Ugly Sweater Party

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Riley Home Tour

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Home for the Holidays

Oh Boy! Have I been busy, or what?! I can't believe I haven't written a single thing since Halloween! Well, I am now on the other side of my first semester of law school. I am 1/6 the way to being a lawyer! It was a tough semester, and I worked my fanny off, but I still absolutely love, love, love law school. I cannot believe how quickly the semester flew by.
I am now, allegedly, well-versed in Torts, Civil Procedure and Contracts. Much to my surprise, Contracts ended up being my favorite course. One of my study mates said during the last few days of cramming that Contracts is common-sense, and that makes it easier to know what the answer is. It really is the most straight forward and seems to follow the "looks like a duck, quacks like a duck" kind of approach.
So what have I been up to? I wrote another paper since we last spoke, studied my fanny off for about 70 hours a week, assassinated 3 3-hour final exams (at least, I prefer to think of as dead,) moved into a new apartment, made sushi with my hubby, wore an ugly holiday sweater and drove 15 hours to Colorado.
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Ugly Holiday Sweater Party
These get-togethers have become a popular way to celebrate the tackier side of the Holidays. I got a sweatshirt that has two cats on it wearing Santa hats, wrapped in a Christmas quilt, with the phrase "Wishing you a Warm and Cuddling Christmas." Andy struck gold when he found a vest with Christmas teddy bears and rocking horses and some other fun goodies. He also strung battery operated lights through his button holes. Priceless.

Sushi Night
For our first anniversary, paper is the traditional gift. Andy gave me a beautiful journal, and I gave him a sushi cookbook and some sushi accessories. We had an spontaneous idea of putting them to use the other night, and the results were divine. We used various mixtures of tuna, crab meat, avocado, cucumber, carrots, shitake mushrooms, green onions and HOT sauce. We can hardly wait to test some new combos again.

Our New Home for the Holidays
Andy and I were able to move into our apartment in Plymouth, MN, December 1st. Plymouth has been selected as the best city to live in in the US by Money Magazine several years in a row. We like it so far. We still have LOTs of boxes and a few stray items straggling in, but it feels like home. One of the first things I did was put up the Christmas tree. We are both very excited to be settling in now that we've been in MN for a while.

Back to my old Home for the Holidays
I have 3 glorious weeks to max and relax before the next semester begins. I drove out to CO on Friday, and have been doing a little shopping, a little Kookin' and Bakin' and am just loving the down time. I had a dinner with both my parents and my brothers last night for the first time in ages. I couldn't be happier. Well, that's not true: Andy wasn't able to ask for time off over the holidays, so he's taking care of our Marcelle the Cat in MN. I really wish he could be here, and then I would be the happiest I could be.

I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for your love, laughs and support as I've started this chaotic journey. I am blessed to have you in my life.
May your Christmas be filled with many Merry memories and may the New Year bring you Peace, Love and Happiness.

Kelli

It's Fall

Fall sort of snuck up on me. I even had a Fall break, but somehow Halloween just popped up. What's worse is that Christmas decorations are up and I feel like I missed Fall altogether! I did get a chance to enjoy a few things about Fall this week, and I'm feeling much better now.

Halloween Party

I honestly had no intention of ever going to the Law school Halloween party, but I did and I was the cutest flight attendant there (there were actually 2 other flight attendants, can you believe it!?)

Walking in the fall leaves

Is there anything more gratifying than hearing the crunch and rustle of leaves under your feet? I like it better than the beach because there's no dirty sand in my shoes, and better than snow because my socks don't get wet. And it means it's fall, which means my birthday is near. Andy and I walked in the park and went off the trail. Then I got some "nature" on my pants (some highly evolved weed that I brushed against covered my pants and socks with prickly little burs containing its seeds.) Since Andy loves me, he picked them all off for me so I didn't have to have any further contact with the "nature." He's a good guy.

My birthday

I have had the tragic misfortune all my life of having a birthday only 4 days after Halloween. Do you know what you get to take to class for your birthday party when kids are sick of candy and cupcakes? Pencils. So this year, given the more moderate and sophisticated crowd in my classroom, I finally got to take these divine chocolate frosted, fall leaf sprinkle bedecked cookies. It was great.

