
Russia in the Twentieth Century by M. K. Dziewanowski (in used condition)
Silence by Shusaku Endo (a novel)

EUROPEAN, NEAR-EAST and MIDDLE EASTERN HISTORY
Charlemagne's Courtier edited by Paul Edward Dutton
I Saw Ramallah by Mourid Barghouti
Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Charles D. Smith
The Roman Empire Divided: 400-700 by John Moorhead

WORLD HISTORY
Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson

Okay, this is taking a long time and I've only linked to the books in 2 of the 5 stacks on my table :) I'll update and repost periodically. I have several more Russian and American History books, and then I'll make a list of novels as well. Hope you find something you're interested in!

Welcome Home!

2011-06-30T15:48:00.000-06:00

As you probably know, Matt got home from his mission Tuesday night. He spent two days traveling from Angola to South Africa to London to Montreal to Dallas and finally home. Needless to say, he was tired. But I think (hope) he’s glad to be back. I’m happy to say it seems like he never left. I was going to actually put some time into this post and make a collage of all these photos, but I don’t feel like it. So, enjoy :)

Coming Home

2011-06-27T16:58:00.000-06:00

I know I haven't yet blogged about last week's SYTYCD, but did any of you watch the Tabitha and Napoleon routine about the soldier coming home from Afghanistan? I loved it, of course, but my favorite part was how unpredictably perfect the song was.

I’m coming home

I’m coming home
Tell the World I’m coming home

Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday

I know my kingdom awaits and they’ve forgiven my mistakes

I’m coming home, I’m coming home

Tell the World that I’m coming

But now that song is stuck in my head and I can't stop thinking about another type of soldier coming home from overseas...

Matt comes home tomorrow. I am seriously so excited.

Father's Day

2011-06-22T17:05:00.003-06:00

I didn’t want to post anything earlier in case the surprise would somehow get leaked, but I have to admit: Sunday was my favorite Father’s Day ever. I’m not great at giving gifts, but every once in awhile, I’ll come up with an idea that gets me so excited. That’s what happened this year with my dad’s Father’s Day present. Before I explain the gift, let me give you some background. We grew up with my dad regularly reading and telling us bedtime stories. He liked to make up stories about a dog he had when he was a little boy, a beagle named Buster. They didn’t have the dog for very long (something about his dad selling the dog for a case of beer...) but we always loved the outrageous stories. Anyway, I decided to take one of the stories he made up when we were kids and turn it into a children’s book. You can look at the finished product here

On Sunday before dinner, I had my dad sit down with the youngest grandkids around him (to whom he loves to read). I made him close his eyes and then placed the book in his hands. He seemed excited and touched and read the book to the girls (while making his own commentary like, “9 innings? That’s 3 innings too long for a little league game,” or “Cleats? We didn’t have cleats back then”). I loved it.

Compared to You, I’m Ridiculous

2011-06-17T13:22:00.000-06:00

Have you noticed how miserable your situation can seem when you start making comparisons? When you measure life against the lives of others, you’re left with two possible outcomes: pride or depression. Who wants either? I think I’m more likely guilty of the former–I carefully make comparisons only when I know I’ll come out on top. That’s because I’m naturally prideful. But I guess some stupid hobbies that I developed in the last few days have opened my eyes to how people can walk through life so discontented. Typically, people with a “woe is me” attitude drive me insane. I’ll admit; I allow myself to complain over petty annoyances. But I think people are usually aware that I’m happy with life. I’ve never understood the girls my age whose only focus is marriage or kids. It’s frustrating for me to look at my life and feel complete and then have the attitude of someone in a similar situation subtly suggest that maybe I shouldn’t be content. Because haven’t I noticed? I’m not married. I’ve always felt that someone’s complaint over their station in life–a station at which I too sit–is also a judgment against me. If they think it’s weird that they’re single, doesn’t that mean they think it’s weird I’m single, too? That bothers me.

But in the last 48 hours, I’ve been acting really dumb. I started lamenting everything in my life, it seems. I have no money, my dog isn’t obedient, I’m not going to a Top Tier law school, my car isn’t nice, I’m lonely, my hair isn’t naturally flawless, I screwed up at BYU and will always have a crappy GPA, my bread is moldy... That’s right. I went to make lunch this morning and saw that my bread was moldy. And that’s where I drew the line. If I was going to continue to complain about my bread’s cultural evolution, I could not continue to live with myself.

So, I’m done. I need an attitude adjustment, and that’s what I’m setting out to accomplish. Farewell comparisons. Hello contentment; I’ve missed you.

HANA Shine Shield from Misikko.com*

2011-06-15T16:35:00.000-06:00

A few weeks back I ordered the HANA Shine Shield from Misikko.com. I've read great reviews about it, and when I found it on sale for $14.99 (list price is $49.99 and the website usually has it on sale for $29.99) I thought I should jump on it, even though I've been doing my hair wavy every day since I haven't decided on a replacement straightener yet. This morning I received a notification from UPS that the package had been delivered. I didn't want to risk having my order stolen again, so I ran home on my lunch break to grab it. My first thought was, "Wow. That's a big box for a 6oz bottle of hair serum.

Silly me. I hadn't accounted for the monkey! Yes, that's right. My order was inside a satin drawstring pouch, held protectively in the arms of a stuffed monkey. Is that not the cutest thing in the world? And that's not all. Inside the box was also free hand sanitizer, perfumed roses, emery boards, and eyeshadow!

I haven't even tried the product yet and I'm already so impressed.

Maybe I'll borrow my roommate's straightener so I can give it a go. I'll let you know...

*See this and other blogazine posts on Kaboodle.com

It's Criminal

2011-06-06T07:08:00.000-06:00

I love to order from Barnes and Noble’s website. The books are always delivered quickly, and most of the time it’s cheaper than buying at the store. I still would rather shop for books in person, so I usually reserve online shopping for when I have a single, specific book I need to buy (like for school or Book Club). Last week, I saw that one of my favorite books was on sale for like $7 online, and since I didn’t yet own a copy I jumped right on it. As always, I got my “Scheduled to Ship” email almost immediately and the “On its Way” email shortly thereafter. Delivery was scheduled for Friday.

Friday morning I checked the tracking and saw that it was out for delivery as of 8:20am, so I was excited knowing that meant I’d have it when I got home.

Except, I didn’t.

Packages usually get left directly inside the door to our building, outside the “security gate” (that isn’t secure at all) and next to our mailboxes. I was surprised that not only was the package not there waiting but I didn’t have a “Sorry we missed you” tag or anything like that. Then I thought the UPS guy must have gotten in the gate and left it outside my apartment.

