My Friend, Courteney Cox

In my experience, finding a new tv show to love is as unenjoyable as making new friends. Of course, when I find a new show--or a new friend--I'm all in. I watch every episode. I start to talk like the characters. I tell everyone how great the show is. But those pilots, the initial hangouts, are all but entirely insufferable. You can't really judge a show on its first episode. But do you want to invest the time to watch a second episode if it's not going to go anywhere? It just takes so much energy that I'd rather spend on something I know I'll enjoy...like re-watching Season 6 of Friends for the 18th time.

Believe it or not, until about two years ago, I didn't really watch tv. There were two main exceptions: 24 and So You Think You Can Dance. One went off the air and the other invited Comfort to be an All Star. Tragedies on both counts. But then I came to Law School and I was sucked into the ease of being a tv junkie. Reading used to be my outlet, my escape. But at school and work, all I do is read. Literally. All day long. Read, then write a little about what I read, then read what I wrote, then read more so I can write more. I'm essentially married to Times New Roman, and by the end of the day I'm sick of him.

Most days I come home with a headache, eyes tired of moving across a computer screen, brain strained from searching for the answer to some unanswerable question. So I shut down. I kick up my feet, pet Zipsie, and watch a show. This summer has mainly been about Psych. I fell in love with Shawn and Gus and their ridiculous but wonderful friendship. Most recently, Suzzanne introduced me to Cougar Town. I had heard about the show, but I never had the slightest desire to see it. I'd catch portions of it while flipping through channels and I was annoyed by this weird group of adults playing ridiculous games or just sitting around drinking wine. However, I promised Suzzanne I'd give it a real chance, and four seasons later I desperately want a cul-de-sac crew of my own.  I want to be Ellie, a former attorney turned stay-at-home mom who talks openly about how boring babies are to play with. I want a marriage like Jules, where I can be honest about my need to argue and have my husband accept that. In so many ways, that show is ridiculously over-the-top. Yet in so many ways, it's exactly where I want to be when I'm 40.

I hadn't actually intended to discuss my obsession with Cougar Town in this post. The point was merely to say: I'm out of episodes and I don't know what to do with my Friday night. Any suggestions?

NE, IA, MO, IL, IN, KY, WV, OH, NV, UT

I couldn't think of a title for this post, so I decided to list the states I've been to so far this summer.

It's been a great couple of months! Spring term finished well for me, and I've made the most of my time since finals ended.

I roadtripped to West Virgina, where I was able to see my cousin, Kristine graduate from med school. On the same trip, I drove up to Akron, Ohio, and saw Matt wrestle and take third at the University Nationals for freestyle, where I was also able to spend some much-needed time with my mom.

I melted in visited Las Vegas while spending time with Jamie and her family during the weekend of her brother's graduation.

I spent a week with my family (minus Matt and Lauren) watching movies, enjoying Ashley and Jenny's new houses, watching baseball, and just soaking in the happiness that is family.

I was fortunate enough to see a friend sealed in the Bountiful Temple, whereafter *DOUBLE BONUS* I was able to see and spend a little time with Adiel, who I hadn't seen in far too long.

I'm working at a firm I love, and on Tuesday I take my final for the class I've been in Summer term. 

 Just wanted to give a quick update and let everyone know I'm alive and well!

Semester Re-cap

I don't currently have the internet at my apartment; money is tight and it seemed like a good way to save costs. In actuality, it just makes me depressed when I get home because I feel cut off from the world :) But I have a few minutes before my next class starts, and I thought I'd try and give you some updates.

It's been a crazy semester. Over Spring Break I elected not to go home and instead drove to Champaign, Illinois, for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships. What a trip! Matt won first, and Penn State walked away with the team title.

It was a great weekend spent with my parents, aunt and uncle, and Matt and Lauren.

I got home from Illinois and immediately started a new job at a local civil litigation firm. I can't say enough good things about that place. I feel wanted, appreciated, and (perhaps most importantly) challenged. I've started working every morning before my first class. That's only ten hours a week, but I sure feel the addition to my already-full schedule. Nevertheless, I'm grateful for the new path my career has taken.

After Spring Break, Law School Jen and I got to work on the 2L trial competition. Preparation for this overlapped with grading the 1L Law Review submissions. Again, things were crazy, but they were also great. Our second round was on a Wednesday night--March 20. That happened to be the night my parents flew into Omaha (flights to Des Moines were a bit pricey). I was go grateful they were able to attend our round and watch me flounder through figuring out this whole trial thing. Dad gave me a lot of good feedback to apply to future rounds.

