2L

Today was the first day of my second year of law school! It felt insanely good not to be a confused 1L, which was quite possibly worse than my first day of college. Today was a breeze- a little reading, and little research, one class and lots of reunions with friends I haven't seen all summer. This year is going to be slammed, no doubt, since I'm taking 15 credit hours, working at the firm, doing Moot Court, and co-chairing fundraising for the International Law Society. Not to mention getting ready to add a baby girl to the mix come January! The difference between this year and last year is that these are all things I chose for myself. Granted, some of the classes I'm taking because I have to (or feel that I should), but still, it's a vast improvement over hours spent slaving over a 2 credit hour legal writing assignment! I'm very excited about my Public International Law class and the Pursuit of Happiness lecture series I'm taking. I get to meet the Dali Llama in October- how cool is that? Not to mention my law school girlfriends have already been making noises about throwing me a baby shower. I really do have the sweetest group of girls in my class who have become so dear and been so supportive. It means a lot to have such accomplished and driven women support me as I attempt to balance career and family. Their well-wishes have been a bright spot among the many people who think what I'm doing is impossible and that, in fact, I'm going to end up dropping out of school because I can't hack it. The best advice I've gotten so far (from my childhood bestie's little sister who just became a momma herself): prove all the naysayers wrong!

I am very excited to become a mom and ecstatic that I'm having a daughter, but the joy I feel about my little girl has not eclipsed my desire to pursue a career in law. Maybe I'm selfish, but I want it all, and I believe there is room for it all in my life! This year is going to be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun and most definitely an adventure. I'm going to try to be diligent about blogging throughout so my far away friends can enjoy the ride with me. So until next time...

Sweet Summer Time...

This may sound crazy, but I'm kind of ready for the summer to be over. I miss my law school friends, and I kind of miss the structure of classes. Remind me I said that in November when I'm 7 months pregnant, knee deep in studying for finals and want to kill myself. But for now, I am feeling ready to get back to it.

Meanwhile, I am rapidly compiling a list of things I would like to get done before school starts, including cleaning out my closet. This is actually one of my favorite past-times, because I love creating room for new purchases! Still little to no sign of a baby bump, which keeps me craving regular clothes, but I feel hesitant to shop lest I never fit in the clothes again. Friends who have already had babies- how do I lose ALL the baby weight? I like my clothes and want to wear them post baby!

Now, before signing off, I have to write about my new fave thing- Goody Spin Pins! I love these things! I have A LOT of hair, and years of doing classical ballet has caused me to amassed a large quantity of hair pins, which I chase around the house after my kitties steal them. But the spin pins? Two of them and I can make the cutest, easiest up-dos. Friends with thick, long, or curly hair- you MUST purchase these. Best $6 I've spent in a long time!

Bun in the Oven

So here's Bunny, coming in January. I thought I'd go ahead and blog about our little one, since I know there are scores of questions I'm going to get (because I've been asked the same ones basically ever since we told the very first person). Bunny is not entirely a surprise- Adam and I have been talking about a baby for awhile now, and I've been feeling the "mommy" vibe for the last few months for sure! He/she/it is due to arrive on January 23, 2011. No, I'm not showing yet, in fact, I've been so sick that I've lost 8 lbs. since getting pregnant, so keep praying for me to get fat and happy sooner rather than later! Oh, and I'm NOT dropping out or taking time off from law school except to give birth and recover. I'll have more time with Bunny now than I ever would as a first year associate, so we're confident that we can make law school and parenthood mesh. And we're very excited!

Warning, Extreme Laughter May Follow

I've been reflecting back on some of the fun moments of 1L (yes, there was some fun), and I recollected an early morning laugh fest with my good friend Rachel Gordon. One of her friends sent her the following link in early October and we managed to laugh so loud and so long that I nearly peed my pants. Profanity warning for the faint of heart (my mother reads my blog, so I have to say that). This is entirely out of season, but maybe you'll revisit it come fall and have a good laugh again: It's Decorative Gourd Season!

The Beasts

I LOVE summer. Granted, I wish I didn't have to work at all, but I LOVE not having to go to class, read for hours on end, and deal with a crazy schedule. I also love that my husband is a teacher, so he's around all summer long. It is so nice to come home from work and hit the pool with Adam or snuggle up on the couch with the animals. And speaking of the Clevenstine beasts, to the right is Zooey, our newest addition and my Christmas present from Adam. She is a ferocious beast who eats ANYTHING and bosses the other animals around. Below is our whole crew, which we are so grateful for. Lesson of the month? "Whatever you do," DO NOT put cheapo supermarket flea medicine for dogs of your cat. He WILL start having seizures and nearly die, and you WILL feel like a horrible human being! Luckily, after many baths and hours of forced snuggling, Mr. Nemo is just fine. I knew he was fine when he spent three hours trying to get the hair on the back of his head to lay down flat. (It was sticking up funny after his bath). When your cat's diva tendencies come back, his health is no longer a concern.

Foxy, Nemo, and Zooey dominate our couch... so much for our new furniture staying animal free and beautiful!

It's Been Awhile

Well, I finally figured out how to get my blog to stop showing up as a pile of html code. I am NOT technologically savvy, so this took waaaaay too many tries, but now I'm back. In recent news, we had a fabulous trip to Italy. The amazingly talented Jess Cornett took some beautiful photographs- check them out HERE.

Isn't my best friend the most beautiful bride? Seriously, I have been to a lot of weddings in the last few years- in fact, the year we got married Adam was in 6 weddings! And every bride has been stunning, but I'm going to have to give Em the gold. Maybe it was the simple lace sheath, maybe it was the Tuscan sunset, maybe it was the fact that everything in Lucca has a golden glow, but she was radiant. And Nick didn't look half bad either! No seriously, it was like watching movie stars get married. Not to mention our whole trip was unbelievably fun. "Whatever you do," take amazing vacations with amazing people. You'll never regret it!

In other news, one of my other best friends (yes, I am 25 and allowed to have more than one best friend) is heading to Haiti. Please send out good thoughts and prayers for Melody Rogers over the next 3 weeks. She is being incredibly brave and heading to Haiti to help with relief efforts. It is hot, rainy, and there are still rubble and bodies everywhere. NOT an easy trip, but a tremendously important one that anyone who knows her should support in prayer! Melody is not exactly an outdoorsy type (we bond over this mutual love of the indoors and general laziness), but what she IS is compassionate. Mel has a heart for the hurting that I've rarely seen, and I have so much respect for her willingness to be uncomfortable in order to help where it is really needed. So many "mission trips" are simply manufactured, cushy experiences intended to benefit the people on them and not really serving anyone at any great depth. Not so, in this case. I truly believe that Mel and her travel companions can have a great impact in the lives of people with very broken lives.

Now that I've blogged about 2 of my friends, I guess I should blog something about what I've been up to. I have been spending my summer interning at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, a large law firm in midtown Atlanta. As a rising 2L, there's not much I know how to do, but I'm learning a lot. I will say, however, that I really just want to take the summer off! Law school year 1 has left me utterly exhausted and wanting only to float around my pool on a raft all day. If only... what I am going to do is go take a nap right now. Yes, at 4:00 in the afternoon. Next blog post: how I almost killed my cat.

So... I finally finished finals! Praise the lord- I am done with 1L. And I got a summer job, which is another prayer answered for sure. Now I get one blissful week off to RELAX. I fully plan to spend at least half of it laying by my pool. In just a few weeks Adam and I leave for Italy, which will be during our 3 year anniversary. Thinking about that got me thinking about our honeymoon in Costa Rica and I found this funny video from our trip- I am such a scaredy cat!

More pictures from 1L year to follow!