Hello Again...

I admit that Mr. Blog and I are in a bit of a tiff.  Spending time with him just doesn't excite me the way that it used to.  I am hoping I can be wooed back into a healthy relationship with time...  We will see.

I reestablished contact because a quote has been replaying in my head since the Watermark Justice Lunch yesterday.  Dr. Kasali from Beni, Congo was speaking about the church in his country, but I fear the quote is equally applicable to the church in America:

"We are heavenly bound but earthly irrelevant."

In truth, God has been stirring my heart quite a bit lately.  I am confident that I received my law degree for a purpose.  Over the past two years I have been on a quest to determine what that purpose is.  I am not sure how much progress has been made.  I have discovered that I become enraged and immensely saddened when I hear about blatant injustice.  I want injustice to be eradicated.  I know that won't happen this side of heaven, but I would sure like to do my part to stop it.  I don't know what that means practically for my life going forward... but I know one thing, I have no desire to be heavenly bound but earthly irrelevant.

Roommate Reunion in Charm City

This weekend I went to Baltimore to catch up with my College roommates.  We only get together once a year (if we are lucky), but when we hang out, it is like no time has passed at all.  Some of my fondest memories include these women.  I cannot begin to express how blessed I am to know each of them.  All three of them have had a profound impact on my life.  I love you girls so very much!  

We spent our time in Baltimore relaxing, sightseeing, and eating phenomenal food.   We also spent a day in Washington DC.  We saw so much but did not even begin to scratch the surface.  I love history. 

My fondest memories of the trip are of :

Tess parallel parking 150,000 times.  Mad props, Tess. Mad props. 
Driving between DC and Baltimore in search of a restaurant and finally finding a TGI Fridays… aka Prom Central.
Erin’s boppy pillow that consequently required a ginormous suitcase (really not that big at all, just comical that it would not fit in Tess’s trunk).  
The creepy clowns in the window.
Chrysanthemum gelato… Okay, really Cardamom gelato.
Catching up with Tess on the pier.
Being a Shark and knowing we could take the Jets in a snap off.  Kim… We totally would have had them. 
Relaxing at Federal Hill.
Ms. Shirley's.
Tess’s backyard.
Traveling with Erin...  I love the way her mind works.
Chatting on the tour-boat with Kim and accidentally missing all of the historic significance.  Good thing Erin and Tess were listening.
The singing candy-makers. So strange. 

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27 Things Before I Turned 27

In my tradition of blogging noteworthy events from the last year on my birthday, I give you my 27 things. Though before I begin, I need to level with you, the year before last was a big year. I graduated, moved, took the bar, became an attorney, went to Hawaii, and got my first job. BIG year indeed. Even though this year was not as BIG of a year, it was wonderful in its own way. So without further adieu (and without comparing it to the year before), my list:

1. Became a full time employee at a job I love (most of the time)
2. Brought home Tatum, my rambunctious puppy (who kind of resembles a horse)
3. Survived a week in Vegas with my family
4. Bought a new car
5. Attended numerous hearings as an attorney and did not make a fool of myself
6. Said “I Object” and actually knew what I was talking about
7. Took a road trip from Dallas to Baltimore to move one of my best friends Tess to her new home
8. Got a smart phone
9. Graduated from Equipped Disciple 1
10. Moved into a fantastic house with one of my best friends Sarah
11. Survived the swine flu
12. Walked a half-marathon
13. Learned the importance of hiding scripture in my heart
14. Woke up at 5:00am willingly (and multiple times) for possibly the first time ever
15. Walked through life with 11 wonderful 7th grade girls and an encouraging co-leader
16. Was inducted into the Wednesday Lunch Club
17. Brought my very own clients to my law firm
18. Got in a finder-bender in my dad’s car with five of my 7th grade girls and managed not to curse
19. Joined a book club (sophisticated… I know)
20. Learned how to bottle beer
21. Learned to sew (sort of… I am half-way through helping a friend with my first dress… but I am counting it… it is my birthday after all)
22. Purchased health and car insurance for the first time (joy of adulthood)
23. Started a Roth IRA (again… I am officially an adult… don’t tell anyone, but it is overrated)
24. Learned to navigate the streets of downtown Dallas
25. Was given a driving tour of Washington DC
26. Got hooked on the TV show Chuck (seriously, where have I been for the last three years?! The show is great)
27. Experienced my very first snow day in Dallas

Introducing Joseph Finnegan…

My third second-cousin. 

I was in Houston this weekend for a wedding and got to meet Joseph for the first time.  He is so tinny tiny and adorable. He looks like Jacki’s brother Scott. So weird.