Life is really going well here. I'm busting my butt in school and getting ready for finals already! Eeek! I have my exams starting December 7, so I'll be trying to keep everyone posted, but don't be surprised if you don't hear a peep from me until December 15 when I'm all done (and 1/6 the way to being a lawyer :)

love always,

Kelli

1/12 the way to being a lawyer

I was reflecting the other day on what one of our professors said. " In two and a half years, you'll have to start interviewing clients and you'll need to know this."
What struck me is that for the first time, we were no longer talking about the 3 year journey ahead of me and my classmates. We are far enough along, 1/12 that is, to start talking about it as less than three years. That said, I feel like I know almost nothing. A conversation with a St. Thomas grad from 2008 who works at one of the biggest law firms in the Twin Cities did little to comfort me about that. She said, "Employers know that after 3 years of law school, you still don't know very much, so they don't interview you about how to write an appellate brief. They just want to make sure you aren't crazy and that you can carry a conversation." Ok, the second part was slightly reassuring, since I am not crazy and can carry a conversation.
So if I feel like I don't know much, and even after three years, my future employer knows that I don't know much, what is the point of me trying to learn all this stuff?
I was letting this kick around inside my head a little bit when we discussed professionalism in my class today. The concept of competence came up and the professor noted that graduating from law school and passing the bar exam are the minimum level of competence required to practice law. We discussed what ways you become more competent, and it seemed to keep coming back to practice and experience. Our professor noted that maybe that's why they call it practicing law, or practicing medicine. You get better and learn and become more competent because you practice, and you have this foundation to serve as that minimum, that platform to build on.
Someone said, "Well then it's just trial and error?" Our professor pointed out that it would be a good idea to keep the errors from creeping into malpractice territory. Maybe the most important thing I'm learning right now is the consequence of incompetence. Perhaps the point of law school is to give you the basics and put the fear of God, and court sanctions, in you so you don't screw it up!
Despite my insecurities about how little I seem to know about the law at this point, I feel like I have learned a lot. I think there's a song lyric "the more I see, the less I know." I am really enjoying all my classes and it seems like each class brings up a thousand new paths I'll need to go down to learn everything there is to learn. Right now, I'm taking the advice of one of my mentors, "This first semester, just let the law wash over you." So, I'm working hard, soaking up all I can, but trying not to drown in the law.
Since everyone seems to enjoy hearing about my wardrobe malfunctions, I'll share that I am wearing a cardigan today that is molting buttons. I've lost two buttons of a 7 button sweater since I put it on.
Oh, and I was told this weekend that I have an accent. I was talking about driving with "blowing snow on the road" and I guess they just noticed that I didn't say "blooowin' snoooow on the roooooad, doooontcha' knoooow?" Then, while sharing this humorous bit with one of my classmates, he said I had a "California accent." What does that even mean?!
All in all things are good. Sending all my love to you,
Kelli

Kelli and Laurie Do the Twin Cities

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enjoy the visual tour!

My mom came to visit me for my fall break from school, and boy were we ready for a V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N! We got off to a good start by having dinner at a local restaurant with Mike and Andy. Mom and I liked it so much, we went back the next day for lunch!

I stayed with Mom at the hotel so that we could get maximum quality time in. We soaked in the hot tub, imbibed on a little wine, and a LOT of cheese, and we had chocolate covered strawberries. It felt like a vacation even if home was only 15 miles away! We stayed up late chatting and watching HGTV and then got up early to get our coffee and go make Christmas cards at our favorite place, Archiver's!

The next day we loafed around, then went to see Oklahoma! at a dinner theater. More hot tubbing, more wine, you get the picture.

Monday we did some shopping, and met up with Andy for lunch to celebrate his new job. Andy starts at Target on Tuesday. Stay tuned for "Kelli and Andy Get Their Own Place....Maybe Even Before Christmas," which will be starring me, and Andy, and the cat. It should be riveting!

Then mom and I went to visit my school. Mom ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the law school. It is pretty cool, I have to admit. Then we shopped, and shopped, and ate some more, then shopped til we dropped. More hot-tubbing, more wine, more cheese, and now we've added decadent desserts. Good Times!

On our last day, we simply had not achieved the number of Christmas cards hoped for, so we headed back to Archiver's worked feverishly for another four or five hours. It was worth it. The results were magnificent. You can see them on my mom's blog: http://laurieslollyblog.blogspot.com

Then, through tears, we said goodbye. She hit the road, and I hit the books again. I have only 7 weeks of classes, then about 2 weeks of finals before I'm done for the semester. Then I will be 1/6 the way to being a lawyer!

I hope this finds all of you well and warm.

Wild couple of weeks!

