Holiday Time

Just another quick note. I begin finals in just one week, so this will be my report for now.

Because the holiday season is spent hunkered down in my cave until finals are over, my study group girls and I got in our jollies early. I invited everyone to my place for the Christmas Secret Santa Sleepover Spectacular! We ate (of course) and sipped on hot cocoa and just relaxed. It was a great time had by all.

One of my study buddies suggested a really fun gift exchange. You draw names for secret Santa, then buy a toy that reminds you of that person. After the exchange, the toy is donated to Toys for Tots, a charity that donates Christmas presents to less fortunate children. We had such a blast picking them out, and the joy will be passed on to a child who will really love the gift.

And, there was Crafty Time. We made these adorable ornaments. See the pictures above and enjoy. And remember to take time to enjoy the holidays. If you hear from me before December 23rd, it will be because I'm procrastinating on studying :)

Over and out,

Kelli

Simple pleasures

Yesterday, in the midst of a rather dreary meeting of Tax class, I saw a glimmer of hope. I noticed 2 red Starbucks cups a few rows down. Red Starbucks cups=holidays. And holiday drinks.
I practically skipped with my friend Marit to Starbucks as soon as Tax ended. As I burst through the door, I saw what I had hoped for: I shouted "Yay! Eggnog Lattes!!!!", while boisterously thrusting my hands in the air. I actually scared the barrista. I apologized, and she chuckled about my excitement. And then, I sipped my Eggnog Latte and the world was right again.
Just had to share what's making me happy these days.
all my love always,
Kelli

Halloweekend 2010

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To access these photos on my Shutterfly share site, the password is: kelliandandy

This is a quick overview of my Masquerade in the Catacombs that my friend and I threw together to celebrate my upcoming birthday. I've always had to compete with Halloween, and this year I decided to just embrace it!

Enjoy the photos!

Kelli

home?

I just got back from my visit to Colorado. Being in the arid, blissful, crisp cool weather was like wearing my favorite pair of jeans. I had forgotten what it was like to need to wear lotion. Or to have my hair air dry. Or to wake up not looking like Bride of Frankenstein (although that does give me an idea for Halloween that I had overlooked.)
I also got to spend some time with my favorite people. I had a truly fabulous time. So I wondered, did I leave home or come home when I landed at the Minneapolis airport? Well, for at least 16 more months, even if home is where the heart is, my life is here in the Twin Cities. To cope, I spent some more time in my garden and readied our lives here for the cold weather.

here's things in my life in snashots:

the centerpiece on my coffee table (cool tray compliments of my Aunt Barb as wedding gift)

This means it is finally cool enough for snuggling at the Riley house. Andy managed to get Marcelle to sprawl across his lap so that she could snuggle with her favorite pillows. Yep, we're those people.

I picked up a bunch of autumnal jar candles at Michaels wildly marked down, and then bedecked this one for a hostess gift for a friend that had us over for a fall-themed potluck. Cute, no?

Did I ever mention how outrageous our herbs were in the garden this summer? This is the final gleaning. Peppermint tea, anyone? Perhaps some herbs grown with love to spice up your Thanksgiving bird and stuffing?

So, we had some really cool weather + blight that took out most of the garden (thankfully, missing most of the herbs.) I saved what I could a few weeks ago. When I went out to pull up the herbs this morning, I found some surprises!

We didn't have great luck with the garlic, but I thought it looked cute in our kitchen warding off vampires :)

Well, that's an overview. I will be posting the pictures soon from our trip to Duluth soon (maybe even tomorrow!)

Oh, I did not make the negotiation team. I whooped up, though. The top four scores made the team. Guess, just guess, which place I scored? Fifth.

Another small victory. Okay, maybe not that small. I got a perfect score on a paper I submitted for my Professional Responsibility class. The course is focused on preparing us for ethical lawyering. I wrote the paper on a ethics rule that prohibits lawyers from giving financial assistance to their clients. I argued that there should be an exception (as there is in Florida and Louisiana) for attorneys who help their clients with "humanitarian aid" for necessities like food, medical care and shelter. My professor was impressed, I guess.

Lots of Love always,

Kelli

Where have the last 7 weeks gone!?

