A productive weekend

You can tell it's almost Spring when there are plenty of baby showers to go to. Heather and I spent the weekend making gifts for all the cute little babies our friends and family members will be having soon. Our new favorite thing to make were these cute baby slings, but as you can see, I also had to do a blanket. I think my favorite thing about the slings is that they are more like an accessory for the mom, so you can use more adult fabric. We also put a handy pocket on the front of them and a little ring for a toy or keys. It's too bad I probably won't be able have another sewing day for a while, but it was a nice break from all the errands I usually run on the weekends. Garrett also enjoyed my sewing day because he spent it playing with his Playstation and taking a wonderful nap. There is just something so exciting about choosing fabric. You get inspired by every pattern you see, and then sometimes you get so excited that you buy more than you need or could ever get around to using. I'm trying to avoid building up the huge fabric collection that my mother and grandmother have, but some pieces are just so tempting. Anyway, Fred and I had a great time and got our projects done...for now, at least.

Super Tuesday!

With Super Bowl Sunday and Super Tuesday coming up, next week ought to be pretty...well, super. As I've been thinking about the upcoming presidential election, I am so excited to find out who the final candidates will be. We all have our ideas and our hopes, but most of all I hope that the mudslinging and unpleasantness of most presidential campaigns will be kept to a minimum this year. In watching some of the debates, I've grown tired of listening to who is more Christian than who, who is a better leader than who, and who flipflops less than who. That is why I love the saying "Vote smart" because our duty as citizens is not just to vote. It is our duty to be informed, no matter what position we may take. While I don't expect everyone in the country to agree on everything (it would probably be difficult to find even two people who agree on EVERYTHING...that's why marriage isn't always a cake walk.), I feel much better about our country's future when people take the time to "vote smart." So everyone, get ready for a super week!

P.S. I hope the Super Bowl has good commercials this year! I'll admit it, that's the only reason I watch it. ;)

Sauerkraut!

Last Monday I finally followed my Grandma Welch's perfect suggestion for my sad can of sauerkraut. I kept meaning to use it, but I never quite found the right time. Grandma's suggestion to bake it with some yummy pork was a great idea. Garrett had never had sauerkraut before, so he approached the sauerkraut with some trepidation. After all, it tastes really good, but it made our apartment smell very, very bad. Hooray! He liked it, and so did I. Plus we made enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day. Actually, my fellow law students were not too thrilled about the smell of my yummy pork and sauerkraut filling the kitchen when I heated it up. I'm just so thrilled that I got to use it. Thanks, Grandma!

Speaking of grandmas, I had an especially fun weekend with my Grandma Wilson. She has just moved into a really cute apartment that's closer to us. My mom, sister, Garrett and I went out to lunch with Grandma on Saturday, and it was just so great to see her, especially in her own perfect apartment. I think Lanna will want to visit Grandma every day in the summer just to swim in the swimming pool! Also, just so everyone knows, my aunt Linda is doing well. She has been working hard in physical therapy, she can move her leg, and she is already speaking so much more clearly. She was pretty happy when we brought her some Robintino's for lunch on Saturday. First sauerkraut, then Robintino's...this post is starting to make me hungry! Now I'm going to try my next food experiment. Eggplant parmesan. Yum!

Countdown...

A new semester has begun, and so has the countdown to finals. I am looking forward anxiously to the arrival of summer, but Garrett and I are most excited for Garrett's graduation. Until then, we continue to muddle along without seeing each other during the week.

Last night Garrett was up late working on his Spanish homework. One of the questions was "What do you do to save the planet?" Garrett's answer: "I can't use plastic bags anymore because my wife says so and she wants to save the world." I thought that was pretty funny. Garrett and I are making the switch from plastic grocery bags to reusable ones because of an email I received about plastic bags. Mostly I just hate seeing them everywhere, stuck in the branches of trees, sunk in a stream and floating through the air. So while we don't make New Year's Resolutions (they're just asking to be broken), we've decided to do what we can to reduce some of this gross waste.

If anyone is interested in some plastic bag facts, www.reusablebags.com is a great resource. The website also has a wide selection of reusable bags you can purchase to cut down on plastic bags. Here are some cute ones:

Tag!

First of all, just so everyone knows, my grades were fine. And yes Mom, I was stupid for being so stressed out. Now on to more fun things...