I didn't realize until today that I hadn't updated my blog in almost two weeks! I've been, and continue to be, pretty busy, so I'll try to catch everyone up.
First, I finished my first paper for law school, and I feel really good about it. I get it back today, so we'll see if my professor felt the same way :) I poured something like 20 hours into it, and it was only 5 pages long, double-spaced. And, I'm sure you will all be surprised to know that I completed it and printed it more than 24 hours before it was due! I am really trying hard to avoid my former procrastinating ways.
I am in the middle of midterms, so in addition to the paper, I've been studying my little fanny off. In the last two weeks, I've spent an average of 70 hours a week at school. yay. I'm trying to get a better handle on maximizing my time. Part of the problem continues to be that I can't run home for a snack to refresh myself or for a quick nap or study break since I live an hour from school. So, I take breaks here, like walking to a coffee shop or reading magazines online. The breaks are good, they are needed, but it means I am now usually leaving school around 7 instead of 5.
I started my volunteer position for HOMELine (www.homelinemn.org) I will be taking calls on the hotline from renters that need help with issues with their lease, landlord, etc. I am excited to get started with that. At my training, the worst call was from 4 college students that had rats in their house! And the worst is that the landlord told them they would need to pay for the exterminator! (That is, by the way, the landlord's responsibility, not the tenant's) Should be interesting!
And, I've conquered my first mid-term. 1 down, 3 to go! I feel pretty good about it. And, even if I didn't, I don't have time to dwell on it because I have 3 more to study for. I will be done with mid-terms on Oct. 8th (at 2:45 pm.) I start my fall break on Oct. 10. I'm looking forward to a week off to relax and catch up on ZZZZs. Plus, I'll be entertaining a few visitors.
And, for your reading enjoyment, a story of wardrobe malfunction:
(for any man reading this, this paragraph will probably be totally lost on you, so proceed to the end.)
I had occasion to wear panty hose last week, and it was very much to my detriment. I had picked up a new variety that promised no panty lines, and no bulges thanks to a slimming control top with no waistband. Women, rejoice! Or, so I thought. As I got dressed, I was so impressed, I decided I'd go back and get 10 pair more they looked so good!
I headed off to school, and since, miraculously, I arrived almost 30 minutes early, I decided I'd walk 3 blocks to a coffee shop near school. As I walked, I noticed that the hose were slipping down a bit. We all know there is no "classy" way to solve this problem in public, so I thought that I'd right them in the bathroom in the coffee shop. The bathroom was occupied, and since I was only 3 blocks from school, I figured I'd just wait until I got back to school. Block 1, the hose started slipping to about mid-butt cheek. By block 2, they are sliding down mid-thigh. Once they got going, it was really like an avalanche. The lower they got, the faster they rolled down! I was 20 feet from the door to the school when they had reached my knees. If you ever did one of those games where you have to walk with a ball between your knees, it was like that. In rush hour traffic. With people staring. The horror.
I managed to make it to the bathroom at school to rectify them before they got to my ankles. Turns out, bulging or not, you need a waistband on pantyhose.
All in all, things are good. I'll probably have little occasion to write before Fall Break starts, so for now, I sign off.

so wrong

This morning started like most mornings: late. I have actually managed to sleep clean through my alarm several times lately, so I think it's time for a new noise on the alarm clock that I haven't learned to tune out. That said, I decided it would be best to skip the task of making coffee at home, and, if I had time, grab a cup when I got to campus before class. This was all fine and good. I had 10 full minutes before class started. This is not enough time to run to any coffee vendor on campus, but just enough time to use the Nescafe machine next to the pop machines in our Student Center.
This was my first encounter with said machine. For those of you not familiar, this machine has a variety of buttons to select the size of the cup, and even how much creamer you would like. Most importantly, it is cheap. 75 cents will buy you survival; not bliss, but hey, it's caffeine.
I plug in my change, make my selection (strong brew, large, and extra Coffeemate.) My classmate and I are chatting, and then I notice, it dropped the cup down, yet it appears to be empty. I investigate, and remove the cup. It is very hot and full, yet it's white. No sign of coffee. The machine dispensed to me, at the expense of 75 cents, a 12-oz (yah, that's "large"-please, have you seen my normal intake?) steaming cup of creamer!!! It almost evoked tears. I was desperate, desperate for a cup of coffee, and I got creamer. Not to mention that even if I had been brave enough to give the machine another go, I had used every cent in my little coin purse, and the Nescafe machine does not take plastic. "So wrong,"I kept muttering the whole 3 flights up to my class, "So wrong."

The good news is, as observed in earlier blog posts, I can run to Starbucks if I have 15 minutes. So, after forcing myself through 1 hour and 15 minutes of class, I bolted down the stairs, grabbed my books, dashed down the block (yes, I actually ran,) got my Pumpkin Spice Latte, dashed back and made it into my seat with one minute to spare. As I enjoyed my liquid joy in a paper cup, I noticed that Starbucks has a new slogan: "We don't just want to make your drink; We want to make your day." Mission accomplished, Starbucks, mission accomplished.