Nope.

So, I thought I’d check the tracking again. Maybe there was a note saying I needed to pick it up from a local office. But I got online and there was a delivery confirmation saying the package had been delivered at 9:55am. At this point I started to freak out a little. Now, I know we’re talking about a measly $7 book. But it’s MY measly $7 book. Packages don’t actually get stolen, right? There was probably just a mix-up with the tracking information. It would be delivered tomorrow.

But it wasn’t.

I emailed Barnes and Noble, not knowing what else to do. Then I left this note by the building’s mailboxes:

I knew if someone had actually stolen my book, a note probably wouldn’t make much difference. But it made me feel better, like I was doing something to control the situation. All day Saturday and Sunday if Zipsie barked or I heard someone walking past our door I’d glance out the peephole, hoping to see my package miraculously returned. Alas, I did not.

Last night while I took Zipsie for a walk, I called my mom to ask her if that’s the sort of thing I should report to the police. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but I thought maybe it was important to contribute to a paper trail if this was happening a lot in the area. Mom suggested I contact UPS to see if I could get specific information about where the package was left and then call the local PD with the information.

Zipsie and I got home and hung out for a bit, me feeling angry and sad that I might have actually been stolen from, thinking I’d wait for an email back from Barnes and Noble before deciding what to do. This morning I woke up to take Zipsie out and opened the door to this:

No box, no note of apology explaining a mistake had been made, but my book with the packing slip inside.

For a brief moment I felt very grateful. I had prayed over the weekend that the book would just be returned, and I recognized that my prayer had been answered. But then, I felt angry. Really angry. And I still do. I brought the book inside and didn’t even feel happy looking at it. It’s like I don’t even want it anymore.

Is that the most illogical reaction ever?

And I think it’s important to point out the irony of this entire situation. The book involved?

The Book Thief by Mark Zusak

Looking for a Straight Answer

2011-06-01T13:38:00.002-06:00

I've used the same kind of straightener for about 3 years now. It's a Chi damp-to-dry, and while I never use it with my hair damp, I love it. It works great and I have no complaints. When I was in Omaha I noticed my hair wasn't straightening. It was also very humid that weekend, so I assumed the two went hand-in-hand. However, I got home and it still wasn't working. The iron heats to 200° Celcius, but each time I run it down a section of hair it will drop a few degrees. I'm not surprised that my Chi is broken, because I've had this particular one for about 17 months, which is the longest I've ever kept a Chi working. Unfortunately, it didn't die in the first year like they usually do so it's no longer under warranty.

So here's the question. I don't think I want to buy another damp-to-dry straightener. It costs more and I don't use the additional function. I had been thinking about just getting a regular Chi.

I posed the question on Facebook and a friend said to forget about the Chi and go with a GHD.

I was inclined to go with her suggestion, but just to double check, I posted a poll on Kaboodle. Everyone there is telling me to stick with the Chi. Now I don't know what to do, and in the meantime my hair remains in a ponytail.

I'd love to hear your opinion or any advice you have concerning straighteners you've tried. You can click on the pictures to read the reviews of each straightener I mentioned.

Thanks!

Weekend Away

2011-05-24T10:54:00.000-06:00

My dad and I spent this last weekend in Omaha. Between Accepted Students’ Day at the law school and our appointments to see apartments, we were pretty busy. We looked into 14 properties, physically viewed 10, and were able to eliminate only 2 of the ones we viewed.

Do you want to know my favorite thing about Omaha? Freeways. Everywhere. Seemed like we were always on I-80, 680, 480, or the 75. No matter where we were headed, we got there in 15 minutes it seemed. So, that’s good.

Dad wanted to find a local favorite place for pizza, so on Friday, based on Yelp reviews, we went to Mama’s Pizza. Dad was less than thrilled with his “all meat pizza” (doesn’t even sound appetizing) but I loved the pepperoni. Dad at least liked looking at all the sports memorabilia decorating the place.

Dad’s mood improved even further when he realized we were done with dinner early enough to catch the end of Creighton’s baseball game against Missouri State. They were playing at the new TD Ameritrade Park, which was his one must-see for the trip.

The park was really nice. Aside from that though, I’m not yet in love. We didn’t get a chance to visit the Old Market, which I have a feeling I’ll enjoy. I told my dad several times that it’s hard for me to say out loud that I’m moving to Nebraska. It’s easier for me to say Omaha for some reason. Maybe because I know it’s a bigger city than Salt Lake.

When I got home, I had plenty of DVR to catch up, which is how I spent my Sunday evening. My favorite recording was definitely the season finale of SNL hosted by Justin. Oh how I love him. And I can never decide what I think about Lady Gaga (who was the musical guest). If nothing else, I enjoy the anticipation of what her eccentricities will bring. I’ve actually been listening to her new album all week, trying to figure out which songs I like (usually takes me a few times through Gaga’s songs to decide).

I was listening to one track, “You and I,” and I was confused. It almost sounded Country. Then I realized it was kind of catchy and maybe I liked it. Then I heard the lyrics, “Something about this place. Something about lonely nights and my lipstick on your face. Something about my cool Nebraska guy. Yeah, something about my baby, you and I . . . We’ve got a whole lot of money but we still pay rent, ‘cause you can’t buy a house in Heaven. There’s only three men that I’m’a serve in my whole life: it’s my daddy and Nebraska and Jesus Christ.”

Now I can’t stop listening to that song and laughing. I guess if Gaga can do Nebraska, so can I.

Star Student

2011-05-12T13:07:00.000-06:00

Zipsie and I started obedience classes last night. She's been getting increasingly anti-social (might have something to do with who her owner is) and she especially takes it out on other dogs by growling, barking, lunging at them. I was nervous about taking the class with so many other dogs, but she actually did great. There were lots of dogs behaving worse than she was, which made me feel better. On the drive home (shortly after the above picture was taken, actually) she was leaning out the window growling at dogs we drove past. So maybe she was just quiet because of the number of dogs we were around or something. At any rate, I'm excited for the classes and hope they'll have a positive influence on her.

I Admit: I'm Addicted

2011-05-04T13:14:00.001-06:00

Jessica just called me to make plans for a SYTYCD party. The whole time we were talking she kept asking, "What's wrong with you?" or "Why are you mad?" or "What happened?" I just kept saying nothing, because nothing was wrong. Well, nothing that I immediately realized. Then we hung up, I got back to work and was being productive. Then my iPod binged because it was my turn on Words With Friends, and I got angry. I had to evaluate why I was feeling that way and eventually realized it was because I was losing a certain game.