Ah! I hate this. I swore when I started a blog that I wouldn't write posts like "I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written!" Well, we're there. There's a pretty obvious reason, too. My second year of law school, as I now understand is common, has been insane! I'll do this post kind of like those 30-second recaps at the beginning of shows:
"Previously on KelliRR:"
-I applied for 23 jobs, interviewed with 3, and ended up with none. I'm getting over it.
-I started a weekly Christian worship at the Law School that has been going really well.
-I did my first couple of Law Journal assignments. Editing is very, very hard and time-consuming, but incredibly rewarding.
-I LOVE my Tax class! I know, crazy, right?
-Andy and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary in Duluth. I promise I'll put up pictures soon.
-I sat in on a merger meeting with my mentor and was fascinated by all the ways employment law can be applied, even in business mergers! More on this if I get time later this week.
-I tried out for the Mock Trial team, and I'm trying out for the Negotiation team tomorrow. Stay tuned for the results.
-Somewhere in here my friends at school staged an intervention to tell me I was overdoing it. They were right. I've reeled myself in a bit.
-I am going to Colorado in one week to enjoy my Fall Break with family and friends. Frankly, it's strange that my semester is half over.
-I have made some outrageously delicious food. I've been doing cooking therapy. I've been avoiding "cleaning therapy."
-I have eaten the best meal of my life at a new, chic, secret restaurant. It requires an entire blog post of me verbally drooling over the magic, so stay tuned on that, too.
That's pretty much it. Well, there's more, but this is the important stuff. More soon.

Love always,
Kelli

Words of Encouragement

Law school is back in swing, and I am spearheading a group that is offering opportunities for students to reflect on their lives, and how that fits into the world we live in. Specifically, what is God calling them to be? More on that later, but for now, here's what I've been up to this week:
Yesterday was the first day of Orientation for first-year students (I don't start classes until next week.) We hosted a panel of students who talked about how they integrate their faith into the practice of law. It was really interesting to have students of different faiths talk about their perspectives.
Today, we had a student who serves in the US Army come speak to students about the challenges of serving over-seas and how words of encouragement help. We prayed for our troops, our country, the families that are left behind and for peace. Then we took a few minutes to write letters to soldiers.
Then, there was the "bedazzling." Naturally, the crafty card-making was my idea. Everyone wrote letters, then the crafters among us took to decorating them. Here is a small sample:

Yes, all of those yellow ribbons were hand-painted by me. All 45 of them. Crazy, but worth it. For a full slideshow, you can visit my photo-share site: http://kellisfotos.shutterfly.com/

As always, the password is kelliandandy. Go to What's New to see the new album.

More still to come this week, so stay tuned.

Much love always,

Kelli

Last dregs of summer

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Password for viewing pictures and funnies

to see the pictures on my Shutterfly share site, the password is kelliandandy
And, a brief funny story:
Andy and I went to church this morning. At coffee after the service, I had carrot cake and Andy got some kind of dessert bar. I asked him what kind it was. He said,"I don't know. It kind of tasted like lemon. Or maybe pumpkin."
When I finally regained composure and assured him that lemon and pumpkin taste nothing alike, he said, "Well, maybe it was caramel." Sure, maybe.
More fun stories when I get a little more time.
Love,
Kelli

Last dregs of summer

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Minnesota Red Bull Flugtag 2010 Video

It's a bit long, and obviously amateur, but gives you a good idea of the event.

Enjoy!

Red Bull gives you wings

Well, it turns out Red Bull might give you wings, but that doesn't mean it can make you fly. I went to the Red Bull Flugtag in St. Paul. This silly event is, in sum, a bunch of crazy half-cocked people who come up with looney devices, with wings, then dress up, do a little dance, and push them off a 30-foot cliff into the Mississippi River.

My friend Sarah was Snoopy atop the dog house. Although often they do little more than hang on for dear life as the craft barrels toward the water, they call this brave soul the "pilot." She and her crew are aerospace engineers. Sadly, that seemed to help them little since the crosswind nearly blew their plane off the top of the house seconds before they were supposed to push it down the track towards the water. The announcer said in 14 years he had never seen a pilot look so terrified.

She survived the 3o-foot drop into the river, but managed to fly only about 30 feet away from the platform. Whew! It was hot, it was packed (over 90,000 people crammed in to watch these lunatics!) and it was fun. I posted a video that shows some of the 37 crafts, including Snoopy, going off the platform. One craft even won the world record. It's hard to see it in the video, but it's basically the only one that doesn't crash in the first 2 seconds. It flew 207 feet out into the river!

I would definately go again.