Recipe of the Week: Italian Mini-Chicken Pot Pies

For those of you who don't know, I spent the last three years writing weekly e-newsletters (a weekly email with updates, opportunities and a recipe) to the 1,000 partner non-profits with Food Bank of the Rockies. I had a section called Kookin' with Kelli that featured a recipe using items that were currently available at Food Bank of the Rockies. I was missing that part of my week, so I have been testing out some new recipes on my husband and father-in-law. I don't know that you'll get a recipe every week, but we'll see how this goes.
Last week, I made the Eggplant Lasagna, which was pretty tasty! It left me with some leftover ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, fresh basil and tomatoes. My mission yesterday was to use up some of these things, as well as some grilled chicken breasts we had leftover from another dinner. Result: Mini-chicken pot pies (the recipe called them "ricotta cups" which didn't seem to sell my audience on them, so Andy called them chicken pot pies.)
They were a smash hit with both Andy and Mike, and me, of course! They were very easy, especially since I had the cooked chicken on hand. We served it with a salad and everyone was stuffed!
Recipe of the Week: Italian Mini-Chicken Pot Pies
1 9-inch pie crust (thawed if using frozen)
2 cooked chicken breasts, diced
1 cup ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
1/2 shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. shredded Parmesan cheese
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 Roma or plum tomato, diced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line 8 cup muffin tin with paper liners or spray with cooking spray. Divide pie crust into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then press into muffin cup so that crust comes 3/4 the way up the side. Set aside.
Combine chicken, ricotta, cheddar, 1/4 cup of Parmesan, eggs, mustard, basil, tomato, salt and pepper and mix well. Evenly divide mixture among prepared muffin cups. Top each with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake 20 minutes, until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Delicious! Enjoy!
Serves 4

Touch Football Semi-champions!

Since everyone seems completely astonished that I would play football, let me start by saying, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, y'all!" I admit that I hate running, and sweating, so I can see where you are coming from, but I do love football. I decided this could be a great opportunity for a few laughs and to get to know some of my classmates better. My team is the up top picture, compliments of the team photographer, my husband Andy, of course!

A handful of my classmates and I faced of against the sections from the 2nd and 3rd year classes for the Touch Football Tournament, and we won the first two games, then lost the championship game to one of the 3rd year teams. I contribute this largely to exhaustion and heat. Sweltering would probably be an overstatement, but see the next paragraph for why even a normal heat would make me sweaty.

The rules of also stated that at least 3 girls must be on the field at all times, and that for every 3 plays, a girl must touch the ball at least once. Like most of the other teams, we had few girls. At first we had only 4 girls, and 13 guys. We successfully convinced one of our onlooking classmates to play after one long sweaty game so that we could have more girls to rotate in so each of us could get some more downtime. That made a huge difference!

The first pic of me, to be fair, is after the ball bounced off my leg. I am actually a pretty terrible catch, but I worked hard to do defense. While we were out to have fun, and we did, some teams were a little more, how shall I say this? Evil. We didn't let it get in the way of a great day. Even though we didn't win, everyone on my team was really great and I was really proud of myself for running all afternoon.

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enjoy!
Kelli

perfect day

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A perfect day..

Today was a nearly perfect day. I say nearly perfect, rather than completely perfect, because today's class de jour was less than riveting. We talked about whether or not you capitalize which words in titles (for example, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest) for almost 30 minutes, and my classmates, who evidently didn't have elementary, middle school, high school and college grammar under their belts had questions which prolonged the discussion further. Normally, this wouldn't actually irritate me, but it was really putting a damper on my blissfull day. See the slideshow above for pictures of my day.



First thing this morning, well before the sun rose, I had to awake to do homework. I was tasked to write a Personal and Professional Development Plan (see how I use those grammar skills to discern which words get capital letters?) I got to meet with my mentor today, so I had to prepare this "Plan" as well as do a little research about her and her work. I wrote, researched, ironed, blow-dried and put on panty-hose (for every man reading this, you have no idea.) Then, I hit the road. Well, not until after I made Andy take my picture, 5 times.



I spent an hour with my mentor resisting the urge to say "I want your job" and "You are my hero." She is everything I want to be and do as far as work and life goals go. I told Andy that I was focusing on observing and absorbing all her awesomeness while keeping myself from seeming like I might start stalking her. In a nutshell, she is a litigator on behalf of city and municipal governments primarily in employment disputes. Every opportunity for me to work with her that she mentioned, I responded to with a little girl clap and "That sounds amazing!" More to follow on those experiences.



Then, it was time for lunch. I had heard an ad on the radio for a cheese shop on University and Hennepin. I've been getting really lost a lot lately, so I thought I'd give intuition my best shot and try to find it. I found the cheese shop, and a block of shops, restaurants, bars and other such chic things that I have dubbed "the happiest place on earth."See picture, which doesn't really do it justice, but you get the idea. At least, it's my happy place. I think it may be a regular ritual to visit this 2 block area for some cheese, funky retail therapy and a latte. I got this amazing giant sticker called a laptop skin for my laptop. The big red bag isn't Santa Claus's gift toter, either, it's my school bag that holds my laptop, an expansive variety of office supplies, and even has a built-in lunch box! It's great.


Sadly, after this blissful morning, class was a little disappointing, but I made up for it. I hit the Farmer's Market near campus to pick up supplies to test out an Eggplant Lasagna recipe. I got all I needed for $5, came home and whipped up this marvelous dish, and now here I am, relishing. Oh, and blogging.

