Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I went back to Dallas and spent time with my family. Thanksgiving is my mother's favorite holiday because everyone always comes to our house. This year we had 15 people sitting around decorated folding tables in our living room stuffing their faces. It was quite a sight to see.

My mother always makes a TON of food so we have Turkey Pot Pie and Turkey Tetrazini for about a week afterwards. If anyone is interested in either, I have some of both in my freezer in Houston! ;) Though you better act fast if you want to try some, because finals are a comin' and I am going to be eating them fast!!!

This year was special because we have a new addition to the family... As you can tell from the fact that every picture has a baby in it... If you keep up with my blog, you know that the baby is my cousin Jacki's daughter, Jessica. She is six months old and almost crawling. She is absolutely adorable and the center of attention and she loves it. She is big enough that she smiles and is beginning to have a personality of her own. It is great.

But my holiday was quite good. Mainly because I got to see my entire family, which doesn't happen often. My brother is going to Japan to see his girlfriend (she is in Japan for a year teaching English) over Christmas break and I probably won't see him again until May. So it was good to spend some time with him... It is weird that my little brother is big enough to go all the way to Japan alone... It is weird that he is old enough to have a girlfriend in Japan! I mean he is only a year younger than me, so I don't know why it freaks me out but on some level I expect him (and me) to stay young forever. Oh well... as you can tell from my last post, that is not an option...

Hope you all had a wonderful time with your families as well!



As far as school is concerned, I have 10 more pages of my writing requirement due tomorrow at 8am and a quiz on Wednesday in IP Survey then it is all studying all the time. Oh the joys of school. Have I mentioned I am looking forward to the 13th of December... I will have 53 hours down 37 to go... WooHoo!

Grown Up

This morning KSBJ proved to me that I am in fact an adult. During their morning show, KSBJ played a tone that can only be heard by children. Apparently there is a tone (which teenagers are now using for the ring tone on their cell phones) that is audible to the child but not adults. And low and behold, I could not hear it... At all... I was hoping maybe I would be able to hear it faintly... Like your childhood is fleeting, but not gone yet... But no such luck... Silence... It is official... My childhood is gone.

Sad day... Oh well... Had to grow up sometime. :)

Feel free to test yourself. Though I warn you, you may have to face the lack of music as I did...

Finals....

It is official. Finals preparation is beginning. I am about to drop off the face of the earth. For those of you that will begin to worry about me in a week or so, I am not dead, just buried under books... Have no fear, I will reappear sometime after December 13th... Ohhh, and I will be in a really good mood when I do. Because I will be over HALFWAY done with LAW SCHOOL!!!! Until then, prayer is more than welcome! ;)

Finals Schedule:
12/5: 9am-1pm Federal Income Tax
12/8: 9am-12pm Marital Property
12/12: 3pm-7pm Business Organization
12/13: 2pm-4pm Intelectual Property Survey

Shrimp = Death (Part 2)

Alright, so the day we have all been waiting for has finally arrived, I went to the Dr. and got my allergy results today. Yea! Turns out I am "highly" allergic to crab, shrimp, and lobster. I am "moderately" allergic to scallops, clams, blue mussels, and oysters.

The good news is there is a category above highly allergic, it is "very highly allergic"... Haha, sophisticated system, I know. So it could be worse!!! My Dr. said I still have to carry my epi-pen and chewable benadryl around with me always... but I should be able to make it to a hospital without dying if I ever ingest shrimp, lobster, or crab. So I guess the verdict is I am deathly allergic without my spiffy medication and with it, I still shouldn't take any chances...

A random aside, I asked my Dr. about imitation crab and she said it was fine, so I can eat cheap California rolls, but noting with real crab. :) WooHoo...

Brain Teaser...

I have been told this is a classic, but I had not seen it before and it actually challenged me, so I thought I would share a brain teaser I received today with all of you. :) Enjoy.

"Everybody has to cross the river"

http://freeweb.siol.net/danej/riverIQGame.swf

The following rules apply:

• Only 2 persons on the raft at a time
  
• The father can not stay with any of the daughters without their mother's presence
  
• The mother can not stay with any of the sons without their father's presence
  
• The thief (striped shirt) can not stay with any family member if the Policeman is not there
  
• Only the Father, the Mother and the Policeman know how to operate the raft
  

• To start click on the big blue circle on the right.
• To move the people click on them.
• To move the raft click on the pole (red dot) on the opposite side of the river.
  

Jessica is the coolest...

I have the privilege of having the cutest 2nd cousin in the world. I went to the Woodlands yesterday to hang out with my cousin Jacki, her husband John and baby Jessica! We went to the Cheesecake Factory and I got to play with her while mom and dad ate.

She is getting very quick (she is 5 months old)! I had her sitting on the table at one point and she had my straw out of my glass and into her mouth in about 2 seconds flat. :) She is also rolling over on her own... I am amazed at how fast she is growing. I get to see here every 2-3 weeks, but it is crazy how much bigger she is every time.