Visitors

I had the joy of hosting my friend Molly and her beau Patrick while they were in town last week. Now that I've plopped down half-way across the country, as you can imagine the only person who comes to visit me (for no other reason than to visit me) is my Mom. I thank the others of you who have worked me into return trips from more exciting places. Molly and Patrick were on a whirlwind trip across the Midwest, and the first thing they said when they walked in my door was "Ah! We knew you would have air conditioning." Probably one of the most pleasurable parts of their visit was being able to commiserate with other Coloradans. This last part of July, the humidity has truly darn-near killed me. It's disgusting.
Other pleasurable parts of their visit:
I geared up for the gastronomic tour I had planned for us by hitting the farmers market in Plymouth, which is a new addition around here this summer. It just started 3 weeks ago, and already I know I will go every week until they shut it down. It was marvelous! The variety is great, the people are lovely, and all the food is grown or produced (there are a couple bakeries, pickle, jam and granola makers and ranchers) within 50 miles of Plymouth. For those of you not in the know about green living, buying food locally not only supports local businesses but cuts down on the environmental impact your food choices have. For example, items shipped from far away (like the frozen shrimp I get at the grocery store-whoops!) require energy to be kept frozen and require fuel to be driven or flown to the destination, and all this contributes to a bigger carbon footprint. Essentially, even if you think Al Gore and his global warming threats are myth, it can't possibly hurt anything to reduce the cost and the CO2 impact of my food.
Did I mention the food from the farmer's market was marvelous? It was so great I went again yesterday. Can't wait until next Wednesday!
So, the gastronomic tour: We had a nicoise-style salad with hard boiled eggs, olives, anchovies, boiled potatoes, green beans, grilled red onions, purple and green bell peppers, and homemade Dijon vinaigrette. To accompany that, we had grilled kabobs with shrimp and smoked sausage and some fresh Onion Caraway Rye bread from a local bakery. Divine.
The next morning, Molly and I sat in our pajamas until noon, doing what friends do over good coffee. My family uses a term, visiting, that I think has lost it's meaning in my generation of tweeters, bloggers, texters and skypers. I "visited" with a friend for 3 hours with 2 pots of coffee, and it was just great. I can't even remember what we talked about, and it doesn't matter. I think a million gurus can write books and magazine articles about how to de-stress, how to find balance in your life, how to be successful. None of them would tell you to sit in your pajamas with a good friend drinking coffee all morning, "visiting," but that is the secret to a good life.

Let the recapping begin

Summer seems to go this way, or maybe it's law school, or maybe it's both. All these fantastic, idyllic and wonderful moments happen, I think "I will blog about this" and then weeks go by. Then I have to recap them in some cramped way so that my post isn't too long. Well, this time, I'm just going to write all the shorter, more concise blog posts I would have written if I had the time, at the time. So, you're inbox will be full with my updates today instead of over the course of 3 weeks. I'm sure you'll cope.

The Garden:

Oh! The masterpiece that my garden has become! I'd like to remind you of its humble beginnings:

And, now:

As my friend Molly put it, I now have tomato hedges. Our green beans and carrots recovered spectacularly from the rabbit invasion. I sprayed hot sauce on all our plants every night for about a month, and we put in a chicken wire fence that the rabbits can't chew through. The garden seems to have been left alone since. Sadly, most of our fellow gardeners didn't take action and many of their gardens were ravaged to the point of destruction.

We have enjoyed many of the fruits of our labor. 2 green bell peppers, 7 jalapenos, 28 grape tomatoes, 3 cucumbers, 32 green beans and lots of fresh herbs. I had my study buddies over for mojitos with mint from my garden, but that's another blog post...stay tuned!

It has proved to be an obsession. We had severe weather the other night. I saw bubbly clouds that almost always mean hail, and I dropped everything to run home and cover my garden! We got nasty wind and driving rain, but fortunately no hail. I think if it had been destroyed, tears would not have been unexpected at this point.

All in all, my garden has been very possibly the best part about living here. I am growing things bigger and better than I've ever been able to grow them anywhere else, much to my content.

back to school

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Summer Time...

and the livin' ain't easy. How do people live here? Insane winters, soggy, muggy summers. I can only guess they grow gills (and fur for those winter months) and do what I did:

I decided that our Minnesota household would just be better with an ice cream maker. And since it attaches to my KitchenAid mixer, it technically isn't a new appliance. (Andy seemed unconvinced, but doubtless will eat and enjoy homemade ice cream.) I had the opportunity to babysit an ice cream maker last year for my friend who was living abroad for the year. It was awesome. Until she came back. As the days had heated up these last few weeks, I decided that I deserved my very own. Hooray! I currently am freezing up Caramel Pecan ice cream as we speak. This wonderful device makes 2 quarts at a time, so that should definitely get us through tomorrow. Next up: Chocolate Chip Apricot Cherry. Stay tuned...

Other things are changing around here, too. Andy is going back to school in 10 days to finish his degree in Economics. This merited some school shopping, I thought, so we headed to the mall to find some fun new clothes, and of course, new shoes, so Andy can make friends at school. He's excited to be going back, and I'm very proud of him.

Also, the garden is recovering pretty handily from Rabbit Invasion 2010. Here are some pictures of day one, three weeks ago and yesterday. It's really taken off the last few days. I think we'll be enjoying our first peppers any day now. Also, to my great satisfaction, the spraying of hot sauce on both the plants and the fence seems to keep the critters away. Too bad for my neighbors. Their gardens have now fallen prey to rabbits and deer since mine is fiery hot!

I neglected to mention that I had the delight of hosting my parents and brother last weekend, as well as Andy's dad for a nice Father's Day brunch. To make you wish you were here, I'll share the menu: Sausage, Mushroom and Asparagus Fritatta; Lemony Smashed Potatoes; Apricot and Cherry Fruit salad; and Mimosas. It was really great to spend the time together as my family passed through on their return from Canada. I got to take them down to see my school, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Joe's Garage, a great open air restaurant where we had burgers and took in the evening. A fine day had by all.