Back to School Shopping

I have spent the week observing my classmates dressed on various days in suits, some that would make Wall Street captains of industry jealous, which prompted my curiosity. It's fair to say that my usual dress of business casual is top of the line compared to my classmates, who usually sport jeans and sweatshirts. So, I had to stop a few and ask, "Not that you aren't always dapper, but what is with the suit?" They were meeting with their mentors, they all said.
Each St. Thomas Law student is assigned a practicing attorney (or judge) to mentor them and give them real world experience in the legal field. My mentor works for a non-profit that helps county and city governments become great leaders and servants for their constituents. I am not entirely sure what that entails, but I am excited to meet with her to find out. Since all my classmates have taken extra initiative to dress in their business-best, I figured I better do some shopping to pick up something suitable so that I, too, could make a good impression.
Andy and I hit the local mall yesterday to discover that hoards of families were doing back-to-school shopping as well because schools here start Tuesday after Labor Day. We looked for about 15 minutes for parking, which was nowhere near the stores we needed to visit, and then pro ceded to spend 4 grueling hours fighting our way to the racks of every store, tripping over clothes thrown on the floor and being elbowed as we squeezed out of doors back onto the sidewalk. In a word, it was insanity. I have worked my fair share of retail jobs at Christmas time, and let me just say this paled in comparison to Christmas Eve.
Which made me think, "What recession?" Are all these shoppers not feeling the impact of the economic downturn? Or are they simply living as though they aren't tight on cash. Wait, isn't that what got us in this mess in the first place? Americans are living on money we don't have to keep up appearances.
Well, in Great American fashion, I joined them and bought a classy dress that makes me look professional and polished, and makes me feel good, and I justified the slightly inflated cost by telling myself it is a quality, timeless piece that will help me down the road to get a good job and make good money. That's the right answer, isn't it?

State of a-Fairs

Today following my class, I was invited to join a few classmates at the Great Minnesota Get Together, aka, the State Fair. The State Fair here is a really BIG DEAL. This State Fair is like the county fair on Miracle Grow. And, as far as I can tell, the main objective is to eat a whole lot of fried food.
Here's what I sampled (over the course of about 2 hours; don't try this at home):
Poncho dog: this was the best corn dog I've ever had! Could be because it's been about 10 years, probably, since I've had one.
Fried Cheese curd:s these were a little disappointing, honestly. They weren't even as good as the $1 mozzarella sticks at Sonic.
Wine ice cream: chocolate raspberry wine and raspberry red wine flavors-neither tasted anything like wine, so we skipped these after the samples
Fried Reeses' Peanut Butter cups: Delicious, wrong, but delicious. And delicious mostly because it was warm and melty. Next time, I'll just microwave my Reeses' cup or leave it in my car on a hot day and skip the extra calories from the batter, which was flavorless, and deep frying, although I was supposed to be reassured by the sign stating "No Transfats!"
Bucket of Chocolate chip cookies-we shared 2 dozen cookies between us 5, so not that bad, and again, all warm and melty-yum! And that was the small bucket. The medium bucket was teeming over with 4 dozen. I don't even want to imagine what is in the big bucket. Because the buckets are overflowing, there literally thousands of cookies that had been mushed into the pavement near the stand. Imagine gum petrified to the pavement, only thousands of chocolate chip cookies. Disturbing.
Roasted Corn on the Cob: this was pretty tasty, but definitely not worth $3 when it's in season $10 for 10 at the store.
and last, but certainly not least....
Fried Dill Pickles with Ranch dressing: this was AMAZING, divine, actually, and has made me think that maybe I do need a FryDaddy after all
All in all, I wasn't "impressed" with the fair, but it made me decide that in the unlikely event that law school doesn't work out, I'll work for the Food Network going to fairs and festivals, eating bizarre foods and reviewing them. I wouldn't mind that diner review gig either. Plus, I'm totally cuter than Al Roker.

