Blog Makeover!

I've decided to give my blog a bit of a change. I'm going to try to add something daily. I need something to do while at home and I think this will help with some other goals I have besides my boredom while at home. Granted I should be studying for the MPRE but whatever. So here is the plan. (Oh and don't make fun of my attempt to be creative. Some of us are not as witty and creative as others.)
Monday Musing-
This will be my weekly update/thoughts. I like to think I have interesting musing. So here we go.
Tuesday Quotes-
I have decided that I really like random quotes from people! So I'll be adding the weekly quote list on Tuesday's. Feel free to add some if you'd like.
Wednesday Workouts-
I need to be more accountable when it comes to working out. So I'm going to add my list of workouts and things I've done to increase my activity...like parking away from the store or taking the stairs over elevator.
Thursday.....uh no Thursday things...
Foodie Fridays-
I also need to be accountable when it comes to eating healthier. I'm going to include on healthy recipe every Friday and what I have done to eat more goodies like veggies and fruit!

So that is the plan. I don't know how well I do once school starts again. But we shall see.

Woot Woot! A little over 4 months left!

No I'm not pregnant. Sorry that just sounded like I was counting down to my delivery date. What I am counting down to is my last day of law school! EVER! Not only law school but school period! I am so stoked. I am tired of school. I'm ready to get a job again! If that means flipping burgers I'll do it just so I can have an income. Ok no not really I haven't gone to school for almost 2 1/2 years to work at a fast food place. Although I do have to pay those school loans back some how. *shudder* school loans. But I plan on working to get them paid off pretty quickly. And for those of you who think my loans are unnecessary yeah you try going to law school with no loans. If you do it I would be incredibly shocked. Its just not possible. Anyway moving on. So I've been down in West Valley for a little over a week and its been good to be back with the family and friends. But at the same time I miss Moscow and my little life up there. Although that varies, sometimes I don't want to go back and I just want to stay and hang with family and friends. Its all very conflicting. Janelle did bring over a great incentive to want to stay tonight. Mmmm....cake balls. I'd attempt to make them but I'm sucky at cake so you'll have to ask her for some. They are cake formed into balls...hence the name...and covered in white chocolate. Mmmhmm. That doesn't really help with my trying to be healthy thing but I only had one so its all good. And they were gluten free and you couldn't even tell. Really though I like her gluten free cake. Its not bad at all. Anyway, this is not a blog on Janelle. Although I'm sure you would love that.

So my other little thing I wanted to address are the great little comments I've received since I've been back to visit. I am saying your names because it just adds so much to it. Just because I quote you doesn't mean the quotes were bad, just amusing to me.
Topic: Marriage
My dad: "You don't need love to get married...they used to have arranged marriages you know."
Janelle Ertmann: "You should get married so then we know which Sis. McKenzie people are talking about. But only for that reason."
Josh Ertmann: "What's your problem? Too picky?" "Just realize that all guys are really flawed."
Random lady at church: "You are getting older aren't you? When are you getting married?"
Sue Turley: (this one was when she invited me to a YSA activity) "There are lots of old people there!"
Becky McKenzie: "See but if they (future husband) does something stupid before you are married you can tease them about it your whole married life! Then you get your revenge."

Topic: My schooling
Louise Webb: "Don't get a big head on you though." "I'm serious don't go thinking you are better than us!"
Norma Fisher: "Immigration law right? Helping those illegals I assume."
Another random lady at church: "Well then aren't you ambitious." (I'm not sure in what way she meant to say this...as a good thing or sarcastic.)

I like this quote thing! So here are some favorite random quotes from people.
Lara Hartman: "She has the freak flag but doesn't fly it."
Trista Robison: "We can find two lesbians in Genessee but not the Kendrick pool!"
Someone from the legal clinic: "Are we a clinic for the nutty? We should put that on our letterhead."
Carri Shore: "Someone just asked me when I was due...I'm going on a diet right now!" (She had a baby in May)
More to come I am sure! Well that's it for me. Peace and love all!