At this point, you need some background. I'm honestly not a poor sport. Most people I play just for fun, and I don't really mind if I win or lose. But several months ago, my niece was playing with my iPod (yes, the 2 yr old) and she somehow got into WWF and started a game with a random opponent, one Dale Swinhoe. He KILLED me. It was kind of surprising because I don't often lose WWF, and when I do it's usually not a slaughter. I hadn't been paying much attention to that game, because I didn't even know who the opponent was and the only reason I didn't resign is because, well, I don't resign. Anyway, I was angry that I had lost as badly as I did, so I rematched. It took me several tries before I could beat this guy even once. He's much better than I am, but with time I've gotten better and now beat him about one of every three games or so (or who knows? Maybe he just lets me win every once in awhile to appease me).

The thing is, I'm so competitive when I'm playing him. I get angry when I do poorly and way too excited when I win. This was our last game:

But this is our current game:

I just can't do a thing and he's KILLING me. And that, I realized, is why I'm in a bad mood. So Mr. Dale Swinhoe, whoever you are, bravo for having so much power over my daily moods haha. But for anyone else that wants to play, my username is Wendeebee :) And in my eyes, you can never have too many Words With Friends games going at once! I'm seriously addicted to this game...

United

2011-05-02T13:16:00.002-06:00

I'm sure you all heard President Obama's statement last night, but I loved re-reading those words today. In case you want to be reminded, here you go:

Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children.
It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory. Hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky. The Twin Towers collapsing to the ground. Black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon. The wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.
And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child's embrace.
Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.
On September 11th, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other and our love of community and country. On that day, no matter where we came from, what god we prayed to or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family. We were also united in our resolve, to protect our nation and to -- to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice.
We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda, an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe. And so we went to war against al Qaeda, to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies.
Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we've made great strides in that effort. We've disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense. In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government which had given bin Laden and al Qaeda safe haven and support. And around the globe, we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of al Qaeda terrorists including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot.
Yet, Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan. Meanwhile, al Qaeda continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world.
And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda. Even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle and defeat his network.
Then last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain. And it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.
Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abad Abad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.
For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda's leader and symbol and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies.
The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda.
And his death does not mark the end of our effort. There's no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must and we will remain vigilant at home and abroad. As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. I've made clear just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11 that our war is not against Islam. Bin laden was not a Muslim leader. He was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries including our own.
So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity. Over the years, I've repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was. That is what we've done.
But it's important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding. Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people. Tonight I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.
The American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens. After nearly 10 years of service, struggle and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war. These efforts weigh on me every time I, as commander in chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one or look into the eyes of a service member who's been gravely wounded.
So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are.
And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda's terror, justice has been done.
Tonight we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who've worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work nor know their names, but tonight they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.
We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day.
Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11, that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.
And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today's achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.
The cause of securing our country is not complete, but tonight we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history. Whether it's the pursuit of prosperity for our people or the struggle for equality for all our citizens, our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.
Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

I am so grateful to both President Bush and President Obama, who led our country from those attacks ten years ago to this historic moment of victory today. Both men are, in their own right, heroes to me. (Can I make a sidenote? I just googled "heros or heroes" because I wasn't sure on the spelling. The first 3 forums that came up discussing this question used an example sentence that referenced 9/11. That's pretty awesome.) I'm grateful for our military. I'm grateful that the leaders of this nation know so much more than I do and so much more than their critics who so easily condemn them for everything they do or don't do. I am grateful for parents who taught me to be patriotic, and I am grateful for a country that allows patriotism to come so easily.

Finally

2011-04-29T13:00:00.000-06:00

So, it took me a little longer than I expected--okay, a LOT longer--but it's finally finished. I'm done with my Bachelor's! I passed both of my classes and am now officially a BYU alumna.

The Good Stuff

2011-04-28T16:42:00.001-06:00

Let's be honest. If these don't look delicious to you...

you're nothing less than insane. And the incredible thing is: these cupcakes taste even better than they look. Yes, this post is a shameless promotion for Lovely Lorraine's Cupcakes. My sister, Ashley, did the Wilton cake decorating classes awhile back and had a very natural knack for what she learned. She has graciously used our family functions as practice arenas for what she now hopes to turn into a small business. Her prices are practical and her desserts are delicious! Consider giving her a try for your next book club, Young Women activity, birthday, or family dinner. I have no doubt that she will exceed your expectations.

Check it out!

2011-04-26T12:34:00.000-06:00

http://www.utahtheaterbloggers.com/4605/oklahoma-is-a-heap-bettern-ok

And while you're at it, check out the show for yourself. :) We run until May 14th.

Briana

2011-04-25T09:31:00.002-06:00

It's no secret that I don't like the ward whose boundaries I'm in. For the two years I had my records there, I did anything I could to get out of going. I had a calling for like 3 months before they realized I wasn't doing anything and released me. At the end of the year, Kate and I suddenly felt motivated to be good visiting teachers, so we actually found out who we were supposed to visit and set up appointments. We visited one girl, a med student at the U, and had such a great time with her. I think we both thought, "Why have we not been doing this before?" Our second appointment for the night was with our second sister, Briana. Something came up and Briana text me, asking to move our appointment back. Kate was going to a concert later, but I was free. So I told Kate I would just visit Briana alone. As I was heading to her apartment, Briana called. She had old friends from out of town that had come for a surprise visit and asked if I could reschedule.

I never did.

The next month I text her, but we couldn't find a time that worked for us both. I said I'd look more at my schedule and get back to her.

I never did.

I never got better at visiting teaching, and in an effort to stay active in the Church, I found a new ward. I didn't give Kate and my brief attempt at visiting teaching another thought until last week. I was cleaning off a bookshelf and came across the card and message I'd printed off for Briana several months ago when our plans fell through. I felt a brief pang of guilt for never following up with her, and then I threw away the card.

This morning Kate informed me that Briana was killed Saturday in a rollover. That guilt came back as more than a little pang. I'd say "flood" is a more accurate description. I never even met her. I had months and months that I should have been spending time with her, getting to know her better. And I lacked enough faith in the whole program of visiting teaching to even make a decent effort.

All morning I've been reading touching accounts and memories of Briana's life like this and this. What an incredible woman. On Briana's own blog, I just read as she reflected on life. She wrote:

This cycle is born out in the natural world where the death of one organism gives life to others, and in our own generational cycle when our aging parents come to rely on us like children and infants for their care and we are required to give back all that we were given in ways that we as parents could never conceive of needing from our children.