First Week: I survived

Saying I survived is probably an overstatement. The week really wasn't all that difficult for me, although it has become clear that it was for some of my classmates. I think there is something to be said for the statement made by a faculty member during our orientation which I'll paraphrase: Law school is a full-time job. For those of you that have been working full-time jobs, this will not be a difficult transition from the 40-hour, 9-5 work schedule.
I have already talked to several classmates that are having a hard time balancing their time. My favorite example was a gentlemen who spent 2 hours running, then 3 hours playing volleyball and then "had" to stay up until 1:30 in the morning to study. Well, yah. If you spend 5 daylight hours not studying, you should plan to spend several hours, in the wee hours of the morning, completing your studies.
I had a teacher in junior high who said "This isn't little school, this is middle school." His premise was that we, as students, were responsible for completing our assignments on time and submitting them, and that he had no intention of holding our hand or ensuring that we did indeed complete the assignments. I kind of want to say that to my classmates: this isn't little school, this is Law School!
So, in a nutshell, my classes are going great. It might be a stretch to say I love studying for about 5 hours every day outside of class, but I get 'er done. I am also really enjoying the content of the courses, so the studying is more enjoyable than when I had to cram biology into my cranium.
I did have a minor snaffu with my parking situation that I know you will all get a chuckle from since it didn't happen to you (and my many thanks to Andy for rescuing me from myself, as usual):
I have a little magnetic card about the size of a credit card that is my parking pass to get in and out of the parking garage. I got into my car yesterday, and, quite responsibly, I pulled this card out before putting the car in gear so that I could have it in a handy spot when I arrived at the gate to exit. I then proceeded to drop it, and it slid between my parking break and under my center console: read, out of sight and out of reach unless you dismantle the car. So, I panic, then I decide that I might be able to reach it if I, in fact, dismantle the car. I have a screwdriver in my emergency road side kit, so I took to unscrewing the parts that hold the center console together and to my car. Long story short, after nearly an hour of huffing and puffing to try and get to this thing, I surrender. I manage to convince the parking attendant to let me out and he tells me "You should try to get it out of there." Thanks for stating the obvious.
I get home, certain that if there were two extra hands, this thing could be retrieved, and I was right. Andy found some strange tool with a long bendable arm and tiny retractable claws that looks like aliens would use it to implant tracking devices via probe, and manages to pull the thing out in a matter of about 5 minutes.
Moral of the story: no good deed goes unpunished. I wanted to have little pass handy to avoid holding up the line of cars trying to leave the garage, and instead wasted hours of my time and energy. I think the other moral here is I can have all the education in the world and still stand in my own way because I'm a klutz.

Day 2-Evaluating Success

Nothing totally profound happened today, but I have been called upon to complete one more assignment for the course I completed last week, Foundations of Justice. We discussed at length, often in the form of how not to be a lawyer, how to be good lawyers, and good members of the profession, and somehow still be good people. Lawyers get a bad rap for being, well, not very good people. We discussed whether something being legal also makes it right. And we read a charming article about the detrimental affects that being a lawyer can have on your physical and mental health, your relationships and on your happiness. Outlook not good. So how do we avoid that? One question I was asked to ponder for my assignment is:

By what criteria will you be able to judge if you are a success 10 years from now?

That is, to avoid getting sucked into the rat race for more money, more power, more glamour, more windows in your office, identify now what will measure your success. Or more simply, set these goals so that you don't forget that at one time, something simpler was your wildest dream and when you have arrived at that, you can be happy and content that you are a success and you don't need more.

I am finding this question difficult to answer because my 5-year or 10-year plan has always been aimed at getting to law school. I have some ideas of what I'd like to do after, but my success has always been tied up in getting to exactly where I am at this very moment. So, now what? By what can I measure future success? Here's my thoughts so far:

1. I have always said that when I'm not a poor college-student, I will send money to PBS stations and tell them they can keep the gift.

2. I have always joked that when I'm a rich lawyer, I want my own jet, or helicopter. I'm not picky. A prop plane would probably suffice. I don't even want to fly it (Andy will, of course.) I just want the freedom to live wherever I really want my home and still be able to get to the office for work without a grueling commute and get to a civilized city that has Target and a real grocery store. Ok, this is probably more like the 45-year plan, but just so you know, it's in the back of my mind.

3. I want to tithe. I have not ever felt like I could give 10% of my money to church or charity without probably getting evicted.

4. I want to own my own home and have a yard to garden in. I want to paint the walls whatever color I choose, and have carpet that isn't white or beige! Who picks such ridiculous carpet when you know that it gets stained? Especially when you are renting a property to total strangers! Obviously, they've never met me. I'm growing fond of the navy scrap of carpet in my father-in-law's basement. I'll bet he has NEVER vacuumed it, and you can't tell!

5. I want kids, or the possibility of kids. I want a job for me, and a job for Andy, that supplies us with enough money to be stable, and enough time to be good parents. This is a long ways down the road, Mom, so don't worry yourself. See Goal 2. about the jet.

6. I want time to do good things for other people. I don't just mean volunteering or mentoring, or doing pro bono legal work. I want time to do all those things, and still have time to bake cookies to send to wherever my friends Amanda and Sierra are living (because we all know it won't be anywhere near enough to come by my house to just eat the cookies) and to help friends move, and to take casseroles to people when they are suffering or under stress.

7. I want to be happy. In the one of my favorite movies, one character asks another "How often are you happy in your marriage?" She responds, "Every day. Not all day, but every day." I want to be happy not all day, maybe not even every day, but I want to have an overall sense that I am happy. I know from experience that this happiness may not come from just one place, and it certainly will not mean that I am happy with every aspect of my life. Overall, now, I am happy. I am also the kind of person who can't seem to hide when I'm very unhappy with even one part of my life, so I think I will continue to be happy as long as I listen to that voice saying "The unhappiness with this part is dragging down the other parts. It's time to fix it."