All in all, things are good as long as I have my ice cream and my law books.

Lots of love,

Kelli

I got in!

Many of you may remember my whining about the grueling week I spent editing a 10-page article and writing my own 10-page paper after two weeks of finals! Well, I got a letter in the mail yesterday informing me that I was accepted to the Law Journal! I will be part of the editing staff for my last two years of law school. This is great news! Not to toot my own horn, but you know I will, this is quite prestigious and only 20 students are excepted each year (out of 174.) This will give me great experience and look fantastic on my resume. In a word, I'm thrilled.
In fact, I was so excited, I threw up. Ok, I actually think these things are unrelated. I had a yucky tummy all day yesterday, then the adrenaline sort of wore off from the excitement of getting the good news. I wanted to celebrate so badly, that I decided to be brave and have a few sips of champagne with Andy. I can't say that's what did me in, but about 10 minutes later, I got to revisit my lunch. There is nothing worse than having something worth celebrating and being sick! I'm feeling better today, so it's back to school. I would really rather stay in bed all day reading (isn't that what you are supposed to do when you are sick?) but I have an exam in a week, so I can't miss class. This is just further proof of the heroic, dare I say, insane lengths I will go to in law school. I figure if I'm vertical, I should at least go to class, even if I'm a bit of a zombie.
Had to share my latest ups and downs. Hope this finds you all well.
Lots of love,
Kelli

WANTED: Evil Garden-Munching Peter Cottontail

Culprit:

Sure, he looks cute, with his fluffy little white tail, and adorable pocket-size packaging, but this MONSTER assassinated a large portion of my garden! Oh yes, he actually eliminated the entire cilantro plant, even the roots! And he chewed every leaf off of all my bean plants. And nabbed the carrot tops. Fortunately, he left the cucumbers and other herbs alone. They seem to be thriving.

Prosecution Exhibits A & B:

I know what you are thinking, "There's nothing in the second picture." You are right. That darn rabbit wiped the cilantro off the face of the planet! The wascally wabbit chewed through our fence and reeked havoc. Astonishingly, he chose to go through our fence instead of go right into the 9 other completely unfenced gardens. Hmpf.
The only redeeming factor of this whole infiltration:

That, my dear friends, is part of a jalapeno pepper. Take that, darn rabbit! A nice little kick in the mouth, was it? Good.

Funny garden-related story about Andy: I bring home a jar of pickles the other day and say, "Hey, we can make our own pickles pretty soon!" Andy: "How would we do that?" Me: "Let me guess, you were one of those kids that didn't know that beef came from cows." (At this point, feel free to note that I am growing cucumbers in the garden. I was watching Andy think through each of the items in our garden trying to guess which one might be able to be turned into a pickle.) It was a pretty good belly laugh for me. Andy finally asked, "Do pickles come from cucumbers?" Yes, honey, yes. Oh, boy.

Life is good otherwise. Summer classes are going good. I am taking Negotiations and Criminal Procedure, both of which I'm really enjoying.

I'm getting a little bored only going to school part-time. The inner domestic diva has emerged again:

No, I wasn't expecting company. I just got really giddy with the new place mats and napkins I bought (because I was bored) and decided to set the full table, centerpiece, wine and all. Silly, I know. This is why I need either 1) a job or 2) a more useful hobby. Do note, though, that the place mats are gorgeous with my dishes! Andy wasn't impressed, but I know you are.

Lots of love,

Kelli

Summer 2010!!

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I survived +

So, for all of you wondering if I survived the first year of law school, I finally did! I'm getting my grades in day-by-day and am quite happy with the outcome. It was a LONG semester that I'm glad to have behind me. I finished the competition with a few hours to spare and will find out in mid-July if I've been accepted to the Law Journal. Once I hit send, which was alarmingly anti-climactic, I slept profoundly that night and managed to do very, very little until we left for our trip to Colorado on Wednesday.

Colorado was fantastic! I have lovingly nicknamed it the Reunion Tour. Andy spent the majority of the week in Denver and then New Mexico visiting his mom on what I called the Southern loop of the Reunion Tour! It was really wonderful to see my family and friends. For those of you I missed, maybe next time.

We even squeezed in a whirlwind trip to Nebraska and back over the weekend, where I was able to see my grandparents, catch my cousin Eli's baseball game, and my cousins Gretchen and Sophie's dance recital (so cute!) And with all that fun, I got ONE picture the entire week! That's life, I guess. The last night we were in Greeley, the whole Hamit clan had dinner and I served my now-famous tiramisu brownies. We had some friends come by, and stayed up late playing Wii bowling. Dad got a strike in the 3rd frame, and we felt pretty silly for making such a fuss trying to teach him how to play since he schooled us at it!