What a selfish person I am. What faith I lack. How ignorant and narrow-minded I've allowed myself to become. I don't have a right to mourn the passing of Briana, so I guess these tears are a manifestation of anger and a bit of self-loathing. I've always felt frustrated with people who need a tragedy to make them open their eyes. Now look at me with mine wide open.

And in case you were wondering...

2011-04-19T18:18:00.002-06:00

This isn't funny as much as something I came across in my notes that I'd written down verbatim for some reason. So in case you've ever wondered about heavy metal, according to my professor it was:

"A reaction against the stifling conformity of uber-patriotism that Reagan was promoting."

So, next time you're listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd, you thank Reagan.

And to finish off the decade,

"At the end of the 1980s, so many walls were coming down.

It was a magnificent decade for democracy."

And a comment I appreciate, when comparing New Kids on the Block to John Wayne:

"The 1990s marked the era of the dancing boy."

Funny things my professor says...

2011-04-19T18:12:00.003-06:00

Reviewing notes for my final and came across this one:

"The Reagan Revolution was like the New Deal 2.0 . . .
Except conservative."

Good News

2011-04-15T08:25:00.000-06:00

Oh hey, I'm going to law school

Just paid my seat deposit. Yay :)

Math I can handle

2011-04-12T16:27:00.000-06:00

Dad says it's the reason we lost to Florida. Quite frankly, seeing my always-in-red BIL wearing a BYU shirt and cheering for Jimmer was worth it. I held on to this picture long enough and couldn't think of a suitable blackmail use, so I figured it was time to publish it. Rise and shout!

...just a little bit of pixie dust...

2011-03-30T10:34:00.002-06:00

Yesterday my oldest niece turned 6. Can you believe it? To celebrate, this weekend we went to dinner at Brick Oven in Provo. Despite a super weird server, it was an awesome night! We met up with Jess and her family for dinner. We were all very surprised when the hostess brought a box back to our table and asked for our niece by name. Inside the box was a note from Tinker Bell, if you can believe it! What was more incredible was that the note included a map to Neverland. So of course, we had to follow the directions for a chance to see Tinker Bell in person. We left dinner and headed out for an adventure. The map took us to Center Street in Provo at the Covey Center. Inside there just happened to be tickets under my name to see Utah Regional Ballet perform Peter Pan. We had such a fun time!

Pioneers of Africa

2011-03-25T17:33:00.003-06:00

As you know, I'm in a Modern Africa class at BYU. Yesterday's class focused on the Church in Africa. You probably also know that my baby brother is currently serving in Angola (part of the Mozambique mission), so I had a feeling that the topic would be one to which I'd feel a connection. But I wasn't really prepared for what an emotional and uplifting experience I would have. We watched the film Pioneers of Africa, which took up most of the class period, and then we just discussed our thoughts for the last 15 minutes of class. I will not apologize for what I say next: Yesterday strengthened my testimony that BYU is the Lord's university. No, I do not mean that makes our sports teams succeed or sets BYU students above anyone else. What I do mean is that BYU was established for a very specific purpose: "To assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life." The aims of a BYU education are to be spiritually strengthening, intellectually enlarging, character building, leading to lifelong learning and service. How grateful I am that I've had the chance to take part in that sort of an education, and how badly I wish I would have taken greater advantage of my time there. I have less than a month left at BYU, and I know I will miss it. I will miss the chance to so openly discuss spiritual topics in a secular setting. I will miss knowing that the person sitting next to me in class holds more or less the same beliefs I do. But I'm also excited to take this unique education and apply it elsewhere. We don't need a BYU professor to allow us to build our testimonies of God through learning and study. We have been taught that the Holy Ghost will teach us the truth of all things. That means each of us can grow closer to our Father in Heaven by enriching our lives through knowledge and learning. So I challenge you each to do that. Whether you're in school or not, make a goal to learn something new, to better yourself.

Specifically, the discussion in our class highlighted the stark contrast between the dark, oppressive history of colonialism in Africa that we have spent the semester learning about and the brightness of hope that the Gospel brought to saints in Africa. The most interesting thing was realizing that one could not have happened without the other. Without colonialism, Europeans would never have sent Christian missionaries to Africa. Without exposure to Christian beliefs, Africans would not have been prepared to hear the Gospel. It reemphasized for me that trials are brought about for our own good. It's hard to remember, but it's so nice to know that the Lord only gives us struggles in order to prepare us for something greater.

How refreshing to see the big picture once in awhile :)

Bluejays?

2011-03-22T13:02:00.000-06:00

I'm not a fan of bird mascots or royal blue. I'm more about navy and large cats. Yet I think I might be okay as a Bluejay.

My whole life I've pictured myself living in some big city on the East coast. I ignore the fact that the mid-West even exists. Yet I'm having fun looking for apartments in Omaha.

I think I want to go to Creighton, but as I told my dad yesterday, I don't know why I feel that way. What I do know is I almost just bought these pants:

And then I remembered I don't have any money :)

My silly sister

2011-03-18T12:20:00.002-06:00

You might have seen the result of Jen's talent in creativity a time or two on her blog. I admire her abilities. I even make use of them for myself. (Remember the cute owl pillows that I love on my bed?) She shared this idea with all of us sisters (click on the picture below for the explanation), and I thought--How cool! I love that tote and Jenny is totally capable of making it look just as good.

Then I re-read her email. She wants us each to get together and MAKE OUR OWN. That's a joke, right?

I'm glad that this motivated me to donate to the relief efforts in Japan, but I think Jen is smoking something if she thinks we're gonna get together and I'm going to sew a tote that will be passable to be used in public.

Should be interesting...

Law School Updates

2011-03-15T11:01:00.003-06:00

I got tired of writing posts about being wait listed, so from now on I'll just post updates on the side of my blog.

Over there ---->

Darkness

2011-03-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

There's a lot of ugliness out there. More than I ever cared to see. For the last two weeks I've been covering the Protective Orders department at the court, and I have heard and read things that I wish I never had. I continue to realize, with increased frequency, what a sheltered life I've led. My naivety had convinced me that most people are good, but lately I've been wondering. There seems to be no end to the shattered homes, dysfunctional relationships, and endangered children. I continually hear stories that seem hard to believe, because they don't fit into my mental framework of how life is or should be. I have always known what it felt like to be loved. I have always felt safe. I have always felt cared about. But not everyone has that luxury.