I welcome all your comments in response to the question, too. How will I know success in 10 years?

First week: day one

At the risk of becoming a over-blogger, I had so many interesting experiences today that I'm going to blog about them, and maybe even blog every day this week.
First, I had the first absolutely mortifying experience of being late to class. The first class on the first day of law school. Those of you that know me well are saying "I'm so shocked! Kelli is never late!" with more than a smidgen of sarcasm. Yes, I'm notorious for tardiness, yet all last week I was perfectly punctual and often early for all my classes. And to make matters worse, upon noticing my late arrival to class, Father Whitt (my professor for said class is a priest who wears the full length linen robe) hand delivered the syllabus to me and me alone in the 8th row at the very back of the room. I, and all my classmates watched him climb 7 flights of stairs to my seat. The horror was sufficient to make me decide that I will now leave one and one-half hours to get to school, even if it means I arrive very early. Never again.
That said, I think I will love that class. Father Whitt and I seem to have like minds. My favorite quote from today's class was "It is amazing the heroic lengths to which students will go to avoid ordinary work." He gave the example of writing crib notes on one's thigh instead of just studying for the exam. I think it struck a note with me. It seems more and more that people are willing to go out of their way to create an "easier" route to avoid having to do what everyone else considers part of the facts of life.
I also discovered that I can, in fact, sprint from my class to my car in the parking garage, and back, and still have time to go down two flights of stairs to my locker, and back to class in 15 minutes. See the aforementioned story about my tardiness. Since I knew I would be late, I decided not to further make an ass of myself by carrying my lunch, my thermos of coffee, my 6 books for every other class except, ironically, the one I was running to, and 3 weeks worth of snacks I bought to keep in my locker. So, I sprinted between classes to retrieve all these items and place them in my locker.
I also discovered that there is a Starbucks that I had never seen across the street from campus. I noticed someone with a fresh iced coffee, and, because I'm basically shameless, I ran him down to ask how far away Starbucks was. I dashed there and back before class began, and on the way I was taking in the afternoon breeze and noticing all the other great shops and restaurants right around campus, I realized I don't hate it here. Many people asked if I would stay here in the Twin Cities after school, to which I responded "If I hate it there, I'll move back right away, but I am afraid I won't hate it there." And my fears have come true. It's actually pretty cool here. I don't love it yet, but, alack, I don't hate it.

I have arrived

Andy and I have now been in

Minnesota for one week. Thanks to you all for all your good thoughts, prayers and support. The trip was long, hot and difficult (we had some "issues" with the cat not being very cooperative.)

So, I know you are all wondering, "How's law school?" (this middle picture is me after my first day-and look, I'm still smiling after 11 hours!) The answer is that it's great so far. I really love the school, which I knew I would, and I've met some great classmates (there 174 total 1st year students, so I'm still working on meeting everyone) and I have already finished two classes this week! We even watched an excerpt of the movie "Legally Blonde" in class one day. I felt right at home.

Next week is called First Week (I've added a "part II" determination, since I don't think you can logically have 2 "first weeks.") I start the classes I'll be taking for the rest of the semester and which will be graded. I'm on campus (yes, on a Saturday) getting cracking on studying for Monday already. I hope to be taking Sundays off from studying as a rule, which means homework on Saturdays.

The first picture is of my locker. I had to go out and buy a combination lock for the first time in what I think is 10 years. I love having a place to dump off my many books, and I keep extra coffee in there for reloading my caffeine and some snacks, and I'm planning to bring in some decor once Andy and I unpack and find all of our stuff.

Which probably brings you all to your next question: "Where are you living?" Right now, we are staying with Andy's dad (Mike) about 40 miles outside downtown, where the law school is. We are still figuring out where we'll be living permanently, and Andy is still looking for work. The upside is that we don't have to pay for food or shelter. The downside is that Mike's culinary skills are somewhat limited, so I've eaten pizza and hamburgers for every meal this entire week (even at law school functions, which mystifies me.)

Overall, things are great. I'm really enjoying law school so far. I have had several moments this week when I have thought, "I'm going to be a lawyer in three years!" I have also marvelled at how natural it feels to be in school again.

The last thing I want to note is that I'm kind of busy. You probably guessed as much. So, best way to get a hold of me is email: kellirae.riley@gmail.com If you would like to call me, and I would love to hear from you, the best time to call is after 5pm (Central Time) on weekdays, or any time on weekends. I'm going to be studying on weekends, but not all day, and probably not at the same times, so just call and I'll try to catch up with everyone. All my love to everyone.