Andy and I had a heck of a time getting home because there was a bad thunderstorm in Colorado the day we left, so we got in bed at 3 am on Thursday, finally home again. We're back in the groove here now and so is Marcelle the cat.

For those of you who don't know, I am not a real big fan of nature, but I am a real big fan of gardening. Andy and I were pumped to discover that there are little garden plots at our apartment complex that we are allowed to plant this summer. We prepped it with good soil, and I planted some seeds for pole beans, cucumbers and carrots in our little garden plot before we left. With all the fuss getting back to MN yesterday, I had almost forgotten to check on the progress. Andy and I went out there with a flashlight at 10:30 last night to find 6-inch tall bean plants and a smattering of cukes, as well as a solid row of carrot tops! I was doing the girl-clap/ jumping combination. The enthusiasm carried into today, so we went to Ace to pick up rabbit fence (we have a critter-rich area) and some herbs, tomatoes, peppers and garlic (don't act like you're surprised I'm growing my own.) I posted pictures below (if you go the Shutterfly site, the password is: kelliandandy.) I'll be updating all summer so you can watch our garden grow!

I start my summer classes next Wednesday, and then summer just keeps on rolling!

Have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend!

Love always,

Kelli

I survived Part I

I say Part I because I finished final exams, and my first year of law school, yesterday afternoon! Whoo-hoo! Part II is that I will be competing for a coveted spot on our school's Law Journal until next Saturday (this is where the sad Doot-doot-do-doot buzzer from The Price is Right would play.) Yes, I'm done, but I'm not. I will be reading and editing a law review article and writing a 10-page paper. For fun. Well, maybe not fun, but for prestige, glory and honor. At least, if I win the competition I will have glory. In mid-July, I'll find out if I got in. If I don't get in, rest assured, I won't tell all of you. And if you ask if I made the cut, I'll proclaim that this week was a colossal waste of my time, and declare that I didn't really want it anyway, so there. That's just who I am. I am a bit of a sore loser. For now, keep your fingers crossed until next Saturday that I am, in fact, a legal writing rockstar.
As for the rest of my plans, I'll be taking summer classes in Criminal Procedure and Negotiations starting June 1st. I'll do a little traveling, visiting family, and hosting a few visitors. The next thing everyone asks is if I'll be working: I don't know. I have some hopes, but no promises. I want a legal job, but odds are not fantastic. I'll tell you this, I haven't exactly gotten to the point where I miss working for a paycheck. I'll leave it at that.
And now, some funny stories. Andy was telling me about a new variety of Folgers coffee (which is my Dad's brew of choice) that evidently is a Brazilian blend. I told Andy we might just have to buy some and try it. He said "It's not exactly a trial size. It's a commitment. You are going to Brazil." I'm still chuckling. Funny stuff.
More funny stuff: Andy was telling me that the other morning when he arose, he thought every light in the house was on because the light was so bright in our living room and kitchen. [for editorial purposes, I'll add that the living room window faces due East and we've lived here for 5 months.] Andy said "The sun was shining right through that window! I've never seen that before!" At this point, tears are streaming down my cheeks. Andy is, shall we say, not a morning person, so I have no doubt in my mind that he had never seen the sun rising through our living room window. What has now occurred to me is this: He recently moved all our plants to the southern end of our deck. I asked him, through laughter and tears, "Did you move those plants because you actually thought that the sun only shines on the South side of our deck? You know that the window, and the deck face East right?!" He simply nods yes, and I laughed for at least another 3 minutes just thinking how funny it is that the man studied aerospace engineering, yet hadn't seen the sun shine from the east, so just decided it didn't. Funny stuff.
As always, all my love,
Kelli

Pow! Take that Hunger!

I wanted to share what I purchased to Stamp Out Hunger to inspire you. I pretty much grabbed a double for every item I purchased for our groceries. I added a few canned items since I usually buy fresh veggies and meat. Also, I bought some brand-name items, like the Kraft Mac n' Cheese, and Jif Peanut Butter that had good prices. There are just some items that the store-brand aren't as good as the real thing. I looked for whole-grain, low-sodium and high-protein items to really get good nutritional value for the dollar. Don't forget to set your item(s) out Saturday morning for your postal carrier!