Six Things Garrett and I like to do together (that maybe you don't know about):

1. Apparently I am a movie fanatic in training. Garrett loves to show me movies that I haven't seen before, and I make him watch movies even though Ebert and Roeper may not have given them a thumbs-up. Our favorites are probably not movies that most of you are familiar with, but if you'd like to have a fun night reading french subtitles, we recommend "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" with Audrey Tautou. It is hilarious as long as you watch the movie ALL THE WAY THROUGH. If you stop half way, you'll have no idea why it is so funny.

2. Garrett and I also love going to plays. In fact, even though one of our favorite plays has just come out as a movie ("Sweeney Todd"), we love watching the stage version with Angela Lansbury. So if you want to see the story minus the blood and plus Angela Lansbury's fabulous antics as Mrs. Lovett, rent the stage version. We don't always get to go to as many plays as we'd like (short on cash and time), but if you ever pass us on the freeway and we look like we're having a terrific fight, don't worry, we're just belting out the Aida soundtrack at the top of our lungs.

3. Speaking of things we do in cars, Garrett and I also love to listen to the "This American Life" podcast when we ride in the car together. Their stories are often so intriguing, funny, upsetting, and occasionally downright heartbreaking. Sometimes we will be so wrapped up in the story that we will sit in the parking lot for half an hour to hear the end.

4. This next one will sound kind of sad, but the things we have to do are always more enjoyable when we do them together. When Garrett and I both have homework, we love to study together. Often we'll be sitting side by side, and no one says a word unless one of us comes upon something particularly comment-worthy. Maybe we'll find something more exciting to replace this activity when we're done with school.

5. This one is pretty much a no-brainer, but we love to hang out with friends and family. This activity has become especially fun as so many of our friends and family have had children. It is so fun to get to hang out with everyone and to play with their cute kids too. We particularly love the opportunity to hang out with Garrett's friends who have moved out of state. Thanks for keeping in touch and taking time to spend with us while you're here!6. Most of all, we love just being together in our cute little apartment. With our schedules, we have to cherish the time we can spend together because often Garrett and I can go Monday-Friday without seeing each other (while we're awake anyway). School has been tough, but it has really made us appreciate one another.

All right, I know you usually have to name six people to tag, but then the tags come back around so fast. So instead, I'm going to tag Heather and Jim because I know they haven't done it. Then hopefully I won't be tagged again for a while. Have fun, guys!

On being happy...

Grades come out tomorrow. On-Campus Interview sign-ups are tomorrow. My resume has been rewritten at least half a dozen times this week, AND I've started a whole new semester of classes. This week I really feel the need to comment on how easy it is to lose sight of the simple happy things after only a few months of law school. Now, when a grade point average seems to control my future, I feel like I need to take the time to remind myself that I am the master of my fate. I am a happy person! Five, ten, fifteen years from now, the grades that I am so anxiously awaiting will not matter. I may not even remember them. I love whodunits, Law & Order, spending time with my mom and my sisters, Cafe Rio, shopping for great deals and watching old movies with Garrett.

I don't love listening to my property professor drone on and on and still manage to cover only a couple pages of the reading in an hour and 15 mins. Don't get me wrong, I like studying property law, and my professor is a really nice guy. But the lecture is painful. I don't love obsessing over job interviews, resumes and grades.

I love the challenge of law school. I hate the focus on grades and summer jobs and future salaries. I came to law school because I wanted to. I pray that I will be strong enough to take the classes that I will enjoy, the job that I like, and the time for a life outside the law rather than the classes that will look good, the job that pays the most, and the time to bill even more hours. I choose to be happy!

Now Garrett's coming home with a pizza, and it is time for some husband cuddling and old movie watching the night before my black Friday.

Back to School

Back to studying, back to the job search and back to no more free time. Isn't it strange that I kind of missed all this work during the break? But now that school has started again, I just want a couple more days off. Especially when we had such a fun break.


On January 1st, we celebrated the fish's first birthday. We brought them home last new year's day for good luck. They must've worked because last year went pretty well. I hope they'll bring us as much luck this year. Happy Birthday, Chester and Oscar!

Speaking of birthdays, we celebrated Garrett's brother, Jake's birthday yesterday with Garrett's family. We were talking about how old we all are, and Garrett thought it was hilarious that I couldn't remember how old he was. I figured it out, but it seems like the years just fly by, so sometimes it's hard for me to keep track. I take solace in the fact that when Garrett turns 30, I'll only be 26. Of course, if he tells me he's 29, I'll probably believe it for a while. I suppose time marches on, whether we're ready for it or not. Ready or not, here Garrett and I come into 2008. Bring it on!