What a better way to celebrate the 4th then with the farmers market, heat exhaustion and fireworks in Pullman

Happy 4th everyone. I was way ambitious last night saying I was going to celebrate the 4th by getting up early and going fir a 5k run before the farmers market. Uh right...but I did get up and bike to the farmers market. Love it! I bought squash, rainer cherries, green beans, a strawberry smoothie and a bagel. It was grand. I biked home and decided I still needed to do my run. So its 11:45 and I take off for my 5k. I ran 2.5k without stopping, except for once because there is one house that I run past that has their dogs outside. So I made it half way through my 5k without stopping, but the way back was so hot! I ended up having to do 3 min runs and 20 second walks. But I did it dang it! After I went on to my back porch and dumped water on my head. It was probably a good thing because my head was really hot. It felt good. As dumb as this sounds I am glad I did a run because I wanted to do something on the 4th that made it seem like an accomplishment for the day. Yeah that sounds dumb but it works. Like last thanksgiving I got up at 6:00 and went for a 4 mile run. Just because it was Thanksgiving. So kind of the same thinking. Bad thing is though is that my ACL knee is really sore today. It hasn't been sore since right after my surgery. So I'm a little concerned. I'm going to ice it and see about getting a knee brace. My dad suggested I stop running. Yeah that's not going to happen. As much as I hate it I also love it too much to not run. But we'll figure it out.
After the run I made turkey burgers, orzo pasta, and a cherry pie for dinner. It was good. I had big plans to finish my upper level paper....which I got some done on yesterday...and study for my two finals. I got started around 9 and then I got a call from my friend Tana about going to the firework show in Pullman. So we headed out and made it at the perfect time. The band had just finished up and the firework show was going to get started. There were a ton of people there! I was quite surprised. So a few observations about the fireworks. 1. why do they use country songs? Granted I will admit they tend to be the patriotic ones. I can't really see Green Day or REM doing any patriotic songs. 2. I really like firework shows. Its been a long time since I'd seen one. 3. Ok here is the cheesyness. If you don't want to read it skip to number 4. So I had the opportunity to work on an asylum case with a guy from Zimbabwe. The basis of his claim is based on political opinion. So meaning things he says while here in America about Zimbabwe he could get imprisoned, tortured or killed for. So I was watching the fireworks really greatful for those rights we have. 4. The fireworks really close so my first thought was, "if someone gets burned by them then the firework company is liable because fireworks is a strict liability tort." But then I tried to figure out the rest of the time if you could also sue the city. Lame yes. Anyway! That was my fabulous 4th. I have 5 months and counting until I'm done with law school. Wahoo!!

Its been awhile!

The Palouse!!

I can't believe I haven't written since March. I'm a slacker. But there really isn't much to tell. I finished up my hellish spring semester. I didn't get the grades I wanted but at least I passed! :) My GPA did take a hit but oh well. As long as I get the diploma that's all that matters. I plan on going solo straight out so I really don't care what my grades are. Going solo is going to be scary but we'll see what happens. I did learn yesterday that on of the top immigration attorneys in Montana charges $300 and hour! $300! That is insane! I was feeling bad about charging $100 an hour. Pfft $100 is nothing. I'm still going to stick to that but I won't feel bad about it. I will have free first consultation to determine if I want to take the case or not then I'll start charging. Sorry but I've got to eat. If I could do it all free I would. But I can't. I'm currently in summer school and I want to poke my eyeballs out just so I can get some sleep. Its my fault though. I need to save the late nights for the weekend. I have two classes, legal clinic, and writing my upper level division paper. Classes are ok. Just a lot of reading which is fine. I'm used to that. My paper is not happening. Its like I'm putting off my thesis for a year. That was for you Lara. :) I plan on doing some work on it this weekend. We shall see. Clinic is slowly sucking the life out of me. I HAVE to get at least 5 hours a day in clinic to get my 180 hours in before the 18th of July. Really though I like it. I finally feel like I could do the whole law thing. I have 15 cases to handle. Other people in the clinic...yeah they have at most 6. I have 12 domestic violence or victim's rights cases and 3 immigration cases. The immigration cases I LOVE! The DV and VR cases are ok. But I'm mostly doing divorces and child custody things. Not too interested in that. My immigration cases are fascinating! I love it. I'm learning a ton about the whole process and my loathing for ICE is increasing.
Summer in Moscow is awesome! Its not too hot and the nights are awesome. From my house I get some pretty great sunsets. I sit on my back porch and do homework. Its great. I am going to the river this Saturday to do cliff jumping then we are coming back to my house for a BBQ. I'm excited. Should be great fun. Then once Lara gets back from Alaska we'll be heading up to Coeur D'Alene tp go play in the lake and hot tub. Wahoo! Things are good. I really like the Northwest. I could see myself settling here at some point in my life. I'm thinking more Seattle/Portland. I like the coast. I've been biking to class almost everyday for the last two weeks. I love it! Granted its been making me late so I need to do better at leaving earlier. But I'm working on it. There are some days where my only time to workout are my rides to and from school. Also my friend Trista and I are working out at nights too and she is having me do strength training and she is kicking my butt but I need it and its worth it! I'm supposed to go home at the end of July and stay until almost the end of August but I am thinking I might head back to Moscow a week early to play some more. We'll see.
Well I think that's all I have to say for now. But Here are some lovely photos and Lara the last moose one is just for you!
I went biking with the nephew up by Snowbird while I was home for a week in between classes and that dang mountain kicked my butt! That is now my enemy and I am determined to bike that thing!