Stamp Out Hunger This Saturday, May 8th

As all of you know, I love food. The only thing I love more than food is making sure it goes to people who need it. I worked for Food Bank of the Rockies for three years doing my best to make sure that the local pantries, soup kitchens, sandwich lines and after-school snack programs got the food they needed to help their clients. People who get food from a food shelf or soup kitchen are your neighbors, the children on your child's soccer team, your co-workers, the person who made your lunch today. Hunger is everywhere. In fact 45% of those who receive food assistance are working adults, who have a harder and harder time making ends meet, and 40% are children. What most people don't know is that there is simply not enough food for these programs to supply as much as a family needs. What's more, many of the items you need most are seldom donated in large quantities, so food drives like Stamp Out Hunger bring in important staples like tuna, spaghetti, cereal and peanut butter.
Here's how you can help: go to your mailbox. Today, with my usual ads and bills, there was a grocery bag and a postcard for Stamp Out Hunger. Take time to think about what your family needs for one meal, one week or one month. People receiving food assistance are ordinary people like you and me. They eat Hamburger Helper. They pack lunches to take to school and work. They feed their children what you feed your children. Tonight I am going to the grocery store, and for every item I buy, I'll buy a duplicate one for donating to Stamp Out Hunger. I speak from my experience with all the wonderful programs in Colorado and in general, the items needed most are:
Canned meat and fish
Peanut butter
Healthy snacks***
Helper meals***
Canned soups
Spaghetti Sauce
Canned 100% Juice
Canned Fruits and Vegetables
Pasta or Rice***
Cereal or Oatmeal***
***for these, make sure you get them in boxes. The postal carriers will pick up literally TONS of food on their routes, and then they go into huge bins. Anything in "delicate" packaging gets torn and crushed by the heavy cans, and gets thrown away.
Please remember that only non-perishable items can be donated. Please DO NOT "clean out" your pantry. Expired items will be thrown away. Besides, if you don't want it, and wouldn't feed it to your family, probably no one else would either.
On Saturday Morning, place your items next to your mailbox and your carrier will collect them. This food goes to hungry people in your community within only a few days, and makes a world of difference. Please consider giving to Stamp Out Hunger this weekend.
Much Love always,
Kelli

Sping Break 2010

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Wise Old Abe

For my Property Course, we spend a lot of time discussing not only the legal implications of people's decisions concerning their land and stuff, but the interpersonal affects, as well. For example, we did a group exercise about a man who comes to your office (in two years when I'm a lawyer) and says that he wants to rewrite his will to give his house to his son Steve, but with a condition that Steve will lose the house if he allows his son onto the property because Steve's son is gay, and your client disapproves. Legally, there are some states that might allow a will with this type of condition. But what kind of relationship will your client now have with his son, or his grandson? Is it worth spending your living years with this kind of tension between you and your family members?
My favorite case we read that involves family feuds goes something like this:
Bob has a nice wooded estate, and gives half of it to his sister, Grace, and her husband, Ralph. He also gives them permission to use the in-road that crosses his part of the property in order to get to their part. Grace and Ralph build a lovely home on their part, and enjoy the property very much. In their older years, Grace and Ralph decide to sell the house and retire to Florida. Bob, also in his older years (subtext: crotchety and a bit batty,) refuses to let the real estate agent proceed on the road across his land to show the home to prospective buyers. He stands in the road, blocking the way, with a shotgun. Seriously.
Grace and Ralph want to sell the house so they can retire, Bob refuses to allow anyone to use the road, so Grace and Ralph sue and win, Bob appeals, Grace and Ralph win again, and mysteriously, the house is burned to the ground. Seriously.
Grace and Ralph get the insurance money once they convince the insurance company they didn't burn the house down, and I bet you can guess how often they invited Bob to Florida for Christmas dinner.
Abraham Lincoln imparted these words of wisdom: "Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser-in fees, expenses, and waste of time. As a peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough."
As future lawyers, we have our eye on the prize: $$$. But, Abe has it right. Your client will never get back that severed relationship. No number of dollars in fees for you and your client is worth having family, friends or neighbors who resent you for hauling them and their business into court to duke it out for 7 years.
I thought you might enjoy this little story.
Finals in 4 days, then I'll be headed West. Stay tuned!
Lots of love,
Kelli

Kelli and Laurie Re-do the Twin Cities

As many of you know, my Mom came to visit during my Fall Break last semester and we had a ball! Since we had so much fun, she came again to visit during my Spring Break. She arrived par avion on Thursday afternoon, and we whisked her away to my friend Robyn's for a international potluck to celebrate being done with our dreaded memos. Then Mom came with me to class Friday morning.

Then, the real fun began. We went to Ikea, which is my new favorite place on earth, and picked up a few things to turn my sad, sad guest room/office, into a chic New York retreat for study and slumber. for under $200, we went from flat to fabulous:

Before:

After:

You can see the full details in my album below (Spring Break 2010.) We had a really fun time making all this look fantastic, and then spent many a moment admiring our handy-work.

We also had a chance to make cards (see more handy-work below) and tour the sculpture garden. It is hard to say what was the most fun, but we really enjoyed the Macy's Flower Show. It was like being in Alice in Wonderland. If you are in the Twin Cities in the next couple weeks, I highly recommend it, and it's totally free!

Now I'm back to the grindstone, working on getting through the home stretch (only 2 full weeks of classes left!)

For those of you wondering, I'll be taking summer classes and, hopefully, finding gainful employment (paid, ideally) to keep me busy during the summer. Stay tuned...