Kelli

The last day at work

I was recounting with a friend recently about our work experience. She said "I've had a lot of jobs." I was about to say "I really haven't had that many," but then I started counting. Today is my last day at my 10th job, and that's if you don't count babysitting. I have lifeguarded and taught little ones to swim, sold countless trendy outfits at a clothing store, cold-called hundreds of lawyers to complete surveys, helped people pick souveniers at a shop in Boulder, filed stock trade tickets, taught Spanish to kindergartners, set up for worship and planned student events (I even modeled for a life-sized cardboard cut-out to promote an event,) and now, until the end of today, I have assisted over 5000 volunteers and staff from over 1000 non-profits get food to those in need.

Of course, I've left all of these 10 jobs, some more gracefully and voluntarily than others. This week, I cleaned out my office (a first for me, since none of my other positions have ever required an office.) I wrote my last e-newsletter and said my farewell. And while I've been planning to leave since March, it was all a little bit sad. I think this may be the only job I've had where, upon my departure, I believe I will be missed, and that my contribution to the mission here was worthwhile and important.

At the same time, I am clapping and jumping up and down like a school-girl because I am leaving to do the one thing I've wanted to do my whole life: go to law school. I can hardly contain my joy about that, and at 5:00 pm today, I won't have to anymore!

Finally making progress at a job I'm leaving

Just now, I received a call from one of our partner agencies with questions regarding an informational letter we had sent to them. As the woman asked me questions regarding the new policy, she stopped and said "Oh, if I read this letter, I dont' have to ask these questions."

Yes, this is a breakthrough 3 years in the making with these blessed partner agencies. Believe it or not, I don't send out letters to confuse you or make your life, and my life, more difficult. If you read ANY of the signs, letters, postcards, emails and flyers I create, you would NEVER EVER have to call us with questions. And then, if you read the informational sheets and flyers that I must create because you didn't read the first ones, you would never have to contact us at all! I would never have to utter "Well, if you read the letter in your hands...." and neither will you. It will be splendid!

This is just another sign that my work is done here.

It's official because Elle just got her class schedule

Many of you know that I am obsessed with the movie "Legally Blonde," the inspiration for the title of my blog. The main character, Elle Woods, is a Malibu blonde who decides to go to Harvard Law school to win back her ex-boyfriend. When she checks in for the first day of classes, she gets her class schedule, and informs the staff that she's missing her social calendar, "You know, mixers, clam bakes, trips to the Cape?"



Well, I was relieved to receive my social calender, which includes a "picnic supper" (I love that it's supper, not dinner) and a retreat for vocation and the law. Yep, that's when I cried. I'm really going to be a law student, and soon after, a lawyer.

My class schedule has 4 courses in the following: Torts, Civil Procedure, Contracts, Lawyering Skills, and I'll also have Foundations of Justice and Homocide cases for the first week. The good news is that I don't have too many long days, and Tuesday & Thursday I don't start classes until 10:30. Very exciting!

These are pics of St. Thomas. The top one is the front of the law building. The bottom one is me in front of the law school. Andy took these when we visited in January. Yep, it's 10 below zero in those pics!

Power outagaes create much-needed excuse to avoid packing

So, Arvada, where our current apartment is, was assaulted Monday night by a freak thunderstorm with sheets of hail. I come from thunderstorm country, so this wasn't exactly terrifying, but I have never seen hail come down in sheets like that. Well, the hail took its toll, and our power was out for 8 hours yesterday.

Quite tragically, this forced me to eat dinner out, alone, since we had nothing in the house that could be eaten without cooking, toasting, or microwaving. I was also forced to avoid packing since the apartment was black; shucks.

Instead of sitting at home in the dark silence, I went and watched our company softball team get their pants beat off. I think even if I'd had power, I still would have prefered laughing hysterically at my co-workers dropping grounders and pop flys and swinging wildly at balls picthed a full foot over their heads. While I had to pay a dollar to get in to watch, the experience was truly priceless!

On an unrelated note, I have to share that at least 10 people have asked me if Andy is moving with me to Minnesota. "Well, I'm going for three years, and he might miss me after awhile, so yes, he is moving with me." Really? You thought he would just send me up there and send me care packages each month?

We're moving

And while pretty much everyone has known this since April, I'm a sad-sack, my husband is cranky, and my co-workers are frantic that I'll be irreplacable (*which is extremely flattering, however far-fetched.)

I am beginning law school in Minnesota in August, so my husband, my cat and I are leaving amazing Colorado in just 3 weeks to start a new "adventure. " I mock the "adventure" because I don't do adventure. Adventure is wild, unpredictable and usually involves nature. I don't do nature, and I am a neurotic planner. "Unpredictable" is my nemesis.

Don't get me wrong. I am REALLY excited about starting law school! I love the school I'll be attending. I have wanted to be a lawyer since I was about 8, so I am seeing a big dream come to fruition. I get a little bleary-eyed thinking about it. But, packing and leaving your friends and family sucks. And I refuse to act like it doesn't.