This is a wee moose I saw on my way back from Elk River. Sorry its not a better picture. He's a little shy.

Washington DC, Sickness and a Dead Car Battery

For spring break I went to Washington DC. My sister moved there because her husband is working for the State Department as a Foreign Services Officer. They are headed to Mexico in June. They are going to Nuevo Laredo. That would be a border town. That could be exciting but I'm sure things will be fine. So I got to DC on Saturday the 14th. I went to church with them on Sunday and slept off the jetlag the rest of the day. Monday we went to the Air and Space Museum at Dulles International Airport. It was cool. I'm a total nerd for the helicopters. It was cool. That night Becky took me down to the Jefferson Memorial to take some night photos of momuments. But it was raining a lot so they didn't turn out so well. Tuesday I went off on my own. I rode the metro to the Mall and walked fromt he Smithsonian up to the Supreme Court behind the Capitol. On my way to the Supreme Court I got to see Pres. Obama coming out of the Capitol. My pics aren't that great with that because I was far away. But it was cool. Even if you don't like Obama its still cool to see your Pres. I spent most of my time at the Supreme Court that day. I'm a total law student. The security guard laughed at me because I was all giddy about the Justice Marshall exhibit. I then walked down to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. It was cool. Then went to the American History Museum and only spent a little time there because they were closing. I then went to the National Archives and saw the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights. On Wednesday I went with Becky and the kids to go check out the monuments. We started at the Jefferson Memorial and walked the circle to the FDR, Korea, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam, WWII, and Washington Monument. It was fun and finally sunny for once. Thursday I went on my own again to the Library of Congress, really cool building and the Supreme Court again...mostly to get things for the law student friends. Then I went to Arlington Cemetary. I saw the changing of the guard. That is really cool! I also saw JFK's memorial. Friday my sister and the kids and I went to the National Zoo...really nice zoo and its free! I saw the baby gorilla. It's so cute! Then that night I met up with Steve Schaefermeyer and his roommate Loren for dinner. They both are going to law school next fall and are checking out schools. So I don't remember Steve being as tall or as big as he is. I came to maybe Steve's soulder. It was weird and Loren is tall too. So I was walking between two really tall guys and I felt really short. Saturday we went to Fort McHenry in Baltimore. That is where Francis Scott Key was when he wrote the Star Spangled Banner durig the War of 1812. Then I flew home. Wahoo.