All my love,

Kelli

Sping Break 2010

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Why sunshine is ruining my life

Here's the deal: Colorado is sunny, abnormally sunny, it turns out, and it spoiled me. I NEED sunshine. All the time. And if Colorado wasn't perfect in my eyes before, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Minnesota is cold, wet, and presently, flooding. But, on a few glorious days, it is sunny. Now why, why dear God, could those days NOT fall on days when I have nothing better to do?! I have papers to write, outlines to make, studying to do, and it is beautiful outside. Lame.
So, what do I do? Cave, of course. I invent reasons to just "run over to _____" for a minute for stuff I "need." Next thing you know, I have literally become transfixed by its glorious rays and can't---seem---to---go---back----in--side. Sunshine is ruining my life. Ok, maybe just my studies. And since Law School is my life, you can see how this is problematic.
So, to resist its evil powers, I hunkered down in the cave that is our student lounge where I can't even see sunshine. To my surprise, not one soul was around. No blaring March Madness on the TV. And it hit me: I could finally watch cable! Whatever I wanted. No annoying Sports Center!
I looked around to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. Yes, in fact, I was the only one around, and the TV would be all mine for 30 blissful minutes while I watched HGTV and ate my lunch. And, now, I am restored.
6 more days until Spring Break. Then, as you can imagine, it will snow or rain, or some other disastrous weather feature when I finally have time to enjoy the sunshine. Fortunately, there's always HGTV.

You know you're a Lutheran when...

Actually, I think today's post could be entitled "You know you're from the Mid-west when..." or "You know you're Scandinavian when..." I don't know exactly where the penchant for bribing people with food comes from, but I grew up understanding that coffee-cake, and potlucks and soup suppers were a Lutheran thing. I come from a long line of Lutheran women trained in the wiles of getting your way with food. I say "I baked this" and you do whatever I want. This method is borderline fail proof.
My study group made a pact that we would not put off studying until the fast, furious last weeks of the semester. We decided to start studying once a week to stay on top of the material, starting yesterday. I offered that we might be motivated to stay after a long day if we had snacks, and I offered to kick it off (of course.) I futzed, and agonized over my cookbooks Tuesday night to pick the right recipe so that I could use my mom's apple pie filling that she made for me, so that I could incorporate the perfect crumb topping (that recipe is also thanks to Mom,) and that was substantial enough, but not too heavy, and easy enough to serve without a lot of fuss. Oddly, the fuss on the front end was tremendous, but so worth it. My apple coffee cake was spectacular.
So, Wednesday afternoon drew near and a couple of the girls in my study group said they wanted to cancel because they had errands to run. I'm sure I looked like my head might pop off when I said "But I made coffee cake! COFFEE CAKE, people! We can't cancel!" They offered their excuses and finally I said, "Well, even if I have to study alone, I'll be in the study room, just me and my coffee cake." I could hear the guilt dripping on my voice, although I wasn't quite sure where it was coming from. I didn't even really want to study that much, and despite the fuss, I wasn't hurt that my hard work wasn't being acknowledged. But I really wanted them to all eat my coffee cake and tell me how great it was. I have never denied that this is usually my motivation for cooking for other people.
Miraculously, when I turned the corner with my decadent pan of crumbly, apply, spicy deliciousness, every one of my study mates was able to make the study group :) And, that's when you know you are a Lutheran.

Kelli, what can you tell us about Lent?

I'll preface this musing with the disclaimer that today's post is very spiritual in nature. If you're not interested in my thoughts on faith, God and Lent, I won't be at all offended if you don't read on.
Much love,
Kelli

As many of you know, Fat Tuesday was this past Tuesday, and that is always followed by 40 days of Fish Fillet commercials and people saying things like "I can't eat that because I gave up ____ for Lent." To kick off this stretch of time that is described variously as "the desert," that time before Easter, or just "that Catholic thing," millions around the globe attend an Ash Wednesday service, and I was among them. Because I attend a Catholic school, and evidently, Lent is a "Catholic thing" (I'll expand on this below,) there was an Ash Wednesday service right in the lobby of our school. Without going into depth about the significance of the imposition of ashes (though, if you're curious, feel free to contact me for a summary,) every one gets a reminder that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. That reminder is a black smudge of ashes in the form of a cross on your forehead.
That black cross is a bit like a bulls eye for people who skipped the service, and who probably skip Lent, to subject you to an inquisition. Only moments after leaving the service, I was heating up my lunch in our student lounge when a classmate asked me:
"Kelli, what can you tell us about Lent?"
I responded "What do you want to know?"
classmate: "Does it have anything to do with Moses?"
me: "No. It does not. There is a symbolic meaning in the 40 days because 40 appears at various times in the Bible, including the 40 years that Moses and the Israelites wandered in the desert. But, no, Lent is not related to Moses."
classmate: "Then why do they show 'The Ten Commandments' at Easter?"
me: "Because 'The Passion of the Christ' is too controversial and gory."