She has also recently learned that screaming at the top of her lungs can get her what she wants much faster than crying does and with much less effort. So keeping her quiet in a restaurant was interesting... I realized am still not ready to be a parent! But I enjoy stealing Jessica for an afternoon or evening and then giving her back. :)

I LOVE this weather

So from the moment I walked outside this morning till now, I have had the BIGGEST smile on my face. This weather is BEAUTIFUL!!! It finally feels like fall. I am trying hard not to blink, because I know when I do it will be over. But for the next few days, I am going to be running around like a giddy child...

I love when it starts to get cold, because it gets me into the Christmas spirit. Which I love!!! My Savior's birth, cold weather, and family... What a great season. And for those of you who like the more material things associated with Christmas, just remember 2 years to go and then I am a lawyer instead of a starving law student... Haha... Presents are closer than ever before. ;)

Happy cold weather day everyone!

For those of you who read my blog regularly, thanks! I am trying to make it as informative and entertaining as possible. I may not be there yet, but hopefully it is mildly informative and entertaining... and if not, I am open to suggestions... However, you keep reading so maybe I am doing something right... ;)

Melissa Wallace sent me this post this morning and I thought it was great. Hopefully one day my blog will be this entertaining. I know I am setting the bar high, but what can I say... I am an overachiever. :)

"I Googled It" Post from http://www.inleftfield.com/ that is cute:

The following story is 100% accurate, true and in no way made up. I must also say that it involves my 6 year old son, who just started kindergarten and is just now learning to read. The stage is now officially set.

Last night I was working in my office and the older two kids were upstairs playing on the computer. The house is networked, so all printing ends up coming out of my all-in-one in the office. Sure enough, it kicked on and began to spit out a picture. Knowing I did not click print, I was interested to see what would appear. Then came the sound of 4 little running feet…and giggles.

By the time said object had completed it’s printing, they were front and center to admire their handiwork. Sure enough, they successfully had printed a picture from the Internet of his favorite Star Wars character. I suddenly was VERY interested in how this happened. To which my little Bill Gates replied “I Gmailed it”.

Me: “What”

Mini Me: “I Gmailed it”

Me: “You mean Googled it”

Mini Me: “Yeah, I Googled it”

Next up was a trip upstairs to see exactly how he did this. He promptly showed me how he clicked on the icon, “clicked in the box”, used a Star Wars sticker sheet he had to type letters into the box (starwars as one word mind you), ; “then I pressed enter”. He then picked a result, printed and there you have it.

The best part of the story is the close. After saying our prayers each night, we share one thing we are thankful for. Mini me said he couldn’t think of anything. I said “you can’t think of anything?’” Then he said…”oh, I’ve got one…..

You guessed it….

“Google”

And a child shall lead them!

Blue Man Group

I went with some friends to see the Blue Man Group on Friday night. It was stinking awesome, except when I thought a computer generated man was going to jump off the roof of his computer generated office building. Luckily he did not do so. :) It was so cool to see them make music with the weirdest things. It was highly entertaining. I would recommend the show to anyone. Tracy Bohnam was traveling with the Blue Man Group and MAN does she have a good voice. She also plays the violin well. I was impressed with her, especially since I had never heard of her before the show! So next time the Blue Man Group is in town, you should all go!

On an exciting side note, I don't have to go to class until after 12 today. U of H is closed because of the rain. Yea for no tax!!! :) I have an interview downtown at 11, so it is nice not to have to go straight from class to my interview. Wish me luck on my interview and on getting there. My check engine light came on in my car yesterday... I am going to go have it checked out tomorrow... But I need it to get me to my interview first!!! :)

Shrimp = Death

Alright, so most of you know I am allergic to shrimp. And when people I ask, I normally say I am "deathly allergic"... I tend to be dramatic and such... Well Friday I had an allergy appointment to figure out how allergic I really am and it turns out I probably am "deathly allergic."

I went to an allergy doctor for the first time and told her my symptoms when I am near shrimp and she freaked out on me. She spent 10 minutes telling me how I can never eat shrimp or "I will surely die." She prescribed me 2 epi-pens and told me to keep them with me at all times!!! I also have to keep benadryl with me continually. (All of this is before she has the results of my actual allergy test.)

Then, she sent me to this clinic where they drew 6 viles of blood from my arm to do the actual allergy testing! It didn't feel good. But in a month I will have my allergy results and I will be able to tell you if my Dr. was being over dramatic or if I will "surely die" if I ever eat shrimp. Fun Stuff...

Happy Birthday Mom

Well, today is my mother's birthday and I wanted to take a few minutes to tell her that I love her... So if you are not my mother, you can skip this post, but you are more than welcome to read why I love my mom. :)

Top 5 (So as not to take all day... :) )
5. She is not pushy and lets me make my own decisions/mistakes... but she is there to pick up the pieces if it is needed. :)
4. She is a good friend. To me and to others...
3. She is a great hostess. She makes everyone feel welcomed and loved in our home. She also makes wonderful food all the time for anyone who enters our house... So come over anytime and get some good food!
2. She gave birth to me... without her, I would not be here. So thanks for that.
1. She is my definition of selfless love and I hope to love as sacrificially as she does. My brother and I are extremely blessed. :)

Happy Birthday Mom!