The next day began the experience of a lifetime: attending NCAA Wrestling Nationals. I drove to Des Moines early in the morning and picked up Lauren from the airport. After three days of quality wrestling, I was fortunate enough to see Matt compete in the 174 lb championship match and to see Penn State win its third straight national title.

Matt was also honored with the Elite 89 award. I've been proud of Matt for a lot of things he's accomplished, but this might have topped the list. I know my siblings were sad to miss the tournament, and I feel very lucky that NCAAs were so close. (Des Moines is only about two hours from me.)

I got back from Nationals and jumped right back into the trial competition. Round-by-round, we advanced, and I found myself enjoying what I was doing quite a bit.

A second break from the competition came in the form of Easter Break. I drove home for Abby's baptism. It was a short but fun-filled weekend. We topped things off with Easter dinner and an Easter egg hunt for the nieces and nephews.

Last Tuesday Law School Jen and I competed in the final round of the trial competition and came in second. It was a tough loss, but I'm grateful we made it as far as we did.

Just two days later, we left for Kansas City for the UMKC Show Me Challenge, a national voir dire competition. We hadn't prepared for the competition as much as we would have liked (at all, really), but we were told by our coach to scope things out and get a feel for the tournament so we could decide if we should spend some time on it and go back next year. We were pleasantly surprised when we advanced to the semi-final round. We lost to Texas Tech by a 9-6 decision, so we left relatively pleased with our performance.

So, now I'm back in Omaha with no traveling plans in the near future. Finals start in a week and a half, and I can't believe how the semester has flown by.

I hope you all are doing well! Life is crazy, but as always, life is good.

Surprise!

I've always had a slight obsession with surprise parties. I think it started with my favorite children's book--Panda Bear's Secret--where Panda plans a surprise party for his Grandma. (I also credit that book for my love of Panda bears, so I guess be careful what books your kids read; apparently they'll be influenced for life.) 

So when Kate's bf told me he wanted to do a surprise party for Kate's birthday, I kind of freaked out. I'm sure my ideas and orders suggestions got to be a bit much at times, but he was a trooper. He suggested a Mexican theme, because Kate likes Mexican food. I came up with so many ideas--too many really--from a few quick online searches. I really loved this collection of ideas from Martha Stewart. I even had alcoholic drinks planned! But Oliver vetoed me on most things, apparently wanting to keep it simple. 

He did, however, let me get streamers featuring sombreros, chilis, and maracas.

He also let me do a very basic version of this paper tissue wall hang found on Hostess with the Mostess.

I couldn't find a tutorial, so I made it up as I went. It took some time, but it was relatively easy. I mean, I did it. And I'm the least crafty person on  the planet :) In case you're interested, I took pictures to walk you through the process.

What you'll need:

Tissue paper (I used 10 sheets of each color)
Scissors
String of some sort (Curling ribbon worked fine for me)
Stapler and staples
Tape (Sticky enough to hang on the wall, not so sticky it will damage the wall)

1. Take the tissue paper out of its package and fold in half. It's probably already done for you, just crease the fold.

2. Cut the paper into a fringe, leaving a two inch margin at the top, by the fold.

3. Repeat with all colors, obviously

 4. Separate the sheets of paper, laying one on top of another.

5. Measure a length of string the width of the area of wall you'll be using. Decide how many rows of paper you'll be using, and cut that many lengths of string.

6. Loop the string through the fold. Leave enough string at the left end to attach to the wall.

 7. I used a stapler to make sure the paper stayed spaced correctly on the string. I'm still not sure if this was necessary, but better safe than sorry.

8. When I placed the second sheet of paper, I originally lined it up right next to the first. This caused a weird gap, so I fixed it with a staple and some tape. But for the rest, I overlapped sheets of paper by about one inch.

9. When you get to the end of your string, hang it up, starting with the bottom row.

10. Repeat!

And voila! The finished project: 

The other must-have decoration for me was the "Sleeping Mexican," as spotted on Top Party Ideas.

Oliver took the lead on this one, stuffing his clothes with newspaper. 

We didn't want to spend the money to buy a poncho, so we took an old sheet, measured to Oliver, and cut.

 We named our friend Miguel.

The day of the party led to an always-scary experience: cooking.

 My family makes very Americanized chicken enchiladas, which I've made in the past and feel comfortable with:

But I also found a recipe for stuffed jalapenos that looked good and easy enough for me to make. 

More decorations the day of the party: 

Waiting for Kate to arrive...

 

The surprise was a success!

Happy Birthday, Kate!