Some people are in desperate need of someone else's watchful care. I am grateful for the testimony I have that when hate seems the natural course, there is Someone there to teach us love. When all seems lost, there is Hope. When we feel alone, He is there. This whole area of thought, combined with the real prospect of law school I now see before me, has me questioning my view of the law. I've often sided with the accused, because my dad taught me well that everyone, no matter their actions--assumed or actual, is entitled to the protections afforded by the Constitution. However, my dad made the comment, relatively recently, that I "don't want" to do criminal defense. I was confused why he'd say that. I've always talked about doing defense. Then he said I "couldn't handle" it. I was offended. He didn't think I was capable? Finally he said to me that I get too emotionally involved. I wouldn't deal well when a client was sentenced to prison. He said I should think about working with the Guardian ad Litem. I scoffed, saying I had no interest in domestic law.

But lately I've been thinking... My dad is wise. He knows me and my personality. And I have seen with my own eyes the sad truth that there are far too many children out there whose voices are not heard. So I don't know. I mean, I know I should probably start law school before I start making up my mind about such things. But I feel better knowing I have a more open mind than I once did.

Something to think about. I know I will.

(yes, Adiel and Ashley, that was intentional. Lightens the mood, don't you think?)

Accepted: Creighton University

2011-03-09T10:39:00.001-07:00

Hey, in 2008 it was the country's 3rd most Mormon Friendly Law School. It may have slipped since then, but the Dean included a hand-written note on my acceptance letter, indicating they have 3 faculty and many students from Utah, ready made friends for me. That's something to consider.

Wait Listed: Georgia State University

2011-03-07T12:44:00.001-07:00

Why do I have a feeling the next two months are going to feel very long?

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Georgia State is ranked higher than Penn State. So I'm thinking I can probably expect a lot more of these emails...

I'm not quite sure why,

2011-03-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

but I've started another blog.

Check it out:

http://booksofwendell.blogspot.com/

Wake up!

2011-03-02T08:07:00.000-07:00

This morning I finished getting ready and realized I had some time before I had to be at work, so I laid down on the couch to take a quick nap. Next thing I knew, something was being pushed against my arm. I opened my eyes to see a small tennis ball by my elbow and Zipsie waiting patiently next to me. Apparently she doesn't understand that closed eyes do not indicate playtime...

Wait Listed: Pennsylvania State University

2011-02-28T17:38:00.000-07:00

I've been placed on Penn State's wait list. I have mixed emotions about this situation. It's better than a rejection in that I know there's still a chance that I'll get into my #1 choice. But at the same time, it's disappointing to not have that acceptance letter. I won't know if I have a spot until at least the end of March. I wouldn't mind a few prayers for the miracle that I'll get offered a spot :) I'll keep you posted.

Accepted: University of Akron

2011-02-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Think Zipsie and I should become Zips? :) I'm pleased to announce that it's an option. And Ohio isn't quite Pennsylvania, but at least it's east of Utah! This is the first school I've heard back from. I'll keep you posted on future acceptances and rejections...

You know what I love?

2011-02-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

This kid

I got this invitation from Jen for my nephew's birthday party. First, I can't believe I'm old enough to have a teenage nephew. Second, this boy is so awesome.

I've tried explaining this feeling to a couple of people now and can't seem to get it right, so I doubt this post will be any better. Lately, I've just really liked "Potter." I don't know how else to say it. Although he doesn't have a cell phone, he got an iPod for Christmas and he downloaded a texting app. I think it is so fun when he texts me. Is that dorky? Probably. But there's just something cool about having a nephew in that generation.

When I'm at Jen's house, I look forward to talking to Potter. I enjoy our conversations. This isn't to say that I don't love talking to all of my nieces and nephews, because I do. But something changed recently with Potter. It's like he's a full-fledged person. I can remember being in 7th grade, and I love hearing his take on it. I can remember my celebrity crushes from when I was his age and how fun they were, so I love when he tells me about Selena Gomez. I can remember being a brat to my parents, and it's interesting watching him enter that phase. (I'm sure Jen would use a word other than "interesting," but luckily I'm not the parent :)

Then just yesterday Jenny gave the OK for Potter to help us out in a chorus role in the next musical I'm choreographing. I've been having a negative attitude about the show. I agreed to it back before I knew I'd be taking classes this semester, and I've been really stressed thinking about the time and energy the show is going to require. But now that I know that time and energy will be spent with and on my nephew, I have a renewed desire to give this thing my all. A lot of my philosophy as an aunt is centered around the fact that I grew up without any extended family nearby. I find myself thinking, "I would have loved the chance to do that with my aunt," and that's how I feel about Potter being in the musical.

I hope it will be the wonderful and memorable experience I'm anticipating.

Funny things my professor says...

2011-02-14T17:40:00.001-07:00

(About the way things were before consumer cosmetics in the 1920's)

"If you wore eyeshadow, you were owning it.
You were saying, 'I am a prostitute.'"

A New Little Peanut

2011-02-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

I have never been so in love on Valentine's Day...

I know it's random, but

2011-02-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

I want to learn to write with my left hand. I don't know why I've been obsessed with this lately, but it's something I really want to do. I keep grabbing my pen with my left hand without thinking about it and then realizing I'm right-handed. I also just think it would be a convenient skill to have. If I'm taking notes on what's on the computer screen doesn't it make sense to control the mouse with my right hand and write with my left?

So far I just do it when I'm writing things down that no one else has to read--like when I'm getting the voicemails off my phone at work. But I need more practice than that. When I'm forced to do something with my left hand, I honestly feel handicapped. Maybe I should have made a habit of doing things with the left side first. It'd probably make this random goal easier.

Let me know if you have any pointers.

Funny things my professor says...

2011-02-02T19:20:00.000-07:00

(After discussing the Alliance System)

"World War One was one big, long case of Mean Girls."

Funny things my professor says...

2011-01-28T17:20:00.000-07:00

"Jim Crow is a real black mark

on our nation's history."

Do Worms Hibernate?

2011-01-28T04:29:00.002-07:00

I'm wondering about book worms, particularly, for my purposes.

I had been in a really great habit of reading. Habit, hobby, whatever. But then suddenly I hadn't finished a book for two months. How did that happen? I'm going to blame it on the weather. My drive to read went into sleep mode I guess. But then something great happened...

For my Modern Africa class, we were assigned to read Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Something you should know about me: I never finished assigned books. Ever. I have this little problem where when people tell me to do something, I want to do the opposite. In my entire undergraduate career, I can remember three books that I actually finished--Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Love, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. They were all for the same Lit class (one of only a handful of classes that I ever got an A in). I guess I should have learned then that when you read the assigned material, you do better in class. But I'm a little dense in the "Learning Lessons" department.