I can’t wait to watch you grow up Joe. You are loved so very much!

Motivation...

I am at the office by myself this afternoon and I am finding it hard on this glorious Friday to be productive here:

When I want to be here:

Hopefully Pandora and Starbucks will help.  Happy Friday!

Blank Canvas

I have a big announcement… Drum roll please… In two weeks I will be moving into my friend Sarah’s new house.  I am pretty darn excited.  Not only is she one of my best friends and favorite people in the world, her house is adorable and perfect for the two of us. 

Last weekend, I rebuilt my closet.  I put two rods on one side for shirts and one longer rod on the other side for hanging clothes.  It was fun to used my engineering degree for a change!  Well kind of… I did not take any pictures of the project, but I will try to remember to take a picture once I move in.  Closets always seem more impressive to me when stocked.

On Friday, my wonderful friends Vicky, Angie and Alex were nice enough to help me paint my room.  I picked a blue color that looked wonderful on the swatch but looked like a little boy’s nursery on the wall.  Unfortunately, nursery was not the look I was going for.  Thankfully I only bought a sample size.  Two trips to Home Depot later (and with much input from the girls), I decided on Behr “Harmonious.”  I am in love with Behr Paint & Primer in One.  If you are painting a room anytime soon, I highly recommend it.  It only took one coat and a few touch-ups to turn my room from this:


into this:
 
Sorry about the quality of the pictures.  I took them on my cell phone.  But you get the idea.  I love it! I can’t wait to get my furniture in and see the final product.

Houston Rodeo

On Saturday, I went to the rodeo with my brother, Mel and David.  I love the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.  We saw the Eli Young Band.  Apparently he is the Pat Green of the next generation.  Everyone around us was in college.  It made for entertaining people watching.

 

See you next year Rodeo… Until then, I will miss your calf scrambling and mutton busting. 

Houston Trip

I ventured to Houston this weekend to see the fam.  Jacki is due early next month, so I wanted to see her and the kids one last time before they become a family of five.  Jacob and Jessica are getting so big!  They both are so smart and fun to be around.  I am always amazed at how well Jacki parents.  I know it must not be easy, but her children are well behaved and know they are loved.  Jacki, you inspire me.  I hope to parent as well as you one day. Your children are truly blessed to call you mom. 

Overzealous

This weekend I walked my very first half-marathon.  You may remember me talking about signing up last year.  If you remember, I mentioned I would keep you all posted about my training progress.  I had dreams of my hyper puppy miraculously calming down as I took her for long runs weekly.  Sadly, my regimented training schedule turned into ONE one-mile run in December.  That is it.  And I didn’t even take my dog.  Sad but true. 

However, I did not let my inexperience or lack of training get me down.  I decided months ago that I would just walk the half-marathon.  People walk half-marathons all the time, right.  Surely I could do it.  I was a little self-conscious about what spectators would think of my walking, but luckily I convinced my friend Alex to walk with me.  And she made a great partner because she was equally under-prepared and up for the challenge. 

We showed up at City Hall at 7:30 (which my body thought was 6:30 thanks to the daylight savings time transition) ready to walk!  The weather was gorgeous.    

View from the Start

Ready to walk

Mockingbird station was the half-way point.  It also just-so-happened to be where Alex and I parked.  I am not going to lie, it took every ounce of strength and pride I had not to walk straight to my car and hit the road. 

Walking thirteen-point-one miles was not as easy as I had naively hoped.  My legs got TIRED.  But I managed to put one foot in front of the other enough times to finally make it to the finish.  Just three hours and twenty-five minutes after we started, we crossed the finish line!

That’s right! I am a half-marathoner… or whatever you call it… I could not have made it without my fantastic walking partner, Alex.  Thank you for walking with me friend! You are the best.  (Though I had since December to neglect my training, Alex just decided to walk with me last Friday.  I don’t know who is crazier…)

D-Town

Last weekend was my church’s version of Disciple Now (called D-Town).  I spent the weekend with 10 of my 7th grade girls and my co-leader.  The weekend consists of talks, break out sessions and lots of free time with the girls.  It is one of my favorite weekends of the entire year (and definitely the hardest weekend of the year).  This year the talks centered around Psalm 51 and the five dangerous prayers found within: Clean me, Teach me, Use me, Mold me, and Break me.  The staff did such a great job coordinating 400+ kids and 100+ leaders and each talk was fantastic.

I had so much fun girls!  I look forward to watching you grow in wisdom and maturity over the next 5 years! 

My full album can be found here and the Watermark students photos can be found here.