What I can tell you about Lent is that it isn't a "Catholic thing." I've observed Lent my entire Lutheran life. I don't know who doesn't observe Lent, but I do.
I can tell you that I eat whatever I want to during Lent. I could give something up, but I don't. Instead, I'm taking up a devotion. This year I'm praying for 30 minutes a day. Now that is tough for me.
I also know that Lent gets a bad rap for being depressing. I kind of like Lent. I like going to church on Wednesdays and eating Lenten soup suppers. It reminds me of my childhood, where Wednesday nights were still church nights. And in the bleak, dark time of winter, I enjoy the opportunity to reflect on my blessings, my mortality, and God's hopes for me in this life. Lent is not a 40-day shame-on-you-for-sinning; it is a 40-day reminder that we sin, God loves us anyway, so much, in fact, that we are saved by God's grace through our faith, and not by our good works.
I hope that this season, whatever it is for you, brings you peace and time to reflect on what matters to you.
With love,
Kelli

Prom

I am slightly embarrassed to realize that I attended Prom last night for the 6th time in my life. It makes me seem so indiscriminate in my Prom date choices to have attended Prom 5 times in High School. The reality is that I love to dance, I love rhinestone-bedecked dresses and I love fancy hairdos.
The Law School puts on Law Prom each Spring semester, and it was a really fun way to spend time with my classmates. It is remarkable how nice everyone can clean up from the jeans, sweatshirts and backpacks look! As you can see from the pics below, (if you have trouble seeing them, click on "view larger" then enter the password: kelliandandy) we also had to do the "pose with your date" shots before leaving the house. It almost felt strange without someone's parents directing everyone on how to stand and to scooch together. We gathered at my friend Marit's house for a pre-Prom cocktail hour. We couldn't resist some high-school Prom inspired poses. Andy confessed he even thought of getting me a corsage, but thought better of it since it's the weekend before Valentine's Day. Sweet gesture.
Our friends Andrew and Claire, who don't like to dance, decided that didn't preclude them from cocktails, so they joined us. All in all, it was a great way to kick off a night of kicking up our heels.
Andy and I had a great time at our first Prom together. Andy said "We danced on our first date, and we danced at our wedding, but I've never gone to Prom with you. Now I have!"
More deep thoughts are coming down the pike this week, so stay tuned.
As always, much love,
Kelli

Law Prom

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Back to School

As usual, I am shocked at how long it's been since I've updated my blog, and how much has happened since I last wrote. I had a wonderful break and enjoyed spending the holidays, and the season with family and friends. A real highlight was seeing my family at end of my break at a benefit for my Aunt Shelly. Shelly was diagnosed over the summer with ovarian cancer, and the benefit helped raise money to offset the costs of her treatment. Some very exciting news to follow that was hearing that she is officially in remission! She found out last week that she "Kicked cancer's ass!" I couldn't be happier!

As usual, lots of photos of what I've been up to:
Please see my shutterfly sharing page: http://kellisfotos.shutterfly.com the password is kelliandandy

Andy and I had his cousins over for a movie and some Wii on Friday. Since my mama raised me right, we cleaned the apartment top to bottom, and then added some creative staging. When Andy asked why we had to put his work schedule and his electric razor in a drawer hidden from sight, I explained that it's important to lie to your friends and family and pretend that you always live like that. "Make believe," if you will. I posted some Wii-tastic shots of us bowling.

I added some pictures of my latest adventure: scrapbooking our honeymoon. I had a clean house, and nothing else to do, so I revived my love of scrapping, and grabbed some peanut M &Ms and a Diet Coke and set to it. In a record achievement, I finished 8 pages! check them out.

Also, I added pictures of what I'm calling Hamit clean sweep. My mom always complains about all the junk in the basement (doesn't everyone?) and how she can never find anything, blah, blah, blah. So, I told her we'd clean it out and settle the problem once and for all. After an entire day, we only got one closet done, but it was totally worth it. You really have to see it to appreciate it. I won't even post the pictures of the places we didn't get to. It would just be too embarrassing. For now, my mom has one clean, organized closet and hopefully is inspired to tackle the rest. If not, there's always next Christmas.

Last, I added some pics of my mom's 50th birthday shin-dig. Don't worry, no one thinks she could be that old; it's not just you. She is fabulous and 5o and the proof is in the pictures.

Other than that, life's good. Busy, but good. I'm really back in the groove at school. I got what I consider good grades for last semester, and I'm really enjoying our classes this semester: Constitutional Law, Property, Criminal Law, Foundations of Justice and Lawyering Skills. Look for existential ponderings soon. Foundations of Justice really stirs up the deep thoughts.
Also, I was able to observe a deposition in an employment discrimination suit with my mentor. It was a really great opportunity and only furthered my interest in employment law.

That's all for now. Much love always,
Kelli