So the sickness came from the DC metro. I got sick on Thursday and its just gotten worse. It's Sunday and I currently have no voice. I have a cough and sore throat. The reason why it annoys me is because I've been wanting to get sick all semester so I could miss class. But no it happens over Spring Break. But I don't think I'm going to class tomorrow anyway.
I came home on Saturday and got in my car to go buy medicine for my cold and my car battery was complety dead. So I called my friend back who picked me up and we tried to be manly girls and jump my car on our own. It was in pouring rain too. However, that was not going to work. We tried we really did. We thought we were cool because we actually had jumper cables! But I couldn't remeber how to do it. So I ended up calling my friend Scott to come help us out. I was really appreciative. I now need to repay him some how. But now my car is fixed and we are all happy. I'm glad to be home. I really enjoyed my trip and spending time with my sister and her family. But there is just something about your own bed when you are sick that makes things better. Well that's it. I'm out!

"Mr. Chief Justice"

Chief Justice John G. Roberts was at the Bellwood Lecture today. He is really cool. Really articulate and humble. In the morning we had a breakfast and then a Q & A with the Chief Justice. It was cool except on the panel we had a jerkface from Washington State University. The Q&A was essentially for the law students to ask questions. But they had the panel there to ask a few questions and then leave it open for us. Well this guy took 45 minutes! So we only had 20 minutes to ask questions. But CJ Roberts was really cool because he said that he would stay longer and answer more questions. But they had to end it. Then we had the main lecture that afternoon. The Chief Justice talked about Lincoln and how he was a great attorney and man. It was good. Then he opened the floor for questions and this crazy lady wanted to know why the Supreme Court wouldn't listen to her case about allowing Obama to become president when he isn't a US citizen and she was going off. So the Chief Justice interuppted her said that she could leave her papers with the security and he would look them over and that due to his position he could not discuss cases and ended it. Smooth! That is how you do it! We also were told a story about him. On Monday the Supreme Court held a dinner for the new senators. The dinner started at 6:30 and the Chief Justice was an hour and a half late. Because his son had a pinewood derby at the same time. So he went to that instead. How cool is that?! Anyway it was really great and I enjoyed it and CJ Roberts is my new favorite justice. It was Rehinquist but not as much. CJ Roberts gave a quote from him about balance in your life. It was "if you want to be with your kids when they are little, you need to be with them when they are little." Pretty cool. I know I'm a nerd.

Ages

So its been ages since I wrote here and since I'm being a slacker in the school regard I thought I'd update the blog. Its finally Spring in the Palouse. (That's the name of the area around here) I'm really excited because after months of no sun it finally showed up today and I love it. I unfortunately did not get up to go for a run this morning and it is a perfect day to do it too. But I will go tonight. I am having the sister missionaries over for dinner tonight and I made low fat enchiladas. I don't know if they will turn out but I'm going to see what happens. So on Monday I went for a lovely run outside and I was really excited because it was a long run and I thought that I had cut down on my running time. So I get home check my Nike+ and guess what?! It didn't detect anything! I was so annoyed. I think I need a new sensor or new shoes. Well for sure I need new shoes but I spent the money I had set aside for it on an aerogarden. I'm an idiot. I bid for the aerogarden on ebay and actually won it. Its an indoor garden thing and I plan on growing herbs. Not the illegal kind. That's for the closet. But I was really excited about it until I realized I didn't have the money for it and I should have used that money for new running shoes. Like I said I'm an idiot.
Speaking of idiots Chief Justice John Roberts is coming to the law school to speak on the 13th. Really I don't think he's an idiot I just needed a segway. But I'm really excited he is coming and look forward to hearing what he has to say. For those of you that don't know CJ Roberts is the chief justice of the US Supreme Court. He's the one that messed up the oath for Obama. I was totally law nerding out and doing all sorts of google searches on him. It should be good. Then that morning I am flying to Washington DC for spring break. I'm totally stoked for that one! Besides the fact that I have to get up at 4:00am to drive to Spokane.
Ok one last thing. So I was a participant in a skit at a talent show last Friday. I played my Bishop's wife. Well in this we teased her about a little date club she and the Bishop have. They invite people over on Friday and they have dinner and play games. Well after this skit she's been threatening me that I might have to go do it sometime. I'm concerned.

Update: It snowed yesterday....and its freezing today. So much for Spring. Stupid snow.