Anyway, this particular book had been assigned in at least two previous classes--maybe three now that I think about it. I never bothered to read it. But this semester I thought it would be fun to stop ignoring the fact that I'm a semi-intelligent person capable of excelling in school and actually do some homework. So I read Things Fall Apart.

     1. It always feels good to finish a book, especially when you haven't for awhile.
     2. I can see why this book is required reading for several classes.
     3. Class is so much more invigorating when you're prepared! I even made comments and answered questions.

Yesterday I grasped onto a small reminder of what it's like to be a good student--something I haven't experienced since high school. And I liked it.

Funny things my professor says...

2011-01-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

"We see fruit come up time and time again

when we start overthrowing governments."

More 30 Days

2011-01-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

I'm loving this! Jen, Ash, and my roommate, Kate, have all started doing the 30 Days blogging challenge, which makes me super excited. Check out my fascinating friends!

Gotta love governnment work

2011-01-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

On Friday, a supervisor at work gave me a gift card to Olive Garden as a "Thank You" for covering some different departments while we've been understaffed. Nice, right?

Closing line of the card? "Please remember that incentives are taxed. You will see that amount deducted on your February 4th paycheck."

So, basically, my paycheck will be less because I did something good.

Oh the life of a state worker :)

BFF

2011-01-20T15:35:00.002-07:00

Yeah, it's a stupid term. But sometimes, it's the only one that fits.

"Aunt Addy"

When I met Adiel in 7th grade, I thought she seemed cool. I hoped we'd become friends.

I can remember standing by her locker before school when she told Nicole and me that her parents were getting divorced. I felt so sad for her, wishing I could do something to make things easier for her. But I remember at the same time appreciating her telling me, because I knew she considered me a friend.

I remember in 8th grade, walking into the school after being evacuated for a fire drill, when Adiel confessed she'd thought my name was Windy when we first met. She seemed embarrassed. I thought it was funny.

I remember going to Festival of Trees (when it was still at the Salt Palace) to watch Adiel perform with her dance studio. Afterward, I got to go to dinner with her family at Olive Garden. I had such a fun time. Then I got in trouble when I got home because I hadn't told my mom I'd be gone that late haha.

In 9th grade, Adiel and I both got 4.0 gpa's, which entitled us to a limo ride to and lunch at Golden Corral. We did shoulder sits in the parking lot. I was your epitomical goody-goody and secretly worried we'd get in trouble because our coach had a rule against stunting outside of school.

As we prepared to leave Junior High, I thought my world was ending. Adiel and I were going to different High Schools, and it was a sad and lonely experience for me. Despite our best intentions, we lost touch. We'd see each other ocassionally, like after the Hunter-Cyprus game when we stunted in the McDonald's parking lot, but for the most part our lives traveled on separate paths.

More than 4 years after graduation, Adiel commented on my newly-created blog, and we were reunited. I asked her to help as a judge for my squad's tryouts. It was if we were right back in Junior High--as if we had not lost the last 7 years.

After we coached together, she thought it'd be fun to leave me for stupid California. Dream job, awesome life, yadda yadda yadda. Bottom line, I never see her.

Except for the last 3 months. I was able to visit with her when she was in town for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and again last week when she was in town for her brother's wedding. Adiel got a text while we were hanging out on Sunday that said something to the effect of, "How's being 13?" because when we're together, we speak in Friends quotes, giggle about Justin Timberlake while watching Social Network, exclude people by constant references to inside jokes, and sing 'N Sync songs. And I'm always relieved that the distance hasn't changed a thing.

I don't really know the point of this post except to say I'm grateful for friends. Friends that see and talk to you every day, give you rides all over creation when your car is a piece of crap, and even lend you their car so you don't have to miss school. Friends that you rarely see but make you so happy when you run into them on campus, that text you randomly over something that reminded them of you, that don't rely on Facebook to remember your vital statistics. And friends that you've known since before you were the person you are now, that have stayed with you and changed with you, that can make you laugh easier than anyone, make you cry when they say goodbye, and make you sure of what it means to be a friend.

And now, back to your regulary scheduled programming...

2011-01-11T18:06:00.002-07:00

After my 30 Days blogging experiment, I'm ready to return to blogging normally.

Wow. That picture is actually making me nauseated.

Anyway, I failed to do my regular New Year and Birthday posts, so I thought I'd catch up on them now. In 2010 I made resolutions to pay off a credit card, retake the LSAT, and make serious plans for law school. I don't think I've ever kept a New Year's Resolution, but I am pleased to announce that I achieved all 3 from 2010. I actually paid off TWO credit cards (though one was just a retail card with a very low limit), and as you know I took the LSAT in October and am now playing a waiting game with law school applications.

Although I'm 11 days late, I want to set some equally attainable resolutions for 2011. I want to be more organized in general, which for me will include more (1) consistent use of my planner and journal. I'm back in school (and not just Independent Study) so I'm going to (2) have my diploma in hand by May. An obvious but pretty major resolution is to (3) start law school. Since those last two resolutions are already in motion, I feel like I should make one more goal that will be slightly more challenging. I really want to be smarter with money, which is a really big undertaking. I think I'll start by making a goal to (4) track my expenses. I want to ultimately be able to live according to a budget, but I feel like before I can succeed at that, I need to more fully understand where my money goes.

Did you set resolutions this year? What are they? Did you keep resolutions from last year? What were they?

(the awesome e-vite my family got)

On Saturday I celebrated (that term is debatable) the big Two-Five. In the morning, David took my out to breakfast. But most of my day was painfully boring and lonely. I had a party planned with my family for that night, so I needed to get my apartment ready. I'm not one to clean regulary, so Saturday my to-do list included taking down our Christmas decorations (I know; Christmas was two weeks ago), washing about 7 loads of laundry, your normal chores like dusting and vacuuming, and cleaning my room. This last task was the hang-up. I never clean my room. Clothes seem to mulitply in piles all over my room--dirty ones on the floor, clean ones on my bed, and clothes that were tried on but rejected by my closet door. Purses that I've switched out cover my dresser, shoes get kicked off right inside the door, and mail--both important and junk--gets piled up on my desk. I know where everything is, but to anyone on the outside, it looks like I've been victim to some sort of natural disaster. So, I spent my birthday cleaning.

A made bed is a rare occurence for me, so I was particulary excited about buying this new bedding and having a place to put it. Please notice the adorable owls--Christmas gifts from Jen.

My family came over around 6pm. My parents brought take-out from Five Guys (founded in 1986), Jess brought the drinks (varieties from the Dr Pepper / Seven-Up corporation that merged in 1986), Ashley provided the beautiful cake (with Dr. Pepper logo on it) and cupcakes (done in Dr. Pepper colors), and Jen brought the Wii, equipped with Just Dance (borrowed from Jamie) and Just Dance 2--both containing awesome 80's songs. Speaking of 80's songs, when everyone arrived I had a playlist on, including the top 20 Billboard hits of 1986. I thought it was pretty cool, even though my nephew asked me if he could hook up his iPod and play "good music." What a punk.

We played Just Dance and had a great time. We even got Dad to play once! (If I remember correctly, my five-year-old niece beat him...)

The highlight of my night was beating Jessica on two Just Dance songs--When I Grow Up (which wasn't much of an accomplishment, since we both didn't really try. It was stupid choreography) and That's Not My Name. Jessica is a natural at the game and has always been a better dancer than me, so it felt good to edge her out at the last second. Yes, she beat me as many times as I beat her, but I don't care :)

Zipsie isn't used to so many people being at our apartment, and she fell asleep as soon as the last guest left. I'm not used to throwing parties, so I followed shortly thereafter :)

Day Thirty

2011-01-07T22:54:00.000-07:00

Who am I?

I know this question is meant to be deep and insightful. However, in any writing class you'll ever take, you're taught the composition cliche: show, not tell. I think the whole point of this 30 Days exercise was to show you who I am. And now at the end that's all cast aside so that I can tell you. Weird.

At any rate...I am a 24-year-(and 364 days) old single girl (that's right; I will not call myself a woman) living in Salt Lake City, UT. I'm a procrastinator. I'm a lover of books and music. I'm overly critical of others' spelling, grammar, and general intelligence. I'm not critical enough of movies--I like almost anything I watch. I am someone who complains about being busy when I have too much to do, and I complain about being bored when there's not enough to fill my planner. I hate Sunday nights more than any other time of the week, because they mean the weekend is over. I love to text message. I'll admit that I often hit ignore on incoming phone calls not because I don't want to talk to the person calling, but because I'd rather text them. I don't feel as old as I am. I tend to be unrealistically optimistic. I generally assume the best about people. If forced to subscribe to a political party, I'd claim Republican. But I genuinely loathe partisanship. I think Americans are too critical of the leaders we elect. I also think we're too lazy as a population to effect change ourselves. I like to think I'm a pretty good listener. I drive too fast. I used to be great at keeping a journal, and now I'm lousy. Maybe I should make a resolution concerning that. I'm bad with money but good at giving. I dream of living back East but don't think I could ever permanently move away from my family. I like club sandwiches, Dr. Pepper, and oranges. I dislike pretty much every vegetable. I cry a lot, laugh a lot (though almost always silently), and roll my eyes a lot. I think I'm funnier and smarter than I actually am. I forgive easily but let my barriers down slowly. I don't like change, and I prefer to not make new friends. I love doing makeup and hate doing hair. I'm usually tired. And, as if you couldn't tell from this gigantic paragraph, I talk too much!

And that's who I am.

Day Twenty-nine

2011-01-06T21:42:00.006-07:00

In the past month, I learned:

*Ibuprofen actually helps relieve pain
*It pays to start Christmas shopping early
*N Sync has a whole bunch of songs that I've never heard of before and can't find anywhere.
*I've missed attending classes at BYU
*My dog feels the need to pee on my bed when I'm changing the bedding
*My work apparently only recognizes birthdays that are not mine
*When you play Just Dance on a sprained ankle, you'll pay for it later
*The word recidivism. It means "habitual relapse into crime"
*Five Guys and Dr Pepper/Seven Up were both founded in 1986
*I'm afraid of becoming this
*I'm no good at College Bowl Picks. Okay, I learned that a long time ago, but I was reminded of it this month
*Kindles are freaking amazing

Day Twenty-eight

2011-01-05T18:01:00.002-07:00

A picture of me from last year and this year:

Christmas Eve 2009 / Christmas Eve 2010

Well, I'm not blonde anymore. There's a difference. The sweater I'm wearing in the first picture doesn't fit me anymore--another difference. And, sadly, I lost the earrings I'm wearing in 2009, too. Otherwise, not much has changed.

Day Twenty-seven

2011-01-04T22:45:00.000-07:00

I'm doing this 30 Day challenge because it seemed fun. Also, I'm a little self-centered and like to talk about myself :) Some of the posts have been kind of weird, but others I've found thoroughly enjoyable to write. So, thanks to Krista for allowing me to discover the challenge, and thanks to Adiel for continuing it! If you decide to do the 30 Day challenge (and I hope you will), please let me know! I'd love to learn more about you.

Day Twenty-six

2011-01-03T22:32:00.014-07:00

What do I think about my friends? What an interesting question. Well, over time I've decided that I'm pretty content with a small number of friends. So I have the luxury of being pretty picky about who I consider friends. As a result, I'm only friends with awesome people. So in summary, I think my friends are awesome :)

No but seriously, I have incredible friends. I constantly feel guilty because it seems like my friends do so much more for me than I could ever do for them. I love that I have the chance to be friends with people of all ages, from my 69-year-old friend, Bonnie, that taught me so much about working in the court to my 2-year-old nieces that can always make me smile. I appreciate you all.

Day Twenty-five

2011-01-02T22:26:00.002-07:00

What you would find in my bag? Meaning my purse?

Currently: a bag of candy, a planner (which is now outdated), Ibuprofen, my makeup bag, screen wipes for my iPod, earbuds, our last Book Club book (don't know why that's still in there), gum, a loose dollar bill, 6 pens, a pair of earrings, and a Winger's coupon. That's the one outside pocket :)

Inside: a wallet, cell phone, iPod, and keys.

Other outside pocket: deodorant, body spray, more earbuds (?), another pen and two sharpies, and my Kindle.

This post has reminded me--I need to clean out my purse.

Day Twenty-four

2011-01-01T23:34:00.007-07:00

I'm opting out of this post. Too personal :)

But how were your New Year's celebrations? I sprained my ankle late Thursday night, which has been a bummer. But I've still enjoyed a good weekend. Jess took care of me Friday, taking me to the doctor and driving me to lunch and shopping with friends (thank you). New Year's Eve was spent with Ash and her in-laws. I got to watch them all play Dance Central on the Xbox Kinect. That seems like such an awesome game, and I can't wait until my ankle is better so I can try it out!

If only Penn State had pulled out the Outback Bowl... *sigh*

Adiel's niece with my niece, becoming BFF

The two babies with their babies

Sugar after a long day with a not-so-long nap

Sammy this morning as we drove to Jessica's to watch the game.

Her animals had to watch Spirit with her, of course. :)

Day Twenty-three

2010-12-31T20:32:00.002-07:00

Pretty much the only thing I ever crave:

Day Twenty-two

2010-12-30T13:13:00.003-07:00

What makes me different from other people? I suffer from Brachydactyly type D. Don't worry, it's not life-threatening. I've learned to cope.

haha

Day Twenty-one

2010-12-29T11:58:00.005-07:00

Something that makes me happy is Christmas, and since I haven't yet blogged about my holiday, I thought this would be a good time to do so.

I had a really fantastic Christmas. And it wasn't just because I made out like a bandit, either. Christmas was different this year, which I didn't exactly have a great attitude about. My sisters were all at their in-laws' so our typical Christmas Eve traditions were cast aside. I recognize needing to share my sisters now that they're married, but that doesn't mean I'm good at it. I was angry that we weren't finding a way to make things work, and I was bitter that Christmas Eve was going to just be David and me with our parents.

Then Jen invited me to a Dollar Movie on Christmas Eve morning. I hadn't been to the new Ross at Valley Fair, so I hit it up before the movie, buying myself some new outfits to get me in a good mood. The mood improved when I was met outside the movie by Ashley with a plate of our family's famous (okay, no one cares about it except us) peanut butter and chocolate fudge. I met Jen's family in the theater to see Despicable Me, and their youngest started out on my lap. She was so funny, laughing at everything, which of course made me laugh. And let's face it, you can't be in a bad mood when you're laughing.

I left the movie and did some last-minute shopping and wrapping. Then I loaded up Jamie's truck, which she graciously allowed me to borrow while she was in Vegas for Christmas. Loading all of the wrapped packages I had bought for everyone made me really excited to go GIVE the presents. I met my parents and David for dinner, which was enjoyable. We watched the bowl game and had great conversation, followed by an impressive light show at the Valley Fair Mall. Have you been there recently? The renovations are really quite incredible.

I went home and got Zipsie and then headed back out to my parents' house. We started a fire in the fireplace, which we haven't done for years. Later on, David and I went out to Jen's for a visit and got back to my parents' around 1:30. Then we stayed up talking until about 3. At 5:45 my alarm went off, and I headed back to Jen's so I could watch her kids open their presents from Santa. I've never had the chance to do that before, and it abosolutely made my Christmas. They were so excited and grateful. No one can capture the spirit of Christmas like a child, let alone 5 of my favorite kids in the whole world.

The rest of my day included talking to Matt, exchanging sibling gifts (ADORABLE owl pillows, beautiful black purse, and my new-favorite 2 pair of shoes from Jenny), a humbling and underserved gift from my parents in the form of a Kindle, taking a nap with Zipsie, and visiting Adiel for the first time since she got into town. It was a really fantastic day.

How was your Christmas? Did you enjoy any long-standing traditions or start new ones? Whatever you did and wherever you were, I hope you had a magical Christmas.

Day Twenty

2010-12-28T23:35:00.001-07:00

Someone I see myself marrying? Still holding out for a combination of the following :) ...

Day Nineteen

2010-12-27T20:37:00.001-07:00

My nicknames include:

Wendell--I was named after a guy named Wendell Williams
Wend--It's just a shortened version of my name
Wen--It's an even shorter version
Pup--An odd nickname that just developed between Jess and me
Puppy--A lengthened version of the above nickname
IHT--Once upon a time my hair was the same color as Adiel's, making us Identical Hair Twins
Wendy 4.0--I used to be a good student and Adiel still occasionally finds it appropriate to harass me for being the teacher's pet that I was.

Day Eighteen

2010-12-26T11:41:00.002-07:00

Plans/dreams/goals? I think this pretty much sums it up:

Day Seventeen

2010-12-25T23:37:00.002-07:00

This post is difficult. I'm usually pretty content just being me, but if I could switch lives with someone for a day, it would probably be a fictional character. Like Chloe O'Brian from 24. I think the reasons are obvious...she works with Jack Bauer.

Day Sixteen

2010-12-24T22:57:00.001-07:00

with my mom on Christmas Eve

Day Fifteen

2010-12-23T10:51:00.001-07:00

First ten songs that play with my iPod on shuffle:

1. Hideaway - Rock Kills Kid
2. My Baby - Britney Spears
3. Wake Up America - Miley Cyrus
4. Evacuate - The Boxer Rebellion
5. Ignorance - Paramore
6. Everglow - Mae
7. You Told Me You Loved Me - Cinematic Sunrise
8. Viva La Vida - Coldplay
9. Talk You Down - The Script
10. Miserable at Best - Mayday Parade

Day Fourteen

2010-12-22T09:24:00.004-07:00

I don't have any recent pictures of my family, so I had to steal this from Jessica's blog...

Day Thirteen

2010-12-21T09:08:00.001-07:00

Dear person-who-shall-remain-nameless,

I watched an episode of Criminal Minds last night, and a brief interchange at the end of the show made me think of you. Agent Rossi is talking to Agent Seaver about her dad. Seaver says, "It feels like he's winning if I don't hate him." And Rossi replies something like, "There is no winning. Just living and moving forward." Anyone reading this that knows who you are would agree: it's far past time for me to move forward. And I'm trying. In a round-about way, you're the reason I work so hard to make a name for myself at my job and the reason I did so well on the LSAT. I put my dreams on hold long enough for you, and it's been liberating to remember my potential and what I want to do with my life.

So, thanks for breaking me. I know it's taken a pathetically long time to create, but I like the replacement version of myself much better.

Peace Out,
Wendy

Day Twelve

2010-12-20T09:07:00.001-07:00

How I found out about blogs and why I made one is also included in my first post. Basically, my sisters started it :)

Day Eleven

2010-12-19T09:01:00.001-07:00

One of my best friends, my five-year-old niece

Day Ten

2010-12-18T08:53:00.001-07:00

I have no idea how to do this post. I'm weird about my music moods and it's never really clear why I listen to certain songs when I do. Lately I've been feeling a little...less-than-enthusiastic about life, and my soundtrack of choice has been LOTS of Florence + the Machine. Another good group when I'm feeling down is Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. I've rediscovered 'N Sync and Britney Spears in the last few months, and they provide good accompaniment for upbeat, goofy moods. Lately my every-day background music has been Until June. I know I didn't really follow the rules with this one, but oh well :)

Day Nine

2010-12-17T22:14:00.001-07:00

Something I'm proud of in the last few days? Going to bed before 11pm two nights in a row. :) I should do that more often.